Between A and B C3

Chapter 3

I’ve never even heard of it. Did he come here to brag? Or does he just see me as some random choreographer A, not even as a senior from the same agency?

Sometimes when something is so ridiculous, you don’t even get angry. This was exactly one of those times.

“You want me to teach you?”
“Yes.”
“I’ve never even heard it before. Why do you want me to teach you? It’s not even choreography I made.”
“You haven’t heard it? Shall I play it for you?”
“…?”

Segawon pulled a phone from his pocket. Watching him, I couldn’t help but frown.

Am I the only one who doesn’t understand this? Are we even having a conversation? We’re talking, but it feels like we’re looking in different directions.

If it’s not alcohol… could he be on drugs? There was a recent news article about an idol repeatedly smoking marijuana. His speech was strange, his face slightly flushed, and he kept drifting in and out—it all seemed suspicious.

Squinting, I examined Segawon’s face. Suddenly, an oriental-themed sound started playing from his phone.

BB had an oriental concept from their debut, evident in their music, hair, makeup, and styling. Each member had their own assigned theme; it was like they were goblins who had inhabited a place for a long time before turning human. Segawon seemed like the sword goblin…

Maybe it was the CEO’s taste because he loved all that. When Another debuted, each member had a concept assigned too. Mine was a tsundere younger guy type.

Lost in memories of a now-collapsed concept, I turned my head when I felt a gaze and found Segawon staring intently at me. Was it obvious that I was distracted? Embarassed, I nodded and said,

“Nice.”
“This is my part.”
“Ah… what’s the title?”
“Yeonriji.”
“Ah, nice.”

The song was good, and the title was okay too, but the problem was this was the first time we had such a conversation. Frankly, we weren’t close enough for this kind of chat.

At first, I thought he came bragging about the new song, but judging by his expression, it wasn’t that either. Honestly, asking me to teach his choreography was absurd… was he here just because he was bored?

Segawon’s usual cold and distant image earned him the nickname “Ice Needle” among fans, but looking at him closely like this, he didn’t seem that cold. Instead, he looked a bit clueless and surprisingly youthful…

Feeling exhausted and relaxed, I asked Segawon, “How old are you?”

“Twenty-three. You’re twenty-five, right?”

He nodded, and Segawon seemed to have been waiting to say this.

“You like galbijjim, eat lots of grape-flavored Polar Pops, don’t eat tuna sushi, don’t like fin sushi much either, you like egg sushi that isn’t too sweet and salmon sushi, always get iced Americano with three extra shots, 180cm tall, weight…”

“Wait a second.”

As Segawon rattled off the details like a machine, I raised my hand to stop him. He still tried to say more, lips moving, and I frowned.

“Did you look me up on NamuWiki or something?”
“No, not really…”
“…”

Seeing his awkward silence felt as if I had just doused him in cold water.

Segawon didn’t come to spy, or brag about a new song, or out of boredom… was he just trying to get closer to me? So he memorized everything I liked and disliked as if it were a test?

I don’t know what sudden whim struck him, but he didn’t seem as strange as I thought. Despite it being our first long conversation… I scratched the back of my neck awkwardly and said,

“The song’s good.”
“Thank you.”
“Oh, yeah…”
“…”
“…”

Silence returned. It was so awkward I didn’t know what to say. Then Segawon broke the silence, shyly offering me his phone.

“Want to listen to it again?”
“…”

I blinked and nodded at him. I realized he wasn’t bragging about his new song, but struggling and squeezing out whatever he could say.

The song played again. Slow, monotonous minor notes, like something starting in eerie darkness. I tugged Segawon’s sleeve.

“Let’s sit and listen.”

We went to a corner of the practice room and sat on the floor, eyes fixed seriously on the phone.

Near the song’s end, feeling a gaze, I looked over and found Segawon sitting with his knees bent, arms wrapped around them, staring at me.

Since earlier, I wondered why he kept staring so intently. When our eyes met, Segawon asked,

“Have you eaten?”
“I had lunch a while ago, dinner not yet.”
“I haven’t eaten yet either.”
“Ah… dinner?”
“No, no lunch either.”

I nodded and looked back at the phone as the song finished.

“What will you have for dinner?”
“I don’t know. Probably tteokbokki…”

Or maybe something quick from the dorm. I wasn’t sure.

“I like tteokbokki too.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“…”

What was this? Was he inviting me to eat together? Or asking me to buy it? I looked at him awkwardly and, out of courtesy, asked,

“Want to eat tteokbokki together?”
“Yes.”
“…”
“I’ll eat with you too.”
“Ah… okay.”

Seeing his eagerness to reply made me wonder if he came just to get a free meal. Did he forget his wallet?

Though it was early for dinner, since he hadn’t eaten lunch either, I pulled out my phone and opened a delivery app.

“Do you have a place you usually order from?”
“No, just order whatever you want, and I’ll have the same.”
“Can you handle spicy food?”
“What about you?”
“I just prefer mild, about the spice level of Shin Ramyun.”
“Then I’ll have the same.”

Since the place packed individual servings separately, I ordered two mild tteokbokki.

“Do you want fried food too?”
“Yes.”
“What kind? Look here and pick what you want.”

I handed my phone to Segawon, who carefully took it with both hands, awkwardly tapping the screen a few times before asking,

“What fried food do you want?”
“I usually get assorted.”
“Then I’ll choose that. What else?”

He kept asking, so I looked at the screen and said,

“Do you want sundae too?”
“Yes.”
“Do you eat innards?”
“What about you?”
“I do.”
“I do too.”
“Then get sundae and… what about kimbap?”
“If you want it…”

Even though we were in the same agency and age difference wasn’t much, I didn’t understand why he spoke so formally and awkwardly. We weren’t close, never eaten together, and this was our first long conversation, but still… ordering tteokbokki shouldn’t be this stiff. I turned to him, offering options.

“Do you want kimbap or rice balls?”
“I’ll eat what you like.”
“No, what do you like? When you eat tteokbokki, do you have kimbap or rice balls? Or should we order both?”

After a brief pause, lowering his gaze shyly, Segawon answered,

“Then kimbap…”

Looking down, I noticed his long black eyelashes trembling. I was a little taken aback because his voice and whole demeanor looked like a shy boy responding to a confession.

“Okay, let’s order kimbap.”
“Thank you.”
“Alright…”

Hiding my embarrassment, I quickly placed the order. There was a set menu with fried food, sundae, and fish cakes, so I ordered that, plus two mild tteokbokki, one tuna kimbap roll, and one cheese kimbap roll. There were many types of kimbap, but if I asked, he’d probably say he’ll eat whatever I like, so I just ordered on my own.

The order popup said delivery would arrive within 60 minutes. I turned off the screen.

“If you’re still hungry, I’ll buy more.”
“Huh? Oh, yes.”

Segawon seemed a bit surprised but quickly composed himself, then added hastily,

“I’ll buy you coffee after you finish the tteokbokki.”

I looked puzzled and asked,

“Didn’t you say you didn’t bring your wallet?”
“No, I have it.”

He showed me his wallet. Realizing I was mistaken again, I cleared my throat.

“Alright. If you want coffee, I’ll buy it.”
“Then I’ll buy dessert.”

Segawon seemed determined to pay for something, which made me laugh. Maybe I laughed too loudly because he flinched, visibly surprised, but that only made me laugh more.

“Just eat, okay?”
“Yes, then next time I’ll…”

Sometimes our conversation paused, and awkward silences filled the air, but we endured the hour with small talk. Finally, the tteokbokki arrived.

Though I said I’d get it, Segawon insisted on going himself. He went to the lobby to pick it up, while I laid several sheets of newspaper on the floor.

After a short wait, Segawon returned carrying two large bags.

“Hyung, is this correct? Isn’t it too much?”

Seeing him flustered, I took the bags and checked the contents: two tteokbokki, assorted fried food, sundae, fish cakes, two kimbap rolls, along with complimentary french fries and a 930ml Coolpis drink. It was all ours.

“This is right.”

We unpacked everything on the newspaper-covered floor. After peeling off the wrappers and plastic, I handed Segawon disposable wooden chopsticks.

“If you’re still hungry, I’ll order more. Eat a lot.”
“Thanks, hyung. You eat too, okay?”

Seeing me pick up chopsticks, Segawon grabbed them at both ends and pulled. They snapped perfectly into two halves, though one was torn mid-length like badly severed twin popsicle sticks.

“Want to swap mine?”
“No, it’s okay.”
“Alright, eat.”

Segawon picked up a tteokbokki with his chopsticks. I was about to eat but spotted dipping soy sauce for the fried food and put my chopsticks down.

Squeezing a small amount into a plastic container, I suddenly realized Segawon was unusually quiet. I looked up and saw his pale face had turned even paler.

When our eyes met, tears rolled down his cheek like a scene from a movie.

“…?”

Suddenly?