CH 37

A van stopped near the road leading to Cafe Once. The manager turned to Yoon Yi-seol, who was preparing to get off.

“You go in and take a rest first, Yi-seol.”

“Where are you going?”

“Oh, Cheon PD asked for a meeting.”

The manager sensed that he should leave at this timing, instinctively feeling that he should give some space to Yi-seol and Hang Jeong-woo.

Upon hearing their conversation, he seemed to have a decent personality, and he seemed to have a reliable identity as he was appointed as the representative of TS Mall. Most of all, this was the first time since taking care of her that Yoon Yi-seol had shown such interest in a man.

“Let’s go, Mr. Jeong-woo. See you later, Manager.”

“Be safe.”

The two got off the road.

Yi-seol, who used to recommend freedom in dating for her affiliated singers while not pursuing any private meetings, had changed.

The manager chuckled at the thought that they might have to prepare a dating article.

The streets of Hongdae were full of Christmas atmosphere. Beautifully decorated trees and star-like bulbs hanging between streetlights throughout the shops, creating a romatic atmosphere for everyone passing by.

‘I never thought I’d be walking on this street with this person.’

Jeong-woo looked at Yoon Yi-seol, who was walking beside him with a mask and a hat pulled down. Even though only her ears and eyes were visible buried in her padded jacket, she still felt attractive because of the fairy tale-like atmosphere of Christmas.

Yoon Yi-seol, who had been following behind him, looked at Jeong-woo.

“Can you recognize me?”

“That’s not it, but I feel like I’ve seen you somewhere before. Around this morning, maybe.”

Yoon Yi-seol’s eyes widened.

“That wasn’t me. Look, that person’s hat was black, and this one is red… Oh, I shouldn’t have mentioned the hat.”

Yoon Yi-seol looked like she was going to hold on to the topic until the end. Jeong-woo chuckled.

“I must have been mistaken.”

“Yeah, it’s a mistake.”

“I’ve been making a lot of mistakes today.”

Yoon Yi-seol chuckled awkwardly, perhaps feeling a little embarrassed.

As they walked, they arrived in front of a building with a sign that read “Once.”

“It’s in the basement.”

Yoon Yi-seol led the way. Jeong-woo looked around at the old-fashioned interior under the staircase.

‘Is this considered antique?’

The place was also decorated with Christmas themes, but while the streets outside exuded this year’s Christmas atmosphere, this place felt like it was from 20 years ago.

As they walked up the stairs, they arrived at the entrance of the store, which was a glass door.

“It’s not here. There is a separate entrance for performers.”

Yoon Yi-seol walked to the other side of the hallway and approached a door with the words “Staff Only” on it. She put her hand on the doorknob and pushed down.

Creak.

The doorknob didn’t budge at all.

“Hmm? It’s always open here.”

Yoon Yi-seol whispered as she lightly tapped on the door.

“Is Manager Seung-chan here?”

As two guests came out of the entrance, Yi-seol lowered her head.

They didn’t pay any attention to Jeong-woo and Yoon Yi-seol and went up the stairs.

“That’s strange. Why isn’t anyone answering?”

“Is it locked?”

Jeong-woo approached and examined the door closely, noticing some tiny scratches on the gap between the door and the frame.

Despite being coated with aluminum, the door appeared to have corroded significantly.

‘It seems like it hasn’t been touched for at least three months.’

As Jeong-woo turned his gaze away, he noticed the periodic table groups displayed on the corner of the hallway wall.

The square frame formed by the symbols [Fe] on the smooth wall was made of fine iron powder.

“Yi-seol, is the door over there? It seems like no one has entered or left this place for about three months.”

“Where?”

Yoon Yi-seol looked at the wall that Jeong-woo was pointing at, with an expression of disbelief.

“There’s nothing there. Just wait, the doorknob was difficult to turn before because it was old.”

“Really? Oh, look, there’s a latch here.”

Jeong-woo unconsciously reached out and grabbed the latch, pushing it to the side, and the door opened with a creak. Yoon Yi-seol, who had been struggling to turn the locked doorknob, froze when she saw what happened.

“H-how did you do that?”

“Don’t be surprised. I’ve never been here before. I just touched it, and it opened.”

“Just like that? You’re lucky.”

Embarrassed by her pretending, Yoon Yi-seol lowered her head and hurriedly went inside the room.

Inside, there were several rooms that looked like practice rooms filled with instruments. After passing through the corridor, Yoon Yi-seol stood in front of a door that led to a hallway.

“Where’s your younger brother?”

“Just a moment.”

Through a small window, Jeong-woo looked inside the hallway. Inside, there was a space with about ten tables, a cocktail bar, and a large square table around the perimeter, where an indie singer was performing.

And in the middle of it, he saw the face of his younger brother, Jeong-chan, who was sitting round and plump.

‘Hey, isn’t that my clothes?’

Although his younger brother often stole his clothes due to their similar build, that was his favorite shirt and pants. He was even wearing the special scarf he had recently bought for formal occasions. Jeong-woo’s anger boiled up, and he spoke through clenched teeth.

“He’s there, in the middle.”

As Jeong-woo pointed with his finger, Yoon Yi-seol tiptoed and brought her face close to the glass window.

As her head suddenly came close, Jeong-woo held his breath and calmed his trembling heart.

“Wow, I can tell right away. You look like him.”

“Who do you think is the older brother?”

“Ahaha, you’ve really aged… Oh, please don’t say that to your younger brother.”

Yoon Yi-seol turned her gaze towards the girl sitting across from Jeong-chan.

“She’s so cute. Her eyes are full of honey. Your brother seems really worried.”

Jeong-woo also looked at the incomprehensible girl who confessed to his younger brother first.

“Her short hair made her look just like a high school student, and her lively expression, full of playfulness and cute smile, made me think it was a shame for her to be dating Chan.”

Jeong-woo immediately sent a text message on his phone.

[I’m here. Come to the door next to the cocktail bar.]

Jeong-chan checked the message and looked around. Jeong-woo opened the door and raised his hand slightly.

His brother looked at him with eyes full of joy for the first time in his life. Seeming like he was saying that he’s going to the bathroom, Jeong-chan turned around the pillar and walked towards him.

“Broooother!” (Didn’t know how to put it but it seemes like he’s saying it in a cute way)

“Don’t make that gross noise. How did you manage to lose your wallet?”

“Sorry.”

“Is that girl the one who hitted on you?”

When Jeong-chan heard about the girl, he became shy and nodded his head. Then he noticed someone looking through the glass window behind the door.

“Hyung, the person behind the mask…”

“Oh, that’s someone you don’t need to know, so just take the money and go. Did you have anything else in your wallet besides your student ID?”

“I had some coupons and a fast-food mileage card. I had almost filled it up, so it’s a shame.”

“It’s nothing important. Here. Make sure you succeed in your kiss.”

“Hey, it’s only been two days since we started dating. Why are you talking about kissing?”

“Did you mark your calendar for this too? If you do something like this again on our 100th day, you’re in trouble.”

Jeong-woo emptied his wallet and handed the cash to Jung-chan.

Regardless, my younger sibling didn’t bother to investigate further since it was evident that they had no way of knowing I had become close to Yoon Yi-seol.

“Thanks, hyung.”

“Go ahead. The girl is waiting.”

“It’s not a girl, it’s Cha Su-jin.”

“Oh, I see. I got it.”

As Jeong-woo saw Jeong-chan off, he heard someone call him.

“Who are you?”

A man in his mid-thirties came out of the kitchen carrying a recycling bag filled with plastic trash.

“Oh, I’m…”

The door opened wide, and Yoon Yi-seol came out.

“Manager Han Seung-chan!”

When she lowered her mask slightly and revealed her face, the man’s eyes widened. He had a name tag that read ‘Manager Han Seung-chan’ on it.

“Oh, Is that you, Yoon Yi-seol?”

Han Seung-chan put down the plastic bag and approached with a happy expression on his face.

“What a surprise, how long has it been?”

“It’s been over half a year since we saw each other last summer.”

Yoon Yi-seol greeted him warmly and gestured towards the corridor she had just come from.

“By the way, there was something strange with the door.”

“Oh, we changed it three months ago. The route now leads directly to the waiting room.”

“Three months ago?”

Yoon Yi-seol turned her head to look at Jeong-woo, who shrugged his shoulders and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Han Seung-chan looked at Jeong-woo and asked, “Who is this? Did he come with you?”

“Ah…”

After a brief hesitation, Yoon Yi-seol sent a glance towards Jeong-woo, feeling that a complicated explanation would be needed.

“He’s a manager, Han Jeong-woo.”

“Oh, really?”

Han Seung-chan, the manager responsible for Once, reached out his hand to greet Jeong-woo.

“Nice to meet you.”

Jeong-woo shook his hand and bowed his head.

Han Seung-chan then gestured towards a seat with a partition next to the stage for Yoon Yi-seol.

“There’s someone you might like over there. Hye-na and Jin Q.”

“Really?”

“Go see for yourself. What do you want to drink?”

“Juice, please.”

“And you, Jeong-woo?”

“I’ll have juice too, thank you.”

Inside the table that looked like a waiting area for singers, a young man and woman were sitting. As they walked in, Yoon Yi-seol whispered to Jeong-woo, “They’re all fun and friendly people, so don’t worry too much.” The two surprised people stood up as Yoon Yi-seol entered.

“Hey, Yoon Yi-seol! You should have called if you were coming!”

A woman in her late twenties grabbed Yoon Yi-seol’s hand and was very happy to see her. The man, who looked about the same age as Jeong-woo and was dressed in a suit, glanced at Jeong-woo for a moment, then smiled happily at Yoon Yi-seol.

“Unni Hye-na. Oppa Jin Q. Long time no see.”

As they exchanged greetings with Yoon Yi-seol, their gaze naturally turned towards Jeong-woo. Jeong-woo, feeling like he might as well go along with Yoon Yi-seol, said, “I’m Jeong-woo, the manager who is accompanying Yoon Yi-seol for a while.”

“Oh, really? Nice to meet you. I’m Shin Hye-na. Did you come instead of Manager Ji?”

“Yes, that’s right…”

Yoon Yi-seol whispered quietly to Jeong-woo, “She’s the wife of the manager we saw earlier.”

The man in the suit extended his hand to Jeong-woo.

“I’m the original smart rapper, Jin Q.”

Yoon Yi-seol let out a small laugh at his words.

“What do you mean by ‘the original’?”

“Something tells me I should say that. I mean, this guy doesn’t have an ordinary face for a manager. I can recognize the smart type like a ghost.”

“Jin Q oppa always says strange things. Sit down, let’s chat.”

And so the chaotic gathering began. Having achieved their goal of coming to the cafe, Jeong-woo became more relaxed. He kept coughing nervously as Jin Q, the well-dressed man, kept staring at him.

“How old is your manager, Yi-seol?”

“I’m twenty-seven.”

“Wow, we’re the same age. Let’s talk more and hang out in the future. Cool, cool, cool?”

“…….”

Jeong-woo was at a loss for words at the fast-paced conversation. A rapper doing hip-hop music.

Since it was someone from a field that Jung-woo would never meet again, he simply nodded his head and said, ‘Yeah, okay.’

“Here are the drinks.”

Han Seung-chan came in with a tray holding four glasses. Shin Hye-na took the tray and asked, “Do you want me to help?”

“Since Yi-seol came all the way here, why don’t you guys talk?”

The glasses were placed on the table one by one.

Jung-woo, taking a sip of his juice, thought that Yoon Yi-seol was really lively when she was talking so much with Shin Hye-na.

“Jung-woo, are you not drinking because you are taking care of Yi-seol?”

The rapper Jin Q seemed to have a friendly nature. Jung-woo felt like he was interacting with Park Soo-chan.”

“It’s similar.”

“Ah, I need someone to drink with me to really enjoy it. Seung-chan’s still far from done.”

Jin Q was holding a wine glass that emitted a red light. It seemed like a luxurious brand that Jung-woo had never really tasted before.

“I’ve been into wine these days. You know, sommelier? There’s a qualification test where you taste wine and analyze it. You can tell what kind of scent it has and what kind of grapes it’s made from.”

Jin Q turned the glass around and sniffed the aroma.

“It’s made from Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot grapes. You can smell hints of strawberries and a faint lavender scent.”

Shin Hye-na giggled at this sound.

“Don’t say that, you’ll scare off all the girls.”

“Really? What do you think, Yi-seol?”

“Well, it doesn’t seem that impressive to me.”

Yoon Yi-seol replied like this and looked at Jeong-woo while smiling. Jin Q frowned heavily as he was teased by the two women.

“What about you, Jeong-woo? Do you agree?”

“I don’t know much, but maybe a little bit of showing off….”

Shin Hye-na laughed and said he saw him properly. Jin Q looked at Jeong-woo with his eyebrows raised.

“You can’t talk about wine with people who don’t know anything about it. Forget it. Hyung will understand my feelings.”

Jin Q put his glass on the table and crossed his arms. Jeong-woo looked at Yoon Yi-seol and smiled wryly, then turned his head as he saw something strange.

The wine glass suddenly enlarged, and things floating inside the liquid could be seen.

“Um, Jin Q.”

“Yeah?”

“It’s not lavender, it’s more like rose, isn’t it?”

“What are you talking about? Smell it. Isn’t this lavender?”

As Jin Q brought the wine glass to his nose, countless fragrance molecules floated in front of Jeong-woo’s eyes.

‘Oh, I’m getting dizzy.’

Meanwhile, Jin Q asked:

“Right, it’s lavender, isn’t it?”

Jeong-woo started to describe what he saw.

It’s not strawberries, but a slightly darker red fruit. Ah, it’s raspberry. And the scent of the flower petals mixed with the herb stem might have led you to mistake it for lavender. It’s a calcium-rich soil molecule with a hint of a strong acidic rose scent… Actually, I can even smell the fragrance.

“What?”

“There’s also a slightly cloudy appearance. Is it tannin? The limestone soil smell is something you can see in front yards of farms. I think flower petals grown in the pungent soil might have mixed in.”

When Jeong-woo finished speaking, Jin Q’s expression froze.

“You, you’re a sommelier?”