Chapter 22

After buying lunch at a neighboring convenience store, I rode my bicycle back to my flat. I wasn't in the mood to cook; a simple microwaved dinner would suffice.

When I got to my place, I carefully parked and locked the bicycle securely.

I didn't own this bike; I rented it from the firm. They were kind enough to provide me with transportation between my employment and my flat. So I had to take good care of it.

Entering the apartment building, I sighed, realizing there was no elevator for us to utilize. The flat seemed to challenge people to stay in shape.

I was already huffing heavily when I arrived on the floor of my apartment.

Laughter could be heard moving closer to the floor I was on after I typed in the password.

I didn't bother looking behind me and just went about my business. But as I opened the door, I heard my name called from behind me.

I turned around when I heard familiar voices and saw the Arkane boys climbing near the stairway.

I hurriedly averted my gaze and dashed inside, preferring not to interact with anyone at the time. But Seungjae was too quick, and he obstructed my door with his foot just as I was going to shut it.

"Hey noona!"

"H-hi, Seungjae—what are you doing here?" I stammered, my voice a little tired.

"We live here!" he exclaimed.

"Well, we actually live on the floor above this," Milton clarified.

"Oh, the VIP floor, I see." I nodded in response.

"And I assume you live here?" Jiho asked, pointing to the apartment I'm in.

"Yes, I do."

Exhaustion took over my body, and their chatty atmosphere overwhelmed me. I was mildly agitated and wanted this to end as soon as possible.

"L-look, I don't mean to be rude or anything, but I just want to rest peacefully. I had a long day, and tomorrow will definitely be another stressful day," I complained softly, and thankfully the knight understood the situation.

"You boys heard her; let her rest; we need to rest too," Seongho stated as the elders led their youngsters upstairs to their dorm.

"Thank you," I murmured, and the knight responded with a reassuring smile as he continued up the stairs.

Jiwoo then wished me a good night.

He was the last member to arrive, and while he isn't generally vocal with greetings, he is always chatty with individuals he cares about, such as the lads.

As a result, I was taken aback by his unexpected greeting. I grew flustered for some reason and was suddenly stunned by it.

I was still debating if he genuinely did greet me or if it was one of the other boys with a deep voice like his.

He came to a halt halfway up the stairs, looking back at me, waiting for my response.

I returned his greeting with an awkward snicker and a, "Good night," as I shut the door behind me.

I huffed nervously, my back laying against the closed door. My heart is racing, my cheeks are flushed, and I have a sudden feeling of awkwardness.

I wasn't pleased with how I was acting.

All he did was give a simple greeting. Everyone wishes each other a good night, but my stupid heart had the gall to think of this as something more.

I dashed to the kitchen to reheat my meal. Hungriness must be the cause of this delusion, so I must eat something quickly for it to vanish.

It worked in some ways, and I was able to focus on my work before falling asleep for the night.

***

Today is the first day of my new job as a makeup artist. And the artist with whom I'll be collaborating is none other than Arkane.

They will be filming one of their shows from their variety show, 'Arkive Files,' today, and it appears that they will be playing on the jumping castle.

I had no idea idols could create such content, and I'll be honest: I'm jealous. Seeing them have joy while doing their jobs has always been my dream job.

I shared a van with three other staff members. We were given the names of the members we'd be handling before we left, and I was assigned four.

It didn't take long for us to make it to our destination. We didn't waste any time and went inside to get our makeup kits and brushes ready before the members came an hour later.

Jaeseong was the first member I was assigned to, and I was ecstatic. He's recognized for his androgynous appearance, and I've always wanted to work with someone like that.

The boy happily sat down, and I began applying make-up. I parted his bangs with two clips to display his forehead.

You could tell if someone was taking care of their skin by the appearance of it, and his naked appearance was plump and radiant.

Just looking at his lovely face got me even more enthused about my profession.

We were ordered to give the boys a no-makeup look as the allotted style. Because they'll be doing a lot of physical things throughout this filming, complete makeup was not required.

Jaeseong then decided to strike up a conversation in the middle of my work.

"By the way, what year were you born?" he inquired abruptly.

I replied formally, "1995", while gazing at his face.

His eyebrows were raised in surprise. "Oh, we're the same age! You can talk casually with me; it's fine," he replied.

In Korea, there is an age hierarchy, and the traditional counting system is widely employed in social settings and businesses where age hierarchies are valued. It determines how polite Koreans must be in their words and deeds.

But, because Jaeseong and I are the same age, I can speak to him casually.

"Alright then, thanks," I said.

After Jaeseong, it was Jun's turn for me to do his make-up. Knowing I was doing his make-up, he sat down, a little thrilled.

I grinned. "Calm down, boy."

"Yes, noona." He smiled as he obeyed, and hearing how he addressed me surprised me.

"Oh, I never heard you call me that before."

"I overheard you and Jaeseong Hyung's conversation a while ago," he said.

"Ah, I see," I said as I began applying his make-up. Jun, unlike Jaeseong, was a chatterbox.

"So, how do you like Seoul so far, noona?" inquired him.

"Not so bad. I'm getting the hang of the cold, at least."

"How do you like the food?"

"I've only tried convenience food near the company."

"How come?" he exclaimed, stunned. While focused on his makeup, I found it impossible to answer these queries.

However, as the youngster continued to pepper me with questions, he gradually went silent until drowsiness drove him to take a nap.

My job with him went quickly, and I was able to handle the next member in the blink of an eye.

Minjoon was next in line, and he seemed nervous when he noticed that I was the designated staff member to do his make-up. I had no idea why he was acting the way he was, so I just smiled.

"Hey! Sit down; this will take a few minutes," I replied.

He complied, and as he sat down, I applied the first product to his face.

His demeanor was hesitant as he kept staring back and forth at me until he was able to share what was bothering him minutes later.

"Did Heric or Angela say anything about that time when I left so suddenly?" inquired the man.

"They were confused as to why you walked off, but they didn't say anything weird or rude about it; don't worry," I responded.

Minjoon exhaled quietly in relief and responded with a nod. I began sharing the information I had acquired from Angela with him without realizing it.

She had told me further information about the cooking competition to which we had been invited by the master.

She stated that the contender will prepare a mixed-ingredient dish for the first round.

There were also a large number of participants who had already registered. She even reserved a document for us to sign if our opinions changed.

All of this I told him without thinking about how it made him feel. Despite the fact that I saw his face regularly, I couldn't seem to notice his reaction to the information I provided.

When I finished his make-up, he bowed and thanked me, avoiding eye contact. That's when I realized I'd talked too much without thinking about his feelings.

I kept talking about the competition when he was probably avoiding it. And yet, here I was, presumably compelling him to participate with my unnecessary remarks.

Jiwoo was the final member, and when he sat down, he heard me sigh deeply.

"Are you already tired?" He chuckled, and I flinched a little because my back was to him, and I wasn't expecting him to be in the chair already.

My heart suddenly began to beat quickly. I've never seen him the same way since that interaction last night, and I despise it.

But I didn't want to show him how his presence was affecting how I was feeling at the time. So I simply replied, "A bit," with a hesitant chuckle.

My response elicited a chuckle from him.

"I heard you told Minjoon about the cooking competition."

The timid sensation I felt vanished instantly, and I was able to look him in the eyes without looking away.

It honestly affected me how insensitive I was with Minjoon not long ago, and I didn't want that to be the cause of our friendship's demise.

"Did I mess up?" I said hesitantly.

"Kinda."

"Kinda?" I murmured softly, my voice sounding slightly panicked.

Jiwoo proceeded to explain, and I discovered that as a child, Minjoon participated in numerous cooking competitions.

Since the beginning of his cooking profession, he has always been the victor.

But, ever since he lost his place that one time, there have been numerous media outlets reporting on it, and many people have commented on their displeasure.

The insults directed at Minjoon traumatized him, yet he refused to give up. He ultimately placed second, although this seemed to elicit more comments about people's disappointment.

Comments such as,

"The fall of Chef Seo Minjoon."

"What's so fantastic about coming in second?"

"That kid is done for."

It felt like a punch to the chest, and it stung him.

At that point, he realized that even if he won something, it had no importance if he wasn't first.

He felt so pressed into going in the first place that he gradually came to despise cooking, which he didn't want.

So, at the age of 16, he gave up his chef career and began looking for another activity that may still provide him joy.

Minjoon still cooks frequently for the boys and himself, but he never entered any more cooking competitions as a result.

It's unfortunate that we live in a world where being positioned below your typical position is frowned upon.

Even if you worked extremely hard in practice and obtained a minor reward, such as second place, it is still considered degraded.

It made perfect sense why Minjoon was responding that way, and it's very understandable. I let out a sigh. I regretted what I had just said to him after learning about his past.

When I was finished, I cleaned my brushes and organized my makeup kit.

After they finished shooting, I still had to remove their makeup and wait in the waiting area.

A surge of regret rushed through my heart as I recalled what Jiwoo had said to me, and it disheartened me.

I knew I had to apologize to him, or else this disgrace would haunt me for months.

However, when they finished shooting, Minjoon was unable to be found.

According to the staff, he went home early and decided to remove his makeup in his dorm instead.

There's no doubt about it; this is entirely my fault, and I refuse to let it damage our friendship. That is something I would never wish to happen.

***

I walk down the stairs after a long bath to get some milk from the fridge. I looked up at the clock above the stairs, which said 10 p.m.

I was so concentrated on practicing my speech about how I could apologize to Minjoon for what I said that I took longer than planned in the bath.

The doorbell rang as I was drinking milk at my leisure. I was astonished because I wasn't expecting anyone, especially at this hour.

"Coming!" I yelled as I chugged my drink as rapidly as I could before tossing it in the bin and racing to the front door.

I peeked through the hole in my door and saw Minjoon huffing nervously as he waited patiently for me to respond.

I opened the door quickly. "Minjoon, what are you doing here?" I responded.

"I'm sorry if I was disturbing you," he replied.

"It's fine. I wasn't busy anyway. Uhm, come in," I said, moving aside to let the boy in.

He bowed, then huffed nervously before entering my unit, and I led him to the living area, where we could converse easily.

As we talked, he sat on the couch while I prepared a drink.

"So, what brought you here?" I inquired, setting the cup of iced tea on the table. Then I took a seat beside him.

"It's nothing major, but…" he paused before reluctantly adding, "I want to enter the cooking competition."

His abrupt change of mind startled me so much that I wondered what made him want to join when he didn't want to a while ago.

"Jiwoo Hyung had informed me that he had told you about my past, and he said you genuinely regretted what you had said a while ago. He also stated that how things work in this reality and in the gaming realm will undoubtedly change. So I considered it, and he had a valid point."

He paused before looking up to see my sincere expression. He inhaled deeply. "Do you believe it is too late to register?"

"No! Absolutely not! I'll message Angela about it right away," I said as I was about to head upstairs to get my phone, but Minjoon grabbed my hand and stopped me.

"But I don't want to do this by myself," he quickly added.

"Then, who will be joining you?" I questioned, sitting back down, startled.

His demeanor became indecisive, then he gulped. He took a deep breath as he looked up at me and said, "I want to join the competition with you."