Side Story 17
Ah, I’m screwed.
Siwoo placed his hand on his forehead with a miserable expression. He was now all alone in a very unfamiliar space.
It was a place he never dreamed he’d have to visit in his life. The broadcasting station building.
Today was the day scheduled for the Baekya Guild’s year-end special interview.
Siwoo, who had gradually become nervous from a week before, reached peak anxiety on the day of the interview. Although the espers told him he didn’t have to accompany them, Siwoo didn’t give up and went along. Since he had already made up his mind, he wanted to do well.
Fortunately, thanks to taking digestive medicine and herbal anxiety relief pills, his mind became a bit more at ease. But perhaps being too relaxed was the problem. Not long after arriving at the broadcasting station, his stomach started to hurt.
He tried to endure it until he finished getting his makeup done, but his stomachache got worse, so he eventually had to find a bathroom. Naturally, the four large figures tried to follow him, but Siwoo of course refused.
[I can go alone! Am I a child?]
He had insisted loudly that surely he wouldn’t get lost with all the signage. And then he got lost.
“Haah…”
Just as he was about to rub his face with a mix of embarrassment and bewilderment, he stopped. Right, I’m wearing makeup.
Though it wasn’t much makeup. The makeup artist had nothing to cover on his complexion, which was so clear it drew admiration. Experts who had done makeup for countless celebrities openly marveled at his porcelain skin, which didn’t have a single freckle, let alone blemishes.
Amidst a shower of embarrassing compliments from all sides about how different beastkin cats were, Siwoo received his makeup with an angry face. It was the expression he made when embarrassed.
[Since your features are already so distinct, I’ll just do something simple.]
Siwoo’s makeup was finished quickly. It consisted only of a thin layer of foundation and very slight eyebrow grooming. His lips were already red without anything applied, so he just got some lip balm for moisture.
They were going to end it there. But Siwoo kept glancing at the makeup tools with such interest that they picked up a brush. They found the lightest eyeshadow and added shadows that didn’t really need to be added. They created very subtle shadows, barely touching with the brush.
Even that was such a novel experience for Siwoo that it felt like he’d received extraordinary makeup. With Geonho and Jihan making a fuss beside him saying he looked prettier, he was under the illusion that something had really changed a lot.
The makeup he had received with such effort almost got ruined.
Siwoo tried not to touch his face to avoid smudging the makeup. First, he needed to get back to the waiting room quickly. The thought that the espers would now be looking for him since he hadn’t returned made him even more anxious.
In fact, it was a situation where he shouldn’t have gotten lost unless he deliberately took the wrong path. The bathroom was very close to the Baekya Guild’s waiting room. It was just a stone’s throw away.
That’s why the Baekya Guild didn’t follow Siwoo. They had to get their makeup done too, and since Siwoo was so adamant, they let him go alone.
They probably didn’t think Siwoo would get lost going to the bathroom that was visible right when opening the waiting room door. He wasn’t a child. Nor was he the type to enjoy exploring unfamiliar spaces.
So why did Siwoo get lost? It was because he went down to the lower floor instead of using the bathroom right in front of him.
He should have just used the bathroom on the same floor. It was too late to regret now, but he couldn’t help blaming himself.
The reason he specifically sought out a different bathroom was simple. He took the long way in case someone might secretly follow him. He didn’t want the espers with their sensitive hearing to hear him doing his business.
Fortunately, when Siwoo went downstairs, there weren’t many people on the lower floor, and he found the bathroom quickly. The problem arose after Siwoo had finished his business.
[Idol team over there! Come quickly!]
Startled by the sudden crowd that filled the narrow corridor, Siwoo froze in place. Just as he was losing his composure in the abruptly chaotic atmosphere, someone grabbed him and shouted for him to come quickly as he was trying to go back to the bathroom.
When a person who looked like a broadcasting station staff urged him, saying time was tight, Siwoo found himself running along with them without realizing it. He must have been in a trance.
His thoughts weren’t functioning properly, numbed by the unfamiliar space and numerous people. He ran because they told him to run quickly, and entered where they told him to enter.
Even while running frantically, the thought ‘What am I doing right now?’ crossed his mind, but he couldn’t stop. Surrounded by many people, he just followed along as if swept away by a wave.
Having lived peacefully in the dormitory seeing only familiar faces until now, it was natural for him to be dazed.
When someone tried to attach a microphone to Siwoo’s body, he finally realized this was really wrong and fled. He almost ended up on stage and dancing along.
After that strange experience, he hurriedly tried to return to the waiting room. He thought it wouldn’t be difficult since he just had to go back the same way he came. But that was a big miscalculation.
“There was a staircase here…”
No familiar path appeared no matter how far he walked. He was sure he had come down around here, but there was no staircase, just a continuing wall. Or was he wrong? Should he go a bit further?
He couldn’t even ask for directions since there was no one passing by in the now quiet long corridor. His heart was pounding at the thought of being swept away by another sudden crowd.
“Why did I leave my phone behind?”
He slapped the top of his head, scolding his stupid self. It was a mistake to entrust his phone to Geonho for fear of losing it.
He should have left it with Jihan or the leader instead. They would have told Siwoo to take his phone with him when going to the bathroom, just in case.
But Geonho had only told him to take his time. A sigh escaped as he recalled Geonho waving his hands, saying he wouldn’t follow.
No. It’s not his fault, it’s all my fault. Siwoo pulled his hair hard, blaming himself for not bringing his phone.
He carefully wiped his sweat to avoid smudging his makeup and walked hurriedly again. The anxiety medicine he had carefully taken seemed ineffective as his heart was racing so much that he was sweating.
The fortunate thing in this misfortune was that there was still time before the scheduled broadcast. The Baekya Guild had deliberately arrived at the broadcasting station much earlier than the scheduled time. Taebeom’s meticulous decision had never been more appreciated than today.
And one more thing. Siwoo was fortunately wearing comfortable casual clothes. He hadn’t yet put on the custom-tailored suit that had been carefully prepared for his first broadcast appearance. Thanks to this, he at least avoided ruining an expensive outfit with sweat.
Good, there’s still more than an hour of leeway.
“Phew.”
He leaned against the wall for a moment to compose his tense mind while taking a deep breath. When he closed his eyes, the faces of his espers passed by one after another.
He desperately wanted to see the faces of those guys who had been with him just minutes ago. He felt like a child lost in an amusement park.
Maybe I should just stay here. If I stay in one place, someone will come to get me.
Before Siwoo, who was deep in thought, could open his eyes, someone snatched his arm.
“Which group are you from? You’re new, right?”
Damn. Another broadcasting staff.
“Foreigner? Don’t speak Korean?”
It was someone who looked much older and more experienced than the staff who had first dragged Siwoo away. He pulled Siwoo with a casual manner, urging him to run quickly because they were late. He seemed to have mistaken Siwoo for a foreign member of a rookie idol group.
“No, I am—”
Just as Siwoo was about to shake off the staff’s hand and explain.
“Esper Ha Seojun!”
His head turned reflexively at the familiar name. The moment he saw the welcome face he had been waiting for, Siwoo’s eyes widened and he spread his arms horizontally.
“Ha Seojun! I’m okay!”
Seojun was rushing towards him with tremendous momentum from far away. More precisely, he was rushing as if he was going to crush the broadcasting staff who had grabbed Siwoo’s hand.
Siwoo reflexively stood in a defensive posture to protect the staff and blocked Seojun. A security guard who had been following him quickly ran over and moved the staff far away.
“Guide, why are you here? Did someone take you away? Did that bastard do it?”
Siwoo covered Seojun’s excited mouth and quickly released his energy. Seojun’s eyes were half-crazed. He looked ready to pounce on the cigarette-reeking broadcasting staff the moment Siwoo removed his hand.
“Calm down. I just took a wrong turn and got lost. I’m fine.”
“Why did you take a wrong turn? The bathroom was right in front.”
Seojun examined Siwoo’s face thoroughly and then lifted his arms to see if he was injured anywhere. Then he asked again. Why on earth did he go down to the lower floor?
Ah, this guy is persistent. Why won’t he just let it go?
It was too obvious that the bathroom was right in front of the waiting room to say he didn’t see it. Moreover, Siwoo had even argued with them that he wouldn’t get lost with the bathroom right there. So he confessed honestly.
“Just, well, I went downstairs because it was a bit embarrassing…”
“What?”
As Siwoo mumbled, Seojun became even more serious and grabbed both his shoulders.
“What was embarrassing? Did someone say something to you?”
This is driving me crazy. It was even more embarrassing to talk about when he was approaching it so seriously. But knowing he would just worry more if he hid it, Siwoo finally told the truth.
“Come here.”
He cupped his hands and whispered quietly into Seojun’s ear, just loud enough for only him to hear. Honestly, exactly as it was.
Seojun’s expression, which had been seriously rigid, soon relaxed a little.
How is that something to be embarrassed about? When you let us hear much worse sounds every day.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
Seojun: 1 Siwoo: 0