Inhan continued to talk to Yuho.
“What about the live broadcast? Did it go well?”
“Yeah. I just finished. I didn’t know I’d end up doing it twice in one day.”
“You worked hard.”
“You too. You worked hard all day.”
“Then I’ll go in to organize my luggage.”
“Ah, okay. Sure.”
Inhan, who had thought they would continue the conversation, left the living room without lingering. Only Yuho felt regretful as he watched Inhan’s retreating figure.
Inhan left one suitcase in front of the room door and received another suitcase from Yeomin. Then he turned around again and asked Yuho.
“Yuho-hyung. Can you help me for a moment?”
“Okay. Should I?”
Yuho readily answered and got up from his seat. At the same time, Yeomin expressed his dissatisfaction to Inhan.
“Jung Inhan, who are you to boss around our Hyo-hyung?”
“Yeomin. I’m fine though……”
“That’s right. Who are you to bother our dorm member?”
This time even Raulie joined in to scold Inhan. Yuho’s words that he was fine didn’t seem to reach them.
“Raul. Hyung is really fine.”
“Yuho-hyung says he’s fine. Why are you hyungs making a fuss?”
“Yuho-hyung, you can’t. Don’t go.”
“Huh?”
“Are you going to play with only Inhan again, leaving me out?”
Yeomin grabbed Yuho’s arm and sent a pitiful look. He was sulking about Yuho staying overnight at Inhan’s house without saying anything the previous day, so Yuho couldn’t bear to turn away.
“Then I’ll help for just an hour and come back.”
“10 minutes.”
“30 minutes.”
“15 minutes?”
“Let’s do 30 minutes.”
“Okay. Then you have to come back in exactly 30 minutes.”
“Okay. I will.”
Yuho had no choice but to answer and leave his seat. He regretted that if he’d known this would happen, he should have gone to Inhan’s house instead of telling Inhan to come.
“What should I organize first?”
As soon as Yuho entered the room, he asked Inhan. Inhan neatly lined up the two suitcases next to the door and said to Yuho.
“I didn’t really call you to help.”
“Then?”
“Because I wanted to see you.”
At Inhan’s penetrating comment, Yuho hesitated for a moment. At that sight, Inhan suppressed a laugh and pointed at the large suitcase with his hand.
“Everything in this big suitcase is yours, so take it later when the other hyungs aren’t around.”
“Really? All of this?”
“Yes. It’s nothing special, just sponsored items I’ve been collecting. Things you’d like.”
“Thanks. For always taking care of me like this.”
“It’s really nothing special, so don’t expect too much.”
“Still.”
Curious about the contents, Yuho tried moving the suitcase slightly. It was quite heavy, as if it wasn’t just filled with clothes.
Wondering how many things had been collected to fill a 28-inch suitcase, Yuho felt grateful yet also realized the gap that had existed between them. It had been a burdensome time for both of them.
“Hyung. Come sit here.”
Before he knew it, Inhan was sitting on the inner bed and patting the outer bed. Yuho obediently approached and sat across from Inhan. At the same time, Inhan carefully asked a question.
“Did you see me receive the award today?”
“Ah, yeah. Congratulations on the popularity award.”
“What about my acceptance speech?”
“……I saw that too.”
Yuho answered while avoiding eye contact in embarrassment. He hadn’t thought Inhan would openly confess his love on a live broadcast.
“Did it show obviously?”
“Yeah, a lot.”
“Ah. I’m going to get an earful from Taylor-hyung.”
“But you don’t really care about that kind of thing anyway.”
“That’s true.”
Yuho thought Taylor’s worry wasn’t unwarranted. If it was this much even before they were officially dating, it was easy to predict how he’d act like an unbridled colt once they started a relationship.
“I meant it sincerely.”
Inhan quickly wiped away his smile and spoke to Yuho with a serious face.
“I know how much I wronged you, hyung, so I understand that you can’t trust me, and I know it’s too shameless of me to covet you…… but still, I hope we can be together for a very long time.”
At Inhan’s words, countless emotions surged within Yuho. He thought it was distinctly different from the past Inhan who jokingly talked about forever.
“So no matter how long it takes, slowly, carefully, please come to me.”
“……”
“It doesn’t matter how late it is, I just need you to come to me, hyung.”
“Inhan.”
“Yes?”
“Can I hug you just once?”
In the end, Yuho couldn’t hold back and asked Inhan.
“Ten million times is possible.”
Inhan readily answered and spread his arms. Yuho got up from his seat and approached Inhan. Then he wrapped both arms around Inhan’s neck. Thanks to Inhan sitting on the bed, this time Yuho was properly able to embrace Inhan.
The two remained in contact with each other for a while. Yuho barely held back the confession that had risen to the tip of his chin. He wanted to convey it to Inhan in a more wonderful way.
“Then, I’ll be going.”
A moment later, Yuho awkwardly removed the arms he’d wrapped around Inhan’s neck. Inhan asked in puzzlement.
“Already?”
“Yeah. You should sleep. You have to leave early tomorrow.”
“And you have an audition tomorrow, hyung.”
“Yeah.”
“Want to sleep over?”
“What?”
“The bed next to me happens to be empty.”
Inhan gestured with his head toward the bed he was sitting on. Without panicking, Yuho said at once.
“No. That won’t do.”
“I’m joking.”
“Yeomin will sulk. He’s already mad that I slept at your house yesterday without saying anything.”
“Still. Stay a little longer before you go.”
“Okay.”
Yuho obediently answered and sat back on the bed. Then after the promised 30 minutes with Yeomin passed, he returned to his room. Inhan regretfully walked Yuho to the room door.
* * *
It was after dawn broke.
Various entertainment news categories were flooding with articles about Inhan and Yeomin’s remarks at the award ceremony.
‘Seven Spot on the path to disbandment… Inhan and Yeomin “Want to stand on stage as a complete group next year too”.’
‘Predicted disbandment? Inhan expresses concern about Seven Spot activities…”Hope we can be together for a long time”.’
‘[Official] Seven Spot disbandment? SS says contract period still remains… “Too early to mention disbandment”.’
‘”Just expressing love for the group” Seven Spot’s Inhan clarifies disbandment suspicions.’
Already there were not only official statements from the agency but even direct clarification articles from Inhan. Yuho once again felt disgusted by the company’s work style, which was only fast in responding to matters like this.
Yuho – [Are you okay? Didn’t you get yelled at by the CEO?]
Worried about Inhan, Yuho sent a message first. It was obvious how much nagging the CEO must have done.
Inhan – [Nothing happened] [Thanks for worrying]
A reply came back from Inhan saying he was fine. There was no way to know if there really was nothing.
Director Yoon Seongjin’s film audition was held at 2 PM.
Yuho sat in the waiting area and looked around at the people nearby. There were several actors whose faces he recognized, though he couldn’t remember their names.
“Seon Yuho-nim. Please come in.”
Yuho entered the audition room following the staff’s guidance.
In the judges’ seats sat not only the assistant directors he’d seen in the first round, but also Director Yoon Seongjin and a famous producer.
Yuho took a deep breath to relieve his tension. Then he headed to the chair prepared in the center.
“Hello. I’m Seon Yuho. I look forward to working with you.”
“Seon Yuho-ssi?”
“Yes?”
“You look so different after changing your hair color. I almost didn’t recognize you.”
Yoon Seongjin spoke to him first as soon as Yuho sat down. Yuho tried not to panic as he answered him.
“Yes. I look a bit more subdued than back then, right?”
“Yeah, well. The current vibe isn’t bad either.”
“Thank you.”
“Then let’s hear the assigned lines once.”
“Yes.”
Yuho performed the prepared assigned lines and free lines, and showed off his special skills of one-handed cartwheels and splits.
“And I won the bronze medal in the 60m sprint at last year’s Idol Olympics.”
He didn’t forget to appeal his running ability. This was because the role he applied for was a bottom-of-society character who constantly ran away and got into physical fights.
Fortunately, the producer showed interest in Yuho’s words.
“Who won the gold medal?”
“Jung Inhan won that.”
“Ah. You two are in the same group, right?”
“Yes. We’re the six-member idol group Seven Spot.”
“But you have completely different vibes.”
“Our group is a team where various types of faces are gathered together.”
In a way, it was also saying they were discordant, but Yuho tried his best to package it positively.
“Is that so?”
“Yes. That’s why depending on each member’s characteristics, we can try everything from cute, sexy, innocent, to cool. Among them, I’m in charge of cuteness.”
“……Is that so?”
“Yes.”
Before he knew it, Yuho had rattled off even unnecessary things. This isn’t right. By the time he realized he’d entered the wrong path, the atmosphere had already sunk.
And then Director Yoon Seongjin, who had looked serious the whole time, opened his mouth.
“We’re scheduled to crank in next April – do you have any overlapping schedules?”
“Ah. I do have drama filming scheduled for February, but it’s at most about 4 episodes. I can adjust.”
“I see.”
“Yes.”
“Then you can go.”
“……Yes. Then I hope you have a good end of the year and happy new year in advance. Goodbye.”
At the director’s indifferent reaction, Yuho felt uneasy, but maintained a bright expression until the end as he exited the audition room. His feeling wasn’t particularly good.
Inhan – [Did the audition go well?]
Yuho – [Noㅜㅜ]
Inhan – [Oh no] [There will be better opportunities]
Yuho – [Yeah…]
It seemed like the conclusion was that this audition was a failure. I shouldn’t have done the splits. He thought maybe it was a bit much.
Inhan – [Are you going to the dorm now?]
Yuho thought for a moment. He’d finished the important audition, so there was nothing more to worry about. So he thought he should now resolve the most important issue.
Yuho – [Your award ceremony ends at 9, right?]
Inhan – [Yes, it starts at 6 so it should end around then]
Yuho – [Then should we meet after it ends?]
Inhan – [Where? Outside?]
Yuho contemplated for a moment before sending a reply.
Yuho – [At your place]
Then he flipped his phone face down on his lap. He felt like he’d done something tremendous.
