“I got it. So… you were upset that I acted like I was seeing you for the first time today?”
Moon Sunwoo’s head nodded gloomily.
“You kept calling me Sunwoo-ssi. Even when I told you to speak comfortably, you kept saying Sunwoo-ssi…”
So that’s why he was being prickly and glaring all morning. Because I didn’t remember… Now he understood.
Also, he understood this too. That Moon Sunwoo really likes Kwon Isoo.
Thinking that, a suspicion suddenly came to mind, so he asked with a hopeful heart.
“The cigarettes… you didn’t start smoking following Kwon Isoo, right?”
“……”
Seeing the pupil earthquake, it seems right… Do Yeonjae narrowed his eyes and urged an answer.
“Honestly.”
“If I smoked following hyung… I thought I might get a chance to talk to him at least once. I know it’s bad for the throat, but once I started, I couldn’t quit. I thought I wouldn’t get acknowledged anyway… And Isoo hyung also looked cool…”
“……”
“…It really hasn’t been that long.”
“Quit right now. Got it?”
Of course, as an adult, smoking was his own freedom, but Moon Sunwoo’s voice was too precious to harm his throat for such an absurd reason. When he pressed with a stern face, Moon Sunwoo roughly messed up his own hair, then obediently voluntarily surrendered the cigarette pack he took out from his pocket.
“Here.”
“I wasn’t asking you to give it to me… Then I’ll throw it away.”
“…Instead.”
Instead of quitting cigarettes? Suddenly attaching conditions, he wiggled his eyebrows as if to say go ahead.
“I want to call you hyung. And hyung, please call me Sunwoo too… like before.”
When I suggested speaking informally together, he said no… He seems to want to speak formally himself. He didn’t quite understand, but of course he could grant that much. Do Yeonjae readily nodded.
“Alright, Sunwoo-ya. Let’s go back now.”
“Hyung, how did you become close with Isoo hyung?”
Hmm… We’re not close though. Do Yeonjae silently raised the corner of his mouth. Wondering if his current self was qualified to give such advice.
Still, if he had to ruminate on past memories and say something…
“Don’t be intimidated and act shamelessly. And try to be as annoying as possible.”
Shamelessly. Well, even now… sticking around shamelessly using the program as an excuse is the same, isn’t it? As he held a bitter smile, Moon Sunwoo’s lips protruded. It was a face that said he’d heard something that made no sense.
“…How can you not be intimidated when a person is that big?”
“Haha. Is that so?”
He laughed lightly and moved to leave the bathroom, when a fern-like hand hurriedly grabbed his arm.
“Hyung.”
When he turned his gaze, he only saw the spiky hedgehog hair. From the deeply bowed head, a voice mumbling like a mosquito flowed. Do Yeonjae quietly listened.
“Earlier… thank you. For changing the composition and… for the advice too. I really, really like that cut.”
Should I tease him saying I can’t hear what you’re saying? He decided against it. It seemed like he’d gathered a lot of courage to say it, so he just gently patted Moon Sunwoo’s hair that had been messed up here and there earlier.
“You’ll need to fix your hair again.”
Actually, he didn’t even know if that cut would be published or not, so it was also awkward to receive thanks already.
Moon Sunwoo, receiving Do Yeonjae’s touch, bit his lips hard, then raised his face with determination.
“One more condition. Give me your number too.”
“There are too many conditions?”
Do Yeonjae chuckled and took out his phone from his pocket. Ah, come to think of it, there was something he wanted to ask Moon Sunwoo.
“This is my first time recording with Kwon Isoo. If there are any tips or anything…”
The moment he unlocked it and was about to hand it to Moon Sunwoo, he froze looking at the screen.
“…Huh.”
What’s this? His phone was on fire. He hadn’t known because he’d put it on silent during filming, but 19 missed calls. And message notifications…
Do Yeonjae
You’re not in the bathroom
Where are you?
Why aren’t you answering your phone
You said I was neglecting my duties
Where are you
Did you seriously run off? Fuck
Hey answer the phone
If you have complaints say it with fucking words don’t drive people crazy
“……”
At the messages filling the screen, Do Yeonjae opened his mouth in dismay. He’d just been away for a moment, but suddenly he’d become someone who abandoned manager work and ran off.
“Sunwoo-ya, the number is later…”
Just as he was about to say let’s go back to the waiting room, a bang sounded. The door opened hard and someone with a large build stepped in.
“…Kwon Isoo.”
Slightly rough breathing. The question of why he called so many times got stuck somewhere in his throat. Because the state of Kwon Isoo he faced was not normal.
Perhaps he ran all over the studio, breath rising to his throat and a momentary anxious face… So it really was momentary. Upon discovering Do Yeonjae, Kwon Isoo hardened his face terrifyingly and approached with large strides.
“Why didn’t you answer the phone?”
“It was on silent… I brushed my teeth, here.”
Overwhelmed by that fearsome momentum, he ended up answering reflexively. It’s true he came to brush his teeth though…
“You brushed your teeth?”
“Yeah.”
Kwon Isoo, who had been looking at Do Yeonjae irritably, thrust his face forward.
“Show me your teeth.”
…Teeth? He was bewildered but opened his lips to show his teeth. Kwon Isoo, staring intently at the white and neat teeth, retorted bluntly.
“They’re fine. You said you brushed your teeth all day, so I thought you’d have like 56 teeth, fuck.”
“It wasn’t quite all day though.”
For just brushing teeth, it did take a long time, so Do Yeonjae trailed off.
“Really can’t even tie this one down…”
Kwon Isoo, who clicked his tongue, scanned Do Yeonjae’s whole body with displeasure. Then seeing the cigarettes held in his hand, his eyes immediately sharpened. He grabbed up his wrist and glared intently at the item that didn’t suit Do Yeonjae at all.
“Those are the cigarettes Moon Sunwoo smokes.”
The red hedgehog flinched. Only then lowering his gaze in a sweep, Kwon Isoo discovered Moon Sunwoo and narrowed his brow. Was he so small he wasn’t visible…
“What, why are you here?”
“H-hyung.”
Do Yeonjae became slightly anxious.
Moon Sunwoo’s misunderstanding had been roughly resolved, so now it would be fine if Kwon Isoo just did well. Not asking for much, just manage his expression so people aren’t scared, and smile occasionally…
“What is this fucking situation? Were you two stuck together nicely in an enclosed space?”
But that seemed really not easy.
The anger in the twisted voice was clear. Does he not know this is a bathroom? Haa… Unable to watch the atmosphere becoming increasingly ominous rather than smiling, Do Yeonjae stepped forward. He’d worked hard to smooth things over, but if they fought here it would all be for naught.
“We talked about you, Kwon Isoo.”
At the calm voice, Kwon Isoo raised his eyebrows.
“…About me?”
“Yeah. Since I have to work with you soon, I asked if there were any tips in the recording studio.”
It was a question that came out in passing at the end, and he didn’t even get an answer… But this was better than tattling that Moon Sunwoo came out of nowhere saying don’t meddle unnecessarily.
“I need to look good to the producer, right?”
So as if telling him to let go of his anger, he patted Kwon Isoo’s shoulder. Though he didn’t quite know why he was angry in the first place.
It was a hastily improvised statement, but it wasn’t insincere.
Accepting this program included wanting to straighten out his relationship with Kwon Isoo, but the reason that he could work on a song with him was also big.
The regret of having to move practice rooms as soon as he was asked to do the guide in the past seemed to have remained quite large in his heart. So he wanted to do his best and produce a good result.
Did such sincerity show on his expression? Kwon Isoo quietly looked down at him for a long time. The dry gaze seemed to examine every corner of his expression, somehow making his cheeks ticklish. When he subtly avoided his gaze, a low voice flew in.
“Ask me directly about such things.”
“Okay.”
“When we’re apart, check messages right away.”
“Yeah… I got it.”
The manager work ends in a few hours anyway, but he’s belatedly trying to keep tabs.
Too lazy to argue, he slowly nodded as Kwon Isoo said, and only then did his face seem to relax a bit.
“But, Isoo hyung.”
Kwon Isoo, who had been blankly watching Do Yeonjae answer obediently, turned his head. Moon Sunwoo who called him had a somewhat excited face. As the corner of his mouth twitched, his flushed cheeks also moved accordingly. Huh? Do Yeonjae’s pupils shook slightly. Something feels ominous.
“How did you know what cigarettes I smoke?”
“……”
At those expectant words, Kwon Isoo made a rarely speechless face.
Do Yeonjae watching the excited face was the same. Being shameless, yeah, that’s good, but it seemed Moon Sunwoo was mistaken that Kwon Isoo was actually paying tremendous attention to him.
So he believed Do Yeonjae’s words like gospel, a bit too much.
Ah, Sunwoo-ya. I don’t think it’s quite there yet… Do Yeonjae, who let out a dizzy groan, rolled his eyes busily to give Kwon Isoo a hint. Quickly, say something. The kid is expecting it.
What am I supposed to do? Kwon Isoo, who had been frowning with an annoyed face, retorted perfunctorily.
“How could I not know when there’s a smell? Where did you learn to smoke something so strong?”
Even at the blunt reply, Moon Sunwoo giggled. It seemed like a filter saying ‘I know you’re interested in me no matter what hyung says~’ was placed over his eyes, but anyway if he’s happy that’s what matters… He was smiling hazily when Moon Sunwoo’s smile-mixed gaze suddenly turned toward him.
“So I promised Yeonjae hyung I’d quit.”
“What?”
Sharp eyes stuck to Do Yeonjae’s face. Kwon Isoo, wearing a sneer on his face, suddenly mocked sharply.
“Do Yeonjae, you’re fucking hilarious. I guess you pick and choose how to treat people.”
“Huh?”
“You said to me you wouldn’t interfere whether my lungs became retarded or not.”
“…Huh?”
When… Ah. When we met on the 7th floor of the company?
“No, I don’t think I said it quite like that.”
