Joo Han forcefully suppressed a fleeting memory he couldn’t share with anyone.

Anyway, it had become even more distant in an already difficult situation. To act in front of someone who knew his profession was an actor and that his relationship with Eun Soo was fake. If the camera captured him being more awkward than usual, it might backfire rather than have the Choi Yoon Bin effect.

So Min’s voice was heard from behind.

“Sir, about the truck. When accelerating, there seems to be some wind noise. I think we need to take it to a repair shop. How about we drop it off in the evening after today’s deliveries……”

“Ah, that.”

Joo Han quickly stood up from his chair, fumbling to untie his work apron as he spoke to So Min.

“I’ll take care of it.”

“Damn, it’s really Choi Yoon Bin.”

As a car stopped at the store entrance and the man getting out of the driver’s seat was seen, PD Park let out an exclamation of admiration. He was completely excited, as it was a top star he wouldn’t have dared to cast even if he had tried to recruit on purpose.

Yoon Bin, who came alone without a manager, skillfully put on the microphone handed to him by the assistant director as soon as he got out of the car and entered.

Though it didn’t seem like he had received any makeup or hair styling, he was radiant. From his linen shirt to his shorts and loafers, everything was utterly simple, but his face completed the atmosphere, making him look glamorous.

Yoon Bin first made eye contact with Jae Rim, giving her an eye smile and a slight nod in greeting, then looked for Eun Soo.

“Have you been well?”

“Yeah. You must be busier than me, I’m sorry for making you come here.”

“What are you sorry for? I’m not just here to see your face, I’m here to buy furniture too, so of course I should come. Where’s Joo Han?”

“As luck would have it, he has an urgent delivery today. If the timing works out, you might be able to see him, but if it gets delayed and you can’t, he asked me to say he’s sorry.”

“I see, it can’t be helped.”

As he filmed Yoon Bin standing face to face with Eun Soo, PD Park was sincerely impressed. It was his first time seeing Choi Yoon Bin in person, and despite having seen countless celebrities, his handsomeness seemed particularly memorable.

“But Eun Soo, you look a bit tired. Have you been busy lately?”

“Actually, I drank last night.”

“With Joo Han?”

“Yeah.”

“I’m sure Joo Han took good care of you, but… is your stomach okay?”

“It’s fine.”

Yoon Bin’s friendly and affectionate demeanor was both familiar and unfamiliar. He often played such roles in dramas and his public image was similar, but he hadn’t shown it much privately.

“Do you want to watch for a bit?”

“Sure. Don’t mind me and go about your work.”

While Eun Soo went to greet a regular customer who had just walked in, Yoon Bin went up to the empty second-floor showroom and looked around carefully.

When he saw Joo Han and Eun Soo coming out of the broadcasting station after filming, Yoon Bin half-impulsively asked his manager to appear on this program.

The reason he used the word ‘request’ was because he knew the strict company CEO wouldn’t welcome such a schedule. Even if he had a boyfriend, the CEO was concerned about publicly revealing a female acquaintance.

‘Why are you suddenly going on that kind of show? It’s just doing them a favor. I’ve seen many people try to use you like this, but it’s the first time I’ve seen you fall for it. Did they get some dirt on you?’

He almost snorted. Eun Soo was the only person who had never tried to use Choi Yoon Bin. If anything, she would seriously object if he asked her to use him comfortably.

‘It’s not dirt, there’s something I want to repay. I’d like it to be good for them. And well, it’s not a bad thing for me either.’

He wanted to see Eun Soo happy. He also wanted to see Eun Soo smiling at him captured on camera. It was a bit amusing to think that no one would know whose smile was real, but still.

“Um, Yoon Bin.”

Yoon Bin turned around. Even that movement was captured like a scene from a CF, making PD Park marvel anew.

“Would it be possible to do a short interview? As Eun Soo’s acquaintance.”

“Of course.”

Yoon Bin nodded willingly. Then, as requested by PD Park, he sat in a classic single chair displayed in one corner of the showroom and faced the camera.

“Hello, I’m Choi Yoon Bin. Eun Soo and I are close like older brother and younger sister. A neighborhood oppa, something like that.”

“Neighborhood oppa? That somehow seems like a modifier that doesn’t quite suit you, Yoon Bin. Could you elaborate a bit more?”

“We were juniors and seniors at the same middle school and lived in the same neighborhood. Honestly, I don’t remember exactly how we became close, but we’re still getting along well. She’s also almost the only pre-debut acquaintance I have left.”

At that moment, Eun Soo quietly appeared behind PD Park. With her arms crossed and biting her lower lip, her face showed worry and embarrassment, as if wondering if this was really okay. Yoon Bin smiled.

“This is the first time I’m talking about this, but when I was a trainee before debuting as a singer, there was a time when I wanted to quit because it was too hard. My family was against it, and I was afraid I might get cut from the company at any time.”

As an unexpectedly serious answer continued, PD Park’s eyes lit up. He was moved and even honored that Yoon Bin was sharing a story that hadn’t been extracted in any talk show.

“But Eun Soo said something to me that I can’t forget.”

“What was it…?”

“That it’s okay. That I’m Choi Yoon Bin whether I become a singer or not.”

Ah, come to think of it, there was such a time.

A long-forgotten memory flashed through Eun Soo’s mind.

It was when Eun Soo was sixteen and Yoon Bin was seventeen.

He was going back and forth between school and the practice room, sleeping only three or four hours at home, so she hadn’t seen Yoon Bin for a while. Then one day, Yoon Bin suddenly asked her to hang out right after school ended.

When she asked if he didn’t need to go to the practice room, he just brushed it off, and they really just spent time snacking and wandering around until late at night. The next day too, and the day after that.

Sensing something was wrong, she asked, and when he said he wanted to quit because it was too hard and overwhelming, Eun Soo’s heart sank.

She tried her best to say something good with her own sincerity, but she thought that the words of a child wouldn’t have been much comfort. She didn’t know it would mean so much to Yoon Bin.

“At that time, it felt like I was surrounded only by people who expected or wanted something from me. And I felt like I had no meaning if I couldn’t fulfill those expectations. So those words really touched me gratefully.”

“Was it like a feeling of being able to breathe?”

“Yes, that’s right. When my mind eased up, I was actually able to focus better. Thanks to that, I was able to debut safely a few months later. Even now, when I feel overwhelmed or unsettled before work, I think of those words.”

Yoon Bin lifted his head slightly. Looking beyond the camera lens at Eun Soo standing there, he said,

“Eun Soo is a good person. The best person I know.”

“…You really didn’t have to make time like this.”

That evening, sitting in a high-end Korean restaurant, Joo Han tried his best to lift the corners of his mouth as he looked at Yoon Bin sitting across from him. Yoon Bin smiled softly as if to say, what are you talking about?

“It’s not often that our schedules align like this. It’s been a while since I had a meal with Eun Soo too.”

Eun Soo, sitting next to Joo Han, nodded.

“That’s true. And there’s a limit to what we can talk about with cameras and microphones around. Oppa, we’ll pay for dinner today instead. Thank you so much for coming out on purpose.”

Soon the ordered food arrived, and the meal continued in a fairly good atmosphere.

Joo Han mechanically chewed and swallowed food he couldn’t even taste while listening to the incredibly friendly conversation between Yoon Bin and Eun Soo. He had deliberately come in late after working outside all day, thinking he wouldn’t have to run into Yoon Bin, but who knew he’d suggest having dinner together after work.

“Oh, wait a moment. Let me take this call.”

When they were almost done eating, Eun Soo checked a call from the person in charge at and stood up.

“Yes, this is Sun Eun Soo. Of course. It must be just after lunchtime there now. Haha, yes.”

After Eun Soo left an apologetic look and went out, only the two men remained in the room. An incomparable silence to before flowed.

Joo Han cleared his throat lightly and opened his mouth.

“I didn’t know you’d even come on the broadcast. I don’t know much, but it probably wasn’t something you could do lightly.”

He had overheard the PD and assistant director talking. If Yoon Bin had received his usual appearance fee, it would have left a big hole in the production budget, but Yoon Bin had voluntarily taken almost nothing. They said he seemed closer to Eun Soo than they thought.

“It’s fine. Actually, I used it a bit too.”

“Used… it?”

Nodding his head with a “yeah,” Yoon Bin let out a smile that couldn’t be hated.

“It’s a way to naturally reveal my friendship with Eun Soo. And with you there, Joo Han, there will be less unnecessary speculation.”

Joo Han slightly squinted one eye, almost imperceptibly.

This feeling again. Like an invisible thorn stuck under the skin, an uncomfortable and irritating feeling.

“That friendship… Is there a reason you suddenly want to reveal it now after not doing so all this time?”

As soon as he spoke, Joo Han regretted it. It must have sounded sharp. But Yoon Bin’s expression didn’t seem to change much.

“It’s nothing special, I just want to meet comfortably. I’m famous for having no acquaintances despite being in the entertainment industry for a long time. But I’m getting lonelier as time goes by. Feeling stifled too. I just wanted to see Eun Soo without worrying.”

Joo Han looked at Yoon Bin without much of a reply. Yoon Bin smiled without avoiding that gaze.

“Well, this too might become difficult again if Eun Soo starts dating someone for real.”

Dating someone for real.

The tip of the invisible thorn seemed to catch on his hand.

“Come to think of it, that’s true. Conversely, if the person you’re dating asks you to draw a line with Eun Soo, you’d have to do that too.”

Yoon Bin tilted his head slightly as if he had something to say, but soon let out a laugh no different from usual.

“The broadcast was fun. I hope the response is good. That way, the difficult decision you and Eun Soo made will be worth it.”

“I’m sure the response will be good. Especially since you appeared too.”

“I hope becomes more famous. It’ll obviously be good for you, and it’ll be a good experience on Eun Soo’s resume too.”

Joo Han’s hand under the table clenched tightly. Yoon Bin continued speaking.

“Honestly, I didn’t immediately understand working together and doing a broadcast as exes. It’s not a common thing among ordinary people, rather it might be more understandable in this industry.”

Though his tone was plain and calm, for some reason it didn’t sound pleasant to Joo Han’s ears.

“But maybe it’s something only you two can do. I think it might be a good breakup, each getting what you can from each other and then going your separate ways.”

A good breakup.

There’s no such thing, so remove the ‘good’ and just breakup.

They were exes, and Yoon Bin was newly emphasizing that they would break up again. That was just a passing place for Eun Soo, and Kim Joo Han was the same.

He hadn’t forgotten. But it’s also true that he hadn’t been thinking about it properly. He didn’t expect Eun Soo to retire from , but he hadn’t specifically considered when Eun Soo might change jobs or quit either.

Perhaps this time too, a future only I had taken for granted.

As he was lost in a bitter sense of déjà vu, the door opened and Eun Soo came in.

“Sorry, the conversation took longer than I thought. What were you two talking about?”

Yoon Bin answered with a smile.

“Just, the obvious things.”