Chapter 283

Chapter 283

The situation unfolded just as I’d expected it would, but it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. I’d expected a hellish climbing session or something, since we were going somewhere a former national athlete went often.

“This place isn’t bad, is it?”

“No.”

I looked around as I walked. We were on a hiking trail on the outskirts of Gyeonggi Province, where we’d arrived after an hour or so of driving. It didn’t look particularly well-tended, but the inclines were not steep and pretty walkable.

Is he going easy on me, I wonder? I remembered what he’d said to me the last time we’d gone hiking on the deserted island.

“And you… You’re already suffering because of that incident. You don’t have as much energy as you used to.” A short hike like this wouldn’t have left you out of breath in the past.”

His assumption was wrong on many levels, but I decided to accept the situation without rebelling.

Work-life balance comes before pride. There was one thing that puzzled me, though.

“There are so few people here,” I commented.

There was nobody around except for a few older hikers. Even though it was the middle of the day on a weekday, we should have seen quite a few hikers right about now.

“Oh, there’s construction going on nearby. You see that?” Chungwoo pointed to a small stream on the left. I could see nets and construction materials lying around along the path. “Most people use the opposite path, I think. The other one is better maintained, too.”

“Oh.”

“And this is just a hill really, so not many people come in the first place. It has no mineral springs or big rocks.”

“You seem familiar with it.”

“I used to live here when I was little,” he said with an awkward smile. “The archery range I practiced at was nearby, so I kept coming here even after I moved away.”

He’d been unable to shoot properly since the accident, and yet he’d chosen a place near his old favorite archery range…

Oh, forget it. It’s not like he needs pity at the moment. I chose to just nod.

“The facilities must have been nice, then,” I said.

“Well, it was mostly nostalgia that brought me back.” He was silent for a long moment, then spoke again a moment later. “I think we should bring the other members as well next time. The owner is very nice.”

I’d have to be a sociopath to refuse him outright.

“Why not?”

“Great.” He grinned. “With the tour over, we don’t get to hang out anywhere. This will be fun. When you guys went out a few days ago, I had something on my schedule.”

Oh. That. A few of the members had gone out for Ahyeon’s birthday. Chungwoo and a few others had not been able to come because they had other things on their calendar.

“We didn’t really do much,” I said. “There were too many people.”

“Haha. But I saw the photos!”

My eyebrows twitched as I recalled the Polaroid photo that Big Sejin had taken after we’d finished an escape room.

[TeSTAR! Friends forever ☆ 5/7 Happy birthday, Ahyeon!]

I would be lying if I said that I had no idea it would end up on the internet as a post so quickly, but the fans seemed happy.

“We came back to the dorm right after the photo. Too many people came.”

“I see. Our job is rewarding, that much is undeniable, but I think that sort of thing can be tough. You can’t go out whenever you want to.”

“True,” I said, jogging slowly down the path and shrugging. “But even if you hadn’t been an idol, things wouldn’t have been much different for you. You were a national athlete.”

“What? Haha!” It took a while for his laughter to quiet. “You’re right. That sort of thing was never my cup of tea, though. I guess it can’t be helped if you’re a celebrity of any description.”

He didn’t sound like he was complaining or grumbling—just stating facts. The sort of difficulty we were discussing was just proof of our success, I supposed.

It’s only something winners can afford to talk about. We continued to run along the secluded path that we’d sought out, thanks to the side effects of success.

Moments later, I realized that something wasn’t quite right.

“Phew…”

The incline was getting steeper as time went by. I took a few deep breaths, then realized I’d depleted at least half of my stamina, even though I’d worked hard to increase it.

I should be average for a male adult, at the very least. Looking around, I saw that nobody really seemed to come this far up the trail. And we were the only ones that were running up the path.

That was when I realized, I’ve been fooled.

The path had been level at first, then had begun to tilt up so gradually that we’d continued to hike without realizing what was happening, like a frog slowly boiling. The evenness of the path had not been a kindness, but a trap. I withheld a groan. Chungwoo was no idiot. He’d seen how much I was exercising, and he must have known I’d improved my stamina.

Well, you got me… It was obvious to me that it would be a while before we got to the peak. Even if I complained, all I’d get for my efforts was a damaged ego. I wouldn’t be able to go back down without reaching the peak first. I decided to shut up and climb. It was manageable, after all.

I guess I’m getting some exercise in. I silently stared up at the sky as we continued to jog. After some time had passed, I felt a tap on my shoulder.

“Moondae, look.”

“What…” I began, out of breath.

We were still a long way from the peak. I looked up at where he was pointing. A beautiful view of the city in the daytime spread out before us. I could see the twisting mountains, fortress walls with streams below, and buildings packed together into complexes—it was a colorful city in spring.

A breeze blew past, and I breathed in the mountain air. It was nice to look at.

“Not bad, huh?” Chungwoo said softly. “There’s no need to go any farther. This is the best spot for the view… I climbed here every day after I quit archery and started prepping to work in the entertainment industry. I learned about this place then.”

I stared at the view, leaning against the railing. So he didn’t have any intentions of going all the way to the peak? Gosh.

“How is it? Do you feel motivated? Coming up here is more than just exercise. That’s how it’s always been for me, anyway.”

“Yes, it is,” I said with certainty.

There was a set path, with predictable difficulties, and a sure reward. While it wasn’t my cup of tea, perhaps hiking wasn’t such a bad hobby.

“Hmm. I’m glad to hear that.”

Leaning against the railing together, we looked down the mountain, in no hurry to leave.

Only after a long while had passed did he say, “Should we head back down?”

“Sure.”

I felt pretty rejuvenated. I was about to stretch when I recalled what I’d been thinking about from the moment I laid eyes on this path.

“Chungwoo.”

“Huh?”

“This is good and all, but I probably need weight training.”

“Oh.”

I hadn’t said anything right away for fear of ruining the mood entirely, which is what would have happened if I’d complained as soon as I saw where he’d brought me.

He said with a clumsy smile, “The whole trail was uphill… so you probably did use some muscles.”

What a professional-sounding excuse. I didn’t feel all that grumpy as I headed down the mountain, and agreed with him when he suggested we come here every now and then for a jog.

The workout intensity isn’t bad, and we’re roommates now. It probably won’t hurt to come every so often.

***

Two weeks after we’d changed rooms, all the members had adapted to our new arrangements somewhat.

“Want some?”

“Oh. Yeah.”

Bae Sejin, for instance, spent less time in the living room, which was surprising. He only came out during the day to get away from Eugene.

“It’s a bit noisy at night, but it’s all good if I wear earplugs!” Bae Sejin had told me cheerfully once.

Apparently, Eugene was surprisingly respectful of his roommate’s independent ways. Maybe it’s because he’s American.

There were limits to this, of course.

“If I play games with him every now and then or watch something with him, he’ll leave me alone when I go to bed—”

I calmly told him the truth, “That won’t last long.”

“What?”

“If you don’t listen to him, he’ll start shaking you by the shoulder.”

Bae Sejin stared in horrified silence.

“Congratulations on becoming a night owl.”

He stared at his room with a dazed look on his face.

As for the one guy who’d ended up with a room all to himself… he was traveling from room to room and having a fine time.

“Wow! Moondae, you’re all but best friends with Chungwoo now! You’re going to exercise together again tomorrow, right?”

I guessed our room was his stop for the day. I spoke wryly to Big Sejin, who was playing with his phone while lying on Chungwoo’s bed.

“Well, we’re roommates, so… You can come too, if you want.”

“Hey! I’ve got more tact than that! Enjoy your exercise!”

Big Sejin didn’t say much more, but it wasn’t hard to understand what he meant. He’s suggesting I use this opportunity to turn things around. There were still bastards who were dwelling on how I’d acted around Chungwoo when we were filming our summer package. These same people were trying to stir up trouble regarding the recent room reassignment, too, and there was no need to leave any embers smoldering when the fandom had finally been brought together.

We need to look very comfortable around each other. I’d already decided I was going to be friendly with him, but the bastards online were giving me more motivation. I waved at Big Sejin, then went into the shower.

The next day, I was back on the hiking trail.

“Why don’t we go to the peak today? Just as a test,” Chungwoo suggested. He’d been quiet as we climbed. Apparently, this was what he’d been thinking about.

I suppose it can’t hurt to climb all the way up just once. We were slowly running out of days in which we could take our time coming all the way out here for some exercise. We’d really have to start focusing on preparing for our comeback soon.

After gauging how much stamina I had left, I nodded.

“Sure.”

“Good.”

It was four in the afternoon—neither early nor late—as we began hiking toward the peak. The ascent grew steeper, and we didn’t run, which made it manageable.

We’d been walking for about forty minutes when we spotted the peak.

“Phew.”

There was nothing really up there. We sped up a little more, reaching the sign at the peak without pausing for a break.

“Whoo. I haven’t been here in a while.”

Chungwoo clutched at the wooden post holding the sign, and I stood beside him, looking down. I could see that Chungwoo had been right the first day we’d come here.

“The other spot does have a better view.”

The view from the peak wasn’t as impressive as it had been halfway up, though the height did add something to the view.

“Yeah,” he said, nodding. He pulled out a bottle from his backpack and drank.

I drank my water as well, and there was a short, peaceful silence.

Hmm. This does feel a lot more comfortable than before.

“Moondae,” he said.

“Yes?”

“Mind if I ask you something?”

“Shoot,” I said without hesitation.

He fixed his gaze on the view and began slowly, “Actually… You know, that person you asked about last Chuseok after you saw our family video? I asked about him a few more times within the clan.”

“…!”

“Ryu Gunwoo, was it?”

I nearly choked on my water. Quickly putting down my bottle, I tried to figure out what he was working toward.

Has he located him?

“Do you know where he—”

“Uh, no. Sorry. I don’t know where he is. I learned something about his past, though. His entire family, except for him, was involved in an accident on a trip that involved his father’s family. Apparently, there was a traffic accident and a fire.” He sighed, then continued so calmly that it sounded fake, “And the traffic accident… is probably the same one that caused me to lose the ability to shoot.”

F*ck. This was not a pleasant topic, and I gulped down some more water.

Those idiots in the clan should have dropped the matter if they didn’t know where he was. Why had they told him this? I was pissed.

Chungwoo wasn’t done, however. “And Moondae, you know something?”

What?

“Your parents didn’t die in a car accident. They were in a plane crash.”

Wait, what?

“An article was going to be released about it last year, but the agency stopped it. They only discussed it briefly with me because it could come as a shock to you. It hadn’t been that long since you got out of the hospital.”

I looked up.

“You have trauma related to car accidents and fires though… Not planes.” Chungwoo was looking at me now. “The one who should have those traumas is Ryu Gunwoo, the person you’re looking for.”

I said nothing.

“Moondae, who exactly are you trying to find?”