The moment Siwoo turned on his phone, his worries were completely resolved.
[Hyung. You got home safely, right? I had to go to the dorm. Evan-hyung took you home. Just in case you don’t remember.]
There was a kind text from Yechan.
Siwoo’s gaze turned to the dining table again.
He recalled that he had once mentioned during a live stream that he liked bean sprout hangover soup for hangovers and talked about the place he frequented. The source of that plum and hangover soup became clear.
“It’s you again.”
Sitting in a dining chair, he reached for the plum. Saliva gathered at the fragrant scent of the ripe red plum. Feeling the smooth texture of the plum, he slowly brought it to his lips.
Along with its abundant juice, that sweet and sour taste filled his mouth. The single plum disappeared in an instant.
He wanted to eat more. It tasted so good it could be called the best plum he’d ever eaten. Was this why he left only one? His gaze went to the neat memo.
He racked his memory while eating the plum, but all he remembered was being with Yechan.
[Did I talk about ‘no one knows me’ and the semi-basement room?]
After sending a message to Yechan, Siwoo went into the bathroom. His mouth had been stale and his stomach queasy, but while eating one plum, the hangover completely disappeared.
[Ah! What do you mean by that? Hyung, you kept talking about the semi-basement and how no one knows. But is your stomach okay? Shouldn’t you eat hangover soup?]
So I did black out. Siwoo shook his head with a towel and sent a message that he was fine. Although he didn’t remember, if it was true that he received help from Evan, he should contact him now to express his gratitude.
If he talked about the semi-basement room when he was with Yechan, then he probably just slept the whole time after that. Because that was his drinking habit. Anyway, he must have had a hard time moving a sleeping person, and he was the one who bought hangover soup and even left a plum.
He hesitated several times, but since it was already past noon, Siwoo pressed the call button rather than writing a message. Unlike the ringtone that rang steadily, his heart beat wildly on its own. Nervousness washed over him and he bit his thumb tip hard with his teeth. He wanted him to answer the phone while also hoping he wouldn’t. If he knew he had called even later, it would seem like he at least tried to contact him.
“Yes.”
“…Ah.”
Unlike Siwoo’s expectation, just when he thought the voicemail message would soon play, a voice was heard from the other side. Siwoo, who had been excited about hanging up, was startled and made a small sound instead of saying hello.
“Kim Siwoo-ssi?”
It wasn’t Evan’s voice, and at the person calling him with the polite suffix -ssi, Siwoo checked his phone screen. He had definitely received the contact directly from him and it said “Evan,” so it wasn’t a wrong number.
“Yes. This is Kim Siwoo.”
“Hello. This is Evan’s manager whom you met last time.”
Only after confirming that the other person was Evan’s manager did Siwoo breathe a sigh of relief. Unlike his leisurely self, it seemed he had a schedule today too. Then what time did he come to take him home and buy hangover soup before leaving?
“Ah! Hello, Manager-nim. I’m calling about Evan…”
“He’s currently filming. If you tell me your business, I’ll have him contact you after filming.”
The polite tone using honorifics became burdensome, so Siwoo said no and unknowingly waved his other hand that wasn’t holding the phone in the air.
“Um… will filming finish late today?”
Looking at the clock on the wall, Siwoo carefully asked the question.
* * *
Siwoo, who parked his car in the idle parking lot, couldn’t bring himself to get out of the car and fiddled with his lower lip with his fingertips. It was an extremely impulsive action. A studio in a quiet place in Yangpyeong. If he walked a few steps, opened the door and went in, Evan would be there.
When Siwoo called, they had just started filming, so they said he would have to be here quite a while. The one who suggested it was Evan’s manager, but he was the one who responded.
“Really, I’m doing this counting on one regression.”
Siwoo, who clenched and unclenched his fists several times, picked up his phone and pressed a button. He had gotten Evan’s manager’s contact information through the call a little while ago.
“I just finished parking.”
His manager tried to dissuade him, but he couldn’t come empty-handed on his way to apologize. But he also couldn’t come holding just one thing for Evan, so he bought some for the staff too.
He got out of the car, opened the back seat door, and organized the drinks he had bought. If there were two people, they could somehow carry everything in.
“He would have been happy even if you came empty-handed.”
At the manager’s words as they shared the load, Siwoo smiled awkwardly. Right now, he was bribing the people around Evan. To lessen his embarrassment even a little, and people naturally became generous when they were full and in a good mood.
He didn’t know if that worked on Evan too.
“Does he know I’m coming?”
“No. I didn’t tell him.”
“Then I’ll wait quietly until filming is over.”
Siwoo pressed his ball cap down a bit more. He came to see him, yet he hoped he wouldn’t see him. He knew his own drinking habits, so he probably didn’t cause him much trouble, but strangely, something uncomfortable kept lingering in one side of his chest.
Siwoo’s steps stopped as he entered the building.
A place that recreated an antique study. Evan, wearing a three-piece suit, was leaning against a bookshelf. It was quite far from here, but his head, which had been making a gesture as if holding a book in one hand and looking at it, slowly lifted.
Soft classical music laid down for the filming atmosphere enveloped the surroundings. Evan’s gaze as he lifted his head was aimed precisely at Siwoo’s face. At Siwoo standing at the entrance, not at the camera.
Soon after, his expression, which had been expressionless until now, slowly changed. The corners of his mouth curved gently and his indifferent gaze changed.
“Oh. Evan, that expression is good right now?”
The camera director’s voice was heard.
Siwoo, who had been standing blankly, slightly lifted the drink tray he was holding heavily in both hands to show him. If it wasn’t a mistake, Evan was continuously looking at him right now.
“Who came?”
The camera director looked around.
Evan’s gaze was directed somewhere other than the camera, and Evan, who was smiling softly, didn’t hide his emotions toward somewhere. Comfortable and gentle as if looking at a lover, yet his eyes were rougher than ever.
“Hello.”
When the concentration of the people on the set was disrupted, Siwoo bowed and entered. It was fortunate that his manager was with him, otherwise if he had been alone, he really would have run away, unable to overcome this atmosphere.
“Then. Let’s take a short break.”
Siwoo, who was watching Evan walking out of the set with one hand shoved in his pocket, quickly averted his gaze. And together with his manager, he distributed drinks to the staff.
“Ah! The name is… I’m sorry. You’re very hot these days.”
“The person who filmed ‘Journey’ with Evan, right?”
Although he was wearing a ball cap, the staff seemed to have made their own guesses about who he was by looking at the slightly revealed face.
“Kim Siwoo-ssi?”
Siwoo, who was handing out drinks, looked at the person who suddenly grabbed his hand without taking the drink and called his name.
“Wow. I really went crazy trying to cast Kim Siwoo-ssi, and I’m seeing you like this here.”
“Ah, hello.”
Siwoo, who greeted the person even though he didn’t know who they were, rolled his eyes awkwardly.
“I didn’t introduce myself. I’m Choi Jiwon, editor of ‘Gossip.'”
He knew through Taehoon-hyung that many casting requests were coming in from magazines and broadcasting stations, but he didn’t know that even ‘Gossip’ had contacted him.
“Really, Siwoo-ssi. Please work with us just once. We’ll meet any conditions somehow.”
Not knowing how to react to the love call from a famous magazine editor, Siwoo just smiled awkwardly. Should we do that? Do you want to write a headline and then write about me enlisting soon? He couldn’t say that, could he?
“How did you come all the way here?”
It was Evan who pulled out Siwoo, who still had his hand held and couldn’t find a proper answer.
“There were talks that you two were close, and it was really true. Siwoo-ssi even came all the way to Evan-ssi’s filming location.”
“We became close while filming together. I’d really like to work together next time if there’s an opportunity.”
Siwoo carefully pulled out his hand held by hers and picked up a drink next to him to hand to Evan.
“Siwoo-ssi. You have to keep that promise.”
“How did you really come?”
Evan, who took the drink Siwoo handed him, subtly moved his body to block Siwoo from her view. This was something he really didn’t expect. He thought he might contact him, but to come all the way to the filming location. Moreover, the drinks the staff were holding now were also what he had bought.
“Yesterday’s matter.”
“Not the plum?”
Once raised, the corners of Evan’s mouth didn’t easily come down. Since he was looking down from above, he couldn’t see his face at all because it was hidden by the ball cap. Evan took Siwoo’s hand and led him to the waiting room. He wouldn’t be able to rest long, but there was time to talk for a moment.
“What’s with the plum really? If you’re going to buy it, buy a lot, what’s with just one?”
“Thanks to that, you came all the way here.”
“Just tell me where you bought it.”
“Was it delicious?”
Instead of answering, Siwoo nodded. Even now, when he thought of that plum, his mouth watered.
“How did you even think to come all the way here? If you hadn’t contacted me, I was going to contact you after filming.”
Siwoo, looking at the clothes on one side of the waiting room, couldn’t find a proper answer to Evan’s question. Your manager suggested it, and I just came, he said while touching the fancy filming outfit for no reason.
“You could just say you came because you wanted to see me. Coco can’t even say empty words. Even though you know I want to hear that.”
At the voice full of laughter, Siwoo turned his head. His eyes met with Evan, who was sitting on the sofa and looking up at him. When he saw at a glance him who was dressed up for the pictorial shoot and his own shabby clothes, it felt like he was seeing the difference between him and himself.
“Thank you for yesterday, thank you for the plum, thank you for the bean sprout hangover soup…”
“Coco.”
Siwoo brought up the words he had been thinking about continuously while driving. So he came here to say thank you. But Siwoo’s words were cut off by Evan’s single remark.
“Thank you for coming.”
At that gentle voice, at those warm eyes, at the heat felt from those hands lightly grasping his fingertips that were hanging down with those words, he couldn’t say anything.
