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Chapter 55: Why’d You Call Me?
by GideonI’ll just go along with the mood, I thought, letting it slide.
“Enjoy your meal, everyone,” Jubin said, offering a casual greeting to the group.
How long has it been since I’ve had a warm, home-cooked meal made by someone else?
The main dishes were a feast: crispy tonkatsu, curry rice, and a hearty serving of spicy stir-fried pork. The combination of the spicy soft tofu stew, savory rolled omelet, and fresh kimchi salad was simply divine. There was even a fruit cup for dessert.
I deliberately took a modest portion, not wanting to be greedy. Others had to eat, too, and I figured if there were leftovers, I’d happily have another piece of the omelet.
Eating the freshly steamed rice with a variety of side dishes felt like a small but genuine happiness.
“Sunbae, want some of my omelet?” Zion asked, his chopsticks already gripping a piece.
“You eat it. I have some too.”
“I saw you try to take a bunch but only end up with two,” Zion said, casually placing two pieces of rolled omelet on Jubin’s tray.
Jubin felt a flush of embarrassment, caught in his secret greed for the omelet.
“Eat up. I brought them specifically for you,” Zion added.
“…Ah, thank you.”
Since he’d gone out of his way to get them, Jubin felt too guilty to refuse again.
Just two pieces of omelet, yet his tray felt completely full.
Actor Seo, who had been listening to their conversation, chimed in. “Jubin, are you going to give me some too?”
Jubin jumped, startled, and quickly declined. “No, no, I’m fine. There’s plenty.”
Any more would be pure greed.
“Our Bini-Bini likes rolled omelets?” Zion teased. “Guess we’ll have to go out for some as a side dish with drinks next time.”
Kim Do-won’s comment, though he was standing a short distance away, sent a wave of laughter through the group. Just listening to their casual, low-toned chatter was a delight.
For Jubin, this unfamiliar yet warm moment was incredibly precious.
Will I ever have a moment like this again after this project ends? A gentle ripple of sadness washed over him at the thought of it all slipping away too quickly.
He was already dreading the end.
After finishing his meal, Jubin picked up his tray and headed for the return station. Just then, he noticed the coffee truck was completely empty. Finally, a chance to ask Auntie Milk Tea!
He started to run, determined not to miss this opportunity, when CEO Moon Woo-jin suddenly called.
“Yes, CEO Moon.”
—Hey, Jubin. How’s the table read going?
“It’s over. I’m eating right now.”
“So, you saw the coffee truck?”
Jubin paused mid-step. The CEO’s tone suggested he knew something.
“Yes. I was actually about to ask you. Did you send it?”
“No, an anonymous fan did.”
A fan…?
The unexpected revelation sent a warm, fluffy feeling through Jubin’s chest, like a cloud drifting in the sky.
“They’ve been a fan of yours for a long time,” Moon Woojin continued. “They were so thrilled to see the news about your comeback that they insisted on sending a coffee truck for your first table read.”
“Is there any way to find out who it was…?”
“Nope. They’re anonymous.”
What a shame. Jubin wished he could thank them with a heartfelt gift, but who was he to receive such a gesture?
As he tried to draw a breath, his throat tightened.
“Thank you,” he managed, his voice thick with emotion.
Others might not have noticed, but CEO Moon Woo-jin immediately sensed the tremor in my voice.
—I’m glad you’re acting again. There are so many fans all over the place missing and waiting for your performance. So, don’t give up on the acting you love so much.
“Yes,” I replied, my voice trembling slightly at the end. I felt safe enough to show this much emotion in front of CEO Moon Woo-jin.
After the call ended, I took a deep breath to calm my racing heart.
I stared blankly at the sign on the coffee truck for a long moment.
Enjoy some coffee from Leaf on the Snow! Actor Cha Jubin is rooting for everyone!
Overwhelmed with joy, I vowed once more to do my best. Suddenly, I heard footsteps stop behind me.
“Sunbae. Are you still holding your tray?”
Before he could even finish his sentence, his arm draped lightly over Jubin’s shoulders.
It wasn’t a full embrace—just a casual, half-hearted distance—but the unmistakable warmth seeping through Jubin’s back startled him.
“I’ll take this for you. Just order an iced coffee instead.”
The sight of Zion’s bright smile made Jubin blush for no reason.
“Yeah, okay.”
Afraid his feelings would be exposed, Jubin quickly stepped away from him and hurried toward the coffee truck.
“One iced americano and one more milk tea, please.”
While waiting for the drinks, Zion approached him after just setting down his own tray.
“Did you order?”
“Yeah, I did.”
“Come with me for a second.”
Jubin’s eyes asked, Where?
“I have something to say to you, sunbae.”
Jubin felt that the moment had finally arrived.
“Yeah, me too…”
He then turned to the busy vendor and asked in a gentle voice,
“Sir, I’ll be back for the coffee and milk tea in a bit.”
“Take your time,” Zion replied.
Jubin quietly followed Zion outside. As they walked, his mind raced with a thousand different scenarios.
His heart hammered against his ribs. He worried he might say the wrong thing, but this was a hurdle he had to cross.
Keep your composure, he told himself. Don’t read too much into anything he says. Even if he says something that hurts, don’t let it show. Hide your emotions. Don’t let him get to you.
After a few more steps, they reached a small clearing filled with pink hydrangeas. The moment Zion turned around, Jubin started with an apology.
“I’m really sorry about that day.”
It was the one thing he’d been dying to say since seeing him today. Without warning, Zion cupped Jubin’s cheeks and leaned in close.
Thinking he was about to kiss her, Jubin’s eyes widened. He just smiled softly.
“Is that all you have to say?”
“…Uh…”
The single syllable escaped her lips awkwardly before she fell silent. This was a disaster. All the resolve she’d built up on the way here was crumbling.
She knew she had to speak up, but her mind was a complete blank.
“…Thank you.”
“Again?”
What else am I supposed to say?
Her lips parted and closed without sound. His lazy gaze felt strangely intimate, and she found herself averting her eyes.
“Not ‘sorry’ or ‘thank you.’ There’s something else I want to hear.”
He made it sound like a simple request, yet she felt an irresistible urge to grant it.
“What is it? Just tell me.”
“Why did you call me here?”
Jubin clenched her fists tight. If she let her guard down for even a second, the words she’d been holding back would spill out unfiltered.
Jubin took a shallow breath and forced out the excuse he’d rehearsed.
“Because we’re partners.”
He gently grasped Zion’s wrist, the one cupping his cheek, and slowly lowered it.
“The rain just… made my pheromones go wild. I just needed someone.”
He had practiced this a dozen times, but facing Zion, his throat tightened, making it hard to even breathe.
I know this is selfish, he thought. But I just hope he doesn’t get hurt. He forced a smile, trying to look as nonchalant as possible.
“Ah, someone…”
Zion’s voice was dry, extinguishing the last spark of hope in Jubin’s heart.
“And here I thought you missed me.”
The hurt in Zion’s question pierced Jubin’s own chest like a dagger.
“What a relief. I thought you were sick.”
There was a world of difference between assuming Zion was worried and hearing him admit it out loud.
“It hurt my heart to leave you alone because of my schedule. If you hadn’t contacted me, I would have gone to your place again.”
My heart felt like it was swelling too much, the seams bursting so tight it actually hurt.
“Sorry. I must have worried you a lot.”
“Don’t be sorry. Just call me again next time. Don’t think about calling anyone else—you should make good use of the partner you already have.”
Partner. Since when did that word become so heart-wrenchingly painful? Perhaps it hurt even more because his offer to be “used” was a sincere, innocent truth.
But experience had taught me a bitter lesson: opening my heart in moments like this only ever led to a bad end.
Besides, letting someone in emotionally just because you’ve slept together a few times only makes them lose interest faster.
Hide your feelings like always, he told himself. Even if he calls me a bastard later, I have to be selfish. I have to protect my own heart first.
“You won’t need to call me anymore,” he said, drawing a line with a convenient excuse to escape the situation. “They say the summer monsoon is over.”
“Who says it’s over?” the younger man countered, his voice dropping an octave. “You’re not the only one who can call me, Sunbae. I can call you too.”
It was such a simple statement, yet it made his heart plunge. Right. A partner relationship was fair in its own way.
The terms were the same for both of them: whenever either one needed the other.
“Yeah, you’re right. Call me. Anytime.”
Jubin smiled and readily agreed.
He reached out and gently smoothed his partner’s disheveled bangs with his fingertips.
“Don’t worry. I promised I wouldn’t run away. I won’t ghost you.”
For a moment, the other man’s expression faltered. He lowered his gaze, then quietly accepted the touch.
“So, stop being upset.”
The hair caught in Jubin’s fingers felt so soft he wanted to keep stroking it, but the man wouldn’t lift his head. Fearing he was uncomfortable, Jubin pulled his hand away.
Thwack.
The man grabbed his wrist in a flash. Then, he slowly lowered Jubin’s hand back onto the crown of his head.
“…Touch me more.”
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