#43. Arcus (5)
After being held in Na Jihan’s arms for a long time, I belatedly came to my senses and timidly mumbled.
“But, Jihan.”
“Yeah. What?”
“If we’re like this…”
I swallowed dry saliva and added in a crawling voice.
“Won’t there be misunderstandings?”
“Misunderstandings? What misunderstandings… ah.”
Instead of letting me go, Na Jihan rested his chin on my shoulder and giggled.
“You seem to have forgotten, but we’re in a position where we need to be misunderstood a bit right now.”
I had nothing to say in response to his comment that this was what roleplay was about.
‘That’s true.’
We were already close normally, and Na Jihan was an affectionate guy, so there wasn’t much I needed to work on. Maybe that’s why I wasn’t very aware of it.
“And since I don’t consciously think about it that way, it’s fine.”
It was a heartless thing to say because he didn’t know better. I like you, and that’s why I wish you would be a bit more conscious of me.
After hugging me once more, tight enough to make my whole body tingle, then letting me go, Na Jihan said.
“Speaking of roleplay, I remembered something. The CEO said he wants us to do a bit more.”
“…Do what?”
“Well. He probably wanted some bait, right? The documentary response was good anyway.”
Gentle hands ruffled my hair.
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll use my head well and handle it. You just need to be receptive like usual.”
“……”
“We’re doing a live broadcast from the dorm tonight anyway. We can try various things then.”
It was truly a declaration of war that he would put me to the test.
* * *
That evening. When I came home a bit late after receiving physical therapy, the living room on the first floor was already fully prepared for the live broadcast.
They said they borrowed some equipment from the company, and it was quite professional with not only cameras but also microphones and lighting. Na Hyeonjun was even there helping with the filming.
“Seowoo hyung!”
Hapil Jae, who spotted me, happily patted the seat next to him.
“You’re here? We just finished setting up the food. Come sit here.”
Then Na Jihan, who had been bringing drinks, sat down on the opposite side and said.
“No. Sit here.”
“Here we go again. I won’t die from eating one dinner next to me, you know?”
“When there are different types of meat, I need to make sure you eat at least one more piece. Yoon Seowoo lost weight again.”
When I solved it by sitting between Na Jihan and Hapil Jae, Ahn Haesol, who was sitting next to Na Jihan on the opposite side, smiled and asked.
“How do you know? That Seowoo lost weight.”
“I can tell by looking at his face and touching his waist once. He probably lost about 2kg.”
Hapil Jae grabbed his cola and playfully jeered.
“Wow. Are you some kind of human scale, hyung? How would you know that. You just guessed, right?”
Joo Lee Seon quietly chimed in.
“Didn’t you weigh yourself this morning, Seowoo hyung?”
I had. And… embarrassingly, it was exactly as Na Jihan said. Compared to before entering the activity period, I had lost exactly 2kg.
How does Na Jihan know something that I only know by weighing myself directly? When I stared at him, Na Jihan grinned and smoothly snatched the tortilla from my hand.
“I can estimate by watching you eat. And give me this. I’ll fill it with ingredients for you.”
“I can do it myself.”
“I know. But I just want to do it for you.”
He smiled playfully and winked.
“You said you’d accept everything I give you. Earlier in the waiting room. Didn’t you?”
Before I could answer, Hapil Jae sighed.
“Huh. Did you two have fun conversations again while I was gone?”
I watched Na Jihan stuff ingredients into the tortilla, then glanced at the tablet screen set up in the center of the table. They said it was for monitoring broadcast chat, and true to that, messages from fans were scrolling up at a fast pace.
[Another day of their own world unfolding]
[No lololol what are you putting so much in that tortilla Jihan ã… ã… It’s going to burst!!]
[Seowoo is totally focused on reading the chat lolol Hi Seowoo~]
[Still, it’s activity period but instead of managing weight, he needs to eat more ã… You look good now so don’t lose weight by pushing yourself]
[Hapil~~~~~~ eat vegetables too~~~~~~~~]
[Why are you looking around while putting a whole bowl of meat in ã… ã… ã… lolol anyway, you brat]
[Everyone’s eating hard but only Seowoo’s mouth is empty!!!!! Seowoo!!! This is why you’re losing weight!!!!]
While I was diligently reading the chat, my head suddenly turned. Na Jihan, who had grabbed my chin with his large hand, brought something to my mouth.
“Eat first, then look. Ah.”
“…Ah.”
I carefully bit down so as not to spill the contents. Thinly sliced cabbage, guacamole, spicy shrimp, and something with a crunchy texture like cereal chewed in sequence.
As I swallowed what was in my mouth and fell deep in thought, Na Jihan wiped the corner of my mouth with his thumb and asked.
“Spicy? I only put a little in.”
As he said, the aftertaste was a bit spicy. I smacked my lips and nodded.
“Then chicken would be better for the next one. Should I add sour cream too?”
“Just a little.”
“Yeah. Then just a little. I’ll eat this one.”
Na Jihan casually ate the rest of the taco I had bitten into.
[He’s really just raising him, raising him]
[Wow NaJihan why is he so… so,,,, never mind]
[Jihan really has a caring personality but it’s Seowoo-exclusive]
[No matter how you look at it, that chili shrimp color is unusual… and Haesol even sprinkles hot sauce on it ã… He really eats spicy food well]
[Lee Seon is shaking his head next to him lololol]
“Now I can make and eat it myself. You eat.”
“I’m taking care of you while eating. Ah, open up.”
“…Aah.”
Nobody can beat Na Jihan’s stubbornness anyway. Plus, considering the conversation we had earlier, it seemed better to go along with what he wanted to do now.
When I started obediently accepting the food, Na Jihan smiled with satisfaction.
I felt sorry for being troublesome, but honestly, I liked it. Because I knew he wouldn’t do this for anyone else but me. And the fact that the person caring about everything that went into my mouth was none other than the person I liked made me endlessly happy.
The live broadcast continued even while drinking tea after the meal. Hapil Jae and Ahn Haesol, who were good at conversation, took responsibility for most of the communication, and the other three also occasionally looked at the chat and answered questions.
Before I knew it, the conversation topic had moved to hobbies. Hapil Jae and Joo Lee Seon said they go freediving once in a while when they have time.
“Lee Seon hyung is really good at it. He even has certifications at the level that instructors get.”
He said it wasn’t simple swimming, but diving into deep water as much as 5 meters. They said he holds his breath and endures without any equipment, which made me wonder how that was possible.
“You can’t do it because you’re timid. You’re scared of water and barely go to swimming pools.”
When I looked at Hapil Jae with curious eyes, Na Jihan tapped the tip of my nose and laughed.
“But if you want to learn, try it once. According to Hapil, freediving absolutely requires a partner.”
“Because safety accidents can happen. If one person has a problem, the partner has to rescue them… We usually call that the buddy system.”
Joo Lee Seon added in a calm voice.
“But beginners don’t dive that deep, so it’s fine. It’s surprisingly unrelated to swimming skills too. Hapil hyung isn’t great at swimming but he’s good at diving.”
“…This level is considered good at swimming, okay? You’re just too good at it. But Seowoo hyung, are you scared of water? You didn’t seem to be scared of the ocean.”
“That’s because I didn’t have to actually go in.”
If they had told me to go in and swim, I think I would have disliked it.
“What about Haesol hyung? Fans are asking. What does Haesol hyung do when he’s resting?”
“I… hmm. I like things I can do quietly alone. Listen to music, watch dramas, sometimes go out to see late-night movies.”
Na Jihan nodded.
“Don’t you also go to see exhibitions and such, hyung?”
“Right. Recently I went to a photo exhibition by a rising new artist. I liked it so much I bought the catalog too. Want to see it?”
“I want to see it.”
When he opened the catalog he brought, I saw photos different from what I expected.
“Most of them are black and white?”
“Yeah. They said they minimized the use of color so that people could color them with imagination.”
“Color them with imagination…”
Naturally, my hand turning the pages slowed down. I was thinking about whether the monotone sepia-toned sky was at sunrise, sunset, or in the middle of the night when everyone was quietly asleep.
Thinking like that, and thinking more…
I fell asleep without knowing when.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
