Do Yeonjae narrowed his brows. Why the sarcastic tone? Kwon Isoo’s expression as he stared at Hayun with a crooked posture was both indifferent and sharp. As if observing his opponent thoroughly.
Do Yeonjae asked with a frown.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Kwon Isoo, who had been coldly expressionless, twisted his lips into a smirk upon receiving Do Yeonjae’s obvious stare. He shrugged his shoulders shamelessly and added.
“No particular meaning. I just thought it was really nice how close you two are—the maknae waiting patiently until you finish looking through the menu for him.”
Do Yeonjae’s expression hardened sourly. He is being sarcastic. One hundred percent. He waved his hand dismissively to block the nonsense.
“Of course we’re close. We’re members, so it’s natural to look out for each other.”
“……”
Hayun, who had been listening to their conversation, bit his lower lip firmly. He always tried his best to be a reliable hyung to Yeonjae, but he hated how he kept ending up relying on him.
I like it so much when Yeonjae looks after me that I unknowingly become like this…
But hearing such things pointed out through someone else’s mouth felt like being poked inside with something sharp. I need to show Yeonjae a more dependable side now… That’s why I made this dinner arrangement in the first place.
Hayun, clenching his hands tightly, gathered courage and spoke to Kwon Isoo.
“Um… I think my greeting is late.”
Then Kwon Isoo’s gaze landed on Hayun. At the dry look that made his body stiffen involuntarily, Hayun momentarily swallowed his dry saliva.
“This is… almost the first time we’re talking like this. I’m Hayun. Uh, I heard you’re playing the role of Yeonjae’s manager today, and I wanted to at least treat you to a meal.”
“……”
“……Isoo-ssi?”
A chilly atmosphere rippled through the silence that had fallen. The eyes staring down at Hayun while propping up one side of his chin showed neither fondness for someone he was meeting for the first time nor courtesy toward a guest.
Hayun instinctively sensed it. The displeasure and hostility beneath that seemingly indifferent face.
Do Yeonjae, who had been quietly reading the atmosphere, reached his hand under the table and gave a light tap as a hint. However, that brief touch had the opposite effect. Kwon Isoo, who irritably glanced at the thigh Do Yeonjae had touched, muttered lowly.
“Ah.”
The exclamation that sounded as if he’d just heard it lacked any sincerity.
“So, sunbae-nim is buying me a meal.”
“Ah, yes.”
Kwon Isoo, tapping the table with his hand, slowly mulled over Hayun’s words. Then he tilted his head and asked in a feminine manner.
“Why?”
“Ah……”
Perhaps flustered by the unexpected question, Hayun’s shoulders stiffened. Fidgeting with his fingers, he moistened his dry lips with his tongue and answered.
“Since we’re members, in the sense of asking you to please take good care of Yeonjae going forward…”
“Ahhh.”
The expression disappeared from Kwon Isoo’s face. That damn “same members” refrain again. Anyway, they’re both fucking overflowing with sense of belonging… The veins on his forearm were vivid as he swept his hair back.
With a bitter smile, he spoke bluntly without enthusiasm.
“Even if you don’t ask, I’ll do it on my own.”
The answer, slightly mixed with a sigh, was full of nuance that it was a useless gesture. Do Yeonjae, frowning, looked at Kwon Isoo.
“Kwon Isoo, you’ve been since earlier……”
Just as he was about to say the next words, a knock-knock sound came from the door. At that sound, the presence of the surrounding staff was vividly recognized again. Do Yeonjae stopped speaking and silently watched the employee entering.
The employee who entered the room carrying a silver tray placed small plates in front of each of the three people. The appetizer was a cold chicken breast dish and scallop dish garnished with yuzu sauce.
Seeing the neat plating and good-looking food, Do Yeonjae’s furrowed brows softened. Right, the food is innocent… Let’s eat first. While eating, he had to salvage even a little of the atmosphere Kwon Isoo had ruined.
That would be much better than clashing in front of cameras.
Perhaps because it was an appetizer, the dishes were quickly emptied. How tantalizing. Just as he was smacking his lips, the next dish came out. Abalone kimbap and homemade tteokgalbi.
“Hyung, it’s hot so be careful.”
Do Yeonjae, who had taken a big bite of tteokgalbi, cautioned Hayun. Then he put the abalone kimbap in his mouth. As soon as he chewed a few times, his eyes widened. Oh… this is so delicious.
Hayun, who had been watching Yeonjae, let out a soft laugh. Then he moved one of his kimbap pieces to Yeonjae’s plate.
“Yeonjae, is this good? Eat more.”
“Ah, thank you, hyung.”
“……”
Kwon Isoo, who had been meaninglessly poking at his bowl, happened to witness that scene clearly. Fuck… Witnessing the same scene as when they fed each other cake at RAYEON’s first-place live right before his eyes made his mood rapidly deteriorate. Moreover, shit, be careful because it’s hot.
Isn’t my tteokgalbi hot? Did it come from Siberia or something?
Strength entered the hand holding his chopsticks. Kwon Isoo violently chewed the meat roughly as if what was in his mouth was Do Yeonjae himself. But Do Yeonjae didn’t stop there and even immediately refilled Hayun’s ice glass with carbonated water as soon as it was empty.
Well well, how lovely, giving and receiving. This is fucking maddening, fuck… Kwon Isoo, who had been glaring fiercely at the carbonation popping inside the glass, gulped down the carbonated water in front of him.
Then he placed the empty cup with a thunk between Do Yeonjae and his own seat as if to show off.
“……”
At the loud sound, Do Yeonjae’s gaze turned to the empty cup.
The muscles on Kwon Isoo’s arms, which were crossed as if nothing was wrong, tensed up.
Shit, what are you doing? Shouldn’t you be hurrying to fill my cup too?
But Do Yeonjae’s face as he chewed his food while looking down at the cup was completely indifferent. That is, as if he had absolutely no intention of pouring carbonated water into the cup. Kwon Isoo’s Adam’s apple bobbed anxiously as he scrutinized that expression. It seemed like one of his legs was starting to tremble.
Do Yeonjae, who had swallowed what was in his mouth, soon moved his arm with an indifferent face. Kwon Isoo’s startled gaze obsessively followed the destination of Do Yeonjae’s hand. Fuck, what is this even about? It’s just something natural… Even while thinking that, when Do Yeonjae’s hand picked up the carbonated water bottle, Kwon Isoo unknowingly twitched his fingers.
However, betraying the expectations that had risen like foam, Do Yeonjae simply placed that bottle next to Kwon Isoo’s cup.
As if to say, handle the rest yourself.
Crazy… Kwon Isoo, who had sharply turned his head, gritted his teeth. For a moment, harsh profanities almost burst out. Even after forcibly suppressing those curses, there were so many words rising to the tip of his throat. To summarize those aggrieved and sharp sentences:
Why won’t you fill my cup?
Strictly speaking, bringing the bottle over was also an act of kindness, but right now, such facts didn’t register at all to Kwon Isoo. Only the fact that he had personally poured carbonated water for Hayun but not for himself was stuck firmly in his head.
Just because he didn’t pour one glass of water, he felt like he’d been completely ignored by Do Yeonjae. Kwon Isoo ground his teeth at the inexplicable impatience.
Ahh. It’s irritating… fuck, why am I so annoyed since earlier?
It felt like shitty things had been exploding one after another all day. In the morning, he learned that all of Do Yeonjae’s consistent contact was because of missions, he realized that Do Yeonjae still had no interest in anything other than singing, and he met a bastard who lived in the same house as Do Yeonjae and shared the same schedule.
The sight of them tenderly looking after each other fully displayed the years they’d spent together as members. That was their own unique domain that Kwon Isoo could never invade or share.
So this provocation was a game where the loser was decided from the start. The fact that it was a win or loss that couldn’t be overturned no matter how much he struggled scratched at Kwon Isoo’s insides like claws.
While the dishes containing course meals came and went on the table several times, Kwon Isoo said nothing at all. He didn’t even fill the carbonated water Do Yeonjae had brought over, just halfheartedly playing with his utensils as if eating or not.
“……”
Suddenly, Kwon Isoo raised his head crookedly as if something had occurred to him. Hayun’s lips, looking at Do Yeonjae who was bowing his head and thoroughly cleaning his plate, happened to curve up slightly. At the same time, a crack appeared in Kwon Isoo’s expression.
That guy Hayun.
Saying please take care of him and whatnot, creating this meal arrangement with plausible words, but his eyes were blatantly containing only Do Yeonjae. The parties involved didn’t seem to notice, but from a third party’s perspective, it was all too visible.
Moreover, that look in his eyes.
Hayun’s look in his eyes had been bothering him for some reason since earlier. Watching that gaze that was both tender and subtle, as if looking at the most precious thing in the world, instinctively made rejection surge within him. To simply be looking at a younger brother he cares for, it was excessively……
As he tried to thoroughly dig into what was contained in those pupils, his head suddenly felt like it would split. Ah, fuck… Kwon Isoo, grimacing, tapped his forehead. As withdrawal symptoms tormented him like this, he thought of cigarettes. He wouldn’t be able to enjoy smoking because his tongue was fucked, but he wanted to at least gnaw on the filter.
He tapped his plate with his fork in impatient thirst. Even at his irritable gesture, Do Yeonjae and Hayun were busy having an intimate conversation about the food without a care. Kwon Isoo, who had been fiercely stabbing at his plate, had belated regrets. He should have just eaten sundaegukbap, burned the roof of his mouth completely, and been late to the radio show.
Hayun, who was continuing his meal, took a bite of the freshly served grilled salmon and raised his eyebrows as if it was delicious. It went well with the sauce and seemed like a taste Yeonjae would definitely like. He lifted his head with a soft smile.
“Yeonjae, this…”
Should I cut it for you? I think your portion will be insufficient……
Hayun stopped what he was about to say and looked at Do Yeonjae quietly.
Since the meal started, Yeonjae has been consistently glancing at Kwon Isoo. Continuously, even while having a conversation with him. Kwon Isoo doesn’t seem to have noticed, but Hayun, sitting across from Yeonjae, could see it.
Just now, it seemed he didn’t even notice that he had called him. At the end of that gaze was Kwon Isoo’s fiercely crumpled face.
……Is he concerned about Kwon Isoo not eating?
