LS Ch 8

“I’m hungry.”

Jewoo mumbled to himself while squatting on the ground. Yiwon extended his hand to him. At the gesture to grab it and stand up, Jewoo took Yiwon’s hand without resistance. After over a week of continuous filming, Yiwon and Jewoo had become much closer. Since they had many scenes to shoot together, they were practically glued to each other all day, which naturally led to them being more informal with each other.

“Didn’t you eat breakfast?”

At Yiwon’s question, Jewoo furrowed his brows.

“I was worried my face would look puffy.”

After hearing that he starved for management reasons, Yiwon clicked his tongue in disapproval.

“Are you looking down on your ‘hyung’ now?”

Jewoo, catching that remark, reacted sharply and tried to brush it off with laughter, but soon he lunged at Yiwon, playfully choking him with his arm.

“Surrender, surrender!”

When Yiwon raised his hands in defeat, Jewoo reluctantly let go and stepped back.

“Ah, I feel drained.”

“Why did you move unnecessarily?”

“I want to eat galbi-jjim. I also want some sushi. And a StarBox caramel latte.”

Jewoo listed off what he wanted to eat, clearly hungry. Yiwon found it amusing; saying it out loud would only make him hungrier.

“Can I have some chocolate?”

He remembered that Doyoon usually carried chocolate bars for emergencies and would give one out, but Jewoo shook his head.

“I don’t like sweet stuff.”

“You’re picky even when you’re hungry.”

“In extreme situations, you have to be picky.”

At Jewoo’s firm reply, Yiwon chuckled. Han Jewoo was supposed to be perfect. Rumors about him always painted him as someone with meticulous self-management. That’s how he survived, and people said to learn from Han Jewoo about being an actor.

He was always smiling and polite. He not only memorized his own lines perfectly but also his co-star’s, and he could handle ad-libs without getting flustered. He could be all fun and games, but once acting started, he was like a different person. His speed of getting into character was different. Watching him, one could think he was born to act.

However, spending time with him revealed different sides. Seeing someone who seemed unlikely to ever complain actually grumbling was both surprising and cute.

“Mr. Actor! Please check the scene we just shot.”

At the staff’s call, Jewoo, as if the grumbling never happened, answered with a cheerful “Yes” and stood up.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

Feeling Yiwon’s gaze, Jewoo turned around and asked.

“Just.”

Yiwon shook his head with a smile. After Jewoo left, saying he was boring, Yiwon took out his phone to search for nearby restaurants.

“There’s nothing suitable here.”

Due to the drama’s setting, they were filming in a rural area, so there weren’t any good restaurants within a few kilometers. To eat properly, they’d have to travel at least an hour.

What time does filming end today? If there were no major issues, his filming would wrap up around 6 p.m. If Jewoo finished at the same time, they could go into town for dinner.

Luckily, it was a weekday, so they wouldn’t encounter many crowds. Still, just in case, he thought about making a reservation and was browsing when Doyoon came and stood beside him.

“Looking for a restaurant?”

He asked, seeing the search window on Yiwon’s phone.

“I was thinking of having dinner with Jewoo ‘hyung’. To make up for rejecting his offer last time.”

“Oh, right.”

Doyoon frowned, having forgotten that Yiwon had rejected Jewoo’s offer on the day of the poster shoot.

“I’ll make the reservation. What do you feel like eating?”

“Galbi-jjim?”

At Yiwon’s answer, Doyoon looked at him with a puzzled expression, wondering why galbi-jjim of all things.

“Or sushi would be fine too.”

“…You’re surprisingly specific about what you want?”

Usually, when asked what he wanted to eat, Yiwon would just say anything was fine. So, it was strange for him to have such specific menu choices, especially galbi-jjim and sushi, which were quite unrelated.

“I’ll send you the link to the place I was looking at; make the reservation there.”

He had already finished his search.

After sending the link to Doyoon, Yiwon went for his filming. Doyoon, checking the link, looked at Yiwon as he walked away, his brows furrowed. Was there a place that served both galbi-jjim and sushi? There was. Kang Yiwon had found it… Wasn’t this guy usually content with just filling his stomach? Did the sun rise from the west today, or did Kang Yiwon eat something wrong? With these unresolved questions in mind, Doyoon called the restaurant to make the reservation, his eyes never leaving Yiwon.

🎞️✮⋆˙

Suddenly, rain poured down, halting the filming. As a result, they finished earlier than expected.

“Do you want to go out for dinner?”

Yiwon asked Jewoo, who was removing his makeup.

“Dinner? Sounds good. Where are we going?”

Jewoo agreed without a second thought. Yiwon just vaguely answered, “Something delicious.”

“Are you two going out to eat something delicious?”

Sihyeon, who was removing his makeup at the next seat, peeked through the mirror at Jewoo’s face.

“Yiwon invited me to dinner. Do you guys want to come too?”

Jewoo included Yejun in the invitation.

“Is that okay?”

Yejun’s eyes sparkled as he asked. He had been living in a hotel, eating hotel food for breakfast and dinner, and having meals from the food truck during lunch, so he was eager for something different.

“Let’s go together. It’s better if we all go, right? Isn’t it?”

Jewoo turned to Yiwon for confirmation. Yiwon reluctantly nodded. His original plan was to go with just Jewoo, so he hadn’t expected the group to grow. But he couldn’t say no, so he looked at Doyoon, wondering if he should make a new reservation.

“I’ve already reserved for four, so we can just go.”

Doyoon answered as if he had read Yiwon’s mind. Yiwon was puzzled by the four seats until Doyoon’s gaze shifted to Jewoo’s manager waiting on the side. The reservation was for Yiwon, Jewoo, and their respective managers.

“We managers will eat separately.”

Doyoon suggested it would be better for the actors to hang out together. Since Yiwon wasn’t very social, this would be a good chance for him to get closer to the other actors.

This isn’t what I planned…

Despite Yiwon’s displeasure, Jewoo, Sihyeon, and Yejun were already excited about the prospect of delicious food.

🎞️✮⋆˙

“Is this really the place?”

Sihyeon pointed at the sign as they stood in front of the restaurant. Under the three letters “Tteul-An-Chae,” the words “Traditional Korean Set Menu” were written. Judging by the exterior, it was clearly a Korean traditional house restaurant.

Jewoo glanced at Yiwon. He hadn’t expected it to be a traditional Korean restaurant; he had imagined something more casual like a barbecue place.

“It’s reserved under my manager’s name, so let’s go in.”

Ignoring the others’ baffled looks, Yiwon led the way into the restaurant. With the reservation already made, Sihyeon looked at Jewoo, non-verbally asking if they had planned this, but Jewoo shook his head.

Once they followed inside, an employee in traditional Korean attire led them to a private room. It seemed like Yiwon’s manager had reserved a room so they could eat comfortably without worrying about others.

“We’ll prepare the food you ordered.”

The employee didn’t ask for any orders, indicating they had been pre-arranged.

“Surprising, Kang Yiwon.”

Sihyeon spoke to Yiwon as they sat down. He was asking if Yiwon had anticipated the shoot being canceled due to the rain, to which Yiwon just took a deep breath.

“But why traditional Korean food…?”

Jewoo was about to question why out of all the restaurants, they chose a traditional one, but he stopped when he saw the dishes being placed on the table, which included sushi and galbi-jjim among various salads and vegetables.

He quickly turned to look at Yiwon.

Could this be because I mentioned wanting to eat these earlier?

He couldn’t ask out loud, especially since Sihyeon and Yejun were there. If his guess was right, Yiwon wouldn’t have expected Sihyeon and Yejun to join.

I think I’ve made a mistake…

He felt like he had needlessly involved others. He just wanted everyone to get along, but now it felt like a bad move.

“Eat a lot.”

Yiwon gently pushed the sushi and galbi-jjim towards Jewoo.

“Why are you telling only Jewoo to eat a lot? I eat well too.”

Sihyeon, with a playful grin, picked up a piece of galbi. For a moment, Jewoo noticed Yiwon’s eyebrows twitch. Luckily, Sihyeon and Yejun were too engrossed in eating to notice.

“Aren’t you going to eat?”

Yiwon gestured towards the galbi-jjim with his eyes.

“I’ll eat. I am.”

Jewoo took a piece of galbi-jjim into his mouth, but he couldn’t taste what he had been craving.

“Eat this too.”

Yiwon placed a piece of sushi on Jewoo’s plate.

“Aren’t you eating?”

Since it was a set menu, each person had their portion allocated.

“I don’t like sushi. You can have my share.”

Yiwon placed all his sushi onto Jewoo’s plate, piling it up.

“Isn’t this favoritism a bit too much?”

Sihyeon commented, but Yiwon ignored it.

“Ahaha…”

Jewoo laughed awkwardly, looking at the pile of sushi before him. His mind was in turmoil, and he started feeling sorry towards Yiwon for some reason.