“Well, I mean, I’m obviously not a top star or anything, so it’s not like we’re equals with nothing to lose by sharing secrets. But still— I like to think I’m someone you can trust.”
“Someone I can trust…”
It wasn’t a sarcastic reply.
If anything, it sounded like Yoon Jooho was just turning the words over in his mind.
“How many people do you think have said that to me?”
“……”
It didn’t sound like his usual snark— there was something real in his tone, and Song Hyunsoo couldn’t just laugh it off.
Yoon Jooho clicked his tongue bitterly and shook his head, as if regretting where the conversation had gone.
“I’m not saying you are untrustworthy.”
“Then what are you saying?”
“It’s just that people, in general… aren’t to be trusted.”
“But you’re a person too, sunbae.”
“Exactly. That includes me.”
“So… you don’t trust Jin hyung either?”
“……”
Yoon Jooho, who had just stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray, slowly raised his gaze.
His Adam’s apple twitched as he swallowed dryly.
“Why are you bringing up his name?”
“Why wouldn’t I? He’s your close friend. And Jin hyung is someone you can trust.”
“Did he give you a watch or something? Your loyalty is impressive.”
“That’s why I think you should be the one to reach out to him.”
“…What?”
Jooho froze mid-reach for his now-cold coffee, as if he’d just heard something utterly unbelievable.
He furrowed his brows and stared at Hyunsoo.
“I don’t know what happened between you two, whether it was a fight or whatever… but you haven’t been in touch with him, right? Don’t let your pride get in the way, just reach out first.”
Jooho licked his lips and pulled back the hand he’d extended toward the cup.
“And sure, hyung is reliable, I know. But he’s not in Korea right now. If you ever need someone to drink with… I’m around. I might not be as dependable as him, but at least I can lend an ear.”
Jooho dropped his head, then let out a hollow chuckle as he shook his broad shoulders.
He ran both hands over his face a few times.
“God… this is ridiculous.”
“What is? Do I really seem that unreliable?”
“You’re saying you’ll keep me company because Jin’s not around?”
“That’s why I added I’m no replacement. I can’t—”
Jooho raised a hand to cut him off.
“That’s not what I meant.”
“Then what do you mean?”
“You’re telling me to call Jin first? Is that really what you want?”
“I just think it’d be better for you—”
“No. No, forget it. I must’ve been mistaken. Just drop it.”
He straightened up and picked the script back up from the table.
From that point on, he talked only about acting.
He didn’t give Hyunsoo a single opening to bring up anything else.
It was a gloomy Wednesday, just days before Christmas.
■
For the year-end gathering among the younger actors, Han Jooyoung had chosen an Italian restaurant.
With its high ceilings, large windows, and rich-toned interior, the place exuded a foreign, almost exotic atmosphere.
Though it was a weekday, the dining hall was full— thanks to the holiday season— but fortunately, their group had secured a private room.
“When I made the reservation and mentioned Yoon Jooho sunbae’s name, their attitude totally changed,”
Han Jooyoung said, eyes gleaming as she sat across from Song Hyunsoo.
“At first they were like, ‘We’re not sure if we’ll have space,’ but then all of a sudden, they’re offering us a private room.”
Shin Hyojin chuckled knowingly and nodded.
“If I’d known his name carried that much weight, I would’ve tried calling a fancier place. I kind of regretted it after I hung up.”
Clicking her tongue, Han Jooyoung shrugged and picked up the wine list the restaurant manager had left along with the menus.
“How’ve you been, Hyunsoo? Busy, now that it’s the end of the year?” Shin Hyojin, seated beside Jooyoung, asked warmly.
“Actually… there’s no script reading at the moment, and even my part-time job… got canceled. So I’ve had more free time than usual.”
No one here would guess that his “part-time job” was actually doing acting exercises with Yoon Jooho.
Feeling oddly self-conscious, Hyunsoo turned his gaze away and took a few sips of water from the glass the waiter had poured.
“What kind of part-time job gets canceled during this season? Isn’t this when business is booming?”
Shin Hyojin asked with genuine interest.
In truth, only the acting sessions had been canceled— he was still working at Jessica.
In fact, even though Christmas Monday wasn’t his usual shift, he’d gone in at his manager’s request.
Still, the way he had worded things made it hard to explain now.
“Yeah, what job is it? I’ve worked as a dog walker before, just part-time,” Han Jooyoung chimed in, tossing in an unsolicited anecdote of her own.
Just then, a knock was followed by the door opening, and the restaurant manager announced Yoon Jooho’s arrival— giving Hyunsoo a perfect excuse to dodge the question.
It had been nearly a week since he’d last seen Jooho, back on the previous Wednesday.
For some reason, it made Hyunsoo feel strangely shy, and he avoided looking in that direction, instead gulping down his water.
While Jooho removed his coat and settled into his seat, the manager, visibly excited, lingered at the table.
“Normally, this room’s only available for parties of eight or more. But we made a special exception since Yoon Jooho-ssi requested it.”
“Thank you for going out of your way.”
Jooho gave a polite nod as he sat down next to Hyunsoo.
With the manager making such a point of how it had been a “special exception” just for him, it would’ve felt rude not to acknowledge it.
“No, not at all! We’re honored. Please don’t hesitate to let us know if there’s anything you need.”
Even though there were other actors present— some of them fairly well-known, including Shin Hyojin— the manager’s attention was blatantly focused on Jooho, practically ready to sit him on his lap and feed him.
Once the manager left, telling them to take their time with the menu, Han Jooyoung gave Jooho a once-over and casually remarked,
“It’s just a casual dinner between us actors. Why are you so dressed up?”
“This? I feel like I just stepped out for a neighborhood walk.”
Jooho replied indifferently, raising his water glass to take a sip.
Shin Hyojin jumped in with a supportive laugh.
“He’s not lying. I ran into him once at a café in his neighborhood, and his hair and outfit were so perfect I thought he’d just come from a shoot. But no— he was just hanging out. Meanwhile, I looked like a mess in a hoodie and baseball cap.”
While the three of them chatted easily, Song Hyunsoo sat there awkwardly, flipping through the short menu over and over.
Jooho noticed and lightly nudged his elbow, initiating conversation.
“Someone walks in and you don’t even say hi?”
Maybe because Hyojin and Jooyoung were there, Jooho was using polite speech again for the first time in a while.
“I did say hi earlier,” Hyunsoo replied.
“When?”
“I bowed my head when you came in. Guess you didn’t see it.”
At Hyunsoo’s curt reply, Yoon Jooho just let out a quiet chuckle.
Then, without a word, he reached out and ruffled the back of Hyunsoo’s hair lightly with his large hand.
“……”
Hyunsoo was speechless.
He didn’t look at Jooho in an attempt to stay composed, but his eyes had widened, and his pulse quickened.
The letters on the menu in front of him might as well have been gibberish.
What the hell was that?
What kind of service was that supposed to be?
Did sunbae eat something weird today?
But apparently, Hyunsoo was the only one taken aback by Jooho’s gesture.
“So, what’s everyone doing about wine?”
Han Jooyoung said with irritation as she noisily shut the wine list she had been studying.
“They don’t even have a wine pairing course here.”
“I really wanted to book a better place. But at the end of the year there were barely any tables left.”
Trying to console her, Hyunsoo glanced around and offered,
“I think this place is plenty nice. It’s actually my first time at a place that serves a proper course meal like this.”
But Jooyoung firmly shook her head.
“Hyunsoo, this isn’t real fine dining.”
“It’s not?”
“No. It’s just pretending to be. The wine list is so boring it puts me to sleep.”
He had only said something nice because she’d picked the restaurant but really, she was a whole different kind of exhausting compared to Jooho.
“Well, perfect then,”
Jooho said, and pulled a heavy bottle from the bag he had placed on the chair beside him, setting it on the table.
“Let’s just pay the corkage1) and drink this.”
Upon reading the label on the wine, Jooyoung’s expression lit up.
She leaned forward as if she might pounce on the bottle.
“Ooh, this is my favorite among the BDMs. Now this is a wine worth pairing with a meal.”
Humming to herself, she started flipping through the menu with newfound joy.
Shin Hyojin, meanwhile, was still carefully studying the menu, while Jooho, who seemed to have already made his choice, had set him down and was now leaning against the armrest, casually scrolling through his phone.
The manager returned to ask if they were ready to order.
Starting with Shin Hyojin, everyone began giving their choices.
Hyunsoo started to panic.
Hanwoo tenderloin steak, lamb ratatouille, sea bass steak.
He had to choose one of these three main dishes.
Ratatouille?
He didn’t even know what that was.
On top of that, each main course had a different price.
Damn this stingy capitalist system…
No, maybe this was actually for the best.
No need to overthink it— he’d just pick the cheapest one.
“Then I’ll have this one…”
As the manager approached, Hyunsoo pointed to the fish dish with the tip of his index finger.
- Corkage: A service charge added when a customer brings their own bottle of alcohol to a restaurant, covering the cost of providing glasses and serving.