Y13 [EN]: Chapter 83

Y13-83. 2010-11 All-Star Weekend

A woman in a tracksuit was jogging along a course near a hotel from early morning. She had fair skin, and the slight blemishes on her face made her look even younger. She tied her shiny golden hair up and started running slowly. Although LA is usually warm, the February weather was a bit chilly, so she wore a thin autumn jacket. The cool breeze she felt all over her body while jogging was pleasantly refreshing.

“Huh?”

She noticed an outdoor basketball court in the distance. Curious about whether what she had heard last night was true, the woman pretended to pass by the basketball court and glanced inside.

Swish-

She heard the clean sound of the ball hitting the net with each shot. And she couldn’t help but be surprised when she faintly recognized the song playing.

“The Parting Glass…”

What the man had said was true. She had thought it was just a polite greeting, but he was really practicing while listening to “The Parting Glass.”

His tall height, as expected of a basketball player, was a bit overwhelming, but his sharp and youthful appearance, combined with his neatly dressed style, was very appealing. However, he didn’t just look young; his firm eyes and thick eyebrows also exuded a masculine aura. Moreover, despite being six years younger than her, his actions and conversations showed consideration, composure, and prudence. It was as if he were older than her.

“Hoo!”

The man, who had been shooting five three-pointers from five spots from the right side to the left side without stopping, and then repeating the process of picking up the scattered balls, finally grabbed the towel he had placed on the ground and wiped away the sweat.

“Oh, Emily. Good morning.”

The woman and the man were none other than Emily and Youngjae. Youngjae greeted Emily naturally, and Emily accepted Youngjae’s greeting with a slightly embarrassed expression, as if she was conscious of her tight-fitting clothes.

“You’re jogging quite early. You must be very diligent.”

“Oh, no. I just woke up early today. Aren’t you tired, Yoon?”

In fact, both Youngjae and Emily were a little tired. Youngjae hadn’t slept well because he had a secret meeting with Steve in the middle of the night. Emily also hadn’t slept well because she had been lost in thought last night.

“There’s a player I respect, Kobe Bryant.”

Emily nodded slightly, as if she knew the player.

“He always wakes up at 4:30 in the morning, whether it’s the season or the off-season, and starts his own training. And Kobe will still be doing that training. I woke up a little earlier than usual, but I can’t neglect training. Just like Emily takes care of her health as an actress and singer.”

Emily was amazed that Youngjae was talking so seriously, as if he were really twenty years old, and that he was putting it into action as well as words.

‘He really came out for a jog.’

Whether he knew what Emily was thinking or not, Youngjae smiled inwardly. It was true that Youngjae never missed his morning shooting and flexibility exercises, but he usually woke up around 6:30 and started light training from 7:30. The appointment time was 8:00, so he had thought about waking up a little earlier, but it wasn’t even 7:30 yet.

[Emily? She’s been taking care of her health thoroughly since before she was cast as Beth in Season 2. In particular, she doesn’t neglect her singing activities, so she mainly does aerobic exercise to maintain her lung capacity. In the meantime, she was cast, so she’s gradually increasing her strength training. Lauren says she jogs regularly around 6:00 or 6:30 in the morning?]

[Will she do it on days like this?]

[Yeah. Maybe? Emily is diligent in that respect.]

At the meeting last night, Youngjae was able to get high-level information from Steve. Of course, Youngjae didn’t try to hide it because he judged that Steve had noticed Youngjae’s intentions, but rather pretended not to know and acted like someone who would watch with interest.

[You’re surprisingly cunning.]

[Don’t call it cunning, call it prudent. I’m not a charming man like Steve, am I?]

[Ha~ I can’t live because of this charm!]

[So you don’t discriminate against men…]

Thud!

The last part of the meeting ended with a light punch, and Youngjae came out to the court at 6:30 and started exercising. Steve told him to trust him and guaranteed that he would make Emily pass by the basketball court by saying that the jogging course around the hotel was good and that she would be able to hear him. And Emily really came.

‘He’s really training…’

However, one fact that even Youngjae, who had quick wits and skill, couldn’t know was that Emily also knew everything Youngjae had expected.

[Emily, Yoon said he’s going to train tomorrow morning, too?]

[Really?]

[Yeah. I just met him, and he said he has an appointment tomorrow morning, so he has to start training earlier than usual, and he asked me what he should bring and what he’s going to do tomorrow? So I told him briefly.]

[Can I trust the jogging course you recommended?]

[Of course! It’s near the hotel, so you can jog and still have plenty of time to prepare before your appointment. And the scenery is good, too. There’s a big gym there, right? The one installed outside. If you go back the way you came from there, it’ll be just the right time.]

Emily nodded slightly at Steve’s nonchalant words. Of course, as a result, these two were both being subtly manipulated by Steve Yeon, but Steve and Lauren had their own reasons to instigate, so they stepped back and enjoyed watching the two of them as if they were watching an exciting movie.

“Are you going to jog more?”

At Youngjae’s words, Emily replied, “No, I was just about to go back.” Youngjae said, “Then let’s go together,” and rummaged through his bag, putting the balls inside. On the way out of the basketball court and walking to the hotel, Emily shivered slightly because the sweat had cooled down, and Youngjae took out a jersey he had brought as a spare from his bag and put it on Emily.

“Thank you.”

The two walked side by side along the quiet jogging course, looking around and having light conversations.

“Are you playing in the game tomorrow, too?”

“Yes. It’s not a regular game, but I’m going to the Three-Point Contest.”

Emily was fascinated by Youngjae’s fantastic performance yesterday, so she confidently predicted that Youngjae would win. If Steve or the Aztecs members had said that, he would have told them not to get ahead of themselves with a playful tone, but Youngjae just smiled and thanked her for saying that.

“Ah, Yoon. Can I ask you for a favor?”

“Yes. Please tell me.”

Emily took out her smartphone from her pocket, brought up the photo she had taken yesterday, and handed it to Youngjae.

“Oh, is this me? It turned out really well.”

“Right? I’ll send you the original later. Ah… that’s why. Can you sign it?”

At Emily’s words, Youngjae took the smartphone for a moment and pondered what kind of signature he should make. Soon, Youngjae smiled and scribbled his signature with a touch pen, as if he had a brilliant idea.

“Here you go.”

“Thank you.”

Emily was so happy to receive the autograph that she immediately checked the photo.

[[email protected]]

Youngjae’s SNS [Social Networking Service] address was written under the signature.

“……”

Youngjae and Emily were sitting in Starbucks with embarrassed expressions. Steve, Lauren, Melli, and David’s family, who were supposed to meet them, had disappeared without a trace. They hadn’t even given them a hint that they couldn’t meet today so that they could prepare, and since they had vanished completely, the two of them didn’t know what to do now.

Youngjae was embarrassed because it was the first time he was alone with Emily, and Emily was embarrassed about how to handle this unexpected situation.

“Ah… are you tired?”

“Yes? Ah, I’m a little tired, but I’m okay.”

Youngjae was planning to suggest taking Emily to her room if she said she was tired. But Emily said she was okay, and since it was a rare opportunity for him to have a day off, he decided to talk at the cafe first and think about what to do next.

The two felt a little awkward and looked at the menu on the table, wondering what to drink. Youngjae ordered his usual Americano, and Emily ordered a cafe latte.

“Does Emily know LA well?”

“I’ve been here a few times for work, such as filming or performances, but I don’t know much about the city.”

Youngjae nodded as if he understood and took a sip of his Americano. Youngjae thought that he should do something instead of wasting time like this, so he took another sip of his Americano and put his smartphone on the table.

“Actually, there was a place I really wanted to go among the places I heard from Steve yesterday. If you don’t have anything you want to do right now, can we go there first?”

Emily felt that the awkward atmosphere had subsided and a smile was forming on her face at Youngjae’s earnest expression, smiling brightly and expectantly. Emily, who thought that this was why he was young but didn’t just look young, nodded and agreed to follow Youngjae.

“But what kind of place are you going to?”

“I have a hobby of cooking. There’s a special cooking class by Tom Colicchio near here. Are you good at cooking?”

Emily thought that what she had heard from Steve was very helpful. The fact that he liked to cook was also something Steve had told her.

“I like it, but I’m not good at doing it myself. I’m thinking of learning.”

The two started taking Tom Colicchio’s cooking class together while chatting. Emily listened attentively to the cooking class and felt a slight flutter in her heart at the sight of Youngjae skillfully preparing the ingredients in front of her, chopping, seasoning, and measuring the temperature of the fire.

The charm of a so-called ‘cooking man’ was emanating from Youngjae. Moreover, as a basketball player, his tall height and solid physique were incomparable to others.

Tang, tang, tang, tang-

At Colicchio’s instruction to chop the onion, Youngjae fearlessly cut the onion in half and shredded it to a certain thickness with impressive speed and precision.

“Oh, I didn’t expect someone like you to be so skilled. Everyone? You have to work harder. Even Youngjae Yoon, who was in the NBA Rookie Challenge, is so skilled at shredding onions!”

Colicchio said that and approached Emily, who was stirring the frying pan next to him.

“Did Yoon do this, too?”

“Yes.”

Colicchio picked up the warm salad (a unique type of salad that is served warm, in which vegetables are stewed with stock or broth) with his hands as if it wasn’t hot.

“Um, um! Good, not bad.”

After Colicchio’s class, it was time for tasting. While eating a simple seafood pasta and sirloin steak that could be served with the warm salad, Emily couldn’t help but be surprised. She had heard that he cooked, but she never thought he would be so good.

“Is it delicious?”

And Youngjae’s expression and eyes looking at her while she ate.

“Yes, it’s delicious. It’s really delicious.”

“I’m glad.”

Finally, that smile. Emily couldn’t help but feel a thrill that she hadn’t felt for a while at Youngjae’s childlike, innocent smile, which was different from the Youngjae she had seen on the court.

============================ Author’s Note ============================

★Thank you to those who gave me advance reservations, recommendations, comments, and coupons!!

@There are 3 days left until the final.

@The daily life will be finished in the next part. This daily life was a bit long because it overlapped with the All-Star Game. Now we have to go back to the season.

Caebabam///Hehe, it’s my first comment. Thank you for your comment!!

Chanranhan Yusan, Kundara, Cheonsangbyeolli, Financia, Omarion, Goddess Yuri Praise, -DarkANGEL-, Mangpo-dong/// Thank you always for your comments~~

Anti/// ㅋㅋㅋ I misunderstood. Is it a reunion after 2 weeks?ㅋㅋ

Miyalma/// I’m sorry that I can’t give you a series of episodes often ㅠ.ㅠ

Nyangsajang/// I’ll keep trying in the future~~

Block Jangin Bodo Block/// L.O.V.E

misscherry/// The All-Star Game is gorgeous, that’s the bestㅋㅋ

Frog Power/// It’s a novel, so I think it’s necessary to some extent

Neopttittungtti/// Thank you for your comment on the previous episode. As you said, Youngjae’s surroundings are all basketball-related, and he’s alone, so it’s even more so.

Yathongida/// Thank you for the coupon!! Yathongida, please stay healthy too~~