Life, Once Again!

Chapter 812. Sequence 8

“Rejecting ‘Flaming Lady’ was just absurd. Were you really sane back then? No, you weren’t sane back then, so that’s why you rejected something like that and fled to the military, leaving behind our poor Gaeul-unni. You’re such a bad guy.”

Yuna, whose cheeks were flushed red, stuck onto Gaeul like a cicada to a tree. Yuna said that she usually didn’t drink more than one glass because she would easily get drunk, but she declared that she would be drinking to her heart’s content today, and consequently, her mouth practically became an automatic door after an hour. Whether it was in the past or now, it didn’t change that the filter in her brain disappeared once she was drunk. Her address of Gaeul also changed from ‘seonbae’ to ‘unni.’

“Fine, I’m the condemnable sinner. I get it, so stop drinking. I can allow everything else but not cooking pancakes on the floor^[1].”

“No. I’m going to cook a big one,” Yuna said as she grabbed Gaeul’s arm.

She looked like she was going to declare war with Gaeul as her weapon if he kept picking a fight with her. He hoped for Gaeul to stop her, but she was also glaring at him while grabbing Yuna’s hand tightly. You don’t dare touch my little sister – her eyes said.

“Looks like there’s no one on your side today.”

“Why don’t you come to mine?”

“Looking at the atmosphere, I think I will have to side with the ladies.”

“You’re good at knowing which side to join.”

“It’s a life technique of mine I learned while I took care of my brother. Should I give you another glass?”

Haewon shook a bottle of soju in one hand and a bottle of beer in the other. Even though this was supposed to be a cocktail party, the colorful drinks were dismissed just ten minutes in. It was beer and soju that replaced those colorful bottles.

“There are a lot of snacks, so I might as well.”

People, who were chatting wildly about ‘what is Han Maru’s fault?’ around the island table, started pairing up in twos as they continued their conversation. Maru tilted his glass and looked at Heewon and Chaerim. They were fighting about what life is an easier life. Heewon, who was a believer in laziness, and Chaerim, who was a believer in following rules, looked like their argument wasn’t going to end anytime soon. At that rate, they might even become attached to each other.

“The two of them look good together, don’t they?” Haewon said.

It seemed that he was paying close attention as well.

“Does Heewon not have a girl he’s dating?”

“I believe there are quite a few women who asked for his number, but he doesn’t care that much. He’s of the mind that he might be exhausted to death if he has to start caring about dating when he’s busy enough as it is with his schedule. But I think he’s getting along pretty well with Chaerim-noona. I’ve never seen him talk for so long even he was mad.”

“They say opposites attract.”

“Maybe he’ll change if he gets a lover. He’s someone with deep thinking. He has beliefs when he acts. I tend to think of him as someone who saves up energy for the necessary moment when he acts lazy like that. Though, sometimes he just comes to a complete stop once he goes overboard with that.”

“So you’re saying he’ll stop saving up energy if he gets a girlfriend and become more active?”

“He’s someone who does what he feels is necessary. Though, the threshold is high, and it’s hard to reach that stage. Above all, once he becomes a little more active, I’ll get more free time, so this is an important matter to me as well.”

“What are you going to do once you get some free time?”

“Until a few years ago, I really wanted to study, but ever since I got a taste of money, I’ve wanted to start my own business. For studying, I can just do it as a hobby.”

“There aren’t many people who consider studying a hobby in this country. So, what’s your business idea?”

“At the top of the list is an entertainment agency. I’ve been doing this for a long time, so I can make use of my experiences or the connections I’ve made. Our president also said she would help us work in this area, so I’m going to learn under her for the time being.”

“‘Hwan’ is a pretty big company, so I’m sure it will help a lot.”

“Will you sign a contract with me once I become independent? I’ll pay you a lot for the contract deposit.”

“For that, you need to go consult our JA president.”

“He’s a little too difficult to deal with. I met him last time, and I felt like he was reading everything I was thinking.”

“He must have done that with room to spare.”

Just as he put his glass against his mouth, the bell started ringing. Everyone’s conversations stopped for a moment. Maru put down the glass and stood up. He didn’t order any deliveries or packages, so he didn’t know who was at the door. He unlocked the door and opened it.

“So you’re here, thank goodness.”

Maru’s eyes twitched. Outside was Suyeon, holding a lot of things in both of her hands. He quickly pulled the door back in again, but Suyeon was faster than him. She poked her foot in between the door and the door frame and put on a victorious smile.

“That’s not happening.”

“What brings you here at this hour?”

“Don’t you understand already since I’m here at this hour? But it sounds noisy inside, unlike usual.”

“I have guests over.”

“Really? What happened to you? You always only had us as guests.”

Hearing the word ‘us’, Maru opened the door wide.

“Are the men here as well?”

“They’re on their way. But how long are you going to keep making me wait here? This is pretty heavy, you know?”

Maru picked up the paper bag that Suyeon was holding. Inside were cans of beer as well as various snacks.

“The ones you left behind are still here from last time.”

“It’s always good to have more for next time. But hey, looks like there are a lot of guests, huh? That’s a lot of shoes.”

Suyeon commented that as she took off her heels. For Geunsoo, Ganghwan, and Suyeon – this trio – this place was like a personal bar that they could visit whenever they felt like it. Most of the time, they would give a call before coming, but occasionally, they would just barge in in the middle of the night like this. These were also the days when they drank until they fell.

“Oh my word, look who’s this!” Suyeon shouted as she lifted her coat in one hand.

Everyone in the kitchen looked at Suyeon in surprise.

“I never thought I’d get to see Mr. Heewon here when I didn’t have any opportunity until now. Also, aren’t you Chaerim? From ‘Blue’ from before.”

Suyeon snuggled amidst the dazed people and grabbed their hands before shaking them. One of Suyeon’s advantages was that she didn’t look spiteful even if she didn’t put up any courtesy on her first meeting with others. Amidst the chaos, Suyeon smiled and greeted everyone until she looked at Gaeul.

“Miss Han Gaeul, right?”

“Yes.”

“We’ve seen each other before, right? In the hospital when Maru was injured. I had my doubts when I saw you on TV, but now I get it. You said you were his girlfriend back then too. Are you two still dating?”

Gaeul asked for help with her eyes. She seemed to be asking if it was okay to reveal it here.

“We’re dating,” Maru said after going to stand next to her.

“You didn’t tell me anything about it. I’m disappointed.”

“It hasn’t been that long since we got back together.”

“Is that how it is? Then is this occasion a celebratory one?”

“Something like that.”

“That’s good. Miss Gaeul, I can join, can’t I? Tell me about it. How good he is, and even better, you can tell me about his weaknesses.”

With Yuna, who was hesitating next to Gaeul, declaring that she was a fan of Suyeon, the kitchen started becoming noisy again. Suyeon joined in on the conversation like she was there from the beginning. Her social skills were fearsome. A list of names who were toppled by her verbal skills and smile flashed past his mind.

“Mr. Heewon, pour me a glass too.”

“Yes. Please allow me to pour you a drink.”

“You’re being way too stiff. Is it because I’m older than you?”

“No, I just think you’re a little scary.”

“That’s a bit of a strong joke for our first meeting, isn’t it?”

“I don’t joke around a lot.”

It seemed that Heewon, who looked at the world in a different way from the others, had seen through Suyeon’s true nature and acted politely but still maintained distance. It wasn’t that he was hostile, but it looked as though it would take quite a bit of time for the two to get close. As for Suyeon, she seemed to find even that quite interesting as she kept smiling. A snake had appeared amidst herbivores. Maru had to watch that snake so that she didn’t devour the others.

“Oh, the door’s open. Coming in.”

“Maru, hyung-nim’s here. We’re going to drink to the death toni…. Huh? There are quite a lot of people here.”

Following those words, Geunsoo and Ganghwan came in. Ganghwan poked his head into the kitchen first and only Yuna responded with the word ’senior.’ When Geunsoo came in, everyone in this place stood up. Gaeul also looked at Geunsoo with surprise and admiration. Maru wanted to signal to her that he was jealous, but he also thought that it couldn’t be helped since a super actor was here.

The silence continued in the kitchen for a while. As for Suyeon, she had approached the others without any time to feel awkward, but Geunsoo had a confused expression on his face as he looked at the unfamiliar group of people.

“Let me clear things up for now. Hyung-nim, give that to me.”

Maru placed the luggage in front of the refrigerator before placing Geunsoo and Ganghwan in front of everyone.

“To your left is the actor Hong Geunsoo, as you all probably know. I won’t introduce what kind of pieces he has done since he has so many hits. The one next to him is actor Yang Ganghwan. He’s a super popular musical actor, and directors love him because having his name on the poster will mean that the tickets will sell out. That’s enough of an introduction, right?”

Maru started clapping first. The people in the kitchen started applauding as well. Following that, he introduced the people in the kitchen, who were standing there awkwardly. Actors Lee Heewon and Han Gaeul; ex-idol, now-café owner Lee Chaerim; and then Lee Haewon, who was Heewon’s little brother and mental support.

“How about me?”

Suyeon raised her hand. She even crossed her legs and looked at him expectantly.

“Don’t mind the person over there. She’s dangerous.”

“You’re being too harsh. I’m Kim Suyeon, an actress at the peak of beauty. Let’s have a great night tonight.”

Suyeon started shaking the can of beer on the floor. Only then did something click in Maru’s mind, but it was too late. Along with a screech, the canned beer burst. Beer foam colored the kitchen. Yuna, who was almost caught up in it, kept blinking in a daze.

“Is this what this place is supposed to be?”

Following that, Chaerim lifted her can as well. Maru freaked out and went to stop her, only to be stopped by Suyeon. The kitchen he had painstakingly cleaned, the kitchen wallpaper he had just attached last week, and the mat that he changed out to celebrate Gaeul’s return, were all covered in beer foam.

“This is karma from your last life,” Geunsoo said as he placed his hand on his shoulder.

Maru just chuckled in vain.

“Then me too!”

Yuna joined in as well. Two were manageable but three…. Maru looked at the drenched floor and tried to hold back his intense urge to clean. Even if he cleaned now, Suyeon was the type of person who would say ‘oh, you cleaned it?’ and pour another batch. This must be the consequence of not greeting her properly when he opened the door. Suyeon winked at him. You should’ve welcomed me – she seemed to be saying.

“I’m not sure what is going on, but let’s join in, shall we?” Ganghwan said as he lifted up his glass.

[1] Vomiting (because vomit looks like pancake mix.)