episode_0066

Whether it was because he had wrapped up his conversation with Siwoo well, afterwards, he helped out appropriately while exchanging stories with Song Seonghyuk.

Thanks to Siwoo, the filming ended earlier than usual.

While the pension owner and Strelka were having a touching reunion by playing frisbee, the three of us sat in the gazebo in the pension yard and tasted the organic strawberry cake that the owner had personally made.

“It’s delicious.”

A dry response from Song Seonghyuk.

“Yeah.”

Siwoo followed suit with a similarly short comment.

On the other hand, I could write a whole essay about the cake melting in my mouth.

The homemade cream is really smooth and light. How sweet are the strawberries?

‘Well… I did try to resemble Song Seonghyuk unconsciously…’

He had his own unique way of playing, but he was someone who was incomparable when it came to dealing with people, especially women.

Despite having many fans who occasionally visited him from his domestic concours, he always dealt with them calmly.

He was a world apart from me, who kept stumbling over my words and gradually reducing the number of words I spoke.

“You’re pretty good at Korean, huh?”

“Well, yeah.”

“I thought your Korean would be awkward since you lived abroad for a long time.”

“That’s not it. It’s just that I’m not good at dealing with people.”

“… You? Not good at dealing with people?”

“I’m not good at it.”

Siwoo made a puzzled expression.

He’s probably thinking, ‘Aren’t I better at it?’

As I watched the two of them talk while eating cake, it reminded me of a conversation I had with Song Seonghyuk a while ago.

‘Maybe things will turn out better than I thought?’

The atmosphere was quite different from when I was shocked to hear that Song Seonghyuk and I were like siblings right after the possession.

It seems like nailing down the business aspect is more effective than I thought.

When I’m lost in my own delusions, constantly falling into the swamp of depression, Siwoo is there to keep my mental state in check. Is that why things are okay?

‘I can’t afford to fall…’

How would a mother feel watching her child put up for sale at the market?

Even looking at myself from three years ago, I feel this way. How anxious must mothers raising teenage sons be?

How should they comfort their pride when their child suddenly comes home with a bruised ego?

“I need to use the bathroom.”

As soon as Siwoo left, Song Seonghyuk subtly pulled his chair closer to me.

“Let’s leave after he comes back. Looks like Strelka has had enough running around.”

“Yeah, seems like it.”

While Santa Claus lay on the ground panting, Strelka ran around him in circles, playing catch with the frisbee by himself.

He’s as clever as he is scary.

“Let’s ask him something.”

I waited for Song Seonghyuk’s question and adjusted my bangs that were fluttering in the spring breeze.

I should probably tie them up later. There’s a limit to what I can do with just my hands.

“Jung Siwoo, are you going to keep following us in the future?”

“He said he wants to.”

“What about his driver’s license?”

“He doesn’t have it yet. He said he’ll get it soon.”

“When is he getting it?”

I stared at Song Seonghyuk, wondering why he was prying so much.

“I don’t know? He’ll probably get it soon?”

He nodded as if in agreement.

“We’ll have to keep renting for a while longer.”

“Yeah. Can you do it like today?”

“I might not be able to. But a broken rib heals quickly, right?”

“Probably next week or the week after.”

“Hmm.”

Song Seonghyuk turned on his phone to search for something. A while later, he showed me a large SUV.

“The seat was pulled back as far as possible, but seeing you hugging Relka so tightly made it look too cramped.”

That’s right. I strongly empathize.

I didn’t think about it before getting in, but after driving for about 30 minutes, I realized it for sure.

Even though the front seat was getting cold, I debated whether I should have let Jungsio sit in the front the whole time.

“Next time, you sit in the back.”

“Is that okay?”

“Yeah, that’s why we did the ice breaking today.”

Only then did I realize that Song Seonghyuk deliberately led the conversation with Jungsio.

‘Was he trying to make me sit in the back…?’

Did he notice that I was worried that the two of them were awkward and couldn’t say anything, so he deliberately sat in the passenger seat?

Alpha males are cunning. Just by observing the situation, he can read minds.

‘No wonder women fall for him so easily…’

If he loads up on small considerations like loading a drum magazine, how can they not fall for him?

If it were a different woman, I would have already started teasing Song Seonghyuk, saying, ‘Wow, what a great consideration.’

“I’ll rent a spacious car next time, so you can ride comfortably in the back with Relka.”

“Thanks, man.”

“If you’re thankful, hire an editor or something.”

“Oh.”

I really should consider it.

Even though Song Seonghyuk is voluntarily helping Chaewon, if we get eliminated from the concours finals because of this, I would feel really sorry.

But unlike me, who doesn’t consider it a top priority, Song Seonghyuk seemed quite anxious.

“I’ll have the editor do the recording, upload, and channel management.”

“…Huh? Aren’t you going to do anything?”

“I need to start preparing for the concours. The big stage is two years away, but I can’t just sit around until then.”

Come to think of it, this guy swept the awards at the concours in Korea from the second half of this year to the second half of next year.

Even though there were rumors that the domestic judges evaluate foreign musicians quite harshly, he won by a significant margin.

Well, if Chaewon had hired an editor in her past life, it was probably around this time.

I should seriously consider it.

“Or should I recommend someone I know?”

“Who. Do you know someone reliable?”

“I do have a long-time acquaintance. They have a long history of editing music videos.”

“Oh, really? Who is it?”

Song Seonghyuk searched something on the internet and showed me an SNS profile.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

[ JINDAWN ]

@jindawn_music

Professional music video editor | Currently not taking any freelance work

9 following | 10.3k followers

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Quite a large number of followers for someone who only does editing.

It was clear that this person had considerable recognition in the field.

“I learned editing from this person.”

“This person? Are they the same age as you?”

“We’re the same age. One year older than you.”

“I see.”

As I looked at who they were following, something caught my eye.

“Aren’t I running a Twitter account?”

“….”

Sorry, but don’t make a face like you’ve seen a crazy person.

“Some of your early videos were made by this person.”

“Oh, I see.”

But Song Seonghyuk didn’t ask, ‘Are you suffering from memory loss?’ like he did in the past. He seemed to understand and move on.

“If I get too busy, I’ll connect you with this person.”

“Sounds good. Um… will you still be filming though?”

“I’m thinking of letting Jungsio drive if he knows how.”

We can’t just let Siu spend all his time driving.

That’s not right. At least in the concours, they should compete on equal terms.

“Come on. Still, help with filming. It won’t take as long as editing, right?”

Most importantly, I’m too anxious to entrust long-distance driving to a guy who just got his driver’s license.

“We’ve become friends. Consider it as making one more friend.”

“We’re not that close.”

Fixing his complexion and nodding decisively, Song Seonghyuk.

Even if they weren’t close, they should get closer.

As he distances himself from his idol, as his idol remains a mysterious figure, Jung Siwoo’s sense of inferiority will only grow.

Just like how I casually converse with Song Seonghyuk. It’s good for Jung Siwoo to converse with Song Seonghyuk in the same way.

“You’re still good at storytelling, though?”

“You’re not as comfortable as you seem.”

“Uncomfortable?”

“Yeah.”

He’s being quite blunt.

Equipped with extroversion to survive, but fundamentally an introverted person, is that it?

Honestly, it’s true that I, who couldn’t overcome my introversion until the end, admire someone like that.

“Definitely… there’s a lot to learn.”

So, Song Seonghyuk, you should hang out with me a bit more.

Let’s level up Jung Siwoo a bit more before you leave.

I can’t just leave two noobs alone and let you escape on your own.

“I’m in the middle, aren’t I? At least in my eyes.”

I chuckled and nudged Song Seonghyuk’s waist with my elbow.

“… Until when. Let’s set a deadline.”

If I say that, I might end up saying something a bit mischievous.

“Until March 2025?”

Exactly.

Song Seonghyuk’s palm smacked Chaewon’s round forehead.

“Ow.”

As Chaewon squeezed his forehead with both hands and opened his eyes wide, he sighed and muttered under his breath.

“I need to figure out a way to get closer to that boring guy.”

This guy.

But what am I, who was about to say that people are kind, becoming?