“Already? Ah, never mind? What time did it get so late? Yes, yes, I understand~”
Jae-hyun, who had been sprawled lazily on the practice room sofa, finally stirred when the manager informed him that guests had arrived on the first floor.
Though everything felt bothersome all of a sudden, it was a precious guest who had come at his request.
“Ugh, but every time I see him sitting, his back is so straight. How does he manage that? Does he have a strong core?”
Looking disheveled while facing the mirror wall, Jae-hyun twisted his head here and there, fixing his flattened hair before striding out of the practice room.
In the hallway, which was lined with windows offering a clear view of the Han River, he mused, “The weather is nice today; maybe it would be better to take pictures on the rooftop.”
As he sat on a chair in front of the elevator, soaking up the sunlight, he felt drowsy again.
Just then, the elevator arrived with a ding—
“Ah, ahem.”
Clearing his throat, he sat up straight, attempting to exude a senior vibe.
“Ah, hello, senior.”
“…Seung-bin?”
He relaxed again at the sudden encounter with a company junior.
“What brings you here?”
While Seung-bin was indeed a junior colleague, they rarely ran into each other.
Only occasionally when filming challenges together?
Of course, that was more of a volunteer effort to support the junior group.
“Uh, I just happened to run into Do-hee Lee on the first floor, and I was going to guide her to this floor, but she said she forgot her album and to go ahead, so I ended up here without realizing.”
“Huh?”
It wasn’t a story he could completely buy, but Jae-hyun reacted vigorously.
“Right! You were the MC with Do-hee on that trending song, right? You two must be close!”
“Uh? No, not really—”
Sure, there were staff around, but he was worried that inviting Do-hee suddenly to film a challenge together might be awkward.
“Hey, Seung-bin, don’t go. Just sit here for a bit~”
If only there were a few familiar faces, it would be easier to resolve.
Plus, he was curious.
‘It totally feels like that.’
Startled, Seung-bin hesitated in the elevator, still pressing the open button.
Well, it had been a long time.
It wasn’t exactly clear, but he and Do-hee had been co-MCs for over a year, so it wasn’t strange they hadn’t grown close.
“Wow, this feeling is nostalgic. Seung-bin, you’ve been a trainee since your brother debuted, right? Besides, the one who picked you is your brother, isn’t he?”
“Huh?”
“Ah, that was Tae-joo, right? But you had pretty good scores in the monthly evaluations, right? You were always top 1 or 2.”
As Jae-hyun wrapped an arm around the somewhat stiff Seung-bin, he slowly began to segue into the main topic.
“You’ve been good-looking since you were young, and you’ve been sincere, which is impressive. Oh, by the way, your group seems to be doing pretty well these days? If things go well, you might make it to Billboard.”
“Ah, yes, it won’t be easy, but we’re all doing our best to make it to Billboard with the next album.”
Sincere and thoughtful, he didn’t stray from the usual responses, a characteristic of his younger brother.
‘I know this type well.’
Jae-hyun understood when this usually quiet guy would get flustered and start talking a lot.
It’s easier to guide someone who’s a senior.
“Ah, but Seung-bin.”
“Yeah?”
Jae-hyun pretended to look around and whispered softly.
“Do-hee… she’s breathtakingly beautiful, really.”
Seung-bin’s brow furrowed slightly before he quickly returned to neutral.
Jae-hyun, picking up on the myriad emotions emanating from that brief expression, continued to lead the conversation.
“I ran into her at an event recently. Wow… she looked totally different in real life. The proportions are just unreal. So, I wanted to get a bit closer while filming our challenge today.”
“That…”
“That?”
As expected, Seung-bin, who cut him off, mumbled something first.
“I might be jumping to conclusions, but I think if you start dating, fans might be pretty disappointed.”
With a blunt tone yet lacking confidence, the way he spoke seemed hurried.
“That’s true. But then again, our members have been caught dating multiple times. I’ve never been caught. After all, how many groups don’t date?”
“But, seeing as you’re coming back from military service, the fans have been waiting for this…”
Thinking he had grasped the situation, Jae-hyun decided to speak casually.
“And I think idols can date a bit. Sure, it’s not great to deceive them, but falling in love isn’t a crime~ Forcing them to not date feels harsh. Plus, strong feelings often inspire creativity. It’s not a coincidence that artists produce masterpieces right after a breakup.”
And, as expected—
“…but I don’t think Do-hee will date.”
Without thinking about it, he spoke, aware of the implications surrounding Do-hee.
“Huh? Why?”
“Well, she’s quite focused on her work. Just keeping up with her responsibilities seems to take up all her time, and more importantly, she’s super strict with herself… I doubt she would ever date, even for the fans. By the way, she said she’s single.”
“Single? Really? Her?”
Seung-bin, with no trace of a smile, stared straight at the elevator door, stiffened like a board.
Just then, realizing that guests must have pressed the button from the lower floor, Jae-hyun hesitated but then said—
“Seems like you two are pretty tight. I can tell you know her well.”
“Uh, no, it’s just…”
Jae-hyun continued to prod at the awkwardness he sensed in Seung-bin’s expression.
“But how long will that last? Given how beautiful Do-hee is, there must be a number of guys interested in her. No matter what, there are tons of guys who will approach her just based on looks. Saying this feels strange, but I’m in that kind of league too… well, anyway.”
This is the truth.
No matter how much Do-hee appears to be an idol’s idol, she must have a line of suitors waiting to approach her since she’s been so successful thus far.
“At least she was a minor until now, so there was some discretion, but now she’s an adult? Wow… now it’s legal, and she’ll get approached like crazy. Man, there are bound to be good-looking guys trying to woo her all the time. Not a single one will go unscathed—.”
While he was ranting, he noticed the strange silence and glanced sideways.
Seung-bin’s expression was tense.
“I mean, that’s just talk.”
“Huh?”
“I was joking~ There’s a ten-year age gap between me and Do-hee; I have some sense of propriety too. Come on, that’s ridiculous.”
“Ah, right…”
He seemed a bit too proud. Of course, he was trying to coax a bit of emotional response, so he had no words left.
“What I’m saying is you, honestly, if you like Do-hee, just show it a bit.”
“Huh?”
“Why did you even bring Do-hee here in the first place? The manager could have done that. The very fact that you’re sitting like this feels like you’re imitating Do-hee.”
“No, it’s not imitation.”
“Then did you catch a case of Do-hee syndrome or something?”
Originally, he intended to poke fun to get him to speak first, but seeing the elevator approaching, he was prepared to give it up.
“Just send her a birthday present, strike up a convo, cheer for her during the comeback, and if all goes well, meet up casually sometime.”
Jae-hyun looked at him with quite a bit of confidence.
“Oh, and when we film the challenge later, since you met her, suggest you join in too. You need to show you’re slightly familiar with her.”
“No, I have to go down…”
‘Even when I offer solutions, he still rejects. Ugh.’
It seemed like this type of blockhead needed a bit of persuasive pressure.
“Seung-bin, I ran into Do-hee in the hallway just last week on the day of the comeback.”
“Ah, right.”
“She really looked out of sorts. She seemed to have a bit of cold sweat, and she was holding her stomach like she was about to puke.”
The elevator began to rise.
By the time they arrived, he probably wouldn’t finish his sentence.
Jae-hyun pulled Seung-bin up and marched him back to the practice room.
“But right after listening to that Debonaire song, I liked it so much that I wanted to sneak a peek at the pre-recorded stage. Whoa, Do-hee doesn’t show any signs of discomfort in front of fans, huh?”
“…Ah, yeah. That’s just how she is.”
“Right? So, even when it’s such a high-energy dance, she goes all out. If she feels bad, she slips away, saying she’ll be back, and she even holds back from throwing up while telling the fans, and then off she goes to the restroom.”
He didn’t need to provide a kind explanation in front of a junior, but—
“Hey, isn’t that cool? That’s something I could never do.”
Determined to persuade the closed-off junior, he revealed his real thoughts just a bit.
“I’ve only seen two types of people like that, and the other one is Lira. Of course, they feel a bit different. If Lira is like that because of her pride, then Do-hee seems like she genuinely loves being like that? I don’t know, just the impression was like that. No, she was smiling. Scarily.”
“Ah… yeah, I can see that vibe… it’s cool.”
Seems like he was starting to empathize a bit.
“Yeah, but one is consumed with pride, and the other seems to be consumed with self-esteem? Interestingly, the vibe they give off seems similar.”
As he rambled on, Jae-hyun absentmindedly played with his hair.
“Both seem to occupy their own unique worlds. It’s like there’s some barrier—no noise, no distractions, it all feels detached. Oh, it could just be my perception.”
Seung-bin smiled awkwardly, as if he didn’t want to take offense.
“I usually find that kind of lofty persona lacking in my life.”
Of course, that didn’t mean that all his ex-girlfriends were such remarkable people. While he had met many with strong personalities and bright natures, in the end, those weren’t necessarily the types to get serious with.
But these two? They were almost guarantees, given that they had the national approval rating.
“Honestly, that’s why I want to become friends with both of them. I want to learn from them. What kind of drive does my older brother have?”
Among them, he felt that Lira aligned more with him.
He definitely wasn’t confident about living a day with his back straight like Do-hee.
“So, for now, let’s get you to get closer to Do-hee. It feels strange for you two not to be closer after being MCs for over a year. Now might be a good time for you to reach out, and thank her for the challenge and stuff.”
“…But our comeback is still a bit away, so we haven’t finalized the challenge yet.”
“Ugh, so frustrating. We can just rehash the last album challenge.”
“I’ll let you know when we’ve figured out the challenge part.”
Jae-hyun sighed in disbelief.
“But seriously, I doubt there’s just one or two guys who like Do-hee.”
“Huh?”
“It seems like just a brief encounter is enough to get smiles and greetings from people. Surely someone must have fallen for her at first sight?”
“……”
Seeing Seung-bin pondering a few faces, Jae-hyun wandered toward the water cooler nearby the entrance of the practice room.
The timing was just right.
“Ah, Young-ho, can you expand our practice room like this one? The ceiling height is so nice. I envy it every time I come here.”
“Go make money.”
“Why should I make money for a company expansion?”
“How can we expand if you don’t bring in any money?”
Just then, Jae-hyun heard voices, seeming to approach the manager and Do-hee.
“But you’ve made a good amount already.”
“I don’t know; make more. Convince the chairman. What are the maintenance costs like?”
“Ah~”
That made for a cute conversation, contrasting the high-minded discussions they had just been having.
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