Chapter 71: Pretending Nothing Happened

Leaving the villa building with Yeo Hyun-tae, I started walking towards the dollar store I remembered seeing on the way here.

It was a short walk of only five to ten minutes, but the silent time walking alongside Hyun-tae felt unbearably slow.

Usually, being with Hyun-tae was comfortable even in silence, but now it had become so awkward and uncomfortable.

I was annoyed at the game’s meddling and disgusted with myself.

“Jae-seo.”

Suddenly, he called my name and grabbed my forearm.

I flinched involuntarily.

It was because the image of Hyun-tae from that day, teaching me the choreography, overlapped in my mind.

Seeing my reaction, Hyun-tae quickly let go of my arm and turned his head to point at a building beside us.

Following his gaze, I recognized a familiar red sign.

“We’re already here.

Where were you going?”

He spoke lightly, like a joke, with a small smile.

Then he paused, as if thinking, before saying, “Let’s go in,” and carefully pulled my arm as he walked into the store.

Following behind him, I felt grateful that he had pretended like nothing happened first, but at the same time, a wave of self-loathing washed over me.

I ended up making him uncomfortable and giving him the hint to be careful again.

I let out a low sigh so he wouldn’t hear.

Snap out of it.

When you’re tired and sexually frustrated, on top of the game’s mischief, getting an erection is a possibility.

“The folding tables are over there.”

Just as I was trying to hypnotize myself with that ridiculous logic, Hyun-tae suddenly turned and pointed to the left corner.

Pull yourself together and act normal.

Repeating the self-suggestion, this time with a somewhat more reasonable thought, I headed towards where he pointed.

“They’re a bit small.

Should we buy two?”

I pulled out one of the folding tables, all of similar size, and spoke as normally as I could.

Fortunately, either it didn’t sound strange, or he was still being considerate, Hyun-tae responded with a casual expression.

“Considering nine people will sit around it, buying two seems better.”

I nodded at his reply and pulled out another one next to it.

I stacked the two tables together and headed to the self-checkout.

Just as I scanned the barcode on the table’s sticker and reached into my pocket for my wallet, I realized my mistake.

It was because I only just remembered that I had put my wallet in my bag, not my pocket.

Hyun-tae seemed to immediately realize why I had stopped with my hand in my pocket after trying to pay, and he quickly took out his own card.

“Uh, sorry.”

“We’re all going to use them, anyone can pay.

Why be sorry?”

He smiled as he said that, then finished the payment and lifted both tables at once.

“Let me carry at least something.”

What he said wasn’t wrong, but it didn’t feel right to let only one person pay when we had come out together.

Thinking it was only proper to at least carry the load, I reached for the tables.

After a moment’s hesitation, Hyun-tae placed one of the ones he was holding on my arm.

“Then let’s each carry one.

I’d feel bad if I let you carry everything yourself.”

…Oddly persuasive.

I nodded and followed him.

***

On the way back from the dollar store to Jun-jae’s house, we stopped by a convenience store.

I grabbed a plastic basket from the nearest display and headed to the drink fridge in the back.

I took out five bottles each of soju and beer, two bottles of zero cola requested by Seo-hu, and one bottle of cider, placing them in the basket.

Just as I was about to close the fridge door, my hand and Hyun-tae’s hand, reaching out at the same time, touched right above the handle.

Conscious of having flinched too obviously when he grabbed my arm in front of the dollar store, this time I suppressed my reaction and tried to act as normal as possible.

Perhaps because I remained still, Hyun-tae hesitated for a moment, then pushed the fridge door shut with our hands still overlapping.

Soon, his hand withdrew first, and I slowly removed mine from the handle as well.

“Heavy?

Shall I take it?”

“No, it’s fine.”

I shook my head, saying it was okay, then lifted the basket full of drinks and turned around.

I walked into the aisles lined with snacks, searching for the ones we had been asked to buy, and placed them in the basket one by one.

Hyun-tae also came over to help find snacks.

Suddenly, as if remembering something late, he let out an “Ah!”

“I’ll go get the bear gummies from the back.”

He disappeared into the back aisle where the gummies were hanging.

Once he was out of sight, I ducked down and secretly let out a sigh.

Because the 49.9% kept floating through my mind—Yeo Hyun-tae’s favorability that I had checked not long ago.

…And just now, in that moment, I felt a very strong danger signal, as if his favorability had crossed 50%.

***

With plastic bags hanging from both wrists and folding tables tucked under my arm, I rang the doorbell at Jun-jae’s house.

Yoon Ji-heon opened the door immediately and started with an apologetic face.

“Sorry, guys.

I forgot to give you my card earlier.

I’ll send you the money right away.”

Passing by Yeo Hyun-tae, who said it was fine, and Yoon Ji-heon, who said he’d send the money, I went inside.

I took off the outer plastic wrapping, set up the legs to quickly assemble the tables, wiped them down with wet wipes, and then placed the drinks, alcohol, and the paper cups we had bought on top.

Ding-dong-

Just then, the delivery food arrived one after another.

We spread the chicken and pizza out on the table and poured everyone’s chosen drinks into paper cups.

Then we clinked them together.

“Congratulations on your debut, everyone.”

“Congratulations!”

As I nodded to Woo-rim, who said they should do it again once Jun-sung hyung arrived, and brought the paper cup to my lips, Yoon Ji-heon frowned and spoke.

“Jae-seo, you know how to regulate yourself.”

He seemed to recall the time I got drunk and had to be carried on someone’s back during the ‘July Snow’ team dinner.

I felt the same way, so I obediently nodded and said I would.

What I was drinking now wasn’t even alcohol; it was cider.

“Sim Jae-seo, you can’t drink well?”

When I said yes, Seo-hu made an openly disappointed face.

Seeing his paper cup filled to the brim with soju, he must really like alcohol.

I subtly leaned back and shook my head, making sure Seo-hu didn’t notice.

Considering I had passed out after just 3.5 glasses of beer, I should probably never even put soju to my lips.

“Ah, I need to lose weight, but….”

Woo-rim muttered, holding a slice of pizza in one hand and a chicken leg in the other.

The contradiction between his words and actions was absurd enough, but even more ridiculous was that Woo-rim looked quite thin.

“Why do you need to lose weight?”

Woo-rim, who had just been speaking offhandedly, took a big bite of the chicken leg, then suddenly looked sullen at my question.

Instead of Woo-rim, who was chewing a mouthful of food, Lee Chan-seo sitting next to him answered.

“Someone commented that he gained weight compared to the first episode of the show.”

As Chan-seo was answering, Woo-rim finished chewing and swallowed, then added in a gloomy voice.

“She said I gained a lot, that it really showed.”

I tilted my head, listening to Woo-rim and Chan-seo.

It was hard to tell compared to the ‘July Snow’ era, and even if he had gained weight, he still seemed quite thin, I thought.

Then Park Seo-hu suddenly spoke up.

“Come to think of it, I think you might have gained some.”

Seeing Seo-hu, who had been with him on the first filming as a fellow agency trainee, agree that he had gained weight, Woo-rim looked shocked and placed the pizza and chicken on his plate as if dropping them.

The added words, “Weren’t you too skinny before?” seemed to fall on deaf ears, as Woo-rim was already lost in despair.

Just as I picked up a slice of pizza with the same toppings as the one Woo-rim had put down and bit into it, an old comment suddenly came to mind.

“Come to think of it, I’ve gotten comments like that too.”

Woo-rim shot his head up with surprised eyes, then quickly scanned my upper body.

“What did it say?”

“To stop eating pizza.”

As I answered Chan-seo’s question by putting the pizza in my mouth, Yoon Ji-heon, who had been listening from afar, suddenly burst out laughing.

Just as Woo-rim looked down at the pizza on his plate and was about to say something, the door suddenly opened, and Kwak Jun-sung’s voice was heard.

“Wow, how can a bachelor pad be this nice… What’s with the serious atmosphere?”

Lee Chan-seo briefly explained what had happened to Kwak Jun-sung as he sat in the empty seat next to him.

Jun-sung nodded, making an “Ah” sound, then abruptly turned his head and looked at me.

“During ‘Beautiful Hate’, Jae-seo and I had those kinds of comments too.

Something about how we looked too robust?”

“‘Beautiful Hate’ time?”

Woo-rim’s eyes widened as he turned to me and asked back. Come to think of it, there were reactions like that too.

As I nodded, Woo-rim made a face that said ‘that’s impossible’.

“You didn’t see those?”

Muttering, he rummaged through his pocket and pulled out his phone.

For some reason, the sight of him doing that made me uneasy.

…He’s not going to show them, is he?