By Zephyria ■
Ttak. Ttak. Ttak.
The sound of sparks flying from the burning logs in the fireplace could be heard.
It was deep into the night in Malibu, past midnight. As the temperature dropped below 10 degrees Celsius, it had become quite chilly. After finishing dinner, Lee Hae-sung and Choi Hong-seo were sitting by the fireplace, enjoying a leisurely time.
They sat on the carpet rather than the sofa, sipping white wine and reminiscing about old times. Like lovers who, after a long separation, couldn’t forget each other and rekindled their love upon an accidental reunion. They lost track of time talking about memories.
“Why don’t you believe me? It’s true I liked you more the more I got to know you, but it’s also true that I fell for you at first sight.”
Lee Hae-sung, with one knee bent and the other leg stretched out, looked up at the ceiling with an aggrieved expression. Choi Hong-seo couldn’t help but laugh at his exaggerated, playful expression.
“I told you it was like an out-of-focus shot. If everything around you was blurred, then isn’t that the end of the discussion?”
They were retracing the moment they first met in Director Kang Woo-hyun’s home drawing room when a dispute arose about their first impressions.
“Well, that could be something you added later…”
Choi Hong-seo brought his wine glass to his lips, trailing off his words.
“Then what about you, Hong-seo? You said you thought I was a taciturn and intimidating VVIP. That’s a worse first impression, isn’t it?”
“You also said I was peculiar.”
“Hmm… that didn’t sound like it was meant in a good way. Doesn’t that mean strange?”
Lee Hae-sung, tilting his head as if talking to himself, swirled his glass and let the wine flow into his mouth. Then, he turned to Choi Hong-seo and grinned. To make sure it was clear it was a joke.
Choi Hong-seo, returning the smile with a smile, watched Lee Hae-sung’s profile as he poured wine into his now-empty glass. The flames in the fireplace flickered orange on his face. With only a soft light from a stand lamp in the corner of the living room, the warmth and color of the fire were accentuated even more.
What a precious moment.
This moment felt more dreamlike than the memories that existed formlessly, without a body or voice, in the universe.
This time, being accepted as Choi Hong-seo, by his side, sharing stories only they remembered. It was a time he had never dared to expect, and one that would never return.
Choi Hong-seo’s eyes followed his quiet movements as he filled his glass about a third of the way and placed the wine bottle back in the ice bucket. He tightened his grip on the hand holding his own glass.
“You… asked to see my acting.”
“Hm?”
“You didn’t ask me to dance sexily or pour drinks like others. You asked to see my acting.”
“……”
“That’s why you stayed in my memory. Because you treated me as an actor.”
Choi Hong-seo knew, as did Lee Hae-sung, that they weren’t just indulging in pleasant memories. While using every corner of the past as a topic, both men were meticulously avoiding conversations that could lead to uncomfortable incidents.
Topics that could bring up Lee Seo-kyung, Myeong Do-hoon, the X-Boy Scandal, or the pain Choi Hong-seo had to endure were strictly excluded from their conversation.
Even when talking about their first date walking down Sowol-ro, the mention of the other chaebol who hosted the party where they reunited that day was omitted. And when discussing their first meeting, Chairman Jo, who had mocked Choi Hong-seo at the time, was not mentioned. Therefore, Choi Hong-seo’s statement broke the implicitly maintained rule, making the atmosphere awkward.
A moment of silence fell. As the sound of conversation ceased, the majestic roar of the Pacific Ocean crashing against Malibu’s cliffs took its place.
Though the sea breeze usually blows at night, on a windy day, such rules are irrelevant. The white glass doors leading to the front yard, with its wide lawn and infinity pool, rattled in the fierce wind.
Lee Hae-sung, pausing for a moment, looked at Choi Hong-seo. Then, with a pained yet gentle smile, as if to empathize and comfort him, he changed his tone and shifted the topic.
“Okay, even if it’s not true that I fell for you at first sight, it doesn’t matter.”
As if bestowing a favor, he clicked his tongue and acted casually. Then, he leaned forward and clinked his glass against Choi Hong-seo’s.
“Then you don’t need to feel intimidated in front of me anymore just because your face has changed, right?”
“Why does the conversation go that way?”
“That’s how the conversation goes. It’s proof that I didn’t like Hong-seo because of his face.”
He leaned back loosely against the bottom of the sofa and drank more wine.
Choi Hong-seo wracked his memory. Lee Hae-sung had often given him unbelievable compliments, like calling him cute even when he was sweaty and grimy after practice, or saying he looked cool on stage. But he had never said he liked him because of his looks. He would talk about smiles, eyes, or expressions, but he couldn’t recall ever hearing that he liked his features.
While Lee Hae-sung finished two glasses, Choi Hong-seo, who had barely touched his own, fiddled with the stem of his wine glass and downed three or four gulps as if drinking beer. He met Lee Hae-sung’s wide-eyed, surprised gaze and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.
“I know my appearance isn’t your ideal type.”
“What kind of slander is this now?”
“I saw the person you dated before… I saw them too.”
“Hm?”
One of his eyebrows shot up. He seemed not to remember.
“At the party at Director Kang’s house after the movie production was decided. You were in a tuxedo…”
“……”
“The day we were supposed to start dating.”
He had to drink more wine after that statement. Expressions like “dating,” “lovers,” or “boyfriend” gave Choi Hong-seo a more ticklish sensation than a kiss or other physical intimacy.
“Ah, Gaspard?”
Lee Hae-sung narrowed his eyes and nodded, as if he finally remembered.
Gaspard. Yes, that was an exotic, somewhat prince-like name.
“He was very tall, had striking blond hair… and didn’t look much younger than you.”
Lee Hae-sung placed his glass on the carpet and crossed his arms tightly in front of his chest.
“Gaspard, whom Hong-seo was jealous of. Of course, I remember.”
“I wasn’t jealous,” Choi Hong-seo said petulantly.
Lee Hae-sung laughed, bending at the waist while keeping his arms crossed. It was a laugh that was clearly amused, enough to earn him plenty of points. He had clearly discovered another aspect of Choi Hong-seo’s personality.
“Is that so? You weren’t jealous?”
“……”
“Even though you were curious if I slept with Gaspard or not?”
“We weren’t children, and we were dating, so I knew you would have slept together.”
Pretending to be mature, pretending to understand, he brought the wine glass to his lips. But of course, he had been jealous of that man. For Choi Hong-seo, who had no real dating experience, no experience of liking someone, and no leisure for it, it was the first time he had felt jealousy. It was impossible to forget.
The height difference and age difference between those two were not as extreme as between Lee Hae-sung and himself. Above all, he was a man whose upbringing in a good family with excellent education was evident at a glance. He envied that aura, which seemed equal to Lee Hae-sung’s.
Lee Hae-sung had often said that Choi Hong-seo was special in his romantic history, and the ex-boyfriend he had seen himself was also someone with a completely different appearance and image. That’s why Choi Hong-seo had always thought he wasn’t Lee Hae-sung’s ideal type.
“It’s quite strange.”
Lee Hae-sung’s hand, resting casually on the sofa seat, landed on Choi Hong-seo’s shoulder. He felt his entire skin tense painfully with the contact as Lee Hae-sung’s fingertips traced his jawline. Choi Hong-seo swallowed dryly, trying not to show it.
“…What is?”
“When people say you and Yoon Hye-an resemble each other, I used to get angry.”
“……”
“Because they didn’t look alike to me at all.”
He had heard before that some people said Choi Hong-seo resembled Yoon Hye-an. While their features might have been similar, their images as idols and actors didn’t overlap, so he hadn’t paid it much mind.
“I felt uncomfortable when Song Hyun-soo said that too.”
When Hyun-su’s name came up, Choi Hong-seo turned his head to look at him.