Chapter 14 #2
Everyone launched from their chairs, crowding in a doorway too small to let them all through. Min Jae hung back, letting the throng thin out a bit before heading for the door. He caught up with Woo Jin anyway, who’d tried to beat the crowds.
“I can’t believe we actually get to go home,” Woo Jin breathlessly exclaimed. “I haven’t been this excited about Chuseok in years.”
“Did you have to miss out much when you were still active?”
Woo Jin shook his head. “Only a couple times when we were on tour. Once, in Japan, and once in Australia.”
Min Jae snorted, playing off the opportunities he’d missed out on like touring as an active idol as the terrible inconvenience Woo Jin complained about.
Then again, Woo Jin’s privilege hadn’t gotten him any further ahead than Min Jae.
They were both competing in a survival show.
And Min Jae was ahead. “That sucks,” he lied.
“I bet your family will be excited to see you.”
Woo Jin quietly scoffed. “I’m sure they will. I can’t wait to hear a dozen different critiques of my performances.” He chuckled. “You think the mentors were bad? My mom could eat them for lunch.”
Min Jae dutifully chuckled, ignoring his intense flash of pain from Woo Jin’s mention of his mother. He probably didn’t know–or, didn’t remember–that Min Jae’s mother had died. “I can only imagine what the mentoring panels would be like if they were all our parents.”
Woo Jin laughed. “Right? A total shit show.”
Dae Hyun and Seo Joon were already in their room when Min Jae and Woo Jin got there. They’d given up some potential camera time just to sit closer to the door. Seo Joon only had one of his designer suitcases open on his bed–it was a short holiday–but he’d crammed it full.
“You’re gonna need me to sit on that to get it closed,” Dae Hyun joked. The two had eventually clicked as roomies, despite whatever Min Jae thought of Seo Joon.
“I’m surprised you’re not already inside the thing,” Woo Jin commented as he pulled his suitcase from under his bed. “You’ve been so far up Seo Joon’s ass lately I thought you were going home with him.”
Dae Hyun angrily scoffed. “Fuck you.
Min Jae laughed, despite himself, as he opened and began to fill his suitcase. “You’re just pissed because you have to go all the way to Daejeon. Besides, you’d probably hate it at Seo Joon’s house. His family would think you’re a servant.”
Seo Joon snorted. “Not with his filthy mouth, we wouldn’t.”
Dae Hyun’s mouth dropped open, earning him chuckles from Min Jae and Woo Jin. “Wait. Do you really have servants?”
“No, you idiot.” Seo Joon rolled his eyes. “Of course not.”
Dae Hyun frowned. “I’m not an idiot.”
Woo Jin caught Min Jae’s attention as Seo Joon and Dae Hyun continued their pointless squabble. “What are you doing for the break?”
“Spending it at home with my grandmother.” Min Jae smiled. “It’s just us, so I’m sure she’ll be excited to see me.”
The surprising warmth in Woo Jin’s smile almost made Min Jae frown. “Awe. That’s really sweet. If I know you at all, you probably take great care of her.”
Min Jae nodded and flipped his suitcase lid closed.
Unlike Seo Joon, he didn’t have nearly as much to pack.
He did take great care of his grandmother, going so far as to do things his roommates would consider unspeakable.
Things that had gotten him to where he was. “I definitely do. What about you?”
“We’ll mostly be with my dad’s parents, like for the charye and seongmyo. But we’ll spend a little time with my mom’s, too. My mom’s parents don’t really like my dad. And they each try to outdo each other with food. I’m gonna get so fat.”
“You’re already fat,” Dae Hyun countered as he dragged his suitcase off the bed. “Well, I’m out of here. See you fuckers in a few days.”
Min Jae, Woo Jin, and Seo Joon all showed him their middle fingers in unison, making them all chuckle. Seo Joon was next to depart, politely bowing to each of them before leaving. Min Jae waited for Woo Jin to finish packing before walking out with him.
“Hey,” Woo Jin said, “Do you need a ride? My parents are picking me up. I’m sure we could drop you off at home.”
Min Jae smiled, inwardly terrified of Woo Jin seeing his home. “That’s nice of you, but I’ve got it covered.” He’d take the train, of course, avoiding both Woo Jin seeing his house and a likely uncomfortable car ride with his parents. “But, thanks.”
Woo Jin smiled back. “Of course.”
The pair stopped behind the mass of contestants waiting to pick up their phones, keys, and other personal effects the producers had taken from them.
Min Jae was anxious to contact his grandmother and remind her of his visit.
Not that she’d forget, but you never knew.
That had been one of the hardest parts of leaving for the contest. He had to assume that she was fine, that the care service had been doing their jobs, that nothing terrible had happened.
A familiar, full-throated laugh caught Min Jae’s attention. Leo. Which meant Andy must also be nearby. Min Jae strained to listen in without turning around.
“–so my folks flew in to meet me here,” Leo was saying in English. “You’re totally welcome to join us. You could share my hotel room with me. I’m sure they’d love to meet you.”
“Wow,” Andy replied, "that's awesome they came all the way here to see you. Honestly? I’m kinda looking forward to a little me time. You know?”
Leo huffed. “I hear that, man. My parents’ll prolly be pissed, but I plan to spend at least one whole day sleeping. It’s why I got my own room.”
“Good call. It’ll probably be the same for me, since there’ll hardly be anyone here. And my family doesn’t really do all the Chuseok stuff anyway. Too American.”
Leo chuckled. “Same, but only cuz it's the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival for us. I’m gonna eat so many mooncakes this weekend. I’ll probably gain five pounds.”
Min Jae almost laughed at Leo echoing Woo Jin’s joke. He glanced at Woo Jin, who’d stood up on his toes to check the line progress instead of eavesdropping.
“Oh, yeah.” Andy huffed. “I keep forgetting you’re Chinese. Your Korean’s so good.”
“Just covering all my bases. Gonna be an idol somehow, right?” Leo and Andy both laughed. “At this point it’s prolly better than my Mandarin. I’m so out of practice.” Leo snorted. “You’re lucky you only had to learn Korean. It’s so much easier to pick up.”
“I thought about learning Mandarin, too, or maybe Japanese, but my only other language right now is Spanish. Hola, me llamo Andy. Soy coreano de California.”
Leo snorted. “If this doesn’t work out, you could always be a mariachi.”
Min Jae couldn’t remember what mariachi meant, but it made Andy laugh.
He tuned out from the rest of their conversation, finally approaching the table at the front of the group, and letting what he’d just learned about Andy drum around his mind a bit.
Andy was planning on spending the holiday alone.
Or, alone except for the show staff that had also chosen–or were forced–to stay behind.
Not much of a celebration. Then again, Andy admitted that his family was “too American” to observe holidays like Chuseok.
What if–no. Min Jae slapped down the thought before he’d even finished having it.
The last thing in the world he needed was to strain his already complicated relationship with Andy even further by inviting him to spend the weekend with him and his grandmother.
His grandmother who, as recently as the night before Min Jae left for the show, had complained about never meeting any of his friends.
Except Andy wasn’t really a friend. He was a colleague who Min Jae was friendly with, and then only recently.
A friendly colleague who had the disturbing habit of haunting him at the least convenient times.
A colleague who Dream Makers, at that very moment, had shipped him with.
Min Jae’s mind ground to an immediate halt. Was he crazy? Was he really considering asking Andy to come home with him? Especially after hearing him turn down almost the exact same offer from Leo, who Andy was actually friends with. But, maybe–
“Kwon Min Jae?”
Min Jae shook off his mental paralysis. “Yes.” He grabbed the packet containing his keys, wallet, and phone from the PA seated at the desk, offering a slight bow. “Thank you.”
Min Jae stepped away, opening the packet to grab his phone and turn it on.
A flood of messages appeared on the screen.
Mostly from his grandmother, who’d probably forgotten that he didn’t have his phone with him.
None from any clients, thankfully. He grabbed his wallet and keys, stuffing them into his pocket, before–
Woo Jin gently rapped his fist on Min Jae’s head. “Hey, earth to Min Jae!”
Min Jae scowled. “What?”
Woo Jin dramatically shook his head and shrugged. “I’ve been calling your name for ten seconds. I’m leaving, and wanted to say goodbye.”
“Oh.” Min Jae relaxed his scowl into a frown. “Sorry. I was just reading all my messages.”
“Sure.” Woo Jin smirked. “All your girlfriends wondering where you disappeared to, right?”
Min Jae chuckled. “Something like that.” He offered his hand. “See you when you get back?”
Woo Jin smacked Min Jae’s hand away and pulled him into a hug. “What, am I Seo Joon or something? We’ve been roomies for more than a month now. I think I deserve better than a fucking handshake.”
Min Jae accepted the hug, wrapping his arms around Woo Jin as he realized his error. Woo Jin was right. They’d grown close enough during their time together to rate an actual hug. “Sorry, that was an asshole move.”
“You’re damn right, hyung.” Woo Jin smiled and grabbed his suitcase handle. “Anyway, my folks are here, so I’m headed out. See you after?”
Min Jae nodded. “See you after.”
Once Woo Jin walked away, Min Jae dragged his suitcase to the side of the Sky Village rotunda and scanned the remaining crowd, looking for Andy.
In the short amount of time since the idea occurred to him, Min Jae had begun to come around.
Maybe it wasn’t that crazy. The whole #MinDy narrative was potentially the most powerful weapon they had in the competition.
It made them stand out from the others. It made them unique.
And, if word got out that Min Jae had taken the lonely American trainee home for a traditional Chuseok holiday, the reaction would be off the charts.
It would cement their storyline and all but guarantee them a massive surge in votes.
Min Jae spotted Andy near the doors saying his goodbyes to Leo. He worked up the nerve, and, with a final, decisive snort, walked over to speak with him. Andy, as if he somehow always knew when Min Jae was watching, turned around as Min Jae approached, completely unsurprised. Then he smiled.
“Are you here to say goodbye, too?”
Min Jae smiled back, unable to stop himself. “The opposite, actually. I kind of overheard you talking to Leo about staying here for the holiday, so I thought I’d invite you to come home with me.”
Finally, a look of surprise. Min Jae was glad he hadn’t become too predictable yet.
After a moment, Andy allowed his face to relax into a gentle frown. “Then you probably heard my answer to Leo, too.”
Min Jae chuckled. Keep it light. “I did, but I’m not making the same offer.
I also heard you say your family doesn’t really celebrate Chuseok.
Well, mine does. Except it’s just me and my grandmother at home.
And she always makes way too much food for just the two of us, so there’ll be plenty. You should come.”
Andy’s brows fell as his eyes narrowed. “Just you and your grandmother?”
Min Jae nodded. “I know, I’ve never really talked about my homelife. But it’s really just me and her. And it’s not much. No luxury hotel suites or anything. But we live right by Bukhansan, so it’s really pretty. There’s a lot of walking trails nearby.”
Andy’s face relaxed a bit. Not exactly a smile or grin, but not far off. “That actually does sound nice. But–”
“And we should think about #MinDy, too. This would be a chance for us to work out how we want to play that. Off camera.”
Andy’s smirk finally appeared. “Ah, so that’s what it’s really about.”
Min Jae shrugged. “It’s partly about that, yeah. But it’s not like I’ve been shy about what I’m doing here. I want to win. I want to debut. I think this will work in both our favors.”
“Hmm.” Andy’s narrow-eyed gaze returned. There was no disguising the fact that Min Jae was being judged. That was fine. Andy had already judged him plenty. “You really want to do this?”
Min Jae nodded. “I do.”
Andy slowly mirrored Min Jae’s nod. “Well, I can hardly turn down a chance to meet the ice king’s grandmother, can I? And I could honestly go for some real home cooking right now.” He chuckled. “I mean, the food here’s great, but...” He trailed off with a shrug.
“My grandmother is a true artist in the kitchen,” Min Jae confirmed. “So, that’s a yes?”
“I’ll have to go pack now, and tell production I’m leaving.” Andy smiled. “But, yes. Let’s do it.”