By Zephyria “PD Bae! Are you crazy? What are you doing now?”
The person who grabbed PD Bae Dong-yeon’s arm was a man named Head of department Kim Ha-seok. Head of department Kim Ha-seok, who glared with a fierce look, tried to push PD Bae Dong-yeon away with force. But PD Bae Dong-yeon didn’t budge and instead shook off Head of department Kim Ha-seok’s hand.
“Head of department, I told you in advance that there might be friction over this, didn’t I? But if you suddenly barge in like this….”
“Hey! Bae Dong-yeon! Do you really want to die….”
“Please watch your language, Head of department. There are many eyes watching.”
The sight of the director, the head of department, and the PD raising their voices at each other in a public place gave quite a shock to those present.
Even in the situation where everyone was sweating and holding their breath, I didn’t take my eyes off Sung Se-han. I had to watch him without missing a moment.
Because there was nothing else I could do.
“…!”
Sung Se-han, who had been standing there like an inanimate object, slowly began to smile. At that moment, it felt like my heart was sinking.
“PD-nim, I’m okay.”
Sung Se-han’s laughter-filled voice cut through the tense space. All eyes that had been on PD Bae Dong-yeon turned to the source of the voice.
“PD-nim, thank you for your concern.”
Sung Se-han patted PD Bae Dong-yeon on the back in a friendly manner. Then, he stepped forward and bowed deeply to Director Chu Myung-hwan.
“I’m not feeling well today. I think PD Bae Dong-yeon became sensitive because of me.”
“What…? Not feeling well?”
The director and Head of department glared at PD Bae Dong-yeon with expressions that hadn’t calmed down.
“Even so, PD Bae….”
“Director, can I sign autographs for my fans now?”
Sung Se-han turned his gaze to the young siblings over Director Chu Myung-hwan’s shoulder. Only then did the director step aside as if he had remembered what he had to do.
“Come on, Yoo-jung! Yoo-won, ask Sung Se-han to sign an autograph for you. Take a picture too….”
“Se-han Oppa, are you sick today?”
Director Chu Myung-hwan urged, but a girl named Han Yoo-jung didn’t approach Sung Se-han. After exchanging glances with her younger brother, she looked up at Sung Se-han with a worried expression.
“If you’re sick, you can sign autographs next time.”
Even in the chaotic atmosphere where the adults were raising their voices, there was conviction in her eyes as she looked at her idol.
“I’m really satisfied just seeing Oppa in person today, so next time when Oppa isn’t sick….”
“Didn’t you bring your autograph paper?”
Sung Se-han’s gaze as he looked down at the siblings was indifferent yet gentle. The girl, who had been blankly opening her mouth for a moment, hurriedly opened her crossbody bag.
“Yes! I brought it! Just a moment….”
By the time she took out the pen and album from her crossbody bag to hand them to Sung Se-han, the girl’s face, which had been so confident, was flushed red.
“Please, sign here and on the inside page too. To Yoo-jung…! I’d like it if you wrote that.”
Strangely, people watched intently as Sung Se-han received the album from the girl and signed it.
The other female students that the director had brought also watched without disturbing the siblings.
“Se-han Hyung! Please… sign here for me.”
The skinny boy held up his T-shirt and lowered his head, looking a little shy. Now that I looked, the white T-shirts the siblings were wearing were official Perfect Puzzle merchandise.
“Here… I’d like you to write Hyung’s name next to the word Perfect. A little bigger….”
Even though he was shy, the boy explained in detail what he wanted. To sign the boy’s small T-shirt, Sung Se-han bent down and lowered his posture.
As Sung Se-han, who was squatting with one knee touching the floor, began to sign while holding the end of the T-shirt, the boy and girl sparkled their eyes like stars with unbearable happiness.
“Se-han Oppa, my younger brother is a little weak? Could you please write something like ‘get well soon’ there?”
“Weak?”
When Sung Se-han glanced over while moving the pen, the boy shook his head.
“I’m okay. I’m healthy!”
The pale face he had when he walked here was gone, and his cheeks were flushed with vitality.
“Hyung, you’re so cool! You’re really, really handsome in person…!”
The surrounding Sunbae burst into laughter at the boy’s exclamation, unable to contain himself after meeting his idol. It was natural for a warm smile to appear at the cute boy’s honest confession. But I couldn’t get caught up in any of the emotions here and had to force the corners of my lips up.
“Oppa, thank you!”
When Sung Se-han finished signing the T-shirt and stood up, the girl bowed her head with sincerity. The boy craned his neck back as far as he could so as not to miss the increasingly higher line of sight.
“Se-han Hyung, I’ll eat a lot and be healthy as you wrote here! Meeting Hyung today, cough! Cough! Cough! Cough….”
The boy, overwhelmed with emotion, suddenly started coughing after speaking in a loud voice.
“Yoo-won!”
“Yoo-won, are you okay?”
While the girl was embracing her younger brother and the director was panicking, the escorts began to move urgently.
“Yoo-won, sit down. We’ll move you to the hospital.”
The escort, who lightly lifted the boy up, had already placed him in the prepared wheelchair. But the boy shook off the escort’s hand and stood up again.
“Cough! Cough… I’m okay! I’m fine….”
“Yoo-won, you’re too excited right now. You need to restrain yourself.”
The boy’s face darkened at the large escort’s stern voice. The girl, who was watching, patted her younger brother with a pitiful expression.
“Yoo-won, you can meet Se-han Oppa again next time.”
“When next time? He’s locked up and can’t even come out! Why am I… Cough! Cough! Cough!”
The girl looked like she was about to cry because of the boy who kept coughing. The waiting escort grabbed the wheelchair without further delay.
“Just a moment, cough! I want to say goodbye to Se-han Hyung.”
When the boy spoke firmly, the escort who was pushing the wheelchair towards the entrance stopped moving.
“Se-han Hyung, thank you so much today! Cough! Thank you so much for the autograph too. Please don’t forget me. I’ll come to see you again….”
The boy’s words became faster and faster as if he was trying to say everything he wanted to say in a short amount of time. But before he could finish speaking, the escort pushed the wheelchair and quickly headed towards the entrance. The girl, who bowed her head to Sung Se-han, also hurriedly followed the wheelchair, looking back at Sung Se-han, who was watching them with indifferent eyes, several times.
“Se-han Oppa! Sign an autograph for me too!”
“Me too!”
“Roy Oppa, I’m your fan!”
As the siblings moved away, the girls who had been waiting quietly began to rush forward. I looked at the girls taking out the Perfect Puzzle albums they had prepared and then looked back at the entrance to the set.
The young siblings and several escorts were no longer visible, having already left the set. I turned my gaze indifferently and met PD Bae Dong-yeon’s eyes.
I pretended to look somewhere else naturally, but my neck moved stiffly.
“PD Bae, come see me for a moment.”
While everyone was signing autographs for the fans as if they hadn’t heard, Director Chu Myung-hwan’s voice was heard amidst the murmuring.
I watched until the end as PD Bae Dong-yeon left the set with the director, pushing through the cameras. Then, I lowered my head and covered my eyes with one hand.
I felt so tired that my vision was dizzy, so I must have been too nervous.
“Tae-kyung Hyung, are you feeling unwell?”
Jeong-min lowered my hand and looked into my face, so I honestly agreed.
“I was watching the higher-ups… I feel like all my energy is drained before the filming even starts.”
“Then Hyung, do you want to rest in the waiting room for a bit? The director said filming will start in an hour.”
“I should wait here, though.”
When I shook my head, Jeong-min pouted his lips.
“Sung Se-han just signed autographs and left quickly? We can go to the waiting room and rest too, I guess.”
“Huh?”
I saw a few Perfect Puzzle members talking as Jeong-min said, but Sung Se-han wasn’t visible.
“Jeong-min, I’m going to the restroom for a bit.”
“Huh? Okay….”
Only after leaving the set at a fast pace did I realize that I hadn’t asked which way Sung Se-han had gone. He might have gone the other way to meet PD Bae Dong-yeon….
I thought about changing direction now, but I didn’t stop walking and headed towards my destination in front of me. My gaze was fixed on the emergency staircase door located at the end of the hallway.
“Hoo…!”
I took a breath as I opened the iron door.
The dark and quiet emergency staircase was a good place to be alone. It would have been better if Sung Se-han hadn’t had to look for such a place in the first place.
I didn’t walk far after entering the emergency exit before stopping. Then, I raised my gaze and looked at the stairs leading to the upper floor.
Sung Se-han, sitting on the top step of the stairs with his chin resting on his hand, was looking down at me.
I couldn’t move at all and stood there receiving Sung Se-han’s gaze.