– Do you like pasta?
“What’s the point of talking about it? I just can’t afford to eat it.”
The laughter beyond the phone got a little louder.
“I’ll eat whatever you give me. Ah! I’ll treat this time!”
Doha hastily added. He was worried that if he said he’d eat whatever was given, he might end up paying again.
– Sounds good.
“Then I’ll check while going to the dorm and send you a message.”
– Okay. Get home safely.
“Yep!”
He expected the call to end with that lively greeting, but strangely, he didn’t hear the mechanical sound that usually came when a call ended.
“…Sunbae-nim, please hang up first.”
– Ah.
He heard laughter again. Was he really that generous with his laughter?
– I’m really hanging up now. Contact me.
“Yep!”
This time he heard the notification sound that the call had ended. Suddenly he thought he was doing pretty well at socializing.
As soon as he hung up, he felt a chilly presence from behind. Startled, he turned around.
“……”
He didn’t know when he’d arrived, but Sehyun was leaning against the van with his arms crossed, staring intently at him. He was standing with his back to the streetlight so his expression wasn’t clearly visible, but the energy emanating from him wasn’t good.
Sure enough, he could feel it with each step Sehyun approached. This bastard, why is he in a bad mood again? He looked happy just a while ago when he was eating the wrapped meat enthusiastically.
“Is everyone out?”
He pretended to look for the other members to avoid the piercing gaze. But Lim Sehyun was standing crookedly with his arms crossed, expressing his displeasure with his entire body.
“Who was it?”
“Huh?”
“The person you were on the phone with.”
“Ah, Seo Yungyeom sunbae-nim.”
“You two talk on the phone too, you’re really close?”
Was it his imagination that the tone sounded sarcastic?
“Well, not that close…”
“You drink coffee together, eat meals together, and even privately. Isn’t that being close?”
It wasn’t exactly wrong. Were they close?
“Why are you eavesdropping on other people’s phone calls and making a fuss?”
“Other people? Meeee?”
Lim Sehyun’s face crumpled, fixated on the strange word. Why does he seem so on edge?
“So, when did you set up the next appointment?”
“We haven’t set it yet. I said I’d check my schedule.”
“How lovely, going on dates.”
Sehyun snorted. His pouty protruding lips looked just like a duck’s bill. No, who is he to act like this? Why is he being so petulant about who I eat with or talk to on the phone?
“Why? What?”
Doha acted brazenly on purpose. He hadn’t committed any crime, so why be intimidated? He was managing his own connections.
“Hyung.”
Sehyun tilted his head crookedly and met Doha’s eyes.
“Don’t you know that old geezer has ulterior motives toward you?”
When did the way he addressed him become like that? Where did things go wrong?
“What ulterior motives? He’s just looking after his junior.”
“What kind of sunbae looking after his junior calls late at night begging to eat together? Disgusting.”
Sehyun shuddered and pretended to be repulsed.
“It’s hardly late at night, it’s still 8 o’clock, and he didn’t speak disgustingly… If I had to describe it, a plain voice?”
When Doha responded clearly, Sehyun let out a hollow laugh as if dumbfounded.
“Are you oblivious, hyung, or are you enjoying this?”
“Hey, Lim Sehyun.”
“I don’t like the look in that person’s eyes. It’s like he wants to devour you, hyung.”
Doha was flabbergasted. Right now, who’s tormenting and boiling me the most?
“Why are you so on edge?”
“Ah, I’m worried you’ll get distracted again, hyung!”
This was all Baek Doha’s karma. If he thought about Lim Sehyun’s attitude from Lim Sehyun’s perspective, it made sense. He was indeed a very dangerous type to just let loose anywhere. But the current Doha found this suspicion extremely unfair.
“They say you only see what you want to see.”
“Are you saying to me right now…”
Shock crossed his large, clear eyes.
“Forget it, don’t meet him. If you must meet him, take me with you.”
“You’re overreacting.”
“Ah really, how much do I…!”
Sehyun ruffled his hair as if frustrated.
Just then, they could hear the members approaching noisily from far away. Sehyun glanced at Doha once and pursed his lips tightly.
“Uh uh, I’ll open the door!”
Cheolhwan pressed the car key from far away. Then the door opened, and Sehyun quickly slipped into the car first.
Ah. I was trying to claim a good seat but he beat me to it.
Doha shook his head and followed into the car. And sat in the seat next to Sehyun. He glanced at Sehyun awkwardly, and Sehyun sharply turned his head to look out the window.
Why is he acting so childish… Did he get drunk on cider?
* * *
After arriving at the dorm, Sehyun, who entered the bathroom first, was deep in thought.
He’d thought everything was going smoothly, but risk factors were still scattered everywhere. Haram’s family issue was settled by taking legal action, and Eden’s problem, though somewhat dangerous, had definitely cut ties.
The remaining issues were the problem. Yunbeom’s problem was that he raised his fists first when agitated, and since you never knew when his eyes would flip, danger still remained. But he was currently doing his best to appease and coax him to avoid stress and reform his personality.
However, the biggest obstacle was Baek Doha. Most of his incidents and accidents were emotional problems. That hyung who liked women, liked men, and basically liked anything he fancied was the problem.
But thinking about it, that made sense. At such a vigorous age, how could he stop sexual desire from running wild?
Didn’t they say if you forbid it, you want to do it more?
If he pressured him more here, he might cause a major accident behind everyone’s backs. That’s why this case was the trickiest compared to the other problems.
Swoosh-.
Cold water continuously poured from the shower head.
How could he make that hyung stay quiet and active like a gentle lamb?
While he was worried, the image of Doha laughing pleasantly while on the phone floated into Sehyun’s mind. Did they communicate well? Or was the face his type? What’s so good about that unlucky face?
If you think about it, age, face, even height and voice—I seem to be better.
He didn’t want to compare, but if that was such a low hurdle, hadn’t this body already jumped over it?
The conclusion he reached after his doubts was that Doha hyung wasn’t such a womanizer that he’d touch even members of the same group. Looking at it now, he was holding tight to the string of reason.
“That’s it.”
Now he understood why hyung drew such a strong line and kept his distance particularly from him. He felt refreshed.
“Then the answer is simple.”
If it was a desire that couldn’t be stopped anyway, he just had to let it be resolved within a controllable range. Rather than getting involved with the wrong person—for example, Seo Yungyeom or bastards like Seo Yungyeom—and having articles come out, someone who would keep the secret best in the world would be better.
Who’s that? Who else, this very body.
“Ha, is this the noble spirit of sacrifice, offering this one body for the greater cause?”
For a moment he felt his eyes getting warm. But once he steeled his resolve, the feeling wasn’t bad at all. No, rather…
‘Why is this.’
It felt like a pull down below. This was an unexpected reaction.
Tap.
Sehyun turned off the shower with a strange expression.
* * *
After finishing his shower, Sehyun came out to the living room roughly shaking off water droplets and frowned at the scene unfolding before his eyes.
“What’s this?”
A drinking session was underway.
“Ah. Sehyun-ah. Hurry over. We only had a tiny bit of beer earlier and it was teasing, so we decided to go all out.”
Haram said with a grin.
“Don’t you all think about tomorrow’s schedule? What drinking…”
Sehyun habitually made triangle eyes and was about to stop the members when he made eye contact with Doha. At that moment, Sehyun’s lips closed.
Sehyun, who had been scratching his nape with his fingers, quietly approached the members. He soon squeezed himself between Doha and Haram.
“You acted like you were going to nag. Why are you suddenly sitting down so obediently?”
Yunbeom said, seeing Sehyun like that.
“Well, we need days like this sometimes.”
“Hmm.”
Yunbeom, who had narrowed his eyes as if something was strange, said whatever and picked up his beer glass.
“Right. You’re human too, so let’s loosen up sometimes. A bit!”
“Glass, there’s a glass here!”
And so a full-fledged drinking session began at OnX’s dorm.
“Cheolhwan hyung isn’t coming today, right?”
“Yeah.”
Manager Cheolhwan kept some of his belongings in Eden’s room, but unlike in the early debut days, he didn’t stay here completely. Except for days when the schedule was too tight and unavoidable, he slept at his own home.
“Should we play a game too? Huh?”
Haram said, sitting cross-legged and flapping his knees.
“Why are you so excited?”
“Just because it’s nice that we’re sitting around together drinking beer like this…”
“Should I order some snacks for delivery? Or should I bring out some chips?”
Eden, who had been bringing glasses and water, asked.
