The Best of Tomorrow [ 내일의 으뜸]

Chapter 65

The first place I ever had a sign that said "Potato Hotpot Restaurant" was a ramshackle former house near my hostel. It was a converted house with four tables in the living room and three rooms as guest rooms.

Five men, including Kwon, sat in the small room with the sliding door closed. A four-seater table was placed in the center. Baek Inhyuk and Sunjae sat next to each other, with Kwon Sungjun and Woo Hyunseong across from them. Seo Yoon-jae, the youngest, sat in the corner of the table.Woo Hyunsung was twenty-six years old. Despite being the oldest member of the team, it was always Sungjoon who organized the family talks.

The last time they had a family talk was three years ago. Sunjae had just joined the team and moved in with them. A misplaced call on speakerphone revealed Woo Hyun-sung's love affair. Kwon Sung-joon immediately opened the family conversation.

That day, they drank soba at a jokbal restaurant near the hostel. Seo Yoon-jae, who was underage, couldn't drink carbonated drinks, so she only drank cold water. When Kwon Sung-joon said that even though there was no clause against dating, it was a bit of a bad time, Woo Hyun-sung retorted that there was no such thing as a bad time for dating, saying that the right person would come along at the right time. 

When Kwon Sung-joon nailed that it's still time to devote themselves to their activities and put their best foot forward, an impatient Woo Hyun-sung gulped down a cup of wheat beer and raised his voice, saying, "I've been neglecting my practice and skipping my schedule.

As they argued, the bottle of alcohol grew rapidly, and the drunken Woo Hyun-sung showed tears first. He cried while hugging Kwon Sung-joon, saying, "You should work harder, you bastard, I know you have a lot of problems as a leader, and I won't let you worry about it. Kwon Sung-joon wiped his tears with tissues and patted Woo Hyun-sung on the back. 

He said that he understood Woo Hyun-sung's feelings, saying that he was older and that it was now or never.

Baek In-hyuk, who had been drinking slowly, looked at the two crying and frowned at the family's conversation, while Seo Yoon-jae secretly cleared Woo Hyun-sung and Kwon Sung-joon's glasses. Sunjae leaned back in his chair and forced himself to keep his spirits up, thinking, this is the team I'm joining.

"Shall we order?"

Seo Yoonjae opened his mouth to ask. Kwon Sung-joon, sitting with his arms crossed, recited the menu as if there was only one way.

"Makgeolli, potato pancake."

Kwon stared at Seonjae's face. Seo Yoonjae ordered. Sungjoon didn't tell him how many, so he ordered two potato pancakes and five bottles of makgeolli. He would definitely order more, but he didn't think he'd have any left over. And so began the family conversation over potato pancakes.

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When the empty makgeolli bottles became eight, Baek Inhyuk sobbed. He couldn't even hold his chopsticks properly, so Seo Yoon-jae tore open a potato roll and popped it into his mouth.

"Really, my Sunjae has gone through so much heartache because of her. Bro, you really shouldn't let her date Sunjae. Do you know how many years she's been waiting for him?"