Chapter 53
Chapter 53
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 53
Chapter Title: Busan Summer Sea Festival (3)
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Both of them had rock-solid builds, honed by years of athletic training. Anyone could see they were the bodies of professional athletes.
Jae-oh really took after his parents. That physique and athletic DNA had been passed down 100%.
It was like Jae-oh was a perfect blend of his mom and dad's best traits.
"Hello, ma'am, sir! I'm Teddy, Jae-oh hyung's little bro!"
Starting with Teddy, all the members greeted Jae-oh's parents. I bowed my head politely and followed suit.
"I'm Haijae. I owe Jae-oh hyung so much all the time."
They looked at us with the warm fondness of someone gazing at a flock of cute chicks.
"We've heard a lot about you from our big boy. Glad you made it."
"Make yourselves at home."
After the quick hellos, we sat in the living room with Jae-oh's parents, slicing into the watermelon we'd brought and chatting away.
Teddy unleashed his signature bright energy without holding back.
"But seriously, ma'am and sir, you guys are so cool! Totally COOL! Just like Jae-oh hyung."
"Oh, really? Thanks, Teddy."
"So, Teddy, where're you from?"
"I'm from the UK."
"No kidding? How long you been in Korea?"
His dad asked in a thick Busan drawl.
Teddy munched on his watermelon for a second, thinking it over.
"A year? Two? Something like that."
"For real? Man, your Korean's fluent as heck."
"My mom's Korean. Learned it when I was little!"
"Oh, so your mom's from Korea. Then your dad's British?"
"Yeah!"
Jae-oh's parents burst out laughing, clearly charmed by Teddy's bubbly vibe.
That's when Eun-young spat out a watermelon seed and piped up.
"But yeah, looks like you both did fencing too."
"You got it. How'd you know?"
"Up there on the shelf, those photos."
Eun-young pointed, and sure enough, there were pictures of them in fencing gear.
His dad kept slicing watermelon as he explained.
"To be precise, we still do. My wife's the fencing coach for a middle school team, and I'm president of a women's fencing club."
"Whoa. And wasn't Jae-oh hyung's little sister a fencer too?"
"Yep."
"Wow, a total fencing family. That's awesome."
It really was. I nodded inwardly in agreement with Eun-young.
Parents and kids all fencing, one way or another.
Talk about a family business.
Of course... Jae-oh had joined us now instead.
Then Tae-hee, stacking his watermelon rinds in the corner like Jenga blocks after finishing his, asked,
"So, did you two meet through fencing? Sorry if that's too personal."
"Oh, honey, no worries. Yeah, I was his coach."
"Wow, that's so cool, ma'am."
"Ahem."
His dad cleared his throat awkwardly, a bit embarrassed, and changed the subject.
"So, when's your show?"
"Tomorrow at 7 PM. You two should come if you can! It'll be fun."
Su-rim said it with a salesy grin, flashing her brightest smile.
His dad nodded like it was a given.
"Our boy's performing—we're going, obviously. Who's the other talent coming?"
"I heard a trot singer you like is performing, sir."
"Who?"
"Kang Eun-jung."
"Then we gotta go for sure."
Jae-oh really was a Busan boy through and through.
His standard Korean was so natural, I'd never guessed he could switch to dialect like this.
"Didn't know you spoke dialect so well, Jae-oh hyung."
I teased lightly, and he shrugged it off.
"'Course. I'm from Busan."
"Fans would go nuts if you talked dialect to them sometime."
"...Yeah?"
"Yeah. Dialect's hot."
Dialects often sold as charm points.
And with Jae-oh's innocent face paired with that killer body, it'd be a total reversal charm—huge hit potential.
After demolishing the watermelon, we took a quick tour of the house.
It wasn't just talk about the family all fencing—fencing gear was everywhere.
"Whoa! Is this you fencing, Jae-oh hyung?"
"...Yeah."
"What an epic form! You were hot back then, but this is next-level."
"Right? Jae-oh, you could've been a national team star and had fans eating out of your hand. Looks like a wuxia swordsman straight outta a novel."
Tae-hee gushed over a photo of Jae-oh in pristine white fencing whites, brandishing a sleek épée.
I nodded along, agreeing.
'Guy was born to excel at anything.'
Getting picked as the youngest national team member at 19 proved he wasn't ordinary.
I eyed Jae-oh carefully as I pored over photos that looked even better than the ones I'd dug up online.
It reminded me of that chat we'd had pre-debut, grabbing ice cream together.
But Jae-oh's face as he looked at his old player pics was pretty much his usual self.
'Doesn't seem fazed.'
At least that was a relief. Looked like he'd fully made his peace with it.
Knowing how much he'd loved fencing, I could only think it was for the best.
After checking out his pro-era photos, fencing swords, and uniforms, it was suddenly late lunch time.
As if on cue, a massive gurgle rumbled from someone's stomach.
"...Sorry."
Jae-oh. A rumble fit for that huge frame.
Teddy cracked up and asked cheerfully,
"You hungry, Jae-oh hyung?"
"Yeah. Getting peckish."
"Me too. Wanna grab food?"
"Let's do it. We're in Busan—gotta eat something good."
Jae-oh's stomach growl kicked off a serious debate on what to eat.
Everyone was starving inside, apparently.
Prime-age guys like us? Totally normal. Even counting five meals a day plus snacks, we'd still be short.
Mid-chat, Eun-young asked Jae-oh from the sofa,
"Jae-oh hyung, know any good spots in Busan?"
"What're you craving, Eun-young?"
"Hmm... sashimi? Grilled shellfish?"
Big dreams, Eun-young.
I imagined the bill if all seven of us hit a sashimi joint.
Sure enough, Su-rim grimaced and spoke up, thinking the same.
"Eun-young, sashimi for seven? Even cheap, that's gotta be over 100,000 won."
"Really? Sigh, money's always the issue."
"World runs on cash."
"Spoken like our main rapper."
"..."
Kwang-myeong zipped it after his unhelpful quip backfired.
In the middle of the chatter, Tae-hee suggested,
"How 'bout pork soup? Heard it's killer in Busan."
"Sounds good."
"Isn't Busan famous for pork bone soup?"
"Yeah, pretty sure."
I'd had it last time I was here.
Pouring in that radish kimchi broth made it so good.
"Wanna do pork soup? There's a place I went as a kid. Not sure if it's still open..."
"Done. Let's go."
Tae-hee jumped up at Jae-oh's word, and the rest followed.
We said goodbye to his parents and headed out in hats and masks.
* * *
On the way to pork soup.
The place was just a short walk from Jae-oh's family home.
We trailed Jae-oh in two lines of three or four.
That's when Su-rim, walking ahead of me, glanced back.
"Guys... are we more famous than we thought?"
Her whisper came with a weird expression.
Kwang-myeong shot it down immediately.
"Nah."
"If we were that big, we couldn't even walk the streets."
Eun-young backed him up.
She had a point. True fame would've meant swarms blocking our path.
But Su-rim still looked puzzled.
"Why's everyone staring, though?"
She was right—passersby kept glancing our way.
Su-rim, up front and center, must've felt it most.
I chuckled at her confused tone.
"Come on, seven guys in hats and masks walking together? Eyes are gonna go there. I'd stare too."
"Jae's right."
"...We look kinda sus?"
"A bit."
"...Pick up the pace."
We all sped up.
We hustled to the pork soup spot.
The sign read "Original 60-Year Grandma's Pork Soup."
A bright greeting hit us as we opened the door.
"Welcome~ Party of seven? This way."
We sat where the staff led.
Seven bowls of pork soup and drinks ordered, we ditched hats and masks and started chatting.
"Tons of customers here."
I scanned around at Eun-young's comment.
Yeah, past lunch peak but still packed.
Jae-oh shrugged.
"'Cause it's good."
"Let's see how Jae-oh's pick stacks up."
"It's fire. Oh, but here—you gotta add the radish kimchi broth."
"The radish broth? Why?"
Teddy asked, and Jae-oh grinned.
"Makes the soup richer."
"Ah, I hate adding stuff..."
"Me too. Chili powder makes it messy, right?"
Kwang-myeong and Su-rim pulled faces.
Both neat freaks.
Tae-hee shrugged like it didn't matter.
"As long as it tastes good. Goes down the same anyway."
"True. Classic dip-sausers talking."
"Hey, Eun-young. Sweet and sour's dip, obviously."
"Nah, pour."
Radish broth sparked a sweet-and-sour sauce war real quick.
Mint choco next, probably.
As I watched their heated debate, I spotted a girl heading our way.
'Hm?'
Super young, still in school maybe. She hesitated a bunch, peeking at us, took a deep breath.
Then marched right up.
All eyes turned to her.
Even Tae-hee, mid-rant on pour sauce supremacy, shut up and stared.
She fidgeted with her lips, then spoke carefully.