Cheat day

Originally Precious (3)

After finishing the broadcast, Mukbangji invited me to sit for a moment.

“You need to be careful.”

“About us?”

Since I had something I wanted to say, I nodded in agreement.

“Considering the current advertising campaigns and upcoming projects, it seems more advantageous to keep our relationship private for now.”

“……”

“Revealing our romantic relationship will change our image. There’s also a possibility that it could affect our ongoing advertisements.”

She was concerned that it would impact my activities.

“I think it’s better to go public.”

“Why do you think so?”

“First of all, I feel wronged. I’m about to marry such a wonderful and beautiful person; there’s no reason to hide it.”

Mukbangji furrowed her brows.

“Secondly, it’s only a matter of time. People in the agency have known since the beginning, and both Haim and others seem to know.”

After Park Haim caught on, I often got asked by those I worked with if I was dating Mukbangji.

It was partly due to the ring, our usual interactions, and probably rumors spread through connections we weren’t aware of.

It wasn’t exactly a false narrative, and it’s impossible to keep everyone’s mouths shut, so those who needed to know, knew.

In the broadcasting world, since such things happen frequently, everyone is usually careful, which is why it hasn’t become publicly known.

“Even the people living in this apartment know we’re a couple. Many of them know who I am. But.”

I hesitated, and Mukbangji tilted her head.

“I’m worried about Eunji’s private life. I can’t help it, but I’m concerned that it might lead to unnecessary gossip. That’s what worries me.”

“I thought about it from the beginning.”

“Really?”

“I believed you would become someone significant one day. I considered all of that when I started dating you. So, there’s no need to worry.”

“……”

“Most importantly, I know you’re not in a position to exploit feelings of love. It’s unnecessary to worry.”

“True, but.”

“We talked before about being careful with our actions, didn’t we? You said it felt awkward to throw trash around when we’re out.”

“Right.”

“If it’s regarding that sort of thing, it’s fine. I’m always careful and worried about potential problems. I was like that before, but since meeting you, I’ve been even more cautious.”

“……”

“I understand that you feel the burden of public scrutiny. So you wouldn’t want to pass that discomfort onto me.”

I nodded.

“But as a couple, we need to face everything together, including that. That’s how I see it. I’m not so weak that I need you to protect me unilaterally. I can protect you too. We will face it together.”

Not knowing how to express my feelings at that moment, I hugged Mukbangji.

***

“Who do you like more? Mom or Dad? Do you prefer dipping or pouring? Let’s just taste this, the fiercest debate in the history of the Korean Peninsula for the last five millennia. It’s a side dish for our Baekban debate.”

“I’m Baek Woo-jin.”

It was the day of the Baekban debate broadcast.

“Today’s topic is rice cakes versus bread. We will engage in a healthy debate on which one we would choose to give up if we had to.”

I wrote “rice cake” next to my name and “bread” next to Baek Woo-jin’s.

“I can’t live without bread. Introducing Baek Woo-jin, who has proudly showcased his plump cheeks for 34 years.”

Baek Woo-jin pressed his cheeks with both index fingers, trying to be cute.

“Our thing is the best! Introducing the rice cake champion, Banchan-yong.”

└Isn’t this honestly an imbalance?

└Haha, it’s definitely bread!

“Feels like it’s been quite a while since I had rice cakes.”

“Are you not going to eat the salty bread?”

“Today, no matter what I do, I’m going to win, so you go first, Hyung.”

Baek Woo-jin was being relaxed.

“Alright. Let’s start lightly. Mr. Baek Woo-jin, we consider Seollal and Chuseok as our main holidays. Do you agree?”

“Yeah.”

“During Chuseok, we make and eat songpyeon. Do you know its origin?”

“I do. During the reign of King Uija of Baekje, there were will-o’-the-wisps flying around. When I went to check, I found a turtle with ‘Baekje’ written on its shell in full moon shape and ‘Silla’ in half-moon shape. When King Uija asked a fortune teller, the fortune teller said that Baekje was full and would soon decline, while Silla was half-moon, so it would continue to rise. However, another minister interpreted that since the full moon was already perfect, Baekje would prosper even more and that Silla wouldn’t compare. But after the war, since Silla won, the people of Silla began making songpyeon in the shape of a half-moon.”

“Alright.”

“But that’s just a tale. In reality, songpyeon was made and eaten during various festivals, shaped according to the respective seasons. In an agrarian society, the phases of the moon were extremely important.”

“So.”

“However, songpyeon eaten during Chuseok held a different significance. It represented the joy of the first harvest and gratitude to the ancestors who helped with the year’s farming.”

“Let me talk too! You said I should go first!”

└Hahaha

└Starting off with a loss, huh?

└I’m curious how far Baek Woo-jin could go if he were left alone, lol.

Baek Woo-jin shrugged his shoulders with his palm facing up.

“Anyway, thank you for the explanation. You’ve made it easier for me.”

“What do you mean?”

“You just mentioned that songpyeon contains gratitude for our ancestors. But what do we do without rice cakes? We wouldn’t be able to express our gratitude. Wouldn’t our ancestors be incredibly disappointed?”

└Good response, lol.

└If he’s not careful, he might turn this into a fiery debate, haha.

└Ah, you have to respect the elders and parents, and ancestors!

“Without songpyeon, we’d be ungrateful children?”

Baek Woo-jin asked unexpectedly nonchalantly.

“Exactly.”

“Well, I’ll admit that. Is your argument over?”

“Of course not. Since we talked about Chuseok, I should mention Seollal too. During Seollal, we have the culture of eating rice cake soup. I believe Baek Woo-jin really likes rice cake soup, is that true?”

“Is there anyone who doesn’t like rice cake soup?”

“Right. Every Korean eats a bowl of rice cake soup during Seollal. Thanks to that, we also gain a year every year.”

Baek Woo-jin’s eyebrows twitched.

“Children eat rice cake soup and become teenagers and young adults. We’ve all aged that way. But what happens if the rice cake disappears? We’ll never age.”

└?

└What kind of nonsense is that?

└No way, haha. Don’t say such things seriously!

└Ah, right. We need to eat rice cake soup to age.

“If you don’t eat rice cake soup, you won’t age?”

“Exactly.”

“Isn’t that a good thing?”

“Yeah?”

“I don’t want to age! How nice would it be to live forever?”

“……Huh?”

“Shouldn’t the rice cakes disappear quickly instead? If our parents don’t age, they won’t get sick. We won’t have to worry about them passing away. How great would that be?”

I never thought he would entertain such nonsense.

“I acknowledge that there are different perspectives.”

└You should argue that you age even if you don’t eat rice cake soup, haha.

└What on earth are they talking about?

└Haha, saying that eating rice cake soup means you won’t age, lol.

└Why are you agreeing again, haha?

“Your arguments seem a bit lacking today. Shall I go this time?”

“Go ahead.”

“There’s a saying that laughter is the best medicine. It’s said that living while laughing makes the heart healthy and changes our thoughts positively. Laughter is that important to our lives.”

I nodded.

“But what if there’s no bread?”

“You just live. I haven’t eaten bread for quite a while due to diabetes, but it doesn’t hinder my life.”

“But then, you can’t have a good laugh, can you?”

└Hahahahahaha

└Oh my, haha.

└Haha, if there’s no bread, you can’t have a good laugh, lol.

└A life without bread is a life without laughter.

└Wow, that’s crazy, haha.

“Look at the chat. Just think about how those who are having fun and laughing could be unable to laugh anymore. Wouldn’t it create a truly bleak society?”

“If you put it that way, a world without rice cakes would be incredibly dull.”

“Why’s that?”

“If you take the rice cake out of ‘sotteok sotteok’ (a type of rice cake skewer), all that’s left is ‘soso’ (small). What kind of laughter could exist in such a mundane world?”

└‘Sotteok sotteok’ is a great point, lol.

└Haha, I can’t argue with that.

“Moreover, how sad would it be for employees this Seollal?”

“What do you mean?”

“The rice cake money! If there are no rice cakes, there’s no rice cake money! Did the Wujin Company not provide their employees with rice cake money either?”

Baek Woo-jin’s eyes widened.

“Is the reason you’re trying to get rid of rice cakes just to save a few bucks!”

└Wow, Baek Woo-jin is terrible.

└Black company, woo-woo.

└I can’t stand the rice cake money, haha.

└What’s rice cake money?

└It’s a special allowance given by the company during holidays.

└On a human level, at least give us some spam during the holidays.

└You’re making a lot of money, so you should do that!

└Hahaha, Baek Woo-jin quickly turns into trash.

“Furthermore! Without rice cakes, there’s no rice cake bait! If there’s no rice cake bait for those consuming various contents, will the fandom be able to sustain itself? From novels, comics, and animations to movies and entertainment, there has to be rice cake bait for fans to enjoy! Are you planning to take away not only the rice cake money from employees but also the joy of fans in every field?”

“Wait a minute.”

“Moreover! It’s said that children can recognize things from the leaf stage! What is your intent in trampling the hopes of our children, who grow up without recognizing the rice cake leaf? With Korea’s proud rice cakes, why are we favoring bread that comes from France? Have you forgotten the French Campaign?”

└Lol, he’s really gone off on a tangent, haha.

└Why did the French Campaign come up, haha?

└This guy is really something else, lol.

└He said ‘rice cake leaf,’ haha.

Honestly, if I had to choose between bread and rice cakes, I would choose bread without hesitation. While I’d miss tteokbokki, rice cake soup, sotteok sotteok, baeksulgi, and sirutdeok, I can’t give up the various types of bread, including hamburgers and sandwiches.

I think most viewers would prefer bread as well. Since it’s so tilted that way, I have to strike hard from the start to gain the upper hand.

“Last time on Baekban Debate! You claimed that tteokbokki was the best food for dates, didn’t you?”

“Uh?”

Baek Woo-jin stammered, taken aback.

“If there are no rice cakes, then there’s no tteokbokki either! So what do we do for dates? What are we supposed to eat on a date? Answer me!”

Baek Woo-jin’s eyes shook as if an earthquake had struck.