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Chapter 66 : My Twenties (2)

Smiling faintly, Baek Hankyul was looking at his phone in his dorm, when Go Hyunseok approached him.

“Hankyul, are you dating someone these days?”
“No?”
“Don’t lie to me, Hyung. You’re having a good time, huh?”
(TL Note : In Korean, “hyung” (형) is a term of respect used by men to address older male friends or siblings)

The youngest member, who had gone off to film an independent movie for a while, had suddenly started fiddling with his phone a lot more.
Hyunseok had nothing better to do, so he decided to test Hankyul.

“Who is it? That minor you went on a date with last time?”
“Yeah.”
“Are you two going out?”

Hankyul was so startled by Hyunseok’s question that he choked.
After coughing a few times, he calmed his shocked heart and opened his mouth.

“She’s just a close friend, like a younger sister.”
“That’s how you become her daddy. I’m telling you, it’s definitely a green light on her side, okay? You have a great face, you make a lot of money, and you have a good personality? If I were you, I would have slept with her.”
“Ah, Hyung! Watch what you’re saying.”
“I’m saying that because I’m worried about you. You solo life trash.”

Hyunseok clicked his tongue at his friend, who had a good-looking face but was wasting his youthful passion on pointless things.
Hankyul glared at Hyunseok with a disgruntled expression.

“Do you even know I’m older than you? I was already so embarrassed last time because of you.”
“I was just helping you, okay? You have to try all kinds of things when you’re young.”
“Hyung, control yourself a little. You might get knifed later, you know?”
“What can I do, when all the women in the world like me? I have to share my love equally.”

Hyunseok said that and made a sticky expression.
Hankyul frowned at the sight and pretended to gag.

“Ew, I don’t understand the women who date you.”
“My face carries me. My face.”

Hyunseok was actually being shameless.

“So, what happened?”
“Huh?”
“Did you take her home, like I told you to?”

Hyunseok cocked his head with a glib expression.
Hankyul sighed, looking tired.

“I didn’t take her home. I told you, we’re not like that.”
“There’s a saying that the best thing is a high school senior. And you’re holding back?”
“I told you not to say weird things, okay? And she’s still a first-year.”
“What?”

Hankyul tilted his head at Hyunseok, who was looking at him like he was weird.

“Why.”
“Ugh, I’m losing it. You were pretending to be uninterested in women, but you just liked a little kid?”
“That’s not it!”
“Shut up, lolicon.”

Hankyul ignored him like he wasn’t even worth listening to.
Hyunseok felt a little sad, since Hankyul had been a fun friend to tease at first, but it seemed like his treatment was getting harsher.
Just then, the doorbell rang.

“The food’s here. I’ll get it.”

Hankyul put on his hat and mask and went outside.
Hyunseok, who had been yawning from a boring day, noticed something important.

He found it. His friend’s phone. Unlocked.

Hyunseok smiled and picked it up.
Then he scrolled through the messages with the person who was presumed to be Hankyul’s girlfriend.

Countless texts that his friend had sent first, and the short replies that the other person gave every time.
Hyunseok clicked his tongue at the sight, which clearly showed who had the upper hand.

‘Ugh, he’s totally whipped.’

He really couldn’t live up to his face.
Hyunseok decided to give him a little help, as a well-meaning friend.

“I’ll help you, Hankyul.”

He smiled mischievously, said that to himself, and started typing a message instead of the absent Hankyul.

[Let’s meet up and hang out tomorrow. I’ll go to you.]

As soon as he sent it, a reply came.

  • Tomorrow?

[Yeah. I want to see a movie. How about around lunchtime?]

A little time passed, like she was thinking it over, and then a reply came.

  • As long as it’s not a horror movie.

“Okay.”

And, right on cue, Hankyul came back with the delivery food.
Hankyul took off his mask and put it on the table, then said,

“I always think this, but delivery fees are too expensive these days. Hyung, should we cook ourselves next time?”
“That’s not a bad idea. Tell the others too. And I left a present for you.”
“Huh?”
“Check it out.”

Hyunseok gave Hankyul his phone.
And Hankyul, after checking the contents of the message that had been sent to his phone, tilted his head like a wooden doll.

“…Right?”
“What do you mean?”
“If you were human, there’s no way you would have done this.”

Hyunseok grinned and opened his mouth.

“Woof woof!”

A moment of silence.
Hankyul started shaking and shouted,

“You fu*cking dog!”

Hyunseok smiled innocently, even at his Friend’s insubordination.


Haram was waiting at the cafe, drinking coffee.
Hankyul, who had covered his face with a mask and sunglasses, appeared at the cafe’s entrance.
He looked around, spotted me, and started walking toward me.

“Isn’t that look too suspicious?”
“I’ll cause a riot if I go out without covering up.”

Hankyul, looking troubled, scratched the back of his head with one hand.
It seemed like being a famous celebrity wasn’t all good.
Hankyul looked at my outfit and opened his mouth.

“Haram, you got all dressed up, huh?”
“Ah. My sister made a fuss about it.”

As soon as she found out that I was going to see a movie with Hankyul yesterday, Hayul had made a fuss and gone into her room.
I wondered why, but it turned out that she was saying that I had to show my best self today, and she sat me down in a chair and started treating me like a doll.

The result was that I ended up with a pretty decent look, but it was far from my taste, so I didn’t feel that good.
Hankyul seemed to know or not know how I felt as he gave me a thumbs up and praised me.

“You look pretty. It suits you.”
“Saying that doesn’t make me happy at all.”
“Why?”
“It’s uncomfortable. I could just wear a t-shirt and jeans, and wear a cardigan if I’m cold.”

Hankyul didn’t seem to have anything to say, so he just chuckled awkwardly.
I was looking at the fallen ginkgo leaves through the cafe window and said to Hankyul,

“So, what are we going to see today?”
“Th-That’s a good question.”

I didn’t really have anything to do, and I liked watching movies and plays, so I had accepted Hankyul’s offer without thinking much about it.
I had added a comment to his message, but there wasn’t anything that important.

‘Horror movies aren’t fun.’

It’s not because I’m a coward and I’m avoiding it. I just happened to see a review that said the horror movies that were playing recently weren’t fun.
Yeah, that’s definitely a sour grape.

Anyway, the problem was that we hadn’t really decided what to see.
Hankyul was the one who had suggested seeing a movie first, and he was the one who had come to my neighborhood, which was pretty far away, so I was planning on going along with his opinion as much as possible.

Except for the horror movie, of course.

Hankyul took out his phone and showed me a screen with movie posters.

“How about this?”
“It hasn’t been out for very long, has it?”
“A friend I know is making this one, and he’s asking me to watch it and give him my thoughts.”
“If you’re friends, shouldn’t he have invited you to the premiere?”
“We’re not that close yet. We’re still getting to know each other.”

I searched the title and found out that it was a Korean comedy movie.
I nodded and stood up.

“Let’s eat before we go? I’ll buy lunch.”


There was a regular gukbap (rice soup) restaurant that I went to often, just 3 minutes away from the movie theater.
The owner of that gukbap restaurant was like a second mom to me.
As soon as I went in, the owner saw me and greeted us.

“Our pretty one is here? The same thing you always get, right?”
“Auntie- I brought a friend. So, two today.”
“Sit over there. I’ll clear it up right away.”

The owner led us to a seat that hadn’t been fully cleaned up yet.
I frowned for a moment and looked at Hankyul and said,

“Ah. I didn’t ask about that. You’re okay with a double portion, right?”
“A double portion?”
“I usually eat a double portion.”

Hankyul thought for a moment, then nodded.
I made a satisfied expression and whispered to him,

“This is the best gukbap restaurant I know.”

Hankyul chuckled and opened his mouth.

“Are you possessed by a ghost who died without eating gukbap?”
“I just like it normally.”

It would be right to say that this taste had been ingrained into me.
All the times when I had gukbap as my main food were good memories, so my sense of taste was craving it.

The auntie cleared the table, and since it would take some time for the food to come out, we started talking.
I brought up the movie interview that Hankyul had done.

“That’s right. I saw the interview you did recently, and you didn’t say anything about me?”
“Ah, that? The reason is…”
“But we even acted together, and that’s all we are to each other?”

I looked disappointed, and Hankyul hastily made excuses.

“If I start talking about girls, my fans go crazy. I was trying not to cause you any trouble. I-If I made you feel bad, I’m sorry.”

Haram, who had been supporting her chin with one hand and watching Hankyul panic, smiled faintly and stretched out a finger to tap his nose.

“I’m just kidding, why are you saying all that? Being an idol must be hard. You have to think about so many things.”

The fans’ love was too much, so there seemed to be quite a few side effects.
And he had thought of all the little things, even the ones that could have been overlooked, and conducted the interview that way. I felt grateful to Hankyul.

So I tried to lighten the mood with a joke, but his reaction was strange.
After getting poked in the nose, Hankyul just blankly looked at me.
That continued even after the gukbap came out.

I picked up a spoon, tilted my head, and said to him,

“What are you doing? The gukbap‘s getting cold.”


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