By Zephyria I could feel the members flinching at the flash of his eyes. For me, I was somehow happy and hurried over.
“Hey, Sung Se-han. How did you come without even contacting me?”
Se-han, blocking the entrance with his door-like physique, glanced at me.
“Check your phone.”
“Huh? Did you call?”
I must have forgotten that I had my phone on silent. I took my phone out of my pocket, and Se-han strode inside.
“Gun-woo Hyung, it’s been a while. Jeong-min, have you been well?”
When Se-han greeted them in a friendly manner, Gun-woo Hyung awkwardly waved his hand.
“Oh, oh. Yeah. It’s been a while, Se-han….”
“Se-han Hyung! It’s been a long time.”
“Hello… nice to meet you!”
“Hello….”
Se-han, who had patted Jeong-min’s shoulder, turned to me.
“Tae-kyung, aren’t you going to introduce the members?”
“Ah, our members….”
I must have been pretty out of it. Soo-in and Ho-soo didn’t know what to do, but I should have introduced them earlier.
“They’re all the youngest. This is Ho-soo. He’s a sub-vocalist and a good dancer. And over there is our Soo-in. He’s in charge of rap, and his main specialty is dance.”
Even though he had already seen the members’ cover videos, Se-han nodded as if he were hearing it for the first time.
“Hello! I’m Ho-soo! It’s an honor to meet Sung Se-han Sunbae-nim!”
“Hello, I’m Choi Soo-in.”
“Nice to meet you.”
When Se-han held out his hand, Ho-soo hesitated for a moment and then shook it with both hands and bowed.
“Please, feel free to speak comfortably. Sung Se-han… Sunbae-nim!”
Seeing Ho-soo, who was usually cheerful, frozen stiff, I laughed because he seemed so nervous. Soo-in, who had been sitting at the end of the long table, quickly came over and shook Se-han’s hand.
“It’s an honor to meet you, Sung Se-han Sunbae-nim.”
It was admirable and cute to see Soo-in, who was usually introverted, greet him energetically without even blushing.
Ah, but what is it? Se-han was making another crooked expression, as if he didn’t like something.
“Soo-in-ssi, you said you’re eighteen years old.”
Gasp, my mouth dropped open.
“Se-han? Eighteen years old… what’s with that? It would be nice to say ‘eighteen.'”
I quickly approached him, worried that Soo-in, who wasn’t immune to Se-han’s nonsense, would be flustered.
“Soo-in, this Hyung doesn’t have any malicious intent even if he talks nonsense, okay? Just know it and don’t learn it.”
“Isn’t ‘eighteen’ and ‘eighteen years old’ the same thing?”
Se-han narrowed his eyes and looked at me. I felt a tingle down my spine at his innocent gaze.
I knew very well that this guy used this kind of speech when he wanted to mess with someone, so I couldn’t just let it go.
“Hey, even if it’s the same thing, can’t you say it nicely?”
“I’m okay, Tae-kyung Hyungnim….”
Seeing his face turn red, I guessed he had been holding back his embarrassment all along. He was the biggest of the members, but he was also very introverted, so I was even more concerned about him.
“But, Soo-in-ssi.”
Soo-in was startled and raised his head sharply, perhaps because Se-han had lowered his voice.
Se-han, with one hand in his pocket, looked down at Soo-in in a crooked posture… A warning light went off in my head. What nonsense is he going to say now….
“Sung Se-han is Lee Tae-kyung’s number one fan.”
“What?”
Haa…. I shook my head at the words that came out of Se-han’s mouth. What a childish guy. All he can do is pick on a kid….
“Just so you know.”
Huh. The tongue that had been about to retort playfully froze in place. His brown eyes, directed at me, were too serious. Excessively so.
“Lee Tae-kyung.”
Even as he swept back his styled hair roughly, Se-han’s gaze was fixed on me.
“You should have properly told your Hubaes that you can’t covet things like that.”
I didn’t know what to do with his cold eyes while he was saying such crazy things.
“Uh… well, that’s….”
I was even more flustered because the conference room had turned cold.
“That’s right, Soo-in. Se-han has been saying he’s my fan since a long time ago, right? Hahaha….”
“Wow! Tae-kyung Hyung, I’m so jealous. Se-han Hyung is a fan. You must be happy, Hyung!”
Jeong-min cleverly chimed in, but Soo-in had a serious expression on his face, as if he was thinking about something.
“Well, then I’ll be Tae-kyung Hyungnim’s number two fan.”
Soo-in’s face was unexpectedly stubborn, and I was speechless again.
“Haha… okay, thanks.”
Still, I was worried that Soo-in might be upset, so I pulled him closer and ruffled his hair.
“That’s our youngest. Soo-in is… Ah!”
At that moment, I cried out in pain because my wrist was suddenly grabbed tightly.
“Ouch! Ouch, ouch….”
Soo-in was startled and flustered because I cried out and pulled away.
“Tae-kyung Hyungnim…!”
Se-han glanced at Soo-in and then leaned his face close to mine, making eye contact.
“Tae-kyung, do you know you’re really weird?”
“Ouch! What, what’s weird!”
Even if I wanted to save face in front of my younger brothers, I couldn’t help but make a painful sound in the face of this brute force.
“Hey, it hurts! Let go and talk….”
“Why do you treat dark-haired men like babies?”
What nonsense is this guy talking about now! I glared at him with all my might, but I couldn’t say harsh words because my wrist was being held hostage.
“Se-han, our kids may be big, but they’re still young, okay?”
Se-han, still twisting my wrist, smiled, revealing his neat teeth.
“If they’re that young, send them to kindergarten.”
“What?”
Is this guy crazy?
“Hey! Did you come all the way here to pick a fight?”
I snatched my hand away, but I was furious. How can I fix this habit of grabbing me and showing off his strength whenever he gets the chance?
“Se-han, you’ve been waiting, right?”
It was a relief that Team leader Jang Ju-mi came back before I exploded. The staff Hyungs with the Handycam also came in, and the atmosphere became lively, so the youngest members, who had been watching each other, quietly slipped back.
“Se-han-ssi! Thank you so much for the snacks! It was my first time eating a Seki Hotel cake, and it was so delicious. Hahaha!”
“I’m glad you liked it.”
Seeing Se-han, who had returned to being a normal idol, made me lose strength in my shoulders.
Haa… I’m just being stupid if I get angry at a guy like this.
But why did they bring the Handycam? I felt uneasy, and Team leader Jang Ju-mi continued with an enthusiastic voice.
“Se-han, would you mind filming a video to commemorate your visit to our company? Just a short one.”
Ah, I knew it. I understand the Team leader’s feelings, but this isn’t right.
“Team leader, Se-han came to see me. It’s a bit much to suddenly do this….”
“No, I’m not saying we’ll upload the video right away, but let’s just film it for now. It’s a waste since he came all this way. We can release it later if we agree….”
“Team leader, Se-han is….”
“Tae-kyung, are you against it? It would be good for both of us if Se-han could help with the ‘Sky Blue’ video. I don’t see any harm in it?”
I suddenly felt like my blood was running cold. Helping each other is a load of crap.
We’d get attention, which would be good, but Se-han would just get more flak from his fans. Of course, Baeknyeon Entertainment wouldn’t welcome it either.
“Yes, I’m against it.”
Team leader Jang Ju-mi was making demands as confidently as if Se-han owed us something. Right now, all of it felt like utter crap.
“Tae-kyung, what’s wrong? Why are you so sensitive?”
“It’s not that I’m sensitive, it’s just…”
“Just film it.”
Sung Se-han put his hand on my shoulder as if to calm me down. When I looked up at him, he even gave me a soft smile.
“We can just film a short clip, right?”
“Oh, really? It’s okay to film?”
Team leader Jang Ju-mi quickly gestured to the staff Hyung holding the Handycam.
“But you should definitely discuss it with our company first. It could get complicated if you upload it without permission.”
“Of course, of course!”
I bit my lip, feeling disheartened, and Sung Se-han’s hand brushed through my hair.
He always tells me not to treat him like a little kid, but he’s the one who does it the most.
After finishing the five-minute shoot, I took Sung Se-han to the café inside the company.
“Why did you say they could film that? What if things get complicated later?”
I placed the best vanilla latte our company had to offer in front of Sung Se-han. But Sung Se-han, leaning back on the sofa, didn’t even glance at the latte.
Ah, right. He must be on a diet. I was so focused on wanting to give him something delicious that I chose the wrong menu.
“What’s there to get complicated about?”
“If your fans find out you’re hanging out here, they’ll say something again. The atmosphere isn’t good these days anyway.”
Sung Se-han tilted his head.
“Why isn’t the atmosphere good?”
“What are you asking? I saw the articles about your fans protesting too.”
Sung Se-han’s eyes crinkled as he smiled, but my mood grew increasingly complicated. I gulped down my Americano and brought up the issue that had been worrying me.
“I’m worried about how you feel. Sigh… there were even calls for you to leave Perfect Puzzle. I was scared, so how about you?”
I was constantly worried that he might be paying attention to the circulating rumors, but I didn’t want to mention them.
“Scared…? That I’ll get kicked out of Perfect Puzzle?”
Ah. Seeing the look in his eyes gradually changing, it seemed I had brought up the wrong thing.
“Kicked out, it’s not like that…”
“Haha, that’s funny.”