‘Sorry, I wasn’t trying to tease you… Are you mad?’
‘……’
‘Um… Come here.’
He took him to the vending machine at the end of the hallway and got him a Pocari Sweat. Kwon Isoo fiddled with the moisture-beaded beverage can then went straight in first. Did his anger subside? That’s a relief.
Maybe it was thanks to drinking the ion beverage, but that day’s evaluation stage received praise, and the shameless Kwon Isoo started forcing him to check his fortune too starting from the very next week’s evaluation. It was a memory where only Do Yeonjae, who had no interest in fortune-telling, became troubled.
Does he still like checking fortunes now?
He immediately referenced Namuwiki, but there were no entries about fortunes. Since he’s still a rookie, not much information would be released yet.
Do Yeonjae, who’d been searching for today’s fortune on a portal site, fell into contemplation. Will he be grateful for this?
Still, I should try it first. There’s no other method coming to mind besides this…
He entered the chat room with Kwon Isoo.
Kwon Isoo
Ah, he read it right away.
But there was no reply. Is he busy? Mm. He’ll reply when he’s done being busy. Do Yeonjae put his phone on the desk and got ready to leave. His manager hyung was coming to pick him up soon.
About 30 minutes later, he got in the car at the dorm parking lot and was surprised when he checked his phone. Why are there ten messages?
What
What is it
Why aren’t you saying anything after calling me
Hey
Are you messing with me right now?
What is it
Don’t be annoying and read it right now
Ha fuck..
Did you decide to make me worry on purpose?
Did I do something wrong?
Looking at the messages that came in 3-minute intervals, he blanked out for a moment then hurriedly typed.
Ah sorry
Were you worried?
No? Who said I was worried?
I wasn’t worried at all
Then that’s a relief…
Got it
Fuck.. Why did you KaTalk me
Ah I had something to send you
Wait a sec
He sent the Gemini fortune he’d copied and pasted earlier to the chat room.
🌟May 2, 20XX Ohaasa🌟
12th place Gemini
It’s a day when your mood runs wild. You could lose something important, so be careful in everything and look around you well.
🍀Wearing sunglasses
?
Are you picking a fight?
The response was cold. Is this not it? Kwon Isoo tended to react sharply whether he liked or disliked something, so it was confusing. Do Yeonjae, who’d been tilting his head, sent one more message.
Make sure to wear sunglasses
He expected a reply… but was mercilessly left on read. It doesn’t seem right to expect to hear “thank you.” Should I think of another method… Not long after, his manager hyung who’d been driving informed him they’d arrived at the company.
“Thanks, hyung.”
“Yeah, good work.”
There was a song cover video shoot in a few days, and he’d come to practice the song he’d cover then. The adlib section was quite difficult, so he consulted with the vocal trainer and also picked out the outfit to wear on the filming day.
After that, he went to the gym to exercise then took the subway heading to the dorm. There were a few seats left but he just stood in the corner. It’s only a few stops, and he wasn’t that tired either.
The subway was comfortable but wearing a mask was inconvenient. He leaned against the wall with an expressionless face and took out his phone.
He was trying to search for something on the portal site, but as soon as he entered, a certain entertainment news article on the main page caught his eye.
[Kwon Isoo Reveals Sunglasses Selfie… ‘Handsome Even Covered’]
……Huh?
As if possessed, he clicked on that article.
NEOS’s Kwon Isoo showed off his unrealistic beauty through SNS.
On the 2nd, Kwon Isoo posted several photos on his personal Instagram along with a ‘🕶’ emoticon.
The revealed photos captured Kwon Isoo taking selfies while wearing sunglasses that matched well with his blonde hair.
Kwon Isoo in the photos is making a somewhat cynical expression while staring piercingly at the screen. His naturally disheveled blonde hair and sophisticated sky-blue shirt stand out, and despite wearing sunglasses, he thoroughly shook women’s hearts with his unrealistic visuals.
Meanwhile, Kwon Isoo is 21 years old this year.
“……”
Ah.
Do Yeonjae scrunched his nose bridge and stared at Kwon Isoo’s selfie in the article for a long while. Watching quietly… In that moment, the corners of his mouth curved up without him knowing.
* * *
Usually, Do Yeonjae was thoroughly the type to only contact when there was business.
He’d thought sharing daily life with someone through messenger every day was a bothersome thing. You can just talk when you meet, so why… Even in group chats with close friends, he’d appear infrequently each time and only leave ‘hahahaha’ belatedly, becoming a target of criticism.
However, he didn’t forget to convey congratulations on friends’ birthdays, and when someone had a hard time, he left sincere and weighty comfort. To those making earnest requests, he readily nodded his head.
Do Yeonjae knew the appropriate moments and necessary words, and so everyone around him wanted to enter his limited boundary. Perhaps his lack of interest in romance was because of this indifferent nature. This time, such a person tried something called effort in his own way.
Purely to hear the words “thank you” from Kwon Isoo.
Do Yeonjae, who glimpsed possibility in Kwon Isoo’s sunglasses selfie, sent horoscope fortunes faithfully every single day. Each time, the response that came back was…
Hey
What are you trying to do with me
Generally cold.
Fuck.. You told me not to act like a kid before, why are you making a fuss
He was typing ‘When did I act like a kid…?’ when one more message came.
I don’t believe in that crap anymore
Then why did you wear sunglasses back then… Do Yeonjae, who was briefly sullen, soon found the cause. Until now he’d been busy copying and pasting and just sending, so he hadn’t particularly noticed, but Gemini had been in the lower ranks for several consecutive days.
So that’s why he said he doesn’t believe it? Thinking back, even before, on days when it was in the lower ranks, he’d frown heavily and get angry saying ‘I never believed in such fortunes from the start.’
But today will be different.
Because today is none other than.
The day Gemini is in 1st place in the fortune.
Do Yeonjae, who checked the fortune site as soon as he woke up and brightened his eyes, immediately sent a message to Kwon Isoo. He was so excited he unknowingly called his name twice.
Kwon Isoo
Kwon Isoo
🌟May 4, 20XX Ohaasa🌟
1st place Gemini
You could run into someone you like by chance or unexpected luck could find you. If an opportunity arises, don’t miss it.
🍀Eating food with tomatoes
You’re in 1st place today
“……”
He’s not reading it. Is he in the middle of a schedule?
If good luck really finds Kwon Isoo today, maybe he can finally hear the words “thank you.” When he started the mission, he had almost no expectation of success, but as he did it, he was starting to feel a subtle stubbornness.
After washing up and coming out, there was a reply.
I hate tomatoes
“Oh.”
Do Yeonjae opened his mouth in a circle. It’s clearly content saying he dislikes it, but the reaction seems better than usual. Just looking at the fact that there’s no ‘fuck’ or ‘fucking’ showed that. Is he in a good mood because he’s in 1st place?
But he still seems to dislike tomatoes. He could imagine Kwon Isoo’s expression scrunching his face uncomfortably while typing. Yeonjae, who chuckled, replied simply.
Dip it in honey then
From now on, if good luck happens in Kwon Isoo’s day, the probability of mission success will increase.
After that, he went to the company to practice, and because Sian hyung said to film a trending challenge, they filmed it. It was a challenge packed with choreography so it took quite a while, but because hyung who’d learned it in advance taught him well, he could pick it up quickly.
The staff member who filmed the challenge left the practice room as soon as filming ended, and Baek Sian sprawled on the floor.
“Wow, I’m out of breath just from doing this. Should I go to the gym again?”
Do Yeonjae, who’d been wiping sweat, looked down at that hyung and chuckled softly.
“If you just don’t post sleeveless mirror selfies, I think it’ll be fine, hyung.”
“You always say everything you need to say subtly. Fine, I won’t go…”
He held out a new towel to hyung who was making a disgusted expression as if remembering the ‘male illness heart-tapping incident.’
“Still, it feels like I follow trends thanks to hyung every time.”
“I’m just addicted to Shorts, that’s all. I feel proud too because the response is especially good when I film with you. Thirsty? Should I buy you coffee?”
“Sounds good. I’ll go down and buy it.”
“Hey hey. If I just slap down my card, it’s like making the youngest run errands for no reason.”
“If you don’t like it, I’ll buy it with my own money. Then I’ll be the perfect errand boy.”
Sian hyung, who made a groaning sound, reluctantly held out his card. Do Yeonjae, who smiled quietly, took the card and left the practice room to take the elevator. He got off on the floor with the in-house cafe and stood in front of the kiosk.
Two iced Americanos, add two extra shots to one…
He familiarly selected the menu and inserted Baek Sian hyung’s card. At first, he couldn’t adapt to the hyungs constantly trying to buy him things, but after realizing the maknae position was unavoidable, he was accepting it fairly well now.
He was waiting for the coffee to come out near the counter when he suddenly felt a gaze touching his face. As an idol he’s basically used to others’ gazes, but it’s been a while since someone stared like this in the in-house cafe…
Do Yeonjae, who turned his head toward where he felt the gaze, made an “oh” sound.
“Kwon Isoo?”
He saw Kwon Isoo with a face that looked somehow strange. Next to him seemed to be NEOS’s manager. Do Yeonjae, surprised by the sudden meeting, walked toward him.
Hello, he bowed in greeting to the manager, then looked at Kwon Isoo again. It seems he came to buy a drink. His gaze naturally lowered following his train of thought.
“……”
“What are you looking at like that?”
What he was holding was tomato juice that was already half gone.
