Just when it seemed the call was getting longer, Sehyun let out a deep sigh and hung up the phone.
“Ah, draining.”
Sehyun tossed his phone onto the table and dry-washed his face. Coordinating with the company, broadcast schedules, comeback schedule. Idol activities seemed to require more energy off stage than on stage. Of course, this was all because of Lim Sehyun’s perfectionist greed.
“Done?”
Doha withdrew his gaze from the healing video he was watching and asked.
“Yeah. It’s roughly organized…”
Sehyun staggered toward the refrigerator. Just when it seemed he was picking up the ion drink he’d just taken out, he sneakily pulled out a can that was hidden behind it.
“Hyung. Want to drink this instead of carbonated water?”
What Sehyun held in his hand was a can of beer.
“There was alcohol here too?”
“It’s emergency rations I secretly hid. On days like today, we need to drink.”
Sehyun grinned and rummaged through the drawer, then found a half-eaten bag of nachos. It was properly sealed with a clip so it wouldn’t get soggy.
“This should work as a snack, right?”
The low table placed on the studio floor. Two cans of beer and a bag of nachos were placed on it plainly. It was a drinking table that was meager beyond modest, but for those who had finished a hard day, it was a feast like no other.
Sehyun left the perfectly good sofa and sat on the floor, leaning his back against the sofa. So Korean of him. Doha also sat down next to him in a daze.
Tsssk, tak.
The sound of opening cans cheerfully broke the studio’s silence.
“You worked hard today.”
Sehyun held out a can.
“You too.”
Clang, the thin aluminum cans clinked together.
Doha took a sip of beer. The bitter barley scent and fizzy carbonation went down his throat. It was a slightly more adult refreshment, different from carbonated water.
“Keu.”
Is worrying about his throat while drinking beer an occupational hazard?
“Rankings and everything, now that it’s over, I feel refreshed.”
“It’s not over yet.”
“Aw, what’s left.”
Sehyun seemed to be in a particularly good mood today.
“I want to hurry home and take off my makeup.”
“Want to wash up? There’s a bathroom here too.”
He thought the studio had everything. Come to think of it, Sehyun would sometimes return to the dorm giving off a fragrant, damp smell.
So he was washing up here. I thought he was going to some sauna with good spring water or something.
“But what cologne do you use?”
“I don’t really use any. Maybe it’s the body lotion scent.”
Sehyun asked what kind of smell he had and buried his nose in his arm, sniffing. Doha, who had been watching that sight while drinking beer, pressed his nose to Sehyun’s shoulder as if frustrated.
“It smells like grass, and like wood. It’s refreshing but sweet.”
“Ah, that’s probably mixed with the fabric softener. I think the body lotion was fig-scented.”
Sehyun replied as if it was nothing special and drank his beer.
“Interesting. I thought you sprayed cologne.”
Doha pulled back again and leaned against the sofa. The distance that had been strangely close widened, but perhaps because of the lingering breath that had mixed once, the air felt somehow heavy.
Gulp, gulp.
In the silent studio, the sound of Adam’s apples moving was particularly loud. Alcohol circulated through their veins, spreading languid heat. Was it because the tension had released, or because the buzz was rising? The world seemed to flow a little slower.
Doha fiddled with his can and casually turned his head.
At that moment, their gazes tangled.
Sehyun was staring intently at Doha with the beer can at his lips, not even drinking.
“But hyung smells good too.”
“What smell.”
Sehyun leaned his upper body slightly and approached Doha.
“Really… fluffy smell.”
A languidly loosened voice tickled his ear. Doha let out a hollow laugh as if absurd.
“What are you talking about. I just sweated buckets earlier.”
“It’s true though. Maybe it’s your skin smell.”
Sehyun didn’t back away and stared into Doha’s eyes. Whether because of the alcohol, or because of something else. The heat rippling inside his pupils seemed to transfer over.
What’s with him?
“Are you drunk from two sips of beer?”
Sometimes people get drunk quickly when they’re too tired. Is that it?
When Doha asked, Sehyun shook his head.
“No. I’m fine.”
Even while shaking his head, Sehyun gradually pushed his butt to close the distance toward Doha. The shoulders that had barely been touching were now completely pressed together. Body heat transferred warmly.
“But hyung. What kind of person do you like?”
“Why are you curious about that?”
Doha frowned and tried to pull back, but the sofa was blocking him.
“Just curious.”
Sehyun propped his chin and scanned Doha with languidly loosened eyes. It was a look as if appraising him.
“You don’t particularly distinguish between women and men. Your standards for faces don’t seem particularly high either.”
“What?”
A hollow laugh came out from absurdity. How does he know other people’s standards?
“That’s not true. My standards are high.”
When Doha answered indignantly, Sehyun let out a sneering laugh through his nose. He seemed not to believe it.
“High as they may be, whatever.”
Look at this?
“Since hyung has been quiet lately, I’m even more curious.”
“You see me as someone crazy about dating.”
Sehyun shrugged. In fact, denying it would only be a ridiculous act to Lim Sehyun, who was a regressor.
“But I don’t plan on dating or anything like that going forward.”
“Why suddenly?”
No, wasn’t this the answer Lim Sehyun wanted? Why that reaction?
“No, how can you decide that definitively?”
“I’m deciding it because I can… Whether you believe it or not is your freedom.”
“What change of heart is this?”
“If I say I won’t cause trouble, shouldn’t you just welcome it?”
“That depends on the situation.”
He must definitely be drunk. What the hell is he saying?
Doha decided to just let Sehyun’s words flow in one ear and out the other.
“I’m confused these days.”
“About what.”
“I think I’ve been badly influenced by hyung.”
He hasn’t done anything to influence him with anything. And it’s not even a good influence but a bad one. It became even scarier to ask more.
“I don’t particularly want to know, but I’ll ask out of courtesy. What kind of influence are you talking about?”
“I want to date.”
“Mm, you’ve gone crazy.”
This guy has finally lost it. Where did he sell off the regressor’s duty?
The guy who has the weighty mission of making the group succeed and saving the world(?) is just going on about dating. And at the most important time. The one who knows the future is acting worse.
“Why, did someone you’re interested in appear recently?”
There didn’t seem to be any occasions where he had contact with women. Ah, but that actress’s gaze was kind of strange during that commercial shoot. Did something happen between them?
When Doha looked at him with pitiful eyes, Sehyun brought his body even closer.
“But, hyung.”
“Uh, huh?”
“When hyung was going down a bad path, I stopped you, didn’t I?”
“Rather than stopping, you grabbed me by the collar and dragged me.”
Let’s get the words right. It was quite violent.
“Then shouldn’t hyung stop me this time?”
He didn’t understand.
“Why? Just do it. The world won’t flip upside down just because you date a little.”
The fans would flip if they knew. But if it’s Lim Sehyun, couldn’t he date without anyone knowing?
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
Actually, he hadn’t answered after thinking deeply. He knew that no matter how crazy Lim Sehyun was, he wasn’t the personality to just date at a time like this.
Not knowing how well I know you. What a ridiculous trick.
“Then I’ll do it.”
“Hm?”
Doha, who had been picking up another nacho, turned his head. But Lim Sehyun’s face was right up close.
“…What.”
Just as he was about to ask ‘what,’ Lim Sehyun’s hand cupped Doha’s cheek. Somehow this scene felt like he’d seen it before. Was it déjà vu?
In an instant, Lim Sehyun’s body leaned into Doha. Sehyun’s hand gripped both Doha’s chin and the back of his neck at once.
Sehyun’s moist lips touched Doha’s lips. The scent of Sehyun that he’d thought was so nice until just now rushed in. He could feel even the faintly mixed smell of sweat completely.
In the flustering situation, Doha blinked quietly, then his mouth opened without him realizing it. It was because Sehyun pressed down firmly on his chin with his thumb.
Between the parted lips, a hot tongue carved its way in. The bitter beer scent suddenly permeated.
The tongue that burrowed in without giving him time to be surprised was unrestrained. It traced Doha’s teeth and rummaged through his mouth with nowhere to escape. When the soft, hot flesh intertwined, his mind went white.
‘What is this?’
“Mmph!”
Doha, who came to his senses belatedly, pushed at Sehyun’s chest. But the solid upper body built through exercise didn’t budge at all. Rather, Sehyun pressed his body even closer to Doha.
The nacho Doha was holding crumbled with a crunching sound.
Without even giving him time to breathe, he pressed on relentlessly, so Doha had no choice but to open his mouth wider while gasping.
Sehyun’s hand gripped the back of Doha’s neck more deeply. Rubbing his earlobe with his thumb, he tilted his head to deepen the angle.
What is this guy? Why is he so good at kissing? No, is that the problem right now?
