Between A and B C18

Chapter 18

I hesitated for a moment before answering.
“I’m not really picky. As long as it isn’t overly sweet or fishy, I’ll eat pretty much anything. What about you? What do you like?”
—I’ll eat whatever you’d like, sunbae-nim. Then aside from bibim guksu, what else do you enjoy?
“I really do eat everything, so just go with what you like. By the way, will all the cooking ingredients be provided there? Or do we have to prepare and bring our own?”
—I’m not entirely sure either. I heard it’s more of a self-sufficient setup…… But I think they’ll at least have the basics available.

I nodded at that, but then the thought struck me—wasn’t this conversation too premature? We hadn’t even had our first production meeting, the casting wasn’t finalized, and this was just a pilot anyway. Details like this could easily change halfway through. Was Jung Woojin always this meticulous in advance?

—What would you like with bibim guksu?
“Hmm…… meat? Seafood works too. Even just vegetables would be fine…… What about you? I like it all.”

I wasn’t just saying it—I truly wasn’t a picky eater. As long as it was edible, not spoiled, and not excessively sweet, fishy, or rancid, I could eat it. Things I avoided were raw foods like sashimi or yukhoe, but aside from that……

As I tried to recall if there was anything else I couldn’t eat, I realized it had suddenly gone quiet.
“Hello?”
—Yes?
“Why aren’t you saying anything?”
—No, it’s just that……

His voice trembled so much it reminded me of a bleating goat. Wondering if it was just poor reception distorting the sound, I tapped the screen of my phone a couple of times. Then Woojin said,
—I was taking notes……
“Notes? What kind of notes?”

Was he still in school? Though we were in the same company, I didn’t know much about his private life. But then, to my utter surprise, he said,
—Notes on what you’re saying.
“What?”
—On what you like…… and also what you don’t like.
“……”

No matter how formal he was toward me, wasn’t this taking it too far? What should I call this? Thoroughness? Was it attentiveness? Either way, he was so drastically different from his on-screen persona that I was thrown off.
“You don’t need to…… take notes on this. It’s not that important.”
—I might forget otherwise.
“Then just record it. That would be easier.”

I said it with disbelief, and Woojin reacted as though he had just discovered something brilliant.
—Why didn’t I think of that? I’ll record next time.
“……”

Neither his tone nor his voice suggested he was joking—he was utterly serious. I blinked in surprise, then answered with an awkward expression,
“Yeah…… Recording is fine…….”
—Yes, sunbae-nim. Earlier you mentioned you ate bibim ramyeon. What did you have with it?
“Earlier? Pork belly.”
—Then should we eat it with meat as well?
“Sure, if they have meat we can do that. If not, we’ll just eat whatever’s available.”

I nodded as I spoke, but then he asked again,
—How do you prefer to eat meat? Grilled? Or boiled?
“I like both.”
—Should we do pork belly? Beef would be good too. Chicken as well…… Honestly, I’m fine with anything you like.
“I like all kinds of meat too.”
—Really?
“Huh? Oh…… yes.”

I answered without much thought, but something about this exchange felt strange. Why were we even deciding this now? We didn’t know what ingredients would be there—wouldn’t it make more sense just to decide when we saw what was available?

—Sunbae-nim, do you have any food allergies?
“Allergies? Not really…… Ah, peaches. They make me a little itchy, but nothing serious.”
—Peaches, understood. I don’t have any food allergies.
“Oh, really?”
—Yes.

There was a hint of a laugh in his voice, and it made me pause. Curious, I asked,
“By the way, why do you call me sunbae-nim?”
—Sorry?
“On Instagram you call me hyung just fine.”

Though I had told myself I’d give him time to get comfortable, I found myself asking anyway. His speech was overly formal, but the content of his words didn’t suggest he found me intimidating—it made me genuinely curious.

But no reply came, even after I waited.
“Hello?”
—Yes……

His quiet, trembling answer made me decide it was better not to push the topic.
“Anyway…… You said you haven’t eaten dinner yet, right? Go eat.”
—Yes.
“Good. Then I’ll……”
—Sunbae-nim.
“Hm?”
—What are you doing tomorrow?
“Tomorrow? I’ll be at the practice room, I guess.”

With no fixed plans, I answered that way. Woojin hesitated, then said,
—Could I see you tomorrow?
“Why?”
—We still need to talk about what to eat…… And since it’s my first variety show, I’m really nervous. I’d like to get some advice……

It wasn’t like I had much experience in variety either—especially not in real-life formats like this. Still, since a junior was asking for guidance, I couldn’t refuse.
“All right. What time? Do you have no schedule tomorrow?”
—I have something short in the morning, but I’m free in the afternoon. Would one or two, maybe three, work?
“That’s fine. Let’s talk tomorrow then.”
—Thank you very much.
“Sure.”

I was about to end the call when Woojin suddenly called out,
—Sunbae-nim!
“Hm?”
—……
“What? Hello?”
—Um…… What do you usually eat for breakfast?
“What? Breakfast?”

The unexpected question startled me.
“I don’t know…… Whatever’s at home, I guess. Why?”
—I was just curious…… Do you usually eat rice in the morning? Or bread? Some people only drink grain shakes for breakfast. Do you do that when you’re busy or not hungry?

A barrage of questions came at me, and I found myself answering reflexively as though in an interview.
“Uh, I usually eat rice. Sometimes bread. Grain shakes only when I don’t have time. Not often. Sometimes just salad or chicken breast……”
—When you eat rice, do you have a full spread like lunch or dinner? Or just a few side dishes?
“Like any other meal…… Sometimes with meat, sometimes with ramyeon.”

With each of my answers, Woojin filled in with “Ah, I see,” or “Yes,” like interjections. By then, I’d already laid out everything about my breakfast habits. As I was about to hang up, he called again.
—Sunbae-nim! Then when you eat bread, what kind do you prefer?
“Bread…… I’ll eat whatever. Sliced bread if it’s there, dinner rolls if it’s those…… But why do you keep asking these things?”

At this point, I wondered if I was being interrogated.
—Just curious about what you normally eat…… Do you toast the sliced bread? With butter? With jam? Do you ever make sandwiches?
“……If there’s butter, I use butter. Margarine if that’s what’s around. Sometimes I just toast it plain. Jam…… I like any kind, as long as it’s not too sweet. But I usually prefer it plain. I make sandwiches sometimes, depending on what’s at home—ham slices, cheese, maybe some cabbage with fried egg. Sauces are just whatever’s there—ketchup, mayo, sriracha. With dinner rolls, I’ll heat up instant soup in the microwave or pot and dip them. Or grill some frozen bulgogi patties with it.”

I rattled everything off in one breath, leaving him no space to question further. I heard him exhale, almost flustered. Feeling satisfied that I’d blocked off any more questions, I concluded,
“If you want to know more, let’s talk tomorrow. All right?”
—Yes……
“Good. My battery’s almost dead, so I’ll……”
—Sunbae-nim!
“……”

His urgent voice stopped me, and I inhaled sharply without realizing. Was he about to ask about tomorrow’s lunch now?
—Good night……

The longing in his voice left me speechless. Was he bringing up food just because he couldn’t say what he really wanted? Had I been too obvious about wanting to hang up? I asked quietly, embarrassed,
“Hey…… There isn’t something wrong, is there?”

Remembering how we hadn’t even managed to talk properly earlier because of Kang Sumin, guilt surged.
—No, nothing’s wrong. But…… could you call me Woojin?
“Sure, Woojin-ah. If nothing’s wrong, let’s talk tomorrow. My battery really is about to die.”
—Yes…… But couldn’t you just plug in the charger and keep talking?
“……”
—I’m joking. Then…… good night. I’ll contact you tomorrow.

It didn’t sound like a joke at all, but my tongue stumbled anyway.
“Y-yeah. You too, sleep well.”
—Yes……
“Okay, I’m hanging up now.”
—Sweet dreams, hyung.
“……”

Even after the line went dead, I held the phone to my ear a moment longer before slowly lowering my arm. Looking at the hand that held the phone, I saw the fine hairs on my skin standing on end.