Due to circumstances, Euiju was departing two days late, which had made Haeseong thoroughly angry.
“I’m really sorry, Haeseong.”
This was because he had brought up the topic of going two days late none other than yesterday.
In fact, the job of manager was one where you couldn’t rest when you wanted to and couldn’t accommodate personal circumstances, but the story was different if it was Euiju. By now, Haeseong’s past wickedness had decreased considerably. From the company’s perspective, they had no choice but to accommodate Euiju as much as possible, who had made Haeseong—who had been like an untamable wild horse—like this, and Euiju had already notified the company long ago and had set up personal schedules.
He had to go to Roun’s hospital and had to meet with a company that would fit Euiyeon with a prosthetic hand. Thanks to the bonuses the company had poured out, money had steadily accumulated, and since it had been promised in advance, these were schedules that couldn’t be cancelled no matter how much Haeseong insisted.
“I’m really sorry, Haeseong. You can just call me. Okay?”
“You don’t answer the phone well when you go home, ahjussi.”
“……”
Euiju was momentarily speechless at the child’s words. There were many times he couldn’t answer because he was busy with housework and taking care of his siblings, but he tried to defend at least Haeseong’s calls. It seemed Haeseong was dissatisfied with that.
“No. I’ll definitely answer. I’ll take you all the way inside, so let’s get up quickly. Okay? Team Leader-nim must be dying of anxiety.”
“Fuck……”
Haeseong, who muttered a curse quietly, irritably unbuckled his seatbelt. He got out of the car quickly without looking back.
“Kyaa-!”
“Jin Haeseong! Look here-!”
When Haeseong got out, many fans who had been waiting shouted in excitement. Haeseong showed them his smiling face and waved his hand. The moment he turned his back on the fans and entered inside, a chill began to return to his expression again. It was behavior that would make anyone ask if he was Jekyll and Hyde.
Euiju, who had entrusted the car to a staff member who came with him, immediately followed behind Haeseong. Even though the height difference had greatly decreased, Haeseong’s stride was still smaller than Euiju’s stride, so he could catch up quickly.
Euiju, who followed him to the check-in counter, patted Haeseong’s back.
“I’m sorry. I’ll finish my business quickly and come even tomorrow night, so don’t be too sulky.”
“What? Sulky?”
Haeseong let out a hollow laugh as if it was absurd. Sulky. He was annoyed at Euiju treating him like some idiot, but he couldn’t bring himself to curse at him who was smiling brightly. Haeseong turned his head sharply, clearly showing his discomfort.
“…Never mind, just answer the phone on time.”
“Yeah. I’ll definitely do that.”
Then, Kim Jaeho led Haeseong inside.
“Haeseong. Let’s go in first.”
As he entered the security checkpoint, Haeseong turned his head toward Euiju.
Euiju was waving his hand with a nice smile. Haeseong, while sulking, returned the greeting with a small gesture. At that sight, Euiju burst into laughter, but that laughter didn’t reach Haeseong’s ears.
Haeseong found that quite regrettable.
***
“Haah……”
Haeseong, who entrusted his body to the pouring cold water, let out a deep sigh full of fatigue. He had been stuck with a dog all day, and he had been eagerly awaiting this moment throughout, wondering how unpleasant it was.
It was fortunate that the first day was composed of relatively simple scenes, but Haeseong, who didn’t like dogs like ‘Taeyang’ in the drama, found all filming with dogs arduous. In the midst of this, his manager was absent too, so his irritation increased.
Even though Haeseong had finished showering meticulously, he sprayed perfume all over his body that he had prepared in advance. He had secretly stolen it from Euiju’s bag this morning, and although it was cheap, Euiju’s scent immediately began to rise from his body. Haeseong raised one corner of his mouth in satisfaction.
Haeseong, who had roughly dried his hair, threw his body on the bed. Without hesitation, he immediately called Euiju.
Rrrrr-.
The luxury hotel the company had booked boasted a spacious area like his house. Wrinkles began to gradually form on the fine brow of Haeseong, who was just waiting for Euiju to answer the phone on the bed located in the middle of that wide room.
[The call cannot be connected and will be forwarded to voicemail after the beep, and call charges will apply.]
“Wow. This is really ridiculous.”
He coaxed him saying he’d answer so well. It was always the same like this.
“…Damn it.”
Current time: 6:48 PM.
It was the time when Euiju was busy making or preparing dinner for his family. In other words, it was his busiest time. Still, a promise was a promise. Hadn’t he promised to definitely answer his calls?
“Fuck.”
He called about two more times, but the result was the same. Haeseong irritably threw his phone on the floor. It was fortunate that there was a thick and fluffy carpet laid down, otherwise it would have had enough force to crack the screen.
He wanted as much of the affection Euiju poured into his family, but he was always pushed to second place. He was always an afterthought, and there had been no exceptions until now.
Whenever he was pushed behind his family, he felt achingly lonely. Even though Euiju had only been working for barely five months, he couldn’t even remember how he lived before. Whenever his affection was directed elsewhere, he became sensitive and bothered.
He wanted to bring over all the affection he poured into his family. He wanted to monopolize it. He wanted to be the top priority in Lee Euiju’s life.
Actually, since he didn’t know the importance of family well, he didn’t understand why he acted like he was dying for his family like that, and he also thought that since they had gotten this close, couldn’t he share more affection?
Because he stayed by his side, he had keenly felt the emotion called loneliness. The emotion called loneliness that he hadn’t known until then ate away at Haeseong. Now Haeseong hated that feeling achingly.
Whenever he left him behind and went to his family, it was hard. At one point, he wondered if this feeling had become a bit dangerous.
However, that was only for a moment. On the occasion when he had desperately felt how much he needed such things for himself, how much he had been deficient until now, what was so significant about craving affection?
Still, when he was alone at home, he didn’t notice such things because he was used to it. Being alone in a hotel he was visiting for the first time, moreover in a big room, really hit him hard. He thought it would be nice if Lee Euiju were lying right next to him now.
Haeseong got down from the bed and picked up the fallen phone. It was to call him again.
That was when it happened.
Ding dong-.
At the doorbell sound, Haeseong’s body, which had raised his head sharply, froze in place. Soon after, he suddenly ran out stomping his feet.
‘Perhaps……’
Thinking, perhaps, perhaps his manager had come down right away to see him.
Haeseong, who quickly ran to the entrance, urgently opened the door. Haeseong’s two eyes, filled with expectation, sparkled and rippled.
“Oh my, were you very hungry?”
What appeared before his eyes was none other than Team Leader Kim Jaeho holding a tray full of greens. Haeseong’s face openly crumpled.
“Hehe. What’s the occasion that you opened the door this quickly. Did I come too late?”
Kim Jaeho, who had stepped inside, laughed carelessly. After putting down the tray on the table, he casually said to Haeseong who had followed with an unpleasant face.
“After you finish eating and leave it, the staff will take care of it. Then I’ll get going. If anything happens, call me right away.”
“……”
Haeseong, who was staring at the salad on the table while thinking intently about something, suddenly called Kim Jaeho.
“Team Leader-nim.”
“Hm?”
Kim Jaeho, who was about to leave, turned around at the call. Haeseong, who was leaning against the edge of the table with his arms crossed, scanned Kim Jaeho’s body up and down. Those eyes gradually narrowed.
“Why?”
“I got curious about something.”
Haeseong suddenly approached Kim Jaeho with steady steps and grabbed his forearm. At the unexpected situation, Kim Jaeho’s eyes widened enormously. This was because Haeseong had never voluntarily touched him first even once.
“Hm? What……”
“Just a moment.”
Haeseong scanned Kim Jaeho up and down with an indifferent gaze. His eyes also narrowed as if gauging something.
And then.
“Ugh-!”
Surprised, Kim Jaeho let out a stale scream. Because Haeseong had suddenly embraced him.
The scene of Kim Jaeho, who remained at average male height, and Haeseong, who had just grown to average height, hugging was very bizarre. If someone from J Entertainment saw it, it was so grotesque that they would doubt their own eyes and run away as soon as they saw the sight.
Cracks began to form on the face of Team Leader Kim, who had been dazed for a moment, not knowing what situation had occurred.
“Ahhh!”
A rough scream burst out to the degree that anyone would ask if he had been stabbed with a knife. Haeseong, who had grimaced sharply, pushed him away. Due to that, Kim Jaeho stepped back a few steps and fell, rolling on the floor.
Haeseong, who had actually embraced Kim Jaeho without notice, indifferently brushed off the arm and abdomen area that had touched him with a nonchalant face. That touch was quite callous.
“Hae, Haeseong. Wh, wh, what just now……?!”
Kim Jaeho, who had fallen on the floor, couldn’t continue his words and hugged his shoulders with both arms crossed in an X. Since even his legs were gathered together, it was somehow a quite modest gesture.
Wasn’t this Jin Haeseong who was usually so sensitive and threw all kinds of hysterics at the slightest touch? Kim Jaeho had been watching such a him for several years. When such a sensitive Haeseong suddenly came into his arms, naturally he had no choice but to be surprised enough to faint.
