Life, Once Again!

Chapter 933. Crank Up 4

He was so cheerful during the morning yet… Hoseon took Giwoo, who had thinned out in a mere few hours, to a nearby café. She had him sit down at one of the terrace tables and went to the counter. Recalling that he ate quite a bit of mango during his meals, she ordered a cup of mango juice. As there were many Korean tourists around this area, ordering wasn’t that hard. She stood in front of the counter and had a look at Giwoo on the terrace. As this neighborhood wasn’t known for being quick, it would take at least fifteen minutes for the drinks to come out. Should she wait here and go back with the drinks? Or wait with Giwoo? It was a funny worry to have, but Hoseon was totally serious. If Giwoo was smiling like usual, she would go back without hesitation and chat with him, but he looked depressed like he was hosting a funeral, making her unable to go back so easily. Ultimately, she waited 15 minutes in front of the counter. She walked around like an uneasy dog before picking up the drinks.

I even faced senior Lee. This much is nothing — she consoled herself and approached Giwoo.

“Here, drink some of this.”

“Thank you, senior.”

She thought she had her way with her conversation skills, but now that she actually had a depressed man in front of her, she could hardly talk. Not only that, she was even more cautious as the man was someone she felt attracted to. She didn’t want to say anything that might lessen his impression of her or make bold guesses. Kang Giwoo was someone she wanted to befriend as much as Lee Miyoon after all.

Unable to do anything, she emptied half of the mango juice. It was when she was almost getting tired of waiting for Giwoo to speak and had started worrying about what she had to say,

“Senior, I’m sorry. I know that staying quiet isn’t the answer to everything, but having you around me made me relax, so I just stayed still, even though I know it’ll trouble you.”

A droplet of early morning dew at the edge of a blade of grass — that was how feeble this fully grown man’s eyes looked. Hoseon reached her hand out subconsciously. His skin was as fair as a baby’s.

Only after the sensation of touch registered in her head did she realize what she did. He wasn’t a cat that she raised at home. When she became flustered and was about to take her hand off Giwoo’s face, Giwoo smiled brightly. Hoseon looked at his face in a daze. She felt like the heart-throbbing sensation of first love was coming back to her; a time when she liked someone so much that she could smile just from looking at that person’s face from afar was resurfacing.

“You’re a really good person, senior.”

“I’m not really….”

“Had it been anyone else, they would’ve stood up thinking that I was a bothersome guy, but you waited until the end for me to talk. I think you have a really deep heart.”

Her pride that had been suppressed while sucking up to senior Lee, as well as the confidence that had been shaved down in jealousy of Gaeul had been restored with a single word from Giwoo. She even momentarily forgot that she was supposed to be the one giving consolations here. She looked at Giwoo in a daze for a while before coming back to herself.

“I’m sure anyone would’ve done this. You do so much for all of us usually. It’d be nonsensical to not do this much. Also, it’s not like I did anything. All I did was listen.”

“I think that’s what’s important, just watching and listening from the side. It might sound easy at a first glance, but it’s really not. You’re a really good person, senior.”

Hoseon slowly averted her gaze. She felt like she would fall in love if she kept looking. She didn’t know that a weak-looking man could be so fatal. If there were no eyes around, she even wanted to give him a hug and pat him on the back, telling him not to worry because she would listen as much as needed.

Seemingly having recovered to some extent, Giwoo started to drink. Unlike his fair skin, the movement of his throat was very distinct, as though to boast its masculinity. There were times when actresses gathered together and jokingly talked about male actors who might unexpectedly be quite passionate in bed, and Giwoo was in the rankings. Just as she was fantasizing while looking at his neck, shoulders, and wrist, Giwoo smiled bitterly. It was a smile that made her unable to help but ask the reason behind it,

“Did something happen? I’ve been staying still because I might seem nosy, but it’s bothering me.”

“Looks like I can’t control my emotions that well. I’m being pathetic in front of you.”

“You’re only human. Also, what’s so good about seniors? It’s a senior’s job to listen to the worries of a junior at a time like this. Though, I’m sure I’m not that reliable.”

“You’re someone I can trust and rely on, senior.”

Hoseon curled up her toes when she heard that Giwoo seemed to be reliant on her a little. While she didn’t know the specifics, she would gladly dedicate a day if she could be of his help.

“It looks like the feeling of liking someone doesn’t really go the way I expect it to,” Giwoo said as he lowered his head.

So it was about love. Hoseon thought back to Gaeul, who looked like she was in a really low mood when they brushed by. Her intuition told her that something happened between these two.

“If you’re okay with me, then try talking to me about it.”

“Shall I?”

“I’m known for being tight-lipped. I’ll forget about it once we leave this place, so don’t worry.”

“I’m not worried about that. I know what kind of person you are after all. Also, it doesn’t matter even if it does spread around.”

Giwoo downed the mango juice in one go. Hoseon asked if he needed some liquor instead, as she felt that maybe this wasn’t something that should be talked about over some juice.

“I was just craving for some alcohol too. I’ll go order some.”

“No, you just wait. I’ll go order.”

She thought about going back with just two glasses of rum-based mojito, but she then also decided to bring a bottle of Bourbon whiskey. They drank without talking for a while. She drank the whisky and rinsed her mouth with the mojito and water. Meanwhile, Giwoo didn’t even touch the side snacks that she brought and kept drinking the whisky. Just as she was worried that he was going to get drunk while the sun was still up, Giwoo spoke.

“I’m sure everyone knows since I talked about it during the get-together, but I’m attracted to Gaeul.”

She indeed knew about it, but it didn’t feel that good to hear about it in person. She knew that Giwoo was a persimmon she could not reach and pick, but she always had vague hopes. Kang Giwoo and Han Gaeul – the two of them standing side by side definitely made a good picture. Meanwhile, she would perhaps be one of the little dwarves crying in the corner while listening to the love stories of a prince and a princess. Or perhaps the witch that hands the poisoned apple? In any case, it was true that she was just a side character. Even if she consoled Giwoo and listened to his stories, she wouldn’t even appear on the last page of the book. Sitting here was a useless endeavor, yet despite knowing that, she had a hard time leaving. After all, she was under the spotlight while she was here looking after Giwoo. She was being recorded on the main pages.

“You two really suit each other.”

Now that she actually thought that she was just a side character, she had an easier time talking. She thought that she might as well get the ‘grateful noona’ treatment after hooking the two up. Looking at things, it seemed that Giwoo had expressed his feelings to Gaeul, but Gaeul did not accept him. It would be fine as long as she cheered him on with the old adage that there is no tree that will not fall after enough swings of the ax.

“Is that so?”

“Yeah. So don’t feel so down and be more proactive about it. A woman’s heart isn’t always so fickle, but it’s bound to be shaken if the wind is strong. The saying ‘the brave gets the beauty’ isn’t entirely wrong. Giwoo, you’re a really good guy, so if you talk to her calmly about it, Gaeul will open her heart up to you.”

Did that make her seem like an expert in dating? Men had the tendency to resolve the situation by themselves if they were given a little conviction. He might be feeling down because he was rejected, but he should soon get back on his feet as long as she gave him a little push. That was how it was with the men that Hoseon had experienced.

Giwoo shook his head as though that wasn’t what he meant.

“Looks like I didn’t explain enough.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m not the only one with feelings. Gaeul also showed interest in me. That’s why I brought it up during the get-together. Acting like that without even understanding what she feels is just shameful.”

That was true. Boldly bringing it up like that was only doable if both parties had implicitly agreed to it. This was especially true since their occupations were sensitive in regard to romance.

“Then there shouldn’t be any problems, are there?”

“What I like about Gaeul is her refreshing personality. She doesn’t act coy, nor does she put up any pretenses. I thought that if it was her, our love would last a long time like a friendship. But as I talked to her and got to know her, I started to realize that there’s a disparity between what I knew of her and her real self.”

Giwoo’s tongue had become semi-loose. He started grinning a lot too, and his head would bob up and down from time to time. It seemed that he was seriously drunk. She could tell since he was bringing up secrets so easily. Hoseon hesitated. Should she have him stop here and have him return? Or listen to the end and find out about the secrets of the two? The hesitation didn’t last long as Giwoo started talking,

“It was after she got hit on the cheek by senior Lee Miyoon. I was worried about her and talked to her about it. That was when I found out something strange. After all that’s happened, senior Lee Miyoon is still a senior, but she spoke as though she had done nothing wrong. That was when I started to lose interest in her. I had a look at her again after that. That was when I found out that Gaeul had been talking bad behind everyone’s back.”

“Talking bad?”

Hoseon pulled her chair in. She knew that it would be something like this. She always thought that that impolite junior would be talking crap behind everyone’s back. Some of the actresses she was close to had been talking about how ‘dishonest’ Han Gaeul was for a long time. It seemed clear that that deceitful fox had been talking behind everyone’s backs. No one caught anything from her, but she probably hid it meticulously.

“I can’t talk about this, but I’m only saying it because it’s you, senior.”

Giwoo sighed. He reeked of booze.