Chapter 76: Old Names and Unanswered Questions

The expression on Jitae’s face was the fear of someone standing before the unknown.

People who had been filming the two from the side suddenly covered their mouths at the same time.

“Whoa, I didn’t expect to witness them arguing live.”

“They’re fighting so cutely.”

Unaware of the fans whispering, the two wrestled in front of the gukbap restaurant for quite a while.

Jitae insisted they should just eat something else, while Wooju kept persuading him to take this chance and try it once.

“Two pork soup rice, please!”

And as always, Wooju was the winner.

He ordered the food with an excited expression.

This place was already a hidden gem known only to those in the know.

On top of that, the days the restaurant opened were irregular, so if your luck was bad you could come all the way here and find it closed.

But today it happened to be open.

Wooju placed the spoons down with a very satisfied face, and Jitae’s lips also curved into a smile.

“But seriously, how did you live without eating gukbap?”

Wasn’t gukbap a hearty soul food for Koreans?

He already knew Won Jitae had the taste of a little kid, but he never imagined he had never even eaten gukbap.

“After I started modeling I had to manage my weight and follow a diet plan. So I didn’t really have chances to try things like that.”

“Then before that?”

“……”

At Wooju’s question, Jitae closed his mouth for a moment.

Just then two steaming stone bowls were placed on the table.

“Before that I lived abroad for a while. Where I lived was pretty far from any Korean town.”

Jitae stared blankly at the bubbling hot bowl in front of him.

That reminded Wooju of something from the pre-interview.

When asked what kind of food he liked, Jitae had said he was used to Western food because he had lived overseas.

“Where abroad?”

Wooju slowly opened his mouth, thinking he might be able to hear a little about Jitae’s past.

“In New York.”

“How long did you live there?”

“About two years?”

While mixing rice into the soup, Wooju fell into thought for a moment.

After graduating high school, Won Jitae had rejected every offer and disappeared almost immediately.

So did he go abroad right after graduating?

If he later returned to Korea to work in the entertainment industry, the timeline roughly matched.

“Then you must have gone with your family.”

“Yeah.”

Watching Wooju, Jitae copied him and mixed rice into the soup as well.

He didn’t follow Wooju’s example of adding the spicy seasoning.

“Then what about now? Are you living together in Korea?”

Jitae’s hand stirring the soup paused slightly.

He lifted his head, looked at Wooju, and spoke.

“…No. I came to Korea alone. My family still lives in New York.”

As the meal properly began, the two ate in silence.

Wooju glanced at Jitae and then cleared his throat awkwardly.

“That must be lonely. Living alone far away from your family.”

Wooju didn’t have the habit of probing people.

But right now cameras were filming them, and he couldn’t simply ask what he really wanted to know.

And the chances that Won Jitae would answer honestly were extremely low anyway.

So Wooju could only ask in a roundabout way.

Jitae didn’t meet Wooju’s eyes when he heard the question.

He simply nodded with a faint smile.

“Yeah. I guess so.”

A false smile.

A face clearly showing exhaustion beneath the surface.

Wooju lowered his head and stared blankly at the bright red soup.

The last match where he saw Won Jitae.

The Won Jitae who had graduated high school and disappeared after cutting off all contact.

And now the Won Jitae in front of him was a successful actor in the entertainment industry.

Wooju suddenly found himself extremely curious about those two years Jitae had spent abroad.

Why had he gone all the way to a distant place like New York?

The more time Wooju spent with him, the heavier that unanswered curiosity seemed to grow.

At the same time, the area in front of Baekyoung Construction’s home stadium in Jung-gu was crowded with people.

Today was the day of the friendly match between Baekyoung Construction and Yuseong Fire & Marine Insurance.

Fans who had arrived early already had faces full of excitement.

It was easy to spot people wearing jerseys with their favorite player’s number.

The store selling team merchandise even had items already sold out.

Today’s match was basically an event organized by agreement between the two clubs.

Rather than a serious league game where victory and defeat mattered, it was meant to be more like a festival for fans to enjoy together.

So there were plenty of small events and activities prepared throughout.

Wooju had arrived early, changed clothes, and was warming up on one side of the court.

The audience hadn’t entered yet, so the inside was still quiet.

Instead, murmuring voices could be heard from the waiting area outside the court.

It seemed like they were holding fan events outside.

“Since it’s a friendly match, don’t overdo it.”

“No way. A match is a match. We have to win.”

When Wooju said that with burning determination, Jitae chuckled as if he had expected that answer.

Wooju was extremely competitive.

Even if the match was meant as a fan event, to him it was simply another game he had to win.

“You’ll be watching, right?”

“Yeah. They arranged a seat for me in the staff section.”

Wooju nodded.

Just then Coach Kim entered, and Jitae stepped back tactfully.

“Alright, warm up lightly. Like I said, always be careful about injuries. This is just a friendly match, so you don’t need to push too hard.”

“Yes!”

If someone got injured here, it could affect the next season.

Proper warm-ups were essential to reduce that risk.

Wooju was about to start warming up with the team when he suddenly felt the urge to go to the restroom.

After telling his teammates, he stepped off the court for a moment.

Behind him, Choi Seokhyun shouted teasingly, asking if he was nervous.

Wooju shot him a glare with all his might and headed straight for the restroom.

Was he really nervous like Seokhyun said?

But thinking that Won Jitae would be watching the match today somehow made his body rhythm feel slightly different than usual.

Maybe it was just awkwardness.

Anyway, Wooju stood in front of the restroom mirror and steadied himself.

After letting out a short sigh, he stepped outside.

Right at the entrance he ran straight into someone approaching.

“Oh? Kang Wooju, long time no see.”

It was Yoon Jaeyeon, the setter from Yuseong Fire & Marine Insurance.

Even if he hadn’t been, he was a pretty familiar player to Wooju.

“What do you mean long time no see? The season just ended.”

“Really?”

Back in high school, his team had been one of the rival schools they faced the most.

Even if Wooju had been completely focused on Won Jitae back then, there was no way he wouldn’t remember a key player from a team he had faced so many times.

When Wooju first returned from the overseas league and debuted in the V-League as Baekyoung’s setter, he hadn’t immediately recognized Jaeyeon.

But the moment Jaeyeon mentioned he was from Wonjang High, the memory came back instantly.

Who he was.

“Anyway, looks like you’re playing today. I thought you’d be busy filming some variety show or something.”

“I’m doing both, so it’s fine.”

Wooju wanted to return to the court quickly.

He felt restless, wanting to start warming up as soon as possible.

“Then see you later.”

Wooju greeted him and tried to walk past, but suddenly Jaeyeon stepped in front of him.

“Then did he come with you?”

“Who?”

“Won Jitae. Did he come here today?”

There was a strangely unpleasant smile on Jaeyeon’s face as he said Jitae’s name.

When asked if he had come, Wooju slowly nodded.

“Yeah.”

“Really?”

Jaeyeon rubbed his chin and nodded.

His attitude was quite carefree, but that had always been his personality.

Wooju already knew he was the type who seemed light enough to be blown away by the wind.

“Then I should go ask for an autograph later. When else would I get to see a ten-million-viewer actor?”

He kept smiling to himself, looking strangely pleased.

For some reason though, it didn’t feel like the excitement of seeing an old friend again.

Because even to Wooju, that smile felt quite uncomfortable.

“Do whatever you want. But the match comes first.”

“Of course.”

Jaeyeon tapped Wooju on the shoulder and said he’d see him during the match before slipping into the restroom.

Even back in high school, Wooju had thought they didn’t get along very well.

Watching the spot where Jaeyeon disappeared, Wooju eventually returned to the court.

The moment he stepped inside, his eyes met Jitae’s where he was sitting.

For a second Wooju wondered if he should mention Jaeyeon asking about him.

That he had asked about Jitae and said he wanted an autograph.

But just then the audience began entering the stadium, and he missed the timing to say anything.

Well, it probably didn’t matter anyway.

Won Jitae would know that Jaeyeon was a Yuseong Fire & Marine player.

Back in high school they didn’t seem particularly close, but now that they were grown adults, the emotions they had during those stormy teenage years probably wouldn’t still linger.