#48
“You did better than me. I can hardly believe you’ve never done it before.”
-Wow, that’s a relief! I was really awkward at first. No script or anything… I was so nervous about saying something wrong that I felt like I was dying. But I guess I’ve gotten more used to it lately.
“Why worry about that? Being cautious is good, but you don’t need to be so concerned about what others think. No one knows what the future holds, so don’t have regrets—just do what you want to do.”
Imun’s response didn’t come quickly. Just as I was absently watching the white breath rising with each exhale, I turned my gaze to my phone.
Imun showed a shocked expression, so different from his bright smile just moments ago that it was hard to remember. His unblinking appearance was almost like someone who had been stabbed.
Was I being too meddlesome? Belatedly reflecting on my words, I unnecessarily adjusted my posture.
“What I mean is… worry in moderation. You don’t need to be afraid of livestreaming. If you just smile prettily like you usually do, your fans will love it, right?”
“Yesterday, the chat was absolutely filled with hearts!” I joked, recalling the chat window lined with hearts, but Imun only gave a faint smile.
After quietly observing his gently trembling dark eyes for a few minutes, he casually brightened his expression.
-…Nice. Why does it feel so good to hear you call me pretty? Say it again.
My face flushed instantly, without even a moment to catch my breath at his typical teasing.
“So, hyung thinks my smile is pretty—” “No! That’s not what I meant!” He seemed to be on the offensive, having caught a good opportunity, and I didn’t think I could win against him.
While frantically parrying his teasing and seriously considering ending the video call—
-Ah, hyung. I heard you did a duo with Sorit… yesterday? Even though you promised to only do duos with me. That’s the second time already…
“Ah, that… Hmm, are you jealous?”
-Pfft, jealous? Have you decided to tease me too now?
“No, well… I’ve heard friends can be jealous of each other too… Are you and Rai… very close?”
Imun opened his eyes wide and started laughing loudly. “Don’t laugh, I’m being serious.” As I urged him to answer with reddened cheeks, his reply came with explosive sounds as if he was barely containing his laughter.
-Pfft, that’s, *inhale*, a bit different, I think. Jaeyeon, ah, Rai is Jaeyeon. Since I’ve known Jaeyeon for so long, if I had to say, it feels more like family, and you’re more like… um?
Imun stopped talking and tilted his head. His eyes rolling around for a while looked exactly like someone facing a puzzling question.
-Hmm… it’s hard to explain in words. You’re like… a healing feeling? Something that feels good just by looking at… fulfilling… like looking at a cute puppy?
He suddenly made a serious expression, as if dissatisfied with his conclusion. “Really… what is it? Yeah… a puppy seems most similar…” As Imun’s muttering continued, Hajun’s insides began to boil.
First a power bank, and now suddenly being treated like a puppy! Despite being the one who’s always cutely whimpering, his behavior of dragging in innocent people was so ridiculous that it felt suffocating.
Even after gulping down cold coffee, the shock didn’t subside. After instantly draining the drink, I covered Imun’s mouth.
“You’re the puppy!”
-Hey, that’s just a figure of speech. Um… yes, I think it is jealousy. I want to play with you and do duos together, but I can’t, so it hurts. Hyung, couldn’t you come to Korea… just one more time?
“If I see you briefly again like before, I think it’ll be even more draining… But I still want to see you…” Imun sighed deeply and became gloomy. He was exactly like a puppy with drooping ears and lowered tail.
While letting out a hollow laugh at his cute whining that left me speechless, a sense of doubt suddenly arose.
“But how did you know about the duo with Sorit being the second time—”
-Ah, I have to go film now!
The call was abruptly cut off with a one-sided announcement. It seemed that his spy had been quite actively operating for some time. I stared at the now-darkened phone screen in disbelief and tapped the heater box with my fingertips.
Is he having a hard time? Although he often tried to persuade me to visit Korea whenever I showed an opening, this was the first time he had asked with such a direct sentence.
Having heard his forced confession of jealousy, and considering that he said my very existence gives him strength, whether as a charger or a puppy, it seemed I should start considering a second trip to Korea.
“Ugh, it’s cold!”
A sudden wind penetrated my clothes. It was a chill I couldn’t feel at all during the call. Hajun slowly got up from the bench, sniffling as his nose began to run.
***
Inside a conference room with pristine glass walls without a single handprint. The On The Sky members and AB Entertainment’s Team 1 sat facing each other across a long, pure white table placed in the center.
It was a meeting to discuss the format of the variety show they would be filming in the future. While the members were actively giving opinions, Sura slightly furrowed his brow.
“Team Leader, so the filming content will be modified like this, right?”
“Yes, that’s how it’s going to be. It’s a bit different from the initial concept, but it’s rare for the other side to propose first… Let’s try to accommodate them as much as possible. That way, they’ll give us a good broadcast time slot.”
“Hmm… I don’t think we’d particularly mind…”
He trailed off and glanced at Imun sitting next to him. As always, Imun was skimming through the proposal document with a smile on his lips. Sensing Sura’s gaze, Imun turned his head and silently mouthed, “What?” The team leader, who had been carefully observing the two, spoke again.
“Since you’ve filmed many broadcasts with just the members, regardless of the format… and you all have been running almost non-stop this whole year, don’t think of it as a broadcast but as a relaxing trip with friends for a change.”
[My Private Trip]
Sura rechecked the variety show title written in bold font on the first page of the proposal and exchanged glances with Rai. This doesn’t seem like it will work. Just as he was about to open his mouth to reject the revised proposal on Imun’s behalf, Imun beat him to it.
“I don’t mind. Um… What if we go with an actor from the company who’s interested in participating?”
As Imun delivered his opinion nonchalantly and smiled brightly, the face of the new employee sitting across from him gradually reddened. “There he goes again.” Saha, who had been watching Imun use his charm without hesitation as if it was unsightly, suddenly smiled broadly.
“What actor? We can just call Hajun hyung.”
“Let’s talk about that later, separately.”
Saha flinched slightly, catching a glimpse of the coldness in Imun’s smiling eyes as he quickly turned his head. “Why are you so jumpy, are you cold?” As Imun worriedly patted his back and then gave it a sharp ‘thwack,’ his touch conveyed a stern warning not to speak nonsense anymore.
Unfortunately, he was hit between the shoulder blades, a hard-to-reach area, so he couldn’t even rub it. “Ah, why did you hit me!” The team leader, who had been watching Saha growling at Imun with amusement, picked up a pen from the desk.
“PD Lee’s side has already contacted your friend, Imun. The name was… Gangha? Is this the same person as the complaint case Director Kwon instructed the legal team about?”
All eyes in the conference room turned to Imun, who was at the tip of the pen. “Yes.” His answer was notably shorter than usual, and there was an inexplicable sense of discomfort emanating from him as he smiled brightly.
“Well, according to them, Gangha’s side has already agreed—”
“Hyung?”
The team leader, interrupted by Imun, had a bewildered expression. He was puzzled by Imun’s strange behavior from the moment the person named Gangha was mentioned.
As if everyone had the same thought, a momentary silence filled the conference room. “Ahem.” After clearing his throat to dispel the awkward atmosphere, the team leader continued his explanation in a light tone.
“Since we’ll make the final decision, talk to that friend first. Or as you suggested, we can look for an actor, or ask around among your middle and high school friends. The rest of you three, make a list of close friends who you could film a broadcast with and let me know.”
“So this real variety show…” Sura, who had been rolling his eyes nervously without pretending to listen to the team leader’s words, suddenly locked gazes with Imun.
“What?” “No, it’s nothing.” Imun narrowed his eyes at Sura, who was shaking his head while smiling. Under the table, out of everyone’s sight, he was clenching his fist tightly.
***
My eyes flew open at the phone alarm. I had been lying in bed for a while, but my mind was too cluttered to fall asleep easily.
[Call me when you wake up]
I yawned widely while squinting at the brightly lit screen in the dark room. It was a time closer to morning than midnight, where it wouldn’t be strange for the sun to rise soon.
“Hey, Imun. Are you already leaving the dorm?”
-Were you still awake?
“I was just watching an interesting movie on TV.”
After blurting out whatever came to mind and scratching my head for a moment, I let out a muffled exclamation. I had a rough idea why Imun, who usually never contacted me at dawn, had suddenly requested a call.
‘It’s an opportunity to have fun officially with Imun, without time constraints.’
I was half-skeptical, but it was true after all. The day before, late afternoon. I recalled accepting an international call from an unknown number after some deliberation. Wondering if it might be Imun, the person on the other end was someone I couldn’t have imagined at all.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
