By Zephyria “Sung Se-han, please….”
The moment I muttered while biting my lip, a large hand swept through my hair.
“The hyena is me, of course.”
I barely lifted my head at the soft voice filled with laughter. Sung Se-han, with a smile, was leisurely looking around.
“I’m confident that I can steal Sky Blue’s representative song and make it Perfect Puzzle’s representative song.”
As soon as Sung Se-han finished speaking, exclamations began to be heard from around us.
“Wow…! Sung Se-han, look at that confidence!”
“Seriously, Sung Se-han, look at him not even caring about the cameras!”
“Take it easy. Sky Blue just debuted….”
“Pfft! What are you talking about? Is Perfect Puzzle old or something?”
Just by looking at the atmosphere that quickly became noisy, I could tell how favorable everyone in this space was to Sung Se-han.
With complicated feelings, I looked at Sung Se-han and raised my voice over the boisterous noise.
“You’re really hopeless.”
“Huh? What did you say?”
The moment Sung Se-han lowered his head towards me, a sharp clapping sound rang out from the entrance of the set.
“Okay, okay! Everyone quiet! Director Chu Myung-hwan is coming in!”
We were waiting for the photographer, but suddenly the director? The unexpected situation left all the idol groups looking bewildered.
Stretching my neck and looking towards the entrance, I could see people who seemed to be assistants entering first and checking the route.
“Hello! Director!”
“Hello! We are Jumping Boys!”
All the teams began to greet the director who was entering the entrance in a spirited manner.
Not wanting to stand in the front row and get noticed for no reason, I subtly moved back. Sung Se-han, who turned to look at me, slightly raised the corners of his lips.
I stopped the foot that was moving back and looked at Sung Se-han in an awkward posture. No words came out.
Why was Sung Se-han looking at me with those eyes?
With eyes that said he was happy that I was here. With eyes that were proud of me.
We haven’t even known each other for very long, so why is he doing this to me?
As I blinked slowly, the noise faded away. Only Sung Se-han, who was staring only at me, and I, the two of us, were filling this time completely. My chest tightened and I gradually became breathless.
“Tae-kyung Hyung.”
Someone grabbed my arm, and I opened my eyes wide as if waking up from a dream.
“Yeah. What is it, Ho-soo?”
The younger members, who had gathered next to me, were looking around with curious eyes.
“Do you know who they are? Why did the director bring those kids?”
“Huh? I don’t know….”
I wondered who they were talking about, so I looked at the director through the Sunbae-nims standing in the front row. Looking closely, the director was indeed leading about six children as if he were escorting them.
“Who are they? Who did he bring?”
“Why did he bring kids when we’re taking pictures?”
While the younger members were whispering, Asla’s Dae-hoo Sunbae subtly chimed in.
“Sky Blue probably doesn’t know them. We’ve seen them a few times.”
“Yes? Sunbae-nim, who are those kids?”
When Ho-soo leaned in close to Dae-hoo Sunbae, Dae-hoo Sunbae covered his mouth slightly with one hand and whispered.
“They’re the granddaughters of the CEO of Daejin Motors. That one is the granddaughter of some minister? Something like that. Their hobby is that they like idols and go to concerts and filming locations.”
“Ah… I see.”
The younger members nodded with somewhat deflated expressions. I turned my gaze to Director Chu Myung-hwan, who was barely visible among the people.
“This is the biggest set, and we’re doing a photoshoot here. Head of department Kim Ha-seok? Did you say it was a sports concept today? That’s right. Okay, let’s take a slow look around….”
Leading the children, who looked to be about middle school age at most, Chu Myung-hwan maintained a cautious attitude as if he were attending to VIPs. Now that I looked closely, the men who had entered earlier were not the director’s attendants, but the children’s escorts.
“But I don’t know who those two are.”
Dae-hoo Sunbae pointed to the children who were following the director at the very front. The two children, who looked like siblings based on their appearance and atmosphere, were constantly looking around as if they were fascinated by the large set.
In particular, the female student, who appeared to be the older sister, did not take her hand off her younger brother’s back for a moment. They seemed to have a really good relationship and she seemed to care about her younger brother…
“Ah….”
I took a step forward without realizing it. Looking closely, the boy, who looked to be an elementary school student, was skinny and didn’t look well. No, at that point, he should be taken to the hospital first….
“Wow! Mano Oppa!”
“Ho-jeong Oppa, please sign!”
The female students who were following behind let out joyful cries as if they had found their favorite idols. I watched the Sunbae-nims kindly signing autographs and then turned my gaze away.
If I didn’t consciously restrain myself, my gaze would soon start searching for Sung Se-han again. I couldn’t see Sung Se-han, who had been in the front earlier, so I stretched my neck and started looking around.
He was with the Perfect Puzzle members on the side, a little further away, as if he had been pushed back by the crowd.
I glanced at him so that Sung Se-han wouldn’t notice, and then fixed my gaze on his profile.
Nothing much had changed from before. The smile that had been on his lips had disappeared, but there wasn’t much of a change in his expression.
Even so, my heart sank with a thud.
Sung Se-han. I called his name, but the voice couldn’t come out of my mouth.
I couldn’t call him because I thought he wouldn’t be able to hear my voice.
In this crowded set, Sung Se-han was completely alone. He was in his own world.
The moment I realized that, I couldn’t bear it and took a step towards Sung Se-han. But I couldn’t go to him.
“Where is Perfect Puzzle?”
When Director Chu Myung-hwan’s solemn voice rang out, the Sunbae-nims around Perfect Puzzle stepped aside. Then, Chu Myung-hwan held out his hand as if escorting the siblings.
“Oh, they’re over there. Which one of them is a fan of whom, Yoo-jung?”
The girl called Yoo-jung blushed and looked at her younger brother.
“Yes. Yoo-jung and I are fans of Sung Se-han Oppa.”
“Yoo-won is also a fan of Sung Se-han? I see, I heard that Sung Se-han is the most popular these days.”
Even before the director’s voice rang out loudly, all eyes in the set were already focused on Sung Se-han.
While the pretty siblings with a dignified atmosphere were slowly walking towards Sung Se-han, the director carefully guided them.
The girl’s steps were bound to be slow as she supported the skinny boy. Because of that, it took quite a while for the siblings to get closer to Sung Se-han.
He could have gone to greet his fans, but Sung Se-han didn’t move a single step and just looked at them.
In that scene, which felt somewhat unsettling, the set, which had been bustling with voices coming from here and there, gradually began to quiet down.
My heart kept sinking and sinking without knowing the end. At that moment, the thought that came to my mind made my fingertips turn cold.
Sung Se-han’s Mom said that her son was a very weak and pitiful child. She definitely said that he was like a candle that could go out at any moment. Assemblyman Choi In-taek had said that there was a child who was so weak that he could only stay in bed.
Ah, I wish someone would tell me. That I’m having delusions right now.
That Sung Se-han has a strange face that I’ve never seen before, not because of those kids.
“Hello? Sung Se-han Oppa!”
The girl who finally arrived in front of Sung Se-han smiled brightly. It was a really happy-looking smile, as if she couldn’t help but be happy.
“I’m Han Yoo-jung. This is my younger brother, Han Yoo-won.”
“Hello!”
The skinny boy greeted spiritedly and added with an excited face.
“Hyung is really cool! My sister and I have been watching Hyung’s videos every day….”
The young siblings, who couldn’t hide their joy at meeting Sung Se-han, looked really happy. But there was no emotion visible on Sung Se-han’s face as he looked down at them.
“Sung Se-han, what are you doing?”
It was natural for Director Chu Myung-hwan’s voice to rise. Because no one here would be able to understand Sung Se-han.
“Why are you standing there stiffly? Should I tell you what kind of family Yoo-jung and Yoo-won come from?”
I hoped that Director Chu Myung-hwan wouldn’t say anything more. That those siblings were the children of the successor of Myungseong Electronics, and that Assemblyman Choi In-taek of the Myungjin Party was their maternal grandfather. That he wouldn’t say anything.
There is a world of difference between vaguely knowing something and actually knowing the exact truth and being shocked. So I hoped that no one would open their mouth.
“Director!”
All eyes turned to another voice that rang out through the set. The person who was pushing through the production crew’s cameras was PD Bae Dong-yeon.
Ha, only then did I release the breath I had been holding in. Air finally rushed into the stuffy space. It felt like I could breathe again.
“Director! If you had such a plan, you should have told me in advance.”
PD Bae Dong-yeon, who had rushed over, stood in front of Sung Se-han, and Director Chu Myung-hwan raised his eyebrows.
“PD Bae? What are you doing now?”
“Director! If you do this without prior consent, it will interfere with the filming.”
Judging by the fact that he had run so urgently that his hair was messed up, PD Bae Dong-yeon seemed to have no idea about today’s situation.