But is it okay to play outside all night? He must have gotten permission from his manager or parents, right?
Since his debut, he’d never been embroiled in any controversy, so he wouldn’t be chugging alcohol at places like clubs.
There was no worry since he’d know well how to keep to an appropriate line where he could be seen cutely. Because even though he looked young, Yeongwon was always admirably good at taking care of his image as an entertainer.
Since it was true that fatigue had accumulated to the point where he couldn’t think about Yeongwon, Jiseo, after roughly finishing his shower, immediately burrowed into the blankets.
He’d removed his makeup and showered cleanly, but he couldn’t bring himself to touch his hair that was fixed with wax.
It was because a premonition suddenly came to mind that would make his body even more tired in the midst of being extremely fatigued.
***
“Get up already, hyung.”
At the voice coming from right in front of his face, Jiseo fumblingly opened his eyes. With a sluggish gaze that hadn’t finished adapting, he slowly looked straight ahead.
Yeongwon, who was naturally buried deep in the pillow he’d handed over a moment ago, met his eyes as if urging him.
“I know… Just a moment.”
Unable to overcome the intensely pouring gaze, Jiseo fumbled and gestured as if asking for understanding.
It meant to wait just 10 minutes. Even though he’d only glimpsed it while half-asleep, he’d caught sight of a face wrapped in excitement.
Same even after sleeping and waking up. Jiseo muttered inwardly with a short sigh.
When he had that kind of face, he’d long had a habit of rambling on with what he wanted to say without pause. To contend with speech so fast it was hard to understand, he first needed to get his wits about him.
First he wanted to wash his hair, but unable to resist the persistent gaze, Jiseo got up and headed to the living room while swallowing a meaningless sigh.
Yeongwon, who had followed him out pattering along, opened his smooth lips wide as soon as he got the chance.
“Since it’s time to keep your promise, I came as early as possible so you could adjust your schedule and prepare mentally, so hurry up and look at me… Hyung, mar…”
“Did you drink with friends yesterday? Didn’t you originally say you’d do the countdown together with hyung while watching the awards ceremony live?”
“I was going to, but you weren’t on screen that much. You already received the award before midnight, so I just played around near home.”
“Can I ask about your first drinking impressions? How much did you drink? Did you get drunk? What about hangovers?”
“The reason I came is more important, but if we’re talking about that first, it was nothing special.”
“It’s your first time drinking at a bar, but your reaction is kind of underwhelming?”
“Not just at a bar—well, I drank alcohol for the first time, period.”
“I know. That’s why hyung is curious.”
Jiseo, who had been looking at Yeongwon who hadn’t even sat down yet and was standing while talking, weakly pulled his arm to sit him on the sofa.
It was still too early to pour out the heat filling his body. It seemed like it would be a long story judging by the business he’d come for today, so he’d turned to a different topic for a while.
Since he’d witnessed Yeongwon chattering away beside him more than once or twice, skillfully buying time was nothing now. He hadn’t been the taciturn type since childhood either, and Yeongwon always had a lot he wanted to say.
Jiseo, who had been constantly adding interjections to the experiences pouring out in a ramble, first gathered clothes to change into and came back out to the living room.
“Not enough to enjoy drinking, but enough to be able to match hyung occasionally.”
“How much did you drink?”
“Quite a lot? Everyone said I’m a good drinker for someone like me?”
“Did you drink soju?”
“Yeah. About three bottles? I played with determination. I won’t be able to play like that anymore.”
“Three whole bottles of soju?”
Jiseo, who had finished what he needed to do without breaking the conversation, asked back with a surprised expression. For a first time, he thought he’d shared and drunk around less than one bottle with other people, but the amount was much larger than expected.
“Yeah. Does it seem like I drink well to hyung too? Do I look a little amazing? How about it?”
Yeongwon, whose face was full of anticipation, sparkled his eyes with an expression hoping for praise.
Unlike his well-behaved appearance, when he got excited he had a personality that squared up and rushed in. So he must have charged in first. Even though it was his first time playing with friends on such a late night, he looked quite satisfied as if he’d enjoyed himself properly.
Though it was just a light topic to divert attention, it was more interesting than expected. To think he’d polished off three whole bottles of soju on his first try. He thought there might be some exaggeration mixed in, but seeing his confident expression, it seemed to be true.
“But you didn’t get drunk?”
“I really didn’t get drunk at all. Even though the time wasn’t that long.”
“……”
“All the other kids got drunk, so I said let’s go home. But everyone kept insisting they wouldn’t go, so I inevitably drank more, but I was the only one fine. Look at me. Right?”
“Drink in moderation. You’re going to cause big trouble like that.”
“After playing like that, I got tired and came home earlier than expected. From now on, I don’t think I’ll worry hyung about drinking.”
“……”
“I’ve played around all I’m going to play now.”
It was only the first day of the new year. Just from having a drinking session with friends until late, Yeongwon boasted that he’d played so wildly it was enough to make one’s tongue wag.
He hadn’t properly asked where and how he’d played, but since he said it was near home, it didn’t seem like he’d done any special transgression.
He wouldn’t have played with determination from early morning until the sun rose again. He wouldn’t have mingled and drunk or played with people he didn’t know.
This was naturally required due to the nature of his profession, but Yeongwon was the same in other ways too. Not only had he never gone on trips with friends, but among the many experiences that exist in the world, he’d only just tried one. And yet what.
Though it was a bit absurd, a smile hung on Jiseo’s lips at the thought that his firm tone was quite cute.
“One day of transgression is enough for me, hyung. And even calling it one day, I had quite a long time to enjoy.”
“……”
“You and I won’t fight over things like that. I won’t worry hyung about playing around and cause problems with your schedule either. I don’t make promises I can’t keep.”
“……”
“Would playing around be important in my life?”
Though resolute, on the other hand, it seemed the first drinking session he’d had didn’t leave very good memories. Or perhaps he was born with a disposition where steadily playing outside didn’t really suit him.
Since there hadn’t been much to transgress during his school days, the first time he encountered it should normally be more thrilling.
Since he hadn’t enjoyed it properly, it would be fitting to evaluate it as uninteresting, but if that wasn’t it… perhaps he was deliberately pretending not to be interested.
It was probably the latter. That was the cute point.
Yeongwon had often been like that even when young. Even when he wanted toys, if he couldn’t whine or the atmosphere was such that they wouldn’t buy them, he’d deliberately not show interest. Even now, when he was pretending something fun wasn’t fun, he was still cute.
“Hyung, about marriage.”
Of course, there was no time to indulge in such trivial sentiments.
Jiseo naturally changed the subject.
“Was that playing around? Wasn’t it uninteresting because you played too little?”
“……”
“You sound just like a kid who drank yogurt in a character drink bottle cap. You should have transgressed more steadily instead of hyung.”
Though it felt like his conscience was pricked as if he was encouraging a kid who just became an adult to play wildly, if he stopped here, regret would surely rush in someday.
Jiseo had often seen such cases around him. Those who entered the entertainment industry at a young age like Yeongwon were mainly like that. They’d expressed belated disappointment and sometimes caused accidents out of regret.
In fact, even without being pushed, as time passed, the desire to play naturally became stronger. There would be many occasions where he’d have to enjoy even without interest.
That’s why he could just wait for such moments to quietly arrive, but he couldn’t help but add a comment. If he didn’t open it up now, it seemed like Yeongwon would bury many pleasures with his own hands forever.
Yeongwon had enough tenacity to do that and more. Jiseo could be confident it was an accurate interpretation from someone who’d watched him for a long time.
