Chapter 87: Late-Night Samgyeopsal

After somehow finishing the conversation with Seo Jun-jae, he changed his clothes and went outside.

Newspapers, of unknown origin, were spread widely across the living room floor.

At the edge, Lee Woo-rim sat, holding down a large box with his knee while pulling something out of it.

It looked quite strenuous, so Jae-seo approached and held the box for him.

With a thank you, Woo-rim pulled out a bag as large as the box.

“Ta-da!”

He quickly unzipped the bag and opened the opening wide toward Jae-seo, revealing it was full of black devices.

It was hard to tell what they were, so he glanced at the side of the box he had been holding and saw words like ‘Smoke-Eating Hippo Grill’.

Noticing his gaze, Woo-rim immediately puffed up with pride and continued.

“This is the famous Hippo Grill that sucks up smoke and oil from all kinds of food!

Sponsored by Lee Jae-rim-nim for NUAVE!”

“…Who is Lee Jae-rim-nim?”

“My older sister!”

Hearing that they must send a certification photo later, Jae-seo quietly wiped his chest.

He had corrected himself after almost not adding the honorific, nearly committing a major faux pas.

“Woo-rim, you have a sister?”

Kwak Jun-sung, carrying plates and utensils from the kitchen, joined the conversation.

“Wasn’t she at the finale?”

At the following question, Jae-seo suddenly remembered what happened after the final live broadcast.

He had been called all over the cramped waiting room, shouting “Jae-seo hyung!” and “Jae-seo!”, greeting the families of the participants.

And the first place he had been called, no, dragged to, was in front of Woo-rim’s family.

“Right, I saw you then, hyung.”

He recalled them greeting each other awkwardly when Woo-rim mentioned they were the same age.

“My sister didn’t come because she doesn’t like being on camera.”

Woo-rim, pulling the grill out of the bag, pouted as if still feeling a bit hurt.

Jun-sung nodded, saying that could be true.

“My brother said something similar.”

As he spoke, he started setting down plates and utensils he had brought, so Jae-seo quickly took half of them and started setting the other side.

“Come to think of it, Jae-seo hyung’s family couldn’t come either, right?”

Woo-rim, having stretched the grill’s power cord to plug it in, suddenly turned and asked.

It wasn’t that they couldn’t come; there was no one to come.

It wasn’t something he couldn’t say, but if he said it now, Woo-rim would surely panic and apologize.

He hesitated to answer, but fortunately, Woo-rim changed the question.

“Hyung, are you an only child?”

He said yes, trying to move naturally to avoid suspicion, and picked up the grill pan Woo-rim had set out.

“I should wash this, right?”

“Uh, the kids are already doing it, so just bring it over.”

Nodding to Jun-sung, who answered instead of Woo-rim, he turned and quietly sighed.

He thought that if his family-less family situation ever became known, Woo-rim would make a huge fuss, but it also seemed ridiculous for him to bring it up first.

So he decided to just stay quiet whenever similar situations arose, hoping it wouldn’t be revealed until after promotions ended, and walked to the kitchen.

At the sink in the back of the kitchen, Lee Chan-seo and Chae Han-ul were standing side by side, washing dishes.

As he approached, Han-ul, apparently hearing him, suddenly turned his head.

Spotting the grill pan in Jae-seo’s hand, he flinched and quickly extended his hand, wiping off the moisture.

“Hyung!

Give me that quickly!”

Feeling oddly awkward at a reaction as if he were carrying a sack of rice, Jae-seo tried to hand the pan to Han-ul, but then moved his lips instead.

“I’ll do it now.

You guys rest.”

He already felt bad for having left all the organizing to them while he talked with Jun-jae and changed clothes.

Adding more work to the kids who had already washed eleven people’s dishes pricked his conscience.

…Especially to the youngest ones.

“Uh… I’m fine, though.”

Han-ul answered, glancing at Chan-seo.

He meant he was okay, so send Chan-seo away and wash dishes with him.

But Chan-seo, one of the most oblivious members, couldn’t possibly catch that nuance.

“We’re almost done, so it’s fine.

Hyung, just move these.”

Shaking his head and refusing, Chan-seo took the grill pan from his hand and instead handed him two bowls filled with lettuce and perilla leaves.

Han-ul’s shoulders dropped.

A low “Ha ha” laugh came from nearby.

Turning his head, he saw Seo Jun-jae leaning by the induction stove, looking intently at the three of them—no, specifically at him.

‘So please, just let it be Hyun-tae.’

That obviously fabricated smile brought to mind Jun-jae’s words from just tens of minutes ago, and Jae-seo fell silent.

Hadn’t he nodded, agreeing to that demanding request?

Now at a loss for words, he obediently took the lettuce and perilla leaves and hurried to the living room.

***

Not long after, the managers, Yoon Ji-heon, and Yeo Hyun-tae returned to the dorm after finishing their business, and soon, in Woo-rim’s words, the “First Samgyeopsal Party” was held.

“Now, watch.”

Having drawn everyone’s attention, Woo-rim pressed a button on the grill.

With a loud noise, some of the smoke and oil from the samgyeopsal began to be sucked toward the edge of the pan.

“Oh, nice!

Woo-rim, tell your sister thank you.”

Kwak Jun-sung, who had settled in front of the grill to cook the meat, said admiringly.

Woo-rim shrugged, then made an “Ah” sound and pulled out his phone.

“Hyungs, let me just take one certification photo!”

He quickly turned and captured the group sitting around the grill.

The managers, horrified, said “Don’t take us!” and scrambled out of the frame.

Woo-rim looked briefly disappointed, then nodded, saying okay, and counted “One, two, three.”

He pressed the shutter several times, then called Chan-seo and Han-ul, sitting on either side of him, to look at the photos.

“Uh, should I post this on SNS too?”

“I’m good with that!

I’ve actually wanted to try posting about what I’m eating for dinner!”

At Lee Chan-seo’s sudden suggestion, Woo-rim’s eyes sparkled, and he turned to the manager.

The answer came back that SNS uploads were only possible after approval from the SNS management team.

Woo-rim, determined, said he would get the approval himself and raised his phone.

“Hey, the meat’s burning.

Eat first, then do that.”

At the manager’s words, Jun-sung, holding the tongs, hurriedly flipped the meat and spoke.

“But isn’t it too late to get approval now and post ‘What’s for dinner’?”

Jun-sung tilted his head, and Woo-rim, making an “Oops” face, said “Then should I post it tomorrow?” and put his phone down, picking up his chopsticks.

Speaking of which…

What on earth was ‘jeo-me-chu’?

Everyone, including the members and even the managers, seemed to understand, so he quietly picked up his phone to search it himself.

Typing ‘jeo-me-chu’ into the portal site’s search bar, the result appeared: an abbreviation for ‘dinner menu recommendation’.

…Idols do things like this too.

“Hey, but why did you guys bring a ttukbaegi?”

Manager Kim Jeong-chan, waiting for the meat to cook, suddenly looked at the ttukbaegi in front of him and made a dumbfounded expression.

Despite his scolding tone, he scooped a large spoonful of the doenjang jjigae from the ttukbaegi and put it in his rice bowl.

“Wow, the doenjang jjigae is delicious.

Who made this?”

Manager Park Bo-seong, who had already scolded them once, saying “You said there was nothing in the fridge!”, when seeing all the side dishes they had brought, asked, assuming the jjigae was also made by someone’s parents.

“Jun-jae hyung made the jjigae.”

Lee Chan-seo, who had watched Jun-jae cook while doing dishes, answered calmly.

Park Bo-seong’s expression was one of shock.

At the same time, Yoon Ji-heon and Park Seo-hu, who had been putting the jjigae in their mouths, also coughed, surprised by the unexpected news.

“…Jun-jae made this?

He didn’t just buy and reheat it?”

“Huh?

Jun-jae hyung really made it.”

Manager Kim Jeong-chan asked again in a flustered voice, and Chan-seo answered again, nonchalantly, as if it were a strange question.

“Holy…”

Park Seo-hu let out an involuntary, incredulous sound, then belatedly checked Jun-jae’s expression.

Jun-jae drank his water with a calm face, and only then did Seo-hu meet Yoon Ji-heon’s eyes, both still making disbelieving faces.

He completely understood how they felt.

Because just a few days ago, he had thought the same thing.