“At that time, I was a bit sick and out of it, so I was talking nonsense. The penalty fee isn’t just a few pennies, and there’s still time left on the contract—how could I quit?”
“Didn’t I tell you not to worry about money?”
Grandfather was firm.
“If you’ve made up your mind, hurry up and wrap things up and come back. If you hesitate for no reason, even things that could work out won’t.”
Oh my god, Grandfather. Talk about that kind of thing when Lim Sehyun isn’t around! Doha screamed inwardly.
Just then, a gentle voice came from beside him.
“Hyung, did you say you were going to quit work?”
Sehyun asked with a calm smile hanging on his lips. But unlike his soft smile, his gaze was sharp.
“That was when things were really hectic.”
He made an excuse for now, but suddenly he had this thought. Was there really a need to hide these feelings? In the first place, they were forcibly holding onto someone who said they didn’t want to do it.
“Ah, you mean when you were out of it because of the accident.”
Soon Sehyun nodded as if he understood.
“Grandfather-nim, Doha hyung isn’t going to quit the group.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You don’t know how much Doha hyung loves this work.”
“What? Love?”
Grandfather asked back as if it was absurd.
“Doha hyung is an idol to his bones. You don’t know how happy he is when he sings and dances on stage, do you?”
Sehyun’s eyes sparkled. They weren’t the eyes of someone telling a lie. They were so sincere and full of conviction that Doha momentarily thought, ‘Did I really do that?’
“Doha hyung is really someone born to be loved.”
“Kek, kek.”
At Lim Sehyun’s next words, he really choked. Water! Water! As Doha fumbled on the table, Sehyun quickly handed him a glass of water and patted his back.
“Are you okay?”
“Sseup.”
Doha swallowed the water and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.
“What are you even saying?”
He was curious where he’d learned such cringeworthy words.
“I’m just telling him so Grandfather-nim won’t worry.”
“……Just eat your food.”
“Acting shy, even.”
Sehyun playfully deflected Doha’s prickly response. Even if he cursed at him, it seemed like he wouldn’t pay attention.
After Sehyun made a playful expression at grandfather, he started shoveling rice into his mouth again.
“Goodness, is this young man going around starving?”
Baek Suncheol-ssi didn’t find Sehyun unlikeable—he spoke well and ate well too. His sociable personality was even cute, unlike his own grandson.
“Eat slowly. I’ll stop talking about troublesome things.”
“What’s troublesome about it? If it’s Doha hyung’s family, it’s the same as my family. Please speak comfortably about anything.”
He knew his face was thick, but he didn’t know it would be to this extent.
Doha looked at Sehyun with fascination.
No matter how much he’d regressed, at most he’d only lived until his mid-twenties, so why does it seem like a cunning old man has taken residence inside? Though his personality is closer to an old lady than an old man……
“This is crazy, hyung, try eating this.”
“Uh, yeah.”
Doha stared blankly at the mackerel flesh placed on top of his rice bowl.
When did he even debone that?
“Grandfather, I can stay for a long time today, right?”
“……Well, why wouldn’t you be able to? There’s dessert too, so take your time.”
“Have you been to that famous ice cream shop that opened nearby?”
“Hm?”
“I saw it on the way here. If you haven’t tried it, I’ll go buy some after we eat.”
“What, at my age eating what kids eat……”
“What are you saying? It’s all about experience. There are flavors that you’ll absolutely love, Grandfather-nim.”
“Is that so? Then, well, let’s try it.”
The back-and-forth between the two continued seamlessly.
This is an emergency.
Baek Suncheol-ssi was falling for Lim Sehyun.
* * *
“We’ll be going now! I’ll come again! Next week works for you, right?”
To conclude, the world’s busiest Lim Sehyun stayed at grandfather’s house all day long.
He even opened his laptop and stuck right next to grandfather, playing him the new song he was making, explaining the lyrics, and telling him which parts Baek Doha would do.
Anyone watching would have thought the grandson was that one, not this one.
“Right, make sure to eat your meals properly. Take care of yourself. I heard that idols or whatever don’t even get to eat.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll thoroughly make sure Doha hyung gets his three meals a day!”
“Hmm, come by anytime you have time.”
“Yep!”
The two exchanged numbers. Lim Sehyun unilaterally got his number. Grandfather pretended to lose and handed over his phone, and Lim Sehyun saved himself in grandfather’s phone under the name ‘Second Grandson’.
He’s crazy.
“Look at the amount of braised short ribs. The dumplings here will last a year.”
Lim Sehyun walked bouncily while holding the food grandfather had packed for them. His steps truly looked happy.
This scene was quite strange. What is this feeling……?
* * *
Baek Suncheol-ssi watched the two of them for a long time as they walked away. The sunset glow that had only seemed lonely felt quite romantic today.
Once Doha and Sehyun’s figures completely disappeared, Baek Suncheol-ssi, who had come back into the house, felt the emptiness coming from where the two had vanished.
He saw the picture frames placed next to the entrance.
“……They really grew up well.”
For no reason, he missed his son and daughter-in-law.
Baek Suncheol-ssi felt good after meeting Sehyun today. He was relieved that his grandson, who he’d always thought was prickly and living only in his own world, had such a warm colleague.
‘Doha hyung is really someone born to be loved.’
He recalled the words Lim Sehyun had said. Whenever he thought of his grandson from time to time, guilt would always arise from the fact that he hadn’t fully received his parents’ love during his childhood.
Even though it wasn’t anyone’s fault, just as parents are always sinners to their children, it wasn’t different for him.
To be loved.
For no reason, he felt bitter thinking that maybe that was also a job chosen to fill a childhood deficiency, but Doha’s glossy face that he’d seen today warmed his heart.
It was a distinctly different atmosphere from before.
‘I’ll come again.’
Those words casually tossed out on the way back kept circling in his memory.
Will he come again?
Baek Suncheol-ssi’s gaze turned to the TV that existed but was rarely turned on.
He felt like watching that Battle whatever-it-was that young people watch.
He was also curious about just how much love he was receiving.
Baek Suncheol-ssi quietly picked up the remote.
* * *
“Let’s try it one more time. Can you try singing with less tension?”
Recording was in full swing in Sehyun’s studio.
The title track had been decided, and the music video concept had come out. Now it was time to just look ahead and run, as they say.
At such a time, Lim Sehyun’s perfectionism suddenly popped out. After hours of continuous recording, Doha collapsed on the sofa and waited for his turn.
Humming the lyrics he’d memorized perfectly, he picked up his phone.
For Doha, looking at fans’ reactions was a scary thing. But after watching Sehyun communicate with fans so enjoyably from the side, he found himself getting into it without realizing.
Happy Monday
He tried awkwardly greeting on Purple, received responses asking what kind of terrible things he was saying, checked YouTube comments, and even when he still had time left, one icon caught his attention.
It was the SNS that Sehyun had warned would give him a headache if he looked at it.
Is this what it feels like to step into forbidden territory?
Sehyun tapped the app thinking he’d just take a quick look and close it.
When he searched for OnX in the search bar, posts that never ended no matter how much he scrolled appeared.
kkukkukku @wwaal_ -14min
Why are OnX’s arrival photos today so sweet
(photo)(photo)
Elkkal @a_ddlk -19min
OnX Sehyun<<This guy also dances really well at the level of other teams’ main dancers, but people don’t know it well because there are monsters in the same group
(Sehyun dance video)(Sehyun dance video)
jjuwapjjuwap @ffon -1hour
Go see OnX’s bright smiling gifs
(photos of members smiling)
Looking at the things captured in photos and gifs, the times that had passed flashed through his mind. So I was that tense when going to Battle Crown, I had a hard time practicing that dance, did I really smile that much during self-content filming?
But that’s how the world originally is. You can’t always expect only good things.
bbuhnaji @bbuna -1day
Sigh, what do you do if you’re already tired of them, did you sell a million, did you sell two million, did you ever win a grand prize
Hmm…… He saw them occasionally. Even if he tried to pass by, what could he do when they caught his eye?
But why does it feel bad?
Is it because he knows how hard the members are working on activities?
As he roughly skipped over the things that bothered him, something interesting gradually appeared.
ssukbit @sssuu -1hour
(video of hands caressing)
What’s this?
When did I caress Lim Sehyun’s hand so affectionately? Isn’t it just brushing past? I think it’s because it’s played in slow motion.
At the strange feeling, he deliberately clicked and watched for a while, and ended up seeing other posts by the person called ssukbit.
When did I back-hug Lim Sehyun?
When did I bring my face this close to Lim Sehyun? Eyes trying to kiss, what are they talking about?
Now that he looked, they were photos and videos that had cleverly stretched and cut moments from various content to make it look like they were dating or something.
Wow, impressive technical skills.
