FBF chapter 13 part 2

Ah, speaking of which, I was messaging with the newbie. I need to reply. As I hurriedly turned on the screen, I heard the sliding sound of the veranda door opening behind me.

“Whoa. It’s already 8:30? Hey, turn on the TV for me. I need to watch the drama. Channel 5, Channel 5! Come on, hurry! They said there’s gonna be a kissing scene today.”

“Are you some guy who works in an electronics company and doesn’t even have a TV at home? If you want to watch it, go and watch it.”

“If a kissing scene comes out while I’m on my way home, you’re gonna take responsibility, huh? You can’t say that if you know I’ve been holding out this long to watch it.”

“Excuse me, did you just come from the Stone Age? We have this thing called a cellphone here. There are applications that show dramas live. Do you even know what a car is? It has four wheels…”

“Oh, but the picture quality gets messed up on live!”

Kang Youngsoo and Lee Jihoon were rolling around fighting for the remote when I finally logged into the chat room.

Park Seobin

I’m actually… already nearbyㅠㅠ 8:15 PM

There were no additional messages since the one I received earlier. It was highly likely that he was waiting for my reply. I didn’t know why he had come this close at this time, but if there was something he needed to say, I felt I had to listen. I also felt guilty for being distracted by Lee Jihoon and not replying for nearly 20 minutes.

If he’s nearby, is he in front of my house? There aren’t many places to wait around at this hour. I pondered as I rose to my feet.

“Where are you going?”

“Where are you going?”

Both Lee Jihoon and Kang Youngsoo, who seemed busy fighting, suddenly turned their gazes toward me. Lee Jihoon, who had been holding onto Kang Youngsoo’s hair, let go. Seeing the opening, Kang Youngsoo managed to snatch the remote from Lee Jihoon’s hand, and I seized the moment to grab my coat. After throwing on a padded jacket and heading to the living room, I found myself making eye contact with the two again. Kang Youngsoo was alternating his gaze between the TV and me, while Lee Jihoon sat with his arms crossed, waiting for me. When our eyes met, he raised an eyebrow, questioning me.

“Why aren’t you answering me about where you’re going?”

I sighed and shook my cellphone.

“Someone’s here, so I’m stepping out for a bit. Don’t worry about me and just keep enjoying your time.”

“Who’s coming at this hour to find you?”

“Is it that employee from the company you were messaging earlier? What was their name again? Seo-jin? Soo-bin? Soo-jin?”

“…Who? Say that again.”

I left them to play their puzzle games with information I hadn’t even given and stepped out of the house. The moment I stepped outside, the chilly air made me shudder. Instead of messaging to ask where he was, I thought it would be quicker to call, so I walked toward the elevator and dialed the number.

-Yes, Senior.

Just as I thought, the newbie picked up on the third ring. I had my doubts, but when I heard the wind blowing through the phone and his unclear pronunciation as if his lips were frozen, it seemed he had been waiting for my reply outside all along. While he managed to make it this far, it seemed he wasn’t familiar with the area, and when I asked him where he was, he struggled to answer. Instead, he responded that he was at a café and provided the name. As I mulled over the name, it sounded familiar. It was a place I’d been to before when buying coffee for Lee Jihoon. Telling him to wait inside until I arrived, I ended the call. I recalled that since I had given him a ride to my neighborhood once before, he had mentioned it effortlessly. Maybe he checked the address book. I racked my brain to remember if I had ever shared the address book that all the team members had, before placing my hand on the floor button.

I heard footsteps in the distance. It sounded like someone was rushing to catch the elevator. Instead of pressing the floor button, I hit the open button. I told the newbie to stay inside, so there was no rush, and I could afford to wait. It’s not a place where many families live, so the person rushing over was likely a familiar neighbor.

However, the person I saw coming through the open elevator doors was not what I expected. Although I recognized them, the level of familiarity was a bit of an issue. I couldn’t believe I was staring at the face I had seen just two minutes ago. A dazed question slipped out between my lips.

“…Where are you going?”

Lee Jihoon stepped into the elevator and immediately turned to the elevator wall, fixing his disheveled appearance that he must have messed up while running down the hall. After quickly adjusting his clothes and hair, he glanced at me with one eye raised.

“And you?”

“…I’m going to that café up ahead.”

“Oh. I’m going to a café too.”

“…At this hour?”

Lee Jihoon paused and turned to look back at me.

“Why? Is it okay for you to go out at this hour but not for me if I want to drink coffee?”

With my words stuck in my throat, Lee Jihoon pressed the button for the first floor. I glanced to the side at our reflections on the opaque elevator door. Lee Jihoon had an unapologetic expression, considering he stood there with an empty trash bag in his hand.

I reached for the handle but hesitated and turned back to see Lee Jihoon asking me, as if he had been waiting for me to do just that.

“…Is the café you’re going to here?”

I could understand he might have a reason for dashing out for coffee at night, and holding an empty trash bag might also be a clue, but deciding to follow me to this small personal café, when you could easily spot franchise coffee shops just one block down, was definitely odd. Especially since when Kang Youngsoo had asked if I had been to that café while trying to find a good place nearby, I had firmly said it wasn’t worth going twice. I had thought he was a picky guy about coffee, but if this was the place he ran out into the night for, it was indeed unnatural.

“You said it wasn’t worth going twice.”

“…Did I?”

“You said so to Kang Youngsoo.”

Lee Jihoon blinked, unable to respond immediately. He wore a rare expression of confusion. Rubbing his forehead, he glanced at me cautiously.

“Were you listening to that? I thought you were busy with something else.”

It was true that I had overheard it. As I always tended to do, I half-listened while observing the conversation between Kang Youngsoo and Lee Jihoon, where I had accidentally caught the latter. Lee Jihoon appeared slightly taken aback by that but, in the next moment, looked at me brazenly enough to almost forget that had happened.

“Well… in any case, it’s my choice, right?”

“…What?”

“And back then, I got it to-go, and this time I might eat in-store, so maybe it’s different?”

He wasn’t just buying coffee to go but was actually planning to eat in the café? Without realizing it, I checked the inside of the café first. It was a small café with just three round tables attached to the inner wall. As I scanned the interior one more time, I caught the newbie sitting alone at the inside table, looking down. He sprung up, surprised, as if he didn’t know whether to approach or wait for me.

Should I just tell him to go somewhere else?

“Are you not going in?”

Lee Jihoon poked me in the shoulder, questioning my indecision. My hand holding the door handle twitched, and just then, Lee Jihoon stepped onto the same staircase as me. Before he could get closer, I hurriedly walked toward the door. The moment the door opened with a chime, I realized I had stepped into the same space as Lee Jihoon.

“Senior! You’ve come!”

The newbie rushed toward me. It wasn’t even a big café for him to run, but his overly polite demeanor made the café owner, who was standing in front of the coffee machine, glance over here out of curiosity. I remembered her from when I bought coffee for Lee Jihoon, as she had given me various information while stamping my coupon. I momentarily froze, awkwardly acknowledging her delighted expression before turning to glance back, only to notice that Lee Jihoon had already moved closer to the café counter.

Leaning against the glass display, he asked something of the café owner. Meanwhile, he still held a neatly folded square trash bag in his hands. He looked like someone who had just bought a trash bag at the store, keeping it well-structured.

It was hard to pinpoint just one thing that felt off about him; it was an overall weird situation. However, given how he managed to create distance as soon as we stepped inside, it seemed like he had no intention of acknowledging my presence. But that also made the fact he planned to eat in the café on his mind an odd contradiction. With only three tables in this cramped space, was it really possible for us to pretend we didn’t know each other?

“…Senior?”

I realized how long I had been lost in thought only after hearing the newbie’s cautious inquiry. The reason I had come to the café was indeed because of his message, indicating he had something to say. I struggled to shift my gaze toward the table where the newbie had just been sitting. Other than a phone that appeared to belong to him, there wasn’t much else visible. However, I still wanted to confirm just in case.

“Did you order?”

“Ah, no. I was waiting for you to arrive so I could order. I know you usually have an Americano, but since it’s nighttime, I thought you might want something else… I’m sorry, I should have asked earlier.”

“It’s fine. I didn’t ask you to apologize. What would you like to eat?”

I casually reassured the anxious newbie while approaching the counter. Thankfully, Lee Jihoon seemed to have finished ordering and stepped aside.

“4,000 won, please.”

It seemed like we were just one step away from payment. Once the payment was done and he made his way back to the table, I would simply sit the furthest from him, acting as if I didn’t know him at all. The seat against the wall seemed like a good place to be. The only thing Lee Jihoon would see would be my back. If our eyes met, I couldn’t help but worry.

As I formulated my plans for a few minutes ahead, I stepped back from the counter, pretending to look at the cakes in the display while obtaining my wallet from my back pocket.

“I’ll just have a simple Americano… Ah, I’ll pay for it, Senior!”

“Is Americano okay? If you want dessert…”

“I’m fine. And I’ll pay too…”

I awkwardly attempted to pull out my wallet while the newbie shook his head, but I ended up awkwardly halting mid-sentence, our gazes shifting not to one another but to someone who had nothing to do with our previous conversation.

“Why? I don’t have a wallet.”

More accurately, I was facing someone who had already asked that same question three times tonight.

“……”

“……”

“……”

I looked once at Lee Jihoon’s hand reaching toward me, once at the audacity on his face, and once at the newbie looking back and forth between us as if confused, before I realized that Lee Jihoon was indeed asking me for my wallet. And that it seemed like an awkward conversation to be exchanging between two people who were being cold toward one another since we had walked into the café.

“You know I only brought cash to buy a trash bag, right? The mart in front of my house only accepts cash for single sales. I clearly explained that while we waited for the elevator, but you must not have listened again?”

Is this guy… nuts?

The empty trash bag in Lee Jihoon’s hand instantly became evidence for the story he was weaving. Seeing Lee Jihoon looking at me with a baffled expression like he was playing along, the newbie spoke up, as if realizing what was happening.

“Oh! So you live together… I didn’t know that. You came in separately.”

Instead of responding to the newbie’s comment, Lee Jihoon simply shrugged his shoulders and looked at me. He was so nonchalant he made me doubt if I really heard that in the elevator earlier. Realizing I had just been staring blankly, I finally pulled my mind together.

“…Just a friend.”

I couldn’t fathom what compelled him to act so strangely like Kang Youngsoo would, but since he had already committed to this ridiculous act, I felt it would only add to the ridiculousness if I denied it. Ah… with a nod of understanding directed at the newbie, Lee Jihoon turned to him and smiled widely. It was his business-like expression that Kang Youngsoo detested as being fake. The kind of smile filled with kindness and cordiality that he only wore when working.

“A friend who lives together.”

“…What?”

“A friend that lives with me.”

Did he really need to emphasize “live together” like that? Ah… I see… The newbie, who was likely pondering the same question I was, awkwardly followed suit and responded in agreement. Maybe he had gotten the reaction he wanted, but Lee Jihoon was already shifting his attention back to me.

“By the way, that’s unfair. If you’re going to a café at this hour, I assumed you’d be treating me. What’s with that completely unfamiliar expression?”

Though it was only something Lee Jihoon’s character in the role-play had said, his words made the newbie flinch for no reason. I was reminded of the time when the newbie, who had been uncomfortable watching me take out my wallet, suddenly ran off to the counter. Now, spurred on by Lee Jihoon’s words, it was as if the newbie was reflecting on the etiquette he needed to uphold as he stepped up to the counter.

“That’s because… it was suddenly urgent that I ask if I could meet you given that I was nearby, so Senior came out to meet me at the café. I didn’t realize I was intruding on time with your friend. I thought you lived alone…”

“I see. No wonder you were in such a hurry.”

“Ah, I did kind of drop by unannounced… I’m sorry. I was feeling a bit rushed about it… Anyway, I’m sorry. It’s my responsibility to pay, of course. Senior, is Americano alright with you? And if it’s okay, I’ll pay for your friend’s drink as well.”

“Oh no, I really don’t mind. There’s no need to do that…”

While I tried to prevent the newbie from offering to pay first, my arm was pulled back. The very person who pulled me back stood with his arms crossed, staring blankly ahead as if he had never done that. Ignoring my shocked gaze, Lee Jihoon even playfully tapped the newbie’s shoulder. When the newbie turned, he awkwardly smiled as he pointed at the display.

“If it’s really okay, can I have a piece of Basque cheesecake? I was going to ask my friend first, but since you’re offering…”

“Hey, Lee Jihoon.”

I had never seen Lee Jihoon ordering cake at a café before. He didn’t particularly like sweets, nor was he one to indulge in dessert as part of his strict body management. Watching him embarrass himself so obnoxiously to the extent of asking for cake was beyond my understanding. However, the one who should have been embarrassed, Lee Jihoon, didn’t seem to care at all, while the newbie took on unnecessary guilt as he quickly nodded.

“Oh! Of course, of course I should treat you. Shop owner, can we please have one Basque cheesecake as well? Is there anything else you might need?”

“I heard you can also add a scoop of ice cream…”

“Ah, yes, yes. Please add ice cream as well, shop owner.”

In an instant, the situation had resolved itself. By the time I gathered myself, Lee Jihoon was already headed to a table, and the newbie, having received his card back from the owner, was politely gesturing toward the inside of the café with both hands.

“Senior, they said it’ll be out soon, so I’ll carry the drinks. You just sit here.”

I turned around as if nudged. Lee Jihoon was seated at the center of the three tables set up inside, casually crossing his legs while pushing his hair back with a serious expression. In his other hand, he held a magazine that he must have grabbed off the nearby shelf.

Noticing me looking at him, he raised an eyebrow as if to say, “What’s the problem?”

Reluctantly, I took a step. I chose to sit on the left side where I could be at least a bit further away from Lee Jihoon. It still meant that just turning my head slightly would bring me face-to-face with the right side of his face as he read the magazine.

I redirected my gaze from the newbie lingering at the drink pick-up area to Lee Jihoon’s profile, mischievously entertaining himself. I had no clue what he was thinking or doing there. As if he sensed my lost gaze, Lee Jihoon spoke.

“Don’t worry about me and do what you want.”

If he had just made it easier for me to ignore him, we wouldn’t be in this strange scenario. Why was he unceremoniously giving in to his lack of a wallet while burdening himself with a junior colleague’s coffee and cake? He brought out the trash bag he had at home just to tell lies, diverting curiosity that was not my wish to provide.

Although I briefly contemplated whether to voice my annoyance, the arrival of the newbie with a tray prevented me from speaking up. When the newbie timidly approached through the narrow pathways, Lee Jihoon lifted the magazine to give him space. Seizing the opportunity, the newbie neatly set down the cake and drinks while watching Lee Jihoon anxiously.

“The owner said they only have vanilla ice cream, is that okay?”

“Yeah, um…”

“Thank goodness. Enjoy your meal. Once again, I apologize.”

Seeing Lee Jihoon’s late unease, as if he were suddenly wrestling with a deep sense of guilt, the newbie mysteriously produced something from his pocket. The item he quickly pulled out was something familiar.

“And here… is my business card. I feel like I didn’t get to introduce myself properly, so… I’m Park Seobin. I have a lot to learn, and Senior Seon-uk has generously been guiding me.”

“…Seon-uk is a senior in college?”

“Oh, no. I’m not from the police academy… I’m a junior in the team. I’m younger than you, Senior. You can call me casually. If you’re friends with the Senior, it’s only natural you’re older than I am.”

“Ah…”

“I apologize for not being able to greet you properly earlier. I haven’t been with the team long, so I’m still figuring things out. My business cards just came out yesterday… Anyway, that was a long-winded way to say thank you for being understanding. Enjoy your meal.”

Another bow toward Lee Jihoon, and then the newbie closed in on my side with his tray. His face was relieved. I recalled what Senior Ha had said while stealing time from his busy schedule to have lunch with the newbie for a one-on-one meeting yesterday.

‘It seems one clueless guy has been followed by one who questions everything.’

“Senior, should I set the drinks here?”

“Ah… yes. Thank you.”

I turned my gaze away from Lee Jihoon. Given that he was inspecting the business card silently, it appeared he wouldn’t suddenly engage in conversation, at least not like before. He himself had said not to worry.

There was an atmosphere of courtesy to just go along with the pretense of living together, the drinks had arrived, and I realized there was only one thing left to do. The newbie was watching my face for cues, likely contemplating whether to speak up about the prepared subject. I sighed and pushed aside the drink I had pretended to sip from.

“Is it a difficult topic to discuss?”

“Yeah? Ah… not really, but… I was worried that perhaps this conversation would put you in an uncomfortable position, Senior. As I think about it, maybe it’s too personal.”

“I don’t know what it is, but just say it. I came out here to listen anyway.”

From the moment he came over at this hour, I assumed it wouldn’t be something suitable for work, so responding wasn’t particularly difficult.

With countless hours spent on stakeouts and many late shifts, our team was generally vague on the boundary between work and personal matters. When I was a clueless rookie, the seniors would frequently take me everywhere and would sometimes ask me things that shocked me. As time went on, I learned that they were, in their own way, trying to connect with someone who was at least eight years to a maximum of fifteen years younger than them. As my seniors would say, it was an attempt to integrate someone labeled as ‘someone whose thoughts are inscrutable’ into the organization.

Once I left, my seniors would likely continue to put in similar efforts with the newbies. If it weren’t for their busy schedules, they would have acted this way long ago, and it was unfortunate. Since I had felt a sense of responsibility to show them I was that kind of team member until they could fully focus on the newcomers, I had stepped out late even despite the hour.