“We kept talking about the person who made breakfast even while we were having dinner.”
Haeyoung nodded eagerly as if listening.
“We were thinking about who might have done it, and since the people who left first were you, Haeyoung-ssi, and that… Seonwoo-ssi, we were deducing that it was probably you rather than Seonwoo-ssi.”
Soyoon smiled brightly and chattered away. He could now avoid showing any noticeable reaction to Seonwoo’s name popping out of others’ mouths at any time. Haeyoung, who had been listening attentively to what she was saying, tilted his head.
“You thought I was the one who made it?”
“Yes. Last night…”
Soyoon trailed off mid-sentence and wore an ambiguous smile. When she showed hesitation for the first time after speaking smoothly without pause, the others’ gazes naturally turned in that direction.
As if embarrassed to receive everyone’s gathered attention, Soyoon spoke hesitantly with an awkward smile.
“When we were washing dishes together, we said we should eat Korean food tomorrow. You said you liked Korean food too, Haeyoung-ssi…”
“Ah.”
Haeyoung, who realized what she was trying to say, let out a light sigh. At his reaction whose meaning was unclear, Soyoon’s face quickly became sullen and she covered her mouth with her hand as if embarrassed.
“I thought you did it because of that… Was I counting my chickens before they hatched? Ugh.”
As she spoke, she wrinkled her nose and laughed as if embarrassed. Yoon Haeyoung shook his head at Soyoon as if there was nothing to be done. Because it was true that he had thought about what Soyoon had said while making the soup in the morning. Of course, that wasn’t the only reason, but there was no need to deny it here and make her feel needlessly embarrassed.
“I did it because I remembered.”
At the easily given affirmative words, the gazes that had been directed at Soyoon turned to him again.
Even though he had responded without any intention, he somehow felt embarrassed by those gazes. He thought the rules said something about not expressing favorable feelings openly… Though he hadn’t intended to express favorable feelings, worried that an ambiguous atmosphere might be created from the beginning, Haeyoung added with a calm face.
“I have a good memory.”
Soyoon also readily accepted his words spoken to lighten the mood. Ah, yes. You really have a good one. Looking at Soyoon answering mischievously, Haeyoung also smiled back playfully.
However, the teasing without any thought was only brief. He discovered Minho with an awkward expression among the other cast members who were watching with smiles.
Oops. Haeyoung slowly erased the smile that had been hanging carelessly on his lips. Minho was someone who had shown particular interest in Soyoon since last night. Since Soyoon hadn’t shown interest in him, he didn’t need to pay particular attention, but it wouldn’t hurt to be mindful.
“I like everything. I like Chinese food too.”
While carefully turning his gaze away from Soyoon, Jaehwi unexpectedly spoke to him. He wondered if it was a joke, but seeing his somewhat dazed yet serious face, he wasn’t sure. Haeyoung blinked and nodded.
“Yes? Oh, I’ll remember that. But I don’t know how to make Chinese food…”
“It’s okay. If you go a bit further down from the bus stop here, there’s a place that does it well.”
Jaehwi looked at Haeyoung with a face still unreadable.
“Let’s go together next time.”
“Ah, yes. Together.”
Haeyoung, who had reflexively accepted the proposal, asked in bewilderment.
“…Is this perhaps the two of us going on a date?”
“Jaehwi-ssi just asked for a date.”
“It’s not time to decide on date partners yet. Jaehwi-ssi, calm down.”
Perhaps Haeyoung’s bewildered face and the situation were quite funny, as the other cast members chimed in one by one. In that atmosphere, when Soyoon also laughed comfortably, only then did Minho also relax his slightly stiffened face.
It was then that Seonwoo came out of the room. Minho, who was the first to spot him crossing the corridor, leaned forward as if glad to see him. Wearing a dark-colored knit and cotton pants, he drew people’s gazes even though he had shed his previous cool demeanor.
“Everyone’s here now!”
With Soyoon’s words, Seonwoo, who sat on the remaining single-person sofa, lightly looked around. More precisely, his gaze lingered briefly on Haeyoung before looking forward again.
As soon as he was seated, Minho opened his mouth with a cheerful face. His appearance of being glad to see Seonwoo didn’t seem entirely false, probably because today’s event would start once all the cast members gathered.
“We’ll finally get to know who each other is today.”
Perhaps everyone had been curious about each other, as expectation appeared on the faces of the other cast members besides Minho.
“We’re revealing this together with the gifts, right?”
Dain laughed while pointing to the gifts placed on the table. On the glass table were colorfully wrapped gifts.
There was no one who didn’t know what those were. They had already received several rules before moving in here, and had also been told that they would proceed with their first date on Christmas this coming weekend. When he first heard that, he had to feel strangely unfamiliar since it had been a long time since he spent Christmas with someone other than Seonwoo hyung.
Anyway, since the male cast members weren’t told to prepare gifts, it seemed like a system where they would choose gifts prepared by the female cast members and go on a date with the owner of that gift.
‘Is it okay to just receive?’
He couldn’t understand the appearance of unilaterally receiving while calling it a Christmas gift. However, while Haeyoung wondered as he looked at the prettily wrapped boxes, the event began. At Minho’s suggestion of deciding the order of choosing gifts fairly through rock-paper-scissors, everyone yielded their turn.
As a result, Minho, who got to choose a gift first, picked up a burgundy box.
“I’ll choose this one.”
“Minho-ssi, please introduce yourself first before opening the gift.”
“Huh? I guess it’s Dain-ssi’s gift.”
Looking at Dain, who had been quiet the whole time but hurriedly stepped forward, Hyuna laughed as if she understood. At the same time, Minho’s face slightly stiffened, but he forcibly gathered his wandering gaze and smiled affably again.
“Ah, I should introduce myself, right? I’m twenty-six years old, Kim Minho. I’m still a student… but I’m also working as a model.”
“Oh.”
At Minho’s introduction, Haeyoung reflexively let out a short exclamation. No wonder he seemed like he might be around the same age as him—they were the same age. At Haeyoung’s surprised face, happy to unexpectedly meet someone the same age, Sehee smiled subtly.
“Haeyoung-ssi’s reaction is strange. Are you perhaps also a model, Haeyoung-ssi?”
“Me? Not at all, but, oh, do I look like one?”
Haeyoung, who had hesitated at Sehee’s sudden deduction, soon raised the corners of his mouth and asked back. Ah, he likes it, he likes it. At Soyoon’s voice playfully teasing from the side, Haeyoung giggled and unnecessarily cleared his throat to change the subject.
“Minho-ssi should open his gift.”
“Right! The box looks kind of heavy.”
Following Haeyoung’s words, Soyoon urged him on. At Soyoon’s gaze that returned to him, Minho smiled slightly and opened the box.
The owner of the gift was indeed Dain. Looking at the book and album that came out of the box, Dain smiled modestly, saying they were her favorite things.
“I’m also twenty-six like Minho-ssi, and I’m in charge of vocals and bass in a band. You probably don’t know much about it…”
“Me…! I know. Dain-nim, it’s Idaru Band, right?”
Soyoon shyly asked Dain, who was trailing off. The title that had been upgraded from Dain-ssi to Dain-nim fully revealed her fan heart.
As if she hadn’t thought there would be anyone who knew, Dain’s eyes widened. The Idaru Band she belonged to was an indie band that had no opportunity to meet the public except for occasionally participating in youth festivals or sometimes holding individual concerts. So Dain, who couldn’t hide her joy while being embarrassed by the interest Soyoon sent, laughed emptily.
When their conversation ended, the next person to choose a gift was Haeyoung. Jaehwi lightly patted Haeyoung’s back, telling him to choose first, and Cha Seonwoo silently only gave his gaze to Jaehwi’s hand that had landed on Haeyoung’s shoulder. In the gap of the empty turn, Yoon Haeyoung nodded and reached his hand toward the table.
“Then I’ll choose.”
He picked up a beige gift box closest to him. Looking at the neat but meticulous wrapping, Haeyoung carefully peeled off the wrapping paper. And just before opening the box, he raised his head with a start as if he had almost forgotten.
“Ah, I should introduce myself, right? I’m also twenty-six like Minho-ssi and Dain-ssi. I’m still attending graduate school, but I got to do practical training during winter…”
It was ambiguous how far he should introduce himself. Trailing off and pondering briefly, Haeyoung concluded that he didn’t need to speak in too much detail.
“I’m doing an internship at a law firm in Jongno.”
“A law firm, so you’re preparing to be a lawyer?”
Yes. Haeyoung, who nodded quietly, opened the gift. Inside the box was another layer of white cloth covering it, and what was hidden beneath looked like clothing. It was when he was fiddling with the soft cloth and peeling off the sticker.
Soyoon clapped lightly as if remembering.
“Right, right. Haeyoung-ssi went to work in a suit today!”
“Ah, that’s right~ I really didn’t think of lawyer.”
“I’m not a lawyer yet, just a student.”
Haeyoung raised his gaze and laughed emptily as if embarrassed.
To call himself a lawyer, he had only been attending graduate school for just over a year. He thought he had studied fiercely in his own way during that time, but since starting the internship, he had to face limitations arising from ignorance several times. Whenever he felt his own inadequacy, Haeyoung moved to learn more.
While he was currently just a student who couldn’t even perfectly perform his own role, hoping that by the time he graduated and returned, he would have become a useful person. The fact that there was something he could do made Haeyoung move forward.
“Wow, it’s clothes.”
His mouth, which had been firmly closed while concentrating on unwrapping, opened. A thick knit with coarse ivory-colored weaving caught his eye. Haeyoung inhaled and raised his head with eyes that had grown round.
“This… I think I know who this is from. It’s Sehee-ssi’s gift, right?”
“How did you know?”
At Haeyoung’s words, Sehee, who had been watching quietly with a smile while resting her chin, raised her eyebrows.
As soon as she first saw him, Haeyoung knew that Sehee had subtly looked him up and down. That was closer to the gaze of a businessperson judging the value of goods rather than assessing a person. She, who had been watching him the entire time with eyes that occasionally resembled Seonwoo’s eyes when working, had suddenly blurted out.
‘I think Haeyoung-ssi would suit more casual clothes well too. Like street fashion.’
So Haeyoung had guessed that she was working in a field related to the clothing business. However, instead of explaining that, Haeyoung looked at Sehee with curiosity. She, whose eyes met his, willingly opened her mouth as if it was the correct answer.
“I run an online shopping mall, and recently I’m preparing to launch a new clothing brand.”
“You’re a CEO! How cool!”
Soyoon, whose reactions were the most lively, sparkled her eyes again this time too. Sehee, who nodded, looked at Haeyoung and smiled broadly. The mischievous smile that appeared over her innocent features suited her quite well.
“And I’m twenty-eight. Call me noona.”
It wasn’t difficult at all. Haeyoung readily answered yes and carefully put the clothes back in the box.
The next turn was Jaehwi’s. The gift he chose was Hyuna’s. Jaehwi, who had thought she might have a writing profession since she held books all day, was a director at a game company. He said he had worked at a console game company that even Haeyoung, who mainly only played computer games, would know, and had recently changed companies. At the unexpected profession, Haeyoung couldn’t help but receive a fresh shock.
“When I’m not working, I live with my switch turned off, so that’s why.”
Jaehwi explained with a still dazed face toward the people surprised looking at him. He, who introduced himself as thirty-one years old, passed the turn to Hyuna.
Hyuna was a twenty-eight-year-old dentist. At her words that she was working at a private clinic with her older sister, the cast members once again let out admiration. Haeyoung, whose eyes met with Soyoon who was muttering that everyone had cool jobs, reflexively smiled.
Only one gift box remained. Only one person remained as the gift’s owner. Seonwoo, who had been quietly keeping his seat until now, picked up the remaining box. The green wrapping paper that landed on his long hand made a rustling sound.
Haeyoung, who had turned his gaze away from the white hand, turned his head. Then, for some reason, Soyoon’s face that looked excited and Minho’s relatively stiff face entered his view.
“I… work at a company.”
In the silence that quickly arrived and the cast members’ gazes directed at him, Seonwoo spoke slowly.
At the simplest introduction compared to the others, Haeyoung blinked blankly. He does work at a company… It was correct. He just didn’t mention that his grandfather was the chairman of Hanje Group—it wasn’t a wrong statement.
After bringing out an explanation that wasn’t clear about anything, Cha Seonwoo moved on to stating his age. When he revealed his age, everyone’s eyes widened in surprise, saying it was unexpected.
That reaction didn’t feel unfamiliar to Haeyoung. Certainly, when Cha Seonwoo was at home in comfortable attire rather than outside, there was an aspect where he looked younger than his age. The noticeably lighter atmosphere was probably playing a part.
It was when Haeyoung’s gaze, who had been smiling among the people, unconsciously turned toward Seonwoo. Seonwoo, who had been looking at him as if he had never directed his gaze elsewhere even once, smiled plainly with his eyes. At the same time, his thin lips curved in an arc.
“Please call me hyung. Or just calling me Seonwoo is fine too.”
Minho responded to his words refreshingly.
“I’ll call you hyung!”
Seonwoo nodded as if telling him to do so. Minho was already attaching this and that words to Seonwoo with a smiling face as if he had become comfortable with him.
However, Haeyoung couldn’t immediately nod like he had done to Sehee, who had said the same words earlier. The answer that couldn’t come out of his mouth tickled his throat. The eyes that held him didn’t urge an answer. Haeyoung, while meeting those eyes, swallowed a sigh and turned his gaze away.
