“Siwoo, coffee?”
After a moment of hesitation, as soon as he finished showering and came out to the living room, at Sangjun’s words, Siwoo quickly nodded his head and headed to the kitchen.
Since they were planning to do hair and makeup separately at the shop anyway, Siwoo’s hair, which he had roughly towel-dried to shake off the moisture, stuck out in all directions.
“But why plums? We don’t eat plums.”
Thinking his hair quality was quite good, but as Siwoo touched with his fingertips the hair that had become stiff from continuous bleaching and dyeing, his steps came to a complete halt.
“Yesterday Evan insisted so much on buying them.”
Yechan, who saw the plum box placed on the island table, was already taking out plums from inside. At Daehwan’s words, who was helping the members prepare nearby, Siwoo only rolled his large eyes around.
“Mm, this has an unusual taste. It’s delicious. Where did he buy this?”
“Last night he even woke up the sleeping farm owner to get them. Anyway, that guy is really unique too. If it’s delicious, give me one too.”
Delicious. Delicious. Really delicious. The single plum held in Yechan’s hand, who kept saying it was delicious, passed into Daehwan’s hand.
“Here’s your coffee.”
Siwoo, who had been standing in front of the kitchen, quickly turned his head at the touch tapping his arm. Then he received the paper cup containing warm Americano that Sangjun held out.
The plums I’ve been eating all this time were plums received directly from a farm owner?
They weren’t plums you could get at a nearby market?
An uncommon taste.
At the thought that suddenly crossed his mind, Siwoo bit down hard on his lower lip.
Evan always gave him plums, but never told him where they were sold. Instead, he told him to speak up whenever he wanted to eat them. And he never gave many at once either.
He only gave enough to finish within a day or two. Sometimes he really only gave one. He said that way they could be eaten fresh and delicious.
But it wasn’t like he gave them every time the plums ran out either. He would give a few at a time around when Siwoo suddenly thought he wanted to eat plums.
What if Evan is a regressor? What if he knows all the time we shared?
That absolutely can’t be.
Suddenly his heart beat fast. It must be a coincidence. Maybe it’s a place Evan knew from before.
‘My pair.’
At the voice that suddenly came to mind, Siwoo’s gaze turned toward Evan’s room.
Words he’d heard not once but twice. He might have misheard them as auditory hallucinations, excited by the euphoria Evan gave him. The moment the world was spinning round and round and his vision kept blurring, Evan said that, and he wanted to ask again but ultimately couldn’t.
Similar things overlapping is never a coincidence. Coincidences overlapping is inevitability.
What happens if Evan is a regressor? Then can we stop the regression now? How? Before that, what does Evan’s pheromones that I can feel mean? At the end of his last life, he definitely said something other than the word pair.
No matter how hard he tried to recall, he couldn’t remember, but that too must have been quite an important word.
“Sangjun hyung, want to eat a plum?”
“I thought I smelled something sweet, it was plums? Why plums? Wow… I think this is the first time I’ve eaten plums since becoming a trainee? Give me one.”
“I think it’s my first time since being a trainee too. If Evan hyung was going to buy them, he should have bought a lot. He only brought this much?”
As his thoughts became tangled in complexity again, Siwoo quickly shook his head slightly. Sangjun, Daehwan, and Yechan were having a conversation with the plum box in the middle.
It seemed he should think about it carefully when it’s quiet, when he’s given time to think alone. It’s not something to think about simply and decide easily.
Last night he couldn’t overcome his impulse and tried to confess everything to him. He ultimately couldn’t convey it because Evan kissed him.
Anyway, plums. Those plums are delicious, but judging by the box size, there probably weren’t many left.
Siwoo raised his hand and bit the edge of the paper cup. Instead of the plum scent, a subtle coffee aroma brushed past the tip of his nose.
When he tilted the paper cup brought to his lips, instead of the sweet and sour plum taste, a bitter yet familiar coffee taste lingered in his mouth.
“What? Those plums are Siwoo’s.”
Siwoo, who had been standing at the kitchen entrance, unable to go in or go out, was startled at Evan’s voice and raised his bowed head.
Evan, who passed by Siwoo’s side as if brushing past, picked up plums from the plum box without hesitation.
“Siwoo’s?”
“Because it’s what Siwoo likes. I couldn’t even feed him properly yesterday, and you ate them all.”
Evan, who answered Sangjun’s question in an indifferent tone, approached Siwoo holding two plums in one hand. It’s not like he bought them to eat himself, he went all the way somewhere last night to feed Siwoo?
The gazes of the people there touched Evan and Siwoo. Of course, including the filming camera that had been capturing in detail from waking them up this morning to the preparation process.
“Siwoo hyung, you like watermelon.”
Before putting the plum he had bitten into completely into his mouth, Yechan stated what he knew. When Siwoo filled out various questionnaires and such, he answered that his favorite fruit was watermelon, and looking back on the years they lived together, there was no connection with plums.
He had never mentioned plums even once.
“Just because he likes watermelon, he can’t like plums? Eat the plums first instead of coffee. I’ll bring you more later.”
The paper cup that had been in Siwoo’s hand disappeared, and plums took their place in his hands. One in his right hand, one in his left hand. And the moment Evan gulped down the coffee Siwoo had been drinking and winked, the plum gripped in Siwoo’s right hand got slightly crushed.
“……”
“If you don’t want to eat it, say it with words.”
Evan, who saw Siwoo’s right hand, grasped Siwoo’s hand overlappingly. Then at the action of pulling that hand to bring the plum to his mouth, Siwoo unconsciously closed his eyes.
He recalled what happened just a few hours ago. Not somewhere else but right here, and at that time too, there were plums…
Soon the plum gripped in his right hand disappeared. Immediately after, the back of his hand that had been wrapped in warm, large hands became cool.
“Still, eat that one.”
What just happened? The plum disappeared from his hand, and Evan, who tossed out a word, was indifferently moving away. When Siwoo, who had been looking at the plum left behind all alone, raised his head, now everyone’s gazes were touching only Siwoo.
Since Evan, who had suddenly caused this situation, had disappeared, who else was there to look at besides Siwoo?
“…The plums here are delicious.”
What are you going to do about this atmosphere? Siwoo, who awkwardly raised the corners of his mouth, took a small bite of the end of the plum.
“You’re all ready, right? Where did Chan and Evan go?”
It was Myunghun, who had just entered the dorm, who sorted out the strange situation involving plums.
* * *
Before the music video open time.
The Ocean members, who had finished filming preparations, were gathered in the agency’s video room.
Siwoo, who had sneakily sat between Sangjun and Chan, placed both hands on his thighs and pressed down hard on his legs trembling from anxiety.
He recalled his first debut from his first life, which had now become faint. A chuckle came out at the memory of all the members being unable to shake off their nervousness and sharing Cheongsimhwan together. Even after taking Cheongsimhwan they had trembled so much, but here it seemed he was the only one nervous.
Since noon was the open time, the music video reaction was decided to start at 12:30, about 30 minutes later, and proceed for about 10 to 15 minutes.
Since it would be done as a real-time live, there was no pre-prepared script either.
They decided to comfortably watch the music video together and talk about situations or episodes from that time.
Whether trying to hide his anxiety or really having no worries at all, Yechan sitting across from him whined to Chan that he was hungry.
“Hyung, what should we eat for lunch? I’m hungry, I’m hungry. All I ate this morning was two plums.”
“There was a lot of bread and things to eat, why didn’t you eat more? What do you want to eat?”
“How about beef bulgogi hot pot?”
“Meat again?”
Chan took Yechan’s words seriously, and the two discussed the lunch menu.
Sangjun was leaning back deeply in his chair looking at his phone, and Evan was leaning against the corner of the video room talking on the phone with someone.
Since they decided to film in a comfortable appearance rather than a perfect look ready to go on stage right away, the makeup wasn’t that heavy. They just neatly arranged their dull hair and wore the blue lenses they had to wear for the ‘Lucifer’ image.
For Siwoo, who had good eyesight, the only times he wore lenses were outside of filming. Stiff and dry, this is why I hate colored lenses. If I’d known it would be like this, I should have put artificial tears in my pocket.
Since it was before filming, should he go out and get some? Siwoo just chose to close his eyes instead.
It wasn’t the first time seeing the completed music video. Even to him, it was unbelievably glamorous and cool. But the market’s eyes are harsh. Above all, the scene of himself and Evan that went in at the end kept bothering him.
Thud-.
Siwoo, who had put his phone on the table and was sitting with his legs crossed, buried in the chair with his eyes closed, quietly opened his eyes.
Someone had just touched his foot. When he looked around, one thing had changed.
Evan, who had finished his call, was sitting in front of him. But he wasn’t looking at Siwoo.
He too was touching his phone, waiting for filming to start.
Did he feel it wrong? Siwoo, who looked around once more, was about to close his eyes again. At that moment, a notification sound rang from Siwoo’s phone indicating a message had arrived.
The broadcast was about to start soon, how out of it was he not to have turned off the sound? Siwoo hurriedly manipulated his phone to change it to silent, no vibration.
And he checked the message that just came.
[Idiot]
He stared blankly at the single word that was too out of the blue. Looking at his phone, Siwoo unconsciously tilted his head.
[Coco. Idiot]
With his brow even furrowed, the same word appeared again below the screen he was looking at.
Siwoo, who had been staring at the message, slowly brought his finger to the screen.
[Idiot?]
The word Siwoo wrote, with his lower lip bitten tight, was just that. At that moment, Evan tapped Siwoo’s foot again.
[Idiot who falls asleep while kissing.]
The anxious and uneasy feelings from just moments ago disappeared in an instant. If until now he had bitten his lower lip, unable to control his unstable mood, this time he had to bite it to hold back laughter.
Because of his cheekbones rising bit by bit, in the end Siwoo had to cover his lower face with one hand.
Embarrassing and shameful. Honestly, Siwoo’s worry about how to resolve last night’s events with Evan had completely disappeared.
