Without even a moment to collect his heart, he met the members he would debut with the very next day. Kang Ihyun, Hayun, Yeo Minsung, Baek Sian. They were already acquainted through their long trainee life, but facing them in the situation of being in the same group felt new.
They were also confused by the sudden member withdrawal and recruitment. There were members who couldn’t quite pull themselves together and were anxious, members who resented the withdrawn member who had deceived them, and those who looked unfavorably upon the newly entered Do Yeonjae. …In any case, he wasn’t greatly welcomed.
It would feel like he had pushed out a friend. His role here was important. Do Yeonjae worked hard to blend into the group called RAYEON. He just did it mindlessly. Without a single mistake.
‘Is it hard adjusting?’
Did that maknae seem pitiful? One day when he was practicing alone until dawn, main dancer Baek Sian suddenly came to the practice room.
‘Just think of it as things not being sorted out yet and wait a little. Soon everyone will open up. They’ll have no choice, right?’
He, who had originally been the maknae in the group, seemed happy to have a younger member and spoke like a dependable hyung. Even while being comforted, Do Yeonjae was curious about the reason.
‘Why?’
‘Out of so many trainees, why do you think you got to join our team?’
‘Well, because I’m strong in vocals,’
‘That’s also right, but that’s not all. …Do you really not know your value? Has no one told you until now?’
Watching the maknae who just blinked his eyes, Baek Sian felt a bit frustrated.
‘You’re handsome. If you grow a bit more, you’ll pull in all the female fans…. Do you think visual main vocals are common these days?’
In fact, Do Yeonjae had looks worthy of being called a ‘visual main vocal,’ but the person himself had no great interest in his face. Even with such an influential face, all his interests were completely focused on singing.
Perhaps that’s why, even when others told him he was handsome, it didn’t really resonate with him. He thought there were already more than enough people better than him. Kang Ihyun hyung in our group is also handsome, and more than anything, compared to Kwon Isoo, isn’t he on the plain side…. Kwon Isoo. It seems he misunderstood the darkened expression from recalling the existence he’d tried to bury. Baek Sian became a bit more honest.
‘Haa… I’ll just speak bluntly. I’m so grateful that you joined instead of Hwang Junseo hyung, you know? You raise the average height and how great is that. So don’t push yourself too hard trying to gain recognition. Once everyone debuts, they’ll agree with what I’m saying.’
‘……’
More than the reasons Baek Sian listed, the words saying he was grateful for joining moved his heart more. Do Yeonjae’s mouth twitched.
‘Thank you.’
‘…But now that I look at you, it seems like whether the hyungs ignored you or not, there was no real impact?’
‘Rather than no impact, I just understood. What kind of feelings the hyungs must have.’
Because understanding intellectually the withdrawal of a school violence perpetrator and accepting in one’s heart the loss of a colleague who was with them until yesterday are different things.
At the calmness unbefitting a maknae, Baek Sian clicked his tongue saying he lacked cuteness. Amusement was visible in the eyes that pretended to worry about what to do since you’ll be in charge of aegyo from now on. Do Yeonjae easily noticed. He didn’t want to be in charge of aegyo after debuting as the maknae.
…Though he seems like he’d do well if actually made to do it. He thought while looking at the face where aegyo-sal puffed up plumply when he smiled cheerfully. The playful eyes and the point where one dimple deeply caved in had a charm that drew people’s favor.
Yet when it came to actual performance, Do Yeonjae knew how skillfully he strutted across the stage. For such an amazing person to come visit him personally out of concern like this.
It was truly not a bad feeling. Is this what a sense of belonging is like…. Do Yeonjae, who was silently feeling some emotions surging inside, soon folded his eyes into half-moon shapes and smiled.
‘I’m learning a lot, hyung.’
‘That’s right. Learn a lot. From what I see, you have talent in dancing. It’s just because you’ve been killing yourself focusing only on singing until now.’
‘Haha….’
Perhaps thanks to the excitement of debuting tied together as the same group, Do Yeonjae was fine even being ignored by the hyungs. In fact, the situation was just like that, and there wasn’t anyone who felt like they truly disliked him. Even Hayun hyung was briefly anxious about the unexpected variable, but now he was looking after him one by one, and Kang Ihyun hyung also taught and looked after him in various ways as the leader. Minsung hyung, well, time will solve that…….
Time really flew by quickly. Re-recording, re-filming, mastering the title song choreography, promotion preparation…. Various schedules stormed in, and Do Yeonjae’s capabilities built up over several years shone even more brightly in the hectic schedule. He was so busy he didn’t even notice the staff members’ and members’ gazes gradually changing.
It’s not an exaggeration—he literally opened his eyes and it was the debut showcase venue.
‘Hello, we are RAYEON! Please treat us well!’
Do Yeonjae, who had by now perfectly blended into RAYEON, thoroughly fulfilled his role. No, even that expression was insufficient. The company staff who confirmed the public’s reaction to Do Yeonjae evaluated the school violence member’s withdrawal as ‘an opportunity that turned misfortune into blessing.’
Literally, Do Yeonjae was a lucky charm. Face, singing, physique—he had it all.
Especially, Baek Sian’s aesthetic sense that he’d pull in all the female fans wasn’t wrong.
From his debut days when he still couldn’t shed his boyish air, Do Yeonjae absorbed fans in droves, and as his years accumulated, he became a handsome man whose unique atmosphere grew thicker.
Unlike those who claim to be great with only loudly prominent features, Do Yeonjae had something that moved women’s hearts. Whether standing on stage in flashy outfits with heavy makeup, or in a gif of him casually wearing just a white tee and sweatpants, carelessly sweeping back his black hair—a man whose retweets approached nine thousand on Twitter.
His seemingly languid yet deep-set eyes and his indifferent yet gentle atmosphere strangely drew people in. On Knowledge-iN, posts titled ‘How to date Do Yeonjae, urgently need 100 expertise points’ were uploaded every other day, and the answers were generally like this: ‘What do you want me to do, I’m more urgent, get in line.’
Also, unlike the worrisome beginning, the RAYEON members became very close.
Growing step by step under the name RAYEON, Do Yeonjae came to truly treasure his members. The maknae who calmly and indifferently embraced the hyungs naturally became the core of the group’s relationship dynamics.
That’s right. Do Yeonjae, with the peculiar position of being the maknae combined with his subtly manly personality and the characteristic of being the tallest in the team, earned the nickname ‘maknae-on-top’… and became the center of both the pseudo and alpha-fes boards.
A tall handsome man with absolutely no interaction with the opposite sex, interested only in RAYEON and singing. His bewitching charm was enough to attract all kinds of otaku, and RAYEON’s stock, with its firmly established core, rose day by day.
While hitting career highs through his busy idol life, Do Yeonjae occasionally thought of Kwon Isoo.
He must be practicing well. When will we meet on stage?
Although the ending wasn’t good, he also felt regret about not being able to debut together. Do Yeonjae kept imagining the day he’d meet Kwon Isoo again. His heart would faintly flutter as if in anticipation, but it also seemed a bit frightening.
Because Kwon Isoo would still hate him. Even so, he had nothing to say. Because the cruel one was this side…. The image of his frowning face from back then would faintly surface and then scatter.
After even more time passed, he came to calmly accept it.
They say everything flows according to natural order, so perhaps you and I were destined to be like this. In the early debut days, he would often imagine—what if we had been in the same group—but now he stopped doing that too. Because he felt sorry toward his members.
By the time the words ‘old friend’ came to suit Kwon Isoo’s name best, he could see him everywhere. As if JG Entertainment absolutely didn’t want to let go of Kwon Isoo, they exposed him in various media. Lead in a female idol’s music video, partner dancer for a famous female singer, beverage commercial, magazine pictorial, etc…. It was almost fair to consider him a quasi-celebrity.
Fans eagerly awaiting Kwon Isoo’s debut, which caused a sensation with his innate star quality, piled up by the hundreds of truckloads. …Including Do Yeonjae.
Do Yeonjae searched out and watched all content featuring Kwon Isoo. Because seeing his face through a screen was better than vaguely reminiscing. Whenever he came to mind, he would replay the music video.
And then NEOS debuted, and now, a year has passed since then.
“……”
Kwon Isoo is right before his eyes. None other than to film a RAYEON challenge.
How many years has it been since facing him one-on-one like this? Even now it’s not completely one-on-one, but still…. Do Yeonjae’s Adam’s apple moved slowly as he faced his old friend.
The eye level, much higher than in the past, made him realize the years that had passed. The outfit touched by the coordinator’s meticulous hands, the silver ring piercing in his ear, the hairstyle revealing his forehead… many things that made him up had changed, but only the cold expression remained the same.
Do Yeonjae, who entered the practice room, stared as if entranced at Kwon Isoo’s profile, not even noticing that despite the sound of someone’s presence, he didn’t turn his head.
It was fair skin that suited blond hair well.
From the straight forehead line, it curved briefly at the brow bone, then slid down as if gliding along the high nose bridge. The slightly reddish eye shape with light gray-brown irises gave a cold and mysterious feeling, and the smooth lips beneath… even without forming a smile, made one naturally imagine that smile.
It felt like something was suffocating him. In fact, Do Yeonjae already knew the smile that gorgeous face drew. It’s vivid as if the afterimage from the past had stuck thickly to his head. When he first met him, he had vaguely thought this. That someone with such pretty lips would probably only utter sweet and soft words. For example….
“What are you staring at. Like a little rat.”
…Not like that.
