By Zephyria “Are you telling me to just wait quietly until Sunbae runs out of breath?”
“I got it, so stop nagging. You’re scaring him.”
Seeing Sung Se-han leisurely respond to Vice Manager’s scolding made my stomach churn.
To dare hold me in the palm of his hand, watching and enjoying how desperately I desired him. He didn’t even know what I was enduring.
“Don’t get angry.”
The moment I tried to yank my hand away, Sung Se-han’s hand tightly gripped mine and pulled me.
“Ah…!”
Trying to pull back only made me stumble forward, losing my balance and bumping my shoulder against him. In an instant, my body leaned against Sung Se-han, and I was completely flustered.
“Hey! You…”
“I showed you everything from the start.”
I dazedly lifted my face at the voice from above. Meeting his brown eyes at a distance where our noses almost touched, there was nowhere to avoid his gaze.
“I can’t think of anything else. I’m desperate for it all day long.”
“What, exactly…”
I was going to grab Sung Se-han’s arm and push him away, but the moment I touched his firm, smooth skin, the strength drained from my fingers.
“You know. What I want.”
Sung Se-han tilted his head and leaned in close to me. His faint scent felt like it was suffocating me.
But thanks to Sung Se-han letting go of my hand and straightening my shoulders, I didn’t suffocate. Without taking his eyes off me, Sung Se-han took out his phone.
“Hyung, it’s me.”
The phone’s vibration stopped, and Sung Se-han started talking, but my head was still a mess.
“I know, you’re waiting for Hyung. I was just about to call you.”
Whether Sung Se-han was looking at me or not, I turned my body and looked out the window. Nothing was coming into view anyway. All my nerves were focused on following Sung Se-han’s every little movement. I felt a little annoyed. I was still having trouble breathing and feeling miserable, but why was that bastard so fine?
“Nothing special happened. Can’t we talk about that later?”
I reflexively turned my head at Sung Se-han’s words that nothing special happened. But as soon as I saw the gray envelope next to Sung Se-han, my heart sank.
What if Sung Se-han was planning to hide the conversation with the doctor from Kang Robin Sunbae? There was no way, but I had a feeling this guy would keep his mouth shut.
“Okay, Hyung.”
After ending the call, Sung Se-han fiddled with the screen as if lost in thought.
“Sung Se-han.”
Sung Se-han gave me a curious look at my call. But I couldn’t miss the deep anguish flashing in those eyes hidden by his eyelashes.
“Don’t think about solving it alone.”
I shouldn’t get too involved in Sung Se-han’s territory. I bit down hard, turning off the warning lights ringing in my head.
Sung Se-han had never once told me about his difficulties. There was no point in dwelling on it now, but I couldn’t let go of the lingering regret. If Sung Se-han had shared his worries with me, if he had told me about his unavoidable circumstances, I wouldn’t have been upset or hated him when he suddenly left the company.
Maybe we wouldn’t have drifted apart and struggled so much. I felt like I could cry because I regretted the lost time so much.
“Don’t forget that I heard everything that happened today. I don’t know what kind of relationship you have with Kang Robin Sunbae… but he’ll be very disappointed if he knows you’re worrying alone. That’s really, really bad of you.”
As I spoke slowly, Sung Se-han stared at me with a subdued expression. How great would it be if I could know what he was thinking in that pretty head right now?
“Who made you upset?”
The words that came out of Sung Se-han’s mouth made me breathless again. I couldn’t say anything and just widened my eyes, and a large hand gently stroked my hair.
“I’m different. I’ll never make things hard for you.”
His quiet but confident gaze was directed at me. But I couldn’t give him any answer and lowered my gaze.
Is this really okay?
You’ve made Sung Se-han have such confidence, so what are you going to do now?
Thump. Thump. Thump. Seeping into one side of my anxiously beating heart like light was the joy of this moment being with Sung Se-han. If I didn’t ignore that selfish feeling, my heart wouldn’t have a place to rest for even a moment. So, for now, I wanted to lean on those fingers touching my hair. As if there were no barriers between us.
“Thank you for the ride.”
After arriving at the Garam Studio’s underground parking lot, I greeted Vice Manager and got out of the sedan. I was just going to give Sung Se-han a casual nod, but he also opened the door on the other side and got out.
“Thanks for today, really.”
Sung Se-han, with his elbow on the car body, smiled brightly at me.
“For what?”
All I did was intrude on your privacy and make things difficult, right?
Unable to hide my complicated feelings, I asked stiffly, and Sung Se-han’s voice became subtly lower.
“For saying you’d take responsibility for me.”
“What? Hey, when did I…”
“I’ll contact you.”
Leaving me stammering in embarrassment, Sung Se-han got back into the sedan. I stood there blankly until the sedan left the parking lot.
“Ha… I’m going crazy. Really…!”
As I trudged over to the elevator, I came to my senses as if waking from a dream. The reality immediately facing me now was that I had to go to the waiting room and see the members’ faces.
“Wow… what should I do?”
What excuses could I make to the members who were surprised and worried? Nothing came to mind. Vice Manager said earlier that PD Bae Dong-yeon had taken action, which meant he had created a plausible situation for me not being able to participate in the recording, right? Probably…?
“Hoo…!”
The elevator quickly arrived at the waiting room on the third floor, and I was about to move my feet with a heavy heart. But as soon as I got off the elevator, I froze and stopped.
“Oh?”
The person who saw me and beamed was definitely someone I knew.
“Sky Blue, Tae-kyung-ssi, right?”
The person who was as cute as a puppy and smiling harmlessly ran over as happily as if he had met a close friend.
“You know me, right? I’m Pure Voice Doo-hyun.”
It was none other than Pure Voice Chae Doo-hyun. In the previous timeline, Pure Voice couldn’t participate in the survival show because of our team, or rather, because of me.
Although he didn’t finish the survival show, the fact that I took Pure Voice’s place didn’t disappear. I hadn’t forgotten this fact.
“Nice to meet you, Sunbae. I’m Sky Blue Lee Tae-kyung.”
I just bowed mechanically. But Chae Doo-hyun Sunbae took my hand without hesitation.
“I knew there was a Star Light shoot today. But I didn’t expect to meet Tae-kyung-ssi. Wow, it’s so nice to meet you!”
“It’s an honor to meet Sunbae as well…”
“Come on! I met a Hubae, so I’ll buy you coffee.”
Chae Doo-hyun Sunbae didn’t let go of my hand until we reached the vending machine at the end of the hallway.
“What do you want to drink? I’ve tried them all, but the mango juice is the best.”
Seeing the Sunbae’s eyes sparkling like a excited person, my heart became heavy again.
“Then… I’ll have mango juice.”
“Oh, good!”
Chae Doo-hyun Sunbae took out the mango juice and even opened the lid before handing it to me.
“Let’s have a meal together sometime. I’ll buy you something delicious then.”
“Yes. Thank you, Sunbae.”
When I bowed again, Chae Doo-hyun Sunbae smiled awkwardly.
“Hehet. I’ve watched a lot of Tae-kyung-ssi’s videos, so I feel like we’re close. But Tae-kyung-ssi might feel uncomfortable because I’m acting too friendly.”
Ah…! I wondered if I was too caught up in my own feelings, so I shook my head and smiled as brightly as I could.
“I’ve watched a lot of Sunbae’s videos too. So I think I’m really lucky today.”
“Wow! Really?”
Chae Doo-hyun Sunbae, whose face brightened up, jumped like a puppy and spun around in place.
“I have to tell our members! I always told them that Tae-kyung-ssi is really charming and handsome, so I’m jealous?”
“Really? Thank you so much, Sunbae…”
I thought that it would be rare to meet someone as cute and transparent as Chae Doo-hyun Sunbae again. As such, my heart couldn’t help but become heavier again.
“Sunbae, do you have a shoot today?”
“I had a ‘Sleeping with the Enemy’ teaser shoot today… Ah! Tae-kyung-ssi, can I have your number?”
“Of course. My number is…”
“Then, I was wondering… there’s a segment where we connect with a close idol on the phone… well, it’s not confirmed yet…”
Seeing the Sunbae’s voice getting quieter as he looked at me, I was relieved instead.
“Sunbae, you can call me anytime. If you let me know in advance, I’ll be prepared.”
“Oh, Tae-kyung-ssi! How can you be so nice? I’m going to fall for you!”
I couldn’t help but laugh because of the Sunbae who was expressing his joy by jumping up and down. I didn’t think that I would repay the Pure Voice team with such small exchanges, but somehow, I felt a little lighter.
It seemed like this was the way to go. To make sure that no one gets hurt because of me, to do my best in whatever I can. Wouldn’t that be okay? I was relieved by that thought.