Just as he let out a hollow laugh from sheer absurdity, a notification from Kwon Isoo appeared at the top of his phone.
[Hey what the hell is this]
[What does this have to do with the theme? Tell me]
……The tiger-like message immediately stopped his laughter.
Actually, what had been confusing Do Yeonjae lately wasn’t the #DoYeonjaeRomance or JjitJae reunion stories, or the ridiculous homo-style lyric interpretations.
It was Kwon Isoo’s direct, unfiltered evaluations of the lyrics he sent… which were of course burdensome, but that much was bearable. The feedback was productive and helpful, after all.
Besides that, the real problem was this.
“Why such a serious face? Regretting agreeing to raise the high note by one key?”
Just then, Baek Sian spoke to him. Perhaps because ‘Dark Rose’ had recently won the trophy, he looked exceptionally pleased. Do Yeonjae, who’d been leaning against the wall, straightened his back.
“…Hyung.”
Having been stuck in a pit of chaos, seeing Baek Sian made it seem like a halo was shining behind him.
“You have a lot of friends, right hyung?”
“Out of nowhere? I’m not without them.”
Right, to Sian hyung… After chewing the inside of his cheek in contemplation, Yeonjae soon made up his mind and grabbed Sian’s wrist.
“Come here for a sec. I have something to say.”
“Huh?”
Having arrived in a corner of the practice room, Yeonjae looked down at Sian with a serious face. Sensing the scent of dopamine, Sian asked sneakily while hiding his excitement:
“What. Did you fight with a friend? Who?”
“Hyung, have you…”
Have you jerked off while thinking about a friend?
The moment he was about to blurt that out, instinct urgently shouted from somewhere.
Shut up right now.
“……”
His tongue stiffened as if by magic. Do Yeonjae, who instinctively shut his mouth, frowned.
Even so, is this really something to consult about?
“What is it, hurry up and tell me.”
Seeing Sian’s eyes sparkling with curiosity as he urged him on, the thought that this wouldn’t work hit him belatedly.
“That…”
Yeonjae rolled his eyes around then whipped his body around.
“Break time is almost over.”
“Huh? Ah, what a letdown!”
He quickly walked away, avoiding Sian who was chasing after him. Just then, the choreographer clapped and called out:
“Shall we start again?”
Though it was difficult ignoring Sian who kept interrogating him throughout practice breaks, at least he could put thoughts of Kwon Isoo aside for a while by concentrating on practice. Whether it was the lyrics or anything else…
But time flows on eventually.
After practice ended, Do Yeonjae boarded the Carnival to take care of his personal schedule and turned on his phone. His face was full of worry as he entered the chat room with Kwon Isoo.
And rightly so. He’d been getting thrashed by Kwon Isoo quite a lot these past few days.
Listing the feedback he’d received from him while sending lyrics bit by bit each day went like this:
– Bullshit
– So wordy
– Don’t try to complete sentences, break it up focusing on words
– You don’t have to attach every particle
– Is this your best?
– What are you trying to say
– I’m not asking for anything grand so think simply and intuitively
Shocked when even lyrics he thought were decent got torn apart, Do Yeonjae entered a “renewed determination” mode.
Break it up focusing on words, simple and intuitive… Recalling Kwon Isoo’s advice, he’d sent the masterpiece lyrics he’d thought up all night this morning.
When I see those round kitty eyes, happiness bubbles up Yeah Yeah
Hey what the hell is this
What does this have to do with the theme? Tell me
He doesn’t like it…
Isn’t the rhyme fresh and good?
I almost sent ‘Meowing and swishing its tail cutely’ but good thing I didn’t.
Scratching between his brows while looking at Kwon Isoo’s message that seemed beyond absurd and slightly pissed, Yeonjae sighed. He definitely thought he’d gotten the hang of it, but it must have been a huge misconception.
How many songs has he sung, how many lyrics has he analyzed? He keenly realized that expression and creation were completely different domains.
Still, Kwon Isoo must be working hard on the beat too, so I can’t give up easily. Having quickly recovered his mental state, Yeonjae sent a reply.
Got it
Read
I’ll think about it again
Read
See you tomorrow
Read
I’ll think hard and send something again tomorrow.
Just as he was about to leave the chat room, the “Read” disappeared.
Try explaining it so I can understand
What am I supposed to do when kitty eyeballs are fucking cute and I’m happy?
Usually when he sent messages like that he’d get left on read, but strangely today he was being persistent… Yeonjae, his eyebrows drooping, typed.
ㅠㅠI didn’t say eyeballs..
Whether he was still in the chat room, this time too he read it immediately. But somehow no reply came back. There wasn’t even an indicator that he was typing… What?
He must be busy with something. Actually, it’s not really content that needs a response anyway. Having easily accepted being left on read, Yeonjae was about to turn off the screen when messages suddenly started flooding in.
Fuck.. what
Don’t act cute
Don’t do shit that doesn’t even work
It doesn’t work on me
You think I’ll go easy on you if you talk like that? Not a chance
But fuck do you talk like that to other guys too?
????
Where exactly in those words is the aegyo? Looking into the chat room with a face full of question marks, one more message came.
Don’t live like that
As if he’d left the chat room after those words, no more messages came.
Why is he like this again… I’m already confused to death as it is. Do Yeonjae gave up on interpreting Kwon Isoo’s language and leaned back against the seat.
“Haah.”
Actually, his inability to produce good lyrics might all be because of his chaotic state of mind.
He knew that friends sometimes touched each other occasionally. Kwon Isoo had actually said ‘Don’t make a fuss about guys getting each other off once,’ and he’d witnessed with his own two eyes the sight of trainee hyungs helping each other out.
But no one had told him about the situation after that.
Is there really no one else who jerked off alone while recalling those good memories of ‘helping each other out’?
…Just me?
“Haah…”
To satisfy his urges while thinking of a friend. No, before that, for his lower half to react to thoughts of Kwon Isoo? He didn’t know how to accept this absurd phenomenon.
I can’t ask Sehyun hyung about this either.
Do Yeonjae had never masturbated while thinking of anyone before. He’d just appropriately taken care of it when he was alone and felt that kind of mood. That’s why the experience with Kwon Isoo from a while ago had remained so intensely… Ah. Maybe that’s why. Because it was his first time experiencing such intense pleasure.
So at least for him, it absolutely wasn’t an experience ‘not worth making a fuss about.’ Vulnerable to precarious situations, he’d gotten weird feelings just from having his skin tickled a bit with wet wipes, and eventually ended up doing it alone at the dorm.
“……”
Right. That’s it.
But why did the first time have to be with a man who’s also a friend? No, why did it have to be Kwon Isoo of all people…
A sigh came out, but he couldn’t turn back time now. It was already done.
Haah. When Do Yeonjae let out his third sigh, the manager in the driver’s seat, unable to watch any longer, spoke to him.
“Yeonjae, is something wrong? You’ve been sighing so heavily since earlier…”
“Ah, sorry hyung.”
Do Yeonjae apologized with an ‘oops’ expression. Sitting comfortably in the back seat and letting out deflating sighs wasn’t polite.
“I guess I was a bit tired. I’ll be careful.”
“If you’re tired you can nap. I’ll wake you when we arrive. Oh right. You heard, right? <My Favorite! Chemistry> Episode 0 is going up tomorrow.”
“Yes, I heard. But they’re not releasing a teaser or anything?”
“I asked too, but Isoo-ssi generously promoted it on the video radio on the first filming day. So they’re just going with a surprise release of Episode 0 without a teaser.”
Ah… well, in a way that was pretty much a preview. As he nodded readily, the manager added:
“The team leader checked the rough edit and said it came out fun and good.”
“Fun… and good?”
Episode 0 would contain footage from the day Kwon Isoo did the RAYEON manager experience. It was a nerve-wracking memory in many ways, so he’d been worried about how it would turn out… He asked again, unable to believe it.
“Yeah. Want to watch it in advance if you’re curious? Should I send you the video?”
“Ah, no. I’ll watch it when it’s released tomorrow.”
He had a schedule today, and just writing lyrics in between was busy enough. At least when the company reviewed it, there were no problems. They must have done full edits of any potentially problematic scenes.
“Alright, you don’t have any special schedule tomorrow so watch it comfortably at the dorm.”
“Okay.”
After answering, Do Yeonjae opened his notes app. With his face completely scrunched up, he scribbled lyrics while burning with artistic passion. To produce lyrics worthy of Kwon Isoo’s approval.
And the next day.
<My Favorite! Chemistry> Episode 0 went up.
