Chapter 41: The Lip-Stain Incident

As soon as it began, the actor’s face filled the screen.

Perhaps because he had read up on the actor beforehand, his features were familiar.

Chaewoo, who felt like he hadn’t fully woken up until a moment ago, realized he hadn’t been to a cinema in a very long time.

It made his heart flutter strangely.

The dark interior of the theater, the smell of popcorn, the sound of audience members whispering, the booming speakers, and the dry air.

Just how long had it been?

“Do you want some?”

Euigeon suddenly held out the popcorn toward Chaewoo.

Perhaps because he was in high spirits, Chaewoo, who would normally have refused, found himself salivating at the thick buttery scent.

As he reached out and took a few pieces, Euigeon began tossing popcorn into his mouth again.

Looking at it now, he had already finished more than half of that large container by himself.

While eating the popcorn and focusing on the rapidly changing scenes, he soon ran out of what he had in his hand.

Euigeon, who had kept the popcorn tub on his own lap until now, had at some point placed it between Chaewoo and his chair as he ate.

He seemed completely immersed in the movie.

Glancing over, Chaewoo saw Euigeon’s dark pupils reflecting the light from the screen and sparkling.

Chaewoo also refocused on the screen and took some popcorn.

“They say the actor really sang that song themselves.”

In the middle of the movie, there was a scene where the actor hummed the ‘Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves’ from the opera Nabucco.

It was likely a coincidence, but since it was related to his major, Euigeon also showed interest.

“Really? They have talent.”

“Right? It’ll appear again later in a longer one-take.”

“Hmm. Usually, they dub it over with a professional singer’s voice.”

The scene passed as they exchanged a few words.

The two became immersed in the movie again.

And a while later, the scene Chaewoo mentioned came on.

The actor performed the ‘Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves’ with their own voice.

It wasn’t perfect, but it was at a high level for an actor.

The natural voice was good, and with accurate pitch and breathing, there wasn’t a single part that was jarring to the ear.

Euigeon must have felt the same way, as he closed his eyes and listened with his arms crossed.

However, the actor went off-pitch in the middle.

They were likely acting according to the script, but a look of displeasure clouded Euigeon’s face as he listened.

Watching his face change while eating popcorn, Chaewoo laughed inwardly.

It was funny how he would listen seriously to a song he liked and then get annoyed.

He had thought of Euigeon as someone who just did whatever he wanted and was unpredictable, but seeing him like this, he seemed like someone his own age.

While Chaewoo was chuckling, Euigeon suddenly opened his eyes.

In the dark theater, relying only on the light from the screen, their eyes met.

Chaewoo faltered as those polished obsidian-like eyes stared at him relentlessly.

Euigeon didn’t stop there; he gradually drew closer and reached out his hand toward Chaewoo.

“Wh-what…?”

Flustered, Chaewoo couldn’t speak properly.

Since it was a situation where he couldn’t make a loud noise, Chaewoo pulled his head back.

The suspicious large hand he had worried might do something untoward only lightly touched Chaewoo’s lips as if brushing them and then pulled away.

“You’re eating so pickily, yet you still manage to get it on your face.”

“Oh.”

Startled, Chaewoo wiped around his lips.

But there was nothing there, as Euigeon had already removed it.

Euigeon fixed his gaze on the screen again.

Chaewoo’s heart, which had been pounding in fear that he might do something improper in a public place, didn’t easily settle down and continued to skip beats.

Scratching his cheek in embarrassment, Chaewoo also refocused on the movie.

‘…It’s you who’s strange for not spilling anything even while pouring it down.’

A retort came to mind belatedly, but it was far too late.

He was already watching the movie with such focus it was as if he were being sucked into the vivid imagery.

As if nothing had happened.

****

When the movie ended, the group members followed the rest of the audience outside.

Chaewoo felt unnecessarily embarrassed seeing Euigeon throw the empty popcorn tub into the trash can as he walked ahead.

Ever since the popcorn was about half full, Chaewoo had started taking some, and by the time the movie ended, the tub was empty.

“We watched it for the assignment, but… wasn’t it surprisingly fun?”

“True. I was completely immersed from the beginning.”

“Me too. I even brought a pen and paper just in case I needed to take notes. But when the movie ended, I found them on the floor.”

The group members gathered in a circle at the entrance and shared their thoughts.

“Still, I think there was quite a lot of information we can use as a base. Thanks to Gu Isol-ssi, the assignment will be much easier.”

“Oh, Minbyeong-oppa! Don’t call me ‘Gu Isol-ssi.’ Just speak casually.”

“Right, right. Everyone, please speak casually. 9292 and I are the youngest here.”

“Oh, is that okay?”

“Euigeon-oppa and Chaewoo-oppa too. Just speak comfortably.”

“I will.”

“But wasn’t the song in the middle related to vocal music? I feel like I heard it at a music department event last year…”

Kim Seoko mentioned the ‘Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves’ while looking at Euigeon and Chaewoo.
Chaewoo nodded.

“Right. They covered it well.”

“Exactly, right? I don’t know much about singing, but it was really catchy, as expected.”

“Was there something like that?”

“9292, you have tone-deaf ears, so you wouldn’t know even if I told you.”

“Get lost.”

“I looked it up before watching the movie, and it said the actor recorded it themselves.”

“I like those kinds of details. I wouldn’t have known if it weren’t for Chaewoo-oppa.”

“I told you, you have tone-deaf ears—ugh!”

Gu Isol punched Kim Seoko in the side with her fist to shut him up.

“But… aren’t you guys a bit hungry? Or is it just me?”

Shin Minbyeong asked, scanning the group members.

“True. Since we’re out like this, how about we eat before parting ways?”

“9292, you said there were lots of places to eat around here. You always come out here to eat with your friends. Everyone’s okay with a meal, right?”

“I’m not really…”

“Shall we?”

Euigeon and Chaewoo answered at the same time, their voices overlapping, and they stared at each other for a moment.

At Euigeon’s answer that he wasn’t really interested, Chaewoo belatedly realized his mistake.

They were supposed to go to the studio right after the movie.

He had replied unconsciously because of his hunger.

Since he had already finished all the popcorn, there was no need for a group meal.

Chaewoo changed his words while checking the mood.
“Now that I think about it, I have work to do afterward…”

“Are you hungry?”
Euigeon asked, cutting him off.

“Not that hungry…”

“What do you want to eat?”

Thanks to Euigeon cutting in as he pleased again, all eyes were on Chaewoo.

“Let’s eat whatever Chaewoo-hyung likes. I’ll eat anything, so I don’t care.”

“Right, oppa. That Kim Seoko has no taste buds. They practically don’t exist, so he’ll eat whatever you give him, even trash.”

“What do you like, Senior Seol?”

When even Euigeon asked for the menu, Chaewoo scratched the back of his neck with a troubled face.

‘Do they really want to eat and then go? Or are they just asking to be polite? Since he said we’re going straight to the studio, should I say I’ll back out…’

He was confused about what Euigeon wanted.

However, unable to withstand the silent pressure from eight hungry eyes, Chaewoo ended up opening his mouth reflexively.

“Uh, well… pizza?”

****

“That was delicious. As expected, eating around school is the best for value.”

“True. Last time I went to Gangnam, I spent my entire pay for two hours of tutoring right there. Who charges sixty thousand won for a meal for two?”

Shin Minbyeong lamented while coming down the stairs of the pizza shop.

“Wow, what did you eat for it to be so expensive?”

“It didn’t even taste that good. I only went because my girlfriend said she wanted pasta.”

“Looking at that, it’s hard to distinguish truly good Western restaurants.”

“The French restaurant in the alley behind Gangnam Station exit 11 is decent. It has a sign in the shape of a wine bottle.”

Euigeon, who had only been listening until now, recommended a restaurant.

“I feel like I’ve seen it while passing by…”

“The chef there used to run their own restaurant in Lyon, France, for a long time.”

“Whoa, really?”

“Euigeon-hyung, how did you know about such a good place?”

“I went to Lyon several times when I was young. It’ll probably cost about sixty thousand won for two there too, but it’s good.”

As if he didn’t remember the price, Euigeon searched for the restaurant name on his phone.
When the menu and prices came up, he showed the screen to Shin Minbyeong.

“Wow, the interior is amazing. Thanks. Wait a second. I should go here next time.”

He turned on a memo app and wrote down the restaurant’s name.

“Do you happen to know the chef?”

“They’ll know if you mention my name. Tell them you came after hearing from me.”

“Oh, what a score.”

“If Euigeon-oppa says it’s good, I want to go too.”

The talk about the restaurant continued as they walked in a line toward the front of the school to digest their food.

Normally, it would have been difficult for five people to hang out together because of the crowd, but since it was the weekend, the sidewalk was quiet today.

“I feel like I’m going to burst. I haven’t had pizza in so long that I couldn’t control myself. Ah. Come to think of it, did I eat too much alone…?”

“No, I ate well too.”

“You didn’t eat much for someone who said they wanted to.”
Ignoring Euigeon’s remark, Chaewoo continued walking.

After a few minutes, the school’s main gate came into view.

Once they arrived, they would scatter, and he would have to go to the studio with Euigeon.

He wondered how many times they would do it today.

Recently, every time he went to his part-time job, he would doze off like a sick chicken, and he was worried he might get fired.

Even if he asked to reduce the number of times they had s*x, Euigeon wouldn’t listen anyway.

“Why are there so many people here?”

While walking slowly among the group members with those stray thoughts, a crowd of people was blocking the sidewalk ahead.

Judging by the loud music, it seemed to be an event.