Chapter 84: The New Family Member

“Hyunjae!”  

As I approached, they clearly didn’t recognize me; the one who recognized me first was the grandmother.  

“Grandma~”  

I waved happily and greeted her; they alternated glances between me and the grandmother, eyes asking what this situation was.  

“Ah, no way?”  

“What is this?”  

They seemed unsure what I did for a living.  

“Ah, hello. I’m Jung Hyunjae.”  

I approached the confused pair and greeted them calmly.  

“The guest…… right?”  

Seungkwon asked cautiously; I nodded and replied.  

“I came to help with the work.”  

“Ahaha! Of course!”  

“Ah~ you really surprised us.”  

At the words that I came to help, Seungkwon and Haejin smiled brightly.  

“Our Hyunjae is here?”  

The grandmother, who had been apart from the two, was suddenly by my side and patted my butt in greeting.  

“I came to help Grandma~”  

I brushed the dirt off her clothes and spoke cutely.  

“There’s so much work; why come here instead of resting at home.”  

“No way. You’re working hard, so I should help.”  

She was a grandmother who lived near the animal clinic, so we were extremely close.  

“What’s this?”  

“Your real grandmother?”  

The two, knowing nothing, asked in bewilderment if she was my real grandmother.  

“Huh? No. She’s the next-door neighbor grandma.”  

“Next-door?”  

“Do you live here?”  

“Yes.”  

At my answer, their gazes shot straight to Youngjae in front.  

“Alright~ I’ll explain first.”  

Youngjae explained on behalf of them, who couldn’t guess the situation at all.  

“Our Hyunjae lives in this neighborhood and will help with work during this season’s filming.”  

“Then he’s not a guest?”  

“That’s right. He’s a member joining us this season.”  

“Ooh~ Nice to meet you.”  

Seungkwon extended his hand for a shake; I grasped it with both hands.  

“Please take care of me.”  

“I thought he was a celebrity because he’s so tall and handsome.”  

“Yeah. His height is whoa~ he could be a model.”  

They seemed to think I was just a young man living in the neighborhood.  

“I’m an actor.”  

If I didn’t correct it now, it might lead to bigger misunderstandings, so I quickly said.  

“An actor?”  

“Yes.”  

“Of course~ no way he’s just a local.”  

“We were shocked because a neighborhood youth is too handsome!”  

“Say it all at once. All at once!”  

Seungkwon and Haejin protested to Youngjae; Youngjae expressed injustice.  

“No, I was going to say, but you two spoke first.”  

“Ah~ did we? Sorry about that.”  

“Getting older makes the personality impatient.”  

The apology was quick and without lingering resentment.  

“First, get Hyunjae some gloves and a hoe.”  

“Yeah, let’s talk while working.”  

“I’ll get them.”  

Haejin brought gloves and a hoe; preparations to start work were complete.  

“You do it like this.”  

“Uh, I know how to do this.”  

Back when I was unemployed, I often helped when neighborhoods needed hands while wandering around.  

“You know?”  

“He’s a proper worker. I like him. I like him.”  

“Then shall we talk while doing it?”  

Each taking a row, we dove back into pulling garlic.  

“How old are you?”  

He asked basic info while pulling garlic.  

“Twenty-one.”  

“Twenty-one means………”  

“Why calculate; he’s like a son.”  

“Now I can’t even calculate.”  

With the clear age gap from them in their early fifties, they gave up calculating.  

“When did you debut?”  

“I debuted this year with Blue Sky Spring.”  

“Huh? You were in that?”  

“I watched that? Wait.”  

Haejin scrutinized my face closely and let out an exclamation as if realizing.  

“Ah! I remember! The friend’s younger brother!”  

“Yes, that’s right.”  

“Ah~ it’s you~ Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you.”  

Haejin, realizing who I was, greeted again.  

“I haven’t watched yet, but that’s the drama Jaehoon was in, right?”  

“Right, right.”  

“I should watch it once.”  

“You acted well~ it was you.”  

As we got to know each other through conversation, the grandmother’s voice pierced my ears.  

“Aigoo………”  

Grandma! I’ll move it! Your back isn’t good~  

I quickly stood and moved the garlic she had pulled.  

“Stop now and go in. Working this long isn’t good.”  

“It’s fine~ It’s what I do every day.”  

“Because it’s every day, leave it to others at times like this. And I’m here, so let me do this.”  

“Hehehe.”  

At my words, the grandmother just laughed busily.  

“Is there anything you want to eat?”  

“Something you want?”  

“We need a snack while working.”  

Snack? Can we eat now? 

Unsure how to answer, I glanced at Seungkwon and Haejin; their eyes were already sparkling.  

“You know we eat anything well.”  

“Hehe, I know. Wait a bit; I’ll bring it soon.”  

The grandmother exited the field faster than anyone.  

“Who knew she had that speed.”  

“She only scolded us………”  

“Grandma is shy around strangers. She’s super affectionate and full of aegyo.”  

There were no bad people in this neighborhood. 

They were the ones who warmly accepted me when I suddenly appeared one day. 

Soon after, the grandmother brought a full tray of food.  

“Waa~”  

“This has to be delicious.”  

Mouths gaped at the generous spread.  

“Hyunjae, eat a lot~”  

“Yes!”  

“She says eat a lot………”  

“Here, we’re nothing.”  

Always treated first as celebrities, they seemed unfamiliar with being pushed aside for attention to me.  

“Mmm~ Ma’am, you cook so well.”  

“This seems homemade?”  

“Right.”  

“Try this too. How is it?”  

“Delicious~”  

At my saying delicious, the grandmother smiled proudly.  

“Take some home later. There’s lots of sikhye too.”  

“Whoa~ Thank you.”  

“She’s packing for Hyunjae; why is hyung thanking?”  

Youngjae asked as if not understanding.  

“We’re family! Right?”  

“Yeah~ Family.”  

I thought it’d be awkward since they didn’t know me well, but they accepted me nicely; I adapted quickly too.  

We ate the snack and resumed work; after finishing today’s share, we came to a place called Three Meals House.  

“Let’s rest a bit first.”  

“Haa…… my back feels folded in half and about to break.”  

“The ladies are really amazing.”  

“How do they do all that?”  

The two lay down right in the yard; I sat beside. It wasn’t that hard for me since I did it occasionally.  

“But definitely Hyunjae has good stamina~”  

“At that age, you chew rocks.”  

“I can’t eat rocks.”  

“Hahaha! Right, can’t eat rocks.”  

Haejin burst into laughter at my answer.  

“What are we eating for dinner tonight?”  

Youngjae asked us collapsed.  

The one in charge of cooking, Seungkwon, pondered briefly.  

“But our new family member came; we can’t feed him just anything…… bring out some meat.”  

Seeing Seungkwon trying to wring meat from the production team, Youngjae recoiled.  

“Ah~ this hyung really. Doing it again.”  

It seemed natural, not the first or second time.  

“A new family member joined; we should treat him to something. He’s a growing youth; just feeding grass?”  

“Ah.”  

“Give it. We can work tomorrow to pay back.”  

At the mention of working again tomorrow, Youngjae tried a deal.  

“How much.”  

“I’ll be reasonable without greed. 1 geun of samgyeopsal for two hours.”  

“Only two hours?”  

“Only?!”  

“Only?”  

“How hard is two hours of field work!”  

At “only,” the three of us bristled simultaneously.  

“Ah, got it. Got it. Whoa~ scary. All three charging at once.”  

Youngjae handed over the samgyeopsal they had; tonight’s dinner was decided as samgyeopsal, doenjang jjigae, and the grandmother’s pickled vegetables.  

As rumored for cooking skills, Seungkwon whipped up the food quickly; the taste was top-notch.  

“Sunbae, it’s really delicious.”  

“Eat a lot.”  

“He eats well without skipping~”  

The two, who seemed to have small appetites, had put down spoons long ago and watched me eat heartily with satisfaction.  

“I saw that live stream video while resting earlier. You did well~”  

“Ah, no.”  

“You did well~”  

Seungkwon, having looked me up during the break, brought up the recent issue of the ALS acting.  

“That’s really difficult acting.”  

“Kids these days are different~ they don’t tremble like us.”  

“When I first appeared as a supporting role, you know. ‘Yes, understood’—just these six syllables, but I NG’d ten times; the director said ‘You! Out!’ and kicked me out. Hehehe.”  

“That’s how it was back then. And it was film…… NG meant money.”  

Naturally, stories of their rookie days came up; talking, it soon grew dark.  

“Then I’ll head out now.”  

Dinner was done. It was time to slip away.  

***  

“Already?”  

“Stay longer.”  

At my saying I’m leaving, Haejin, playing with Jayden, showed regret.  

“My role ends here. And I need to feed Jayden.”  

At “feed,” Jayden’s tail propeller spun fast.  

“He’ll fly away like this.”  

“You worked hard pulling garlic today; sleep well~”  

“Bye~”  

I left Three Meals House with the two’s send-off.  

“How’s the kid?”  

Once Hyunjae left, Youngjae asked off the record.  

“The kid’s fine?”  

“Fine.”  

“Be really honest. No articles yet, and we can go one-time.”  

Today’s filming seemed good, and he liked it a lot, but he had to ask the opinions of Seungkwon and Haejin filming together.  

“Really fine. Personality is warm and friendly, seems kind?”  

“I liked that he doesn’t find us intimidating.”  

“Ah, right! Totally agree.”  

As seniors with long careers, most actors they worked with found them intimidating, but Hyunjae was different.  

“But how did you cast him?”  

“He said he met him by chance while scouting filming locations.”  

“Really amazing.”  

“So it’s fate?”  

They must have visited countless villages to find a filming location; choosing here and a actor being here by chance.  

“We need fresh faces besides our dry ones.”  

“Of course~ Viewers are tired of seeing our faces every day.”  

Having done many seasons together, their chemistry was shown enough; both knew they needed a different picture.  

“Then we continue together?”  

At Youngjae’s words, the two nodded in affirmation.  

“But he acts well~”  

Seungkwon brought it up again, as if the acting video he saw earlier wouldn’t leave his mind.  

“Hehehe, are you completely smitten with him?”  

Haejin found it novel that Seungkwon, who rarely evaluated others’ acting, did so.  

“It’s been a while seeing a kid act like that.”  

“He stood out in the drama too.”  

Despite not much screen time, that was why Haejin remembered Hyunjae.  

“That kid…… probably will blow up once the broadcast airs?”  

No recognition yet, but if he gains some name through variety, blowing up would be quick.