When the expected reaction burst from Siwoo, satisfied smiles appeared on the faces of the camera directors following him.
Another shriek burst from Siwoo’s mouth as he instinctively took a defensive posture and dodged to the side with both hands raised to his chest. He had bumped his arm against the bumpy protruding wall.
“Haa… Just a moment. I need to hurry, I’m sorry.”
In the end, unable to move forward, Siwoo hesitated and looked at the camera directors, then bowed his head and apologized first.
“I’m not usually that scared of these things, but today a bit…”
Rubbing his left chest with his right hand while muttering, Siwoo stared blankly at the direction to proceed. He felt a bit anxious but thought he’d be okay.
Hesitating, Siwoo muttered what Chan had explained inside his mouth. A zombie pops out from the cabinet, and when you open the drawer of the vanity, a ghost’s appearance reflects in the mirror. It was at least comforting to roughly know what would come out where.
He said something would drop from above here and there, and he knew about the floor changing too. He knew but…
“Let’s… let’s go.”
Staying long will only make it scarier. Biting his lower lip, Siwoo clenched both hands into fists and lifted his heavy feet.
“Kyaaaa!!”
After only a few steps, when his foot sank down, the frightened Siwoo ran forward blindly, and from Siwoo’s mouth who confirmed the doll in front, continuous groaning sounds and high-pitched screams burst out ceaselessly.
“No! Don’t come! Don’t cooome…”
The corners of Siwoo’s eyes, who was frightened by the bizarrely shaped things he encountered no matter where he ran, were already wet. As his vision became blurry and hazy, Siwoo roughly rubbed his eyes on his sleeve.
When Siwoo stopped in place sniffling and wiping his tears, the camera directors also stopped in that spot and waited for Siwoo to calm down.
Taking deep breaths and pressing the continuously flowing tears firmly with his sleeve and hands, Siwoo looked at the two cameras filming him and quickly turned his head to the side.
“Could just one director go ahead first?”
Whether the camera filming him crying was burdensome, Siwoo who kept looking elsewhere looked at the two camera directors alternately with eyes still brimming with tears.
Siwoo had perfectly completed all missions more excitedly than anyone at the amusement park today.
Since they couldn’t capture the appearance they wanted at all, honestly the filming crew entering the haunted house had no great expectations.
But when Siwoo who had been bursting out reactions from the moment of entry finally showed even tears and made such a request with a forlorn expression like a lost lamb, one of the camera directors eventually burst into a small laugh.
Then sending an OK sign with his hand and moving his steps, Siwoo started moving again with his lips tightly bitten and both hands firmly clenched.
“Name tag, name tag. Kyaa… Don’t come…”
Flinching at even small sounds and curling up his body, constantly covering his eyes with his hands then gently lowering them, Siwoo’s lips kept moving.
He could just ignore it and run out, but while shuddering, Siwoo looked around thoroughly in all directions.
“…”
Siwoo who was walking startled here and there following the director like that suddenly stiffened in place the moment he saw the ghost that popped out from the side. It wasn’t an object falling through the air, nor a doll that popped out from the side and went back in.
He was so surprised a scream didn’t even come out, and because his legs stopped as if rooted, he couldn’t run away anywhere. It wouldn’t have mattered even if it came from the front, but he didn’t expect at all that it would kick open a door and come out from the side.
The part-timer dressed as a ghost who rushed in expecting Siwoo to run away was rather flustered. The part-timer running toward Siwoo quickly twisted her body and stepped aside, but the long ghost wig she was wearing flew and brushed Siwoo’s face.
Siwoo’s face turned pale white after facing the heavily made-up ghost’s face at a close enough distance to collide.
“Hyung, sit here. Why are you standing like that?”
At Yechan’s touch grabbing his hand, Evan turned his gaze that had been looking at the ‘haunted house.’
“You’re worried about Siwoo? Hey, what are you worrying about? The most manly one among us is Siwoo. What is there he can’t do? The problem is he’s a kid who can do everything. He’ll definitely come out waving the name tag like Yechan, right?”
When Sangjun, drinking warm water and waving both hands saying to sit down quickly, worried about all sorts of things, the staff who had watched them for a long time laughed in agreement with those words.
“Evan, do you want to drink something warm too? Even though it’s indoors, it’s a bit cold since they don’t have heating.”
Since filming would end if Siwoo came out and they just did the closing comment, everyone exchanged jokes with light hearts.
“Didn’t you see him excitedly riding the rides earlier? His condition is good today, and his mood seemed totally good too.”
Their words were right.
Siwoo couldn’t do nothing. He always smiled brightly and listened to others’ words. He never hesitated or backed out.
He definitely accomplished the work given to him. He mastered even choreography he saw for the first time in the shortest time, and his singing skills were flawless. Even in unexpected situations during live broadcasts or filming, Siwoo dealt with them flexibly well rather than panicking.
Unlike his appearance that seemed delicate, passive, and full of aegyo, many people liked Siwoo for the sense of disparity brought by his appearance of being easygoing, indifferent, and energetically doing everything well.
Even when playing games like guessing objects in a box, he touched the objects inside without hesitation with a calm expression, and when doing things like bungee jumping, he jumped down well while bouncing around with a bright smile.
Evan’s gaze, unable to sit and standing, turned toward the ‘haunted house’ again.
Honestly, Evan also agreed with the story the staff and members were having now. No aegyo? Not friendly? It was true that on the surface, you couldn’t expect such things normally.
But during their time alone, everything overflowed excessively. He whispered actively what he wanted, like pillow talk.
There was definitely something he hadn’t thought of.
Something he was missing. Something he hadn’t thought of.
“…”
The conversation from a moment ago came to mind.
Amusement park, headband.
Siwoo wanting to wear a carnivorous animal headband was from the past timeline. In the end, since Siwoo mistook the cat headband for a tiger headband and wore it, Evan gave him a tiger headband from the beginning.
The moment he saw the giraffe headband, Yechan came to mind so he made him wear it.
What did Siwoo do then? When he changed it to a dinosaur headband, what was Siwoo’s expression?
Lost in thought, Evan’s jawline stood out and light wrinkles appeared on his forehead. During that time too, his gaze remained fixed on the ‘haunted house.’
There was no way to know what was happening inside.
Siwoo had definitely been angry at him, but when he apologized, whether his heart was easily softened, he quickly returned to his usual appearance. Since he asked about the amusement park, Evan thoughtlessly brought up the story from the past timeline and continued the conversation without incident.
While realizing through the conversation with staff and members that they had also been to the amusement park in this timeline, the doubt he briefly had disappeared like smoke.
Evan, who had been tapping his thigh with his index fingertip, pressed his temple firmly.
Why did he cry so much that day when he gave him the plum again? As questionable things came to mind one by one, Evan’s thoughts began to form a shape.
If Siwoo was a regressor like himself…
Evan, whose thoughts reached that far, let out a long sigh and lowered his head.
“Give me cold water instead of hot water.”
Let’s drink cold water and get my head straight.
Picking up the water bottle the staff gave him, Evan chuckled. Whether it was because he thought too much or he couldn’t properly rational think when it was limited to Siwoo.
None of them could be easily explained.
If Siwoo’s heat cycle hadn’t suddenly come, it would have been difficult to tell and make him understand that he was a hidden omega. Let alone regression! Words saying he was repeating the same time so much he’d given up counting no longer came out.
And the fact that this crazy regression might not stop and continue also tightened Evan’s heart.
He couldn’t bring himself to say that to Siwoo who had just barely trusted him and opened his heart. How could he bring up that he was a regressor, so he might suddenly disappear a few years later?
He answered honestly even when Yechan jokingly asked what round of life he was on. But recalling that what came back was only laughter from the members and staff, only bitterness circled in his mouth.
Lost in thought while opening the water bottle, Evan threw the water bottle as it was and ran toward the ‘haunted house.’
This unfamiliar emotion that dug in between his confused feelings led to only one thing. Since he wasn’t close by, he couldn’t read emotions through pheromones.
His heart suddenly tightened and raced like crazy. Fear, terror, darkness. Emotions like a bottomless deep swamp rushed in overwhelmingly.
“Kim Siwoo!”
Since he jumped into a dark place suddenly from a bright place, unable to see ahead, Evan called Siwoo loudly.
“Coco.”
Whether he could see ahead or not didn’t matter. Evan’s steps taking big strides gradually quickened.
Only after entering about halfway could he see a small figure squatting between the two camera directors.
“Siwoo-ya.”
Evan, who sat down lowering his body in front of Siwoo, called carefully in a soft, small voice, different from calling his name loudly just before.
That dark emotion enveloping Siwoo continued.
Siwoo’s small body curled up with his face buried in his knees was trembling.
“It’d be better to go out through the middle door, right?”
The camera director also seemed to know the situation wasn’t good.
“Since when has he been like this?”
Even when he called, Siwoo didn’t budge. Evan, who released his pheromones, slowly placed his hand on Siwoo’s back so he wouldn’t be startled.
“He was quite surprised but was doing well, but just now a ghost popped out.”
Evan glanced around and nodded. It was the place where a virgin ghost had popped out from the side.
“Coco.”
Evan, who called Siwoo again, stroked down his back and placed his hand on the small head. He could fully feel the anxiously rippling emotions that came over gradually settling down. Emotional synchronization hadn’t occurred for a while so he’d forgotten, but what on earth happened for him to harbor such dark emotions?
Evan, who had never felt such vicious fear, couldn’t easily open his mouth.
As Siwoo slowly raised his head and stretched out his arms, rushing into his embrace, Evan quickly hugged Siwoo with both arms and sat down in place.
And with Siwoo’s crying that burst out, an awkward silence hung in that space.
