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Debut or Die - 283

Things went just as I expected. But it was more enjoyable than I thought it would be.

I thought I would have to hike a hell of a mountain because I heard it was a place where the former national team member usually goes.

- It's nice here, isn't it?

- Yes.

I walked and looked around...

It was a hiking trail on the outskirts of Gyeonggi that we arrived at after driving less than an hour by car.

It didn't feel particularly well maintained, but the slope wasn't steep and it was walkable.

"...Are you looking out for my welfare?"

Reminds me of what this guy said during the last hike we did on the deserted island.

- You...have lost your stamina due to side effects. If it had been in the past, climbing this mountain wouldn't have left you breathless.

This is an assumption with several errors, but I have decided to accept this situation without argument.

"Maintaining balance between work and daily life is better than pride."

However, there is something strange about this.

- It seems that there really aren't many people.

There are no people in sight, except for a few elderly people.

Even if it is a weekday morning, there should be quite a few people climbing the mountain.

- Oh, the side over there was under construction. Do you see it?

CheongWoo pointed to a small river on the left with his hand.

Nets and construction materials are scattered along the path.

- I guess that's why most people go in the opposite direction. The road is said to be better paved there.

- Ah.

- Hmm, well, not many people usually come because it's a local mountain. No mineral springs or special rocks.

- You know it well.

- I used to live here when I was a kid.

CheongWoo smiled sheepishly.

- My archery range is near here, so I kept coming even after I moved away.

- ...

So, the reason why a guy who can't even shoot properly due to the side effects of his injury comes here is because it's close to his usual archery range? Okay, I get it.

"He's not in a position to get sympathy right now."

I just nodded moderately.

- It must have been a nice place.

- More than that, it's because of my memories.

CheongWoo closed his mouth and after a moment spoke again.

- I think it would be nice to go there with the kids next time. The camp chief is kind.

If I rejected this suggestion outright, I would throw my social skills into a fire pit.

- Sure, that's fine.

- Great.

CheongWoo smiled brightly.

- Since we finished the tour, we haven't been able to go out together to have fun, so that would be good. When you guys went out a few days ago, I couldn't since I had a schedule to keep.

Oh, that's right.

I remembered that some of the members came out in time to meet for Seon AhHyun's birthday.

Maybe Ryu CheongWoo and someone else couldn't go because they had other schedules.

- Don't worry, we didn't do much. It was quite crowded.

- Haha, still, they even took a mock photo.

- ...

I arched my eyebrows thinking about the Polaroid Keun SeJin left after leaving the escape room we went to.

TeSTAR friends forever ☆ 5/7

Happy Birthday AhHyun-ah!

And consequently, an article was published on the Internet that got a lot of comments... I'd be lying if I said I didn't know it would be published, but anyway, the fans liked it, so it's okay.

- I left it and went back to the apartment right away. It was because of the crowd.

- I see. Certainly this work is rewarding, but I think it's hard. It makes going out and having fun without attracting attention complicated.

- It does.

I shrugged my shoulders as I ran lightly down the road.

- But hyung, even if you didn't work at this, I think it would have been the same for you. You were a member of the national archery team.

- What? Haha!

CheongWoo stopped laughing after a long while.

- Right. That's not very suitable for me. I guess it's something inevitable for those who have artistic or sports skills.

Ryu CheongWoo's tone sounded refreshing, without regretting or complaining. Well, it's a proof of success.

"It's a concern that only a winner can have."

CheongWoo and I continued to run along the outdoor hiking trail we visited because of the side effects of the winner.

And after a while, I realized that something was wrong.

- Huuh.

This was because the incline got steeper as we climbed. I took a few deep breaths and realized that my endurance bar that I had built up nicely was now more than half spent.

"Taking into account that my endurance is higher than the average adult person."

Also, looking around, there don't seem to be many people who have climbed that far.

... Actually, we're the only ones running and climbing.

Then it hit me.

"I was fooled."

The angle of the flat path was ingeniously steep, making you keep climbing without noticing it as if you were a frog dipped in boiling water....

The flat trail hiking route was a bait, not a consideration. I restrained myself from grunting.

Hell, Ryu CheongWoo isn't stupid, he's seen me train, so he obviously knows that my stamina has improved.

"You made a good move..."

Even though I still can't see the top, it looks like it will take us quite some time to reach it.

However, I decided to shut up and move my feet because I thought that I couldn't give up and go down as my social status would be damaged even if I complained about this.

Well, it's not like I couldn't keep moving up.

"I'm working out quite a bit."

I shifted, looking up silently.

How long had it been?

I felt a hand caress my shoulder.

- MoonDae-ya, look.

- Huuh, what...?

We still have a long way to go.

I raised my head, followed his hand and looked away.

- ...

In view, the city at noon stretched out.

Winding mountains and fortresses were visible, as well as rivers and densely populated building complexes.

It was a colorful spring city.

Hwik

The wind blew. The mountain air whipped my nose.

It was good to see it.

- It looks good, doesn't it?

CheongWoo spoke calmly.

- There's no need to keep climbing. You can see the view well from here... After quitting archery and preparing for this job, I climbed every day and then I discovered it.

- ...

He approached the railing, looking out over the landscape.

"It wasn't his intention to get to the top."

That's true.

- What do you think? It can be a little motivating ... Isn't it nice? Instead of just working out, for me it's like that.

- Yes, it is. That's right.

I confirmed it. It's a safe route, it has expected difficulty, you get a sure reward.

Not my type, but hiking can be a good hobby.

- Hmm, that's good.

I leaned against the railing as well as he did and slowly looked down at the foot of the mountain.

And after enough time passed, CheongWoo spoke.

- Shall we go down?

- Okay.

I felt very refreshed.

I was going to stretch, but I ended up saying something that came to mind when I saw the hiking trail.

- Hyung.

- Yes?

- It's all good, but I had to do anaerobic muscle exercises.

- Ah.

As soon as I saw the hiking route, I didn't say anything because I thought he wouldn't believe me and the atmosphere would be a shit.

CheongWoo replied with an awkward smile on his face.

- Since you walked uphill... I'm sure you used muscle strength.

- ...

It's a professional's rationalization. I understand.

I didn't have any particular complaints while walking down the mountain. And I agreed with Ryu CheongWoo's words, "Let's go jogging from time to time."

"The intensity of the exercise is suitable, and it would be good to try since we are roommates."

* * *

Two weeks passed after changing rooms.

Not only we, but also the new room owners, adapted to our own circumstances.

- Do you want some?

- Oh, yes.

For example, Bae Sejin surprisingly lives less frequently in the living room. Now, he avoids Cha YooJin alone during the day.

- It's a bit noisy at night, but with earplugs, no problem!

Bae Sejin once said so while being quite animated. Surprisingly, YooJin respects the personal tendencies of his roommates.

"Maybe it's because he's American."

Of course, that also has its limits.

- Sometimes, if he plays or watches a video with me, he keeps quiet when I sleep....

I calmly told the truth.

- That won't last long.

- What?

- If he can't communicate with you, he'll shake your shoulders.

- ...

- Congratulations, you will now be a night owl.

Bae Sejin looked at his room with a blank face.

And the one who had a single room.... He's living well going from room to room.

- Iyaa, MoonDae has become CheongWoo hyung's best friend~ Tomorrow they're going to go exercise too, right?

Is it my room's turn today? I reluctantly replied to Keun SeJin, who is using his phone on Ryu CheongWoo's bed.

- Well... Since we are roommates, we work together. If you want, you can come too.

- Aaah~ I'm not that ignorant about it! I'm good at training~

- ...

SeJin didn't bother to say any more words, but I couldn't help but know what it meant.

"You're asking me to take this opportunity to totally change our atmosphere."

Because there are still people commenting on my shitty attitude towards CheongWoo during the photo and video shoot at Summer Package.

I feel like we're being scratched for no reason after being assigned as roommates, but there's no need to leave a spark in the fandom that has barely come together.

"We need to look comfortable with each other."

That motivates me even more, even though I had already thought we should get along.

I said goodbye to Keun SeJin and went into the bathroom to take a shower.

And the next day, on the hiking trail?

- Do you want to climb to the top today? Just as a test.

CheongWoo made a new proposal. He didn't speak while climbing, so he must have been thinking about it.

"Well, it would be nice to get to the top at least once."

The outdoor exercise period was slowly coming to an end.

Soon we would have to concentrate on getting ready for the comeback.

After calculating my remaining stamina, I nodded immediately.

- That's fine.

- Great.

It was four o'clock in the afternoon. It was a strange time, but we started climbing towards the top.

It was worth it because the slope was steeper, so I didn't have to run.

We climbed that way for about 40 minutes.

And we made it to the summit.

- Waah.

There was no one else. CheongWoo and I sped up some more and moved at the same pace to the top.

- Huuh, it's been a long time since I've been coming here.

CheongWoo leaned against the wooden fence and I stood next to him, looking down.

And I confirmed that what he had told me the first day we came to hike here was true.

- You were right. I think it looked better up there.

The view from the summit was not as wonderful as it was from the middle of the mountain. Of course, there's an overwhelming sense of pressure because it's too high.

- Right.

CheongWoo nodded his head as he looked at the scenery. Then he took out water from his backpack and drank it.

I also took mine out and drank, and there was a moment of peaceful silence.

Hmm, it's definitely more comfortable than before.

- ...

- MoonDae-ya.

- Yes?

- Can I ask you something?

- Yes, of course you can. Go ahead.

I answered without hesitation.

CheongWoo slowly opened his mouth, his eyes fixed on the scenery.

- Actually... I asked a few more questions about the person you mentioned after watching my family videos on the Chuseok.

- ...!

- Well, about "Ryu GunWoo"-yes.

I almost choked while drinking water.

I quickly put down the canteen and hypothesized.

"Do you know his location?"

- Maybe, do you know his whereabouts...?

- Hmm, no. Sorry, that's not it. I just... I just heard something about his past....

- ...

- All of his family members, except for him, were taking a trip, but they suffered a car accident and a fire.

After taking a break, Ryu CheongWoo continued talking so calmly that it seemed artificial.

- What happened first... was the car accident, which left me with after-effects.

Shit.

I went back to drinking water as it was a topic I didn't like.

"If you don't know where it is, you would have just said you don't know and be done with it."

Why the hell... did I have to do this?

However, Ryu CheongWoo's words did not end.

- And MoonDae-ya, you know what?

What.

- ...What happened to your parents wasn't because of a car accident. They had a plane crash.

- ...

What?

- In fact, last year an article was about to come out that talked about it, but the company blocked it. It could be a shock to you, so the agency discussed it with me for a while. It was right around the time you were discharged.

I raised my head.

- But you...you have a trauma with car accidents and fire situations. Not a plane crash.

Before I knew it, Ryu CheongWoo had taken his eyes off the scenery and was staring at me.

- That's the story you were looking for from Ryu GunWoo.

- ...

- MoonDae-ya, who were you looking for?


TN: It's not "What", it's really "Who". You'll understand better the reason of that question when you read the thoughts of MoonDae on next chapter.