Moon Juhye only headed home, worn out with a heavy backpack on her shoulders, after the sun had fully gone down.
Once she became a high schooler….
Not only her backpack, but even her shoulders became heavier. Next year she’d be a senior, so what could she do.
She stopped listening to the songs she liked, and even stopped fangirling.
Even though people say the CSAT isn’t everything in life, a single test could change your starting line.
If so, it’d be better to do her best. For today, first, go home, wash up right away, and sleep.
She forced her tired body to move and pressed the elevator button.
“Ah, damn…”
The button wouldn’t press, so when she looked up, she saw the words “Under Inspection.”
It was already such a brutal day, and now even the elevator was acting up.
And on top of that, Juhye’s home was on the 17th floor. It wasn’t a floor you could brush off with, “I’ll just walk up for exercise.”
“I want to teleport.”
She desperately wanted to just lie down on the floor right then, but.
If she ended up sleeping outside in this weather, her mouth might twist crooked, so she forced herself to turn toward the stairs.
“Could they fix it already…”
As she complained and climbed, her breathing gradually grew tight.
“Haa, ha, haaa…”
Even though the weather was cold, she could feel hot humidity building inside her padded jacket.
6th floor, 9th floor, 11th floor, 13th….
Before she knew it, she passed the 16th floor and reached the 17th.
“Huuugh, huuugh…”
Maybe because she spent more and more time sitting at a desk, her stamina had gone to ruin.
Even though she kept stopping and starting, her lungs hurt like they were going to tear.
Ding-ding-ding!
Clutching at her wildly pounding heart for a moment.
“I’m hoooome…”
The moment she opened the front door, she went straight into the living room and collapsed onto the sofa.
Her glasses had fogged up white from the temperature difference, so she couldn’t see in front of her, but that didn’t matter.
She needed somewhere to lay down her exhausted body and rest, right now.
“You brat, at least wash your feet before you lie down!”
Her mom, sitting on the sofa, slapped Juhye’s back and shouted.
“I’m so tired. Seriously, just let me rest a little….”
“No matter how tired you are, you don’t even have the strength to wash your hands and feet before lying down?”
Juhye covered her ears at her mom’s continued nagging.
“Juhye. Moon Juhye.”
“I can’t hear yooou.”
“No, look, just look.”
“I can’t heaar.”
Her mom shook Juhye again for a moment.
Smack!
She hit her back hard and pointed at the TV screen.
“No, watch the TV!”
“Why the TV?”
“Doesn’t that look delicious?”
At her mom’s words, Juhye turned her head with an annoyed look.
On the screen was kudzu naengmyeon that looked refreshing just to look at.
“Well, it does look kind of good.”
“Want to go eat it sometime soon?”
“I don’t even have time to study, when would we go?”
She said it grumpily, but she must have wanted to eat it too….
Wipe, wipe.
She roughly wiped her still-foggy glasses on her school uniform shirt sleeve, then stared closely at the people doing what you’d call “noodle slurping.”
They’re eating so deliciously.
“Still, it’d be nice for the family to go once, to get some air.”
Her mom suggested it, poking Juhye in the side like she was coaxing her.
“No, we’re not goi….”
Juhye thought that if she kept watching, she’d want to go eat it right away, so she was just about to push herself up from her seat.
“Wait, wait.”
Among the older folks on screen constantly raising thumbs-up and saying it was delicious, she saw a familiar silhouette.
No.
More like a familiar lower face?
Then, as if she’d never been tired, Juhye pointed at the TV with eyes wide awake.
“Th-there, therrre…!”
“Yeah, let’s go there.”
“N-no, that person is….”
Juhye carefully wiped her glasses again, then lunged forward like she was about to get sucked into the TV.
“You’ll ruin your eyes, come watch from here!”
She heard her mom nagging from behind, but….
“I’m sure.”
Juhye’s gaze was locked on the TV.
To be exact on a man wearing a cap pulled low.
“M-my god.”
The screen kept changing quickly, so she couldn’t see his face well.
But soon, when the man’s interview came on, she knew for sure.
That sharp jawline and full, well-balanced lips.
And that low, husky voice with weight to it.
It was definitely someone she knew well.
The one who, until she started studying in earnest, had kept her awake every night clutching a single photo…
The one who had always been a boost of energy in her exhausting days…
“Is this enough? I’m about to get my food now, so could you clear the camera out of here?”
It was definitely composer HS.
“You said you were tired, but you’re not going to sleep?”
Then.
Juhye spoke in a voice full of resolve.
“Mom, let’s go there too.”
In the end, Juhye pestered her parents and went to eat <Jiri Kudzu Naengmyeon> that very weekend.
You think she just went and ate and came back?
No.
She ate in the seat HS had sat in.
To do that, she did an open run, taking her parents’ scolding that she was being excessive, but…
The taste was excellent too, so she thought it was worth going.
Still.
It was upsetting that no one would believe what she said.
Joo @joovely mar.1:
[you know that program called National Restaurant Map?
This restaurant got featured as a famous spot
and HS was there for sure
the guy in the video, his lower face
it’s real, 100% pure, god-tier chin
so i ate in the same seat lol]
She reinstalled Sweeter, which she’d deleted because of studying, and posted this with the sole desire to share it….
⤷ HS climbing up into the deep mountains just to eat kudzu naengmyeon?ㅋㅋㅋthink about the plausibility before you talk
⤷ isn’t HS in America right now?
⤷ yeah probably
⤷ look at the articles that just came outㅋㅋ HS started a label in america and is making a daniel parker album
⤷ ㅋㅋwhy don’t you say he went with daniel parker to eat too?
⤷ this friend’s delusions are kind of bad;; didn’t you say you were deactivating sweet to study.. was that a delusion too?
⤷ guys don’t dogpile too hard.. it could look that way from fan feelings..
Maybe because she hadn’t been active in so long, the engagement wasn’t strong, and no one believed her in the first place.
There were exactly two reasons.
- They couldn’t even believe HS had gone to eat kudzu naengmyeon at all.
- HS had entered the U.S. market and was working there, so he wasn’t in Korea.
She wasn’t denying those points. Even she had wondered at first if she was seeing things.
HS somehow….
Looked like a vampire living off nothing but a person’s pure blood.
So to imagine him climbing deep into the mountains to eat kudzu naengmyeon and slurp noodles, it did feel really out of place.
[ HS establishes U.S. label “VINCIS”! His business partner is none other than “King of Pop” Vincent Mah… ]
[ Composer HS, first work after founding U.S. label: producing a “Daniel Parker” album… ]
Also, she had learned through the articles that day that HS was currently in America working on Daniel Parker’s album.
But don’t broadcasts usually air after some time has passed since filming?
Back then, it could have been before the work started, and he could have been in Korea, couldn’t he?
“It’s true…”
No matter how many times she looked, she kept seeing the man in the cap as “HS,” and it was driving her crazy.
‘This won’t do.’
In this situation where she was being treated like a delusional patient, she had to do something.
‘Trust.’
Juhye was the kind of person who felt an intense thrill from being “trusted” by others.
Then Juhye clenched both fists tightly.
Click!
She pressed the button controls and captured the screen she was watching.
Before long, she ended up uploading a new post to her account.
“Perfect.”
A satisfied smile rose on Juhye’s face.
Kim Woohyun had now truly wrapped up his life in Korea.
Now the only thing left to do was wait for his booked flight….
‘She’s really pretty.’
And come every day to see the graceful Danbi.
Yes, these days, Kim Woohyun’s pleasure was…
Instead of going to work, showing up at the Café Habit to punch the clock, ordering a cup of coffee, and then sneaking glances at Danbi from behind his laptop, you could say.
Thinking it was a face he wouldn’t be able to see soon made her seem even more radiant.
That aside….
Why isn’t that Geumdong bastard contacting me even once?
[ Composer HS, first work after founding U.S. label: producing a “Daniel Parker” album…. ]
He crossed the water first and kicked off something this huge, then stayed quietly silent like nothing was happening.
And on top of that, even on the message he sent yesterday, and the one he sent the day before, and the ones from days ago, the “1” next to them hadn’t disappeared.
“Geez.”
Kim Woohyun was about to flick the one-sided chat room like a chestnut flick.
Bzzzzzt!
The screen switched, and the phone vibrated.
The caller was….
Executive Director Park, the man he was about to see until he was sick of it.
“Hello….”
— Where are you?
“Huh? I’m….”
— Where, you punk!
He didn’t know what was going on, but the voice was heated.
“I’m at a cafe near the headquarters.”
— Even now, you’re at Habit?
“What’s going on?”
— I’m coming, so wait.
With that, Executive Director Park ended the call.
Before long, he hurriedly flung open the cafe door and appeared.
“Would you like coffee?”
Kim Woohyun asked, looking him over as he came in sweating even though the weather was still chilly.
“Forget it, just sit down.”
But Executive Director Park, as if he was in a rush, took the seat next to Kim Woohyun, not even the one across.
He added that it was perfect since there was a laptop right there, and gulped down the coffee Kim Woohyun had left behind in one go.
Ah, that’s why I said I’d just order you one.
Kim Woohyun swallowed the words he couldn’t say out loud, along with dry saliva.
Tap, tatadadak.
Executive Director Park noisily worked the laptop for a moment.
“Look at this.”
He added, pointing at the laptop screen.
“Some Sweeter is posting over and over that this man eating kudzu naengmyeon is HS.”
Kim Woohyun studied the man at the tip of Executive Director Park’s finger.
“Huh? That’s definitely….”
Before long, he covered his mouth in shock and trailed off.
Because the man in the photo, head lowered with a cap pulled low, had a lower face that was far too familiar.
No.
A lower face he saw so often that there was no way he could mistake it.
“I knew the instant I saw it too.”
As if he didn’t even need to say it, Executive Director Park nodded in small motions.
“And why would that bastard do an interview, something that doesn’t even match his temperament….”
He clicked his tongue and went on, scolding with a sigh mixed in.
“Since his face is already kind of out there, is he just going to start acting wild now, or what?”
“But, sir….”
Kim Woohyun cautiously called out to Executive Director Park.
“It looks like people aren’t believing it anyway, and more importantly, going to eat kudzu naengmyeon isn’t exactly doing something wrong, so what’s the problem?”
He genuinely didn’t understand. Sure, you could ask why he did that, but wasn’t it too much to scold him, or get this angry about it?
“Kim Woohyun.”
Executive Director Park, looking frustrated at his confusion, placed a hand on his shoulder and asked back.
“Is HS just a composer now?”
“Huh?”
“HS is now the head of a company.”
Then he added in a calm but forceful voice.
“But if people say that kind of CEO climbed into the deep mountains to slurp kudzu naengmyeon noodles, it doesn’t look cool at all. No cool factor.”
Kim Woohyun stared at Executive Director Park like he couldn’t believe it.
But Executive Director Park continued with a face as serious as if he were handling a major emergency.
“Anyway, just in case, contact the kid, confirm if it’s really him, and ask the Sweeter account to take the post down.”
“From what I can tell, it doesn’t seem like something that needs measures that far….”
“How many times do I have to say it. HS is now the face that represents VINCIS. I’m now VINCIS’s executive director, so I have a duty to protect VINCIS’s face.”
Executive Director Park nodded, then slammed the table with a fist full of determination.
Thump.
Ah, right.
Sir is someone who takes “a sense of duty” very seriously.
“Yes… I’ll confirm and take action.”
Kim Woohyun decided to go along with him for now.
“And I’m sorry, but please hit the table a little more gently….”
“What?”
“This table is something our Danbi carefully chose, piece by piece.”
You still have to say what needs to be said.
Notes: Kudzu naengmyeon (chik-naengmyeon) is a variety of Korean cold noodles made with arrowroot (kudzu) starch, resulting in dark, chewy noodles. Served either in a tangy beef/radish broth (mul) or spicy sauce (bibim), it is a popular, refreshing dish often topped with sliced cucumber, Korean pear, and boiled egg.
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