“Evan hyung. If there’s a delicious place, tell us too. How petty are you, eating just the two of you? Eating delicious food just the two of you! Totally petty. Right?”
Yechan picked up a piece of steak in front of him and put it in his mouth. It was originally hard to read the rapidly scrolling chat window, but now it was even more chaotic. Well, it made sense since the fans saw Evan hyung and Siwoo hyung, who were endlessly mentioned in discord rumors, in the same room.
“You didn’t even ask.”
Evan grumbled as he saw Yechan and Siwoo sitting side by side.
Excuse me. The relationship between you two seems the same as before.
Suddenly remembering the two bickering over tteokbokki and fish cake soup, the corners of Siwoo’s mouth gently curved upward.
“Wow. Steak. Really delicious.”
“That’s Coco’s. Eat this one.”
Yechan was eating a piece of steak with a new fork in front of him when he stared at Evan, who was saying something unbelievable.
And the live stream that had been going well until now ended.
It absolutely wasn’t Yechan’s mistake—he deliberately ended it.
“Try this salad too. Everything’s delicious.”
Unaware the live stream had ended, Siwoo now offered Yechan the salad.
“What’s going on?”
It wasn’t a bright broadcasting voice. Right now, Yechan’s expression was more serious than ever, and he stared at Evan and Siwoo with grave eyes.
The artificially created excited atmosphere from just moments ago sank in an instant.
Not understanding the situation, Siwoo unnecessarily rubbed the back of his neck with his hand and leaned back in his chair.
Were Evan and Yechan’s relationship bad too? Chan and Yechan seemed very comfortable together.
Even the way Chan treated him was like that. He easily embraced him, and the skinship was natural.
What’s the problem? He was too tired to get involved in these two’s problems as well.
Isn’t this day over yet?
It was clearly a subtle situation with Evan, when suddenly Yechan’s voice interjected.
Like waking from sleep, regression happened that way.
After that, he’d taken a long flight not knowing where he was going or what would happen. At least he’d slept during that time, otherwise Siwoo’s stamina was already scraping the bottom. In a way, it wasn’t an exaggeration to say he was enduring with mental strength alone.
“Kang Yechan. What are you doing?”
Siwoo’s gaze, which had been about to close his eyes while tilting his head back and relaxing his body, landed on Evan. He thought he’d spent quite a bit of time with him, but this kind of voice with this kind of tone was a first.
“It’s suddenly strange, you know. The atmosphere during filming earlier, and even last night, do you know how hard Siwoo hyung struggled?”
Following Evan’s voice, which was full of a coercive feeling, this time Yechan openly confronted him.
“It’s between Siwoo and me. It’s not for you to comment on.”
“It’s worse because hyung is being coercive. You’re not like this with other members, but only demanding and nagging at Siwoo hyung. Among us, the person who performs the best is Siwoo hyung, you know? But because hyung keeps saying he’s lacking, Siwoo hyung doesn’t sleep and practices all night long. What more can he do here?”
In an instant, Siwoo’s expression hardened.
As their voices grew rough and the atmosphere darkened, he felt the air becoming heavy at the same time. It didn’t make sense, but the air that he’d been naturally inhaling and exhaling until just now had become heavy.
Also, emotions that weren’t his own began to pass over intact.
After Yechan’s words, only silence remained. A situation where it seemed like they might come to blows at any moment.
It was Yechan who quietly came to find him alone and worried about him. And Yechan’s anger now was also related to himself. He wasn’t sure exactly how problematic their relationship was, but Yechan was venting his complaints to Evan on his behalf.
Siwoo straightened his body with a long sigh.
“Both of you, stop. Yechan, what are you doing to hyung right now? I practice because I’m lacking, and of course I should try to make a perfect stage. And Evan, you need to be softer, softer. Both of you, rein in your pheromones. Even I, a beta, can tell.”
As soon as the words ended, breathing became easier. This is ridiculous, really.
He’s not even an omega and he can really feel pheromones?
“Hyung.”
“You go to Sangjun hyung’s room right now and do the live again. Apologize properly while pretending that you accidentally turned it off like that. Say that Evan and I just wanted to rest comfortably.”
What’s good is good.
Even the cheerful, positive Siwoo couldn’t help but show his sensitivity now.
It would be better to just go back to his room and sleep. He stood up first, leaving the two sitting there.
Unlike the hesitant Yechan, Evan’s hand grabbed Siwoo’s wrist. But Siwoo, who twisted his wrist, easily escaped from his hand. Siwoo looked alternately at the two people looking up at him and left the room without lingering. And he entered his room and jumped onto the bed.
His heart felt like it would burst.
It had been truly a long time since regression was this painful. The first few times, he struggled with the repeated life, but as it continued, he gave up to some extent and accepted it obediently.
Siwoo, who had pulled the blanket up to the top of his head, suddenly got up from his spot and frantically rummaged through his travel trunk.
And upon finding the small container he’d expected, he sat down on the floor.
He’d wondered. He never expected that this would be here too.
This time too, even after debuting like this and becoming the top idol he’d wanted and wanted so much, there must have been nights when he couldn’t fall asleep.
[Sleep Aid]
Opening the container and taking out the pill wasn’t difficult. He held one pill in his mouth, opened the mini fridge, drank water, and swallowed the pill.
Knock knock-.
“Evan. If you eat now, you’ll get indigestion. I want to be alone, so don’t come looking for me.”
When he burrowed back into bed, no more knocking sounds were heard. Whether Siwoo wanted it or not, he fell into a deep sleep.
* * *
Evan, who had been scrolling through his phone, eventually ended up throwing it away.
After arriving at the hotel and being with the members and staff, he did read the subtle flow. What Jaehyung was saying was strange, and even during filming, he saw the other members particularly watching him and Siwoo.
And the moment Yechan snapped at him, he was dumbfounded.
In a situation where he didn’t know what kind of trouble he had caused or what the problem was, he couldn’t even answer rashly.
He couldn’t properly control his raging pheromones.
Siwoo’s face, pale as a sheet. His sunken low voice and the gaze that looked coldly at him and Yechan all clearly came to mind.
When Siwoo suddenly left, only silence remained in the room.
Soon, mumbling “Hyung, I’m sorry,” even Yechan left.
He wasn’t sure what to do. Until now, he had controlled every situation.
The continuously repeated debut, activities, and even the live broadcasts—he interfered. It seemed like a live stream showing a natural and comfortable appearance, but Ocean’s live streams were thoroughly calculated broadcasts.
The degree of freedom was high, but they set a basic concept before starting.
Everything moved as desired within the palm of his hand.
He was a member of Ocean, but he was also a planner and an investor.
A repeating future. Having already experienced the situation, he avoided everything that would be helpful and everything that would be problematic, and was called the hand of Midas.
He knows why Yechan got angry at him. Though he hadn’t experienced it or seen it, everything Yechan said was probably true. Because he was a perfectionist, he wasn’t lenient toward the mistakes or shortcomings of fellow members. If Siwoo seemed lacking to him, he would have poured out words that would hurt him.
Moreover, if the main song for the second album was ‘Lucifer,’ it was even more a time to push hard.
Not even once had Evan been intimate with the members. They were just people on the same team performing the same project. He’d maintained only that level of relationship. It didn’t make sense that he, whom he didn’t know, had suddenly reformed and formed an intimate relationship with them.
He went to Siwoo’s room, but what came back was a cold response.
What Evan had done since returning to his room was staring at his phone.
This was all that could give him information right now.
He scrolled through the messages and call lists exchanged with many people.
Finding Siwoo in that list was too difficult. He hadn’t called Siwoo in a month.
There were only a few messages exchanged just between the two.
They were all short answers, but their conflict situation was fully dissolved in them.
The last message came last night.
[See you tomorrow. Sorry I got so angry last time. Let’s not blush when we meet again.]
And Evan didn’t reply to that message.
What’s happening and how? Why did their relationship get so bad, and how long had this conflict situation lasted?
Then was Siwoo, who had been with him today, enduring all that uncomfortable feeling and trying hard to act nonchalant?
His head was complicated like a tangled thread.
And something suddenly burrowed in.
He couldn’t read Siwoo’s emotions. When he was with him, he didn’t read all his emotions in real time. But when emotional changes occurred intensely, he could tell.
But today, just now when Siwoo left this room, Evan didn’t know his emotions.
Whether he was angry, sad, or uncomfortable. He couldn’t sense it at all.
Evan lay down on the bed as he was.
And then he looked at his hands. Was the fortunate thing that he could feel Siwoo’s pheromones? Certainly at the airport, he couldn’t feel them. He couldn’t read Siwoo’s pheromones or emotions. Everything had disappeared as if he’d become a beta.
But now he vaguely felt his pheromones. That sweet scent he knew well seemed to linger at the tip of his nose.
Evan, who had been blankly looking at the ceiling, lay face down and buried his face in the pillow. His head was a tangled mess with nothing properly defined.
Siwoo definitely told him and Yechan to rein in their pheromones. Does that mean he’s now aware?
But Siwoo is a beta.
His profile openly states he’s a beta.
He’s still a hidden omega.
Now it doesn’t matter whether Siwoo is an omega, beta, or alpha.
Just him. If it’s Siwoo. If it’s Kim Siwoo. No.
Only Kim Siwoo.
