Chapter 67: Words Left Unspoken

Ji-tae’s lips moved slightly, as if he was hesitating for a moment.

Wooju already knew what he was going to say anyway, so why was he dragging it out like that?

But Wooju didn’t rush him and simply waited quietly.

“…How was the movie?”

Why was he acting like that over something so simple to say?

Why was he blushing like a high school girl confessing her feelings?

Still, Wooju smiled faintly and beckoned him with his hand.

“Come here.”

Ji-tae, who had been standing there blankly, quickly ran over, saying, “Ah, yeah.”

Wooju naturally looked up at him.

Since Ji-tae was blocking the softly shining moonlight, his face wasn’t clearly visible.

But that didn’t really matter right now.

Wooju slowly reached out his hand and wrapped his arms around Ji-tae’s shoulders.

“Hey, hey… Kang Wooju….”

Ji-tae awkwardly bent his waist and began to struggle.

“It was fun.”

“…….”

At the quiet voice whispering near his ear, Ji-tae’s fidgeting suddenly stopped.

“I could see why it succeeded.

I was so absorbed in your acting that I didn’t even notice the time passing.”

Wooju calmly shared his thoughts beside Ji-tae’s ear while holding onto his neck.

The body that had been trembling little by little soon grew still.

“I could tell how much affection you had for that movie and how hard you worked on it.

There was a reason it did well.”

Ji-tae’s hand, which had been hovering awkwardly in the air, lingered pitifully around Wooju’s waist.

An impulse rose within him to hug him tightly just like this.

But in the end, the only thing he could do was timidly clutch the collar of Wooju’s clothes and bury his face into Wooju’s shoulder.

“Oh, you didn’t avoid being touched this time.”

Wooju’s playful snicker was heard from above.

“Hey, that’s….”

Startled, Ji-tae quickly grabbed Wooju’s shoulders and pulled away.

Only then did he realize that the two of them had been hugging quite intensely outside.

Before a disaster happened again with his lower half reacting like before, Ji-tae quickly took action.

“Don’t avoid it next time.

I actually get hurt by that kind of thing.”

Avoiding him wasn’t really a matter of willpower.

It was closer to a survival instinct to stay alive.

But with that face and that cute tone, there was no way he could refuse.

“Okay. I’ll try.”

“Then let’s go now.”

“Kang Wooju, but why… did you hug me?”

“Huh? Just because.

It’s the first time I’ve watched such an impressive movie, so I felt grateful.

And it felt like I didn’t properly congratulate you for hitting ten million viewers.”

As Wooju continued speaking, Ji-tae’s face, which had been flushed red under the cover of the dark night, gradually returned to its normal color.

“And I was proud of you too.

If I had to put it into words… maybe it was like a mother’s heart.”

“…My mom isn’t as violent as you.”

“What did you say?”

“Nothing.

It’s my fault for expecting anything….”

Ji-tae muttered to himself and walked back toward the car.

“…….”

In truth, there was more Wooju wanted to ask.

Words he wanted to say were rolling around chaotically somewhere inside him.

Won Ji-tae, why did you quit volleyball?

No, more than that—after quitting volleyball and stepping onto a new stage, how do you feel?

Like Kang Hyun in the movie earlier, can you truly smile that brightly and sincerely now?

Won Ji-tae’s acting had no flaws.

Even though the character went through wide emotional changes, it never felt excessive or awkward.

He handled it perfectly.

It was easy to agree with the reviews saying that the lead actor’s performance was a major factor in how the movie captivated people.

Inside the screen, he didn’t look like Won Ji-tae at all—he looked completely like Kang Hyun.

It felt so real that it was as if a person named Kang Hyun truly existed somewhere in the world.

But in that final moment, when he smiled after gaining a new realization, that expression was, quite literally, pure “acting.”

For the first time, Wooju became curious about those seven empty years between Ji-tae quitting volleyball and meeting him again now.

It wasn’t simply that he wanted to know why Ji-tae had quit volleyball.

He wanted to know what had happened during that time, how Ji-tae had lived, and how he eventually reached where he stood now.

Those small but detailed stories inside his heart.

If I asked you those questions, would you answer me?

Probably not.

“Kang Wooju, if you don’t come now, I’m leaving you behind.”

“That’s my car, you know.”

Today as well, Wooju could only press down the words he couldn’t bring himself to say.

When Wooju was first invited onto this show, he had discussed the schedule beforehand with the production staff and the team officials.

As a result, they arranged the training sessions and friendly matches toward the last week as much as possible.

At the time, he didn’t know the reason for that.

Now he did.

“I’m ready.”

Ji-tae, dressed casually, woke up earlier than usual today.

“So we just go to the training center, right?”

“Yeah.”

It was all for this manager mission.

Apparently, Won Ji-tae had requested that most of his schedule be packed into the third week.

Back then, Wooju followed him around acting as his manager.

But now it was the complete opposite.

“Why do you look so stiff?”

Ji-tae chuckled while taking Wooju’s sports bag from him.

“It just feels strange.

I’ve never really had something like a manager before.”

For Won Ji-tae, being a celebrity, it was natural and familiar to receive help from people around him.

But Wooju was the complete opposite.

Even his agency had offered several times to assign him a manager for commercials or broadcasting activities.

But Wooju stubbornly refused every time.

It wasn’t like he had so many broadcasting activities that he needed management.

And for an athlete working domestically, that kind of support usually wasn’t necessary.

Yet somehow, in such an unexpected way, he ended up having Won Ji-tae as his manager.

Even though it was a mission for the show, Ji-tae probably wouldn’t have much to do anyway.

“Let’s go.

It’s time.”

Wooju tried to take back the bag Ji-tae had taken, but Ji-tae firmly blocked him.

“By the way, you drive your own car?”

“Yeah. Why?”

When Wooju had been the manager, they traveled in the company car Ji-tae usually used for schedules.

But Wooju didn’t have anything like a dedicated car and always drove himself.

“Let’s take my car.”

“I’m more comfortable with mine.

I’ll be the one driving, and you’ll just sit there anyway.”

That was true.

But the problem was that Won Ji-tae’s car was this flashy sports car.

With its sleek, beautiful curves, it was the kind of car that would attract attention anywhere.

“Fine.”

Wooju sighed as if he had no choice and got into the car.

He had thought this last time too, but the inside of the car was very clean.

Wooju wasn’t messy with his car either, but Ji-tae seemed particularly careful about it.

Except for a container of chocolates in the cup holder, there wasn’t much stuff inside.

His room was messy, yet this was the opposite.

It was contradictory.

Just like when watching the movie, it seemed that Won Ji-tae was extremely thorough only about things he cared about or considered important.

Even that didn’t match Wooju’s personality, who tried to be perfect about as many things as possible.

That wasn’t the only difference between them.

Wooju preferred simple and rough things and drove a black SUV, so he couldn’t understand Ji-tae’s flashy taste in cars at all.

He wondered if Ji-tae secretly liked standing out.

But when he looked at the guy sitting in the driver’s seat, the nagging words rising to his throat quietly disappeared.

“Why are you staring at me like that again?”

As Ji-tae started the engine, a loud rumbling exhaust sound filled the car.

“Nothing.

I was just thinking again that this car suits you really well.”

“In what way?”

Ji-tae turned the steering wheel indifferently.

“Flashy and pretty?”

Screech—.

Just as Wooju casually said that while looking out the window, Won Ji-tae suddenly slammed on the brakes.

The car, which had been slowly leaving the parking lot in front of the house, made a loud noise, and Wooju’s body lurched forward.

“Hey! What are you doing?

You scared me.”

“Ah, sorry… are you okay?”

Ji-tae looked at Wooju anxiously.

Fortunately, thanks to the seatbelt, nothing serious happened.

“You’re usually such a good driver.

What was that about?”

Wooju wondered if something had suddenly jumped out.

But there was nothing in front of the car.

Won Ji-tae apologized again and slowly pressed the accelerator.

The start had been a little shaky, but fortunately his driving skills soon returned to normal.

“Kang Wooju.”

It was just when the car entered the highway.

After passing the tollgate, the short high-pass voice echoed inside the car, and then Ji-tae, who had been quiet the whole time, finally spoke.

“What?”

“Do you act like that with other people too?”

“If you cut off the context and ask like that, how am I supposed to answer?”

“Like what you said to me earlier.”

Earlier?

Wooju paused for a moment to think, creating a brief silence in the conversation.

He had absolutely no idea what Ji-tae was referring to.

“What did I say earlier?”

“Do you have the memory of a goldfish?”

“And you remember everything you say all the time?”

He could’ve just asked normally.

Instead he was suddenly treating him like a goldfish.

“You just… said I was, um… pretty and stuff.”

“Oh, that.”