Chapter 61: The Night Air Between Them

Before they knew it, the two of them, already excitedly thinking about what to eat, opened the door of the house.

Sunhyeok, who had come from the staff lodging side, approached them with a smile.

“There’s something about the schedule I’d like to discuss. Can we talk separately for a moment?”

“Ah, sure.”

Jitae glanced briefly at Wooju.

Wooju said he would go wash up first and went inside without much thought.

The place Sunhyeok led him to was the outdoor pool area behind their accommodation.

It was a blind spot that couldn’t be easily seen from the staff lodging side.

Because of that, Jitae could vaguely guess why Sunhyeok had intentionally brought him here under the excuse of discussing the schedule.

At the very least, it wasn’t a conversation requested in his role as a PD.

“Why? You said we shouldn’t even contact each other personally during the broadcast.”

“Look at you getting cheeky with your uncle.”

Sunhyeok’s hand, which had been about to flick Jitae on the forehead out of habit, twitched.

Even though they had come somewhere without prying eyes, he still needed to be careful.

“But why. Wooju and I have to order food.”

“Will the world end just because you’re apart for a moment?”

“Maybe it will.”

The joking reply came in a surprisingly heavy tone.

As always, Jitae’s gaze was directed toward the house.

More precisely, toward Kang Wooju who would be inside.

“It’s funny for me to say this now, but… how did you hold back all this time?”

“Right.”

Jitae answered with a soft smile curling at his lips.

To Sunhyeok, Jitae was his only nephew.

Although, considering that, they had only truly become close when Jitae had just turned twenty.

The impression he had of Won Jitae when his older sister first brought him was still vividly etched in his mind.

Like dry land cracking open, that was what Jitae had been like back then.

He looked as if emotions didn’t exist within him, yet sometimes he appeared insanely anxious.

Seeing a child who had just stepped into adulthood carrying only the worst sides of someone else left Sunhyeok with an uncomfortable feeling.

Because of that, he had taken special care of him.

So the Jitae standing in front of him now felt like a slightly unfamiliar person.

He smiled easily, got angry sometimes, and occasionally even sulked.

He looked like someone who was actually alive.

Sunhyeok found himself naturally turning his gaze toward the house as well.

“…Sorry to dampen the mood, but your sister contacted me a few days ago.”

“……”

“She said she couldn’t reach you and was worried. Have you been calling her these days?”

Jitae shook his head.

Sunhyeok let out a deep sigh, as if he had expected that.

“Jitae, I’m on your side. But you came back to Korea and your mom is left there alone. At least answer when she contacts you. That’s why I called you out here. Well, if you still don’t feel like it, then it can’t be helped. I’m not forcing you.”

As if to show he didn’t want to pressure him, Sunhyeok patted Jitae’s shoulder a couple of times and told him to rest well before leaving first.

Jitae let out a short sigh and then pulled out his phone.

After pressing a familiar number, a little while later—

“—Hello.”

The voice of a middle-aged woman flowed from the other side of the phone.

“Mom, it’s me.”

“Jitae, why haven’t you been answering your calls?”

Her voice sounded a little urgent and quite tired.

Jitae smiled faintly.

It felt strange.

The sky he had looked at earlier had been so beautiful, yet now it looked like someone had splattered black ink across it carelessly.

No— it wasn’t just the sky.

Everything around him looked pitch black.

It felt as if he had stepped into a tunnel with no entrance.

“Sorry. I’m filming with uncle, remember? The camera runs all day, so there’s a lot to pay attention to.”

“You promised you’d keep in touch even if you were busy.”

“…I’ll be more careful from now on.”

“When this project ends and you have time, come see your mom. Okay?”

Jitae answered with a dry “Yes,” and ended the call.

As soon as the voice that had been buzzing in his ears disappeared, a sigh of relief escaped him without realizing it.

Yet the tightness in his chest didn’t easily go away.

It was a feeling he hadn’t experienced in a long time.

Or maybe it wasn’t that long.

After all, it had only been three weeks since he started spending time with Kang Wooju.

If he went inside like this, he wouldn’t be able to manage his expression.

So he thought he’d go in after a bit.

But then he heard footsteps approaching from afar.

“Ah, there you are.”

Kang Wooju peeked his face around the wall.

“Didn’t your talk end? But why are you standing here like that?”

“Uh… just. The night air feels nice?”

“What are you even saying.”

Even Jitae thought it was a strange excuse, so he could only laugh.

“Why did you come out?”

“You weren’t coming back. So I came to look for you.”

It felt as if bright light seeped into the dark, ink-covered surroundings.

Like a sparkling star— the only light standing in front of him.

“Let’s order chicken. Since you don’t like spicy food, how about one fried and one soy sauce?”

Wooju was staring seriously at the delivery app.

He could have just ordered whatever he wanted, but he had faithfully waited until Jitae returned after finishing the conversation.

“You really do find me whenever…”

Jitae murmured softly and chuckled.

The emotions he had felt during the call with his mother suddenly seemed pointless.

“What?”

“I said I like soy sauce chicken too. Let’s order it while we go inside.”

“Okay.”

Wooju hummed happily, excited that he would get to eat chicken for the first time in a while.

Jitae watched him from behind with a pleased expression before suddenly lifting his head.

The beautiful moon that he hadn’t even noticed earlier was shining brightly in the sky.

About thirty minutes after placing the order, two appetizing chickens were placed on the table.

Steam rose warmly from beneath the glossy skin.

The smell alone was enough to stimulate the appetite so much that it made one feel grateful to have been born in Korea.

Because Wooju usually tried not to eat delivery food due to weight concerns and maintaining his health during league season, it had truly been a long time since he last faced chicken like this.

And on top of that, the draft beer they ordered together.

It was the perfect combination capable of washing away an entire day’s fatigue.

But Wooju was oddly watching Jitae at the dinner table.

“Hey, aren’t you eating?”

Jitae was staring blankly at the chicken drumstick in front of him.

Only after Wooju called him did he snap out of it and start picking at his food.

Wooju knew Jitae had never had much of an appetite.

He had seen plenty of times how Jitae ate barely more than bird feed, enough to kill anyone else’s appetite.

But this time felt different.

It didn’t seem like he wasn’t eating because he wasn’t hungry.

He looked drained.

Now that he thought about it, he had seemed like that earlier too when Wooju went out to find him.

He had pretended not to notice, but he had caught that fleeting expression that looked oddly depressed.

Maybe PD Kwon had said something unpleasant to him?

But that didn’t seem like something he would do.

Besides, Won Jitae had been doing extremely well during filming.

Maybe he was just tired after today’s shoot.

But he had looked perfectly energetic when they got out of the car earlier.

He also seemed to be sleeping well these days.

Wooju busily ate the meat while observing Jitae.

“Do you have something to say?”

“Huh?”

“You keep staring at me.”

Jitae curled his lips playfully and added with a teasing tone that he knew he was handsome, but Wooju was staring holes into him.

It sounded like the usual joke, but the moment Wooju saw that expression, he became certain.

“Won Jitae, is something wrong?”

“Why?”

“You just look like it.”

Jitae tilted his head.

“I’m the same as always.”

That might have been true.

Looking at his expression and words, nothing seemed particularly different.

But for some reason today, it bothered Wooju a lot.

There was a subtle heaviness in the atmosphere that didn’t feel ordinary at all.

Maybe something really was wrong, and Jitae just didn’t want to talk about it.

It might be something personal.

So Wooju could just leave it at that and move on.

“You know… it might sound funny saying this all of a sudden, but if you have worries, you can tell me.”

But Wooju wanted to know.

What exactly was going on in that guy’s mind right now.

“Even if I can’t give you a solution, sometimes just saying it out loud makes you feel better, right? We’ve been together a lot while filming, so…”

“There’s nothing like that.”

“Huh?”

But Jitae shook his head firmly.

His voice was extremely resolute.

“I don’t have any worries. Nothing to talk about. The food’s getting cold— let’s eat.”

And he even ended the conversation on his own.

To Wooju, it looked like someone who didn’t want to tell him.

Or simply someone who didn’t see any need to tell him.

“…Right.”

After all, wasn’t his relationship with Won Jitae still too vague to even call friendship?

Still, something in Wooju’s chest felt cold.

Had he been the only one who thought they had grown quite close during these past three weeks?

Back in middle and high school, they had naturally stayed together because they shared volleyball as a common interest.