Chapter 265

Chapter 265. The Day of the Decisive Battle (3)

“…Are you serious?”

Yugeon, wearing a loose gray hoodie over his school uniform, a black padded jacket tightly zipped up, and an old navy backpack slung over one shoulder, dropped the toast he had been biting onto. His younger brother, Yurang, who was following him, was about to say something, but the strange sight before him left him speechless as he stood beside his brother.

The passenger window of an unfamiliar white Morning car parked in the alley in front of their house rolled down with a clattering sound.

“Hi.”

Hajin, sitting in the driver’s seat with a deliberately disheveled look, waved his fingers in greeting. In the passenger seat, Taehyun, already resigned to the situation, gave a lifeless smile and waved at Yurang, saying, “Hi, Yurang.” It was Yurang’s first time seeing his brother’s coworker since the live broadcast, and he shyly bowed his head.

Picking up the fallen toast and handing it to Yurang, Yugeon, unable to hide his bewilderment, looked over the Morning, which was much smaller than him, and asked.

“…Did our company go bankrupt or something?”

“Why? Planning to run away if it did?”

“I’m about to take the college entrance exam today. I have a family to support, you know…”

“Fortunately, it didn’t go bankrupt. Now hurry up and get in.”

At Hajin’s urging, Yugeon, still skeptical, looked over the Morning one more time before getting into the back seat. Folding his long legs awkwardly, he finally found a comfortable position and fastened his seatbelt. Hajin checked the navigation on his phone and started the car.

As Yugeon, instinctively gripping the seatbelt tightly due to the unfamiliar sensation of Hajin’s driving, looked around the car’s interior, he asked.

“So, what’s the deal with this car?”

“It’s my mom’s car. Oh, there’s a lunchbox for you in that shopping bag. Make sure to take it with you later.”

“Don’t tell me you made it?”

“Uhh, no way. It’s my mom’s lunchbox.”

“Oh, I see.”

Contrary to Yugeon’s worries, Hajin drove the Morning smoothly and skillfully through the neighborhood and merged onto the main road. The ride was grounded, but given the circumstances, it was a decent drive.

The old Morning, carrying three sturdy men, weaved through the not-so-quiet streets of Seoul on the morning of the college entrance exam. Checking the arrival time displayed on his phone, Hajin mentally organized the schedule ahead and suddenly spoke up.

“And after your exam, someone else will pick you up instead of me.”

“Someone else? Who? Wook-hyung?”

“No, he’s taking Eun-chan and Haru straight to the broadcasting station, so he’ll be busy. You’ll know when you come out. Since you’ll be pressed for time after the exam, don’t wander off and just wait at the school gate holding hands.”

In his usual laid-back tone, Hajin smoothly changed lanes. The school where the two had their exam was just ahead, but thinking that getting out of the Morning didn’t sit well with him, Hajin decided to drop them off around the corner, away from prying eyes.

“Why is it so congested here?”

“Looks like there was an accident up ahead. It’s a mess.”

“We won’t be late, will we?”

“We’re almost there. Hold on. I’ll drop you off a little further ahead. There are a lot of reporters there.”

With the light turning red and the cars ahead seemingly involved in an accident, a line of cars was stuck in traffic. The sight of reporters camping out near the school gate was visible even from a distance. Habitually, Hajin tapped his fingers on the steering wheel while nervously nibbling on his other fingers when someone suddenly knocked on the driver’s side window.

“…?”

“Are you a test taker?”

At first, Hajin thought it was some crazy person knocking on a car window on a busy street, but it turned out to be a traffic officer wearing a fluorescent vest. He seemed to be controlling traffic near the exam site due to the accident.

When Hajin rolled down the window, the traffic officer, noticing the outfits of Taehyun and Yugeon in the passenger and back seats, suddenly gave a warm smile and put the whistle to his lips.

“Which school are you taking the exam at? Here at Seoan High?”

“Uh? Oh, yes, that’s right, but…”

“I’ll clear the way for you. Follow me.”

“What↗? No, no, no! No! No, thank you!”

“It’s alright. These kids deserve this kind of care on the day of the most important exam of their lives.”

“No, it’s not that. I mean, uh…”

Without waiting for Hajin’s protest, the traffic officer, filled with what he thought was kindness, stood tall with a twinkle in his eye. Before Hajin could stop him, the officer blew his whistle and waved his baton.

Just like Moses parting the Red Sea, the once jam-packed lane cleared, leaving just enough room for the compact car to squeeze through.

“This is driving me crazy, seriously.”

“Sorry, but this is really embarrassing, so could you please hurry up and get us out of here, hyung?”

“Let’s just get out of here before anyone recognizes us and we end up with some ‘Kairos’ College Exam Special Treatment’ scandal, hyung. Please, I’m begging you.”

The old car wasn’t even properly tinted, so Hajin could see the drivers in the other cars looking at them with warm smiles, whether he wanted to or not.

Yugeon, practically folding himself in half to hide below the window, lay down, and Taehyun quietly lifted his backpack to cover his face, but there was nowhere for Hajin, who was holding the steering wheel, to hide.

In the end, Hajin, who had hurriedly put on a pair of glasses without lenses that he had grabbed on his way out in the morning, maneuvered the car as quickly as possible through the gaps in the traffic.

To drop them off around the corner, he would have had to make a left turn earlier, so now he had no choice but to drop them off at the main gate, where the reporters were gathered.

Giving the school security guard a business-like smile as he guided him to park, Hajin muttered in a resigned voice.

“Today’s exam is extracting every bit of content possible…”

Imagining the headlines that would be on the portals an hour later, Hajin laughed hollowly.

* * *

“Dad. Where’s Mom?”

“Don’t know. She went to help your brother with something, then stopped by your grandmother’s.”

Hawon, who didn’t have to take the college entrance exam today due to early admission, slept in for the first time in a while.

Noticing his father, who seemed to have a day off as well, playing Go on the computer in his room, Hawon sat on a chair next to him and turned on his phone.

“What was hyung helping with?”

“Your dad didn’t hear the full details either. He said a few of the kids are taking the exam today. I think it had something to do with that.”

“Oh, right.”

Hawon nodded lightly and, out of habit, searched “Kairos” on an online portal. Lately, this was faster than contacting his increasingly busy brother to find out what he was up to.

As expected, new articles different from before caught Hawon’s eye.

“…?”

<[Photo] Kairos Kang Hajin, ‘Have You Ever Seen Such a Chic Morning Driver?’>

<Kairos Hajin ‘A Star Appears at the Exam Venue’>

<“Dropping Off the Members”…Kairos Hajin in a Stylish Parent Look>

Morning?

What Morning.

Good morning?

Hawon’s eyes widened as he recognized the familiar white Morning car in what seemed to be a photo from an article.

‘Did hyung pull another crazy stunt?’

With a sense of foreboding, Hawon clicked on the article, and sure enough, there was a picture of Hajin, dressed in a black long coat, stepping out of a Morning car that was barely half his size in this freezing cold weather.

Hajin, clad entirely in black—black jeans wrapped around his long legs, black boots, a black turtleneck, a black coat, and even black glasses—stood next to the bright white Morning, creating a surreal contrast. Hawon quickly moved on to the next article.

<Kairos Hajin ‘Yugeon, Don’t Forget Your Lunchbox’ [Photo K-HD]>

In the photo, Hajin, dressed to the nines, was holding a conspicuously pink shopping bag, handing it over to Yugeon, who was covering his face with one hand.

Whether you knew the context or not, it was a scene that made no sense at all. Blinking in confusion, Hawon copied one of the news photos and sent it to his brother through their messenger chat.

<(Photo)>

<Why are you posing with our family car, hyung?>

To his surprise, the response came quickly.

<My brother ∥ Doesn’t it suit me?>

<My brother ∥ I might end up with a Morning car ad at this rate>

<Could probably do a Morning bread ad>

<My brother ∥ Enjoy>

<Who even says ‘enjoy’ these days?>

<My brother ∥ ㅗ>

<ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ>

Living the fun life, I see.

After confirming that his brother was having a safe day, Hawon chuckled and turned off his phone.

After his appearance on *Touch High!* last time, it was starting to dawn on him more and more that his brother was really becoming a celebrity.

‘…I wonder if he’ll be busy throughout the

year-end?’

Feeling a bit odd about seeing his brother taking care of someone else’s exam instead of his own, Hawon turned off his phone with a slightly restless heart.

It was time to fully enjoy a rare day off on a weekday.

* * *

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‘Yeah. It’s a mess.’

My plan to quickly drop off Seo Taehyun and Lee Yugeon and rush back to the broadcasting station was completely derailed when Yugeon left his lunchbox in the back seat as he got out.

Of course, I dressed up just in case something like this happened…!

I did spend some time fixing my hair this morning because I wanted to look good if I was going to be photographed anyway…!

Even though my mom told me I’d freeze, I still wore this uncomfortable long coat and boots, but anyway…!

‘At least the photos turned out well.’

Consoling myself with that thought, I parked the car near the shop and got out. Normally, when I rode in the van, some fans or stalkers would spot me and follow, but since a Morning car in the middle of Cheongdam-dong was such an unexpected approach, it wasn’t as chaotic as I had feared.

“Oh, Hajin’s here? I got a call from the Director. Come in quickly.”

“Hello, Manager.”

After dropping off the high schoolers at the exam venue, I stopped by the shop to get ready for my broadcast. I had to get my hair and makeup done, change clothes, and then drive myself back to the broadcasting station.

‘I miss Wook-hyung…’

Sitting in the back seat, closing my eyes for a moment, and opening them at the next schedule location—that life was truly a luxury.

Feeling a newfound appreciation, I stepped into the shop, where the warm and cozy air welcomed me, a stark contrast to the outside.

This too, I was grateful for.

It was a beautiful morning.

“By the way, Hajin, why are your ears so red? Was it that cold outside?”

“…The heater in the car doesn’t work well…”

“Sorry?”

“Oh. It was freezing outside, seriously.”

The inconvenience of our small and precious Morning car, which was scorching hot in summer and freezing cold in winter, was something I hadn’t noticed before.

When I was younger, I used to ride in it all the time, so I didn’t realize how uncomfortable it was. After switching to a family car at the age of twenty-nine, and even in this timeline, I had been getting used to riding in nice cars everywhere, so it seemed my standards were rising.

‘It’s a bit scary to get used to such a comfortable and warm life…’

Lately, I’ve started to understand the saying that too much happiness makes you anxious.

With that thought, I hung my scarf and coat on the hanger and walked further inside.

There was already someone getting styled inside, judging by the lively sounds coming from the room.

‘Is it the Stormheader kids?’

I think I heard they switched to this shop after their appearance on *Touch High!*…

Anyway, if it was someone I knew, I might as well say hello, so I glanced over, and unexpectedly made eye contact with someone I didn’t expect.

“Oh? Hajin-ssi.”

“Oh. Manager Jang…”

It was Manager Jang Seoyun of Rene, who had first introduced me to Miro.

‘If she’s here, then…’

I had a feeling I knew who was getting styled in that room, and I couldn’t help but smile awkwardly.

And just as I expected, a familiar and annoyingly snide voice called out from behind me.

“Hello, sunbae-nim.”

“……”

Turning around slowly, I saw the original sculpture-like figure, Cha Minseok, whose face had become even more polished with proper management since the last time I saw him before his debut.

I almost grimaced, but quickly maintained a neutral expression.

Just as I was about to politely greet him and escape, Cha Minseok spoke first.

“How’s Seo Taehyun doing?”

Is he insane?

Once again, the nemesis of Seo Taehyun, who was annoyingly good-looking today, challenged me to a duel on the narrow bridge.