"I don't get why you have to be so– Holy!"
"What are you doing? Get out!"
Kato returned after checking out the bathroom for a while. "I wanna live here..."
I chuckled, opening a box of food. It's a classic Italian dish, Aglio de Olio pasta. I'm not sure why, but GNet was generous with the budget on this show.
Come to think of it, I heard even the judges from earlier take up some money for even a few minutes of appearance fee.
I shrugged it off and started eating.
"Ah, and Kato, you can have have my other meal if you're still hung–"
A knock on the door interrupted our meal before I even got to the first bite. Since Kato was already enjoying the food, I got up instead to open the door.
It was none other than Dojun.
"Chan! I missed you!"
I swiftly dodged a hug and closed the door with a hand.
Kato also looked back as soon as he heard the not too familiar voice.
"What are you doing here? Did you finish eating already?"
"No, there wasn't enough food for everyone in the second floor, so our rooms ended up with two meals each..."
Saying that, Dojun's eyes drifted to the table casually carrying about six boxes of food. I couldn't help but feel sorry, seeing the betrayed look on his face.
"I thought they had extras..." Kato could only swallow his food sheepishly.
"Maybe they did, but not to the point that everyone gets two boxes, you know..."
There was a moment of silence.
So, he really didn't think of that.
I sighed, seating Dojun down. "And so, you let your roommates the two boxes?"
He didn't need to nod for me to know. I was already sliding a box of food and kimchi to Dojun's side. It wasn't exactly a good mix, but this guy would eat anything. I learned that at breakfast time earlier.
"Here, take it. I'm not that hungry."
"How, though? We skipped lunch because filming wasn't over until–"
"Kato, stop talking with your mouth full."
"You sound like my mom."
"And you act like a child."
.
The four of us ate quite peacefully. I wasn't sure about how to act with just Kato and Nikolai around, but we easy got loud and chatty with Dojun around.
It was surprising to see the two actually eat two portions of food, but young people are just like that, it seems.
Anyway, we finished eating and I decided to take care of the trash. Dojun got up to help and picked up the plastic packaging from our snacks.
I didn't forget to slip my phone into my pocket.
"Thanks for the help, Dojun!"
"No worries!"
The door clicked shut with that.
Me and Dojun continued talking as we went to the trash bin, unloading everything as we speak. I offered to hang out for a while and he, obviously, agreed.
Now where in a secluded hall. With nobody else around.
"Chan. Actually, I wanted to talk to you about–"
"By the way, what did you think of my performance?"
I had to cut off Dojun's sentence. He looked at me with a confused expression, and my response to that was just a quiet smile.
As expected, Dojun went along, even if he didn't know what was going on.
"I liked it a lot. You're so different from your stage persona, Chan. Like, in a good way, though."
"I'm glad. I wanted to surprise you after finding out you were in this show, too."
"Really? Well you did a great job! I couldn't have expected it in a million years. Using that two-way zipper or whatever that way was a genius move. I like how you..."
And the rambling continued. As Dojun continued to speak, I led him to a dark hall near the janitor's closet. He didn't even seem aware of it as his eyes focused on me without fail.
I waited for Dojun to realize it on his own. And damn did it take a while, but he finally noticed where we were after I sat down.
"Huh? Since when were we here?"
This man is going to get kidnapped at this rate.
"There were cameras in that hall earlier. I was worried that our conversation might get carried away."
Dojun paused at that, looking utterly surprised.
It's true that most people would have to squint their eyes to even guess there were cameras. GNet really hides their cameras well, but I just happen to have a great eye.
"Is it about your performance? It concerns me, actually. Why were you teammates so quick to blame you?"
Dojun swallowed dryly to my question, which means I got it right. It was what he wanted to say earlier.
He didn't get to speaking immediately, looking awkward instead. If I had to guess, he probably doesn't want to talk shit about people.
Too bad, I'm the one listening.
"The sound track was catchy. I don't think you guys bought that, though."
He took the bait, "...I made it."
I pretended to be surprised at that. Not exaggerated, just raised eyebrows.
"And the rest? The choreography or lyrics?"
"That's..."
There was another moment of silence.
"We were supposed to do it together, but I guess I was too stubborn, and...they ended up making ideas without including me."
There you go.
"What do you mean, you were too stubborn?"
"Like, pushy, I guess? I showed the sound track, tried to convince my teammates to do a certain theme with my lyrics, and..."
"To their eyes, you were being selfish?"
Dojun nodded.
"But I was told to be the leader for it, so I wanted to make sure we had a concept. It's not like I would've refused to change it, but I guess I spoke in an arrogant tone..."
Dojun continued mumbling similiar words after that. Gosh, did he look pathetic, but I listened to every word until he calmed down.
And when he did, I looked him in the eye and shortly said,
"Kim Dojun, you're a pushover, aren't you?"