By Zephyria ■
“The atmosphere here is so good! How did we not know about this place?”
“I know, right? The exterior looked like a gallery, not a wine bar. Our manager drove around this area so many times! He thought it wasn’t here.”
“Vice President-nim, thank you for inviting us to such a wonderful place.”
“Not at all. I’m grateful you accepted on such short notice.”
Lee Hae-sung, who had arrived first at the wine bar, the dinner venue, greeted the actors as they arrived one by one.
“This is where we had our first dinner before the movie fell through last time! It’s been a while!”
“Was it? Most wine bars these days feel the same, I was getting a bit tired of them, but this place is really nice!”
The actors looked around the wine bar’s interior, took photos, or took photos of each other, waiting for others to arrive.
As one actor said, this was the place where Choi Hong-seo had his first company dinner when he took on the role of Hwang Ji-woo.
At the time, amidst many staff members, they were too busy playing their roles as key investors and lead actors to exchange even a single word. He hadn’t yet confessed his desire to be his boyfriend, and Choi Hong-seo was very wary of Lee Hae-sung, so he was cautious about approaching him. It would be a disaster if he got scared and ran away.
Still, he could tell that Choi Hong-seo was aware of him.
Even when mixed among many people, he could quickly sense the gazes the boy sent his way. As if the gazes were pressing down on his skin.
When he looked over, the way the boy would turn his head away as if he wasn’t looking made his lips tingle, which was uncharacteristic for him. Seeing a face that thought it had skillfully evaded him made him unable to hold back his laughter even more.
Starting a relationship like that was a first for Lee Hae-sung. He wasn’t the type to enjoy the so-called ‘ssum’ period, which people called sweet and sour, and the beginning, process, and end of his relationships had all been bland and loose.
He had never tried to win someone’s heart, and if it didn’t feel right, they would part ways without any effort. Relationships required too much obligation and burden, and the other parties were generally in similar positions.
The curiosity to know more, the joy of looking at him and feeling pleased, the effort to approach with sincerity without surprising or burdening him. All of that was new to Lee Hae-sung.
Recalling the thrill of that moment when he and Choi Hong-seo had glanced at each other across the room, Lee Hae-sung slowly emptied the wine in his glass.
Since they had all driven their own cars, the actors’ arrival times varied.
After most people had taken their seats, and the ordered food and wine were served, Choi Hong-seo’s absence was still noticeable. It was then that Lee Hae-sung realized it wasn’t just a matter of a late arrival.
“Vice President-nim, are you eating too?”
“Yes, I am.”
“You seem to be only drinking. This abalone butter grill you recommended is very delicious. Please try some.”
“That’s right. The abalone is so tender, not chewy but soft.”
Although he picked up a piece of abalone at the urging of those around him, he couldn’t really taste it. His gaze kept drifting towards the entrance of the private rooms. How much time had passed? He glanced at his watch, but someone spoke to Lee Hae-sung again.
“Vice President-nim, I watched the movie you recommended last time!”
It was Park Dong-ha, sitting across the large table where everyone was gathered. As Lee Hae-sung’s gaze turned towards him, Park Dong-ha emphasized with a smile on his young face.
“You recommended it, right?
“Ah, did you enjoy it?”
He remembered recommending a Wong Kar-wai film when asked for a movie with good OST on the rooftop garden of his house in Seocho-dong.
“I didn’t know tango was such a sad and beautiful music! The OST was great, the cinematography, the actors’ performances… I loved it all! It even made me want to travel to Argentina!”
Though he felt sorry for Park Dong-ha, who was excitedly talking about the movie, Lee Hae-sung’s mind was elsewhere. After taking a sip of wine and setting down his glass, Lee Hae-sung spoke quickly in a slightly anxious tone.
“That’s fortunate. If you liked
And before Park Dong-ha could speak again, he quickly shifted his gaze.
“Song PD-nim.”
“Yes, Vice President-nim.”
“Have all the actors arrived? I don’t see Yoon Hye-an?”
“Ah… that’s, Hyean couldn’t make it today.”
The general PD, sitting with two people between him and Lee Hae-sung, leaned forward, met Lee Hae-sung’s eyes, and set down his wine glass.
“Is something wrong?”
“He said he wasn’t feeling well.”
“Not feeling well?”
Lee Hae-sung’s voice stiffened for a moment. His brow furrowed, and he asked in an agitated voice, almost tinged with anger,
“Was he sweating profusely or experiencing nausea?”
“No, he didn’t seem like it… He said he wasn’t feeling well and that it would be better to rest at home. He didn’t look that sick.”
The PD spoke as if it wasn’t cause for concern, but it didn’t reassure Lee Hae-sung.
The image of Yoon Hye-an collapsing in the restroom on the rooftop garden flashed in his mind.
The sweat that had soaked the car seat, the feverish eyes looking at him from the hospital bed.
‘You believe that I wasn’t faking my collapse, at least that much… you believe it now, right?’
Lee Hae-sung grabbed his phone and left the table.
In the hallway of the wine bar, made up entirely of private rooms, the sounds of conversations and laughter from each room were barely audible. The faint sounds that leaked out blended with the gentle jazz music playing in the corridor, becoming part of the music.
Lee Hae-sung leaned his shoulder, with his hand in his pocket, against the corridor wall.
In the dim corridor, the light from his phone screen faintly reflected on Lee Hae-sung’s face.
He slowly dialed a number he had memorized in his head rather than saved. However, his fingers, which had been slowing down, stopped before he could press all eleven digits.
Lee Hae-sung, lost in thought with his lips tightly pressed together, lowered his gaze to the tie around his neck. With long, large fingers, neatly arranged, he stroked the tie from the knot down to the wide end, as if caressing it.
A diagonal stripe mixing blue and gray.
It was the tie Yoon Hye-an had given him.
Lee Hae-sung, who had been fiddling with the end of the tie while leaning against the wall, suddenly turned around. His back, as he walked towards the room, quickened as if he had made up his mind.
■
Nyaa, nyaa.
Tiffany cried at Choi Hong-seo’s feet.
“Curious what I’m doing? I’m making Tiffany something delicious. But you’ll have to wait a while longer.”
Choi Hong-seo, washing pumpkin and carrots under running water at the sink, looked down at Tiffany intermittently.
Tiffany, who had been looking up so far her neck ached, seemed to understand, got up from her spot, and walked out of the kitchen.
Choi Hong-seo, smiling as he watched her retreating back, began to peel the washed vegetables. In the pot, without water yet, dried fish and chicken breast, with salt removed, were waiting.
Instead of attending the company dinner, he planned to make Tiffany’s churu treats himself today. He wasn’t good at cooking, nor was he interested in it, but making Tiffany’s treats wasn’t a bother.
He had wanted to go to the company dinner, of course. Even if he couldn’t exchange a single word with him, just being in the same space would have been enough.
But the thought of how Lee Hae-sung, who chose the tie gifted by Choi Hong-seo, would treat ‘Yoon Hye-an’… that was terrifying. He absolutely didn’t intend to stop seeing him, but he still needed more time to prepare himself mentally.
He washed the pumpkin and carrots, cut them into slightly large pieces, put them in a pot, and added water to start boiling them.
Then, he checked the next recipe on his phone, which he had left on the dining table.
“So, next is… I need to blanch broccoli and cabbage. Broccoli and… cabbage…”
Just as he was about to turn towards the sink, his phone vibrated. Choi Hong-seo, turning his body without thinking, froze in a strange, twisted posture as he checked the screen. Without fully turning towards the dining table, he stared down at his phone screen.
Carrot Seller.
His mouth felt dry, and his breathing quickened. He raised his wet hands and wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. What should I do? What should I do? Should I answer it?
While he was flustered, the call ended.
He fumbled for the kitchen towel and wiped the water from his hands. Suddenly dazed, he forgot what he was supposed to do next and stood blankly in front of the dining table, like someone who had lost their grip.
Woowooong, woong. Woowooong.
Unbelievably, the ‘Carrot Seller’ called again.
It was different from last time, when it had rung about ten times before hanging up, and then hadn’t called again. Let’s count to five. If it’s still ringing when I count to five, I’m answering. He slowly counted, folding down his fingers one by one. The phone was still ringing persistently.
Choi Hong-seo’s trembling hand reached for the phone. After connecting the call, he couldn’t speak, as if he had forgotten how.
[Seeing as you’re not speaking, you must know this number too.]
It was Lee Hae-sung who broke the silence.
“Wh-what… is it…”
His voice wouldn’t come out properly, as if he hadn’t spoken all day.
[You said you were sick.]
“No, I’m not… Hmm, I’m not sick.”
[You’re not sick, so why didn’t you come to the company dinner?]
“……”
Because I was scared. Because I was scared of seeing the Vice President.
He couldn’t say that, so he just scratched the edge of the dining table with his hand.
Behind a soft, sweet sigh, like one he sometimes heard when he was Choi Hong-seo, he spoke.
[I’m in front of your house right now.]
Days of Being Wild: The Hong Kong original title of the movie