Worries (2)
Worries (2)
"So that's the end of your worries?"
Jeong Hwan-yi picked up a chicken wing from the plate.
When he said let's go eat, I'd assumed he'd take us to a barbecue place or something.
But it was a family restaurant.
That place famous for being a steak house.
Sipping my drink filled with ice,
I shook my head.
Because the thing nagging at me most among my current worries
wasn't whether to create a channel or not.
"I don't know if it's just self-consciousness, but lately people's stares have been really piercing."
I'd gotten used to women asking for my number at all hours.
But... there's a different kind of stare now that's pretty overwhelming.
"Hmm... I don't think that really has much to do with making Qtube videos."
"For once we agree."
Jeong Hwan-yi and Lee Min-ho abruptly high-fived.
I tilted my head for a moment.
Right now, even here, the stares from people passing by were so piercing they were killing me.
And he says it's unrelated.
Aren't you guys taking this too lightly because it's someone else's problem?
"Whether you get famous or not, you won't be able to avoid people's stares anyway."
"Or, you could just wear sunglasses and a mask like A-ra-nim does."
"No, if a guy goes around like that, wouldn't he draw more attention? People would wonder if he's a celebrity."
The two of them said this while snickering.
Well, I'd roughly expected they'd say something like that.
After all, ever since I crossed over to this world, I've been strangely popular.
But since no fundamental solution seemed to be emerging, I started feeling a bit frustrated.
Hmm..
Now that I thought about it, wasn't my current situation exactly one of those 'there's nothing you can do' things?
If people wouldn't change, then the only option was for me to change.
Just like Qtubers or celebrities weren't born that way from the start,
it was a matter of me just caring less.
Thinking that way, the frustration that had been clogging my chest
felt refreshingly cleared, as if it had been blown wide open.
So in the end, it really does all come down to how you decide to take it?
"Ah, whatever. I'm just gonna enjoy it too."
"Good thinking. We'll each make an appearance on your Qtube channel too."
Lee Min-ho gave an answer I was immensely grateful for.
Cooking for A-ra was nice, but I did want to try filming myself serving food to multiple people.
If I ended up joining an agency, maybe I could even cook for other celebrities?
Jeong Hwan-yi, watching Lee Min-ho offer to appear on Qtube,
gave a snort.
"This Lee Min-ho bastard, I can't tell if he's simple-minded or sly, his ulterior motives are completely obvious."
"Of course it's kindness."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say."
This time I smirked and lifted my cup.
No sloshing sound of water came from the cup;
only the sound of ice clinking against the cup, like you'd hear in a gravel field.
"What the, where'd my drink go."
"Didn't Lee Min-ho drink that?"
"Haah... I'm tired of even talking about it now."
"Hey! We're practically family!"
Friends you may be, but another person is still another person.
Watching them bicker back and forth again,
I let out a bitter smile.
In the end, Jeong Hwan-yi lost.
More precisely, he gave up midway.
Maybe Lee Min-ho acts even more that way because he gives up so easily.
I'd better be careful not to get dragged in.
Jeong Hwan-yi sighed and raised his cup.
"Anyone want to order more drinks?"
"I'll have cola."
"Cola for me too."
Having taken our orders, Jeong Hwan-yi nodded
and pressed the call bell.
***
"Order for table 13 is up."
After graduating from high school, I entered university,
but started a part-time job to earn tuition.
It wasn't that I hadn't considered a student loan, but maybe it was
the anxiety and resistance toward already taking on debt.
With the mindset of getting some early social experience, I started working as a server.
Occasionally I'd have a hard time because of difficult customers,
but not to an unbearable degree.
I suppose you could say the pay is so high that it makes up for the hassle.
It's what they commonly call financial therapy.
Anyway, today we suddenly got incredibly busy.
Noticeably so.
Sales skyrocketed, and accordingly, the pace of serving increased dramatically.
Looking at how even off-duty part-timers were called in because there was so much work...
Well, that pretty much says it all.
Since practically every single person was ordering tomahawk steak,
there was no way not to know the reason.
It was because the tomahawk steak appeared on 'A-ra-Tube,' the hottest topic in town right now.
The sight of world star 'Song A-ra' eating the tomahawk steak her husband made for her
had seized the viewers' eyes and stomachs.
So, not just our branch, but other branches and any business selling tomahawk steak
were all on high alert.
In particular, the company I work for, which is practically the only franchise-style steak seller
that carries tomahawk steak,
had a ceaseless flood of people pouring in.
Before I watched the video, I almost resented Song A-ra and her husband.
Since I was in the middle of work and didn't know what was going on, I found out about that video being uploaded through a senior part-timer.
And in the video my senior played for me, a familiar face appeared.
"Yoo Seong-hwan...?"
He was my high school classmate.
There were rumors he was one of the most handsome guys not just in the school, but in the entire region.
Though the person himself was quiet and reserved, so he didn't seem interested in that sort of thing.
"What, do you two know each other?"
"He's a high school classmate, same class..."
"Then why are you making that 'I don't know' face? I heard all the Queens members came to graduation?"
"I didn't attend the graduation ceremony...."
That day, I happened to be sick and couldn't attend the graduation ceremony.
So I don't really know what happened at graduation.
Now that I thought about it, I did see people talking about Song A-ra and such in the group chat.
I had no idea Song A-ra actually came in person.
A guy who was that quiet got married even before taking off his school uniform.
And moreover, to a world-star idol.
When I first heard it, I couldn't believe it, to the point I wondered if it was like The Truman Show or something.
"Three colas for table 17."
I only snapped to my senses after hearing the bell and the loud voice from the kitchen.
How could I be spacing out in the middle of my part-time shift.
When I'm busy to death already..
I hurriedly ran to the kitchen, grabbed the three colas, and headed to table 17.
There, three men were quietly chatting and eating their meal.
'They've got tomahawk steak here too.'
And I placed the three colas I'd brought onto the table.
There didn't seem to be any empty plates to clear away..
"Here are the three colas you ordered."
"Yes, thank you... Oh? Song Jae-yeon..? You're Jae-yeon, right?"
The man who had been chatting across the table from the other two called my name.
Since my name was called, I had no choice but to turn to the side.
"Yoo Seong-hwan...?"
What's he doing here?
I was flustered for a moment, but this place is close to the high school we graduated from,
so of course it would be within his usual stomping grounds.
Anyway, he seems to have gotten even better-looking.
"You work here?"
"Huh? Uh.. yeah.. for tuition..."
"I see.. I heard you were sick and couldn't make it to graduation, so I was worried."
"W-worried..? Th-thanks.."
"Is something wrong? You seem a bit shaky..."
"No, it's nothing..! Enjoy your meal!"
"Alright.. you take care too."
I bowed my head in greeting and hurriedly fled.
It was because Seong-hwan himself was dazzling enough, but the two sitting in front of him were also incredibly handsome,
so it was blinding.
As expected, do good-looking guys only hang out with good-looking guys?
"Haah...."
If I only work like this, I'll never even get to date properly.
When will I ever get to have a relationship?
I bowed my head and let out nothing but a sigh.
***
"What, you know her?"
"She was a classmate, same class in high school."
"Hmm.."
Jeong Hwan-yi sipped his cola, looking in the direction Jae-yeon had gone.
Could it be he'd actually taken an interest?
He'd been staring for quite a while.
Jae-yeon and I had been somewhat acquainted.
In the world back there, Jae-yeon liked books,
so she'd always be in the library come lunchtime,
and since I was also someone who holed up only in the library like her,
we'd gotten a little close.
So I had memories of us recommending books to each other or sharing our thoughts on them.
But in this world, books were the last thing on her mind; whenever break time came,
she had become a fiery girl who'd grab a ball and dash out.
Probably, the original me of this side and Jae-yeon had never even crossed paths.
I'd felt a bit of loneliness, sensing how many simple connections like that had gotten twisted around.
"She was quite pretty."
"What. Jeong Hwan-yi, did you take an interest or something?"
"Ahem.."
"What, seriously?!"
Jeong Hwan-yi let out a conspicuously awkward cough.
It seemed he really was interested.
"Isn't it about time I tried this thing called dating too?"
"If you're really interested, why don't you go get her number or something?"
"Yeah, yeah."
Lee Min-ho egged him on, and I joined in.
Because it felt like a combination that would suit each other pretty well.
Did it have an effect?
Jeong Hwan-yi grabbed his phone and sprang up.
"Then I will go get her number."
"Ohh! A woman among women! I mean, a man among men! Though that sounds a bit weird."
"A number-getting man!"
I gave him one last nudge.
Anyway, I didn't think he'd actually go and do it.
Jeong Hwan-yi was more proactive than I'd thought.
And with that, he headed off somewhere and disappeared.
I looked at Lee Min-ho, who was sitting still, cracking and eating ice.
What would his taste in women be?
I got a little curious.
"Hey, Lee Min-ho. What kind of woman do you like?"
"Me?"
Shoving the remaining ice in his mouth in a big chunk
and crunching it down noisily, Lee Min-ho
closed his eyes and began meditating.
He seemed to be summoning up his ultimate ideal type in his head.
But, doesn't it usually come to you right away?
"Long straight hair, moderately sized chest, and pretty eyes?"
"Hmm... your taste is similar to mine."
Seemed like his ideal type matched A-ra exactly.
That must be why he acted like such a devoted fan.
With the intention of testing the waters, I brought up A-ra.
"Like A-ra noona?"
"Hmm... a bit different. A-ra-nim is an object of worship, not an object of romantic interest."
Unbelievable.
Had I ever seen a guy so clear about the boundary between public and private?
A fan was just a fan, it seemed he didn't have those kinds of thoughts.
He was a pretty remarkable guy.
"If you ask my type, it's actually Yeji-nim."
"Yeji nuna isn't an object of worship?"
"Well she is, but if I had to pick based on my preferences, that's the kind of feeling."
Yeji certainly had black hair, sparkling round eyes, and her chest was also...
Ahem...
Anyway, it seemed his taste was for a sharp, chic impression.
We'd been rambling about ideal types for a while
when Jeong Hwan-yi sat back down quietly, without a word.
At this rate, there was no way to tell if he'd succeeded or failed.
Lee Min-ho seemed impatient too, and pressed him for an answer.
"Did you get it?"
"Of course I got it."
"Well yeah, it's a reverse-hunting situation, it'd be harder to fail."
Shrug.
I let out a bitter smile at the sight of him boasting with his shoulders squared.
"What did you say?"
"Ah, just tell us already!"
Jeong Hwan-yi just grinned silently
and said nothing.
That only made me more curious.
***
"Seong-hwan-a, I'm back."
I'd come home from the gym, and the house was quiet.
Even though it was the time when, normally, the lights would be brightly on
and the kitchen should be bustling.
"Oh right. He said he was going out with friends today."
Seeing Seong-hwan-i, who had seemed to have no friends,
make friends of the same sex, I felt strangely happy myself.
Thinking back to how polite they were and how they took care of my drunk husband,
they seemed like trustworthy friends.
And for guys, they had pretty solid builds, so they looked reassuring.
"Then I guess I'll have to eat dinner alone."
It felt a little empty, but even if he is my husband,
I had absolutely no intention of suppressing Seong-hwan-i or anything like that.
We were a couple that loved each other, not a relationship where one person was dragged around by the other.
"Huh...?"
The first thing I encountered upon heading to the kitchen
was a dinner table so lavishly set that its legs might buckle.
A little surprised, I sat down in the chair
and a post-it note stuck under the rice bowl caught my eye.
"That Seong-hwan-i, really..."
It was a warm handwritten letter, filled with apologies for not being able to eat together since he was out having fun,
and the hope that I would enjoy the meal.
And it also included a note telling me to take a shower before eating.
Having a husband who looked after me like this
filled me with the thought that I was truly happy.
Wasn't this a feeling only I could experience?
"Then, shall I go wash up!"
The meal I'd eat after finishing the shower would be even more delicious.
With that thought, I sprang up from the chair.