When he opened the door shaking his wet hair with his hand, it was full of ramen smell. If it had been night, he would have rushed over saying he’d eat too.
“Oh. Is there some left for Siwoo?”
When his eyes met Hyunsu’s among the people eagerly eating ramen, he spoke loudly with a flustered expression. And simultaneously receiving the attention of several people, Siwoo quickly waved his hands. What ramen from the morning?
He’d left the black coffee mix he brought from Seoul next to the coffee pot, so he was planning to find that and drink a cup.
“Should I boil one more? There’s more ramen.”
Even at his gesture that it was okay, Ian stopped eating and stood up, so Siwoo quickly pressed his shoulder lightly. I’ll just drink a cup of coffee. Please don’t pay attention to me.
“Coco, this is yours.”
Because everyone was wearing beanies, caps, or headbands since they hadn’t washed properly, he hadn’t noticed Evan wasn’t there. With that voice from behind, a fragrant coffee scent seeped through the ramen smell.
The first thing he saw was a mug clearly containing coffee and a plate with several slices of crisply toasted toast. Then he saw a sky-blue hoodie, and lastly he saw Evan’s handsome face approaching him.
“What? Coffee? Where’s mine?”
At the coffee scent different from the ramen smell, Hyunsu, who had finished eating, quickly spoke.
“What?”
Evan, who very cleanly ignored Hyunsu’s words, placed the tray on one side of the empty dining table. Then he grabbed and pulled the wrist of Siwoo, who was standing without moving as if something was so surprising.
“Hurry and eat. It seems like we’ll move a lot today, so eat the toast too. But where’s the jam? Didn’t we buy jam yesterday?”
Evan, who finally made Siwoo sit in the chair, picked up a toast and put it in his mouth. It would be perfect if there was strawberry jam or something.
“Give me coffee too.”
Is only Siwoo here? Luca, who had been watching Evan’s behavior of pouring all his attention only on Siwoo, spat out a word. He’d thought something was a bit strange since yesterday. But what should this be called?
“The coffee pot’s over there. Aren’t you drinking? Coffee doesn’t taste good when it gets cold.”
Siwoo, with his head deeply lowered, pulled the edge of Evan’s clothes standing next to him. Please don’t do that. I absolutely don’t want to stand out. Siwoo’s filming goal was becoming blurred. Not being noticeable, not standing out, like that. But the camera installed in the kitchen was capturing the entire current situation.
“Why? Doesn’t it taste good?”
It’s not that it doesn’t taste good, he just slightly pulled his clothes, but Evan deliberately bent his waist and made eye contact with Siwoo.
“Leave.”
Siwoo spoke very quietly with his molars tightly clenched. And before anyone could say anything, he left the kitchen and entered his room. He was completely ignoring what Siwoo had said yesterday. Well, his answer was that he’d do as he pleased anyway.
Siwoo, who was pacing around the room waiting for Evan to come, quickly turned toward the door when he heard the sound of it opening.
“Why?”
Wow! I’m really going crazy. Though Siwoo prided himself on having lived quite a long time through infinite regressions, he couldn’t predict Evan’s actions at all.
He did properly understand what he said and followed. But in his hands were two cups of coffee. And because he extended one to Siwoo so naturally, Siwoo was also holding a warm coffee cup before he knew it.
“No. Evan. You are…”
Because they were standing close, Siwoo, who had been tilting his head back to look up at his face, stepped back several steps because his neck hurt. When space was created between the two, Siwoo had to keep tilting his neck back at Evan’s action of immediately narrowing that distance.
“Sit there.”
Only after pointing to the vanity chair on one side of the bedroom could Siwoo maintain a certain distance from him. After confirming Evan sat on the small vanity chair, he perched on the bed where the unorganized blanket was bunched up haphazardly.
“Evan. What I said yesterday.”
“We agreed not to talk about that anymore.”
The moment he carefully brought it up, Evan immediately ended the conversation.
“Why exactly are you doing this to me?”
He definitely needed to know what it was to handle it somehow. He couldn’t be uncomfortable throughout the entire filming due to this incomprehensible situation.
“What?”
Perhaps aggressive tone came through, as the expression gradually disappeared from Evan’s face that had been soft until now. His gaze, crossing his long legs and drinking coffee, was fixed on Siwoo.
“Your kindness is uncomfortable.”
Siwoo, who worked his head hard and hard, carefully selected words that wouldn’t provoke Evan and spoke.
“I thought you wouldn’t know, but you do know.”
Among many thoughts, there was also the item that he was originally a person with much kindness and consideration, but with that last conversation, he cleanly erased that item.
“It’s nice that you’re treating me kindly, but it’s burdensome. Ah, thanks for the coffee. And the toast too, if you did it for me, thanks for that too. But you don’t have to take care of me like this. I can do it alone. It’s true I’m a broadcast beginner, but I’m not clueless. So there won’t be any work that harms the filming.”
“Coco speaks really prettily.”
Siwoo, who had been speaking earnestly, stared at him with his mouth open.
Is this amazing, hugely popular star perhaps a perfect being? Don’t you know what I’m saying right now? Even talking to a wall would have a better conversation than this.
“Coco.”
A soft smile appeared on the face that had looked a bit angry. It was the warm smile that could be called his trademark. And when he slowly stood up, Siwoo, pressed by that physique, moved his butt a bit to the opposite side.
“I think I know what you’re thinking with this small head, but they’re all useless thoughts. I told you. I do what I want to do. You just do what you want to do. Don’t think about why I’m doing this to you.”
The large hand that approached stroked Siwoo’s head and moved away.
“But you’re sleeping here alone again today?”
He tried to talk, but couldn’t have a proper conversation. Only numerous question marks were created in Siwoo’s head. Since there was an accommodation move tomorrow afternoon, there was a notice from the PD that rather than troublesomely assigning rooms again, they’d just keep it as is.
Being sincere about questions thrown at him, Siwoo nodded at Evan’s words.
“Come out quickly and eat the toast too.”
The conversation with no results ended. Siwoo sipped the coffee he was holding while looking at the one person who disappeared and the tightly closed door. The coffee was delicious. It seemed like tangled strings were completely knotted, but the coffee was delicious.
* * *
“Hyung! Quickly. Hurry.”
Can’t we just do 3:3? I’ll be the kkakdugi. Do you happen to need a referee?
At the words to rest during the morning without any special schedule, Siwoo opened the book he’d brought without hesitation. And he lay on the daybed in the backyard, feeling the gentle breeze, and immersed himself in the book.
He heard sounds of clatter and running around inside the house, and saw Yechan filling pet bottles with water saying he was exercising, but Siwoo enjoyed his alone time.
At some point, a large swan-shaped tube floated around in the pool not far from Siwoo. There were splashing sounds and it seemed someone was riding the swan tube, but that wasn’t important.
Because each person was enjoying rest on their own.
Siwoo, who lived longer than others, had quite various hobbies. So there weren’t many things to boast about being good at, but there weren’t many things to say he couldn’t do either. And he picked foreign languages as something he must learn. Overseas, in an emergency, he could use a translator on his phone. But knowing that building his own skills was most important, he deliberately took up reading as a hobby.
As that accumulated, he could read English novels without much difficulty. The British edition of ‘Sherlock Holmes’ he’d brought didn’t give him leisure to think of other things.
Although a self-cam was placed on the table next to the daybed he was lying on, he only looked at the book without being conscious of it.
If only everyone hadn’t suddenly rushed out saying they’d play water polo as time approached noon.
Yechan, who had been wandering around the backyard, seeing the pool and lighting up was the start of the incident. It didn’t seem like Ian, but Yechan seemed to have finally dropped Ian who was riding the tube and playing. Because grumbling sounds from the two were heard. Then suddenly Yechan’s voice rang through the large mansion. It was the sound of calling the scattered filming members.
“I’ll be the referee. I think I can really do it fairly well.”
“How is that possible. We should all play together.”
Though he’d noticed when he was showing off exercising in front of him a bit ago, he really overflowed with energy. Running around saying he was jogging, and not with a 500mL water bottle but filling a 1.5L plastic water bottle with water and carrying it around saying he was exercising. Plus, it would have been enough to bother Ian who was resting, why escalate things like this? It seemed like he should compromise appropriately, so he put down the book he was reading.
“Then how about kkakdugi!”
He couldn’t be certain if everyone had good personalities or if it was for broadcast. At the words of the guy who smiled like a big retriever, Siwoo ended up smiling along. Until Yechan suddenly lifted him in a princess carry.
“Hey!”
“Siwoo hyung is joining too!”
Yechan, who reached the pool in an instant, shouted excitedly, and Siwoo literally flew through the air. After briefly feeling the sensation of flying through the sky, he was forcibly entered into the lukewarm pool.
Since he’d prepared his mind the moment he was thrown, Siwoo, who got up floundering in the water without being too flustered, looked at Yechan standing outside holding his stomach and laughing.
