#19. Between Friends (5)
[0114 DAYZ Midnight leaving work pics group (photo)]
[Bae Dojin solo PREVIEW (photo) (photo)]
[And……]
[Bonus shot (photo)]
[Huh what?]
[The oppas had their first pre-recording today so I was excited and went to see the preview, then suddenly got unexpected content¿ and made a strange expression]
[Aren’t these guys Arcus’s main dancer and main vocal? Is the shorter one the late-joining member?]
└ Yes yes He’s the one who came in after Maki left, there were rumors going around for a while then Midnight put out articles and interviews with proper coverage around last month
[Dojin-home who rarely does casual talk posted a bonus shot, and of another group too… It seemed like supply without demand that would just pass by, but the angle is too interesting]
[(Link) Look at this ㅇㅅㅇ It’s an interview where they say the two are childhood friends]
└ ?
└ ?
└ ?
└└ Why is it funny that everyone joined forces to just type ? ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
[What do you mean the two are friends; you should make sense. If these guys? are friends then I have no friends]
[The look in their eyes huh? This isn’t an ordinary look, is this friendship???? Friend?ship? No honey this can’t be friendship]
[Visual chemistry approved so what’s their ship name?]
└ Calm down, these guys haven’t even debuted yet
└ Is debut the issue right now? This guy (←) grabbed this guy’s face (→)? Touching it like kneading rice cake? The distance between their faces is like 5cm?
[I only heard about the new member being from the same company’s junior group so I wasn’t really interested… but seeing this, he’s likeable ㅎㅎ looks soft and squishy]
[Looking at other previews, they’re all bowing almost 90 degrees (photo) (photo) Greeting properly wherever camera lenses are visible, very rookie-like and nice]
[The gentle nature is good but isn’t it a bit worrying that he seems too weak-spirited?]
└ But being weak-spirited is also relative, isn’t it? If the same group members are Ahn Haesol, Na Jihan, Joo Lee Seon, Hapil Jae… it would be stranger to have strong energy…….
└└ Hearing this really hits home ㅋㅋㅠ
[So what are these guys really, doesn’t anyone know their ship name? Let’s buy some stocks;]
[My heart suddenly started beating]
[When is debut…… ?]
“……Isn’t this quite successful?”
Very luckily, eyewitness accounts from fans we encountered on Days’ commute spread and gained word of mouth. Photos of the two of us taken at a coincidental angle began floating around SNS endlessly.
‘This is what we aimed for when we started this.’
The reason for my subtle feelings was simple. It wasn’t intentional. We were just acting as usual, so how could it spread as if there was really something going on?
I picked out one that came out quite well and enlarged it. Filling my phone screen was Na Jihan’s concentrated profile as he focused intently on examining my eyes.
He’s handsome even in this situation.
“Let’s say good things are good things……”
Even if the intention wasn’t that, the result was fine, and thanks to it, I could also see photos of Na Jihan taken by others.
I lay on my bed and stared at Na Jihan’s greatly enlarged face for a long time. That face, which looked quite affectionate and tender even through others’ eyes, was familiar yet refreshing.
I shouldn’t keep getting cocky about this blessing-like affection. Even while thinking that, this moment keeps feeling sweet on my tongue and I don’t know what to do.
I was enjoying such peaceful appreciation time when.
“Seowoo.”
“Ah!”
Startled by the voice that came without warning, I dropped my phone. The electronic device that fell straight down hit my nose bridge with a thunk and fell by my pillow. Tears leaked out from the impact.
“What? Why are you entering someone’s room without even knocking?”
When I glared at him while rubbing my stinging nose, Na Jihan raised both hands in a gesture showing he was innocent.
“I did knock. You just didn’t answer. I thought you might be sleeping so I called quietly.”
“……”
“What were you doing that you couldn’t hear the knocking?”
“Uh……”
Na Jihan’s gaze turned to the phone glinting by my pillow. I moved hurriedly to cover it, but was a beat late due to being in a position holding my nose.
My face turned bright red, and a mischievous smile spread across Na Jihan’s face.
“Ah, Yoon Seowoo really.”
“You……”
“You’re cutely monitoring all that stuff? You secretly care about these things.”
“Ib nob lieb dab, ib jusb culiobs.”
[It’s not like that, I’m just curious.]
“Ah, you won’t let it slide? Why. What are you going to do…… Oh.”
When I threw a pillow at him, Na Jihan quickly caught it.
“Anyway, this worked out well. I came to talk about that too.”
“What?”
“As you can see, our combination seems to be quite popular. It’s a very good thing.”
Na Jihan smiled brightly. My heart became gloomy with worry at that face without a single wrinkle of concern.
There are several mysterious laws in the world. One of them is that sad premonitions are never wrong.
“Sleep with me.”
For a moment, my thought process that had been diligently whirring came to a complete stop. My heart felt like it had rolled all the way down to my feet, but the fact that he who made the bombshell declaration was so nonchalant was too strange.
“Right now……”
What did you just say, Na Jihan.
“Sleep with me, Yoon Seowoo.”
For a moment, the inside of my throat became completely blocked, the inside of my eyes burned sourly, and emotions I couldn’t fully describe surged up.
Do you know that your words shook my world as if it had experienced an earthquake? You probably have no idea. You don’t know, so you can be so nonchalant about it.
“About the location shoot next week, I think it would be good for you and me to share a room in Jeju Island.”
“……”
“We’re renting a pension, and there are two rooms assigned to our group. Three people in the big room, and two people in the small room. Since there will be continuous filming inside the accommodation anyway, it makes sense in many ways for you and me to stick together.”
“Even so, it won’t be much footage after editing, does it have to be in the bedroom?”
“Yeah, it has to be in the bedroom. We’re trying to give bait that makes us look like that kind of relationship—is there a more plausible background than a bedroom?”
Na Jihan, who had confirmed that us sticking together created good public opinion, was unstoppable. He seemed to have absolutely, absolutely, really absolutely no interest in what meaning his words had for me, or what kind of misunderstanding I might want to have.
When I hesitated, thinking I didn’t like it, he tilted his head.
“Don’t you like it?”
“……”
“It’s not like I’m really going to touch you, and I’m not asking to do anything really disgusting.”
Na Jihan, who took a step closer to me, reached out his hand. Very slowly, as if not wanting to appear threatening to me.
I stared blankly at that hand approaching my cheek. Soon his firm, warm fingertips playfully touched my cheek, then his palm gently cupped my face. He made his palm concave to cover my entire cheek and lightly tapped my earlobe with his fingertips.
Thanks to his face that had suddenly gotten close, even his small whisper could be heard clearly.
“Just about this much would be enough.”
“……”
“I won’t do anything you don’t like. So if it makes you uncomfortable, tell me now.”
There was something I learned only then. If excitement is excessive, it can be painful too. Good things can be hard to bear and overwhelming if they’re too much.
“……I don’t dislike it.”
Will you never know that liking it is the problem?
“Is it okay?”
“Yeah.”
“Really?”
“……Are you okay with it?”
When I asked back, Na Jihan answered immediately as if it was obvious.
“Of course I’m okay. I’m with you.”
At those words, I feel overwhelming joy and sudden disappointment simultaneously. The fact that you like being with me is better than anything, but then I become dejected by the fact that the reason for your happiness is simple affection.
Actually, I’m not okay. I’m as anxious as I am happy. I can’t control my heart beating suspiciously fast, so I’m going crazy with worry about what if you find out about these feelings completely.
I’m like this, but you’re not.
So I newly realize each time that my affection is somewhat inappropriate.
“……Let’s sleep together.”
At those words, Na Jihan smiled brightly and replied.
“Yeah, let’s do that. Should I just go change into pajamas?”
“What are you talking about? Why does it suddenly become like that?”
“You just said let’s sleep together.”
“That’s in Jeju Island!”
When I yelled, Na Jihan laughed out loud and stepped back. When the body heat that had been warmly enveloping my face the whole time moved away, I felt bitter with regret.
“Oh oh, I was joking. Joking. I was trying to lighten the mood. Why do you look like you’re about to cry? It’s not like I’m really going to eat you up.”
“……”
“Go around smiling.”
He pushed up the corners of his mouth with his index finger and made a ridiculous smiling gesture. That sight was so absurd that I ended up laughing despite myself.
“Should you smile for good fortune to come?”
That was a verbal habit often used in Na Jihan’s family. Let’s go around smiling. You should smile for good fortune to come.
So I expected Na Jihan to say that too.
“Huh? No. Good fortune should come even if you don’t smile, what are you talking about? Look how hard you live.”
“Then why should I smile?”
“Because you’re pretty.”
Those words, spoken as if thrown out casually, were so sweet my tongue felt like it would fall off.
“You smile prettily, so smile a lot.”
So I had to frown greatly while watching his back as he left the room.
“Ah. Na Jihan, really……”
What a sinful kid, and the road ahead is ninety thousand li. It was a moment when I worried about Arcus member activities in a different sense.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
