“Yeah, didn’t you know? Since hyung hurt his leg, everyone’s going home to rest for a bit……”
“Ah. I think they talked about it when Jion wasn’t around.”
“……Sigh……”
The manager’s sloppy announcement reminded him of the contact information leak incident he’d briefly forgotten, and a sigh came out naturally. It was frustrating work handling, but still, a vacation was a good thing. Trying to think positively, Jion managed his expression.
“So, when do we start resting?”
“Starting tomorrow!”
Eungi shouted excitedly. Eungi’s father still thought unfavorably of his son’s entertainment industry activities, but after his mother’s persuasion and watching the vlogs his son uploaded, he had softened somewhat. He’d heard there was an internal analysis that the more active BNCZ’s activities became, the better the impact on the company’s stock price.
“I’ll go home and pack tons of side dishes to bring back. I gotta steal all the shampoo and conditioner too.”
Was he going to his parents’ home to rest or to clean the place out? Seeing Eungi’s eyes sparkling as he said he’d already prepared an empty suitcase, Ryu Geon and Jinyeong applauded.
“I reserved a bus ticket to go see my grandmother too.”
Ryu Geon’s grandmother had recently entered a nursing home. Until now he hadn’t been able to establish himself so he had no face to go see her, but thanks to doing music show activities briefly this time, his grandmother had bragged about him to people around her.
“The grandmothers living together with her ask me to take pictures when I appear…… haha.”
“I’m going home after a long time too, my mom set up a family gathering.”
“If you guys prepare for the next single, I’ll get busy too. I should go home after a while too. My mother really likes you guys. I should get autographs today.”
Even if it wasn’t a triumphant return home, this was enough to be a successful hometown visit. But even as the members and Hyundae cheerfully announced their vacation plans, only Seonwoo Jin silently sipped his drink alone.
The others were already drunk and didn’t notice that only Seonwoo Jin wasn’t saying anything, but Jion, who wasn’t drinking alcohol, noticed he was quiet and glanced at him.
Does he not have plans to visit home?
Now that he thought about it, he didn’t know anything about Seonwoo Jin’s family relationships or home environment. That his mother resembled him, maybe? Jion sipped his beverage while sneaking glances at Seonwoo Jin, but there was no particular change in his expression.
He just sipped the soju-beer mix that Jinyeong had coolly mixed in a perfect 5:5 ratio with an indifferent face. While Jion wondered whether to ask about vacation plans or not, the members’ conversation topic moved beyond the vacation.
“But what kind of feeling should we go for in our next activities?”
“This time really sexy? Isn’t it time for Geon hyung to take his clothes off?”
“What are you talking about taking offffff……”
More excited about preparing for activities after the vacation than the joy of the vacation itself, the members chattered one by one and looked at Jion. Their attitude was that it was natural for Jion to decide everything. Only then did Jion startle and concentrate on the members’ conversation.
“Huh? Uh, well. But we haven’t fully established ourselves yet, and the image hasn’t fully stuck, so I think it’d be good to go with a concept that’s a bit more innocent and upbeat one more time.”
“Won’t it be boring if the song feeling overlaps too much?”
“Ah, among the songs I received from Hyundae hyung, there was an upbeat song with a bit different feeling from this one. How about we go with that?”
When activity talk came up, the atmosphere became both lively and serious. Based on the fans’ reactions he’d monitored while lying down, Jion proposed a concept.
“Last time it was boyish charm, right? This time, how about a college student kind of feeling? Not too young, but not too sharp either.”
“What’s a college student kind of feeling?”
“Uh…… well……”
At the mention of a college student feeling, the members looked at each other’s faces and held back their words. Unfortunately, all of BNCZ were high school graduates. The pre-regression Jion had graduated from college, but it was a cyber university so he didn’t really know what a college student feeling was like. Jion waved his hand in confusion.
“That, conceptual? College student?”
The only one among them who had graduated from college was Hyundae, so Jion looked at Hyundae with eyes hoping for salvation, but too unfortunately, Hyundae was a total loner of loners, the king of outsiders, so he didn’t really know what a typical college life was like. Rather, the word college life seemed to stimulate his trauma, and Hyundae avoided Jion’s pleading gaze and just drank.
“Anyway…… that kind of thing…… let’s do that kind of thing…… a bit more mature than boys but still lively and wholesome…… that kind of thing……”
For the first time, Jion lost confidence in proposing a concept. Still, the general feeling was conveyed to the members. Jinyeong, who had been momentarily discouraged, nodded as if he understood.
“So basically not too sailor uniform, socks up to the calves, not that kind of thing, right?”
“Right.”
As expected, Jinyeong had high concept comprehension. At the words that he didn’t need to strip, Ryu Geon also felt relieved and picked up the sausage he’d put down.
“I haven’t been able to exercise lately so my body fat percentage went up a bit.”
“Hyung, you can stop now.”
“Still, if I have to strip……”
How could someone with such a good body lack confidence like this? Ryu Geon’s self-esteem deficiency issue was as serious as Seonwoo Jin’s severe affection deficiency, and Jion felt the need to intensively care for Ryu Geon after Seonwoo Jin was somewhat stabilized.
“Hyung, you’re doing great. Come on, come on. Drink, drink.”
Jion, who was playing the role of the group’s unofficial producer and mental pillar, proposed a toast to boost the members’ morale. Accidentally picking up the hearty soju-beer glass Seonwoo Jin had set down on his side.
“Come on, cheers!”
And when Seonwoo Jin, who had drunk Jion’s beverage without knowing the glasses had switched, belatedly looked for his drink, it was already too late. The soju-beer that had been in Seonwoo Jin’s glass had all gone down Jion’s throat.
“Ah!”
“Uh……?”
As everyone already knew well, Jion was BNCZ’s top lightweight. Having carelessly downed the soju-beer in one shot, Jion swayed from the drunkenness rushing up, and Seonwoo Jin quickly wrapped his arm around Jion’s shoulder and made him lean on him.
“Did I just? Drink alcohol?”
“Yeah. I guess our glasses got switched. Sorry.”
“No? Why are you sorry?”
Seeing Jion speak while forcing his eyes wide open, Seonwoo Jin realized he was drunk. It was because Jion’s eyes, pretending to be fine, weren’t fixed on anything and were wandering all over. Seonwoo Jin sighed and poured water into Jion’s glass.
“Here, drink water.”
“Thanks.”
“Oh, hey! Not that!”
But the completely drunk Jion, instead of drinking the water poured for him, picked up Eungi’s drink sitting next to him, and before Seonwoo Jin could stop him, coolly emptied the glass. At least it was fortunate that the glass wasn’t full thanks to Eungi drinking intermittently.
“Does water taste? Carbonated-ish? Kind of, ugh?”
“………”
Was it because he drank alcohol while off guard? Or was it because the soju-beer ratio Jinyeong mixed was excessively merciless? Jion twisted his head this way and that with each sentence, acting cutely in a way that wasn’t acting cute. Facing the lightweight’s aegyo, Seonwoo Jin was wrapped in indescribably complicated feelings.
He’s cute, but I wish he wouldn’t do this in front of other people, and he’s cute, but seeing him unable to control his body from being drunk makes me feel helpless, and he’s cute, but I’m worried if it’s bad for inflammation since he hurt his ankle too, and he’s cute but…….
Seonwoo Jin looked around the drinking table that had become fully excited. The alcohol that he’d wondered when they’d finish was almost hitting bottom, and it had long passed 11 o’clock. The others also seemed like they could clean up and sleep on their own once the gathering broke up, so Seonwoo Jin sneakily wrapped his arm around Jion’s waist and stood up from his seat.
“Jion seems tired, so I’ll put him to bed.”
“Oh, okay. Come back out after you put him to bed.”
“Yeah, let’s drink among us real adults now!”
What more were they going to drink when there was no alcohol left? Moreover, Ryu Geon, who seemed the most excited, had to go down to the countryside on the first train tomorrow. Seonwoo Jin halfheartedly said yes, yes, and supported Jion into the room.
Seonwoo Jin dragged Jion into the bathroom and handed him a toothbrush with toothpaste squeezed on it.
“Here, brush your teeth.”
Before the fight, he was always the one acting spoiled and demanding Jion’s care, but now that the situation was reversed like this, his feelings were strange. It was cute how Jion clung to him like a baby……
Maybe because the cold war had been too long, being stuck to Jion like this felt somehow awkward and embarrassing. Kind of stimulating too. Seonwoo Jin brushed his teeth together with Jion stuck to his side and sneakily checked his pants in the mirror. Fortunately, the stimulation he’d received didn’t show too much.
“Here, water. Rinse your mouth.”
“Hweuuuu……”
“Don’t rinse so cutely and half-heartedly……”
After helping Jion spit out the tooth-rinsing water too, Seonwoo Jin supported Jion out of the bathroom. Seonwoo Jin’s original plan was to take on the role of a somewhat mature guardian, take Jion to bed, lay him down well, pat him comfortingly, then return to his own bed and lie down.
“Huaaaa…… I wanna sleep here……”
But Seonwoo Jin was accustomed to receiving care, not to giving care to others, so he didn’t anticipate that Jion, after leaving the bathroom, would throw himself onto his bed without walking more than a few steps.
