Is he teasing me?

Da Jung glanced at Jae Ho. His expression was indifferent as he arranged the apples on a plate. She found him annoying for ambiguously joking and enjoying her flustered reactions.

“You seem to search quite often. You’ll become my fan at this rate.”

“!”

“Eat.”

Jae Ho approached the sofa and fed Da Jung an apple piece he had speared with a fork.

“Why that expression? Should I not go to Seoul?”

“No, no. You should go. Isn’t it your grandfather’s birthday?”

“I don’t want to go.”

“Come on. Go. Did you prepare a gift? What are you giving him?”

Jae Ho fiddled with Da Jung’s earlobe.

“I’ll go to receive. He prefers giving.”

“What are you receiving?”

“Well…”

Jae Ho, seeming uninterested in the answer, subtly lowered his head with his lips, and Da Jung quickly put an apple in her mouth. Too often, light kisses would gradually escalate and eventually go all the way. She wasn’t going to be easily swayed anymore.

With her cheeks bulging from the apple, Da Jung mumbled as she stuffed in another one:

“No. We agreed not today. Besides, I have no mouth. Because of the apple.”

“Look at this.”

Jae Ho chuckled lowly.

“You keep acting cheeky. Hm? That’s more stimulating.”

But even while saying that, he faithfully responded to Da Jung’s question.

“He’ll probably give something big and expensive.”

“No way? A house?”

Jae Ho’s smile grew a bit wider.

“It’ll be bigger than that.”

“What gift could be bigger than a house?”

“Well. There is something.”

Jae Ho finally took the plate of apples from Da Jung’s hand. After placing it on the table behind him and moving a span closer, he continued:

“I want a sweet bite too.”

“Jae Ho, are you from a chaebol family?”

Da Jung’s sudden question as she turned her face caught Jae Ho off guard. It was something he’d have to tell eventually, but not now. Jae Ho had already decided the order in which to reveal truths in his own way, and family matters were the lowest priority.

“Why? Did someone say I’m from a chaebol family?”

“You said you receive big gifts.”

“Everyone who receives big gifts is from a chaebol family?”

“Well, not necessarily.”

Da Jung slowly inched her body backward.

“Stop running away.”

Jae Ho gently pulled Da Jung’s chin.

“I said I want it. My sweet thing.”

“S-stop joking around.”

Da Jung swatted his arm away and asked again.

“So, are you saying you are from a chaebol family, or you’re not?”

He hadn’t thought of an answer yet. His attempt to gloss over it with a kiss had failed miserably. Jae Ho decided to tell a story very close to the truth. That truth didn’t necessarily have to be the present.

“When I was young, I lived in a semi-basement apartment.”

Knowing full well what misunderstanding that truth might lead to.

“!”

“It was the kind of house where sunlight came in for about two hours in the late afternoon. My father was gone, and my mother was always busy, so I… had a rather unpleasant childhood.”

“Oh.”

“Counting coins to buy triangle kimbap. Using erasers until they were completely worn out.”

“Oh…”

Da Jung’s eyes widened at the unexpected story. This alone seemed to have erased all curiosity about the chaebol rumors.

“But… how did you attend that good American university from such circumstances? Even studying abroad.”

Da Jung asked.

“That’s why many people think Lee Jae Ho is from a chaebol family. There are very specific rumors.”

“Just.”

A heavy contemplation brushed across his eyes.

“Just, there was a good opportunity.”

Unable to find appropriate words of comfort, Da Jung hesitated for a moment before gently taking Jae Ho’s hand. She seemed to feel sorry for the unexpected truth she had just heard.

But Jae Ho was simply happy that their hands had touched. He briefly had the naughty thought that if he continued a bit more, she might hug him.

“Then in high school, I met a friend.”

“A friend?”

“The annoying guy I mentioned before, the one with the pretty younger sister.”

“Ah. That, that handsome person.”

“You have no idea how much he took care of me after noticing my difficult circumstances. Not wanting to hurt my pride, he always came up with clever ways. Whether it was making bets on snacks and trying his best not to lose, or handing me workbooks claiming he’d picked them up somewhere. The word tsundere, honestly, that guy… no, he was the originator. You should have seen how popular his ‘I picked it up on the way’ became.”

“…”

“Even his mother took care of me like that. I haven’t forgotten a single kindness I received then. I pray they stay healthy for a long, long time.”

Da Jung, having been led along by the flow of Jae Ho’s conversation, just smiled without any suspicion. Thinking how fortunate it was to have met such good people.

Ah. But.

“Is that friend not around anymore?”

“!”

“You said ‘should have seen’.”

“Ah.”

Jae Ho looked at Da Jung for a moment with sincere eyes devoid of playfulness, then lightly hugged her by pulling her shoulders. It was just that, but her nose tingled. There were moments in his embrace where happiness strangely felt like sadness.

“Yes. He’s gone far away now. Anyway, it’s late. I need to pack. See you later for dinner.”

**

Kyung Jun turned on the TV without much thought, but coincidentally, “I Love You From Back Then” starring Lee Jae Ho was being rebroadcast. Just as he was about to change the channel with a frown, Kyung Mi approached with two cans of beer.

“Oh! Don’t change this. I haven’t seen it.”

“Ugh. Lee Jae Ho.”

“Hey! I’m not watching it because of Lee Jae Ho. I’m watching it because the work is excellent. Who do you take Yoon Da Jung for?”

Kyung Mi opened the two beer cans with a pop, pop, and handed one to Kyung Jun. These days, they hardly met despite living in the same house, with frequent night shifts and visits to Da Jung’s mother’s hospital.

“Are you doing well these days?”

Kyung Mi asked.

“Yeah.”

Kyung Jun answered halfheartedly.

“I see.”

They watched TV silently.

When a kiss scene with Oh Chae Won came on, Kyung Mi focused intently as if trying to bore a hole through the screen. What’s this? Didn’t she say she wasn’t watching because of Lee Jae Ho…? Kyung Jun couldn’t help but laugh in disbelief.

Watching Lee Jae Ho made him think of Yoon Da Jung.

The easiest person in the world to read suddenly became difficult. It felt like being a medical student struggling with a second-grade math problem. It was absurdly nonsensical, yet the correct answer was still not visible.

The subtle way she drew the line. The skinship she found burdensome. The gaze she avoided.

How many years had it been since he slowly tamed her to reach her lips? It was such a long time that it might as well be called a lifetime. He had done his best to stay by her side to become the only man in her life.

There were moments when he wanted to pounce without hesitation, but he had always managed to get through them somehow. So he thought he was almost there, but…

Kyung Jun crumpled the empty beer can with a crunch.

“Noona.”

“Huh?”

“I know everything about Yoon Da Jung. I can tell her condition just by hearing her footsteps. I can tell if she’s hungry just by looking at her expression, and even guess what she wants to eat. Why she cries when she cries. Why she laughs when she laughs. I knew everything, but… I’m starting to not know.”

“That’s natural. She’s actually a very difficult person. You didn’t know because you always treated her like a child.”

“That’s because she is a child.”

“What child? She’s the same age as you!”

Kyung Mi ordered more beer while chewing on dried squid. Kyung Jun got up heavily and muttered to himself.

“She really drives me crazy… Yoon Da Jung.”

Kyung Jun irritably brought more beer and sat down again. Uncomfortable with seeing Lee Jae Ho’s kind gaze, he started playing a game on his phone. Suddenly, Kyung Mi said:

“Looking at him like this, Lee Jae Ho… Kyung Jun. He strangely looks familiar. Something about him seems…”

“What?”

Kyung Jun replied, still looking at his phone.

“What do you mean Lee Jae Ho looks familiar? You’re feeling an inner connection because of Yoon Da Jung.”

“No, it’s not that. You know, among Woo Jung’s friends, there was one called Sung Hyun, and just now, his gaze reminded me exactly of him.”

Kyung Jun pressed his phone irritably and frowned.

“Who? Kim Sung Hyun? Ah, that arrogant hyung?”

Hearing the sharp response, Kyung Mi took her eyes off the screen and looked at Kyung Jun.

“Hey. Come to think of it, you’ve always had that kind of reaction to Kim Sung Hyun.”

“How is that hyung similar to Lee Jae Ho? First, look at the height difference. And that hyung wore glasses. He just looked ordinary. They’re completely different.”

“I just said he looked like that for a moment. Why are you getting so serious? Can’t I make a mistake?”

The conversation ended there. Most conversations between the siblings were like this. Kyung Jun thought as he drank his beer. Choosing pretty words out of consideration for his younger sibling was something Yoon Woo Jung might do, but definitely not his sister.

Woo Jung hyung.

He was born talented. He shone in appearance from his 100-day photos. Growing up without an awkward phase, by high school, everyone in the neighborhood knew Yoon Woo Jung. Receiving business cards on the street was common, and he got tired of confessions. Kyung Jun thought such a hyung was so cool.

While being the object of admiration for all female students, he only knew Yoon Da Jung and Lee Kyung Mi as women. Especially how he took care of his sister so preciously, male students who secretly liked Da Jung gave up without even trying, overwhelmed by Yoon Woo Jung’s aura. Kyung Jun really liked that point.

The only thing he was dissatisfied with was his friend. Kim Sung Hyun.

He couldn’t understand why he cared so much for that hyung who was just ordinary in looks and personality. Moreover, Kim Sung Hyun would often look at Da Jung with vague eyes. Kyung Jun couldn’t stand being concerned about Kim Sung Hyun.

Was it because he saw Da Jung’s cheeks flush red when her gaze intertwined with Sung Hyun’s one day?

He tried to ignore it, telling himself he had seen wrong, that it just looked that way because it was sunset, but he couldn’t hide his uneasiness and even directly warned Kim Sung Hyun. Still not feeling reassured, he even went to tattle to Woo Jung.

‘Hyung. Kim Sung Hyun hyung keeps looking at Da Jung uncomfortably. Do something about it.’

An inexplicable smile briefly flashed across Woo Jung’s lips.

‘I know.’

That was all. Kyung Jun couldn’t understand Woo Jung’s intention no matter how much he thought about it. He decided to talk to him again as soon as they returned from the school trip.

When cleaning up Woo Jung’s belongings after the funeral, a practice script was found among his things. An old script that had been read so many times it was already worn and tattered. Was the hidden script his dream?

If Yoon Woo Jung had lived, and if he had become an actor, Kyung Jun thought he would have become a top star incomparable to the likes of Lee Jae Ho.

‘Come to think of it, Kim Sung Hyun. He suddenly disappeared after that accident.’

That’s right. So he thought it was fortunate. He couldn’t have been more grateful that that man had disappeared from Yoon Da Jung’s life.