# Chapter 54
Saturday evening. Yoon Taean came back from outside carrying chicken for dinner.
He chose a safe yet popular option—half original, half spicy—and started setting the table.
I folded my arms and stared intently at him, as if trying to figure out what he was thinking.
“What?”
Yoon Taean glanced at me and asked grumpily.
“Why the sudden chicken?”
I eyed the neatly arranged chicken suspiciously. Chicken for dinner, nice. The glistening sheen and the rich aroma made me want to reach out and take a bite immediately.
Despite the temptation, I couldn’t sit down right away because the person who bought it was none other than Yoon Taean. This was suspicious—he’d bought something the original Yoon Taeho wouldn’t have eaten and seemed confident I would eat it.
Could it be that he felt bad about nagging me yesterday when I said I was exercising outside? But would he suddenly buy chicken just for that?
As if sensing my complicated thoughts and doubts, Yoon Taean hesitantly said, “There’s nothing to eat at home… and I was a bit harsh earlier, so I bought this.”
He turned his gaze away from me and rubbed the back of his neck. The tips of his ears had turned slightly red, suggesting he was embarrassed.
Seeing this unfamiliar side of him, my lips pressed into a straight line. I was feeling secondhand embarrassment.
“Well then… I’ll enjoy it.”
I awkwardly sat down, and soon Yoon Taean sat across from me. Before eating the chicken, I poured him some cola and handed it to him. Then I poured some into my cup as well, and noticed him watching me with half-lidded eyes.
Without stopping, I glanced back at him.
“What is it now?”
As if asking why he was looking at me that way, he replied with a deflated laugh, “Just… thinking about how you’ve really changed.”
My hand holding the cola faltered slightly. Looking at the ripples on the surface until they calmed, I couldn’t say anything and just laughed emptily.
“What, so you still think I’m weird?”
Speaking in a light tone to reference our previous conversation, Yoon Taean shook his head while tearing into a chicken piece.
“I’m past thinking that. I was just worried you might cause trouble again, but seeing you going together with Sunbae Seoheon every morning, it seems like you’ve resolved things well…”
As I watched him speaking calmly while chewing his chicken, I noticed how his expression softened when he mentioned Moon Seoheon.
Does he like him that much? I remembered a scene from the animation where Yoon Taean couldn’t even confess to Moon Seoheon and just watched from afar. It was amazing how Moon Seoheon hadn’t noticed Taean’s obvious feelings. Then again, that would be just like him, I thought, shaking my head internally.
Recalling Yoon Taean’s pitiful portrayal, I took a sip of cola and said, “Why don’t you just go and confess?”
“…What?”
“If you like Moon Seoheon that much, go confess to him.”
Before I could finish, Yoon Taean dropped the chicken he was holding. Maybe I was too direct. But since this kind of thing is better said directly, I continued calmly.
“It’s better to say it properly once than to suffer alone.”
No matter how it ends, it’s better to regret doing something than to regret not doing it.
As I casually tore into my chicken, Yoon Taean stared blankly at me before suddenly shouting, “What are you talking about?!”
“…You don’t have to hide it. I’m your hyung, it’s fine.”
I smiled reassuringly at him as he tried to play it cool. Not only did I already know from the animation, but it was strange not to notice when he was being so obvious.
Despite my playful smile, Yoon Taean squeezed his eyes shut before opening them again and shouting, “It’s not like that!”
“What’s not like that? You’re showing it so obviously.”
Seeing his vehement denial, I considered letting it go. But when I noticed his ears turning so red they looked like they might burn, I couldn’t help but say, “Your ears are burning up.”
At my words, Yoon Taean covered his ears with both hands. Watching him fiddle with them as if to confirm what I said made me chuckle. Even when he tried to act mature, moments like this reminded me he was still just a kid.
“Ahem, anyway, it’s not like that.”
“Ha, okay, okay. I got it.”
“I just like Sunbae Seoheon as a fan. I’m just cheering for him, that’s all.”
“I said I got it. Just eat your chicken.”
Deciding to let it go this time, I tried to put a piece of chicken in his mouth, but he waved it away. The chicken ended up in my mouth instead, and as I chewed and swallowed it, Yoon Taean stared at me and sighed heavily.
I focused on eating without paying attention to him when he suddenly asked, “You don’t feel like throwing up or anything, right?”
I paused for a moment before casually nodding. As I diligently ate the dry breast meat, Yoon Taean scratched his forehead with a strange expression.
“I didn’t mention it that day because I was surprised by Sunbae Seungha, but… how did you really eat it?”
Though the question was vague, I understood what he was asking. This time, grabbing a spicy breast piece, I replied, “How did I eat it? I just put it in my mouth, chewed, and swallowed. It wasn’t that hard to eat.”
I recalled the shocking visual of the chicken I’d eaten at Ace and smacked my lips. While the original and spicy chicken I was eating now was delicious, I was thinking about the ssamjang chicken from before. Or maybe I could have chocolate and banana chicken for dessert. I remembered their combination was pretty good. It would be perfect as a snack.
As I was lost in thought, Yoon Taean, who had been watching me with narrowed eyes, shook his head. Then, with a slight frown, he pointed at the chicken I was eating.
“Why are you only eating those parts? Here, eat this drumstick.”
As he tapped a drumstick from the original side, I waved my hand to decline.
“I prefer the body parts over legs and wings. You can have all those.”
At my words, Yoon Taean made a strange expression. It was a face filled with an emotion I couldn’t quite describe. When I looked at him questioningly, he let out a hollow laugh and said “Fine,” then drank his cola.
I wasn’t sure what he meant by “fine,” so I stared at him while tearing into my chicken. Ignoring my gaze, Yoon Taean took a drumstick and said casually, “Our parents are coming tomorrow. We’ll have lunch together and then go to get your phone replaced, so keep that in mind.”
“Ah… okay.”
So I’ll finally meet the parents tomorrow.
I looked around the interior of the house and felt a sudden wave of tension, chugging my cola. I hadn’t thought about it deeply, but now that I was about to meet them, I started feeling anxious.
Plus, if they could afford to let their two children live separately in such a nice house, they must be capable or wealthy. All sorts of rich characters from dramas flashed through my mind, acting like aristocrats.
Telling myself not to think unnecessary thoughts, I shook my head and finished the remaining chicken.
* * *
Sunday morning. Jo Youngmin invited me to a group chat. He had invited me early to prepare for the presentation.
There were four people in the group chat, including me. The unknown teammate who was still under negotiation had not been invited yet. I was about to ask about it, but since no one brought it up, I decided not to worry about it either.
After reading through the messages on screen, I replied that I understood and we would talk more at school.
Time passed, and it was a little after 12 o’clock. I was watching TV in the living room when I suddenly heard the door unlocking, which made me jump up from my relaxed position.
Soon, a woman entered the house. Contrary to my nervousness, the parents I had expected were nothing like the characters that might appear in a drama.
“Welcome home.”
“Yes~ It’s been a while. How have you been doing?”
“Yes.”
“Really?”
The middle-aged woman who entered through the door was wearing a common and comfortable-looking white T-shirt and cotton pants. With short, volumed permed hair, she was an ordinary-looking lady you could see anywhere on the street. Smiling brightly as she greeted us, she took off her shoes, came inside, and immediately hugged Yoon Taean tightly.
“Where’s Dad?”
“He’s parking the car downstairs. He’ll be up soon.”
As I watched her warmly greet and hug Yoon Taean, my body stiffened. Should I do that too? I was considering whether I should approach and hug her first, awkwardly raising my arms, when—
“Are you eating well?”
Passing right by me, she went straight to the refrigerator. Opening it wide to check what was inside, her actions were unmistakably those of a mother checking if her children were eating properly.
“We’re eating well. What’s all this?”
“I brought some side dishes. Since I was coming anyway, I wanted to fill up your fridge a bit.”
Yoon Taean picked up the shopping bags by the entrance and started taking out their contents onto the table. I straightened my awkwardly positioned body and followed him into the living room.
Various containers of side dishes were lined up on the table. The side dishes packed inside each container looked generous—enough to last a few weeks if eaten regularly.
As I was examining the side dishes with sparkling eyes, their mother, who had finished checking the refrigerator, said with a surprised expression, “It’s completely empty. I thought you’d still have plenty left, so I only brought a little.”
“Ah, we’ve been eating a lot lately, so it ran out quickly.”
As Yoon Taean spoke while glancing at me, his mother turned her gaze to me. The gentle eyes that gave me that kind first impression were looking directly at me, but her gaze soon moved to the side dish containers.
“Well, I’m glad you’ve been eating well. Let’s put these away.”
“I’ll do it.”
When their mother picked up the containers, Yoon Taean took them from her and opened the refrigerator. Feeling awkward just standing there, I quickly approached to help.
“Here, let me put them in.”
“Sure.”
While Yoon Taean held the open refrigerator door, I would take the containers he brought and place them inside. After repeating this for a while, I looked at the neatly arranged containers and closed the door with satisfaction.
When I turned around, their mother was standing close by, staring at me. Then she briefly glanced at the refrigerator before looking back at me. I tried to suppress my awkwardness as I opened my mouth.
“…What is it?”
I wondered if my way of speaking was strange. I hoped it didn’t come across as disrespectful. But since I didn’t know how the original Yoon Taeho had spoken, I wasn’t sure if it was okay.
“What happened to your hand?”
“Ah, that…”
She seemed to be wondering about the bandage wrapped around my right wrist. Although it was still difficult to use my hand, it had improved a lot over the past few days.
Just as I was about to answer casually, the sound of the door opening was heard. When I turned my head, a middle-aged man with sharp features was slowly walking in.
