Episode 55

 

“Why do you have such an evil expression while looking at your phone?” 

Seongjae asked in a surly voice. His guarded, sharp demeanor was puzzling.

In contrast, Ilhyun smiled naturally as usual and joked.

“You didn’t receive a duel challenge or something, did you?” 

Junwoo was the last to speak. 

“Seems like you were waiting for a message.”

I’m not sure what kind of expression I was making. Considering “Park Ha’s” face, which looks kind no matter what expression is made, I couldn’t imagine what an evil expression would look like. 

It also seemed strange that while looking at the same face, Seongjae called it evil, Ilhyun asked if I received a duel challenge, and in contrast, Junwoo asked if I was waiting for a message. What was I supposed to be waiting for anyway?

Should I look in a mirror? 

Haeun replied casually while he pondered about his own expression.

“What are you all talking about?”

Haeun found it bothersome to answer to one specific person and didn’t think it was necessary. So he left a casual reply to Kim Gyowon’s half-hearted message and put down his phone.

*** 

[Kim Gyowon] 

What? 7:49 AM 

How did you know that my activity that ended recently 7:50 AM 

[Kim Gyowon] 

That’s something that comes up right away if you search it, so what 8:31 AM 

Why are you searching my name, sunbaenim? 8:35 AM 

I don’t mean anything bad by it ㅋㅋ 8:36 AM

Then sunbaenim, shall I try searching your name on the internet too? 8:38 AM 

[Kim Gyowon] 

Why are you so excited this early in the morning? 9:04 AM (Rabbit emoticon scratching the back of its head) 

I’m bored at the practice room haha 9:11 AM

[Kim Gyowon] 

I searched because I don’t know what kind of person Haeun is I don’t need to search for anything specifically 11:48 AM

Haeun stared at his phone, lost in thought. He should respond since Kim Gyowon has responded, but he couldn’t think of what to say. 

While at the practice room, whenever he had free time to write replies, words would flow easily, but now that he actually had time, his mind felt frozen. He still didn’t understand what he was supposed to have done, and his mind was foggy in various ways.

Anyway, judging by Kim Gyowon’s reply speed, there wasn’t much point in sending an immediate response, and he didn’t seem like someone who would care if he read his message without replying, so Haeun decided to postpone his reply for now. 

While Haeun was idling around, someone knocked on her door.

“Who is it?”

Though there was no real need to ask since it would be one of the three members, he asked out of courtesy. Sure enough, a familiar voice came from outside the door.

“May I come in?”

Among the members, only Ilhyun would ask such a polite question. When Haeun casually replied “Yeees~”, Ilhyun carefully opened the door and entered. 

Haeun, who had been lying down, quickly sat up and asked.

“What brings you here? Did something happen?”

It wasn’t unusual for Ilhyun to visit, but he asked anyway. From what he had observed so far, if he didn’t have any specific business, he would wait for Haeun to come out rather than knocking and entering like this.

“I was wondering if you have seen this article.”

Unlike his cautious attitude until he entered, Ilhyun immediately brought up his business. Of course, Haeun couldn’t figure out what article he was referring to just from those words. 

When Haeun tilted his head instead of answering, Ilhyun took out his phone, turned on the screen, and rotated it toward Haeun, as if he expected this reaction.

Even so, the text was very tiny since it was on a phone, and Haeun had to furrow his brow and stretched his neck to see properly. Noticing this, Ilhyun moved closer and handed him the phone.

“What is this?” 

“An article about you and senior Kim Gyowon appearing on a variety show.” 

“I just skimmed through that, but…”

What’s going on? Feeling slightly surprised, Haeun scrolled down with a contemplative expression. Ilhyun smoothly retrieved his phone and slipped it into his pocket, as Haeun’s gaze grew more intense.

“An article already came out even though we haven’t had a meeting yet?” 

When Haeun asked with confusion, Ilhyun calmly replied. 

“It seems like it was deliberately leaked from senior Kim Gyowon’s side. Wasn’t there any other conversation about it?” 

“Ah, um… no.”

Haeun glanced down toward where his phone was, remembering Kim Gyowon’s message that he hadn’t replied to. Although Ilhyun narrowed his eyes slightly and paid attention to his glance, he didn’t say anything.

“Seeing that an article has already been published, it seems they have no intention of changing their minds. It might be for the best.”

Is it really for the best? Thinking about it, this too was being done to correct rumors, so it should be considered a favor, but once again, she didn’t want to admit it. As she gave a halfhearted nod, Ilhyun naturally changed the subject.

“By the way, why is Seongjae so angry?”

Ilhyun had a slight smile as if finding it amusing. Was he still angry? Haeun responded eagerly, as if he’d been waiting for this question.

“How would I know? Why is he acting like that?”

I don’t understand why he gets angry whenever something happens. Ilhyun seemed to have some idea, but once again, he didn’t share his thoughts. In any case, unlike Seongjae who expressed himself straightforwardly, Ilhyun was inscrutably mysterious.

Afterward, they only exchanged trivial conversation. When their talk was winding down, Ilhyun straightened up, stood, and approached the door.

And before opening the door to leave, he casually asked.

“Is acting fun?”

“Huh? Oh. It’s more fun and manageable than I expected.”

The answer came without much thought. Regardless of how the situation had developed, acting itself was more enjoyable than she had expected. 

Haeun was about to elaborate on the filming set since the topic had come up, but he was soon cut off by Ilhyun’s response.

“Really? That’s good.”

Somehow it felt like his words had been cut short. Haeun scratched the back of her head, feeling slightly embarrassed. Ilhyun, who was standing there with a puzzled smile, added.

“Just don’t end up switching careers to become an actor.”

That was an obvious concern since if that happened, the group that was working hard to increase its recognition would completely collapse. The ending condition was to achieve great success as an idol, not as an actor.

Of course, as Ilhyun who didn’t know Haeun’s goal, he had reason to worry. While going from a 5-member to a 4-member group might be manageable, going from 4 to 3 members would be problematic. It would feel incomplete, and despite everything, Haeun was the visual member.

With that in mind, his pointed comment wasn’t strange. 

Haeun nodded, saying it was obvious. Ilhyun smiled lightly, then opened the door and left the room.

Although he thought he had become quite close with Ilhyun, seeing him like this made her think otherwise. Among the members, and even among the characters to conquer, he was the most inscrutable. Perhaps to figure out what he was thinking, he’d need to wait for an event to trigger?

Stopping his thoughts and picking up his phone to check the time, Haeun noticed a KaTalk notification had arrived. Since Park Ha didn’t seem to have friends outside the game characters to conquer, KaTalk messages were rare and almost always from target characters. 

Since he hadn’t replied to Kim Gyowon’s message yet, it couldn’t be from him—was it Yejun?

Thinking this, Haeun opened his phone, but his guess was wrong. 

[Kim Gyowon] 

Haeun ah, are you ignoring hyung now? 12:13 PM

Seeing the message from Gyowon, Haeun immediately felt absurd. He had left a message asking if he was ignoring him only about 20 minutes after she read his previous message. 

Although talking with Ilhyun made him take a bit more time even after receiving the KaTalk, it wasn’t something worth making an issue about.

N o  It’s only been a few minutes 

Kim Gyowon’s replies are the ones that typically took at least 30 minutes to several hours. 

You’re one to talk when you reply once every few hours. 

As Haeun grumbled honestly, for once the “1” notification disappeared immediately. 

[Kim Gyowon] 

At least Hyung replied every time I read it, why 

The reply came quickly again. So that meant he replied every time he read it. Unless he was someone who rarely checked his phone, doesn’t that mean he was deliberately ignoring him? 

But more than that thought, the first-person “hyung” that kept appearing at the end of his sentences bothered him more. 

Why do you keep referring yourself as “hyung” at the end of every sentence? 

[Kim Gyowon] 

I can’t live as just parents forever… 

Since Haeun seems confused about whether I’m dad or mom.

Haeun gained nothing from the argument. He was about to say that he already had both a brother and parents, and had absolutely no desire to accept Kim Gyowon as a new brother or parent, but he stopped himself. It seemed like he’d just get angry again without gaining anything. Whatever– 

Anyway I was just talking with someone

With Ilhyun hyung

Haeun cut it short and changed the subject. Since he always caught onto strange things, he started to explain his relationship with Ilhyun but deleted it. Since Kim Gyowon said he had searched him, he figured he must know that Ilhyun was his member. 

Instead, Haeun added.

Did you release the article, sunbaenim? 

[Kim Gyowon] 

Yeah, there’s still some time before filming starts so I just released it early.

Haeun ah, do you have any photos or something to send to me?

Kim Gyowon answered straightforwardly but then threw out something completely random. It was so out of nowhere that he had to check again to make sure he read it correctly.

(Sweating rabbit emoticon) Why would I send you photos?

When he asked directly without filtering, Gyowon replied immediately. As usual, it wasn’t the answer Haeun wanted.

[Kim Gyowon] 

Did you pay for that emoticon?

Haeun was secretly annoyed. Despite appearances, this was an emoticon he had thoughtfully selected and purchased from the emoticon shop.

(Crying rabbit emoticon) What’s wrong with my rabbit? And why do you need photos?

Being annoyed was one thing and curiosity was another, so he asked both questions simultaneously. Kim Gyowon once again answered only one of them, irritating Haeun.

[Kim Gyowon] 

To post on social media

Why on earth would he want to post someone else’s photos on his own social media? Dumbfounded, Haeun glared at his phone as if it were Kim Gyowon’s face.