Had he ever actually worried about Chae Yuno? They hadn’t known each other long to begin with, so there was no need to read too deeply into it. He told himself it was probably nothing — but Siyeon didn’t like leaving things unsettled, and so he asked anyway.
“Have we…… met before? Before all this?”
The hands gripping the steering wheel twitched almost imperceptibly.
But Chae Yuno, as though he’d seen the question coming, didn’t so much as change expression. His lips curved up at a leisurely pace.
“What do you think?”
“If we had met before, I don’t think I’d have forgotten. You have a face that stands out.”
Chae Yuno seemed to take that as a fair point, nodding along before breaking into a laugh.
“So my face is your type? Good to know.”
“Why does everything veer off in that direction.”
“I’ve been taking every ad offer that comes in and tacked on another film role because of you, you know. I was starting to wonder if my recognizability was that bad.”
Chae Yuno brought up their first encounter without any apparent discomfort. The day Siyeon had been chased by Manager Kang — the accidental crossing of their paths.
It was admittedly awkward not to have recognized someone famous, but that wasn’t something Siyeon could have done anything about.
He holds onto things, doesn’t he.
If he was already picking up something resembling a sasaeng after just one park run-in, his popularity must be well past overflowing. Siyeon quickly steered the topic elsewhere before more needless complaining could come his way.
“You’re filming a movie too?”
“Yeah. Do you like movies? What genre — romance? Action?”
Siyeon had never been particularly opinionated about things like that.
A life where simply getting through each day was already exhausting. Most things that could have been called hobbies had been let go without much ceremony, and not many preferences had survived the years.
If he had to pick one, though — movies.
Not the kind of deep engagement where he sought out critical essays, and not a taste for difficult classics either.
Just something to put on whenever he had a spare moment.
But for those stretches of time, they had genuinely been a pause in an otherwise grinding life. Because for a little while, inside a film, he could be someone else.
Sometimes the lead in a romance. Sometimes an agent executing a covert mission. Scenes that would be unimaginable in an ordinary life playing out right before his eyes — if that counted as escape, then it was.
“I don’t really discriminate — I like it all. Watching through a streaming service or going to a theater, both are good.”
He tended to lean toward lighter stories, but he had no firm exclusions. Serious films had their own quality, and so did intense ones. It was rare to get a genuinely positive response out of Siyeon, and Chae Yuno’s expression brightened a little.
“Want to come visit the set sometime?”
“Is that allowed?”
“Why wouldn’t it be? I’m the lead.”
It bordered on bragging, but it didn’t bother Siyeon at all. If anything it was a little impressive. Visiting a film set was something he’d never even thought to imagine. For the first time, Siyeon found himself looking forward to something that involved Chae Yuno.
“When can I come? Oh, and what’s the film about? Who’s your co-lead…… wait, are you the sole lead?”
Watching Siyeon rattle off questions in quick succession, Chae Yuno let out a quiet laugh. Then, as if something had just occurred to him, his brow drew together faintly.
“I’ll tell you when you get there. But make me one promise first.”
A promise? Just as Siyeon was bracing himself for whatever strange condition was about to follow, Chae Yuno said something he hadn’t expected.
“Don’t get too close to hyung while I’m gone.”
“Gone? Where are you going?”
“Just say you won’t, quickly. Then I’ll tell you.”
Getting close was the least of it — as long as they weren’t at each other’s throats, that was already a success. Siyeon stared at him in disbelief and then gave a slow nod, and Chae Yuno held back for a moment before adding:
“I’m going straight into filming next week. But the first location shoot happens to be overseas.”
“The film you mentioned just now?”
“Yeah, I’ll probably be gone about three weeks. Which means you’ll be spending that time alone with hyung.”
Chae Yuno kept his gaze fixed straight ahead as he said it. Either he wasn’t happy about it or it was just that unlike him — his voice had gone slightly flat.
The sudden news of Chae Yuno’s absence caught Siyeon off guard too, and unsettled him more than he’d like. Chae Yuno’s film was news to him, and so was the overseas location — neither had existed in the original story, which made it a variable that was hard to predict.
He wanted to deviate from the original, yes — but letting the flow shift too drastically was also dangerous. He mulled it over for a moment before speaking.
“That’s longer than I expected. Can’t you come back any sooner?”
The almost pleading quality of the reply made Chae Yuno turn to look at him in apparent surprise.
“Are you actually going to miss me?”
“What? That’s not — eyes on the road, please!”
He clearly had no idea what Siyeon was actually worried about. Siyeon yelped at the sight of him turning his head while driving.
“Should I just not go? Should I push the filming back? Or you could come with me — that works, right! You’d just go as a crew member in disguise.”
Chae Yuno came at him with the energy of someone about to pack Siyeon into his luggage. And absurdly, Siyeon felt a tiny flicker of temptation at that ridiculous idea.
No. If I go and go into heat there, how am I supposed to deal with that.
He’d spent today having it drilled into him — absolute rest, don’t overdo it — because of the state his body was in. And yet he’d actually been momentarily excited at the thought of following along to a film shoot. Living a few days without incident among a bunch of dangerous people had apparently completely dismantled his sense of self-preservation.
“Doesn’t that sound good? We’re heading to the Mediterranean — shopping, good food, all of it.”
Chae Yuno, oblivious to Siyeon’s complicated inner state, floated the idea as if it were brilliant and waited for his verdict. Siyeon’s answer was, of course, a refusal.
“I’m fine, thanks. But before you leave, please sort out the pheromone partner schedule with the CEO and get that settled.”
Siyeon kept his tone even. Chae Yuno hadn’t expected such a flat rejection and made no effort to hide his dejection.
He looks so young when he’s like this.
And yet somehow this was the person who ended up going completely dark. Siyeon clicked his tongue quietly and turned back to the window.
Unlike Chae Yuno, who he’d grown at least somewhat used to — the idea of being alone with Beom Yisu, with whom he’d barely had any real contact, was another matter entirely. He’d never pictured things going this way but…… well, what could he do. If running wasn’t an option right now, the least he could do was fake adjustability until he could breathe again.
***
After their short outing, the day of Chae Yuno’s departure arrived much sooner than expected. Just as he was about to get into the car heading to the airport, Chae Yuno turned back around like someone who’d forgotten something.
“Oh, hold on.”
What’s he fussing about now. Siyeon gave him a puzzled look, and Chae Yuno reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small box, about the size of a palm.
Click — the lid opened to reveal a slim band that looked expensive.
“Wear this.”
“What is it?”
“A pheromone band. I picked a color that would suit you. What do you think, do you like it?”
It was something worn on the wrist like a bracelet — but looking more closely, what was set into the center wasn’t a jewel but what appeared to be a small sensor. Siyeon leaned in curiously at the unfamiliar object, and Chae Yuno continued explaining.
“It responds immediately if the early signs of heat or a change in pheromone concentration exceeds a certain level. I’ve synced it to send alerts to both your phone and mine.”
“……To your phone too?”
He was going to be overseas filming — what was he going to do with an alert he couldn’t immediately act on.
It left Siyeon with an unsettling feeling of being monitored, but Chae Yuno paid it no mind and set the band down on Siyeon’s wrist. It was cold and light.
“Even apart from the unheat situation, you’re not in great shape right now. The hospital said your heat cycle could be unstable for a while. So just think of this as a safety measure.”
It was true that being able to detect a dangerous reading in advance would make it easier to respond. Siyeon looked down at the sensor in silence. Chae Yuno had clearly prepared far more thoroughly than expected before leaving — enough to take at least a little of the worry off Siyeon’s mind.
“I’ve also notified the hospital about your next check-up in advance. Even while I’m gone, they’ll reach out to you directly — so don’t worry about that.”
“……You sorted all of that out ahead of time?”
He’d said it before he caught himself. Knowing how self-absorbed Chae Yuno could be, he’d fully expected some self-congratulating remark to come back at him — but instead, Chae Yuno gave a quiet, fleeting smile before his expression settled back into something composed.
“Anyway, take care of yourself. Don’t go doing whatever you feel like while I’m gone and collapse on me.”
He repeated his instructions several more times, and then — looking genuinely miserable about it as his manager practically dragged him away — he was gone.
Siyeon had kept up a front of not caring, but the moment the house was empty of Chae Yuno, a quiet tension crept in. He’d braced himself and prepared to deal with living alongside Beom Yisu — but as it turned out, his worrying had been entirely unnecessary. A full week had now passed, and Siyeon had spent most of it alone.
The reason, if there was one to give, was that Beom Yisu was buried without pause in whatever was keeping him occupied. From fragments of a phone call with Secretary Han that Siyeon had accidentally overheard, it sounded as though something had gone wrong at the company.
