Even with Haesung’s provocation, Yuchan showed no particular reaction.
“Then, next time I’ll show you properly. That sexual emotion.”
He simply left those words of challenge and turned away.
But Dohyeong didn’t add anything to either of their words. Whatever he said, it wouldn’t help improve the situation.
Rather, if things got worse, they would just get worse.
And so the filming ended and the next day arrived. It was a day off from filming, a rare chance to enjoy some rest.
However, Dohyeong couldn’t greet the start of the day with any pleasure.
“If you hate it that much, just stay home.”
Wootae said worriedly, but Dohyeong shook his head.
“How can I not go out after hearing words like that?”
“What words?”
“…That I have no friends.”
Wootae couldn’t say anything.
Because Dohyeong would be the person who knew that feeling all too well. It wasn’t that he didn’t have close friends, but Wootae knew that from a certain point on, contact with them had been cut off one by one.
That ‘certain point’ was after he got married to Haesung.
“If you get tired at all while wandering around, contact me right away.”
“Yeah. I will.”
“You know your heat cycle is coming up, right?”
“I know. Don’t worry.”
“Yeah, I know there’s no need to worry since Hakyung-ssi is a beta anyway. I know, but…”
He was about to say that what he was worried about wasn’t Hakyung, but the other alphas in that department store, then closed his mouth.
Without further comment, Wootae put Dohyeong in the car and headed to the department store.
“If anything happens, call me.”
“Yeah. I got it.”
“Even if you want to come home, call me.”
“Hyung. You’re being overprotective.”
“And I’m sorry in advance, Dohyeong. This is all for you.”
At Wootae’s following words, Dohyeong, who had gotten out of the car, tilted his head as if puzzled.
“What are you sorry about?”
Times like this always made him anxious.
He wanted to ask more, but it was already close to the appointment time.
“Anyway, we’ll talk later! I’ll be back.”
Dohyeong waved his hand widely at Wootae and headed for the elevator.
After pressing the button to go up from the underground parking lot, he pulled his mask up over his face. He wasn’t a hugely famous actor, but he had become famous in a different sense.
If someone recognized him, nothing would be more tiring than that.
It was when he was waiting for the elevator, needlessly looking down at the floor.
Someone tapped Dohyeong’s shoulder. When the startled Dohyeong turned around, there stood a familiar person. He was wearing a mask, but Dohyeong could recognize him at once.
“You, Yuchan…”
He tried to say his name but firmly closed his mouth. No, I can’t just say it here. Looking around, he grabbed his arm and pulled him toward himself.
“What are you doing here?”
“What do you mean what. I came to see you.”
“I didn’t come alone today.”
“I know. That’s why I came.”
Dohyeong blinked in confusion. Could it be that Wootae’s ‘sorry in advance’ was about this?
“I’ve been thinking about it, that sexual tension Jung Haesung talked about.”
Yuchan smiled cheekily and firmly clasped his hand. Then he tucked their hands into his pocket and smiled with his eyes creasing into crescents.
“I thought it should naturally come from real life first.”
“Hey, let go. What if we get photographed!”
“That would be even better.”
Yuchan’s two eyes narrowed as he smiled brightly.
No matter how he thought about it, it seemed like Haesung had properly pressed Yuchan’s buttons.
“We can immerse ourselves more in our roles. Right, Dohyeong?”
***
Do Seonghyeok
Are you resting at home today?
Haesung, who saw Seonghyeok’s message on his phone, vigorously rubbed his hair with a towel.
Do Seonghyeok
Playing alone day
After sending a simple reply, no response came back.
When he had just debuted, he would have gotten worked up over messages like this.
After accumulating years of experience and learning the know-how to some extent, Seonghyeok also stopped saying much.
For Haesung, time alone meant literally being ‘alone.’ Nothing more, nothing less.
Wherever he went, whatever he did. He didn’t let anyone close to him. It was the same even when he was married to Dohyeong.
“You could at least worry a little.”
After playfully tossing out that remark, he vigorously rubbed his wet hair with the towel.
Then he plopped down on the sofa and scanned through the course he had decided on the night before.
Go to ‘Rosello,’ which has delicious pasta, for lunch, then watch a re-released movie. In the evening, have a cup of coffee at ‘Yegrina,’ famous for strawberry cake that isn’t too sweet, then come home—that was today’s goal.
If there was a nice place along the way, he could take a walk, and it would be nice to sit for a while and soak up the sun.
For someone whose face was well-known, going here and there might have been burdensome, but Haesung was confident.
When someone recognized him, he would calmly confirm it. Rather, making a fuss or trying to avoid it made the situation more awkward.
Of course, there weren’t that many people who spoke to Haesung when he was alone.
“What a pain.”
Even while saying that, he dried and groomed his hair quite well.
He opened the closet and examined its contents for a long time. Even though there was quite a lot, at times like this he found himself wondering what to wear out.
“…Should I wear this after a while?”
It was a navy blue cashmere knit that he didn’t know when or how it had gotten into his closet.
Both the texture and color were among his favorites. When did I buy this? He picked up the clothes while searching his memory.
After putting on cleanly-fitting skinny jeans and a cardigan suitable for the season, he got in the car with his face covered by sunglasses.
The first thing Haesung did after starting the engine was connect Bluetooth.
Since he liked traveling in silence, it had been quite a while since he’d listened to music.
Today was just a day he felt like doing that for no particular reason.
Driving while listening to music, humming and letting time flow.
“What songs did I put in…”
When he played the connected playlist, a familiar song flowed out.
He gazed blankly at the song for a while, trying to recall when he’d heard it, then slowly pulled out of the parking lot.
It was a quiet afternoon road.
A time when everyone was at work. At times like this, he keenly felt that he was living in a different time zone from ordinary people.
At one point, he felt like he was a person set apart. There was a time when he thought of himself as a stranger living in a different world.
_’Hyung is just hyung.’_
Suddenly, the words Dohyeong had uttered flashed through his mind.
_’Jung Haesung who acts. That’s all.’_
He decided to marry him seeing that calm answer.
_’And isn’t it actually cooler? Even while going back and forth between “different worlds” several times, hyung always stands firm as Jung Haesung. A person who doesn’t lose their center. I think that’s really cool.’_
The moment when his breath caught at that bashfully smiling face came to mind.
Why had he forgotten those words, that expression, that moment?
The pedestrian signal came into view. He urgently stepped on the pedal and stopped in place.
_’Hyung! Safe driving.’_
Dohyeong’s voice nagging from the passenger seat sounded so close. Haesung unknowingly whipped his head to look beside him.
But as always, the seat next to him was empty.
How foolish. Even though he hadn’t had Dohyeong in the car that many times, to think of him at a moment like this.
“I’ve really gone completely crazy.”
Muttering, he shook his head. After turning up the music louder, he drove down the road again.
The moment he was singing along to the song. Haesung realized yet another fact.
_’I put songs you like on hyung’s list. I thought maybe you’d think of me when you listened to them.’_
It was the first moment he thought Dohyeong was cute.
That time when he was about to say whether someone could even be remembered through something like this, but didn’t.
“I… what did I answer?”
It was natural that he couldn’t remember. Because he hadn’t said anything. He just said thank you and played the song instead of answering.
The playlist didn’t end even when he drove the car personally. It might not have gotten boring because there were over 100 songs in it.
The memories returning one by one felt exactly like they were reprimanding him. Haesung laughed absurdly and gripped the steering wheel hard.
“…Stop it. You idiot.”
What would change by reminiscing and recalling now?
Haesung forcefully shook his head and shook off the memories rising in his mind.
Barely driving down the road to arrive in front of Rosello. He parked the car in the parking lot and entered the building.
“I made a reservation in advance.”
“Ah, yes. I’ll show you this way.”
The staff member was a sensible person. Without needing to mention his name, they guided him to a spot that got the most sunlight but was tucked away in a corner.
Although it was a seat located in the corner, through the open window next to it, the view of Seoul spread out widely. And yet it was a seat where he could avoid people’s gazes.
_’This is a total prime spot. Right?’_
The voice he heard was also Dohyeong’s.
Sitting across from him, excitedly looking at the menu, was also Dohyeong.
“…Did I come here with you?”
At the words he unknowingly blurted out, Dohyeong made a sulky expression. No, this was an image he’d arbitrarily created in his mind.
Dohyeong had never made that expression in front of him.
_’You made a reservation for my birthday. I did.’_
“…So I followed you here.”
_’When have you not? Well, it’s still okay. Because we came together.’_
This was something Dohyeong had said.
It’s still okay, because we came together. And then he said today was the happiest day in the world.
What did I say then? The hand gripping the water glass felt stiffly frozen.
“I really… I really.”
Unable to continue his words, he lowered his head. He ran his large hand through his hair as if brushing it up, then let out a hollow laugh.
Clearly he had been living a life completely unrelated to Dohyeong. No, he thought he had.
So even after breaking up, he thought nothing had changed since he’d just returned to his solitary life.
“…The one trapped was me.”
Dohyeong was already waiting outside, and came inside the fence that he himself wouldn’t try to leave.
So for him, all he had to do was go back out to where he belonged.
In the end, it was all his own arrogance.
It was Jung Haesung, himself, who had shut himself inside in order not to go anywhere or belong anywhere.
“…So, whatever I do alone.”
I see you.
After saying it aloud, his chest stung. After sitting there blankly for a while, he looked at the menu.
His stomach hurt again.
_’Since hyung likes shrimp, eat the pasta with shrimp here. And since you like vegetables and cheese, eat this salad.’_
Dohyeong’s voice choosing according to his taste lingered in his ears again.
Stop it now, it’s okay. He tried chanting, but Dohyeong’s voice didn’t disappear.
“You… endured all these moments.”
So that’s why he could say he’d passed through such a long tunnel.
His chest felt heavy. The sunlight penetrating through the window was endlessly warm, but a corner of his heart kept filling with cold air.
