The somewhat noisy weekend passed quickly. Normally, he would have felt regretful about the weekend passing by like a fleeting moment. However, Yoon Haeyoung now was spending weekdays that felt like weekends. He sat in front of the table in his room and opened a book Jaehwi had recommended.
When he was in the middle of turning pages, at the sound of someone knocking on the door, Haeyoung turned his head. Someone cautiously poked their head through the crack of the opened door.
“Oppa, what are you doing today?”
It was Soyoon. Having confirmed her face, Haeyoung leaned his body against the back of the chair.
“I’m not doing anything. How about you?”
“I don’t have any schedule either. Wow, then let’s go out, those of us who are home!”
At Haeyoung’s leisurely words, a welcoming light immediately appeared on Soyoon’s face. Watching her bring up going out as if she’d been waiting, Haeyoung raised his eyebrows.
Even as a year passed, office workers who were slaves to their companies still had to go to work. On the other hand, with his internship finished and spending a vacation without part-time work for the first time in a while, Haeyoung had completely become unemployed. Of course, he occasionally rummaged through his cover letters and resume in case a call might come to come for an interview, preparing just in case.
Anyway, the house with the office workers gone was quiet, and Minho, who also had a schedule for the first time in a while, had left early in the morning. Haeyoung was the only male cast member remaining. In the midst of this, Soyoon, also having a day off, proposed going out, saying it was boring to just stay home.
“Where are you thinking of going?”
“Sehee unnie said there’s a shooting cafe in front of here, so I was thinking of going there.”
“Sehee noona is here too?”
At the mention of someone he thought would naturally have gone to work, Haeyoung made a surprised expression. Seeing him react to Sehee’s name, Soyoon made a slightly sly face, then obediently nodded. She was clearly having some strange misunderstanding, but there was no time to correct it.
“Yeah. Unnie’s company has today off.”
“…Then shouldn’t she be resting? Noona seemed busy these days.”
Haeyoung said, recalling Sehee who had been working overtime like eating meals since the beginning of the year. He also had several zombies around him who suffered when they made plans to go out on their days off.
Then another face popped out from behind Soyoon. At Sehee’s face thrust through the door crack, Haeyoung, momentarily flustered, closed his mouth.
“No, I’m going while I’m resting. I want to shoot guns right now.”
“She says so.”
Though it was a cheerfully smiling face, it was a tone that seemed to have many people she wanted to shoot with a gun. Following Sehee’s words, Soyoon giggled and looked at Haeyoung.
“You’re going, right?”
At the question that didn’t consider the other person’s refusal, Haeyoung laughed with a deflating sound. Seeing him nod, Soyoon smiled brightly with excitement on her face.
“So it’s just the three of us going?”
When Haeyoung asked calmly, Soyoon shook her head.
“Seonwoo oppa got off work, didn’t he? So I suggested we all four go together.”
“Hyung got off work?”
“Yeah. What company does Seonwoo oppa even work for? Do they have flexible work hours there? The benefits look good.”
“…Who knows.”
Haeyoung, who had lifted his head in surprise at Soyoon’s words, gave an awkward smile at the following question. She soon progressed to having reasonable suspicions that Seonwoo didn’t seem to be an office worker. Avoiding Soyoon’s curious gaze asking if he knew anything, he got up from his seat.
Strictly speaking, Cha Seonwoo was an office worker. It’s just that he wasn’t an ordinary office worker…. However, unable to say that out loud, Haeyoung chose to move locations. At his words that he’d just change clothes and go out, Soyoon’s face immediately brightened.
Sehee suggested they meet in 30 minutes since they’d also prepare to go out. Haeyoung readily nodded, and the door closed with Soyoon excitedly going down the stairs as the last thing visible.
Haeyoung, who had even put on his outerwear, came down the stairs. Having arrived on the first floor, he crossed the hallway and headed to the dining room. The female cast members’ room doors were still tightly closed, as if Sehee and Soyoon hadn’t finished preparing yet.
“Hyung?”
Thinking he smelled coffee from somewhere, Seonwoo was in the dining room. Having only taken off his outerwear and standing in front of the coffee machine, he discovered Haeyoung entering and raised his head with a smile.
“Why did you come so early? You didn’t get fired, did you?”
At Haeyoung’s playful greeting, Seonwoo bent his upper body holding the home bar and laughed quietly. What did I say that was so funny… Watching the delighted Seonwoo, Haeyoung briefly reconsidered whether what he’d said was that amusing.
Certainly, asking the chairman’s son if he got fired from the company was so absurd it was rather funny. Seonwoo, who was still unable to stop laughing and shook his head as if to say no, held out a mug to Haeyoung.
“Haeyoung-ah, coffee.”
“Ah. Thanks.”
Haeyoung thanked him as he received the mug he handed over as if he’d been waiting. Bringing the mug with hot steam rising—having just been brewed—to his mouth and cooling it, Haeyoung barely swallowed a sip. The warm coffee going down his throat was a taste he was familiar with.
With his body easily relaxed by the familiar scent and familiar taste, he was sipping coffee when he soon noticed Seonwoo’s gaze watching him. Seeing him holding a mug and just staring at him, Haeyoung belatedly opened his mouth.
“It’s delicious.”
Seeing Haeyoung smile with his eyes closing, Seonwoo also finally lifted his mug and brought it to his lips.
Haeyoung silently sipped his coffee while scanning Seonwoo. With his gaze lowered as he drank coffee, he somehow looked a bit more tired than usual. Seeing him, the pale face from last night gradually came to mind.
‘I didn’t wait long.’
Cha Seonwoo, who shamelessly lied and laughed soundlessly. Though not as much as yesterday, his originally white face looked particularly pale.
While worrying and watching him, voices were heard from outside the dining room. It seemed Sehee and Soyoon had finished preparing and come out. Soon Soyoon, who poked her head into the dining room, called them saying let’s go out.
“Let’s go!”
Hearing the lively voice, Haeyoung nodded. His heart heavy with feelings he couldn’t easily shake off, when he glanced at Seonwoo, their eyes met and he tilted his head as if asking what’s wrong. At the consistently affectionate gaze, Haeyoung felt as if his throat was somehow choking up.
In the end, he just smiled back and shook his head.
***
The place the four people visited was a shooting cafe nearby. Perhaps because it was a weekday afternoon, the spacious shooting cafe inside was quite quiet. As soon as they entered, they were guided to the shooting range while listening to the explanation of the staff member who greeted them warmly.
Only after the staff member’s explanation was completely finished did the four people stand in front of their respective shooting lines. Watching Haeyoung fiddling with the rifle placed in front of him, Sehee asked with a smile.
“Is Haeyoung good at this?”
At the probing words, Haeyoung, who hesitated, paused as if thinking for a moment. At the answer that didn’t come immediately, Soyoon, who was standing next to Sehee, smiled mischievously and teased.
“Oh, seems like you’re not confident.”
Looking at the two throwing confident gazes at him, Haeyoung let out a hollow laugh. Though it was an obvious provocation, he could obediently fall for it.
“At this distance, I can hit it with my eyes closed.”
When Haeyoung smiled slightly and gestured with his chin, Sehee’s eyes narrowed. Though he belatedly added that it was a joke while smiling with squinted eyes, since he’d already said it, the water was spilled.
Sehee and Soyoon began showing competitive spirit without even thinking of listening to more words. Haeyoung laughed helplessly with a defeated face.
“Then let’s make a bet.”
Whether Haeyoung did or not, Sehee proposed making a bet. At her words, Soyoon also sparkled with her eyes.
“I like betting! How about we divide into teams?”
“Then I should be with Soyoon~.”
Watching the teams divide in an instant, Haeyoung scratched above his eyebrow. No matter what, he suddenly thought whether it was okay to compose teams with this gender ratio when cameras would be filming, but well, it was rather good for him. It would have been better if only Sehee hadn’t been squinting her eyes at him.
Anyway, from deciding to make a bet to dividing teams, it proceeded very undemocratically and swiftly according to an amicable agreement. The prize—whether reward or penalty—of the winning team buying food was also quickly decided.
Seonwoo, who had been unusually quieter than usual, let out a voice tinged with laughter as he watched Haeyoung approach his side.
“Haeyoung-ah, can you do well?”
“…Hyung, don’t you remember when I was in the military, I got reward leave for shooting?”
Seonwoo’s question that flowed out gently was more effective than any provocation. Haeyoung, with a face as if dumbfounded, slightly raised the corner of his mouth and gestured with his eyes toward Seonwoo.
When it came to guns, he’d shot them to the point of being sick of them. He was especially familiar with rifles.
Someone said being a conscripted police officer was at least manageable so he applied, but because he happened to be assigned to the mobile unit, he didn’t know how much shooting training he’d done. Since they gave reward leave according to shooting scores, the memory of shooting guns with gritted determination was still vivid.
Looking up at Seonwoo, who was the reward from that time, Haeyoung unnecessarily stroked the back of his neck. After meeting him again, the emotion he’d often felt made his insides sting again. And as if knowing what Haeyoung was thinking, Seonwoo, who was looking down at him, opened his mouth.
“Then I’ll only trust you.”
A voice with quiet laughter teasingly settled down on Haeyoung.
