Chapter 31: 31 Wonton Talk
Jungsu folded his arms as he looked down at the women sitting beside him on the couch. They were staring back at him with big eyes and didn't seem to be able to contain the excitement in their eyes.
"You know, it is quite disrespectful to open a room that you know is occupied with the intention of eavesdropping." Jungsu said coldly as the women shifted in their seats uncomfortably.
Though Jungsu himself had eavesdropped multiple times in his missions, he had never eavesdropped for the sake of his curiosity. That would have gotten him killed.
"S-sorry." They stuttered out.
Despite their appologies, Jungsu could tell that they were not in fact sorry. Instead, they appeared to be burning with curiosity.
"You have a really nice voice!" One of them spoke brightly, smiling at him with her teeth on display. Jungsu wasn't even sure how she had managed to smile so widely.
"Thank you. Now I would appreciate it if you all could leave my... us alone and pretend as if you didn't see anything." He gave them a pointed look as he stood up to open the door.
Before he could, however, one of them grabbed his arm and asked, "Could we get a picture with you?"
Jungsu worked his jaw in irritation. Was this what celebrities had to face everyday? People who didn't care for his thoughts or mood and simply charged ahead with their demands. It was quite fascinating to see the odd relationship that seemed to have formed between Jungsu and the public. A relationship in which they owed him nothing, but he owed them everything.
Jungsu shrugged his shoulders and said, "Sure." as they immediately stepped around him and took a couple of photos. Opening the door, he gave them a tight-lipped smile, waiting until all of them walked out before shutting the door firmly.
Turning towards Jiwoo, he saw her wearing a pout on her face, as she sat in the corner of the sofa with her face towards the walls.
"Jiwoo?..." Jungsu trailed off as she turned her red splotchy face towards him, tears already running down her eyes.
She started crying earnestly then, and Jungsu quickly moved towards her to try to pacify her.
Stroking her head, he brushed the tears out of her face gently.
"My fiancee doesn't cry like a baby, does she? I thought you said you were gonna be an adult soon?" Jungsu asked her with a smile on his face.
Jiwoo sniffled as her crying quieted down until she was simply wiping her tears away.
"Jiwoo's a big girl, right?" He asked.
She nodded her head mutely in response.
"No more crying then, okay?"
"Mmhm." She mumbled out as she looked past her hands into his eyes.
"I didn't like those girls, oppa." She mumbled again as he offered her his back for her to climb onto.
"I didn't like them much either." He responded, causing Jiwoo to smile slightly into his back.
They made their way home to Grandma's apartment. The buzzing sound of the bus had managed to lull Jiwoo to sleep as her head fell onto Jungsu's arm.
Once they'd arrived in front of Grandma's apartment, he knocked on the door, figuring that she must be home by now.
The door swung open, and Grandma shot him a smile as she glanced at Jiwoo lying asleep in his arms. Walking inside, Jungsu felt a wave of emotions hit him as he smelled the delicious scent of Grandma's familiar wonton soup.
Jungsu quickly placed Jiwoo inside her room before racing outside and hovering around Grandma as she poured into a bowl chicken dumplings and the steaming broth on top of them. Turning towards him, she slowly offered it to him, at which point Jungsu felt like simply snatching the bowl from her hands, however, he remained patient.
As the bowl finally landed in his hands, he was surprised by how hot the bowl was, and how Grandma had managed to hold it with her bare hands. Women sometimes seemed to have superpowers.
Sitting down on the dining table, he brought his chopsticks and spoon in front of him and dug into the meal. The roof of his mouth burning as he placed the scalding liquid into his mouth. But Jungsu didn't mind. So long as he got to chew on the tender chicken dumplings and drink the flavourful soup, he didn't mind. His last meal had been a quinoa salad. While he still did enjoy eating that, there was no arguing on what tasted better to him. Not only did Grandma's meals fill his stomach, but they also seemed to get rid of the restless feeling inside him.
After slurping down the final bites of the soup, Jungsu felt tired, feeling the urge to fall asleep, even though it was only five o'clock.
Shaking his head, he got up from his seat and moved towards the kitchen to wash the dishes. Grandma simply stood by and watched him in silence.
"Do you enjoy what you are doing Jungsu? Your job?" She asked.
Jungsu thought about the answer for a moment before replying, "It is interesting. It occupies my time, and the pay is good as well."
He had yet to start filming, as that would start tomorrow for him, however, from what he had gathered after being on Double Shift, he was able to endure it. While he hadn't enjoyed the constant invasion of privacy and disruption of the inner equilibrium he had established, interacting with the others was not as bad as he'd initially anticipated it would be.
"But is this something you are passionate about?" Grandma asked him with inquisitive eyes as she patted his back lightly.
If it was up to Jungsu, he wouldn't be here at all. Perhaps he would be a farmer in Korea, maybe even Europe, and live the rest of his days in peace. But he couldn't leave yet. Not when he had to find her.
Pressing his lips together, he looked back at her knowing eyes and responded, "I have no passions, Grandma."
She huffed out a laugh then as she shook her head at his blunt words.
"That's not true. I saw the way you played that violin on that show. It takes passion to create such passionate music." She grinned, a twinkle in her eyes as she moved to place something into the fridge.
Jungsu opened his mouth to respond and then paused. He thought about it then, whether or not he truly enjoyed playing the violin. He hadn't thought he'd been able to convey any emotions in his music, and yet, Grandma had called his music passionate. There was not a time that Jungsu had enjoyed the hours he would spend in front of that instrument, yet he wondered if that was really true. Perhaps it was a welcome distraction from the other moments in his life. Perhaps it was simply the music that allowed him peace, music that seemed to communicate so much more in the rests between each note than any words ever could.
Jungsu was never good with words.
"I suppose I enjoy playing the violin. But I don't think I could make a very successful career out of that. I'm not skilled enough to join a symphony orchestra."
"Perhaps not, but you could maybe post online, do some covers?" She suggested, to which Jungsu shook his head.
"I'm not any good with a camera either. Besides, they would tire of hearing me play."
Grandma shook her head at his naivety as she thought to herself that the users would never tire of him playing so long as he kept his face in the camera frame. But then again, she supposed that would require the same things from him as acting would.
"How about you try being a bodyguard?" She asked, knowing that with his physique and agility, he would definitely land a job. While it wouldn't be the most peaceful job, she thought that over time, Jungsu would be free from the obsessive fans he had cultivated.
Jungsu thought on it for a moment as he recalled having done the job before. It was something that came easy to him as all he was required to do was act the way he normally did and simply stay alert to any potential threats.
Jungsu nodded his head as he considered it.
"Maybe I could do that."
He didn't know how the public would take it if they ever found out though. They would either bully him online for it or completely forget about him. Jungsu hoped for the latter, but he knew that they were more likely to find the situation bizarre and off-putting. Social standings in Korea were taken very seriously, and Jungsu falling from an actor to a bodyguard would appear too suspicious and disturbing to netizens.
Perhaps if he covered his face, nobody would question him. He wasn't sure how plausible that was, however, as the client needed to be able to recognize him.
Though maybe if he was the bodyguard of a very famous actor, there would be no problem in Jungsu being a bit famous.
He stopped talking as he felt a buzz in his pockets. Brushing his hands against his jeans to dry them, he pulled out his phone, checking the message Hyunwoo had sent him.
Jungsu... is this you?
Jungsu clicked on the image he had sent, narrowing his eyes as he glanced from the sunset in the background to a faint figure balancing their body in the air on one hand.
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