Chapter 58: Movie Theater Date
by GideonPlease, stop doing this in public, Jubin thought, his ears burning. Now he’s just flirting with me constantly, always checking to see if anyone’s watching.
“You…”
“No one heard,” Zion added with a reassuring smile. “I’m leaving now. I’ll definitely see you the day after tomorrow.”
His words carried all the regret of their parting and the earnest desire to meet again.
With that, Zion took his leave.
Joo-won, having finished their discussion, called out urgently. “Hyung, I’ll go ahead and start the car. It’s probably too hot inside.”
“Yeah, I’ll be right there.”
Jubin packed his script and stationery into his bag and pushed his chair back into place.
Director Bae Eun-hye patted Jubin’s shoulder as she saw him getting ready to leave.
“Get home safe.”
“I’ll be going now.”
“Sure. Take care of yourself, and I’ll see you at the next table read.”
Just as he was about to step out of the conference room, he ran right into Actor Seo.
Both of them took a half-step back at the same time, and Jubin was the first to extend his hand.
“Please, go ahead.”
“Oh, thank you.”
She offered a shy smile and walked past him, but then turned back to ask a friendly question.
“Are you heading straight home?”
“Ah, yes. I’m going to go rest.”
“You must be exhausted. Here, have one of these.”
She pulled a sweet-looking cookie from her designer bag. It was one of those hard-to-find treats that were currently all the rage among actresses and K-pop idols.
It was one of the most popular gifts fans sent to celebrities, constantly selling out.
“I heard these are hard to get,” Jubin said.
“They are. Here, try one.”
“Thanks, I’ll enjoy it.”
Jubin tucked the cookie into his bag as he thanked her. Unfortunately, he had nothing on hand to give her in return.
“I’ll buy you a coffee next time,” he offered.
“Really? I’d love that.”
Before he knew it, they had reached the elevator at the end of the hallway.
“After you,” Jubin said, stepping aside to let her enter first.
Actor Seo smiled and thanked him. “Going to the first basement level?”
“Yes.”
She pressed the button for B1. An awkward silence settled between them, but since the elevator arrived quickly, the tension didn’t last long.
Just then, Actor Seo pointed toward a flustered Joo-won a short distance away.
“Oh, Jubin, you’re Joo-won’s sub, right?”
Joo-won was sweating bullets, clearly at a loss.
“Joo-won, what’s wrong?”
“Ah, hyung…” Joo-won sighed softly, checking his phone. “I went to drive out, but there were several large nails embedded in the tire. One of them is completely flat.”
Though it wasn’t his fault, he explained with a pained expression, as if he were the one who had parked poorly and caused the accident.
“It’s okay. It’s not like we can’t fix it.”
“I’ve already called roadside assistance. It’s hot out, so please wait in the car.”
At that moment, Actor Seo, who had been watching the scene unfold, offered her opinion.
“Jubin, would you like to ride with me?”
“No, thank you.”
He saw no reason to ride in her car. Jubin added a polite but firm refusal. “Roadside assistance is on the way. They’ll be here soon.”
“Traffic is terrible at this hour. You’ll be waiting forever. Just leave it to the sub and take my car.”
Jubin found her repeated use of the word “sub” to refer to Joo-won deeply irritating.
“No, I need to go home with my manager. You should go ahead. You must be busy.”
His words came out colder than he had intended. After his repeated refusals, she finally backed down.
“Fine. I’ll be going then. See you at the next table read~”
After she left, Jubin took a handheld fan out of his bag and offered it to Joo-won.
“It’s hot. Let’s wait in the car.”
“Oh, thanks, hyung.”
Jubin always started keeping his distance from people who showed a subtle tendency to look down on or belittle others.
“Don’t take what Seo Ji-soo said earlier to heart.”
Joo-won thought for a moment, then shrugged as if remembering.
“You mean calling me a sub? I don’t mind. Everyone has a different perception of the job.”
“There’s a difference between a different perception and belittling someone. If she does it again, I’ll deal with it.”
He felt no regret, as he believed this was an emotion he didn’t need to suppress.
“Thanks, hyung.”
And so, the full reading day came to an end.
I visited the department store for the first time in a while. I was there to buy gifts for my parents and a handkerchief for Zion.
Ever since I’d moved out, I’d sent them gifts every season to make up for not calling often. My mother, who had a sun allergy, always carried a lightweight parasol. My father, who spent a lot of time outdoors, used a non-sticky sunscreen that was easy to reapply.
My decision to live independently hadn’t been a bold choice; it was an escape. I’d fled because I felt I’d suffocate under my parents’ expectations if I stayed. Because of that, I couldn’t be as affectionate as I used to be.
Perhaps they were shocked and bewildered by a grown son rebelling in ways I never had as a teenager. They had abruptly stopped their excessive worrying.
The irony was that only after being freed from that suffocating concern did I realize just how much it had weighed on me.
After buying gifts for my parents, I stopped by a brand store in the department store to find a handkerchief that would suit Zion.
“Hello. If you tell me the specific line or color you’re looking for, I can help you find it.”
“I’m looking for a handkerchief to give as a gift…”
“Who is the gift for?”
Zion is someone precious to me…
The silence as I searched for the right words wasn’t long.
“A junior colleague.”
I can’t exactly call him my partner.
“The men’s collection is here, and the women’s is over there.”
What kind of style would he like? I pondered deeply, carefully trying to deduce his taste by recalling the handkerchiefs he’d used before.
Choosing a gift for my parents had been easy, but Zion was a challenge. Just because something looked pretty to me didn’t mean he wouldn’t hate it.
What would be good? I couldn’t make up my mind.
Then, my eyes kept returning to one particular item.
“I’ll take this one.”
I chose the design that I thought would look best on Zion—and the one that looked the most beautiful to me.
“Could you also recommend a gift for my parents?”
My mother had always enjoyed the finer things in life, and when we lived together, I’d often come along to help her pick out new purchases. I think I’d just grown tired of her vanity—her pride in having a celebrity son and her desire for me to “flex” my filial piety.
My father, on the other hand, would return home occasionally only to remind me that the reason I faced such malicious comments online was because I wasn’t perfect enough.
But now that I’d actually fallen from grace, the crushing blow to my self-esteem combined with the guilt of not being a better son made all of it an unbearable burden.
If only one of them had been a safe harbor for me. Maybe then I wouldn’t have fought with them, declaring I was running away to live on my own.
I received their recommendations, but I couldn’t bring myself to buy anything.
My heart wanted to, but my body wouldn’t follow. I still cared for them, but my unresolved feelings were too tangled to act on. So, I just left it as it was.
Today was the day Zion and I were going to see a movie. We arrived at the cinema early in the morning.
Since it was a weekday morning and most of the theater was run by automated systems, the place was even quieter than usual.
I’d messaged him to ask what he wanted to see, and Zion had insisted on an R-rated film.
The fact that he specifically asked for something rated R made me think he must be under a lot of stress. Besides, there wasn’t much else to watch.
He probably wanted to see something with explicit sex or violence, but since it was summer, horror movies were the main trend.
When Zion suggested a horror movie, I couldn’t bring myself to say no, so I just agreed.
I tried looking up reviews for the movie we were about to see, but it happened to be releasing today, so there was absolutely no information available.
The scarier the movie, the more I need a spoiler to brace myself. But without one, my nerves were already frayed.
Oh god, my heart.
The moment I saw the poster in the cinema hallway, my palms started to sweat. An instinctive urge to just go home washed over me, and I found myself pacing aimlessly in front of the elevators.
Just then, Do Zion stepped out of one.
“You’re here.”
He was wearing a hat and a mask, but there was no mistaking him.
Pointless. So pointless, I thought, my mind racing.
“The parking was tighter than I expected. I had to circle the lot a few times, so I’m late.”
“You’re not late. It’s fine.”
I have zero desire to go into that theater early anyway. I prayed the sheer terror written all over my face wouldn’t be too obvious.
“Oh, Zion. Wait a second.”
“What is it?”
He hurriedly pulled Jubin’s arm. A claw machine shop had been set up in a corner of the movie theater, stocked with a variety of plushies—from tiny ones for keychains to ones big enough to hug.
“Pick one you like.”
Jubin scanned the machines with a neutral expression, acting completely uninterested.
“Just…”
Not only did he not like plushies, but the ones piled up behind the glass all looked like the results of a gambling-like game of chance.
Unlike the completely indifferent Jubin, Zion carefully examined the machines, already calculating the best angle to win.
“Wouldn’t it be better to just buy one?”
“I’m surprisingly lucky. I’m good at this.”
Seeing his confidence, it seemed he’d done this more than once or twice. Either way, Jubin hated this kind of gambling.
“A fennec fox. How about this one?”
Having picked his target, Zion’s eyes sparkled with the desire to win it.
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