/Soon we find our heroes at the humble neighbourhood diner of their youth. The signboard above the doorframe proudly declares the establishment to be the one and only “3 Sisters Sundae Gukbap”, and there is a delightful illustration of 3 cat-like creatures peering over the bottom of the banner, each of which likely represents one of the eponymous sisters./

/The building has a red brick facade, which does not appear wide from the street, but the whole building runs deeper and larger than it first appears. There is a money tree in the window, along with mounted laminated pictures of each dish and their descriptions./

/The exterior is strewn with weeks-old Christmas lights and exposed wiring, but perhaps there is no occasion, and the sisters simply leave these up all year round. To the right of the door, there are two beer advertisements featuring some celebrities that we have yet to meet./

/A worker in full winter garb and a woolen hat is putting out an a-frame sign with the inscription “salad”, which actually refers to the all-you-can-eat, self-serve side dish buffet that runs at Three Sisters during happy hour. He pauses momentarily in his work, distracted by our two protagonists rush into the building, who were completely out of breath from horseplay./

/Myungie is hiding just within the doorframe and hunched over, while Taewoong is huffing and puffing from just outside the glass. He seems to have realized something./

T: Oh…

Fucking grinch balls…

M: What’s wrong? 

T: I can’t clench my hands. 

/Helplessly, Taewoong presses his entire face and hand onto the glass, which at this point is still warmer than the lining of his jacket. Myungie, who had been scrambling to get away from him just a second ago, immediately forgets about their silly spat, and hurries to open the door./

M: Oh, for real? 

Let’s see?

/A few moments later, the two are standing at the salad bar and admiring the spread. They are oblivious to the other patrons, who are seated at round coffee tables or in booths and are largely preoccupied with their own business (apart from two keen-eyed elderly women who do appear to be staring specifically at Myungie)./

/The furniture in the interior of the restaurant is well-worn, but there is a homey atmosphere. The dining hall opens out onto the street view - at least, where the windows are not totally obscured with signage - and we see a few passerby struggling against the wind./

/For a large restaurant, there are not a lot of staff. There is a waitress walking in the background, with heavy bowls and cups piled onto a too-small tray. There is also a young woman hovering at the other end of the buffet table, who is holding a wicker basket and a handful of tickets - she is the unofficial manager of the salad bar, well known to regulars - and she is staring at Taewoong and Myungie with a look that can only be described as earnest suspicion./

/At the buffet station, there are numerous delectable dishes made from tofu, potatoes, beans, vegetables, and sparing morsels of seafood. Although the hotel pans being used are a standard sort, each holds a unique serving utensil and no two handles are alike./

/Grasping a pair of tongs, Myungie looks awestruck. Taewoong, who is still nursing his frostnipped hand, is less enthused, maybe because he still comes here regularly years later./

M: Wow! 

Everything is still in the same formation, even.

It’s all starting to come back to me. 

Ha! And that cuttlefish is still sitting empty. 

It’s never getting refilled.

T: OK, 

just hurry up…

/Myungie suddenly spots something good, something that he knows will make Taewoong’s hairs stand on end. He picks it up with an evil glint in his eye, while Taewoong stares in indignant horror behind him./

M: Hey! 

You like pickled perilla leaves, right?

‘Course you do!

/Taewoong won’t take this quietly! With very red and jittery hands, he endeavours to grab onto the spoon that’s lodged in Myungie’s least favourite dish…/

T: Oh yeah?? 

Well, I heard you like dried anchovies -  

M: EEEEEEK

/Myungie almost knocks the entire operation over in a desperate effort to keep the dried anchovies at bay, scattering them everywhere./

T: Shit - don't turn so fast, you giant giraffe!!

/Pretty soon we’re back to playfighting, as the manager of the salad bar attempts to intervene. Whump! Pow! Taewoong hits Myungie in the side several times, as if he were a 6ft+ punching bag, while Myungie is somewhere between laughing and retching./

T: Stop wasting food!!

M: Ahaha! 

Aha - 

Bleugh - 

/Unbeknownst to them, Taewoong and Myungie’s commotion catches the special attention of a table nearby, where someone is taking secret pictures of them with what looks like an Instax camera garnished with pretty ribbons and accessories./

C: Dude, that's Malik. 

Y: Why would Malik be at our neighbourhood gukbap restaurant?

Doesn’t he have a new album to promote?

C: I know, right?

No idea who the other guy is… 

Y: Let’s ask Jinnie when she gets here. She knows all his handlers on sight. 

C: Well, that’s not creepy at all…

/Now Taewoong and Myungie are back at their own booth and table. The seats look like they have not been changed out for decades, with well-worn back upholstery, and an old-fashioned frosted glass top cap. What remains of their side dishes have been unloaded, and they are now waiting for their server to bring their main dishes./

/Conspicuously, Myungie is still wearing his full jacket, sunglasses, scarf…even his gloves and knit cap. Taewoong on the other hand has removed his aviator jacket, and is now sitting in a casual beat-up sweatshirt./

/As their elderly server approaches, Myungie has both hands over his mouth and his eyes are sparkling - he is clearly plotting something. Opposite, Taewoong is unimpressed, his eyebrow twitching in anticipation of whatever juvenile antics were about to unfold./

Auntie: Here you are! 

One sundae gukbap set and a large soda, and one - 

M: Arigatou gozaimasu!!!

Itsumo osewa ni natte orimasu!

/Auntie freezes and stares at Myungie, who is grinning from ear to ear. She seems to not comprehend at all, so Myungie tries again, still sparkling with mischief./

Auntie: ...

M: Itsumo osewa ni natte orimasu!

/Then, sharply,/

Auntie: Nice try, Lee Myungyong!

/The words of recognition hit Myungie like a sledgehammer, so much so that he is nearly knocked backwards!/

/As Auntie stomps off, Taewoong sips his large soda with an unimpressed look, while Myungie struggles to gather his composure./

M: Ah…hai…

Arigatou gozaimasu, Obasan! 

Obasan! 

Obasan, o daiji ni!

Obasan - 

/Taewoong finally reaches over the table and thwacks Myungie with the broad side of a large wooden spoon, closing out their comedy double act./

T: How long are you going to keep doing that! 

M: Yipe!

T: The hell are you gonna do, 

if somebody actually believes you?

Hey. 

Why do you do dumb shit that would instantly ruin your reputation if the public came to know about it, huh? 

/Taewoong is shaking the spoon disapprovingly at Myungie, but Myungie for his part doesn’t seem to have noticed. He is still riding the high of being called out. Meanwhile, Auntie and one of her two other sisters are standing behind the counter, whispering conspiratorially, and they seem to be sharing a good laugh over what just happened./

M: Yo, Dude, I swear - 

I swear I thought she wouldn't know who I was.

But look at this!

/Amidst the plates of sauce and pickled radish on the table, there is now a new plate of food in front of Myungie. Confusingly, it looked to Taewoong like…/

T: ?

It’s frozen kimbap in a bag. 

Did you order this? 

M: No - just a coffee! 

She remembers that I don’t eat sundae.

Oh damn. 

I think I’m really gonna cry. 

/Myungie looks genuinely touched that the restaurant had given him a custom “service”, an entire entree that wasn’t even on their menu. Taewoong, still slurping his soda, rolls his eyes with a mix of exasperation and defeat./

T: Aaaand he’s back. 

M: She’s the best lady with terrible business sense I’ve ever met!

Anyway, 

I noticed she wasn't doing any of this... 

/Myungie swishes his napkin in front of Taewoong’s face, like a matador taunting a bull. Taewoong takes a moment to realize that this is Myungie’s half-assed imitation of his expert napkin folding from earlier./

T: Huh? 

…Oh.

Well, 

maybe she also tuned out during training?

M: Should I call her over again?

T: …

/We leave Taewoong and Myungie for a moment to return to Myungie’s intrepid stalker-fans at the other table. One wonders what they must think of all of these shenanigans. But as the faithful watch on, a curious face with large spectacles and thick curls suddenly comes into their view - like a jumpscare!/

C, Y: Jinnie!!

J: Hey! I came as soon as I could.

What have we got? 

/It is the girls’ ever-reliable idol intelligence officer and classmate, Jinnie! Throwing a quick glance over her shoulder at their targets, Jinnie unloads her reconnaissance bag onto the table. She also casts a critical eye on the pictures that her friends had already taken./

/Now that all the girls are together, it is clear that they are a trio of high schoolers who belong to the same hobby group. Perhaps this is their regular hangout after class on nights when no one has cram school to attend. Chaeyeon and Yoona are still wearing their school uniforms neatly, while Jinnie - does this girl even go to class? - is self-styled./

J: You’re doing a stakeout…

…with polaroids? Is this a joke? 

Y: I know, I know…

But aren’t polaroids such a cute memento? For the fan page, I was thinking - 

/But before Yoona can elaborate on her artistic vision, a giant bottle of gochujang slices through the air and hits her smack in the eye./

J: Good grief! Here, use this!

C: Oof. 

Another stealth cam? 

/Yoona holds the weighty bottle in her hands, which bears the inscription “GOCHU JJANG” in Jinnie's messy handwriting. Looking closely, the eye of the letter “o” is glistening and gleaming, and seems to be concealing something. One can imagine Yoona’s own mouth forming the same letter, as she marvels at Jinnie’s ingenuity./

Y: Ohhh…I see it now! There’s the camera. 

Also, that really hurt!!...

J: Our target kept the last one, so this time, it’s a perishable! 

Anyway, let’s ID this bad boy…

/She says, referring to Taewoong. On close inspection of Yoona’s polaroid picture - which appears to show Taewoong screaming bloody murder at Myungie while the intrepid salad bar manager is tapping him on the shoulder - Jinnie realizes something./

J: …Oh??

What a throwback!

It’s Im Taewoong, from APL Boys!!

/The other girls look utterly lost./

C: Snerk…

“APL Boys”??

Who the hell is that?

J: Oh, you know!!

They debuted when we were in elementary school,

With a magical ponies concept!

Who could forget their first single, “Legend of the Horse…”

…Not I!!

/Jinnie is not joking. A montage appears in the background, of the APL Boys in various flashy outfits. We can’t see a lot of detail, but it looks like there are 6 members. The author regrets that she could not include their horse avatars, too. There is a lot to unpack here./ 

C: Wow, your taste is trash. 

Y: Oh! 

I think I've seen them before.

On your Instagram stories…

J: Maybe I can find it. 

Oh, hold on…

I can’t see a thing with these!

/Jinnie whips out phone and removes her massive coke bottle glasses, resting them on her forehead. Alas, she only affects nerd chic./

C: You're such a simp for old uncle types. 

Tee hee.

J: Am I? 

Taewoong’s pretty much the same age as Malik though?

/Chaeyeon bristles - it’s just like Jinnie to bite back without even looking up from her phone! Before things can come to blows, Yoona cheerfully jumps in,/

Y: Yeah, but that’s Malik. 

/Suddenly, Jinnie’s scrolling thumb pauses./

J: …

Wait a minute. 

Same age, 

and the same company. 

Malik was an APL trainee for 5 years before… 

…He broke his contract, and transferred to Summit Music Corps. 

He debuted as a soloist, and his first single went incredibly viral…

…The same month, APL Boys debuted with one fewer member than the media first reported. They big time flopped - folded after four comebacks and two rebrandings. 

/Yoona and Chaeyeon exchange surprised looks with each other./

J: Guys, 

What are we looking at?

/They look on at the two men, who still don’t realize that they are being surveilled./

/Taewoong is aimlessly pushing around the last dollops of rice soup in his now-cold stone bowl. He seems to be lost in thought - maybe thinking of some distant event in the past. Maybe thinking of the very events that caused the fracture between him and Myungie. He looks like he wants to say something.../