#62
Just as Rai had said, he was deep in dreamland. After observing Imun and indulging in his admiration to his heart’s content, Hajun widely pulled back the carefully drawn blackout curtains.
I guess this isn’t enough either. As if he didn’t mind the sunlight pouring directly onto his face, Imun merely furrowed his brow slightly. “Seo-i-mu-un.” After calling his name softly, Hajun poked his cheek several times. When Imun showed no sign of waking, he gently shook his shoulder.
“Imun… We need to start getting ready to go.”
“Ah, don’t touch me.”
His hand was instantly slapped away with a sharp ‘thwack.’ The half-hearted gesture and irritated tone were something he had never experienced before. While rubbing his stinging hand in bewilderment, Hajun’s lips curled up into a smirk.
It seemed Imun became quite sensitive in the morning. It was a different side of him that Hajun would never have known about in his lifetime if they hadn’t stayed in the same place. Though he was conscious of the other members’ eyes, he felt it was good they had stayed at the accommodation.
“Imun… Seo Imun…”
“…I’ll get up, so stop calling me…”
“Seo Imun, wake up.”
Imun covered his ears with both hands as if he didn’t want to hear anything. Hajun playfully ruffled his hair, and Imun blinked his eyes drowsily. “Hy… Hyung?!” He raised his upper body with a loud exclamation as soon as their eyes met, appearing quite startled.
“Did you sleep well?”
“What?! Oh, yes!”
Watching Imun hastily fix his hair, Hajun sat down lightly beside him, feeling like he’d completed a mission. Despite Hajun’s continued waiting, Imun stubbornly refused to get out of bed. The way he avoided eye contact while subtly pulling up the blanket was even suspicious.
“What are you doing? Aren’t you getting up?”
“G-go out first!”
The moment Hajun put his hand on Imun’s shoulder, he jumped in alarm. His face, contorted into a pitiful expression with his knees up, betrayed his embarrassment.
Ah, could it be. Finally catching on to Imun’s situation, Hajun hurriedly stood up. Sure enough, Imun stopped him with a flustered voice.
“No, no! You misunderstand, hyung!”
“There’s no need to deny it so strongly… In the morning… these things happen.”
“Ah… Ah! Yes, that’s right. Haha, how embarrassing… I’ll follow you out quickly.”
I wonder if Rai saw this every morning. As another man, it was his fault for barging into an adult male’s room first thing in the morning, rather than being considerate.
His face naturally flushed with awkwardness and guilt. Unable to meet Imun’s eyes, he scurried out of the room.
*
Today’s destination was Incheon. Since they were all traveling together, it seemed filming would start from the moment they departed. It was not just a one-time joke—his hand-holding with Imun throughout the journey could potentially be exposed to the entire nation.
As he momentarily grimaced in despair at this daunting reality, fortunately, the mode of transportation turned out to be a large chartered bus. Breathing a sigh of relief, he sat with Imun in a corner seat.
Shortly after the bus started moving with the filming signal, the large man who was Saha’s friend suddenly stood up and laughed boisterously.
“It’s only for two days… but since we’ve met like this, it must be fate, so please take care of me. I’m Kim Hyunil. I think most of you probably don’t know me! Hahaha!”
Seeing his confidence, not at all intimidated even in front of cameras, the saying “birds of a feather flock together” naturally came to mind.
“I’ve been friends with Saha since elementary school…” While quietly listening to his introduction, the gazes of the cast gradually turned toward him. Since he was sitting in front of Saha, they seemed to implicitly consider him the next speaker.
Sure enough, as soon as Hyunil finished speaking, multiple pairs of eyes openly fell on him. A self-introduction? Flustered by the unexpected development, he hesitantly began to speak.
“Hello… I’m Gang Hajun. I work as a game streamer. My username is Gangha, and I met Imun through a game. We’ve known each other for less than a year…”
After quickly finishing his brief introduction, he turned to the man expected to be next, Sura’s friend. The abundant piercings that caught the eye had a definite presence even compared to Sura with his rose-pink hair. While glancing at him within the bounds of politeness, their eyes accidentally met.
“Gangha-nim! I’ve heard a lot about you from Sura. Do you happen to know my name?”
The sudden question left him speechless. Although they had certainly exchanged introductions during the preliminary meeting, perhaps because he hadn’t paid attention, his mind seemed to have gone blank. As he awkwardly tried to recall the erased memory, he gave an embarrassed smile.
“Um… I’m sorry. I’ll be sure to remember it this time. So… your name is…?”
It’s not like he’s Sura, he’s just Sura’s friend—it’s okay not to know his name! While making excuses to himself inwardly, Rai’s friend threw the same question, as if not to be outdone.
“Gangha-nim, I’m your fan! I like Legend of Legend too. Do you know who I am?”
Wait, it’s self-introduction time, why are you suddenly quizzing me with names?! The man with unusually gray-dyed hair, staring at him with bright eyes, was quite burdensome. Just as he was about to try to smooth over the situation with another smile while suppressing his indignation, he instinctively sensed danger.
The preliminary meeting footage would surely be broadcast as well. If he failed to answer properly again, he’d end up looking like a coldhearted person or a bird-brain who couldn’t even remember the names of his fellow cast members.
“Do you know his name?” he whispered to Imun for help, but Imun was busy avoiding his gaze. With a mischievous eye-smile and tightly sealed lips, it seemed he definitely wouldn’t help.
Seo Imun, you traitor! Pushing aside the feeling of betrayal that made him want to grab the back of Imun’s head, he calmly admitted the truth.
“I’m really… sorry. I’m not good at remembering people’s names… Could you tell me once more?”
“Puhahaha! Both hyungs failed! Work hard until you become famous idols that our Hajun hyung would know, okay!”
Only after hearing Saha’s excited shout while holding his stomach did he realize that both men were also idols. No wonder they all looked so polished. While unable to meet their eyes out of guilt, he heard successive bitter self-introductions.
“Hello, I’m Merry-Go-Round’s Yuhun, Sura’s friend.” “Hello, I’m Stay For You’s Liji, Rai’s friend.” He hurriedly bowed to them and glanced at Imun out of the corner of his eye. Imun, who had been snickering similarly to Saha, was now wearing a bright smile.
“Gangha-nim has been living abroad, so he doesn’t know anything about the Korean entertainment industry. I’m not just saying this—it’s really true. To all the fans of Liji-ssi and Yuhun-ssi who might be watching this broadcast, please understand generously.”
“Gangha-nim, did he know you guys?” As soon as Imun finished speaking, Liji growled at Saha. Seeming to notice that Hajun had unconsciously looked out the window out of guilt, Yuhun threatened, “You guys should work hard!”
Hyunil didn’t seem to have any intention of covering for his friend. His malice in teaming up with the two idol members to tease Saha made him exactly like his friend.
The bus quickly heated up with the sound of members and friends laughing and chatting. Everyone’s personality was so easygoing that his worry about potential awkwardness seemed unnecessary. At some point, Sura had become the next target of teasing. While watching him, Hajun poked Imun in the side.
“Seo Imun, you knew them all but didn’t help me.”
“I’m sorry. I was wondering if you might know other groups. Actually, if you really had known them, I would’ve felt disappointed. I’m glad you didn’t know any of them, to be fair.”
Seeing him apologize with a broad smile, his anger subsided without a trace. At this rate, I’ll be captivated for life. No matter how many times he encountered it, Imun’s smile was close to being a scam.
“It’s fine. Well, it’s true that I didn’t know. Other than your group, I barely know any—”
“Barely? Which groups do you know?”
It was obvious that if he mentioned some famous male idol group from ten years ago, claiming to know them, he’d face a counterattack instead. As Imun eagerly latched onto his words, leaning in, Hajun targeted his torso again instead of answering.
“Quickly, tell me. When did they debut? How many members are there?” “Stop interrogating me.” While avoiding the persistent questions and engaging in playful combat, Imun suddenly grabbed his wrist. With his firmly closed lips and furrowed brow, he no longer seemed willing to tolerate the attacks.
“I know it doesn’t hurt. Don’t act tough.”
“It’s not exactly pain, but… okay.”
After a brief staring contest with Imun, who was being vague, Hajun turned his attention to the conversation among the members.
*
“Wow! It’s Wolmido!”
Saha and Hyunil ran ahead, shouting loudly. Seeing the two running wild without care for the filming made him smile involuntarily.
The first filming location was Incheon’s representative tourist spot, Wolmido Park. It was his first amusement park since D—ney Land a few years ago, which he had visited to celebrate Mari becoming a high school student.
At least there aren’t many people here. Recalling being pushed by crowds back then, he was scanning the rides when Sura quietly approached him.
“Those guys probably spent all day at L—e World yesterday too.”
“Stop running so much!” After calling out to Saha and Hyunil, who were far ahead, Sura snickered as if he was fed up.
“How was yesterday for Gangha-nim?”
“Both Imun and I did proper sightseeing in Seoul.”
While boasting for a while, Hajun looked around. Somehow, Imun had separated from him and was now talking with Rai.
Wondering when he had gone over there without saying anything, he was looking at Imun strangely when Sura tilted his head and asked, “Imun-i-do, what?”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
