Unseong – [Yuho, are you sleeping?] 12:07 AM
Unseong’s message arrived at dawn two days after the variety show broadcast.
Yuho flinched at the sending time and comment that were like an ex-boyfriend’s, but as a junior, he quickly sent a reply.
Yuho – [No, I’m not sleeping]
Unseong – [Want to come to hyung’s studio on Friday?]
At Unseong’s request to visit his studio that came out of nowhere, Yuho couldn’t help but be flustered.
We’ve only met once. No matter how he thought about it, Unseong was a man with no middle ground.
Yuho – [Suhyung hyung, Yeomin has a schedule on Friday, right?]
Though it was late, Yuho sent a message to Suhyung just in case. If possible, it seemed like taking Yeomin along to Unseong’s studio would reduce the awkwardness.
Suhyung – [ㅇㅇ Drama filming continues until Friday]
Yuho – [What about Inhan?]
Suhyung – [Inhan has a commercial shoot] [Why? Are you going somewhere?]
At Suhyung’s answer, Yuho became more troubled. He couldn’t possibly have checked the kids’ schedules in advance and set the date as Friday, could he? He even harbored unnecessary suspicions. The reason was simple. Because he was Inhan’s close hyung. He was curious about what ulterior motive was hidden in the purpose of inviting him.
Yuho – [No, just curious]
Suhyung – [If it’s morning time, hyung can take you] [Where are you going?]
With Suhyung seeming ready to call him if he didn’t answer properly, Yuho had no choice but to answer obediently.
Yuho – [It’s not certain yet]
Suhyung – [ㅇㅇ Let me know when it’s decided]
Yuho – [Yes, hyung, work hard]
Suhyung – [Yeah, you go to sleep soon]
Yuho – [Yes]
After finishing his conversation with Suhyung, Yuho sent a message back to Unseong.
Yuho – [Just me alone?]
Unseong – [ㅇㅇ Why? Uncomfortable?]
Yuho – [No no, not at all]
Since Unseong asked outright, Yuho couldn’t bring himself to affirm it. The other person was a senior, a hyung, and someone he admired, so he couldn’t refuse even more.
Yuho hurriedly sent a positive answer.
Yuho – [What time should I come?]
Unseong – [You can come anytime that’s convenient for you]
Yuho – [Then would 4 o’clock be okay?]
Unseong – [ㅇㅇ Come and have dinner too, I’ll buy you something delicious]
Yuho – [Ah thank you] [If you give me the address, I’ll come at 4 o’clock!]
Unseong – [Yeonho Building basement 1st floor in front of Hapjeong Station Exit 2] [You can come here]
Yuho – [Yes, then see you that day! Have a good night]
Unseong – [ㅇㅇ You sleep well too and have good dreams]
At Unseong’s invitation with an unclear purpose, Yuho put down his phone and fell into deep contemplation. Why was it? No matter how much he thought about it, the reason could only be concluded to be because of Inhan.
He thought distance would grow if out of sight. The vaguely continuing connection with Inhan drove Yuho even more crazy. It’s just teasing for no reason. At this rate, far from giving up, his longing for Inhan would only grow.
Yuho glared once at the innocent golden turtle. It was a futile action.
* * *
It was the afternoon of the next day.
Yuho grabbed his guitar bag that had been stored in the closet and headed to the company practice room. After the disbandment discussion, even going to the practice room made him self-conscious, but with a live broadcast coming up, he had no room to care about such things.
Contrary to Yuho’s expectations, Unseong’s purpose for the invitation was surprisingly simple.
Unseong – [Want to do a jam session live broadcast with hyung?] 10:17 AM
Yuho – [Yes, I want to!] 10:17 AM
For Yuho, who was desperate for an opportunity to sing, it was a proposal with no reason to refuse.
Yuho went straight to the vocal room he had reserved and had been holed up there for hours.
Yeomin – [Yuho hyung let’s have dinnerrrr] 7:32 PM
Yeomin and Inhan were practicing the unit song choreography in the underground dance practice room. It was dinner time, and Yuho, who had skipped lunch with cereal, was also quite hungry. However, Yuho’s answer to Yeomin’s dinner proposal was predetermined.
Yuho – [But I’m not really hungry] [I’ll eat later when I go to the dorm]
Yeomin – [Okayyyy ㅜㅜ]
Yuho could clearly picture Yeomin’s disappointed look, but from Yuho’s standpoint, it was an unavoidable choice.
He shouldn’t have said things to Inhan like the prize should be given to someone he likes. After saying that, not only did he take the prize back, but he even happily posted a certification post on SNS, so Yuho was in an embarrassing situation to face Inhan.
Of course, even without that reason, the two were in a relationship where they had no particular reason to see each other.
Still, should I ask what they’re eating? Yuho was just curious about the menu. There was no other intention.
Yuho – [What are you eating for dinner?]
Yeomin – [What hyung wants to eat]
Yeomin must have thought Yuho had fallen for it. But Yuho was definitely not an easy opponent either.
Yuho – [Okay, eat well]
Yeomin – [Gangnam handmade burger]
Yuho – [I’m coming now, wait]
Yeomin – [ㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
The problem was that Yeomin was far more skilled than Yuho.
Of course, Yuho could have ordered Gangnam handmade burgers by delivery alone. He could somehow meet the minimum order amount even if it meant overspending.
The problem was that eating was prohibited in the vocal room, eating alone in the hall meant too many people passing by, and going home to eat was out of the question because Yuho was too hungry right now. So right now, Yuho had just made the wisest choice for the situation.
Right, right. Yuho finished rationalizing it that way.
“Yuho hyung. Did you dye your hair?”
As soon as Yeomin discovered Yuho entering the practice room, he forgot his welcome greeting and first brought up the hair topic. Yuho’s hair had changed from bright gold to dark brown. Yeomin found Yuho’s calmer atmosphere unfamiliar.
“Yeah. I dyed it the day before yesterday.”
“Why? Blonde really suited you well.”
“Suhyung hyung said it wouldn’t be good for the drama audition.”
“Hmm. You definitely look more mature.”
“Really?”
At Yeomin’s words, Yuho reacted excitedly.
Fans loved Yuho’s childlike face, giving him pet names like ‘Seongging-ie’ and ‘Hyogging-ie,’ but for Yuho, looking young was stressful in its own way. He was also hurt by malicious comments saying that as an actor, college student roles would be his limit. Of course, now he was hoping they’d please let him do even child roles.
“Our Yuho hyung is precious whether blonde or brown-haired.”
Having finished adapting to the hair, Yeomin immediately started clinging to Yuho. Yuho tried to stop him by spreading his hands, but it was useless. Yuho looked around the practice room while being held by Yeomin. No matter how much he looked, Inhan was nowhere to be seen.
Did he leave because I was coming? Yuho eventually asked Yeomin about Inhan’s whereabouts.
“Where’s Inhan?”
“Bathroom for a moment.”
“Ah.”
With good timing, Inhan opened the practice room door and appeared. Whether he had washed his face, Inhan’s face and hair had moisture remaining on them. Yuho greeted Inhan first.
“Inhan, hi.”
Inhan, who discovered Yuho, showed a surprised look. Inhan also seemed to need time to adapt to Yuho’s changed hair color.
“You changed your hair color?”
“Ah. Yeah.”
“It suits you well.”
“Thanks.”
That was the end of their conversation. Inhan went noticeably far away from Yuho to a corner spot and sat down on the practice room floor with his butt on the ground. Yuho tried not to be conscious of Inhan and spoke to Yeomin.
“Yeomin, you cut your hair a bit too?”
“Oh. You noticed? As expected, our Yuho hyung. That Jung Inhan didn’t notice even though he sees me every day.”
“Really? Isn’t Inhan usually observant?”
“Huh? No, he’s not.”
He’s not. Yuho learned a new fact today too. Since Inhan often noticed even when his eyebrow shape or hair part direction changed slightly, Yuho thought Inhan was naturally observant. He didn’t know even that was limited to Seon Yuho. Yuho became bitter for no reason and tapped his shoe heel on the floor.
“Yuho. Since you’re here, want to watch the kids’ new song choreography?”
The one who suddenly spoke to Yuho was Park Yeonghyeon, the company’s dance director. Yuho welcomed Yeonghyeon’s proposal and nodded his head.
“Yes. I want to watch.”
“Ah. Yeonghyeon-ssaem. I’m really tired.”
Yeomin let out a groaning sound and slumped to the floor, but Yeonghyeon urged Yeomin on as if it was out of the question.
“Where’s there time to rest? Hurry up and do it one more time.”
In the end, Yeomin left Yuho and headed to the center of the practice room, and Yuho followed Yeonghyeon and sat down with his butt on the ground in the center spot by the mirror. Inhan went to his choreography position without complaint.
The music started with an intense beat, and fierce choreography full of masculinity different from 7SPOT’s existing choreography continued. It seemed they had set the difficulty to maximum since there were no dance holes anyway. It was the picture Taylor, the dance leader, had always wanted.
“How is it?”
“Ssaem. It’s amazing.”
“Right?”
To Yeonghyeon who asked with an expectant voice, Yuho gave a compliment while raising his thumb. He didn’t know if it was because the grass was greener on the other side, but the song and choreography were superior to any of 7SPOT’s stages.
“Really? Was I cool?”
Yeomin rushed up to Yuho and asked a question expecting praise. Yuho immediately responded to his expectation.
“Yeah. Ridiculously so. There’s no way our Yeomin could be this cool.”
“Ah. Hyung.”
“Why has your singing improved so much? You could even go solo.”
“Hey. It’s not that much.”
“What about Inhan?”
The one who asked Yuho about Inhan was none other than Yeonghyeon. Yuho looked at Inhan in confusion. Inhan was sitting in the center of the practice room with his legs bent, cooling off his sweat.
“Why aren’t you saying anything to Inhan? He’ll sulk again.”
“Yeonghyeon-ssaem. When did I sulk again?”
At Yeonghyeon’s words, Inhan looked troubled and tried to smooth over the situation. At the same time, Yuho’s mouth opened.
“Why would I say anything to Inhan? His face says it all.”
Yuho said while looking at Yeonghyeon instead of Inhan. Inhan stared blankly at Yuho like that and then suddenly threw out a question.
“Just my face?”
Yuho’s gaze eventually turned to Inhan.
