Dream-like moments pass in an instant. The day after enjoying the unexpected joy of first place, Sunday’s music show disappointingly ended with them only making it to the first place nominees.
To say that not even a moment of disappointment crossed their minds would be a lie. As long as expectations exist, the opposite is bound to exist too. However, it was literally just for a moment. Quickly setting aside his dejection, Do Yeonjae pondered something else.
At today’s fansign, the fans would undoubtedly apologize for not being able to get them first place, so how should he comfort them? It would be nice if he could say things RayIt loved as well as Kang Ihyun-hyung could, but lacking the talent for sweet words was always a concern.
He was mulling over various things to say when Baek Sian, who’d been sitting on the waiting room sofa watching YouTube, let out a “Jackpot!” drawing everyone’s attention.
“Our encore live from yesterday seems to have hit the Shorts algorithm. The reaction to Yeonjae’s high notes in particular is insane.”
True to his words, RAYEON had perfectly pulled off their first place encore live. Especially Do Yeonjae’s clean high notes in the third verse chorus had left even the broadcasting station staff on site completely awestruck.
Those seeing Do Yeonjae for the first time usually had prejudices due to his visuals. Idols with excessively good looks tended to have their skills belittled. Whether in dancing or singing.
‘Looking at Do Yeonjae’s face, he seems like a visual match for Kang Ihyun, but he’s obviously just going to dance in the corner the whole song and get one or two killing parts at most….’ There was a time when such longstanding prejudice was completely shattered.
The competition show ‘Voice Hunter’ featuring only renowned vocalists. That controversial program that sometimes had major disasters because they didn’t add any post-processing—when the first idol to appear on it proudly grabbed the championship trophy, the public was shocked senseless.
No one among the cast considered the handsome third-year idol who smiled pleasantly and responded politely in interviews to be their competition. However, when he went out first and spectacularly tore up the stage, the waiting room went beyond admiration to the point of shock. From the moment he started defeating the seniors who came after him one by one, the momentum was unusual, and he finally got his name up as the winner. After Do Yeonjae proved his skills so definitively like that, no one doubted him anymore.
This encore live was the same.
Praise for his live performance always felt good to hear. Right… Do Yeonjae thought of what to say to the fans. Let’s think about what we gained rather than what we didn’t get. Just receiving five precious trophies alone was wonderful.
It really was. He didn’t want to be sad at a gathering with fans. There wasn’t even enough time to share happiness. ……Happiness?
“Yeonjae?”
Ah. At the puzzled voice, Do Yeonjae’s head shot up. Right. He was in the middle of a fansign right now. He’d been continuing to sign while chatting warmly with a regular fan, but at some point, someone’s sharp words suddenly came to mind.
‘After fucking everything up like that, you’re making it obvious you’re happy to death on your own, you selfish bastard.’
So he stupidly lost track of his conversation with the fan. Ah, what should I do? You stupid idiot. When he bit his lip in panic, the quick-witted fan pouted her lips.
“What. You just thought about something else with me right in front of you?”
“Noona, that’s… I’m sorry.”
Ugh, Do Yeonjae, who’d been apologizing, grabbed her hand and apologized sincerely. The moment he drooped his eyebrows and made a flustered expression, the shutter sounds from behind rapidly accelerated, but he was so sorry he didn’t even notice that.
Wearing a black cat ear headband with bells as fansign merchandise and making that face—it was only natural that the fan’s briefly sulky heart melted away. It was the first time seeing the usually indifferent Yeonjae make such an expression. Crazy, this is so destructive…
Moreover, even though time had passed and a staff member gestured for them to move on, Do Yeonjae didn’t let go of the hand he was holding.
“I can’t let you go like this. I want you to forgive me, noona.”
“Huk……”
She barely held back a scream and thought. Fuck, today’s fansign is a huge success. If I keep acting sulky like this, can I live with Yeonjae for a thousand years?
But I shouldn’t do that, right? Since I’m a perfectly normal working adult… She decided to say goodbye with tears in her eyes. Actually, more than tears, she couldn’t help but smile. Because she loved this side of Do Yeonjae so much.
“It’s okay, Yeonjae. Actually, I wasn’t even that upset.”
“Still. I was in the wrong….”
“Then can I just say this one thing? The reason I like you.”
“Yes, please tell me. What is it?”
“Yeonjae, you seem perfect but then you always show a weak spot at least once. You seem honest but it’s hard to gauge what’s inside. That’s what makes it impossible to look away.”
You keep making me curious and want to know more. Don’t you know how amazing that is? Do Yeonjae listened carefully to the words mixed with laughter, but… he didn’t fully understand so he made a slightly puzzled expression.
“Think about it carefully. What it means.”
The fan who’d given her final greeting got up from her seat feeling refreshed. It had really been a rewarding day. It wasn’t just her thinking about Do Yeonjae unilaterally—she’d made Yeonjae mull over her words at least once too.
Do Yeonjae, who’d been pondering with a strange expression, soon greeted the next fan. Hello! This fan seemed to have some clear purpose.
“Yeonjae. When you won first place yesterday, what did Yoon say when he hugged you?”
“Ah, he said he was so happy we got first place.”
“Was there nothing else? He was whispering for quite a while…”
“……”
Meeting eyes that gleamed ominously, Do Yeonjae smiled with a seasoned face.
After the fansign ended and they arrived at the dorm, it was late at night.
Do Yeonjae, who’d finished showering, came out of the bathroom shaking out his wet hair. Baek Sian, lying upside down on the living room sofa, spotted Do Yeonjae and waved his hand vigorously.
“What?”
Actually, even as he asked, he was guessing to some degree. When Sian-hyung stared intently at his phone and urgently gestured, it was usually for the same reason.
“Press this.”
Sure enough, the familiar game gacha screen appeared. Baek Sian, with a trembling face, said incomprehensible things about how he’d be ruined if he got pick-broken this time and couldn’t wait until the rerun. So pick-broken meant… when you work hard spinning and collecting resources to attempt a ‘limited character draw’ but get a character you don’t want.
‘I understood it roughly as the tower you worked on collapsing.’
So he understood the desperation, but why did he always insist on having someone else press the draw button… Do Yeonjae, with an indifferent face, pressed the 10-pull button without hesitation. Then flashy effects appeared on the screen.
He’d pressed it many times before so he knew well. White light was disappointing stuff. Yellow light was good stuff. The color that appeared after the flashy effects ended was the yellow that meant a 5-star character.
But this wasn’t the end. The real thrill was starting now. You work hard building stacks until a 5-star comes out, but if an unwanted 5-star appears, you have to draw from the beginning again.
Oh. A 5-star character just appeared. A pretty-looking guy with an eyepatch holding a sword… Was this the character he wanted?
Without even needing to ask separately, Baek Sian’s moved expression answered for him.
“Wow fuck, Yeonjae! This is why I always ask you!”
Baek Sian, who’d bounced up from the sofa, grinned broadly and thwacked Yeonjae’s back. Do Yeonjae asked, standing without wavering despite the fierce punching.
“You like this character?”
“Yeah, he’s fucking cool…. Up to Pickle Ham isn’t gay.”
“The name is Pickle?”
Why Pickle of all things? Why?
“Otaku game companies originally have shitty naming sense.”
Even so… And what does liking male characters have to do with being gay? Do Yeonjae tilted his head then gave up trying to understand.
“Then I’ll go in.”
“Yeah yeah. Ah, on your way to your room, take this to Yoon-hyung. I borrowed it earlier.”
“Okay.”
Do Yeonjae, who’d received the AirPods from Baek Sian, moved his steps. RAYEON members each had their own rooms, and turning left from the living room, the first room you see in the hallway was Hayun’s room. Next was Do Yeonjae’s room.
Knock knock. He knocked on Hayun’s door but there was no response. He showered first earlier so has he already fallen asleep? It was the same even when he knocked once more.
I should just quietly leave it.
Do Yeonjae, who’d opened the door slightly, headed inside the room while muffling his footsteps. The surroundings were pitch black, but relying on the soft light from the mood lamp, he went up to the desk. He was carefully trying to put the item down when he saw a white screen lit up next to sleeping Hayun’s face.
He must have fallen asleep while looking at his phone. I should move it to the table. Do Yeonjae, who’d approached the bed, bent down and picked up the phone. But the lit screen seemed somehow familiar. That blue and white… Is he searching for fan reactions on Twitter? Looking at the screen without much thought, Do Yeonjae froze.
goodta @goodta98989
#JjitHaet just announce you’re publicly dating already
You haven’t stamped the seal but you’re basically giving 10-year marriage vibes, how long are you going to deceive the public? Kang-two-hyung-oppa being sweet and pleasant doing girlfriend lighting for fan girls all the time is heartwarming and nice to watch, but the husband vibes of him openly doing carpentry the moment he’s next to Hayun is absurd
┃
By husband vibes doing carpentry here I mean: showing off arm muscles the size of his face hammering hard into the wall then going next to his rabbit-like wife pretending to be weak, pretending his arm hurts, whining and grumbling—this husband-style that I made up
……JjitHaet?
‘JjitHaet’ was also one of the alphabet CP names like ‘DdoHaet.’ Compressing Kang Ihyun-hyung’s name ‘Ihyun’ into ‘Jjit’ and combining it with Hayun-hyung’s ‘Haet’… Do Yeonjae didn’t particularly want to know either.
But why would Hayun-hyung have JjitHaet?
Of course, up to this point there was no big problem. He probably just searched for it. Do Yeonjae had also searched for it once before for monitoring purposes. But…… his face, having confirmed something, suddenly turned serious.
That public dating tweet had a heart on it.
A heart. A ‘like’ indicator.
For a moment, thinking he might have pressed it with the official account, he quickly checked the profile. It was a private account with a lock on it, with the nickname ‘Yuni.’ A locked account. At least that’s a relief… But why on earth did he press the heart?
So, Hayun-hyung liked that tweet. The one saying to announce public dating quickly. The content saying Kang Ihyun-hyung gives off husband vibes doing carpentry…
But why?
“……”
Do Yeonjae stared down at sleeping Hayun’s face with a strange expression.
