A beautiful lake.
A cool breeze unlike the scorching sunlight.
A well-maintained lawn.
The most ideal space for a picnic spread out widely.
“Aaah! Evan…… Evan hyung!”
It would have been an incredibly peaceful and tranquil atmosphere if not for Yechan’s scream, which literally sounded like a pig being slaughtered, and people’s excited laughter.
Siwoo sat in a chair placed in the shade of a tree, drinking cool lemonade while slowly stroking the soft fur of Roxy sitting on his thigh.
The filming in England went smoothly. The photo shoot was also completed successfully, and the CF ended without any major problems. And right now, the Ocean members and staff were at Evan’s house.
He’d mentioned in passing that he wanted to come back with the members. He wanted to show everyone the scenery unique to the castle. How many times would one get to see such a well-maintained private property rather than a tourist spot? It seemed like it would be a good memory not only for the members and staff but also for the fan club ‘Nemo.’
He did offer the opinion thinking that way, but he never expected filming to actually take place like this.
‘Coco. Do you really want to film ‘Ocean Story’ at my house?’
‘Huh? I thought that would be nice too. Not the inside of the house or your and your parents’ private spaces, but should I say the overall atmosphere? The garden area with the lake in the back seemed good for outdoor filming. I thought it would be nice to show this scenery to Nemo too. Of course, this is just my thought.’
‘Okay.’
That was the end of the conversation with Evan.
And the day before departure. Everyone gathered here.
It wasn’t about creating a new program that didn’t exist. They were just filming ‘Ocean Story,’ Ocean’s own channel, here. The Ocean channel had episodes they constantly filmed and their live streams, but there was also their own variety program called ‘Ocean Story.’
He didn’t know when the broadcast they were filming now would air, but they steadily filmed their own variety show whenever they had time. Filming continued both overseas and domestically, even during off-seasons. Since the Ocean team was formed, there was a lot of content showing the process of them getting close even when they were trainees.
Ocean had been idols even before debut, and was a project group planned with various programs for fans and accurately grasping their needs. It was so different from the idols Siwoo had been part of until now. Whenever Siwoo had time, he searched for Ocean’s videos and materials or scrolled through his phone containing conversations with members or the agency.
Each time, he felt only one thing. If his past self had known this, those teams probably wouldn’t have remained as ‘flop idols.’
“Evan hyung! Hyung!”
That gentle, kind Rush who would flip over on his belly and act cute asking to be petted when bored wasn’t here right now. Upon seeing the people who suddenly crowded in, he didn’t hide his uncomfortable feelings and revealed them.
Eventually, he was led by Evan’s hand and confined.
When did he escape again? Moreover, Rush’s target right now was Yechan.
From Yechan’s perspective, he was in a tremendous situation, but to Siwoo watching from afar, it looked different.
The vigorous Rush had chosen Yechan as the person who seemed like he would play with him the best. If Rush had seriously charged at him, a big incident would have already erupted, and Evan would have resolved the situation before that.
Rush chasing after Yechan absolutely never overtook Yechan or nipped at him. He just chased him as he ran away avoiding him. As if it were a game.
“Yechan!”
Unable to watch any longer, Siwoo called him first.
“Hueeeong. Siwoo hyung. Evan hyung…… hyung……”
Yechan, breathless from running around, couldn’t even connect his words properly.
At first, he watched because it was fun, but seeing Yechan sweating made him look a bit pitiful. A few days ago, revenge for stubbornly not putting him down when he asked seemed enough now.
“Rush!”
It wasn’t even that loud. It was a sound that would easily be buried in the space noisy with filming preparations.
Rush, who had been crazily following Yechan, stood upright in that spot and perked up his ears. Rush also seemed to be struggling from running around, visibly panting.
Since he made eye contact with Rush, Siwoo didn’t speak but lightly gestured with his hand.
While doing so, he picked up a water bottle and shook it.
“Did you have fun playing?”
Though there was quite a distance, Rush ran over in an instant and sat down next to Siwoo, his bottom touching.
Rush’s gaze, panting heavily, quickly reached Yechan, who was still standing in the same spot. And he barked loudly in response.
A smile naturally formed on Siwoo’s lips as it seemed he really had fun.
“Stop following him around now. Yechan says it’s hard. We have to film soon too, and we can’t lose energy already.”
When he stroked the panting Rush’s neck and brought a freshly opened water bottle to his mouth, the 500mL bottle quickly disappeared. Even in the midst of that, seeing his tail constantly wagging, it seemed he still wanted to play more.
“Huk…… Huh…… Hyung. Why…… does he…… hyung…… listen to you?”
Seeing Rush had become docile, Yechan approached him while catching his breath, glanced at Rush, then plopped down on the chair next to him. He pulled out the straw stuck in the lemonade glass Siwoo had left and put his lips to the glass, gulping it down.
“Rush wants to play with you. Because you run away screaming, it’s more fun so he chases you.”
“Phew. Refreshing…… Then…… you should have stopped him earlier. Ah! Really exhausting.”
Flapping his top, Yechan leaned back in the chair.
“You didn’t put me down when I asked you to either.”
Siwoo picked up the fan on the table and fanned Rush, who had his tongue hanging out long.
“Ah…… that was……”
“Rush. Bite.”
“Aaah! Hyung!”
Not knowing when he came, when Evan handed over a glass full of lemonade, Siwoo, who received it, burst out laughing loudly. As if waiting for Evan’s words, Rush, who had been sitting obediently, stood up and barked loudly. Moreover, everything about Yechan, who had been sprawled out saying he was dying until just now, suddenly jumping up was too funny.
Spending time like this with people who made him feel comfortable was always enjoyable. He decided to let the relationship with Evan flow naturally. And Yechan.
Kang Yechan. Our giant baby. As the group’s youngest and mood maker, he was exactly as he knew him.
“Rush won’t bite. Evan, why are you like that to Yechan? You could have stopped them earlier.”
“They played well together.”
Where does it look like they played well? Siwoo bit the straw stuck in the lemonade he’d just received. As he felt last time, this seemed to be the most delicious lemonade he’d ever had in his life.
“It wasn’t playing, it was really scary.”
When Yechan grumbled, seemingly having caught his breath, Evan playfully tapped his forearm.
“Coward.”
“I’m not.”
“If you ran away because Rush was chasing you, it’s already over.”
Hmm. That doesn’t seem right. Siwoo looked at Rush again, who was sitting with his bottom attached, enjoying being petted. It was fortunate that he was friendly and staying calm like this with him, but thinking about if Rush charged at him sent chills through him.
“No matter how I think about it, Evan hyung hates me.”
At the joke that could only be made between really close people, Siwoo slightly moved only his eyebrow.
“That’s not true, I like you.”
The lemonade glass in Siwoo’s hand naturally passed to Evan’s hand. And Evan used the straw Siwoo had just been using to drink the lemonade.
“That’s not true. I think you hate me.”
Yechan answered without backing down, sat back down, and crunched on the ice remaining in the glass.
“I said I like you.”
“I’m sure you hate me.”
“Okay. You both like me? Let’s conclude it that way.”
Siwoo, who intervened in their argument, smiled and grabbed Rush’s face with both hands, rubbing it roughly and playing around.
“No. Our giant baby likes me.”
“Huk.”
At Chan’s words that suddenly interjected, Yechan missed the timing to respond and quickly inhaled. Siwoo, who had been making eye contact with Rush, slightly turned his head to look at Yechan. Yechan’s ears, who had been playing word games with Evan until just now, were red.
“What? Hey, Yechan. You don’t like me?”
When Chan, speaking nonchalantly, tapped the forearm of Yechan sitting in the chair, Yechan quickly stood up from his seat and Chan sat there.
“I like. No, I don’t like…… That’s not it, I like……”
“Oh my. Look at the rapper stuttering.”
Yechan had no allies here. As soon as he stuttered, Evan quickly teased him. Only Yechan, who seemed flustered, waved his hands in the air saying no.
“Don’t tease our youngest. I know our giant baby likes me. It’s enough that I know, why are you like that? Our youngest just has to trust and follow hyung.”
Chan, who smiled brightly, patted the bottom of Yechan standing next to him with his hand, and Yechan, whose face had turned red, poured all the remaining ice in the glass into his mouth and chewed noisily.
“Then. Does hyung like Yechan?”
If he can’t ask himself, someone next to him should ask instead.
It wasn’t certain, but looking at Yechan’s reaction now, it seemed he was thinking of Chan with feelings a bit too complicated to purely be joking around.
That day. The conversation they had on the rooftop came to mind.
It was difficult because the person he liked was the same idol. The sight of him struggling was vivid in his eyes.
But now they’re in the same group. Talking comfortably like this and sharing the same space. Whether they want to see each other or not, they have to spend time face to face.
The kind of relationship where you can slip truth into jokes like this.
Just like Evan and me.
“Of course. How much do I like our youngest? Bring me a truckload of kids like Evan. Would I trade our Yechan?”
Chan naturally reached out to Roxy, who occupied Siwoo’s lap, and Roxy, who seemed to like being touched by people, easily went into Chan’s arms.
“What’s wrong with Evan?”
It could have been a conversation that ended just like that, but a remark flowed from Siwoo’s mouth as he handed over Roxy.
