Chapter 223 (1/2)

“Thanks for the food!” Said Jiseok as he left the restaurant.

“This is the first time I tried Seonji Gukbap (Blood pudding soup & rice), but it was unexpectedly good. It has a unique charm to it that’s different from Seolleongtang (Ox bone soup).”

Although Jiseok didn’t look like it with his skinny body, he actually ate quite a lot. He quickly finished his own bowl of Seolleongtang that he ordered and eyed the Seonji Gukbap that Maru ordered. As he was practically drooling, Maru had no choice but to order another bowl of Seonji Gukbap, and Jiseok started gobbling away as soon as it arrived. Seeing him eat reminded Maru of a farmer hurriedly doing away with his meal to work. If he was given some makgeoli (rice wine) to drink, he might have exclaimed out loud after finishing it in one gulp. Even after finishing his second meal, Jiseok stared at the menu. He was always hungry for more in life, quite literally.

“Let’s be friends from now on. Someone that treats me to a meal will never be a bad person.”

“Who told you that?”

“My dad.”

“Now that’s a very dangerous perspective of life he has there. Remember that the one that treats you food is the most dangerous person.”

They walked towards the subway station while chewing on the mint candy that the store has as dessert. Their destination was Hyehwa station. Since it came to this, he decided that he wanted to just enjoy the play. As soon as the two got on the train, Maru walked away from Jiseok. He didn’t want to pretend like he knew this childish guy who took both of his hands off the handle and acted cool as though he wasn’t affected by the movement of the train.

“Perhaps this is what it feels like to skateboard.”

“Yeah right.”

“No, I’m sure it would feel like this.”

Maru thought that this guy would probably do well even on an uninhabited island. Perhaps he might name a volleyball “Wilson” and play with it joyfully until his death. This guy was definitely more than capable of doing that. After watching him for a while, they soon arrived at Hyehwa station. As today was Sunday, there were a lot of people. There were students who came to watch plays, as well as couples of various age groups that came on dates. The weather today was perfect for a picnic. Though, Maru felt rather depressed since it wasn’t her that was by his side today.

“We have time to look around.”

“I knew this was a popular play,” said Jiseok excitedly as he made a victory pose. After that, he tip-toed to peek inside the entrance. This guy liked plays too much.

“Do you like plays that much?”

“Rather than the plays, I like the people, I mean, the actors that bring out their all on the stage.”

Maru nodded his head since the reply was unexpectedly normal. The queue soon started moving forward until they reached the person that checked the tickets.

“Oh!”

Someone unexpected was checking the tickets.

“It’s been a long time, noona,” greeted Maru.

“Han Maru, it’s been a while.”

She was the actress Hanna that he met while commuting to the practice room in Suwon. The person that acted as a bridge between Maru and her.

“I heard a rumor that things went well between the two of you after that.”

“Thanks to you, noona, we’re going out.”

“Wow, you didn’t miss the opportunity, huh. Now that’s what I call a man,” She sounded as cheerful as she always did.

“So, what stage have you gone to? The one after the kiss? Tell me, tell me,” and she still liked to make sexual jokes.

“We’re taking it slow.”

“You sly wolf.”

“Rather than that, how is it between you and Suchan-hyung?”

“What can there be between me and that romanticist? Last winter, we went to Jeongdongjin together and even booked a room, but he never touched me. I told him not to cross the line I drew, and he really never did. He’s worse than a beast. I might as well assault him after drinking three bottles of Soju.”

“...Please don’t harass him sexually. He’s too pitiful.”

“Heheh, don’t worry about that. He won’t feel any pain,” said Hanna with a devious smile. As she did, she showed Maru the ring on her ring finger.

“At least he proposed to me.”

“He proposed? Are you two getting married?”

“Not yet. We don’t even have a house yet. It’s more of a proof that we’re each other’s. I was so frustrated so I threatened him to propose to me. I got this a while after that,” Said Hanna as she proudly showed off her left hand. She looked very happy.

After she checked the tickets for the two, she returned them after slightly ripping the ends of them.

“Are you in the play as well?”

“I’m in as a double cast. Only, I’m a little sad because Miso-unni’s popularity is so high,” said Hanna as she pretended to sob.

“Anyway, have a good time. And you too, the one next to Maru.”

“Yes!” Replied Jiseok as he took a step forward.

“Uhm, if it’s not too rude of me, can I give you a hug? I really enjoyed ‘Your Story’ from back then.”

“Huh? That’s R-19 though, so you shouldn’t be able to watch it.”

“I passed because my face looks a little old.”