“Haeyoung-ah, here.”
As soon as he entered the dining room, Seonwoo brought a soup bowl and placed it on the table as if he’d been waiting. A green bowl with white stripes on the rim was neatly placed on the table. There was no need to take out dishes or other things or help with preparations. Haeyoung sat down after looking at the already neatly set table for a moment.
He lifted his spoon and scooped up the pale soup. When he brought it to his lips, blew on it lightly, and put it in his mouth, a warm and soft texture spread softly in his mouth. Everything was perfect except for the fact that his stomach was still churning even though he was eating the soup he always had for his hangover.
‘I feel like crying…’
For a moment, at the face that flashed before his eyes, Haeyoung froze with the spoon in his mouth.
The white hand that had rubbed down a dry face and the watery gaze flashed by in an instant, but the time it took to escape from that scene was not short. Belatedly coming to his senses, he began silently transporting food to his mouth again. The soup that had been giving off a savory smell didn’t taste like anything once it entered his mouth. The only thing he could feel was warmth.
Only when Yoon Haeyoung felt like crying for some reason could he fully understand what he’d meant when he said he felt like crying. There was an emotion that surged the moment he realized that the other person hadn’t forgotten his habits and still remembered them.
Had hyung felt it too? Had his heart that he still couldn’t erase already been exposed back then?
Pretending not to notice the sinking feeling, Haeyoung emptied the entire soup bowl. It was ridiculous that he swayed at Seonwoo’s every glance and every action when he wasn’t even a reed, but he couldn’t just cry like before. If he had time to be pathetic, it was better to eat. He had to live anyway.
Behind Haeyoung, who was walking toward the sink holding his empty bowl, Minho suddenly raised his head.
“Huh? Just leave it and go to work. I’ll clean up.”
“I’ll just clean up what I ate and go. It won’t take long.”
When were you whining about what kind of hangover cure uses soup, and now look at you eating diligently, even dipping bread in it. Seeing him, Haeyoung let out a snicker. A familiar shadow stretched out next to such a Haeyoung. Seeing Seonwoo, who seemed to have finished his meal and approached him, Yoon Haeyoung held out his hand.
“Hyung, give it to me. I’ll do it.”
And before Seonwoo could say anything, he took the bowl he’d been holding. Seonwoo, who had been about to say he’d do it, soon had even the bowl he was holding taken away and looked blankly down at his empty palm.
Meanwhile, cold water poured out and wet Haeyoung’s hands. Seeing Haeyoung, who had taken even his bowl in an instant and was scrubbing it clean with squeaking sounds, Cha Seonwoo slightly stretched the corners of his mouth. The sight of him still being stubborn in strange places was cute and therefore troublesome.
“You’ll get wet.”
With a low voice, he reached out his hand and neatly folded the shirt sleeves that had been splashing with water droplets because Haeyoung had rolled them up carelessly. And he turned the faucet the other way, changing the stream of water pouring over Haeyoung’s hands to hot water.
‘…Isn’t this too close?’
Haeyoung, who had been silently washing the dishes, turned to look at Seonwoo with a slightly complicated face. As soon as he turned his head, the black eyes he met immediately curved into a half-moon shape. Since he’d said he’d do it, he could go prepare for work or do something else, yet at the gaze still standing next to him and looking at him, Yoon Haeyoung barely swallowed the sigh that had risen to his throat.
After finishing the cleanup and shaking off his wet hands, he lowered the sleeves he’d rolled up. Unlike usual, when he’d casually rolled them up just enough not to fall down, the shirt sleeves he’d rolled up were folded so carefully that they couldn’t be pulled down without deliberately unfolding them.
He pulled them down with force in his fingertips and buttoned the sleeves again. The world is full of things that leave lasting marks even for a very brief moment. Haeyoung, who had been looking down at the white shirt with faint traces of the folds, turned his head.
At the same time, Jaehwi, who had finished eating and was checking his phone while waiting, stood up as if it were natural. Not knowing when it had become natural for the three of them to leave together, Haeyoung let out a silly laugh at him gesturing with his eyes while looking at him.
“Hyung, were you waiting for me?”
“Yeah, and Seonwoo-ssi.”
Seonwoo, who had been putting on his outerwear, slowly turned his head when he heard his name. His gaze, which had passed over Jaehwi looking at him, settled on Haeyoung.
“Shall we go?”
Haeyoung, standing at the end of that gaze, smiled with squinted eyes without answering. And when he turned around first and moved his steps, Jaehwi and Seonwoo also readily followed.
“Oh, everyone’s going to work.”
It was then that they ran into Sehee, who had come out into the hallway, while leaving the dining room. Although she was wearing comfortable home wear, seeing that she’d already washed up, she seemed to have a schedule today too.
“Yes, we’re going to work.”
Haeyoung slightly turned his head at the reply that flowed from behind him. Unlike Seonwoo, who was greeting her and moving his steps slowly, or himself, Jaehwi had even stopped walking and was facing her. Haeyoung, who had been glancing at him like that, readily nodded.
“We’re about to leave. Are you going out too, noona?”
“I have a meeting this morning. Have a good day. Everyone have a good day at work.”
“Yes, you too, noona. See you later.”
Haeyoung, who waved lightly, followed behind Seonwoo going down the stairs. Because he’d headed to the car before Jaehwi, all the seats except the driver’s seat where Seonwoo had gotten in were empty. After brief consideration, Haeyoung got in the passenger seat and fastened his seatbelt.
After Jaehwi got in too, the car that departed stopped familiarly in front of the nearby subway station entrance. Toward Haeyoung, who was unbuckling his seatbelt, Cha Seonwoo said as if whispering that he could take him all the way to the company, and Yoon Haeyoung silently raised his eyebrows and opened the car door. From behind his back, a low laugh could be heard as if he’d known that would happen.
“Have a good day, Haeyoung-ah.”
Haeyoung, who had gotten out of the car, briefly bit his lip at the greeting delivered with an affectionate smile. Jaehwi’s gaze reached Haeyoung, who was still standing without closing the car door.
In the end, while closing the door, he brought out the words he’d wanted to say all along. The words that flowed between his lips, which had been hesitating for a while as if about to say something, were too ordinary to be words that came out after much deliberation.
“I’ll be going.”
At the greeting uttered monotonously, Seonwoo’s eyes curved like a picture.
***
Because the internship period was generous, there was nothing to overdo, but still, the practical training at the law firm, which had been a continuous test, was also reaching its final stage. Perhaps because rumors were circulating that the final common assignment would be done in teams, a sense of tension gradually began to circulate among the interns. Yoon Haeyoung was also at the center of that current.
An intern from another table who usually only exchanged greetings with him approached and gave him a beverage with a smile, and around lunchtime, messages also came asking to have a meal together.
Dasung Internship Kim Chaehoon
「Haeyoung-ssi, let’s have lunch together today
We haven’t had many opportunities to eat with other teams~」
At the contact from Chaehoon, who he hadn’t had much interaction with because they were receiving training under different lawyers, Haeyoung had no choice but to think for a moment. It wasn’t that there had been no interaction with other teams at all. He’d often eaten with the interns from the other team across from him.
However, it was true that he hadn’t been able to consistently attend the gatherings of interns every evening because of the filming. He, who had been lightly tapping the desk with his finger, sent a message to Yeoeun sitting next to him.
「Chaehoon-ssi asked to eat lunch together, is that okay?
If you’re uncomfortable, Yeoeun-ssi, we’ll just eat together.」
Jeong Yeoeun
「Hmmmm
I’m fine with it!」
Since he usually ate lunch with Yeoeun, if she was uncomfortable, he had no desire to go to a gathering with others. He’d asked because he remembered her saying she was shy at first, but Yeoeun readily agreed. Thanks to that, Haeyoung, who had a meal with other interns for the first time in a while, leisurely finished the afternoon schedule.
Because winter has short days, the commute home, which wasn’t that late, was quite dark. It was a peaceful day because there was nothing special, but still, he couldn’t help but feel stiff because he’d been sitting for most of the day. It was when he was getting off at the bus stop and lightly tilting his neck to stretch.
“Oh?”
The person who recognized him and approached was Dain, a female contestant on the program. Seeing the black guitar case on her back, she seemed to have come from practice.
“Dain-ah.”
Instead of a greeting, Haeyoung called Dain’s name. She was the same age as him or Minho, and perhaps because of that, after seeing her openly talking with Minho, Haeyoung had also decided to speak casually. Since then, they hadn’t had many conversations, but she, who had felt quite friendly thanks to being the same age, quickly approached and stood in front of Haeyoung.
“Are you getting off work now?”
“Yeah. You?”
“I also had performance practice today…”
While walking side by side up the neighborhood, Dain stopped as if she’d discovered something. Because of that, Haeyoung, who had also stopped walking, turned his gaze toward the place she was looking at. The end of her gaze was directed toward a small cafe in a corner of an alley.
The charming cafe, which was quite eye-catching with white paint even on the outside, seemed to have caught Dain’s attention. Unable to easily take her eyes away, she soon looked at Haeyoung with lingering regret.
“That place is quite famous, do you know it? It comes up often on Instagram too. The coffee is supposed to be really delicious. So I wanted to go, but whenever I came, it was always closed.”
Seeing her rarely go on at length in front of him, she must have really wanted to go. Haeyoung, who had been staring at her for a moment, asked lightly as if it wasn’t a difficult matter.
“Should we stop by for a bit?”
