Chapter 19: A Movie Night Assignment

Wooju had athlete-like reflexes.

He just never imagined that the water dripping from his own hair would become the deciding variable.

“Uh?”

Just as he managed to regain his balance, his foot slipped on the wet floor, and his body lurched forward again.

In his head, a vivid image slowly formed of his face giving the floor a rough high-five.

Shit, that’s going to hurt.

He squeezed his eyes shut, when suddenly he felt an arm wrap around his waist.

“……”

No matter how long he waited, the scene he had imagined never happened.

There was no pain, and no loud noise.

When he opened his eyes, instead of greeting the floor, a large, thick arm was firmly wrapped around his waist.

Because of that, Wooju ended up in an awkward position, half-lifted off the ground, leaning entirely on someone else’s arm.

“A-Are you okay?”

Wooju blinked.

After a brief moment of registering the unfamiliar touch on his waist, his eyes flew wide open and he sharply turned his head.

“Do you want to die?

Why did you suddenly pull me like that?

I almost fell.”

“Hey, I wasn’t trying to pull you or anything……”

“What, did you get petty again because I woke you up?”

“What kind of nonsense is that.

Do you really think I’m that narrow-minded?”

“Aren’t you?”

“Ah, seriously.

Anyway, I caught you, didn’t I.

You’re not even thinking about the fact that you didn’t fall because of me?”

Won Jitae was still holding onto his waist, and Kang Wooju, completely unaware of that, kept leaning his back tightly against Jitae while continuing to snap at him.

From a distance, it was a posture no one would ever mistake for two people fighting.

“So what, you think hitting someone and then treating them makes it okay?

Huh?”

“How does the conversation even go there.

Even your examples have to be about yourself……”

While they were bickering from early morning, both of their phones vibrated at the same time with a notification telling them to come for individual interviews.

“……”

Jitae immediately released the hand that had been on Wooju’s waist.

Only then did he realize they had been facing each other in a very strange position.

“I’ll go first.”

“Uh-huh.”

Leaving behind a remark about talking again later, Wooju headed out of the house.

Jitae stood there stiffly, absentmindedly fidgeting with his fingers.

The final interview question given to both of them was this.

“It hasn’t been that many days yet, but how is it?

Do you think you’re getting along well with your roommate?”

As the writer asked with a smile, the two of them thought for exactly three seconds before answering like this.

“No.”

“Not at all.”

Kang Wooju knew it.

If he stayed stuck together with Won Jitae all day, all they did was fight.

Using the argument from earlier that morning, when he had almost slipped, as a starting point, the two of them continued their childish squabbles over trivial things.

“Hey, there’s still soap suds on this.”

“Am I your mom?

If you’re going to nag from the side, just leave.”

After interfering with Jitae’s dishwashing one too many times and getting scolded, Wooju was chased out of the kitchen.

They bickered all day, and after finishing dinner, he thought they might finally enjoy a brief ceasefire late in the evening.

“Kang Wooju.”

“What now.”

“It’s here again.”

“What is?”

From the front door, Won Jitae picked something up and came back in holding a now-familiar envelope.

It seemed he had found it sitting in front of the door while taking out the recycling.

“Ugh, what are they making us do this time.”

Despite his words, Wooju stared intently at the mission envelope Jitae was opening.

[Roommates, by definition, must get to know each other well!]

The very first line already felt ominous.

[From now on, please share your hobbies with each other and spend time enjoying them together.

※ You must engage in a shared hobby activity at least twice a week.

All expenses related to hobby activities will be covered by the production team.]

There was a condition attached this time as well.

In other words, they had to stick together and do things each other liked at least twice a week.

Given that the purpose of the program was to capture scenes of the two cast members together, it was a perfectly fitting mission.

“That’s what it says.”

“Well, it’s not that hard.”

They roughly understood the mission.

Since two times a week still left plenty of time, they figured they could think about it gradually.

“Kang Wooju, since it’s come to this, want to do one today?”

At that moment, Won Jitae, who had been staring at the envelope, said something unexpected.

Wooju tilted his head.

Today?

But it was already a little past nine.

It felt too late to do much of anything.

“Let’s watch a movie together.

Us.”

“A movie?

That’s your hobby?”

“Yeah.”

Come to think of it, a hobby didn’t have to be something grand.

And watching a movie was something they could do even at this hour.

“But is there a movie theater around here……”

Wooju took out his phone to search, wondering if there would even be one nearby with nothing but rivers and mountains around.

Then he heard a quiet chuckle from in front of him.

“Why go to a theater.

These days, you can watch movies on TV.”

“Oh.”

Only then did Wooju understand the meaning behind Jitae’s smile.

With VOD releases coming out quickly and all kinds of OTT services available, it was a world where you could comfortably watch movies and dramas at home.

On top of that, the second floor even had a screen and a beam projector.

“Hey, then let’s make something to eat.

So we can snack while watching.”

After all, you couldn’t talk about movies without food.

Wooju headed to the kitchen, planning to make at least some snacks.

Watching Wooju’s back as he left, Jitae fell into brief thought.

The snacks weren’t anything special.

Wooju diligently fried frozen nuggets and cheese sticks he had bought at the mart last time, then took them upstairs.

“You’re going to eat all of this?”

Jitae was surprised by the plate piled high, but the cook simply replied that this was a reasonable amount and sat down at the table.

In the meantime, Jitae was connecting the projector to the screen, looking quite practiced at it.

After turning off the lights and setting up the table, they prepared in earnest to watch the movie.

Won Jitae skillfully operated the remote, browsing through movie options.

“Any genres you don’t like?”

“Not really.

I’ll watch anything.”

Wooju shook his head.

It wasn’t so much that he liked movies as that he just wasn’t very interested in them.

He only knew a few that were extremely famous, and unless teammates dragged him along, it had been a long time since he’d gone to a theater on his own.

“Then should I choose?”

“Yeah.

You probably know better than I do.”

Wooju said as he picked up a cheese stick.

Jitae carefully scrolled through the options before finally selecting one movie.

When asked if he’d seen it before, Wooju shook his head.

The screen went dark for a moment, and the movie slowly began.

Fortunately, it was a title Wooju had at least heard of a few times.

It was a Korean science fiction film that had been released quite a while ago.

The rough plot followed humanity facing its greatest crisis, with future Earth becoming uninhabitable due to environmental problems, and people venturing into space to survive.

With natural CG and outstanding acting, it had swept award ceremonies.

Despite its fame, it was Wooju’s first time seeing it.

When the movie had been released, Wooju had just become an adult and entered the path of professional volleyball in earnest, a time when his mind had been filled with nothing but volleyball.

From the start, the movie unfolded in an engaging way.

Wooju sat at the table, while Jitae sat on the sofa, both staring at the screen.

Wooju held a nugget in his mouth, eyes glued to the screen.

As the story reached its midpoint, events moved toward the climax, growing more and more thrilling.

The light from the screen flickered in Wooju’s pitch-black eyes.

And Jitae quietly took in his profile.

Calm, straight hair that looked like it would feel soft to the touch, dark eyebrows, and large eyes without a trace of double eyelids.

Wooju lightly licked away some crumbs stuck near his mouth.

“……”

Jitae lightly bit his lip.

“Whoa, no way.

Is that guy seriously going to die?”

Wooju slapped the table and turned his head sharply toward Jitae, his face flushed.

“Huh?”

Jitae averted his gaze just in time, struggling to hide his flustered expression.

“That man, he’s not going to die, right?”

“If I tell you in advance, it won’t be fun.

Watch it yourself.”

“You’re such a jerk.”

Wooju turned his head back to the screen.

Jitae covered his mouth with his hand.

A smile kept trying to break free.

The movie lasted about two hours.

Wooju’s initially indifferent expression gradually shifted into a variety of emotions as time passed.

He laughed during funny scenes, grew serious when incidents occurred, and pressed his lips together during touching moments.

And Jitae captured every one of those expressions in real time.

“Wow, I really thought the guy was going to die at the end.”

The character Wooju had grown attached to survived, as if rewarding the tension he’d felt while watching.

Though he fell into the enemy’s trap at the end, a twist revealed he was alive.

“Guess there was a reason it was famous.”

The movie was much more enjoyable than expected.

By the time the epilogue ended, white credits began scrolling endlessly across the black screen.

“You don’t like watching movies?”

“Well, it’s not that I don’t like them.

I’m just a bit less interested.”

“Is that why you didn’t watch my movie either?”