Superstar From Age 0

Chapter 382

“My name is Jeong Garam. I’m eighteen years old.”

“Kwon Yunchan. Same age, but…”

Kwon Yunchan hesitated for a moment before opening his mouth.

“…I don’t go to school.”

It was the beginning of the second semester.

A normal high school student would be at school at this time.

He had to stay with Jeong Garam until he left anyway, so he couldn’t hide it.

“Me neither.”

Jeong Garam smiled as if it was nothing and said.

Kwon Yunchan looked at Jeong Garam with a puzzled expression.

He didn’t think he would skip school, unlike himself, who wore shabby clothes.

‘I thought he was traveling with some kind of experiential learning report…’

He didn’t know why, but Kwon Yunchan felt a slight, strange sense of kinship with him, just because they both didn’t go to school.

“Stay here.”

Kwon Yunchan opened the door to the next room and went in to put away the soju bottle and cigarette pack. Jeong Garam came in with his suitcase.

There was an old blanket with an electric mat and a thick television that looked like it belonged in a museum.

“Turn on the electric mat if you’re cold.”

“Okay.”

Kwon Yunchan, who was holding a pile of clothes, said.

The room looked like it belonged to Kwon Yunchan’s father or grandfather.

‘I thought he lived alone since he didn’t have any other shoes or stuff…’

The room felt cold and lifeless, as if no one lived there.

“Let’s have lunch together!”

Jeong Garam, who was about to unpack his suitcase, said. Kwon Yunchan’s body flinched as he was about to go out.

“Just leave me some rice and a spoon for what you were going to eat.”

“…”

Kwon Yunchan closed his mouth. He was planning to skip lunch.

Jeong Garam felt sorry for him.

He didn’t think he would take good care of himself living alone.

“What side dishes do you have?”

“…Only kimchi.”

There was only kimchi that the welfare center gave him in the fridge.

“Then let’s go out and eat while we’re shopping? I’ll pay.”

Jeong Garam suggested and Kwon Yunchan nodded after a moment of thought.

Jeong Garam put his clothes on one side and reached for his laptop, but Kwon Yunchan stopped him.

“Put your valuables in your suitcase.”

“…Okay.”

Jeong Garam rolled his eyes and put his laptop back in his suitcase.

As Jeong Garam was about to put on his shoes, Kwon Yunchan took his suitcase out of the room and headed somewhere.

Jeong Garam’s expression turned strange.

“Hey, what are you doing?”

“Sometimes thieves come by. They’ll steal it if you leave it like that.”

…Wow.

Jeong Garam’s eyes widened at the unexpected remark.

***

“Do you have rice?”

“No.”

A pork soup restaurant at the foot of the mountain.

Kwon Yunchan shook his head at Jeong Garam’s question as he scooped up the hot soup.

Jeong Garam nodded and wrote down on his phone’s memo app.

“What about eggs? Any other side dishes?”

“…I have kimchi.”

“I heard that already. Then let’s buy some eggs. I like eggs. It’s my food money, so I’ll pay. And let’s buy some ham. And onions. And meat.”

Jeong Garam wrote down the list excitedly. He didn’t seem to think about how to carry all that stuff home.

“It feels like I’m living on my own. I wanted to live with my friends. Playing games all night and eating delicious food. Do they deliver here?”

“…Friends?”

Kwon Yunchan asked back at Jeong Garam’s nod.

“We’re the same age, right? You’re not my brother or my hyung, so you’re my friend.”

That was unfamiliar to Kwon Yunchan.

A child who couldn’t receive parental care had signs of it everywhere.

And other children of the same age quickly noticed that and looked down on them or avoided them.

So from elementary school to middle school for three years. Kwon Yunchan lived alone.

“Oh. We have to clean the bathroom too.”

This kind of ‘conversation’ was also unfamiliar to him.

Kwon Yunchan replied a little late at Jeong Garam’s words.

“…I clean it sometimes.”

“Do you? Didn’t you see the mold!? I thought the floor was that color!”

Kwon Yunchan smirked at Jeong Garam’s shocked expression.

Just spray some water and wipe it with a cloth, what else?

“Let’s buy a pot too. And a frying pan.”

“There’s one at home.”

“I saw it earlier and the coating was all peeled off. Then the eggs will stick to it. Oh. Make me a soft-boiled egg.”

Kwon Yunchan looked at Jeong Garam with a dumbfounded expression. His face, eating the white soup, looked so shameless.

“Are you always like this?”

“I’ve been having some mood swings lately. I guess it’s puberty.”

He had never seen anyone say that with their own mouth. Kwon Yunchan nodded his head with a flustered expression.

“…I guess so.”

This morning. He met him in a strange way, and this happened.

Kwon Yunchan, who bit a piece of radish kimchi, laughed without realizing it because he was so dumbfounded.

After having lunch, Kwon Yunchan and Jeong Garam headed to the nearby mart.

“Have a nice day.”

The owner of the pork soup restaurant clicked his tongue as he came to clear the table after the two boys left.

“They left half of it.”

On the table, there was one empty bowl and one half-full bowl.

***

“Scrub hard.”

“Is this not coming off?”

“I asked the staff for the strongest one. It’ll come off. I don’t care what you do later, but I want the bathroom to be clean while I’m here. I’m paying 20,000 won a day to stay here. Do you know that the nearest guest house is only 15,000 won a day?”

“Mm-hmm.”

At Jeong Garam’s words, Kwon Yunchan scrubbed the bathroom floor with a new brush, wearing rubber gloves.

Even Kwon Yunchan thought that renting this house for 20,000 won a day was too much. But he couldn’t just tell him to leave, since 20,000 won, or 40,000 won tomorrow, was too precious.

Meanwhile, Jeong Garam cleaned up the kitchen and filled up the empty fridge.

“Of course, the fridge should be full.”

Jung Garam smiled contentedly and headed to the washing machine in the bathroom.

He chuckled as he saw Kwon Yunchan crouching and cleaning.

He looked at the washing machine, which was old and rattling.

“Kwon Yunchan. Is this not broken?”

“…I don’t think so.”

He felt uneasy at Kwon Yunchan’s hesitant answer.

Fortunately, the laundry was done without a problem.

Jung Garam shook the clothes and hung them on the clothesline.

The clothes of Jung Garam and Kwon Yunchan, which were soaked in seawater and salty, were lined up on the clothesline.

“The laundry is done. How about the bathroom cleaning?”

“Just spray some water.”

Splash!

The bathroom door opened wide.

Kwon Yunchan was spraying water on the white foam with a basin.

He was speechless at the sight of the bathroom that appeared through the white foam. Jung Garam also admired it sincerely.

“Wow. The color is totally different.”

“…I know.”

Kwon Yunchan didn’t expect the color to change so much either.

He thought the tiles were dark gray, but they were light gray.

And the black grout lines were originally white.

He felt a chill down his spine at the change.

“We should clean more often from now on.”

“Yes, we should.”

Jung Garam and Kwon Yunchan sprawled on the floor after cleaning the bathroom.

They felt more tired because they didn’t do this kind of work often.

“What time is it?”

“4 o’clock.”

‘I wonder if we should eat dinner at 6 o’clock?’

Kwon Yunchan always ate when he was hungry, but he felt like he had to eat dinner at a proper time because there was someone else.

“What should we eat for dinner?”

He also had to choose a menu. It was a strange thing for Kwon Yunchan, who mostly ate ramen.

Jung Garam answered coolly.

“We bought meat, remember? Let’s eat meat.”

Kwon Yunchan lost his appetite at that.

It seemed like a long time ago that he grilled meat and ate it.

‘I could buy more ramen with the money for meat.’

That’s how Kwon Yunchan lived, so it was strange to have someone next to him.

But it wasn’t so bad.

“Cut, okay!”

He heard the voice of director Min Heekyung.

“That’s a wrap!”

The shooting for today was over.

Kim Hanseok bowed to the staff and directors who were packing up the shooting equipment.

He lay down on the floor again.

He was exhausted from cleaning the bathroom over and over for the shooting.

Seo-jun leaned against the wall.

A cool breeze blew.

“Hyung. The bathroom really changed, didn’t it? I was really surprised.”

“Me too. The art team must have worked really hard.”

Seo-jun laughed at Kim Hanseok’s words.

To be honest, Seo-jun was also a little swayed.

****

“Ready, action!”

Jung Garam, who had breakfast, settled in one corner of the kitchen.

He put his laptop on the table and connected his mouse.

Kwon Yunchan, who came back from the bathroom, looked at him for a moment and opened his mouth.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m editing a video to upload on YouTube. I was too tired yesterday and just fell asleep.”

He even laid an electric blanket on the floor because it was cold.

Kwon Yunchan sat down there too.

It was his first time having a quiet conversation with someone since he moved into this house.

Click click.

The sound of mouse clicks was heard.

Kwon Yunchan felt like he couldn’t sit still when he saw Jung Garam concentrating.

He went to his room and came back with a book.

He leaned against the wall and sat down.

The small kitchen became a cozy living room.

Jung Garam lifted his head as he was deciding where to cut and where to keep.

“What book is that?”

“…A Korean textbook. I’m studying for a high school equivalency exam.”

It was comfortable enough to answer something that he wasn’t even asked.

“If you have any questions, ask me. I studied a lot.”

Kwon Yunchan snorted at Jung Garam’s words.

“How many people would say they can’t study?”

“I’m serious. I never missed being first since elementary school.”

For a moment.

“I did nothing but go to academy and do homework every day… And I had a good brain too, so being first was natural.”

Jung Garam’s smiling face faded and returned to normal, but Kwon Yunchan didn’t notice his boastful words behind him.

***

“Hey. Kwon Yunchan! I want soft-boiled! I won’t eat it if you give me hard-boiled like this morning.”

Jung Garam yelled at Kwon Yunchan, who was holding a spatula.

“Then do it yourself!”

“I can’t! It’s your turn to cook today!”

Jung Garam didn’t back down either.

“Did you clean then?!”

“I did!”

The old house became noisy.

They became close in no time. Kwon Yunchan thought he didn’t need to charge him for lodging, let alone food.

“Did you find a part-time job?”

Kwon Yunchan, who grumbled but still gave him a soft-boiled egg, asked him.

The perfect soft-boiled egg was split in half by chopsticks.

He picked up one of the side dishes that filled the table, which he bought from a side dish shop.

Kwon Yunchan shook his head and answered.

“No. They don’t take minors.”

“Why don’t you try without asking? How did you get the last part-time job?”

“I took less money.”

Jung Garam gritted his teeth at the hourly wage that Kwon Yunchan said.

“Let’s report them to the labor office.”

“Forget it. Where else would they let me work like that? The boss of that store is a gangster, so if the rumor spreads, I won’t be able to find another part-time job.”

“Bad guys!”

Jung Garam’s anger tore the egg into pieces.

“Do you want to try YouTube too?”

“You need a camera and a laptop for that.”

“I’ll lend you mine.”

“Forget it. I don’t even know what to film.”

Hmm.

Jung Garam nodded at Kwon Yunchan’s words.

“That’s true. You need a lot of views to make money, but I don’t get many views either.”

“Oh. I saw it. ‘I’ll ask if I can film and upload it!’”

“Hey!”

Jung Garam’s face turned red in an instant at Kwon Yunchan’s imitation. He laughed at that.