Chapter 412 (1/2)

“Geez, this is the first time someone wanted a receipt for something worth 8 thousand won.”

“Every little bit of savings helps. Oh, write your name here and over here.”

Sooil ended up getting a receipt from him. Byungchan was flabbergasted by his actions. If it was possible to get a receipt from a vending machine after buying coffee, Sooil would probably get a receipt from that as well.

Sooil returned with the beondegi and the grain pops in hand.

“They smell good, don’t they?”

“You really like these things.”

“I love snacks. But where are we right now?”

“We just went past Maesong IC so we should be in Ansan soon.”

Byungchan skewered a pupa with a toothpick before putting it in his mouth. It tasted as great as he had remembered.

“It looks like they’re fishing over there.”

“The Songra fishing zone, huh. You can get a diverse variety of fish there.”

“You’ve been here before?”

“A lot, actually.”

Byungchan came to this place when he failed auditions and was in a bad mood. Talking to new people while fishing made him forget about the sense of loss that pressured his heart. Though, he had never been to this place ever since he started working as a road manager.

“Shall we try going there?”

“Aren’t you tired?”

“I’m fine if you’re fine with it. I’m just sitting still doing nothing so there’s nothing for me to get tired from.”

“Then should we go down there for a sec? It should help with shaking off the drowsiness too.”

“Sounds good to me.”

He emptied the cup of beondegi before crumpling the paper cup and throwing it away. When he did, Sooil picked it back up and put it in a plastic bag. Byungchan had been driving Sooil to his schedule many times, but never had he seen him litter. In fact, he would be the one picking up the trash on the ground.

“It’s just a habit of mine.”

Feeling Byungchan’s gaze, Sooil smiled back and spoke. He had been shooting for half the day, and was being driven for the rest, so he should be tired as well, but he always smiled like that. He was a really good guy.

They drove down to the reservoir. Although there was a parking lot near the fishing area, they did not drive all the way there. That was because they saw some people doing night fishing.

When they got out of the car, the smell of water tickled their nose. Byungchan didn’t have any good memories of this place since this was his refuge, but it did feel rather new to have come here after a long time. Although he hadn’t become a famous actor yet, he wasn’t doing nothing so he considered himself as better than before. Byungchan made a smile mixed with a sigh.

“Do you want one?”

He saw Sooil playing around with some kids with the grain pops. The children’s parents were smiling as they watched the kids. Sooil had a kind-looking face, so even people he had never met before weren’t wary against him. That was definitely an advantage, whether as an actor, or as just a human.

“Hyung. I got a fishing rod.”

Perhaps he got that in exchange for a grain pop? The father of the child gave Sooil his seat. Byungchan approached him and thanked him.

“People come here to talk to new people, right?”

The man spoke as he had his two prankster daughters sit next to him. Byungchan thanked him again before sitting next to him.

The lights on the other side of the fishing area faintly shone down on the reservoir. There was a moon in the sky, and the sunset was reflected on the surface of the water. Just as he was watching the glistening of the water, he saw Sooil raise the fishing rod a little.

“Did it move?”

“No, I was just checking. But there really was no bite.”

“You should pull when you feel something. Before that, it doesn’t matter how hard you pull.”

“Really?”

“You haven’t fished before?”

“Never.”

“You see that glowing float over there, right? If you see it suddenly get sucked down, then you should pull on it.”

“Would I get a fish then?”

“No, if you can catch it just because you see it, everyone in the world would be master fishermen.”

Sooil nodded and started staring at the float.

Byungchan breathed slowly as he looked at the sky. His floaty consciousness had returned a little. He felt that he would be fine if he rested just a little more.

“Do you want some ramyun?” The man that lent them the fishing rod asked.

“No, we’re fi….”

“I’ll cook it for you!”

Byungchan was about to refuse, since he felt that they were receiving too much, but Sooil had stood up and set up the portable stove already. The man that was opening the packaging for the ramyun smiled in satisfaction before returning to his seat.

“Your little brother?”

“Well, I guess you can call him that.”

“He has a good big brother, bringing him to a fishing area.”

“We just came here on a coincidence. Oh, have you caught anything?”

“Nope, not even one. I was going to show my kids some fish, but looks like today’s not the day.”

The man turned around and told his daughters not to annoy the oppa too much. The two girls next to Sooil nodded their heads. When the man turned on the radio and started waiting, Sooil brought them the ramyun. The spicy smell of the ramyun was a perfect complement to the quiet fishing area.

Emptying his portion in an instant, Byungchan checked the time. It was 9. They would arrive in Seoul after 10. Although he was still a little tired, he couldn’t delay longer. Sooil had a schedule tomorrow. Unlike himself, who could just sleep the whole day, Sooil had work to do tomorrow. He might ruin his condition if he missed his opportunity to rest, so he had to be careful about that.

“Let’s get going.”