The plastic bag filled with some dried snacks, a few chips, and canned beer was surprisingly heavy.
Standing in front of the apartment door, Song Hyunsoo hesitated several times.
But no matter how warm the building was inside, enduring the early spring cold in just a sweatshirt without a jacket was impossible.
In the end, he knocked on the door.
Jung Ho opened it with a welcoming smile.
“You came really fast.”
“Yeah. I called you just as I was leaving home.”
Taking off his shoes in the cramped entryway and stepping inside, Song Hyunsoo handed the plastic bag to Jung Ho.
“Wow, this is heavy. Why did you buy so much beer?”
“Planning to drink a lot with you since it’s been a while.”
“Did Jooho bring you here?”
“Huh?”
“Because you weren’t wearing an outer jacket. I thought maybe Jooho brought you all the way here.”
Jung Ho started organizing the beers into the fridge.
Watching his crouched figure from behind, Song Hyunsoo shook his head and headed to the bathroom.
“Don’t even bring that guy up.”
“Haha, what’s going on? Did you two fight and he ran away?”
As he washed his hands with the door open, Jung Ho’s cheerful voice reached Hyunsoo’s ears.
Wiping his hands with a towel and stepping out, Song Hyunsoo casually said, “We broke up.”
“We broke… what???”
Jung Ho, who was laying out snacks on their small two-person dining table, literally jumped in surprise.
Some of the chips he was opening flew off the table onto the floor.
“Damn, you scared me. Why are you so shocked?”
Flinching, Song Hyunsoo crouched to pick up the fallen chips with a hint of irritation.
Jung Ho grabbed both his shoulders and pulled him up.
“Seriously, you really broke up?”
He shook Hyunsoo’s shoulders hard.
“Not just a fight?”
The only place he could think of to escape to was here.
But telling a third party that they broke up was painfully difficult.
“‘If you leave now, it’s really over. There’s no coming back.’”
The memory of Yoon Jooho’s face and voice, gripping his chin until his jaw ached while threatening him, was still vivid.
Brushing Jung Ho’s hand away, Song Hyunsoo plopped down on a chair by the table and popped open a beer can.
“If he said it’s over, then it’s over.”
Jung Ho stared intently at him and suddenly smacked him on the back.
“Hey! Why are you hitting me?”
“You just kicked away our golden future, man. Do you think I wouldn’t make a fuss?”
“That guy already pisses me off enough. Don’t get me riled up too, okay? You think you know anything? I’m not the one who deserves a beating.”
Jung Ho quickly sat across from him, leaning over the table with an oddly serious expression and lowered voice.
“Hyunsoo, think carefully. The other person is Yoon Jooho.”
“So what if it’s Yoon Jooho?”
“He’s someone who could really make your acting career bloom. Sure, he might have some personality flaws, but with his looks and everything, someone like Yoon Jooho is worth taking some risks for…”
“Don’t be ridiculous! This time, I’m not letting it slide!”
Crushing the can in his hand with a crunch, Song Hyunsoo drank the beer in one gulp.
He didn’t want to think about those painful words again.
To keep them from surfacing, he poured down the beer, wanting only to keep his anger alive for now.
He didn’t want sadness to seep in amidst the rage.
“Unless he crawls here on his knees from Gangnam and begs, I’ll never forgive him!”
“Still, looks like you’re not completely unwilling to forgive.”
“…Shut up, Kang Jungho.”
When he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and glared, Jung Ho leaned back.
Then he popped a chip into his mouth and tilted his head.
“But do you think that will really happen?”
“What?”
“It’s Yoon Jooho, Yoon Jooho. Besides crawling here on his knees to beg, I don’t think he’s ever said sorry in his life. So, I doubt there will be any begging, and you’re probably the first to…”
“Hey, Kang Jungho! Whose side are you on?”
“I’m just frustrated because you, who dumped the perfect groom candidate, ran out of the house naked. That’s why I’m frustrated!”
“Perfect groom candidate, huh? Rich, handsome, and amazing in bed? That makes someone the perfect groom? I wouldn’t want a crazy guy like that even if he was given to me.”
Ignoring Jung Ho mumbling, “Well, he kinda is the perfect groom,” Song Hyunsoo poured himself another beer.
The 500ml can was already empty.
He tilted it upside down and swallowed the last few drops before crumpling the empty can as if it were Yoon Jooho himself.
Then he suddenly stood up.
“Why exactly did you two fight?”
From behind, Jung Ho asked as Hyunsoo grabbed a fresh beer from the fridge.
His hand paused.
The reason they fought so bitterly came back to him.
His chest ached and throbbed, as if his heart was in pain.
But there wasn’t much he could say.
Even if Jung Ho knew their relationship, it wasn’t like with moving or Seo Hae.
He couldn’t just spill Yoon Jooho’s private life.
Sitting back down at the table, Song Hyunsoo glanced at his phone.
As expected, no messages.
Still no contact.
He didn’t expect anything, but somehow he felt disappointed.
Bringing the new beer to his lips, he answered shortly.
“Personality differences.”
“Celebrity couples always say personality differences when they break up. So, you and Jooho are a celebrity couple, huh.”
Jung Ho nodded to himself, then added,
“Nam Seyeon announced she’s divorcing her husband because they couldn’t overcome personality differences. Now that everyone knows why they broke up.”
Jang Miyeong, Nam Seyeon, and Nam Seyeon’s husband.
Thinking about it now, their complicated relationships were quite similar to his own situation.
“…”
As he raised the beer to his lips, Song Hyunsoo’s eyes narrowed suddenly.
He remembered the moment he first heard about Nam Seyeon and Jang Miyeong.
That afternoon when Yoon Jooho, Seo Hae, and he had gone around looking at outrageously priced rental places.
Jooho looked shocked when Seo Hae told him about it.
That’s why he remembered it.
Jooho had stood there blankly with the faucet running in the bathroom sink.
Now that he thought about it, it wasn’t because of Nam Seyeon or Jang Miyeong.
“‘As long as it’s not someone I know, it’s fine.’”
So… that’s why he was so dazed?
A bitter smile formed when he realized it too late.
But nothing would change.
Placing the cigarette at the corner of his lips, Song Hyunsoo nodded.
“You’re right.”
“What do you mean?”
“You said it yourself. Yoon Jooho is someone different from us. Someone like that, can you handle it?”
“Yeah, I said that.”
“I don’t think I can. No, I’m not going to try.”
“But I met Jooho a few times, and he’s really different from the rumors. Also…”
“And what?”
Is it even okay to say this after breaking up?
Jung Ho hesitated with that look, then cautiously said,
“He really likes you, you know? You could just tell. He was so sweet.”
“That’s all an act. Don’t be fooled. He’s insanely good at acting.”
“You don’t think I’d fall for that? I’ve dated, been in love, done it all.”
“Dating or loving — if it’s not with Yoon Jooho, don’t even mention it. It’s totally Kingda Ka.”
Without touching the snacks, Song Hyunsoo gulped down the beer again, then rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly before finally speaking.
“So, Jung Ho, can you let me crash here for a while?”
“This place?”
“We’re both on set about five days a week anyway. Just on my days off, please. I can’t find a place right now.”
“It’s fine if it’s just for a while…”
“I’ll do laundry, cleaning, and dishes!”
“It’s not because of that.”
“Then why?”
“Won’t Jooho kill me if I let you stay here? His jealousy and possessiveness are no joke. I don’t want to earn his grudge.”
So that’s why?
Song Hyunsoo snorted and grabbed the can again.
“Don’t worry. Now, even if I hook up with you here, he won’t even blink.”
1) Kingda Ka: The roller coaster at a New Jersey theme park, the tallest in the world, accelerating from about 140 meters high to around 200 km/h.