Chapter 54: Again
by GideonDirector Bae Eun-hye watched the scene with a fond smile.
“Go on, get going. I’ll be down in a bit after a quick meeting with the other directors.”
After greeting Director Bae, Jubin followed Zion and the rest of the crew.
“Oh? A coffee truck!” Actor Seo exclaimed, pointing ahead.
But the message on the truck…
Enjoy some coffee from ‘A Leaf Resting on Snow.’ Actor Cha Jubin is cheering everyone on!
What the hell is that? Jubin tilted his head, his eyes wide with disbelief as he processed the situation.
“Did you prepare the coffee truck, Jubin?”
“Our Jubi-Jubi-Jubini! Your sense is impeccable. A coffee truck on the day of the full script reading!”
Only Jubin, still struggling to grasp the situation, blinked in confusion.
“Let’s go taste that ‘Coffee on Snow’!” Kim Do-won was the first to run off.
“Cha Jubin, we’ll enjoy the coffee!”
Actor Park called out in a bright, excited voice as he hurried ahead. Actor Seo joined in, her voice equally eager. “I can’t wait to try it!”
“Wait, I—”
I’m still trying to figure out what’s going on here, Jubin thought, but his words went unheard.
“Let’s go, sunbae,” Zion said, tugging his arm.
If Zion hadn’t pulled him along, Jubin would have stood there like a statue for a long time. He approached the coffee truck, hoping the owner might know who had sent it.
“Oh, Actor Cha Jubin! Enjoy the drinks!” the owner beamed.
“We’ll enjoy them, thank you!” the staff members chimed in, already holding their cups.
“Yes, yes, enjoy!” the owner replied cheerfully.
Am I really supposed to be accepting these thanks? Jubin wondered, completely bewildered. He forced an awkward smile, but his mind was a chaotic mess.
The coffee truck owner was busy expertly operating the machine, whipping up orders one after another. By chance, our eyes met. This is my chance to ask.
“Um, Ma’am?”
“Oh, Joo Yeon!”
Did she just call me Joo Yeon? My heart skipped a beat in sheer confusion.
I could tell she was a middle-aged woman wearing a mask, but where had I seen her before? My memory was a complete blur.
Oblivious to my confusion, the owner beamed with delight. “No, no—you’re Actor Cha Jubin now! Don’t you remember me?”
She pulled off her mask. The moment her face was revealed, it all came rushing back.
“Oh, Auntie!”
“That’s right! It’s me, Auntie Milk Tea!”
Back when we were filming Sageukhan Romance, a veteran actor had sent the same coffee truck to the set every single day. At the time, I was still young and didn’t really enjoy coffee. The owner, who had been a fan of Joo Yeon, always felt sorry for me because I never drank anything.
The very first drink she ever made for him had been milk tea.
Ever since that day, it had become Jubin’s favorite.
“I’m so glad to see you, Auntie.”
“Oh, I couldn’t see your face anywhere! I was wondering where you’d gone, what you were up to…”
“I’ve been doing well, just like this.”
“Of course you have! You have to do well. Want some milk tea?”
The thought of drinking her milk tea again after so long made his heart swell.
“Yes, please. I’ll have one now, and another after my meal.”
“Alright, alright. I made sure to stock up on plenty of milk tea just for my Joo Yeon.”
She beamed, proudly displaying the tea bags. Jubin felt a wave of tenderness and shyness at the sight, but he bowed politely.
“Thank you.”
Seeing her here after all these years was one thing, but now it was time to ask the question that really mattered.
“By the way, who paid for the coffee truck?”
“Ah, the payment was—”
Who’s the one who pulled off this sweet surprise behind my back? This was his chance to find out.
“Boss, one iced americano, please.”
Do Zion’s sudden appearance drew the boss’s attention away from Jubin.
“Oh, Do Zion! I can’t believe I’m seeing you in person! It’s so good to see you! Give me an autograph before you leave, okay?”
“Of course, I’ll give you one.”
It was the most important moment, but Do Zion had ruined it. As Zion and the boss chatted, Cha Jubin watched his milk tea being made, his anxiety growing with every second.
Caught between two masters of small talk, Jubin couldn’t find a way into the conversation. All he could manage was a quiet “Thank you” as he accepted his drink.
The owner couldn’t stop praising Zion, calling him an angel over and over again.
Do Zion, for his part, just smiled as if he were used to it. He must have a high tolerance for flattery.
Please, sir. Just tell me who he is.
I fought the urge to butt into their conversation, hoping that if I waited just a little longer, an opportunity would present itself.
“Here’s one iced americano~”
“Thank you.”
After making a great impression on the owner, Zion naturally met Jubin’s eyes.
“Thanks for the coffee, Sunbae.”
“…Uh, yeah. Sure…”
“Let’s go. Now that we have our coffee, we should head to the catering truck.”
I decided I needed to get Zion away from here immediately.
“Yeah, you go ahead.”
I turned back to the owner, but just then, a few staff members who had already finished their meals placed their orders all at once.
“Two iced coffees, please!”
“No, make it three!”
“Add a latte to that!”
With the sudden surge in orders, the already busy vendor was now completely swamped.
“Ah…”
Is getting a simple answer really this hard? Jubin could only sigh in frustration.
Zion, who had been waiting beside him, urged him forward. “Let’s go. Hurry up.”
I’ll definitely ask him again after we eat, Jubin vowed, reluctantly turning away.
“Over here! Hey, over here!”
Do-won, who had been waiting at the very end of the line, waved his arm energetically to get their attention.
Sipping his favorite nostalgic milk tea, Jubin couldn’t tear his gaze away from the coffee truck, stealing glances at it. He desperately wanted to run back and ask who had paid for the drinks, but he forced himself to hold back.
“This coffee is so nice. Here, take it, my love.”
Kim Do-won deliberately took a long sip of his coffee, then shot Jubin a playful, flirtatious wink.
Beside him, Zion frowned and pulled Do-won back. “Stop it.”
The low, firm tone instantly froze the air. Even without trying to listen, the emotion pressed into Zion’s voice was painfully clear.
“Uh? Do Zion, don’t tell me…”
Do-won’s eyes darted between Jubin and Zion, suspicion written all over his face.
Don’t tell me what? Jubin swallowed hard, his nerves on edge for no reason.
A moment later, Do-won’s eyes narrowed as a sly grin spread across his face.
“Ah, I see. So that’s how it is.”
How it’s what? Jubin resolved to brush it off if Do-won tried to twist things into something strange. He couldn’t let their secret be exposed over something like this.
“Our Actor Do is just starved for my love!!”
Do-won threw himself at Zion with genuine enthusiasm. Jubin quietly backed away, putting some distance between them.
Thank god he just blundered right past it.
“Ah, I’m done with my coffee, so I want something else. Jubin-ssi, can you see the menu from here?”
Actor Seo, who had already finished her coffee, asked, “Ah, I’ve had my coffee, so I want something else. Jubin, can you see the menu from here?”
The coffee truck was too far away for Jubin to read the menu.
“Uh, I can’t really see it,” he replied.
“What would you like to drink?” Zion asked, naturally joining the conversation as he hung onto Do-won’s neck.
“An einspänner,” Actor Seo answered thoughtfully.
Zion glanced at the menu and confirmed it immediately. “They have it. Einspänner.”
But he can see the menu from this distance? Jubin tried blinking a few times, wondering if that would help him see it, but it was useless.
“Actor Do, just how good is your eyesight?”
Do-won stepped away from Zion, looking genuinely surprised. He treated him as if he wasn’t even human.
“It’s normal,” Zion replied.
“But you can see them? What is this, some kind of superpower? Is there anything you can’t do?”
“A girlfriend?” Zion joked as he picked up his tray.
Kim Do-won shot back with a lecture, his voice laced with mock annoyance. “I’m telling you all the time—stop playing the ‘boyfriend’ role for your fans and go chase your first love.”
Zion just laughed, prompting Do-won to press him with an even more serious tone. “Don’t tell me you’re going to say you never had a first love because you were too busy learning how to swim.”
“Why wouldn’t I have a first love?”
Do-won looked visibly relieved. “Thank god. If you’d said you didn’t have one, I was about to buy you something really good for your birthday instead of a girlfriend!”
“Do you even have the money to buy that?”
“Of course not! You’re paying me back later!”
“How is that a gift? That’s just a scam.”
What exactly was this ‘really good’ thing? That was left to their imaginations.
Cast and crew usually have a habit of naturally splitting into their own groups, but today, everyone seemed to be clamoring for a chance to talk to Do Zion. They all crowded around him, eager to get close.
What’s so special about team bonding? Jubin wondered. As long as Do Zion is here, miracles happen.
“Sunbae, sit here.”
In the midst of the chaos, Zion thoughtfully pulled out a chair for Jubin, gesturing for him to sit beside him.
“Jubin, do you mind if I sit next to you?”
Actor Seo approached, noticing the empty seat beside Jubin.
“Oh, sure. Go ahead.”
Zion, seated to Jubin’s right, leaned over to greet Actor Seo. “Enjoy your meal, Seo Ji-soo.”
“You too, Do Zion.”
Sandwiched between their exchanged smiles, Jubin felt a strange sensation wash over him. Was it the awkwardness of being caught in the middle of the two of them?
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