"Dansol. Dansol, wake up."
"Mmm… why. You said there wasn't a schedule today…"
Gilseong shook Dansol awake even though they'd only just finished a radio slot that ran in the early hours. Dansol's face, bloated with exhaustion, looked puffed up like a steamed dumpling. Standing in front of him while he still couldn't even open his eyes properly, Gilseong only scratched at his own head.
"Didn't I tell you…? The others don't have anything, but you do. A pictorial shoot today."
"What? A pictorial? Hyung… that's something you should tell me in advance—"
Dansol swallowed the words he wanted to say.
Last night, right after saying there was no schedule the next day, he'd eaten ramen and even drank beer with the members before going to sleep. A normal manager would obviously keep track of pictorial shoots ahead of time, but Gilseong forgot as easily what he had and hadn't said.
If it were the past, Dansol might have at least pretended to sigh. But at this point, what did it matter if he tried to look pretty?
Dansol firmly believed the small burst of popularity he was enjoying would fade quickly.
"Just wash up and come out."
"Yeah."
It wasn't until they were on the way to the set that Dansol finally heard the concept from Gilseong.
'The Ones We Loved Back Then.'
A pictorial that styled retro moods from the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s. The idea—wearing concept outfits that represented each era and shooting together in one space—was a pretty fun plan.
"Who am I shooting with?"
"Ah, the omegas from RO Match Survival in Island."
"What?"
Dansol still felt unsettled. He'd ended up getting Jisu's number from Taeoh, but he didn't have the courage to call first. And if he did call, he didn't even know what he'd say.
He couldn't exactly say, 'Sorry for getting in your way.'
"Is Han Jisu sunbae coming too?"
"Yeah, of course. I heard it's been a few days since he got discharged? It got canceled before because Han Jisu said he didn't want to do it and held out. But a few days ago he changed his mind, so I've been out of it too. Sorry, Dansol—what do we do about your face being that swollen? Seriously, I told you not to eat late-night snacks."
"Forget it… I don't care about that."
"Want me to buy some ice?"
"I'm really fine, hyung."
At that time, Jisu had already arrived at the set an hour early and was waiting. He was acting so restless it made anyone watching uneasy—jiggling his leg hard, biting his nails.
In the end, Jisu's manager couldn't take it anymore and shouted,
"Hey, sit still. I told you he's not here yet…"
"Why isn't he here yet? What if he got into an accident or something?"
"That's because there's still an hour left!"
From Jisu's strange behavior over the past few days, the manager had realized Jisu was seriously into Dansol.
"I can't take this. I'm going out."
And the moment Jisu yanked the door open—
As if it were a lie, Dansol was standing right outside.
With the contact info Taeoh had sent, Dansol had agonized over it again and again.
"…Dansol."
But he couldn't work up the courage. In the short life he'd lived, what Dansol had learned was that when someone you know becomes your enemy, it's more terrifying than a stranger.
"Uh… hello, sunbae."
At Dansol's greeting, Jisu's heart dropped to the floor with a heavy thud.
Dansol was someone cautious and easily frightened. How much effort had it taken for Dansol to call him hyung, to make room for him at his side like it was natural? Because of his mistake, it looked like he was going to lose all that and be pushed back—not even to where they started, but somewhere worse.
"Dansol, why are you calling me sunbae again… That day, I—"
"I heard you were sick. I'm really okay. Um… I'm sorry for everything."
"For what."
As Dansol kept trying to pull away, Jisu's voice turned cold. With his already sharp impression made even harsher after illness, Dansol flinched.
"What are you sorry for."
'Because I can't stand it, change rooms right now.'
Dansol dragged up that memory. What had he done so wrong that Jisu had said he couldn't stand it?
"…Because I think I made you uncomfortable."
Seeing those shoulders drawn in so tight, Jisu felt angry for some reason. Even in a situation where apologies wouldn't be enough, he couldn't understand Dansol acting like a criminal.
"You… why…"
He wanted to ask why Dansol always acted like the one in the wrong, why he kept turning Jisu into the bad guy.
But Jisu's question got cut off when Yoon Yeomin and Yoo Dohyeon walked in.
"You're early. He's shooting too?"
Despite being the first one eliminated, Yeomin pointed at Dansol.
"Aren't you going to say hello?"
"Hello… sunbae."
After forcing him to greet them—people who wouldn't even respond properly—Yeomin went straight into the waiting room. As Dohyeon followed him, he bumped Dansol's shoulder as he passed.
It wasn't even an attempt to disguise malice as an accident.
Jisu let out a hollow laugh.
"Hey."
"Yes?"
"Aren't you going to?"
"Ah… hello, sunbae."
"No, not me. You just bumped Sol. You're not going to apologize?"
At Jisu's words, Dohyeon's face turned red, then blue. Startled, Dansol waved his hands.
"I—I'm fine. I was standing here, so… I'm sorry."
"Yeah. I'm sorry too."
Without taking his sulky eyes off Jisu, Dohyeon walked off briskly.
An uncomfortable air settled between Dansol and Jisu.
"Apologizing again… Is apologizing that easy for you?"
Jisu asked, like he was talking to himself.
"Dansol-ssi!"
The makeup director called for Dansol. Jisu had arrived early and was already almost fully set, but Dansol was still standing there with his face swollen.
Dansol deliberately didn't answer Jisu.
"I… I'll go, then. I have to get ready."
"See me after you're done."
"I have to ask my manager hyung if there's a schedule…"
Seeing Dansol so anxiously searching for an escape, Jisu's chest ached. It felt like he'd become some villain tormenting Dansol.
"Fine. Ask him, and tell me later, Dansol."
At Jisu's voice returning to its usual gentle tone, Dansol nodded a couple times and went into the waiting room.
Wearing a 90s tough-guy leather outfit, Jisu finished his individual shots, then tossed his leather jacket aside carelessly. Under the hot lights, with that thick jacket on, sweat poured down even when he stood still.
He had several fans running and was sitting with his eyes closed when Yoon Yeomin knocked briefly and entered Jisu's waiting room.
With high-waisted pants, a loud patterned shirt, and a scarf, Yeomin seemed styled for the 70s.
"Why are you here."
Jisu cracked one eye open as if Yeomin annoyed him, then closed it again and leaned back in his chair.
"Hyung, are you really going to be like this?"
"Like what."
"Take care of someone from the same agency. Stop only doting on Joo Dansol."
"Same agency? Are you still at an age where you need to be taken care of?"
"Not me—Yoo Dohyeon. He came to the waiting room earlier whining that Han Jisu doesn't like him."
"Was he in the same company?"
Jisu wasn't interested in other people to begin with—and lately, all of his attention had been on Dansol.
"Hah. Since when did you ever take care of seniors and juniors. You don't even know up from down."
"What are you talking about! I'm great to you, hyung."
"Just don't bully the younger ones. And stop blatantly acting like you're taking care of agency people wherever you go. Everyone can tell you're glued to CEO Kim."
"…Hyung!"
Jisu knew Yeomin had some kind of thing going with the agency CEO and was playing supportive spouse in his own way, but Jisu had no intention of indulging him.
When he first signed with the company, the contract condition was that all staff—manager to stylist—had to be his own people only, to hide the fact he was an alpha. That was why he'd chosen a small company he could control, over bigger ones. The company had grown because of him, but he had no intention of renewing.
Jisu was starting to feel more and more tired of living a life where he lied about himself.
"Group shots, let's go—"
When Jisu returned to the studio for the group shoot, what he saw was Dansol styled in a 2000s look.
Cargo pants, an oversized T-shirt straight out of the hip-hop scene, a snapback, and skate shoes—so neatly put together it made him smile because it was adorable. His face, still a little swollen, made already-young Dansol look even younger.
Dansol, fascinated, was fiddling with the necklace-style wallet hanging from his neck. When he lifted his head, his eyes met Jisu's.
"Cute."
"Ah… you too, sunbae. You look… cool."
"Are you still that mad? You're still calling me sunbae."
"Uh… it's not that…"
"When I asked your manager, he said you don't have any schedules after this today."
Dansol, who'd been planning to escape with the excuse of a loan schedule, looked flustered and only darted his eyes around.
"I'll make it up to you later. Come with hyung."
"…"
Even though Yeomin and Dohyeon were strolling over, Dansol still didn't answer, so Jisu asked again.
"Should I just kneel right here, then?"
"Ah! No, that's…"
"You'll come with me, right?"
"Yes…"
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