By Zephyria It was rare for an executive manager to stay at the practice room. He had thought it was because the company considered this single very important… but perhaps it was to facilitate his meeting with Lee Hae-sung. CEO Myeong would likely deem maintaining a smooth relationship with Lee Hae-sung far more important than making this single a hit. He was that kind of person.
As he climbed the steep stairs leading to the first floor, the phone he was clutching tightly in his pocket vibrated.
“《Okay, come to the passenger seat ^^》”
A smile, albeit faint, bloomed at the cheerful reply. Even though no one was watching, he pulled the edge of his hood to cover his face, trying to suppress his smile.
As he stepped outside the building, the six or seven waiting fans instantly swarmed towards Choi Hong-seo. The manager put his arm around Choi Hong-seo, who was wearing a hood, and quickened his pace.
“There are other residents. Please keep your voices down. If you don’t, we’ll have to change our practice room again, okay?”
While listening to the manager’s voice warning the fans, Choi Hong-seo lowered his head and reflexively accepted the letters and gifts being thrust towards his chest.
His familiar sedan blinked its headlights, signaling him. While the manager shielded him from the fans, Choi Hong-seo quickly ran towards the passenger side and got into the car.
“Choi Hong-seo, I love you so much! Let’s get married in 3 years! I’ll buy a house and contact you!”
Someone shouted from outside the closed door, followed by the manager’s rough scolding.
Choi Hong-seo, who had practically dived into the car and settled into the passenger seat, looked towards the driver’s side. Lee Hae-sung was looking out the car window, towards the fans. His expression wasn’t visible from this angle, but the muscles in his cheeks and jaw were noticeably tighter than usual.
“Proposing to someone else’s lover out of the blue… Ah… that’s not polite.”
His hand, gripping the top of the steering wheel, tightened, turning his knuckles yellow. His voice sounded serious. Could he be… serious? No, he couldn’t be, right? He must be joking, right?
He craned his neck to get a better look at Lee Hae-sung’s face, but just then, he turned towards him. Then, he grabbed Choi Hong-seo’s left hand with his right and leaned forward. His handsome face, appearing even more distinct in the darkness, drew closer.
“It’s not me, right? You’ll marry me?”
“Marry…?”
Choi Hong-seo instinctively leaned back slightly. Lee Hae-sung tightened his grip on the hand he held, not allowing him to pull away. His serious expression urged Choi Hong-seo for a confirmation.
“Marriage. You heard it too.”
“Let’s… let’s go. Quickly.”
Heat rushed to his face in an instant. It was dark, so he couldn’t see, but he felt like Lee Hae-sung could see everything. Pushing away Lee Hae-sung’s shoulder, he raised his arm to cover the lower half of his face. The fans, chased away by the manager, were barely visible, and his car had dark tinting, but he kept glancing out the window. Not out of anxiety, but out of embarrassment…
“Where are we going? Weren’t you supposed to go back to practice?”
“We’re off work today.”
Lee Hae-sung, who had resumed holding the steering wheel after being nudged by Choi Hong-seo, looked puzzled at the word “off work” but slowly started the car. As the sedan passed the practice room, another high-pitched scream from the fans could be heard. Some ignored the manager’s shouts trying to stop them and ran after the car. After exiting the alley and entering the main road, Lee Hae-sung seemed to finally breathe a sigh of relief. Glancing back through the side mirror, he said in an apologetic voice,
“Off work… is it because of me? I really didn’t mean to interfere.”
“No. The members haven’t been able to concentrate on practice because I haven’t been sleeping well lately.”
“Hmm… you definitely haven’t been getting enough sleep.”
Even when he was tired, he used to spend at least an hour on the phone before sleeping, but he couldn’t do that these days. After finishing his schedule and practice, by the time he got back to the dorm, showered, and lay down, Lee Hae-sung would be sound asleep. Lee Hae-sung was also in a position where he needed to maintain his condition, so he couldn’t wake him up at 3 or 4 AM to talk.
His routine these days was to slowly scroll through the messages and photos he sent before sleeping, and then fall asleep. Sometimes, he couldn’t even finish reading them before falling asleep.
Although he regretted not being able to see him often, it was perhaps a blessing that he was so exhausted from his schedule that he collapsed into sleep. If not for that, his mind wouldn’t have been able to endure.
It wasn’t just preparing for the new song… Lee Seo-kyung, that son of a bitch, had appeared.
Stopping the car behind vehicles turning right towards Gangnam Station, he placed his hand on his hood and gently ruffled Choi Hong-seo’s hair.
“It’s been three days since we last saw each other, hasn’t it?”
Choi Hong-seo, who had nodded, glanced back at him. Then, gathering his courage, he met his eyes and said,
“I missed you.”
“……”
His eyes widened as if he had heard an unexpected confession. Then, a smile spread across his entire face. He pressed his lips together tightly, trying to hide the involuntary laughter. But it was no use. His lips couldn’t suppress the laughter, as if someone were tickling him.
He couldn’t take his eyes off Lee Hae-sung’s face, who was trying to hold back his laughter. Lee Hae-sung brought the hand that was ruffling his hair to the back of his neck and pulled his face closer. A light kiss, peck, passed between them in an instant.
“You really missed me? I understand if you think about me a little less because you’re busy with the new song preparations.”
“I am busy, but… I still think about you, Darling.”
“Ah…”
This time, he clutched his left chest with his right hand and let out a groan as if enduring pain. Then, he reached out and lightly pinched Choi Hong-seo’s cheek.
“You’re making me not want to let you go.”
As the cars in front slowly started moving, his sedan also turned right. Even though it was past 1 AM, Gangnam Road shimmered with the lights of vehicles.
“I missed Baby so much too. I tried to act dignified because I didn’t want to be a clingy lover who whines about missing you, even though I know you’re busy…”
Feeling his gaze glancing towards him, Choi Hong-seo looked back at him. After a brief exchange of glances, he looked forward again.
“Today was really too much. Three days is my limit.”
“……”
“I thought I was going to die.”
He rested his arm on the console box cushion, palm facing up, and spread his fingers wide. It was a signal to hold his hand, so Choi Hong-seo gently intertwined his fingers with Lee Hae-sung’s spread fingers.
He lowered his head slightly and smiled up at Choi Hong-seo. His satisfied face, smiling without showing his teeth, looked strangely sexy, so Choi Hong-seo idly wiggled the fingers he was holding.
“So, can you take off your hood and show me your face properly?”
“I came from practice, so I’m sweaty… my face is a mess.”
“You know it’s just cute in my eyes, saying that, right?”
“…I don’t know.”
Despite answering in a voice that seemed to be fading away, Choi Hong-seo hesitantly pulled down his hood. He took off his glasses, folded them, and placed them on his lap.
“My hair must be all flattened too.”
He muttered, running his right hand through his hair as if using it as a comb. When the sedan stopped at a red light at the Nonhyeon Station intersection, he twisted his body and carefully examined Choi Hong-seo’s face.
Every time his head naturally started to droop, Lee Hae-sung’s left hand would reach out and gently lift his chin.
“You had schedules all day. Your makeup is all gone.”
“I wash off my makeup before practicing. It’s stuffy otherwise.”
“You look even more like Baby like this. Like you just turned twenty. It suddenly makes me anxious.”
“Anxious about what?”
“About you being taken away. If you’re taken away, I won’t be able to see Hong-seo. It’s been three days, remember.”
Choi Hong-seo finally let out a chuckle at his joke, delivered with a serious face.
“It’s… so different from the music video filming?”
A few days ago, he had sent a snack truck to the music video set. CEO Myeong had introduced it to people as a snack truck sent by one of UB’s investors. But in his heart, he must have been itching to brag that it was sent by ARA’s Lee Hae-sung.
He had also met Lee Hae-sung briefly in his car when he visited the studio. Comparing that perfectly made-up appearance to his current state, Choi Hong-seo unconsciously kept covering his face with his hands.
“Even dressed so casually, you’re stylish… and your bare face is so beautifully defined, feature by feature… I was marveling, ‘My lover is truly an idol’?”
Flustered by the direct compliment, he tried to look away, but Lee Hae-sung didn’t let go, tightening his grip on his chin and pulling him closer.
“I understand why they’re chasing you to marry them. It’s not the fans’ fault.”
“……”
“But I have no intention of yielding.”
Whether it was a joke or serious, it was hard to tell from his tone and expression alone. After another quick peck, he started the car again. He didn’t seem to be looking at the traffic lights, but how did he know?
“I just need to take you back to the dorm, right?”
If he crossed the Hannam Bridge by going straight, it would be a quick trip to the dorm.
“I brought snacks that Hong-seo likes. The ones you enjoyed when you came to my place last time, so eat them with the members. If it’s too late today, then tomorrow. Okay?”
He lightly shook their clasped hands and then pulled their joined hands up to kiss the back of Choi Hong-seo’s hand. Choi Hong-seo, gazing at his profile, pouted slightly.
“I still want to be with you longer…”
“Don’t test my self-control, Darling. Even if Baby tries to seduce me, I’m only taking you to the dorm today.”
“Why?”
With a disgruntled voice, as if he couldn’t understand, Lee Hae-sung glanced back at him. His worried expression and voice followed.
“You look so tired. You’ll have schedules like this for a while, so how can I ask to stay with you?”
He knew that even if he sulked and insisted on staying longer, Lee Hae-sung wouldn’t be able to relax watching him. Still, he couldn’t help but feel disappointed about not being able to stay longer, so he did something unusual and boldly pressed his lips against the tip of Lee Hae-sung’s right shoulder. That day, he particularly didn’t want to part, so he did things he normally wouldn’t.
Lee Hae-sung brought their clasped hands to his left chest and rubbed them in a circle over his heart.
“No matter how much you try to seduce me… it’s impossible… even if you act this lovingly… I’m sending you back…”
He muttered as if hypnotizing himself. Choi Hong-seo smiled, his lips buried in Lee Hae-sung’s shoulder.
“I want to kidnap you like this, make you retire from the entertainment industry, and lock you up somewhere where you can only see me. This isn’t normal, is it?”
“You can do that.”
“Huh?”
“Kidnap, retire, imprison… I’d like it if Darling did it.”
If that happened, if ARA’s Lee Hae-sung decided to hide him, then neither CEO Myeong nor Lee Seo-kyung would be able to find him. Wouldn’t he be freed from everything then? The thought crossed his mind. He pressed his lips against the tip of Lee Hae-sung’s shoulder a few times, as if playing, and thought about disappearing with him.
His hands, clasped together, suddenly tightened with a pain-inducing strength, and he spoke in a deliberately stern tone.
“Don’t say things like that.”
“……”
“You have to be careful because I might take it seriously.”