Episode 65

 

Haeun stared at the number 4 in the “favorability level” section with disbelief. Honestly, this was worse than a straight-up zero. At least with zero, he could pretend it was a fresh start. But 4? It was such a pathetic number, not even worth saying it had “gone up” from the beginning.

Seeing Junwoo’s abysmally low affection score made Haeun curious about what kind of message Junwoo had sent. He turned off his phone and began peeking over Seongjae’s shoulder. 

It wasn’t like he expected to actually see the contents of Junwoo’s message that way—but he figured if he lingered annoyingly enough, Seongjae might just spill it out of irritation.

As expected, Seongjae—his face full of annoyance—finally opened his mouth and addressed the hovering Haeun.

“Hey, take a look at this and tell me why the hell he’s acting like this.”

With that, Seongjae showed him a social media page. Haeun leaned in and looked at the screen as prompted. Seongjae explained that it was a link Junwoo had sent him.

On the screen was a photo of Seongjae and Haeun shopping at the department store, along with a short eyewitness account. It mentioned them browsing in an accessory shop—nothing scandalous, just factual. The comments weren’t bad, either. 

The surprising part was how anyone managed to recognize them, considering their faces were more than half-covered with masks and hats. And yet, they were correctly identified as Stone Cherry’s Seongjae and Park Haeun.

Haeun nodded, thinking Seongjae had been right to be cautious. If Seongjae had gone shopping alone and been photographed like that, it could’ve been a PR disaster. People might’ve assumed he was buying a gift for a girl and jumped to scandalous conclusions.

So then… wasn’t it actually a good thing that he’d come along? Why was Junwoo mad?

Apparently, Haeun wasn’t the only one confused. Seongjae kept grumbling things like, “What the hell is he so pissed about?” and “This makes no sense.” The more he thought about it, the angrier he seemed to get—rather than calming down, his frustration just kept boiling over.

At first, Haeun tried to soothe him with a few light words, but it didn’t really help. In the end, he just gave occasional nods of agreement to Seongjae’s complaints while focusing on picking out a gift.

Even in the midst of all the tension, they somehow managed to choose a gift for Seongjae’s sister. 

Since Seongjae was far too distracted to focus, his opinions weren’t really reflected—it was basically a gift chosen according to Haeun’s taste. The only saving grace was that Seongjae didn’t object to Haeun’s choice. 

Who knew what his sister would think, but it seemed like the necklace Haeun picked was at least to Seongjae’s liking.

They finished shopping somehow, but in that unsettled mood, eating wasn’t really an option. Haeun reluctantly suggested they grab food another time. In the end, he trudged back to the dorm without getting a meal from anyone.

“I swear I’ll treat you next time. Remember that.”

Seongjae said just before unlocking the dorm door.

Even if it was just talk, it was better than saying nothing. Haeun casually responded with a half-hearted “Yeah, yeah,” and urged him to open the door. He didn’t feel the need to get a firm promise—it wasn’t like he’d been possessed by the ghost of someone who died starving.

Seongjae hesitated briefly before finally unlocking the door.

And the moment it opened, Haeun understood why Seongjae had hesitated. Junwoo, clearly furious, was waiting right there at the entrance. 

He had expected something like this, but Junwoo’s intensity was far worse than he’d imagined. It was almost exactly like Seongjae had been, waiting for him a few days ago. 

The difference? 

Seongjae had seemed worried. 

Junwoo just looked pissed.

On instinct, Haeun took a step back, almost hiding behind Seongjae. Normally, that would’ve been totally out of character for him—but in that moment, it felt strangely natural. Junwoo, ever petty, shot a sharp glare past Seongjae at Haeun before turning his gaze back to Seongjae.

‘Yeah… I probably do look kind of pathetic right now.’

He felt sheepish, sure—but what could he do? His body had moved on its own. Trying to step forward again now would just make him look even more ridiculous. 

With that in mind, Haeun decided to play it shameless and stood his ground, watching Junwoo and Seongjae square off.

“You really walk around without thinking, don’t you?”

Junwoo spoke first, bluntly and without a hint of courtesy—no “did you have a good time,” no small talk, not even a pause to choose his words. It was a direct hit from the start. 

Haeun mentally let out a quiet ‘Oof~’, impressed by the impact, but kept his face expressionless.

“Did we go somewhere we weren’t supposed to? Start a scandal or something?”

Seongjae shot back confidently. Honestly, Haeun had expected Seongjae to be annoyed and drag him out from behind like he was being ridiculous—but nothing of the sort happened. Instead, Seongjae stood there naturally, almost as if shielding Haeun as he faced Junwoo.

Junwoo glanced at Haeun again before turning his head.

“Then why am I the only one you’re freaking out on?”

When Junwoo didn’t answer, Seongjae added, “Seriously, why me?”

Junwoo responded in a flat voice, as if it was obvious.

“Haeun probably just got dragged along by you anyway.”

Which was true. Haeun almost nodded in agreement but stopped himself after catching the mood. Even while listening to the conversation, it was hard to pinpoint exactly what had Junwoo so upset. 

Based on the way his affection score had tanked, Haeun assumed Junwoo just didn’t like him—but from the way he looked at him, and the comment he just made, it didn’t seem like he was the problem.

‘I still can’t figure this guy out.’ Haeun thought to himself as Junwoo spoke again.

“As long as it’s not a scandal, that’s all that matters? Even after all that mess, you think it’s fine to stroll around like nothing happened? You’re already getting plenty of hate for it.”

He was probably talking about Haeun catching heat. Thanks to the agency stepping in, a lot of the public criticism against Haeun had died down—but there were still plenty of people who didn’t like him. 

Haeun wasn’t particularly hurt or upset by those people’s opinions, but he could understand why it might feel bad from the group’s perspective to be lumped together and attacked over it.

“Those kinds of people are going to find something to hate no matter what you do.” Seongjae replied coolly.

That wasn’t wrong either. At this point, their back-and-forth was equally fascinating and awkward. As Haeun glanced around, he spotted Ilhyun standing just behind Junwoo.

Haeun and Ilhyun exchanged quick eye contact.

What’s his deal? Haeun asked with his eyes.

Ilhyun shrugged and mouthed back, No idea.

What exactly is he mad about?

‘Did he fight with Seongjae while I wasn’t around? But then why did my favorability score drop? Or… is he mad we went out without him?’

That theory didn’t quite hold either. It wasn’t like Junwoo ever showed interest in hanging out with Haeun. And he didn’t seem close enough with Seongjae to be hurt over not being invited. The two of them had always seemed neither especially close nor distant—just that middle ground where you can’t tell if they’re friends or not.

“Hey, Yoon Junwoo. You’re not just mad about that, are you?”

At that, Seongjae let out an irritated sigh and finally spoke.

Haeun glanced up at him and saw his dry, unimpressed expression.

“What exactly is your problem? Just because some article came out, I can’t even go out to buy my sister a gift? It’s not like he did anything wrong to deserve the hate or that he’s in some kind of self-reflection period. Isn’t it better to just live openly and confidently?”

If it had been Haeun, he would’ve run out of things to say and probably lashed out instead—but Junwoo was clearly playing a different league when it came to verbal sparring. Without raising his voice, he replied calmly.

“You didn’t go out just to buy your sister a gift, did you?”

Wait, he didn’t?

Haeun glanced up at Seongjae. He seemed slightly taken aback and, instead of turning to Haeun, kept his eyes fixed stubbornly on Junwoo. Even though Haeun knew about the planned “event,” Seongjae had no real reason to feel guilty. But still, Haeun let him stew in it. Seongjae quickly composed himself and clicked his tongue.

“So what, you’re mad because we didn’t invite you?”

Junwoo let out a long sigh—his first. It wasn’t unusual for him to act cold or prickly, but this time, he looked genuinely fed up. This wasn’t the usual passive-aggressive snark; it was the expression of someone who had completely lost patience. And not just in front of Haeun—but in front of Ilhyun and Seongjae, too.

Sure, he was always blunt with Haeun, but he’d normally keep a kinder face around the others. That was what made this shift so striking to Haeun.

Then, in a chilled tone, Junwoo finally spoke again.

“Aren’t you even the least bit sorry?”

At that, Seongjae’s brows knit tightly together—probably thinking the same thing Haeun was.

Sorry? For what?

But Junwoo’s next words wiped the reaction right off Seongjae’s face.

“Don’t you feel even a little ashamed in front of Minsu hyung?”

“…”

Up until now, Seongjae had never once backed down—but this time, he completely fell silent, lost in thought.

Minsu? Haeun wondered. Who’s Minsu?

Unlike the other oddly distinctive character names in the game, this one sounded… normal. Familiar, even. It made Junwoo’s anger seem that much more real—personal, even. Whatever had him so worked up, it clearly had to do with that name.

Seongjae, whose face had become a tangled mess of anger, guilt, and discomfort, finally opened his mouth.

“Do we really have to talk about this now?”