Between A and B C22

Chapter 22

By the time we finished eating, the rain had stopped and the sun was blazing again. I considered putting my sunglasses back on but decided it was too much hassle to carry them around, so I simply shoved them into the side pocket of the car door.

“Sunbae-nim, shall we go to the walnut factory? I even made a reservation today.”
“You actually made a reservation? Really?”

I asked, startled, and Woojin nodded. Just how much did he love walnut pies to go this far… Then the walnut pie we’d bought yesterday popped into my head, and I asked,
“Did you eat the ones from Forest? Did you not like them?”
“No, those were delicious too. Let’s go again next time. I’ll buy them for you.”
“Yeah, the owner there’s nice, and everything else tastes good too.”

As I said that and gazed out the window, I couldn’t help but feel a pang of regret. The seaweed soup had been good, the tilefish had been good too—but thanks to that staff or manager, whoever he was, it felt awkward to go back again.

“When are we supposed to have our meeting? Have you heard anything?”

Turning my head back, I asked. Woojin glanced at me briefly as he drove, then answered.
“Probably soon? I haven’t been told an exact date either.”
“My manager just said to stay prepared for now… But you… No, let’s talk about it once we get there.”

I almost asked, but decided this wasn’t the kind of talk to have while driving, so I dropped it.

We rode in silence for a while, exchanging the occasional word, until I opened my phone camera to check my face. The swelling had gone down quite a bit since earlier, though it was still a little puffy. Still, this much was a relief.

Looking over at Woojin behind the wheel, I thought I should probably get him to wear sunglasses instead. Honestly, even with both mask and shades, that face wasn’t something you could really hide. But still, it would be better than just a mask.

I pulled the sunglasses from the side pocket and said,
“Here, you wear these.”
“Me?”
“Yeah. People will recognize you otherwise, and you won’t be able to relax.”

I’d never gone anywhere with someone this famous before, so I didn’t really know the rules. But I figured minimizing recognition was the least I could do. Woojin was practically one of the most recognizable faces in the country—so it was only right I pay attention to these things.

After some quiet conversation, we arrived. Woojin parked nearby, and as I reached for the sunglasses to put them on him, he suddenly took them from my hand. Then, turning toward me, he carefully slipped them over my face.
“Sunbae-nim should wear them.”

Having a superstar personally put them on me made it awkward to take them off again, so I just muttered, “Uh… okay,” and got out of the car.

Inside, the place was surprisingly empty. When Woojin mentioned the reservation, the staff led us to a secluded spot deep inside. I sat Woojin facing away from the entrance, with me across from him.

“There’s no one here. Every other time I came, it was packed. Weird.”

Maybe they’d just opened? I looked around curiously before glancing at Woojin with the menu.
“Are you getting walnut pie?”
“Yes. What about you? If you want something else, please order it too. And what about drinks? Will you have an iced Americano?”
“Yeah, iced Americano, extra shots. Do you want to try something else with the walnut pie? Besides that, what else do you like?”
“I’m fine with anything. Please order what you’d like.”

That reminded me of the tteokbokki incident. Like back then, I decided to give Woojin some choices to make it easier.
“Okay, two walnut pies. Then… cream puffs or brownies?”
“I’d be fine with either…”
“Pick one. Whichever you’d rather eat.”
“Then… how about both?”

So he refused to choose and suggested both. Truly a world-class case of decision paralysis. I wasn’t great at choosing meals either, but Woojin was on another level.
“Alright, both it is. And your drink?”
“I’ll have the same as you.”
“You also take three extra shots? That’s intense.”
“Yes.”

I nodded, pressed the bell, and gave the order when the staff arrived.
“Two walnut pies, one cream puff, one brownie, and two iced Americanos with three extra shots each.”
“Three extra shots? Our drinks already come with two shots—so that would be five in total. Is that okay?”
“Yes, please make it that way.”
“Understood. Please wait a moment.”

As the staff noted it down, I noticed him sneaking glances at Woojin. He left, and Woojin spoke.
“I’ve never been on a variety show before… I’m worried I won’t do well.”

With his head slightly bowed, looking dispirited, he resembled a dejected puppy. I hadn’t been on that many variety shows either, but at least more than him. I tried to recall those memories as I spoke.
“Instead of trying too hard, it’s better to just… go with the flow.”
“How do you ‘go with the flow’?”
“Having enthusiasm is good, but if you stay too tense, viewers pick up on it, and it makes them uncomfortable.”

I remembered my own early stumbles. On stage I was fine singing and dancing, but on variety shows, I’d freeze, mutter to myself, and fail to get a single proper line out. It wasn’t until an older sunbae encouraged me to relax that I started improving bit by bit.

After that, I got regular variety appearances and became a frequent guest. But then Baek O-sik…

“What are you thinking about?”

I’d gotten so caught up in old memories I’d forgotten Woojin was sitting in front of me. Shaking my head, I said,
“I haven’t done a ton of variety shows either, but I’m glad I’ll be doing this one with you. If I had to do it alone, I’d be worried sick.”

I smiled as I spoke. Woojin opened his mouth as if to say something, then closed it. Lowering his head slightly, he murmured softly, almost trembling,
“I’m glad too.”
“What?”
“I’m glad it’s you, not someone else, that I’m doing this with.”

His voice quivered—like a trembling goat. I stared, flustered, before breaking into laughter.
“Are you… naturally shy?”

Woojin lifted his eyes, giving me a look that seemed almost resentful.
“I’m not shy.”
“Ah, really?”
“……”

Watching his lips jut out more and more, I couldn’t hold it back and laughed again. His glare made me try to hide it, but I failed, and another burst escaped.

“You know, I think you’ll be fine on variety shows just like this.”
“Like what?”
“Like this. Just be yourself, and it’ll work.”

But Woojin still looked anxious. Honestly, someone like him didn’t need to force jokes—just sitting still would guarantee ratings. It was surprising, even admirable, that he was worrying about it at all.

Or maybe… it wasn’t BB as a whole, but only Woojin who was like this?

“I… don’t talk much with strangers.”

Woojin’s voice was hesitant. I bit back the urge to say that was the very definition of being shy, and just nodded.
“I get nervous around new people… Even though we’ll have meetings beforehand, most of the staff will be unfamiliar…”
“Right, right.”
“So I’m worried I won’t say anything. And since I’ll be with you, I don’t want to drag you down. Thinking that makes me feel guilty…”
“No, it’s not like—”

Before I could finish, the staff arrived with our tray. Once he left again, I slipped off my sunglasses and stirred my coffee with the straw.

“Don’t get so hung up on it. Let’s just think of it as us working together to overcome obstacles. It’s been over two years since I last did a variety show. Honestly, I might be the one dragging things down, not you…”

I lifted the glass and drank deeply. As the caffeine hit, it was like liquid life itself had surged through me. Clarity sharpened, and energy coursed back.

Setting the glass down, I looked up—and met Woojin’s gaze. He’d been watching me blankly, straw in hand, before he raised his own glass to his lips.

I couldn’t tell if it was his habit, or if he was imitating me. I found myself staring… when suddenly—

“Pfft!”
“……”

Before I could react, a spray of dark liquid splattered across my face.