Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

[STARLING AWARD]

J was standing tall onstage when a taller man wrapped one of their arms around his middle, pulling him closer with one hand holding the award that he had won. Staring straight into the camera, which is in the hands of the professional Mackerel brothers, he flashes a sly smirk, with his violet eyes narrowing in amusement.

Lee Sayoung then turned his head to the side, gazing into the dark eyes of the confused man, before lowering his head and playfully biting onto his cheek.

“Exclusive fanservice for our fans.”

He winked.

Screams erupted in the event venue.

Before, if someone were to tell him that he would be together with Lee Sayoung, he would just stare at them, baffled.

Now?

He’s inching closer to him, snuggling together on the sofa of their home.

Cha Euijae, stage name J, a 28 years old actor and is a well-known actor in the industry. Having a delicate feature, his soft, black hair that shows proper and daily maintenance, combined with his perfectly shaped lips that would curl up when he is with certain people yet maintaining a professional look. Next, his dark eyes which scream ‘look at me when you’re talking to me’, effortlessly attracting attention from others. By having his face alone in front of a magazine cover would have the magazine to be out of stock instantly.

Other than having a delicate face, he also did everything impeccably, making him a sought-after actor, earning himself a nickname of “Perfect King”, which makes him to be the one of the highest paid actors in their respective industry. He even has his own fandom, known as J’s Perfect Pair (although most people call them J-ism).

Everything seems perfect, yet this man has a secret: He can read minds. Benefit of being able to read minds? He can read people’s thoughts to perfectly execute his acting around certain people. However, the downside of his ability was, he could not read minds until he is in contact with said person which does not really help him much.

Why? Because people were always being careful around him. They treated him as if he was a national treasure, like something that would break at a single touch, hence they avoided touching him. Even during filming, the other actors and actresses would try to not touch him.

During his childhood, people avoided touching him thanks to a certain individual who is overly attached to his side. Cha Euijae does not even care about it, thinking of him as a blessing. Reading too many thoughts in one sitting can be a bit overwhelming which causes unnecessary headaches, making him thankful to said person.

‘Huh.. I wonder how he is now.. We haven’t talked for a while. Should I contact him? Hm.. He’ll contact me if there's anything he’ll be needing me with..’

Pouting, he sighed as he sat on the sofa in his waiting room. Seo Mingi, who had just come back from his daily coffee runs, gave him a cup of iced coffee. Their hands brushed against each other as Cha Euijae was receiving the coffee with both of his hands, thanking him.

‘He’s pouting again. Ha.. What do I do with this guy?’

Cha Euijae, listening to the thought, looks at Seo Mingi’s face, who was taking note of his schedule on his tablet. Seo Mingi, 29 years old, is his longtime friend who also acts as his manager naturally, as if he was born for this job. The way he performs his job perfectly is also a good enough reason for him to stay next to the actor without any complaint from other people.

Cha Euijae also does not mind it as he is comfortable with having Seo Mingi around him. Besides, they had always known that they would stick next to each other for a long time. He remembers when their friendship instantly clicked as soon as they met each other’s eyes during their college’s orientation day.

“Is there something on my face, J?”

“No, I just felt like looking at your face.”

“Ha..”

Sighing, he pinched onto Cha Euijae’s cheeks, “You cheeky actor, hurry up and finish your iced coffee or it won’t be any good after this.”

He laughed as he sipped onto the coffee, ice clanking around in the thermos, the flavour perfectly customised to fit his taste, as expected of the coffee enthusiast. Nibbling onto the straw, he asked, “When will Yeseong get here?”

Tapping on his tablet, Seo Mingi opens his mouth, “He should be here in 3, 2, 1.”

Baam!

The door slammed to the wall as it was opened abruptly from the outside.

“Stop the countdown! I’m already here!”

“You're five minutes late, Hong Yeseong-ssi.”

“Ahhhh!!! Aw man, come on. I’m only a bit late.”

“Late is late.”

The puppy-like man pouted.

Cha Euijae, who was sitting calmly, watched as his close friends bicker among each other. The person who had just arrived was Hong Yeseong, the same age as him, who is a social media influencer with his own community especially on InHeart. He is known as a creator who creates something for the first time with multiple successful results even though it sounds ridiculous.

His main account, @IamArtisan managed to amass a big following thanks to his involvement in creating some of Cha Euijae’s acting props which look ridiculously realistic when compared to the real thing.

Other than that, his ‘personal’ account, @ilove_kkokko is also quite well known among their peers due to his peculiar hobby of drawing pretty images on people’s faces, with one of his canvases turns out to be the actor J himself and his pet chicken, Kkokko, which he always talks about in his posts.

Despite being someone that seems like he had a loose screw somewhere in his head, he is actually a good companion to be with. They all met when Cha Euijae and Seo Mingi were hanging out in a cafeteria during their college days, talking about random stuff, when Cha Euijae’s hands were suddenly grabbed by Hong Yeseong.

“You.”

“Huh? What?”

“Excuse me, who are you?”

“You’re perfect. Come help me out.”

“Uh.. Thank you?”

“What do you think you are doing, Mr…”

“I’m Hong Yeseong.. I need help!”

“...”

‘You have the look I’m going for, please..’

Cha Euijae raised his eyebrows, signaling Seo Mingi to ask for the reason from the stranger.

“What kind of help?”

“I need him to hold onto a prop I made! I’ll just need to take one photo… and probably a short video.. I’ll handle your wardrobe and makeup. It’s for my final project so please!”

“...”

“He’s perfect for the image I’m going with.”

They both look at each other, with Cha Euijae tilting his head to the side as if asking for permission as Seo Mingi nodded.

“Okay, I’ll help..”

The puppy-like face brightened up at the agreement, that they could almost see a tail wagging behind him.

“Thank you! May I know your name, sirs?”

“I’m Cha Euijae and this is Seo Mingi. Uh, it's nice to meet you.”

“Likewise! Again, I’m Hong Yeseong!”

What Cha Euijae did not expect was that the video would go viral overnight, making people sought after him with modelling and acting offers. Hong Yeseong himself was offered a job placement for prop making which he rejected, stating that he would do everything himself.

Cha Euijae chuckled. ‘Time sure flies by.’

“Ha, fine, you win this time, Mingi-ya. So what are we going to do today?”

“I’ve always won against you. What do you mean this time?”

“Ha.. Fine.”

“Heh.”

Cha Euijae decided to meddle before the situation went awry.

“I’m almost done over here, we should go out to eat together.”

Hong Yeseong blinked before grinning.

“Yes, Yeseong, we’re getting fried chicken as well.”

“Yay!”

“Honestly, why do you even love to eat fried chicken that much.. You even got yourself a pet chicken at home..”

“Hey, I’m just being myself. Kkokko is just that special. I didn’t raise him to make him my food!”

“Sure.”

“Okay, okay let’s go now!”

The trio went out of the waiting room when Cha Euijae bumped into a sturdy body. A gentle hand held him in place.

‘Oh dear, I bumped into someone. Oh! It’s J.’

“I’m sorry for not looking where I’m going, J-ssi. Are you hurt anywhere?”

Shaking his head, he answered “No, I’m fine” before glancing at the source of the warm voice, oh, he was the actor turned model, Jungbin.

Jungbin used to be an actor who is known as the ‘Gentle Actor’ despite being super strict with people. The main reason why he decided to pursue modelling was because he was tired of acting.

Standing tall with his golden hair, his strict yet gentle demeanor often makes him appear in ads for public safety measures, making him well-liked by the public.

He is also Lee Sayoung’s older cousin.

Cha Euijae gazed at the man, thinking that he probably had a modelling gig scheduled in the studio. Ensuring that he is fine, he told Jungbin to get back to his work as he is a person who stuck to his schedule.

Jungbin sighed as he nodded. Passing by the trio, he probably remembered something, as he turned around, calling for Cha Euijae, “Ah! J-ssi, wait for a bit!”

“Yes, Jungbin-ssi?”

“I heard there’s a movie production team casting for some actors soon. You’ll probably get casted for the main character since you have the perfect vibe to portray him.”

Cha Euijae nods.

“Lee Sayoung will probably be in the casting as the male lead as well. Will you be okay?”

Cha Euijae tilted his head to the side, “Why would I not be okay? We’re both close friends.”

“But.”

“Ah.. You probably thought we’re not on good terms due to the tabloid and news. Never trust them. Both of us do bicker a lot, but it never leads to an actual fight.”

“I see.. That’s good to know then.”

Jungbin shook hands with Cha Euijae before bidding his farewell.

‘I’m glad that they’re on good terms.’

Cha Euijae smiled.

The trio sat in a private room in a chicken dish specialty restaurant, in order to avoid the paparazzi and to not be a nuisance for the restaurant owner. As they were lounging around while waiting for their orders, Seo Mingi asked Cha Euijae about the topic he was talking about with Jungbin after bumping into him.

Explaining that it was about a movie casting and that he might probably be picked to be the main character, Cha Euijae bit onto the straw of his drink as their food started to arrive one by one.

Seo Mingi nods contemplatingly as he quietly eats the food in front of him, unlike the person sitting next to him, who was eating as if he had never eaten a fried chicken before.

Swallowing his food, Hong Yeseong questioned Cha Euijae if the movie is set in an apocalyptic world. Seeing the man shrugging his shoulders, he mentioned an apocalyptic novel that is a hot gossip to be adapted into a movie.

Sipping his soup directly from the ceramic bowl, Hong Yeseong also mentioned that Lee Sayoung will probably be casted as the male lead, as he eerily had the same feature and personality as him.

Nodding, Cha Euijae quietly adds more food into Hong Yeseong’s rice bowl.

“It’s good then if he was picked for that. I’m proud of him.”

“Won’t you guys bicker during filming?”

“Fuck, we are professionals. What do you take me as?”

“Haha.. You’re right.. I think the both of you will flirt shamelessly instead.”

Cha Euijae flung his fist and stopped right before reaching Hong Yeseong’s face.

gulp

“We also bicker due to nonsensical stuff, it’s not like we’ll be punching each other in front of others.”

“I see, I see..”

Seo Mingi smacks Hong Yeseong’s head on the back without a hint of holding his strength back, with the latter letting out a pained yelp. He grumbled as he rubbed onto the place he was smacked on.

“They do hang out a lot together actually.”

“Ha..”

Cha Euijae shook his head before taking out his phone from his coat. Tapping on the messaging app, he sent a text message to Lee Sayoung.

Euijae: [Hey]

A few minutes later.

Sayoung: [Cha Euijae]

Sayoung: [Have you forgotten me?]

Sayoung: [or that I have a name?]

Euijae: [ㅗ]

Sayoung: [ㅗ]

Euijae: [Ha.. Sayoung]

Sayoung: [Yes, Hyung?]

Euijae: [Have you been called to join a casting for a movie?]

…

He stares at his phone as he waits for a response when the device on his hand suddenly vibrates. Startled, he almost dropped his phone from his grip. He fumbled before glancing at the caller’s name, gently sighing before answering the call.

“Took a while for you to pick up. Afraid that I might be a stalker?”

“Shut up.”

A voice tinged with laughter answered, “Haha.. Fine.. I won’t tease you, for now. Back to what we were talking about earlier.. Are you curious?”

“N-not really.”

“Aha.. I don’t have to tell you then.”

“Hey! Lee Sayoung!”

“Haha!"

Lee Sayoung laughed, his voice can be heard by the nearby Seo Mingi and Hong Yeseong, who were watching quietly with their mouths wide agape. The actor grumbled as he was being teased by the younger man, who then stopped as he told him that he had not been called for any sort of casting or acting yet but he had heard rumours about the movie.

“I think they purposely leaked details about it slowly to hype it up.. So.. you don’t have to worry, Hyung.”

“Alright..”

Saying their goodbyes, Cha Euijae hung up his phone, with Seo Mingi watching him.

Hong Yeseong broke the silence by asking about Lee Sayoung as he was so different from what he had heard or seen about him. Cha Euijae chuckled as he replied that Lee Sayoung is often misunderstood as a kid due to his temperament even though he is the kindest person he had ever laid his eyes on.

“No way” was the response of the duo, who shook their heads at the same pace, disbelief evident on their faces.

Cha Euijae rolled his eyes.

‘Sayoung..’

Stage name, 240, also a rising star among their peers, Lee Sayoung, is an actor who was often misunderstood as the bad guy even though it was only because he had a foul temperament.

He had curly black hair that is soft to touch, a handsome yet delicate face, and underneath his long eyelashes, it was his iconic violet eyes. He would also sometimes wear glasses which definitely enhanced his beauty. The eyes that would look at Cha Euijae with warmth, successfully in making him flushed most of the time. His plump lips and a tiny mole under them also play a huge role for his distinct features.

Although, as the saying goes, “He looks good and well-behaved until he starts to open his mouth, that’s when everything goes haywire.”

Due to his pretty face and handsome features, he often made an appearance in cosmetic ads. However, he is famous for rejecting offers to act in any romance dramas, movies or series hence the main reason why Cha Euijae decided to ask him about it.

Cha Euijae propped his chin on the back of his hand as he listened to Hong Yeseong rambling like the talking machine that he was while they were peacefully enjoying their meals.

The rumoured novel was actually set in an apocalyptic world, where the two main characters are both top hunters. Oddly enough, they shared the same name as the characters. The main character was the first person to awaken in their world. All he wanted to do is to save lives, which he had never gotten a chance to, as he was always dispatched or summoned to kill monsters repetitively, with no other new tasks added, making him feel lifeless.

Everything remains the same until the arrival of that one fateful day where he had stubbornly rescued a severely injured child from a poisonous dungeon, where most of the victims are confirmed to be dead. Scrounging through everything after he heard a small sound of a heartbeat, he saw a child, who tried to reach for him among the fallen debrises of a building, embraced by two people, already melted by the poison, which he assumed might have been the child’s parents, painfully muttering with his cracked and broken voice, “Please... save me”.

Unable to turn away from the desperate plea, he reached for the child’s hand, gritting out a lie, “It’s okay. It will be okay now”, as he wished for the lie to become the truth, despite knowing that the child had a low chance of survival. Miraculously enough, the child managed to fight for his life and slowly recover, becoming the main character’s only success, the only life he had saved by his own hands, who also turns out to be the male lead.

They both spent quite a bit of time together as the child recovers, making sure that he received the treatment that is required until the main character was stuck in a rift for 8 years, with no news of his survivability, if he was dead or was he alive.

While the main character is unable to get out of the rift, something else happens to the child. The child was kidnapped and experimented on, having to go through torture yet he kept on fighting until he managed to awaken by himself before being rescued. The child, devastated after finding out the news of the missing main character, perseveres by holding on to a single promise that the main character had made with him, by linking their pinky fingers together.

The male lead works hard to reopen the closed rift in order to get the main character out, even if it was his dead body. Gathering the best people he could find, he established his own guild, becoming one of the top guilds, where his guild is known to be a gathering of Elite Hunters with him being the 1st rank of all hunters.

One day, out of the blue, the main character’s name appears in their Hunter Ranking Board, pushing the male lead to the 2nd rank. People thought they were going to fight for the 1st rank, however, the male lead is more than happy to know that his saviour is alive and back in his life.

After going through various painful things as they go through the apocalypse together, the leads gradually fall in love with each other, with the male lead already being in love with the main character for a long time.

Cha Euijae listened attentively before glancing at his phone as he got a text message.

Sayoung: [I’ll text you if I ever got a contact from the producer. See you later, Hyung. Don’t forget to finish your meals.]

‘How did he know that I was in the middle of a meal?’

Euijae: [Ok. You too. Promise me that you won’t skip your meals again.]

Lee Sayoung chuckled as he locked his phone. Bae Wonwoo, who was standing next to him, looked at him, his face full of questions.

He patted onto Lee Sayoung’s shoulder, questioning him on the reason for him to be smiling after looking at his phone.

“It’s Hyung.”

“Oh? Was it Jungbin?”

“Fuck.. Why should I smile while texting that annoying guy? The only person that I would call Hyung is J.”

“Ah.. I thought it was Jungbin as he is technically your older cousin.”

A hint of irritation was seen in Lee Sayoung’s eyes.

Dumfounded, Bae Wonwoo scratched his head, as he stood quietly next to Lee Sayoung. He turns on his tablet to look at the time, before motioning to the young actor that it was time for them to grab something to eat.

He was shocked to see Lee Sayoung nodding in affirmation as he always waves his hand telling him to go away every time he wanted to get him to eat.

“I promised Hyung that I would not skip my meals.”

The manager (also Sayoung’s helper), who had been with him for a long time was shaken yet thankful to the actor for making sure that his employer is eating with just a single message. Bae Wonwoo always had a hard time in making sure that he is eating properly or to at least munch on something, always getting himself dismissed mercilessly by the young man, despite promising Jungbin that he would take great care of Lee Sayoung.

“What do you want to eat, Sayoung?”

“Let’s just eat at your usual place. The one you kept yapping about.”

Internally grovelling on the floor to actor J as a sign of being grateful, Bae Wonwoo guides Lee Sayoung to the car. After making sure that his seatbelt is secured properly and that he is comfortable, he began driving for their journey to his favourite restaurant which serves his favourite dish, hangover soup.

Chapter Text

It was a sunny afternoon when Cha Euijae decided to hang out with Seo Mingi and Hong Yeseong in his small apartment. Despite being a sought-after and highest paid actor, he decided to remain low, living modestly as he donated most of his income to those who needed them the most. Sitting around a small table, various brands of snacks scattered all over it, the trio quietly sipped onto their respective cold drinks.

Scrolling through his private social media account, he spotted a random post with his and Lee Sayoung’s stage name coined together as their hashtag. He tilted his head to the side, clicking on the hashtag out of curiosity. What flashed his eyes were-

Fanarts of him and Lee Sayoung doing multiple things together. There were various drawings of the both of them going out eating ice cream, flower picking and just standing next to each other. Intrigued, he scrolled through every single image with the hashtag, thinking that they were all pretty and cute while internally praising the talent of every single artist.

Cha Euijae smiled as he saved some of his favourite arts, intending to view them again later.

“J.”

“Hm?”

He proceeds to lock his phone, lifting his face from said device, before turning his head to face Seo Mingi, who was calling out to him, who is also on a phone call.

“Ah yes, I’ll inform J-nim about this in a bit. Yes, I’m with him right now. Yes.. Yes.. Got it. Thank you very much.”

Sipping on his coffee, “You know about the scouting for the adaptation movie right?”

Cha Euijae nodded.

“The title will be The Hunter’s Gonna Lay Low which was expected thanks to the rumours, and everyone is saying that you and Lee Sayoung are a perfect match for the main characters. They mentioned that the both of you had the same vibes and features as them. Also.. I heard that an anonymous investor specifically asked for you to be in the movie.”

He nods again.

“The producer directly contacted us as they really wanted you to be in it too.”

“Mhm.”

“Are you sure about accepting this offer?”

“Why not? It seems fun to act in.”

‘And it’s intriguing how the characters share the same name as us.’

“...Uh huh, I’ll inform them that you’ll be accepting that job. That sleeping chicken guy probably will be involved in your prop making as well.”

Seo Mingi points his finger towards Hong Yeseong, who was sprawling on the floor, sleeping soundly. What causes Cha Euijae to chuckle was when the sleeping guy talks in his sleep, “Kkokko.. Stop that.. Ow! That hurts! Behave..”

Stretching his body, he continued to scroll through his social media when he noticed a list of fanfiction between him and Lee Sayoung.

Curious, he tapped on the link provided, as he was brought to a site, where multiple writings of the same name pairing are in sight.

Clicking on one of the writings, he was instantly absorbed into the world of fanfiction, consuming every single work that was available, while avoiding the works tagged with not safe for work (nsfw), whatever that meant, in a short time.

He stopped himself in his reading when he heard someone coughing slowly next to him.

“It’s already nighttime."

“Ah.”

Surprised, he turned off his phone, turning his head to the side to see that Hong Yeseong was already up and was slurping onto instant noodles.

“...”

Noticing the gaze, Hong Yeseong pushed the bowl forward, offering, “Want some?”

“Offering me an almost empty bowl? It’s okay, I’ll make one myself. Have you eaten, Mingi?”

“Yeah, I just ate earlier.”

“Okay.”

Cha Euijae stood up as he patted Hong Yeseong’s fluffy hair, listening into his inner thoughts, ‘Aw, I wanted some of the noodles that Euijae made too.’

Grinning, “Hm.. I’m actually starving.. Should I make some extras? Want to eat more, Yeseong?”

Seo Mingi shakes his head as Hong Yeseong excitedly nods.

ring ring

The phone on the table starts to ring loudly.

Lee Sayoung picked up his phone, glancing at the caller’s id before answering, “Speak.”

“He accepted the offer.”

His lips curled, forming a small smile, “That’s great. I’ll be in your movie as well, then.”

“Yes, sir, thank you very much for your generous funding. I’ll be sending the schedules for the both of you soon.”

Lee Sayoung ends the call.

Grinning, he texted Cha Euijae-

Sayoung: [Hyung]

He sat down as he took out a book to read, awaiting for a response. Ten minutes, half an hour, three hours, no response came.

Sulking and feeling like he was abandoned, he sent more text messages.

Sayoung: [Hyungggggg?]

Sayoung: [Are you abandoning me?]

Sayoung: [sadcat.gif]

Sayoung: [I wanted to inform you that I was contacted by the producer of that movie just now and that I have accepted the job..]

He puts down his phone on the table by the side of his bed. Lying down on the bed, his phone vibrates as he is about to doze off.

Clicking his tongue, he unlocked his phone when he spotted Cha Euijae’s name on the screen. He quickly sat up and as he was deciding on ignoring the message as a sign of him sulking, he saw the reason for the late response.

Hyung: [Sayoung?]

Hyung: [I’m not abandoning you, I fell asleep earlier.]

Hyung: [Are you asleep?]

“...Oh.”

Seeing that the other man was still typing, Lee Sayoung proceeds to tap on the call button when the other side instantly picks the call up.

“Sayoung? You’re not asleep yet?”

He clenched onto his pillow, quietly listening to the sleepy voice, making his sulkiness fade away.

‘How cute..’

“Sayoung-ie, are you still sulking? Hyung is sorry, hm?”

“What bullshit are you talking about? I’m not sulking.”

A sigh of relief was heard in the background. It was endearing, how he would be so hung up on him whenever he felt that he was sulking or angry.

“Rude as ever.. I guess you’re fine then if you can be this rude at this hour.. I was about to send the message when you called.. I guess we’ll be acting together for the first time? To think that we went straight for a movie instead of a series first.”

“Mm.. You’re right, Hyung. I’m looking forward to working together with you. Please take good care of me.”

“What kind of bullshit.. You’re already a full-fledged actor.”

Cha Euijae let out a small chuckle.

“But.. I’m looking forward to working together with you too, Sayoung. Do take care of me as well.”

A small yawn echoes through the connected phone call.

“Mm. Of course I will, just like how I always did.. You should go back to sleep. I’ll see you later, Hyung.”

“Mm. See you, Sayoung. You should go to sleep. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.”

Script Reading Day/Short Gathering

All of the actors and actresses casted for the movie were gathered in the huge meeting room. Everyone was given a script, as they sat in their designated seats surrounding a huge round table.

Cha Euijae walks in after finishing his filming for an ad, when he notices that Lee Sayoung was sitting next to the seat designated for him with his legs crossed. Smiling, he quickly approached his seat, before lowering his head next to Lee Sayoung’s ear, whispering, “It’s been a while since we’ve met each other like this, Sayoung.”

The taller man leaned backwards as he gently lifted his lips upwards, “It sure is, Hyung.”

Small murmurs echoed through the whole meeting room.

"He calls J as Hyung?"

"He is a bit older than 240."

"Are they that familiar with each other?"

"He is?"

"Wait, they’re not fighting? They won’t start punching each other during script reading right?"

"I’ve told you many times that those are just rumours created by tabloids, goodness gracious. They only bicker a lot when they meet because they know each other."

"Oh.."

"Wait. Do they really know each other?"

"I heard that they’re childhood friends."

"Oh.."

"Wow, they actually managed to get J and 240 to act in a movie together, this would be fun and chaotic. It’s leaning more to chaotic though.."

"Now that they were seated next to each other, I can see why they were shipped together by their fans. Surprisingly enough, both of their fans didn't fight against each other, they backed up each other instead."

Cha Eujae froze behind his seat, ‘Shipped together? Fight? What?’

"Oh wow, J is in the cast as well? I’m so nervous now."

"You didn’t check the casting list before entering the room? I thought they'd sent or announced it to everyone."

"No. I wanted it to be a surprise for myself. I wanted to see everything first. I guess it backfires though.. Haha.. I’m so fucking surprised instead."

….

‘You guys sure are having fun talking about the person when the subject is right in front of your face, huh?’

Cha Euijae silently pulled out his seat before sitting down as he scanned every single person’s face. Not used to being gossiped right in front of his face, creeping in slowly was his nervousness, causing him to discreetly tugging onto his collar, trying to calm himself down when a large hand gently stroked his hair and the back of his neck. The warmth emanating from the hand is a welcoming one, causing him to lean more into the touch.

"Oh damn, that guy’s casually touching J."

"Don’t we need to call for someone? Like.. J’s manager or something?"

"J didn’t push him away, so I guess that’s okay."

"They’re not fighting. 240 probably helps in removing a stray lint on J’s collar."

‘...’

From the nonsense spouted and a late realisation that he could not read the other person’s mind, ‘Oh, it’s Sayoung.’

Cha Euijae took in a deep breath as he glanced to his side, noticing that Lee Sayoung was looking at him with a worried look. His eyes looked like he wanted to annoy him, however his action shows that it was the other way around. He mouthed out the word, ‘Thank you, I’m fine now’ before patting on the other’s hand.

‘Ha.. I’m glad that you’re fine...’

“Huh?”

“What’s wrong, J?”

“Ah, it’s nothing. Don’t worry.”

“Alright, if you say so. Do inform us if there’s anything.”

‘I can read his mind? I thought I wouldn’t be able to?’

Cha Euijae stares towards the handsome face, feeling the stare, Lee Sayoung raises one of his eyebrows, his lips slowly forming a smirk, before whispering, “Like what you’re seeing?”

His gentle face instantly flushed.

“...”

‘This is odd.’

Feeling a gaze from the person sitting across from him, Cha Euijae, who was fanning himself to cool himself, glanced back. It was Yoon Chae Hyun, known as Honeybee or Wasp by a certain number of people, who was glaring at the person sitting next to him.

Known for her beauty, she was always scouted for makeup products. She was also known for loving to ride her motorcycle everywhere, ignoring her manager.

‘She’s here too? This is actually a gathering of elites.’

“Sayoung.”

“What is it?”

“Why is she glaring at you?”

Lee Sayoung gazed towards the person across the table. Letting out a mocking laugh, he answers, “She didn’t know that I’ll be in the casting as well… So.. She’s a bit annoyed now.”

“Ah.. I see..”

Cha Euijae nods dumbfoundedly as he lowers his head and skimmed through the script given to him.

‘This character really sounds.. just like me..’

“...”

‘Am I this oblivious too?’ (You are)

“...”

“Sorry for the wait, I’m Uriel, the appointed director for the movie, thank you for gathering here.”

A lady wearing a formal suit strode through the door, carrying a huge file in her hand, her voice cheerful.

“The producer will be here in a bit, he was caught up in a traffic jam. I hope for your patience and understanding. Now that everyone is here, should we try reading some of the dialogues as we wait for him?”

She smiled as various hums of agreement echoed.

Cha Euijae was tapping his feet rhythmically when he heard a cheerful voice, “J-ssi, 240-ssi, the both of you may start first.”

“Ah- Okay.”

“Okay.”

He turned his chair to face Lee Sayoung, a look of surprise decorating the other’s face, who then proceeded to turn his chair to face him as well. Feeling bashful for some reason, he cleared his throat before parting his lips, “Hey, I’ve eaten at least five thousand more bowls of rice than you.”

Lee Sayoung chuckled, “Oh… So?”

"Damn. Those characters really mirror their relationship and interactions."

"Shut it. Don’t distract them."

"Bruh…"

"It would be funny if they’re already in a relationship though.."

Cha Euijae, listening to all of the nonsense, tries to ignore the fleeting comments.

“Your way of speaking is too informal.”

“I see.”

Lee Sayoung lowers his head, bringing his handsome face close to Cha Euijae’s, whispering, “Shall I use honorifics for you?”

“...”

“Not a fan? Sorry. It’s been a while since I used honorifics.”

"Damn, I can feel the incoming fist fight."

"Seriously, can you just shut your mouth, you dipshit?"

"No can do."

"Ha… I’m giving up on you. Good luck facing the wrath of 240 for distracting them, especially for distracting J."

"… Shit. I forgot about that."

"Haha.. Good luck bro.."

“...”

He noticed a finger tapping on his hand, it was Lee Sayoung. A fleeting thought was heard, ‘These people got nothing else on their plate other than gossiping about others. I hope it doesn’t affect you that much.’

Cha Euijae nodded before he froze up in his seat, ‘... Wait a minute..’

Cha Euijae faced the man in front of him, seriously scrutinizing, ‘Does he know that I can read people’s thoughts? Is that why he’s been clinging onto me whenever we’re together?’

Lee Sayoung narrows his eyes, causing Cha Euijae to flinch.

‘I wonder… What is going through that small head of yours?’

“...”

He ponders for a while until the sound of hand clapping echoes in the room, “Thank you J-ssi, 240-ssi. The both of you are a natural at this. I made the right choice in bagging the both of you for this adaptation. As expected of top stars.”

Cha Euijae glanced at the source. It was the producer.

The man straightened his hand, about to shake hands with Cha Euijae, “Ah, before that, I’m so sorry for being late. There was an incident while I was on my way here. I’m Kim, and I’m a big fan of the both of you and also the novel we’re going to adapt, which is why I thought that the both of you are the perfect choice.”

Nodding, Cha Euijae grasped onto the hand, his lips slowly forming into his business smile.

‘Oh my gosh, I’m shaking hands with J! I'm not washing this hand. I’m going to brag about this later!’

“...”

“Okay, all of you can continue with the script reading!”

Cha Euijae, wearing a mask to cover his face, was sitting in a cafe with his head on the table when-

“Hyung.”

Perking his head up as he heard the voice, Cha Euijae turned his head around when a cold drink approached the nape of his neck.

“That’s cold!”

“It’s an iced drink, of course it’s cold.”

“You rude bastard.”

Lee Sayoung gently pulled out a chair and with a mocking face, he mumbled, “Well… Flash news! It’s not like it’s a new thing about me. You’ve known me for a long time already, Hyung.”

“Shut up.”

The other man did the zipping motion in front of his lips, the plump flesh forming a cheeky smirk.

Huffing, Cha Euijae grabbed the drink offered by Lee Sayoung, removed the mask before sipping onto the straw begrudgingly when a thought crossed his mind.

“Hey.”

“Mm?”

“How did you know?”

“Know what?”

“That..”

A large hand wrapped itself around his wrist.

‘That… you can read minds?’

He faced the other man. Lee Sayoung was smiling.

‘You’ve always been bad at lying to others. I don’t even know how those idiots never found out about this. It’s so laughable.’

“... When?”

‘When did I start to notice?’

Cha Euijae nodded.

‘Since the day we met.’

He flinched, his dark eyes widened in response.

“What?”

The hand on his wrist playfully wiggled around, “Yeah..”

‘You blurted out a response to what I was thinking that one time. Although.. I assume that you’ve forgotten all about it.’

He gently flicked Cha Euijae’s forehead.

“You..”

Propping his arm on the table, Lee Sayoung placed his chin on the back of his hand, ‘To avoid your mind reading, I had to practice on mental blocking. That’s why you aren’t able to read mine most of the time.’

“...”

“You’ve been wondering about that, don’t you? There’s no way that you don’t.. The Cha Euijae that I know would start wondering about it the moment he found out…”

“I see…”

"Mommy look! Those two people are doing a staring contest!"

"Honey! Don’t point!"

Cha Euijae hurriedly averted his gaze from the handsome face.

“So.. Did that answer your questions?”

“...”

“Now…”

A large hand approached his face, cradling his cheek. The thumb gently brushes across his lips, as if wiping off some dirt. Lee Sayoung gazed straight into Cha Euijae’s eyes, his lips slowly parting, whispering, “Do you know what I’m thinking about right now?”

He pressed his thumb on Cha Euijae’s lips.

Cha Euijae’s breath hitched as the thought from the man flows straight to him-

‘I want to-’

Chapter Text

Rolling around in bed, Cha Euijae tried his hardest to fall asleep yet he was failing miserably. Remembering Lee Sayoung’s internal monologue regarding him, his fair face instantly dusted pink.

Staring to the ceiling, he wrapped himself inside the thick blanket, raising one of his hands before touching his lips using his finger. It was on the spot where Lee Sayoung had gently pressed his finger.

Noticing his own action, Cha Euijae screamed internally, while his mouth kept mumbling, “He must be teasing me. There is no way he felt that way towards me!”

He turns around as he laid onto his stomach before burying his face into the fluffy pillows, screaming. The room was silent until a few moments later, when he began to thrash around on the bed.

“He’s just a cute little guy that’s always clinging to me!”

“and he’s also a rude bastard that’s always picking on me whenever he has a chance to.”

He stopped himself in his thrashing.

‘But.. His eyes..’

The eyes gazing at him that evening hold no lies in them. Instead, what filled those eyes was something else… something like… desire?

‘....Nah.. There’s no way.. right?’

He internally screamed before beginning to toss and turn on his bed again, unable to get rid of his flustered feelings.

“Fuck. I can’t sleep.”

He yawned as he walked into the set, “Good morning.”

“Good mor-”

“...”

“...-ning.”

“...”

“Couldn’t sleep?”

“Yeah…”

Seo Mingi instantly handed him a thermos filled with coffee.

“...The young master asked me to hand you this.”

“...Thank you.”

He quickly sipped onto the coffee, the drink managed to freshen him up, the flavour casually playing around with his taste buds. Wait a minute-

He almost spat out the drink.

“Sayoung asked you to hand me this?”

“Yeah. Is it not up to your liking?”

“...It fits my taste perfectly.”

‘That bastard knows me a bit too well..’

Cha Euijae continues to sip onto the coffee slowly, annoyed that it tasted perfect.

“Hyung.”

Cha Euijae is glad that he managed to stop himself from spatting out the drink for the second time. Speak of the devil.

“Sa-Sayoung? Good morning.”

“Mm. Good morning.”

A gloved thumb smoothly brushes across his eyes, ‘Were you thinking of me the whole night? To the point that you weren’t able to fall asleep?’

He glares at the taller man standing in front of him, swatting the hand lingering on his face away, “Shut up.”

Lee Sayoung amusedly smiled.

“Are you ready for the filming?”

Cha Euijae was about to respond with something when-

“J!”

“Tch”, the man clicked his tongue, bringing his hand back to his side.

He turns his body around, seeing Hong Yeseong running towards him with something long that was draped with a cloth in his hands.

“Friend! You should see this spear! It looks exactly the same as the spear that the main character uses!”, he says as he places the spear in Cha Euijae’s palm.

Hong Yeseong unveiled the spear, the weapon exuding a majestic look although the simpleness was still retained. He grinned widely, proud of his work.

He tries to balance the spear in his hand, measuring the weight and length before stepping behind to further himself from other people, swinging the spear professionally. He’s acting like he had been using them for a long time. It was as if the spear was created just for him.

‘The weight’s perfect.’

Swing.

‘The length too.’

He planted the tip of the spear on the ground.

“J! Can you swing it again? I’m going to keep a video for my own record.”

Cha Euijae nods as he swings the spear again, twirling it around like he was in combat himself. Hong Yeseong nods before running to his side. His face was gloomy, making Cha Euijae raise an eyebrow. He covered his mouth with one hand and whispered, “Thanks! Um before that… my friend...”

“Mm?”

“Did I do something.. Like.. Did I accidentally get in between your flirting with Lee Sayoung? Is that why I can feel him glaring on my back?”

He thrust the spear he was holding to Hong Yeseong, his face baffled.
.
“Fuck? Are you blind? We were just talking..”

“I’m just being a considerate friend.”

“Ha… nevermind.”

“Well.. I can sense some kind of a murderous aura from behind my back.. It feels menacing… I’m afraid that if I turn around now I might get myself in danger or killed.”

“...”

Cha Euijae lifted his head, staring straight into the taller man’s eyes. The violet eyes narrowed and the annoyingly gorgeous face was still smiling.

‘Damn it.’

He broke eye contact.

“No, you’ll be fine.”

He patted onto Hong Yeseong’s shoulder.

“This spear is good. It feels as if it was created just for me. Great job, friend.”

The gloomy face instantly brightened up thanks to the sincere praising, looking just like a golden retriever with his tail wagging.

“And, action!”

The sound of the slate clapping echoes directly to his ears.

Cha Euijae, wearing an apron on top of a baggy hoodie, began by jumping and beating a giant toad with a green onion precisely on its head.

“Woah.. Did J learn martial arts before?”

“No wonder he told us that we won’t be needing a stuntman for him.”

“He’s always been good at fighting.”

Both Uriel and Kim instantly perk up at the sound of the voice. It was Lee Sayoung, who was leaning against the wall, with his arms crossed on his chest.

“He is? Ah, I heard that you guys know each other.. I guess that’s not a lie then.”

Lee Sayoung smirked mischievously.

“Yeah.. That’s why people should try to not incur his wrath. He’s always been nice but the moment he’s pissed off…”

He did a throat-cutting gesture.

“...”

“...”

“I’m kidding. J is not that kind of person.”

He points to the set.

“Oh.. He’s done with his solo part.. I guess it’s my turn to come in next?”

“Ah! And Cut! Good job, J! We don’t have to repeat any of the scenes thanks to you!”

Cha Euijae, accepting a towel from Seo Mingi’s hand, replies, “Ah.. It’s not an issue.”

“Okay everyone! 15 minutes rest and we’re continuing with the next scene!"

Cha Euijae shyly bows his head before walking next to Lee Sayoung who offers him a drink before calmly fixing his hair. He accepted the drink and action as if it was a given.

“That thing looks so real I’m shocked for a moment.”

“It does?”

The pair chattered away, unbeknownst to them that there were a few pairs of eyes watching their interactions.

Uriel nudged onto Kim’s side, and with a low voice, she asked, “Hey, do you ever think that those two actually had a relationship that’s more than something as simple as childhood friends?”

“Hm?”

Kim glanced towards the duo, “Hmm, both probably had feelings for each other but one of them is too oblivious or in denial to the core. I’m going to cheer for the other one.”

“I know right? Omigosh, this is the kind of gossip that I could eat up!”

Kim bonked Uriel’s head with his board.

“We’re working right now. Fangirl after we’re done with work. The 15 minutes are up now.”

“Ouch! Fine!”

Huffing, Uriel took out her megaphone and began to gather everyone, instructing them on what to do.

Lee Sayoung fixed his own hair as he smirked slyly, “It’s my signal, see you in a bit, Hyung.”

Lee Sayoung passes by Cha Euijae, his gloved fingers brushing against his unguarded ear. His faint laughter echoed nearby.

Cha Euijae clasped onto his burning ears, mouth agape as he was caught off guard by the sudden move.

“L-LOOK AT THAT! THE TEASING!! KIM- KIM~!”

Uriel began to shake Kim by his shoulders roughly. Kim, annoyed, opens his mouth, screaming loud enough to get Uriel out of her fantasy, “WE’RE WORKING, URIEL! GET YOURSELF TOGETHER!”

Cha Euijae walks in the dark alley, feeling a sense of dejà vu.

‘According to the script, I’m looking for my missing niece right now..’

He walked straight to the location where Lee Sayoung was kicking a man after hearing a noise. He stopped in his tracks as Lee Sayoung questioned him, “Have we met before?”

“No.”

“...Really?”

Lee Sayoung strode towards him slowly, as Cha Euijae deflected the sharp spikes coming from the beaten man using a ladle while the gas mask tried to stop them from reaching him, adding more points to his questioning.

Making an excuse that he was in search of his missing niece, he tries to walk away when the man holds him back, “You’re an unregistered Awakener. Is that correct?”

After a moment of trying to avoid answering, the gas mask begins to attack him, with him skillfully deflecting the attack using the ladle he was holding, which melts due to the poison skill.

"It feels like I’m watching the novel moving in front of me, Uriel. They’re so in character, what the hell."

"Hehe. I’ve told you they’re perfect."

Irritated, Cha Euijae scolded him, “Your way of speaking is too informal.”

The gas mask chuckled, “I see..”

“...”

“Shall I use honorifics for you?”

“...”

“Hyung?”

“AND CUT!”

_

Cha Euijae caught a bottle thrown at him.

“You looked annoyed, Hyung.”

‘I do?’

“...Why do you think so..”

He gulped onto the drink.

Lee Sayoung pinched the tip of Cha Euijae’s nose, casually remarking, “Your face shows everything, you know?”

‘...Really?’

“Shut up..”

“Hyung.. You do know you need to act as if you have a poker face for some of the scenes, right?”

“Yeah?”

He lowers his head, bringing his lips right next to Cha Euijae’s ear, his warm breath tickling him, burning him up. He whispered, “How are you going to do that when your face reddens easily just like now?”

‘...I’m only like this with you.. you crazy son of a-’

“Were you thinking of something rude just now? I can hear the gears turning in your small head, Cha Euijae.”

Cha Euijae pushes the good-looking face away.

“With practice, obviously! …and no.”

“Aha.. Should we practice together?”

“Huh? I can do it by myself just fine..”

‘No, how did this suddenly escalate that way?’

Lee Sayoung took out his phone, seemingly messaging someone.

“Done~”

ding

It was his phone.

An ominous feeling surrounded Cha Euijae as he took out his phone to check the content of the message.

Seo Mingi: [You’ll be practicing with the young master?]

Seo Mingi: [I’ve freed most of your schedule for the month, so enjoy your practice, J!]

‘This backstabber!’

A lazy voice mumbled, “You’re coming home with me, Hyung.”

“...Am I some kind of puppy that you randomly picked up off the street?”

“Who knows?”

“...”

“Oh! It’s J!”

Bae Wonwoo opens the door to their car.

“Ahaha.. Sorry for the trouble.. but I guess I’ll be imposing on you for a while..”

“No. No.. It’s no trouble at all.. The pleasure is all mine! You can even stick with us forever. Ehem.. I mean.. Besides, I think Sayoung was the one who dragged you here.”

“Mind your own business.”

“...”

“Sayoung is a good guy, he just doesn't know how to act around people most of the time.”

‘No, he definitely knows.. Is there something wrong with the word good these days? Am I missing out on something?’

“How about you go to the gym now?”

What he really meant was, “Get out of here. You’re annoying.”

“If I go to the gym now, who would drive you home?”

“I can drive myself.”

“No, and also this is my job.”

Sighing, Cha Euijae left the duo to bicker among themselves as he got inside the car before closing the door on his side. Lee Sayoung sat next to him, crossing his legs.

“Ahaha.. Sorry for that.. I’m driving the both of you to Sayoung’s home, am I right?”

“Yes.”

Cha Euijae nodded while he collapsed into the soft backseat, exhaling slowly as a small yawn escaped his lips, meaning that his fatigue had finally caught up to him. He slowly shut his eyes, intending to nap for a short moment.

Lee Sayoung, who was watching, takes off his coat and covers Cha Euijae with them. He then moves closer before stretching his hand, carefully pulling the man’s head to rest on his shoulder. A low, soft breath was the only sound left in the vehicle.

Suddenly feeling light and comfy like he was floating, he groggily blinked his eyes open, only to find himself leaning on Lee Sayoung’s broad chest.

“…”

The taller man was carrying him, the grip on his back and behind his knees were gentle yet firm, as if he was holding something precious.

He blinked, his fatigue still overpowering him.

“...”

He looks up.

The sharp jaw, straight nose, plump lips..

“...”

Whatever.

He ought to struggle to get himself down, however, the strong heartbeat drumming by his ears strangely makes his eyelids heavier. Giving up, he leans in closer into the man, inhaling the familiar sweet scent before slowly shutting his eyes close.

“Hyung.”

“...”

“Cha Euijae, we’re here”, he whispered.

“...”

“Hyung?”

Lee Sayoung tries to shake him awake before checking for his breathing. Seeing that his chest is rising up and down rhythmically and that the man was only dead asleep, he sighs in relief.

‘You really..’

“Do you need me to carry him, Sayoung?”

“No, I’ll do it.”

Cutting Bae Wonwoo off, he quickly got out of the car and walked to the door on Cha Euijae’s side. Opening the door, he bent his body, gently slid his hands behind the man’s knees and on his back as he carefully pulled him out of the vehicle.

Straightening his body, he kicked the door close, “Okay, you can go back.”

“Huh? Oh- I’ll pick you up in the morning. Do you want me to bring something for breakfast?”

“No need. Seo Mingi probably already has things prepared for this guy here.”

“Noted. See you in the morning.”

He carried the man, walking back to his home when he heard a rustling sound coming from the person in his arms. He looked downwards, “Are you awake?”

Normally, Cha Euijae would have struggled to get down. However-

He watches as the eyelids flutter, revealing the black eyes hidden behind them, blankly staring back at him. Although, it was only for a short while as the man began to shut his eyes again and leaned in much closer to him.

“... You’ll really be the death of me, Cha Euijae.”

A low sigh escaped him.

Kicking his shoes off as soon as he arrived in his house’s corridor, he brought the man to his room, laying him on the bed.

He took the older man’s shoes off, placing them by the side of the bed. Undoing the button on Cha Euijae’s tight collar, he placed his hand on his chest, taking in the beats of the heart, slowly removing his hand when satisfied.

After adjusting his head onto the pillows, Lee Sayoung covers Cha Euijae with a blanket. He gazed towards the peaceful sleeping face, burning the image into his mind. He silently reached out and brushed the hair away from his forehead, pressing his lips on them, whispering, “Goodnight.”

Cha Euijae woke up, feeling well-rested. He stopped stretching his sore body when he noticed that he was not in his room.

“...”

He tries to remember the moments before he fell asleep but to no avail, yet…

“You’ll really be the death of me, Cha Euijae.”

Pulling onto his own hair, he slapped himself as he screamed internally, ‘That was not a dream? He really carried me all the way here?’

He heard the sound of the front door opening and closing.

“Hyung? Are you awake now?”

“Uh? Ah- um yes, I’ve woken up.”

“Seo Mingi delivered some food. I’ve put them in the fridge.”

“Ah, thanks.”

Cha Euijae was about to get off the bed when his feet were caught in the sheets causing him to tumble down from the bed. The sound of his fall echoes in the quiet room.

“Hyung?!”

The sound of footsteps rushing to him resonated outside of the bedroom. Cha Euijae lowers his head.

The door swung open.

Cha Euijae lifted his face. Lee Sayoung was facing him with a dumbfounded look.

“... Good morning.”

A voice filled with disbelief asked,

“What are you doing? Why are you on the floor?”

He reaches out his hand for Cha Euijae to grab. “Come on.”

Cha Euijae placed his hand on top of the other. The man pulls him back to his feet.

Lee Sayoung extends his other hand, fixing his messy hair back to normal before cupping his cheek. His finger gently caresses the reddened cheek, “Why are your face red..? Did you hurt yourself?”

Cha Euijae removed the hand cupping his cheek and asked, intending to change the subject, “Ahaha.. Ah Sayoung.. Have you eaten breakfast?”

“...No.”

“Then… I’ll make something for us. Everything’s still in the same spot right?”

“Ha… I’ll let you off the hook this time.”

Lee Sayoung moves aside, letting the man pass through. Cha Euijae went to the bathroom to wash up, borrowing the younger man’s oversized hoodie to wear, which is odd because the man does not even wear hoodies. He then strode towards the kitchen, taking out ingredients from the fridge.

Lee Sayoung chuckled as the man walked around naturally in his home, as if he was already living there, which is a welcoming scene.

Rolling the sleeves of the hoodie, Cha Euijae asked, “You okay with rolled omelette for breakfast?”

With a hum, he responded, “Anything you make is tasty, just make them. I’ll still eat them.”

“Okay then. Can you set up the table?”

The man obediently went and set up the table.

“...”

He took out an apron from the cabinet, wearing it before placing a skillet on the stove. Lee Sayoung, done with his task, stood quietly nearby, watching him working on his magic.

Cha Euijae began by cracking some eggs into a bowl, adding some salt and beating the mixture using a whisk. He added in some chopped onions, bell peppers, a generous amount of cheese and a tiny bit of white pepper before whisking them together again.

Finished with the prepping, Cha Euijae turns on the fire on the stove, dipping a kitchen towel into the oil, carefully spreading the oil on the skillet. Once it is hot enough, he pours a little bit of the mixture into the skillet evenly, rolling them and repeating the same process until the mixture in the bowl is finished.

He cut the rolled omelette up, placing them neatly on a plate and passing them to the standing Lee Sayoung.

“Do you want anything else with that?”

“No, this is enough. I have a filming scheduled in a few hours.”

“Ah..”

Lee Sayoung pulled out two chairs, sat on one and patted the chair next to him, his intention clear. Cha Euijae shakes his head before a large hand grips onto his arm, tugging on him.

Sighing, he sat quietly next to the man.

Lee Sayoung picks a piece of the egg with his chopstick.

“Hyung.”

“Mm?”

The man placed the egg in front of Cha Euijae’s lips.

“...”

“Open your mouth.”

Cha Euijae opens his mouth, accepting the offer.

After cleaning up everything, they sat in the living room. Lee Sayoung was checking his itinerary for the day on a tablet.

“Do you have anything to do today, Hyung?”

“My schedule for this month is cleared except for the important ones thanks to a certain someone. Although I don’t have any filming scheduled for today.”

“Good. You should rest.”

“But how did you manage to do that?”

“Do what?”

“My schedule.”

“Hm.. It’s a secret.”

Lee Sayoung stood up, placing his hands on Cha Euijae’s shoulders, firmly making him stay put.

“Sleep. You need the rest. We’ll practice together when I’m home later.”

“... Can’t I go back to my own house?”

“No. Stay here.”

“...”

“Besides.. Didn’t Seo Mingi inform you? There’s a problem happening at the apartment so they’re currently fixing up the place.”

Cha Euijae quickly took out his phone. There was an unread message from the reliable manager.

Seo Mingi: [There are some pipes bursting over here, the grandma asked everyone to go and stay somewhere for a while while they’re fixing them]

Euijae: [I see… Thank you]

He locked his phone.

“Bae Wonwoo is here. I’ll go to the set first, Hyung.”

“Okay.. Work hard..”

“Call me if you need anything, Hyung.”

“Hey.”

“What.”

“That child looks exactly like you when you were younger, don’t you think so?”

“Not at all.”

“You sure? He’s adorable though?”

“No.”

“Ha.. Suit yourself. So which part are we practicing now?”

Lee Sayoung skimmed through the script before stopping on a page. Picking up the script, he shows them to Cha Euijae.

“Hm?”

Cha Euijae glanced at the script. It was.. a kissing scene.

“...”

“Have you ever kissed or been kissed by anyone, Hyung?”

“Why are you asking?”

Lee Sayoung inches his body closer, his hand gripping tightly onto the headrest of the sofa that Cha Euijae was sitting on, trapping him between the sofa and the man.

‘When did this guy reach here?’

A large hand pinched onto his chin, tilting his head up, a thumb playfully pressing on his lips, brushing the skin swiftly. The thought of the man in front of him smoothly penetrates his mind. Lee Sayoung lowers his head, making sure to stay on the same eye level as Cha Euijae.

‘Oh.. No reason.. I’m just curious.’

The eyes watching his reaction were intense. He averted his gaze, parting his lips to answer.

“Why?”

‘I’ve been imagining this for quite a while, after all. Have you already forgotten what I told you at the cafe last time?’

Cha Euijae blinked, searching through his memories, oh-

‘I want to kiss you.’

His face instantly flushed.

A low laugh graced his ears.

Soft lips met. Cha Euijae's breath was stuck in his throat as he was caught off guard.

A thick tongue forces its way into his slightly parted lips, mingling with his own. “Mmph!”

Every breath he took was swallowed by the serpent of a man in front of him. He tried to push him away, but the man did not even budge. Accepting his fate, he wrapped his arms around the taller man’s neck, pulling him closer.

All he could hear was the wet sound of their kiss, the heat from their kiss causing tears to form in his eyes.

He lets out a small cough after their lips separated. A finger gently wipes away the moisture accumulating on his eyelashes, ‘I’m glad. It seems like you like it.’

Cha Euijae, filled with annoyance, pinched onto the man’s cheeks, pulling on them angrily.

“You brat!”

“Ouch!”, a pained yelp resounded in the room.

“W-why would you do that..”

“You enjoyed it though.”

“Enjoy it my ass.”

“Oh? Was I mistaken?”

“...”

Lee Sayoung blew into his ear teasingly and with a low voice, he recited, “So… Do you kiss your younger brother?”

Cha Euijae gritted his teeth, his face burning, “Shut up.”

The body in front of him begins to shake uncontrollably, it seems like he’s trying to hold back his laughter.

“...”

‘Shameless bastard.’

Standing on the rooftop of a building, Cha Euijae, wearing a black mask, was pushed against a wall, his hips bumped into a cold railing, with a knee wedged in between his legs, making itself known.

“- such a fiery confession.”

Currently, they are filming for the rooftop kiss scene.

A hand gripped onto his waist, as if it was the owner’s rightful place.

Cha Euijae fixed his view onto the man in front of him, the face getting closer to him. Surprised, he leaned backwards as he pressed his hand on Lee Sayoung's face, trying to push it away.

His heart starts beating erratically.

“- Are you crazy? Get off me!”

Something wet licked between his palm and finger. The violet eyes between the gaps of his fingers were watching him with amusement.

‘Don’t get distracted now.’

Lee Sayoung tilted his head, biting onto his thumb, causing Cha Euijae to recoil and withdrew his hand from the face.

He heard a low chuckle escape, the sound causing his already loud heart to start beating louder.

‘Why..’

Lee Sayoung bent forward, pressing their bodies together. He looks up at him while resting his cheek on his chest, collecting definite evidence.

‘Wait..’

The white ashes scattered through the sky.

“So that I know.. it was worth waiting.”

‘I actually like him?’

Cha Euijae’s face started to burn.

‘This guy?’

“Why are you so loud? Even a sleeping person would wake up”, a voice tinged with laughter asked.

‘Something is wrong!’

“Shut up.”

Fingers slipped under the mask and with a click, removing it with ease, revealing his overheated face.

“Mmph-!”

Their lips collided.

A thick tongue invaded his mouth, rubbing against his own tongue. Every single word of his was swallowed. The kiss was rough.

“???”

He tries pushing the man away.

“Sa-”

“Mmph-!”

It felt like he was being devoured, it was to the point he could taste a metallic flavour of blood on his tongue. Did I just bite onto my own lips, he thought.

After a while, their lips separated with a loud sound. He gripped onto the railing behind him as his legs gave way.

“- Cut!”

“240, J.. Good job. That was.. intense.”

Cha Eujae coughed. A large hand lightly rubbed his back.

He tilted his head, watching the man wiping his bruised lips, there was a bite mark on them. Noticing the gaze, Lee Sayoung asked, “What’s wrong?”

‘I bit him?’

He averted his gaze, “Nothing.”

“Sure.. Let’s go home, Hyung. We’re done for today right, director?”

“Ah yes! Thank you for your hard work!”

Cha Euijae notices some ashes stuck in Lee Sayoung’s hair. Raising his arm, he brushed the ashes away from the soft hair until he spotted Lee Sayoung’s-

reddened ears. Hidden by his hair.

A low laugh slipped out of his lips. He beckoned for the man to lower his head.

He whispered, fingers touching the flushed ear, “Why are your ears red? Are you embarrassed?"

The man glares at him.

"THEY’RE TEASING EACH OTHER AGAIN!"

"STOP SHAKING ME!"

A few weeks later

"Hey, something is wrong with 240."

"Why?"

"He looks.. feverish?"

"Dang. I heard he’s never fallen sick.. Is this the moment?"

"That crazy guy is sick?"

"Yoo Chaehyun…"

"I’m just saying.."

Cha Euijae perks his head up as he overhears the conversation, ‘Sayoung is sick?’

“...”

‘But he was fine this morning?’

“...”

‘Right?’

“Ah! J-ssi, I’m still applying the dye on your hair.”

“Oops.. I’m sorry..”

He stopped moving around, letting the staff do their work.

After washing, drying and styling his hair, he went out of his waiting room, looking for Lee Sayoung.

He went to a hidden corner and dug out his phone, intending to text the other man when someone gently picked up a few strands of his dyed hair, rubbing them in between their fingers. He recognized that touch. It was the touch of the person he was looking for.

Cha Euijae turns his head. Lee Sayoung was murmuring something incomprehensible, his violet eyes seemed to be out of focus and his usually pale face looked a bit flushed.

He pulls onto the shirt of the other man, crinkling the fabric, bumping their forehead together to take note of the man’s high body temperature. Cha Euijae huffed, “Fuck, you’re actually burning up” before quickly pulls onto his arm, dragging him out of the set.

He sat Lee Sayoung down on a bench nearby, and bought some cold drinks from the vending machine. Then, he swiftly placed them on the man’s forehead and fished out his phone to inform Seo Mingi about the situation.

“Don’t call for Bae Wonwoo..”

Cha Euijae stopped himself mid-typing.

‘Seems like he can talk clearly for a bit now.’

“Why?”

“Annoying..”

“Okay.. I won’t.. Just rest for now.”

“Mm..”

He continued his typing before sending the text.

Euijae: [Mingi-ya. Sayoung is having a bad fever so we need to take him home]

Euijae: [Inform the others about this before sending us back]

Seo Mingi: [Roger that]

He slipped his phone back into his pocket. Locking his eyes with the violet eyes, he began to probe him.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because it’s not that bad.”

“Do you have a headache?”

“It’s manageable."

“Don’t lie. You can’t even pretend that you’re fine right now.”

“...”

“What is it?”

“...It hurts.”

“Ha..”

Cha Euijae sat down next to him, holding onto the man’s head, urging him to rest his head on his shoulder.

“Next time, if it hurts, be honest. No need to pretend that you’re fine. Especially around me.”

Seo Mingi approached the director and producer, informing them about the situation. Strangely enough, the director standing behind him seemed to be enjoying the situation.

“We’ve done filming most of their scenes so they actually can rest for quite a while. Tell them to prioritise their health first.”

“Are they together right now? Ouch!”

The producer struck the director’s head with his book.

He ignores the question as he reaches for his car keys from his pocket, walking to his car at a hurried pace.

Seeing the disoriented look on Lee Sayoung’s face, Seo Mingi instantly understood the urgency. He quickly brought them to the car.

“Do you need me to drive you to the hospital?”

Seo Mingi glanced at the rear-view mirror trying to gauge for a response. Cha Euijae was stroking Lee Sayoung’s hair, who was lying on his lap wrapped in a checkered blanket, sleeping soundly.

“No, he has a personal doctor. I’ll reach out for him when we arrive at home.”

“Aye aye, sir.”

“... Thank you.”

“It is my duty. I’m just following orders.”

It is true, Lee Sayoung is his boss as well after all.

Arriving in front of the complex for Lee Sayoung’s home, Seo Mingi offered to help with bringing him to his home. Cha Euijae shakes his head before he slides his hands under the man’s knees and on his back, carrying him in a princess carry.

He worriedly glanced at the man when he heard a heavy breathing sound coming from him. He rubbed his back lightly to ease him of the pain, nodding to Seo Mingi while they bid their farewell.

“.. See you later, Mingi.”

Seo Mingi bows, “See you later, J.”

The light in the corridor instantly flickers upon detecting their arrival. Kicking his shoes off, he took off Lee Sayoung’s shoes before quickly searching for the man’s phone in his coat to call Nam Woojin, his personal doctor right after placing him on the bed and undoing the button on his collar.

The doctor arrives a few moments later, bringing a bunch of supplies in his doctor bag. He did a full check up on him, before prescribing a few medicines and giving instructions to Cha Euijae.

“This brat rarely gets sick, so when he really does it's the worst. It is advised to make sure his body remains cool for a period of time.”

Cha Euijae nods.

“Also, if the fever persists and worsens after a few days, do inform me. I’ll prescribe a new medicine or increase the dosage if needed.”

“Okay, thank you for coming, Doctor.”

“It is my job as his doctor.”

Cha Euijae sees the doctor out of the house.

Lee Sayoung’s eyelids quivered as they slowly opened. He sat up, clutching onto his throbbing head, his violet eyes wandering around the room searching for Cha Euijae.

“Hyung..?”

“Mm Sayoung? Are you awake?”

He turned his head, locking eyes with the other man who was lingering next to the door, his hand on the knob, while his other hand was holding a tray.

“You’re seriously burning up, eat this porridge and take your medicine.”

He strode next to the bed, placing the tray on the bedside table before putting his palm onto Lee Sayoung’s forehead. The coldness emanating from his palm prompted Lee Sayoung to lean more into the touch. The side of the bed dipped as Cha Euijae sat next to him.

“You’re still a bit warm. Here, eat this, I made this just now. It’s a bit hot so blow on it first before eating. Open wide.”

Lee Sayoung parted his lips obediently, sipping onto the warm porridge he was being fed mechanically.

The same motion repeats continuously until the sound of a spoon clanking against the bowl resounded in the room, indicating that the porridge has been consumed until the last drop.

A gentle hand praisingly stroked onto his hair, the strands wrapping around the fingers.

“Take your medicine too.”

Lee Sayoung swallowed the medicine as instructed. Cha Euijae smiled.

‘This guy is being obedient right now.’

After making sure everything was settled, Cha Euijae stood up, about to walk away when the man gripped onto his hand.

“Huh?”

He was roughly dragged and pushed onto the bed by the disoriented younger man, who then held onto him with his hand wrapping around Cha Euijae’s wrists above his head, trapping him. The bed creaks with every movement.

“Hey! Get off me!”

“...”

“Sayoung?”

The man lowers his face, their lips almost colliding when he flumped on top of Cha Euijae. He could hear the faint sound of soft breathing and the steady heartbeat, indicating that he had fallen asleep. Cha Euijae was bewildered while his heart was beating wildly.

He was about to push him aside to get away when a hand shakily tugged onto his sleeve. Slipping out from those plump lips were soft whimpers of “Don’t go, Don’t leave me”. Sighing, he wrapped his arms around the other man, pulling him into his embrace, mumbling while stroking his curly locks, “Hyung’s here. Hyung will stay by your side. Hyung’s not leaving.”

As if a spell had been cast on him, his eyelids suddenly felt heavy, urging him to slowly fall into a slumber.

Cha Euijae woke up shocked when he felt something scalding was in contact with his skin, realising that Lee Sayoung’s fever had indeed worsened.

Scattering down from the bed, he urgently fetched a bottle of ice cold drinking water, a basin of water and also a few pieces of clean cloth.

His face flushed at the thought of having to remove the man’s shirt.

‘He’s sick! You need to do this, Cha Euijae!’

He slapped onto his cheeks, regaining his clarity.

The bed dipped as he sat down, unbuttoning and removing Lee Sayoung’s shirt that was drenching due to him sweating profusely, which he then neatly folded and set aside, intending to wipe his body with a cloth to cool him down.

After meticulously wiping the toned body, he took another cloth, dipping it into an iced water, folding it and placing the cloth on his forehead.

Cha Euijae bows his head next to Lee Sayoung’s ear, whispering, “Sayoung-ah.. Drink a bit of water, your temperature is a bit too high right now.”

The man did not budge. His eyelids quiver, yet the vivid violet eyes hidden underneath did not show up. Is he having a nightmare? Cha Euijae brushed his finger along the thick eyelashes, wiping away the moisture pooling on them.

What should I do? Caressing the burning cheek, he faced the man laying before him. After debating with himself until he reached a conclusion, he took a deep breath. He gulped onto the bottle of cold mineral water, tilted Lee Sayoung’s chin and awkwardly planted his lips on top of the man’s.

He cautiously placed his hand on Lee Sayoung’s throat before prying open the slightly parted lips with his tongue, transferring the water to him. The cold liquid flows smoothly into the man’s mouth with a little amount trickling between the gaps of their lips.

Feeling Lee Sayoung’s Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallowed the water flowing into his throat made Cha Euijae’s face brightened up, sighing in relief.

‘Good, he’s drinking.’

He lifted his head, separating their lips. Downing the remaining water, Cha Euijae locked their lips again. He went full alert when Lee Sayoung stopped swallowing the water, only for him to do so right after that.

“...”

‘This is really bad for my heart.’

After feeding him all of the remaining water, their lips separated. Cha Euijae wipes off the excess water that was trickling down Lee Sayoung’s mouth using his thumb. He glimpse onto the glistened lips, eyes coyly darted away.

Cha Euijae changed the cloth on his forehead before dragging a chair nearby, placing it next to the bed and sitting down. He stares at the man sleeping soundly in front of him while clasping onto his hand, bringing it to his lips, leaving a soft kiss on the back.

Placing the man’s hand back on the bed while still clasping onto it, he placed his head on top of them, closing his eyes as he muttered, “Please get well soon, Sayoung.”

The next morning, Lee Sayoung woke up, greeted by the ceiling of his home, noticing that his fever had already subsided. About to sit up on the bed, he felt something heavy on top of his hand. Cautiously sitting up, he glanced towards his heavy hand, seeing his hyung sleeping uncomfortably on top of it.

‘Hyung? Did I do something? Why am I shirtless?’

He turned his head to the bedside table, the violet eyes widened as he captured all of the scattering basin filled with water, towels and bottles on top of it before facing the man again.

“Oh.. You must be tired..”

With his free hand, he brushed the hair covering the forehead of the man as he leaned forward. He grasped onto a few strands of Cha Euijae’s hair, planting his lips on them, whispering, “Thank you.”

Gently removing his hand from the grasp of the other man, Lee Sayoung quickly got out of bed, picked up and tucked the slumbering Cha Euijae comfortably on the bed.

After a moment, he sauntered to the bathroom to get rid of the sticky feeling on his body.

It was the last day for the movie filming. After jumping around for the whole day until the end of the filming, Cha Euijae sat tirelessly on his chair in his room when he heard a knock on the door.

“Come in.”

A tall man walks in.

“Hyung, I want to ask you for something.”

“Hm?”

Lee Sayoung took off the cover of his phone, handing it to the man.

Cha Euijae tilted his head to the side.

“Sign the cover for me.”

“Why?”

“As a celebratory gift.. for our first time acting together..”

He gripped onto the phone cover, placed it on the table, took out a golden marker pen from his bag and with a pop, he pushed the cap open. He then signed his name, trying his best to write properly.

He stares into the eyes of the man sitting next to him before taking off his own phone cover and shoving it into his hands.

“Do the same for me so that it’s fair.”

Lee Sayoung chuckled, “Sure, Hyung.”

He took Cha Euijae’s golden marker pen, signing his own name with a neat handwriting.

‘How can he write so neatly?’

He clapped his hands, then brought his lips next to the older man’s ear, “Now we have a matching phone cover.”

“...”

The door slammed open.

“Friend! Mingi asked me to- oh am I interrupting something? You guys can continue, I’ll go away first.”

Cha Euijae shoves Lee Sayoung’s face away from him with his hand. He grumbled sulkily as he was pushed away.

“Yeseong, what’s wrong?”

Seo Mingi sneaks behind the golden eyed man.

“Have you called for him?”

“Oh the both of you are here, that makes it easier.”

“Huh?”

“They’re giving a speech for the crews and then there’s also the after party, J. Are you going to the party?”

Something wet licked in between the gaps of his fingers. He tries to muffle his scream in front of his friends.

His voice shook, “I’ll probably go for the speech but not to the party. I’m a bit tired today.”

“Noted. Let’s go, Hong Yeseong-ssi.”

“Huh wait, I wanted to talk to J!”

Seo Mingi gripped Hong Yeseong’s shirt, pulling him outside together with him mercilessly.

“...”

Cha Euijae removes his hand from the delicate face.

“Fuck.. Why did you do that?”

“You were the one who shoved your hand on my face first.”

“...”

“I wanted to thank every single one of the crew, if not because of you people, the filming would take much longer, I love all of you. To the actors and actresses who were also involved in this project, thank you very much for your cooperation.”

The duo leaned lazily on the wall nearby, watching everyone from the side. They were about to walk away when people swarmed them, handing them bouquets of flowers.

Cha Euijae laughed as Lee Sayoung scrunched up his face in annoyance, taking out his phone to take a quick photo.

“Let’s take some photos together.”

Lee Sayoung nods, taking out his phone.

Uriel screamed when she saw their matching signed phone covers.

Both of them stood next to each other in front of a tall mirror, holding a bouquet of flowers each, taking a photo using their respective phones.

Cha Euijae smiled as he posted the photo on his InHeart account with the caption, “I had fun filming with you. Looking forward to another one!”

What he did not know was that the photo would create a buzz in both his and Lee Sayoung’s fandom space.

@Anon: [240J is real]

@Anon: [OMG my ship is sailing. How are we feeling about this… 240J nation?]

@Anon: [The matching covers… I can rest in peace now..]

@Anon: [Thank you for feeding this poor beggar, 240J]

@Anon: [I was in front of them during the whole filming and the way they teased each other makes me want to scream]

@Anon: [I know that’s you. Get back to work]

@Anon: [Dang, busted again!]

@Anon: [Wait! Anon! Spill more tea!]

@Anon: [Tehee! Stay tuned for their upcoming movie! Thanks!]

Chapter Text

Seo Mingi: [J]

Seo Mingi: [You have a new schedule]

Seo Mingi: [schedule.jpg]

Seo Mingi: [This month, you’re scheduled for a photoshoot, commercial shoot and a reality show with the young master]

Euijae: [Alright]

Euijae: [Thank you for your work]

He throws his phone onto the couch and walks to the window, viewing the scenery outside.

Lee Sayoung, who was reading, lifted his head from his tablet.

“What’s wrong?”

“Hm? Oh, it's nothing.”

He stretched his body, his toned muscle peeking out from the slightly lifted shirt. Lee Sayoung glanced for a moment before averting his gaze. He quietly sipped onto his drink.

“Do you know that we’re paired together for the promotions?”

“..It’s obviously because the main characters are a couple. Of course we need to do it together.”

Cha Euijae nods, still lingering in front of the window, his mind going elsewhere.

A large body suddenly wrapped around him from the back with strong arms circling around his waist, trapping him in a tight embrace. Lee Sayoung rested and nuzzled his face against the crook of his neck like a cat. Startled, Cha Euijae blurted out, “What are you doing?”

“I’m tired. I need to recharge.”

“...What kind of nonsense are you spouting now?”

He tousled onto the fluffy hair, enough to mess them up. A low scoff left the lips of the man embracing him.

The brush of the soft hair on his nape and the hot breath coming from him as he snuggled closer makes his skin tingle.

‘Your neck’s red, Hyung.’

“Shut your ass up. Are you a child?”

“Might as well be since you’re still treating me like one.”

He chuckled before struggling to turn his body around in the tight hold.

Spreading his arms wide, he wrapped his arms around the taller man’s back, hugging him back.

“Such a big baby.”

“You like it when I’m being like this anyway.”

“...”

Of course, his words weren’t as cute as his actions.

***

They walked into the studio as Seo Mingi parked their car.

A cheerful voice greets them from afar.

“J-ssi! 240-ssi! Thank you for coming today!”

“Ah. Yes..”

“I’m a big fan of the both of you, so it’s an honour being able to work with you.”

“Shut your yapping and get straight to business. We’re already busy.”

Cha Euijae lightly kicked his leg. The taller man rolled his eyes, crossing his arms on his chest with a curt manner.

“Sorry for this guy’s behaviour..”

“Ah.. no need for apologies.. I know what I’m getting myself into…”

“So.. what’s the detail here?”

“Oh, right! Back to the work in hand, the both of you just need to stick together for the whole photoshoot. I’ve emailed the other details to your managers although I’ll still give out some other instructions during the photoshoot. A staff member will guide you to your waiting room as we set things up.”

“Got it. Thanks.”

***

“So.. Ehem..”

Seo Mingi averted his eyes from Lee Sayoung, his main boss, clearing his throat dramatically.

“Bae Wonwoo-ssi couldn’t be here as he has an appointment to go to so I’ll handle his work as well.. since the work details for the both of you are technically the same..”

‘... Ain’t that too much work? But it’s the dependable Mingi.. Oh well..’

“..I see.”

Cha Euijae nods.

Lee Sayoung pulls out a chair next to him, gesturing for Cha Euijae to sit down. He sat down reluctantly.

“So.. For today’s photoshoot.. There’s two outfits for you to wear.. One is a shirt and the other one is the hunter outfit in the movie.”

“Carry on..”

“... For the other photoshoot.. the both of you will be going for the date by the sea look.. So you might be drenched for the photoshoot.. But don’t worry, you’ll be doing the hunter clothing shoot first.”

“...”

“I’ve instructed the staff to prepare for wardrobe change and a simple makeup will be done by Hong Yeseong who should arrive in a few minutes.”

Seo Mingi locked his tablet, tapping his foot impatiently when-

ding

A message pops up on his screen.

Hong Yeseong: [I’m stuck in traffic.. I’ll probably arrive in.. half an hour..]

“Tch.”

“What’s wrong?”

“That idiot’s stuck in traffic and he might take a while to reach here.”

“Can’t we just do it without touching up our face?”

Seo Mingi opens his mouth to refute—

“I’ll do it for you, Hyung”, Lee Sayoung intercepts him.

Seo Mingi stopped himself from talking.

“You can do makeup?”

“I don’t like people touching me so I’ve been doing it myself.”

“Huh…”

So.. Every time I messed up the makeup on that face.. Was it his own work?

He froze.

“Seo Mingi, bring my makeup set here.”

“Okay, boss.”

***

Lee Sayoung pushes everyone out of the dressing room, forcing Seo Mingi to stand guard in front of the door, leaving only him and Cha Euijae inside.

“Strip.”

Flustered, Cha Euijae muttered, “..What are you trying to do?”

“You’ll need to change first before I put makeup on you.. What on earth were you thinking of?”

“Nothing.”

Lee Sayoung approached him, leaning close and cocked his head to the side with a sly smirk tugging on his lips, “Oh.. I didn’t know you thought of me in that way, Hyung..”

A hand slipped under his shirt, playfully tracing his waist, causing him to shiver.

‘Although.. I won’t mind it if it’s you..’

“Huh?”

The hand slipped out of his shirt.

“Go on and change first.”

“Huh?”

The man pointed to the clothing rack with his finger. He turns around, grabbing onto his designated outfit hanging on a hanger.

Facing the wall, he pulled his shirt over his head, revealing his lean muscles. While changing, he felt an intense gaze on the nape of his neck, warming up both of his neck and ears.

He glanced back, only to find himself gazing back into the violet eyes that were staring at him.

“What are you looking at?”

“Well, you’re the only other person here, of course I’m looking at you.”

“...Turn around!”

“Pfttt it's not like I’ve never seen them.”

“Turn your head around now!”

“Fine.”

Lee Sayoung turns his body around, facing the wall. His body was shaking, probably holding himself back from bursting out laughing.

“...”

He cautiously slipped into the turtleneck and jacket provided and after feeling satisfied with himself, he turned himself around.

Greeting his eyes was a well-built body. The other man may still be nutrition deprived but it is unfair how his body still managed to look that good.

‘I still need to feed this guy more food.’

“My eyes are up here. Hand me the set of clothing that was next to yours earlier.”

His dark eyes shifted to the face before obediently handing him the hanger holding the clothes. Lee Sayoung swiftly slipped into his own outfit while beckoning for Cha Euijae to sit on the beanbag placed in front of him.

“By the way, can I ask you something?”

“What?”

“Do you like what you see?”

“I just think that I need to get more food into your damned system.”

“You sure? You were blatantly staring earlier… How bold of you…”

Cha Euijae pulls another beanbag across him and makes Lee Sayoung sit on them, glaring at the younger man menacingly.

The man made an ‘X’ sign on his lips using his fingers.

The younger man casually unzips his makeup bag, revealing the content. He pulls out some brushes, a concealer and a lipstick.

“You won’t be needing a blusher.”

“Why?”

“Do you even need to ask?”

“...”

Gently pinching onto his chin, Lee Sayoung dabbed some of the concealer on his face, covering some random marks on them. He then brushes off some of the extra powder sticking to his skin. Cha Euijae lets him move his face this way and that way, applying the makeup evenly. As he was about to apply the lipstick, his plump lips slowly parted.

‘He’s actually good at this…’

“You’re being docile.”

“...”

“This colour matches you so well, Hyung.”

“It does?”

“Yeah..”

He applied the lipstick evenly on his lips.

“Is it comfy?”

Cha Euijae smacked his own lips. “Uh.. I don’t really know.. I’m not too sure..” He responded.

Lee Sayoung suddenly bumped their foreheads together.

‘Then.. should we test it out?’

He placed his thumb on the lips, tracing them teasingly.

“...”

Cha Euijae squeezed his eyes shut instinctively as his face began to flush. A low chuckle resounded near him.

He opened one of his eyes, peeking at the man sitting in front of him. The violet eyes were staring straight into his eyes. The eyes were thinly curved, an evident truth that he was amused.

‘See? I told you that you won’t be needing any blusher.’

“...”

The pretty face leaned closer as his hand lightly cradled Cha Euijae’s cheek.

Their lips met briefly before separating.

Cha Euijae caught a glimpse of a lipstick stain on Lee Sayoung’s lips.

‘...’

‘This much should be fine. I’ll apply some setting spray on you after this.’

He left a quick peck on the cheek.

“Okay..”

Lee Sayoung caresses the soft skin and reluctantly lets go as he needs to put makeup on himself.

***

Cha Euijae silently watched as he did his magic on himself. Lee Sayoung raised an eyebrow questionly as the stares were intense.

A hand comes up to him, tugging onto the harness on his chest, pulling him closer. Soft lips planted themselves on his cheek.

Baffled, Lee Sayoung placed his hand on said cheek. He glimpsed towards the other, still feeling the texture of lipstick sticking on his skin.

His ears that were hidden by the fluffy jet black hair reddens.

“Thanks and ehem.. sorry for that.”

“...”

He sighed in exasperation.

Taking out a bottle of setting spray and shaking them, he held onto Cha Euijae’s shoulder, making sure that he stays still. He swiftly squeezes out the content of the bottle, making sure that they didn’t come in contact with the other’s eyes. He drags the man into his embrace after he is done with his work.

He lifted Cha Euijae’s face, brushing his lips on the man’s neck. He can feel the body in his arms frozen. This action of his leaves a trail of lipstick marks on the man’s neck.

“W-What are you doing?”

“Payback.” He mused before letting Cha Euijae go.

“...”

He reapplied the lipstick onto both of their lips. He quickly stood up after pecking onto Cha Euijae’s lips, lending his hand for the older man to grab onto.

“Let’s go.”

***

“Yes J! Pose like that.. Hold the spear sideways please! Exactly! Look at the camera with angry eyes please! Perfecto!”

Click!

Sounds of camera shuttering encompasses the studio.

It took a while for him to be done with his part. Cha Euijae passes the spear to Hong Yeseong who had just arrived before grabbing onto the towel offered by Seo Mingi, thanking him with a tap on the shoulder.

Grabbing a bottle of water nearby, he watched as Lee Sayoung posed for his photo.

“Pose as if you’re about to melt the enemies! Glare at them with a stern expression! Okay! That expression is the one!”

Cha Euijae’s heart begins beating wildly. Why is this guy so good looking? Is this even fair?

Thump

“...”

Thump

‘Please shut up..’

He slapped both of his cheeks before sipping onto his water.

“That was a quick photoshoot! For the next one the both of you will be posing together if that’s fine?”

“I don’t mind.”

“I don’t mind either.”

“That’s set then! Have a few minutes of rest while we set things up!”

“Thank you.”

Lee Sayoung took the towel that was in Cha Euijae’s hold.

“I’ve already used that.”

“I don’t care.”

Cha Euijae huffed while stretching his arms, carefully fiddling with the man’s disheveled bangs, fixing them back in place. He lets go completely after he is done.

Hong Yeseong nudged Seo Mingi with his elbow, his golden eyes twinkling in amusement.

“Mingi-ya, look at that.”

“...”

They turned their heads around as small murmurs echoed in the studio.

“Did you see that?”

“J was fondly fixing his hair, oh my goodness.”

“240 taking the towel that J had already used on his face.. I-I’m not okay..”

“Me when?”

“In your dreams, girl.”

“You’re talking as if you’ve got someone in your life.”

“Jealousy much?”

“...”

***

“Sorry for the long wait. We can start now.”

“Ah yes.”

“Hm.. There’s no specific instruction for this one so the both of you can technically just do anything. The most important thing is that it should give off a couple vibes.”

“Alright.”

“Sure.”

A hand found their way to his waist, holding onto them with a tight grip. A body with a larger frame than his was pressed against his body. Gloved fingers tilted his face upwards and greeting his eyes was Lee Sayoung’s violet ones. He went still.

Cha Euijae pondered for a moment as he faced the other in total silence. He placed his hand on the other’s neck, pulling him closer with ease.

The pair quietly stares into each other’s eyes.

“Are they sure that they’re not together?”

“They’re probably still trying to figure it out..”

“I could sense the tickets and merch selling out a few seconds after release.”

“... I can’t refute that.”

The photographer pretends to clear his throat in order to stop the ~distracting~ talk.

He immediately fixed his focus onto the duo, snapping a few photos until he noticed something on J’s neck.

His eyes went wide as he zoomed into the photo. There were stained lipstick marks littered on that fair neck covered by the turtleneck. His eyes darted towards the lips of the taller man. The colour matched.

‘I saw nothing. I saw nothing. I saw nothing. Maintain your professionalism..’

He took a deep breath.

“J-ssi, 240-ssi.. Thank you for your cooperation!"

They nodded.

“Alrighty!”

He clapped his hands.

“It’s already this late. I’m looking forward to seeing both of you for the next photoshoot!”

***

The duo wore white long-sleeved shirts. A total contrast to what they usually wear. Lee Sayoung rolled the sleeves up to his elbows. They posed next to the green screen as they were instructed to when…

Water was splashed on them from above.

“...”

“Mingi did mention us having to be drenched but I was not expecting for it to be this way.”

A low snicker escaped Lee Sayoung’s lips.

“...”

Lee Sayoung pushed his wet locks to the back with his fingers while Cha Euijae fixed his gaze on the droplets of water falling down Lee Sayoung’s sharp jaw.

Noticing the gaze, Lee Sayoung brushes the grey hair to the back using his free hand with an affectionate smile decorating his plump lips. Cha Euijae squeezed his eyes close as Lee Sayoung leaned his body forward, their lips almost colliding.

Flashes from a camera brightened up the studio.

“That’s a good expression! Continue!”

“240 can make that kind of face?”

“I mean it’s J. If it were me I would smile for the whole day too.”

“C-can I push their heads together?”

“...”

***

Cha Euijae walks out of the washroom after drying himself and changing his outfit when—“J-ssi!”

“Hm? Oh Jungbin-ssi..”

“Good work. I was wrapping up my own shooting nearby and then I noticed you were here. Want to grab something to eat or drink together?”

“Sure, coincidently I’m a bit famished right now.”

“Will Sayoung be joining us?”

“Ah.. About that..”

***

~Earlier~

“Oi, crazy bastard. Meet me up for a bit after you’re done with your work. I need something from you.”

“What’s in it for me?”

“Just get here, you crazy shit.”

A mocking laugh left his lips.

“...”

“Fine.”

Lee Sayoung hung up the call. He faced Cha Euijae, who was standing next to him, “Hyung, can you promise me that you’ll head home first? I need to hand something to a certain wasp.”

“... Sure.. Go ahead and change first. I’ll change after you’re on your way.”

***

“So.. He went to meet up with Honeybee. Then.. It’s only the two of us then, J-ssi. Wait here, I’ll go grab my car.”

“Alright. I’ll inform Mingi.”

He dug out his phone from his bag. His finger lingers on the speed dial before he taps on it.

“J? Where are you?”

“Mingi-ya.. Jungbin invited me to grab dinner with him.”

“Why that person of all people? Uh but the young master asked me to bring you home safely or he’ll snap my neck into pieces.”

“...Then.. How about you join us? I’m sure Jungbin wouldn’t mind an extra person joining.”

The sound of a car honking startled him. He quietly watched as Jungbin got out of his car and opened the passenger’s door, inviting him to come in.

“Jungbin-ssi, can Mingi join us? You wouldn’t mind it, am I right?”

“Sure, we’re only going out for food. Although I’m sure Sayoung asked him to guard you other than the fact that he is one of your closest friends.”

‘Guard me?’

“... Mingi-ya, you hear that right? Oh you’ll drive there yourself? Alright. See you there, then.”

***

The table was filled with empty dishes. Cha Euijae leaned onto the wall behind him, rubbing onto his full stomach, content etched on his face. He shifted his gaze to Seo Mingi, whose eyes behind the sunglasses were darting around in the room.

Noticing the eyes on him, Seo Mingi began to whistle suspiciously. Cha Euijae shrugged his shoulders.

“That was a good dinner, I never thought they had these kinds of dishes in this place.”

“Haha I’m glad it’s to your liking. I found this restaurant while food hunting last time. It feels so great that I finally managed to bring friends here.”

“Mhm, thank you for the treat too.. It must be quite expensive...”

“Oh no, I’m the one who dragged you out of your way from going home.”

“I’m the one who agreed to join you.”

“It really is okay.”

Cha Euijae lets out a low laugh.

“..If you insist-”

Bam

All of them turned their heads to the door. The person who had just barged in was Lee Sayoung.

With his eyebrows furrowed, the violet eyes slightly narrowed as he spotted the chattering Cha Euijae. He quickly took off his coat before grabbing onto the older man’s arm, pulling him back to his feet and covering him with said coat.

He then lifted him off the ground, taking him outside like a sack of potatoes.

“What the-?! Sayoung!?”

Jungbin waves his hand.

“See you next time, Sayoung, J and Seo Mingi..”

“Tch.”

Seo Mingi quickly got onto his feet, running behind Lee Sayoung.

***

He placed Cha Euijae on the backseat of the car before slamming the door shut. Crossing his legs, he placed his elbow on the car window, propping his head up as he gazed outside.

‘Did I do something wrong?’

“...”

‘Why is he acting like this? What about his meeting with Honeybee?’

“Sayoung..”

“What.”

“Have I done something wrong?”

“...”

“If I did.. Hyung is sorry hm?”

“..Don’t apologise.”

“What?”

“Don’t apologise. It’s just me. You promised that you’ll go home straight away so I’m…”

“...We’re only grabbing a bite together.. Besides, Mingi is there as well..”

“Still..”

Cha Euijae saw a glimpse of Lee Sayoung’s ears hidden by his hair, they were red. At the same time, Lee Sayoung was pouting.

‘...’

“Were you… jealous?”

“..So what if I am?”

“That’s ridiculous.. Why..?”

A large hand placed itself on his mouth. His eyes widened.

“Forget it.”

‘You don’t need to know.’

“...You’re actually being cute now.” Cha Euijae couldn’t help himself but to tease Lee Sayoung, his voice muffled by the hand covering his mouth.

“...”

Through the side mirror, Cha Euijae noticed Seo Mingi’s nervous self glancing to the backseat every now and then.

He stifled a laugh.

***

“Sayoung-ah.”

“Mm?”

“I heard we’ll be filming on an island for the reality show.”

“Mhm.”

“Who else is coming with us? I heard there were six including us and we wouldn’t be having our managers around.”

“Honeybee, a rookie named Yoon Gaeul, and two other people.”

“I see.. I guess we’ll be pairing up then.”

“Yeah obviously. Who else can handle you if it’s not me?”

“...Is being rude a talent of yours?”

Lee Sayoung raised an eyebrow. Cha Euijae subtly averted his gaze, munching onto his food slowly.

“Now that I think of it.. We’ll start filming by the end of summer..”

“Mhm..”

“At least pretend to listen.”

“I am listening to you.”

Something sneakily brushes against his leg, nudging on them playfully. It was Lee Sayoung’s foot.

“...”

“...”

“Hey.”

“Hm?”

“You.. your foot.”

“What’s with it?”

The man coyly places his foot under Cha Euijae’s feet, lifting them a bit in the process.

“Take them back.”

“No.”

Cha Euijae kicked Lee Sayoung’s ankle begrudgingly, pretending it was an accident before continuing to eat.

***

The start of the reality show

“Welcome everyone! Today marks the start for our show~ We have six participants for this season!”

“Beginning from this side, we have J, our precious Perfect Actor. Thank you for joining our show, J.”

They all bowed halfway to him.

He bowed in courtesy before lifting his hands awkwardly, “Uh.. Likewise, thank you for inviting me.. Please don’t do this..”

“Next to him, we have the devilishly handsome 240, who well.. is J’s partner for the whole season.”

Lee Sayoung crossed his arms in front of his chest, eyes locked onto Cha Euijae.

“We also managed to nab Honeybee! Our pretty actress and lovely model! And our cutie rookie Yoon Gaeul who—aww look at her waving meekly next to Honeybee.”

“And the last pair is our one and only Jungbin and uh.. Gyugyu.”

“Alright! Before we depart, you guys are allowed to ask the participants a few questions!”

Two blue haired young men extended their hands holding a microphone and a camera, with one of them having sparkling eyes while the other one shyly lifted their hoodie cover to hide himself.

Dangling on their neck were a lanyard with Journalist/Paparazzi tags. Pinned on them were J’s fandom badges.

“...”

“It seems like they’re big fans of yours, Hyung.”

Cha Euijae glimpsed onto the sticker littered all over the camera. It was of him as well. He scratched his cheek awkwardly.

“Hello J Hyung-nim! We’re the Mackerels~ We are big fans of yours~ Our question is.. How do you feel about pairing up with 240?”

“I’ve always been close to Sayoung, so I’m glad that we paired up..”

“Oho.. I see.. How about you, 240? How do you feel?”

“I’ve always liked him. I accepted this invitation only because I was to be paired together with him.”

“Woah…”

The hyper one had a glint in his eyes. It’s a huge scoop if he managed to cover this one after all.

“In which sense of like?”

“Alright interview time is over!”

The younger mackerel lifted his head.. The production team already began to start moving into the boat, a sign for the questions to stop.

Cha Euijae scanned the other guests’ faces. They were also done answering the questions thrown at them. A large hand pulls him by the shoulder.

“It’s time to board.”

“Okay.”

However—

“J!”

“Friend!”

—He heard familiar voices coming from behind him as he boarded the boat.

Cha Euijae turned around, and before he even managed to say anything, he was engulfed in a tight hug by his friends.

“Don’t act too reckless when I’m not by your side.”

“... Thanks for your concern, Mingi. But I’ll be fine.”

Hong Yeseong took his hand and placed a photo of him with Kkokko on his palm. Next to it was a pocket-sized ceramic chicken.

“...”

“You can look at that if you missed me.”

crack

The golden eyed man shrieked in terror as he heard the popping sound of Cha Euijae’s fist.

“ACK! HE’S GOING TO KILL ME!”

Hong Yeseong ran and hid behind Jungbin, who was standing nearby with the usual business smile tugging on his lips.

“...”

Seo Mingi lets out a loud sigh before glancing towards the man standing beside Cha Euijae, bowing his head slightly.

Noticing the gaze, Lee Sayoung nods in response.

***

“Sayoung.”

Cha Euijae took in a deep breath, the salty air gently playing with his skin. His hair becomes a mess thanks to the wind.

“Hm?”

“Remember our promise of going to the sea together?”

***

“Hey! Let’s go to the sea together in the future!”

Cha Euijae grinned.

Lee Sayoung nodded his head before extending a pinky finger to Cha Euijae, wiggling the digit in front of him.

Both of them linked their fingers, signifying a promise between them.

“If you try to deny this promise after this, I’m dragging you there myself!”

***

“Yes, I do remember.” Lee Sayoung laughed.

“Well.. It’s not by our own choice but we are going to be surrounded by the sea..”

“Mhm..”

Cha Euijae extended his hand, his pinky raised. Lee Sayoung quietly gazed towards the other.

“Let’s make a new promise of going to the sea—with just us next time.”

A finger larger than Cha Euijae’s gently linked with his. It was familiar yet also unfamiliar. The thumb brushing against his was warm.

They both let their hands fall limp to their side, fingers still locked together. Lee Sayoung leaned his head against Cha Euijae’s, taking in the view.

Cha Euijae lets him. He tightens his hold on the digit linked with his, wishing that the time will move slowly.

***

“Mom will kill us if she finds out we’re doing this..”

“Hyung, she won’t do that.. Besides, this is a major scoop between top actors!”

The younger mackerel explains excitedly, while the older mackerel jitters around in their hiding spot, afraid of getting caught.

“Who are you?”

“Crap! Run, Hyung!”

“Huh? Oh no! I’m sorry!”

“Those two blue haired young men, get back here!”

***

All six participants were brought to a residence on the island. It was a big house with enough space to room all of them in pairs. It was located near the seaside with the air smelling salty.

The production crew quickly did a double check on all of the cameras they had set up around the house. Lee Sayoung casually brought both his and Cha Euijae’s luggage into a room, which baffled Cha Euijae.

“That crazy bastard.”

“Unnie.. We can stay in that room.”

“Oh sure! Let’s go.”

Honeybee took her bags with her as she walked together with Yoon Gaeul to their chosen room.

“Guess I’ll be roommates with you, Jungbin~”

“Can you hear that nonsense, J-ssi? It’s probably just the sound of the wind.”

“Wow~ We’ve known each other for a long time already~ Why are you acting like this~”

“Are there any windows open right now? I fear that the sound of the wind is being too loud.”

“Haha… Uh.. Ah! Sayoung, wait!”

He trotted to Lee Sayoung, running away from the awkward conversation.

After a moment of rest, everyone gathered for a quick meeting in the living room. “So, our official filming will begin tomorrow morning. Please have plenty of rest.”

“As for the rooming arrangement.. Well I guess it’s already settled by itself so we’ll leave it at that.”

Voices of agreements resounded in the room.

***

That night, while everyone was getting ready to sleep, Cha Euijae sat on his bed, taking out some stuff from his luggage.

“Hyung?”

“Hm?”

He was holding onto some packs of colourful sparklers.

“When did you even have the time to get those?” Lee Sayoung’s voice sounds surprised.

“I bought these last week, thinking of playing them with you but we’ve been drowned with work...”

“...”

“You don’t want to play with me?” Cha Euijae asked, his lips pouting.

“...”

Lee Sayoung shook his head, his violet eyes filled with amusement. “I won’t say no to you, Hyung.”

Cha Euijae grinned.

“Then..”

Cha Euijae stood up and hastily tugged onto Lee Sayoung’s hand. The sound of plastic filled with sparklers rustled gently in the quiet room.

“Let’s go now!”

A low chuckle echoed next to him as he pulled the taller man outside.

***

“Sayoung! Over here!”

Cha Euijae dragged Lee Sayoung to a hidden spot. Dropping the bag filled with sparklers onto the uneven ground, he crouched and casually took out a lighter.

“...Hyung, did you smoke again?”

“Huh?”

Cha Euijae lifted his gaze from the ground. Lee Sayoung was staring at the lighter in his hold.

“Oh. No I didn’t. I bought a lighter to play with these.”

He took the bag, shaking them eagerly.

“...”

Lee Sayoung crouched next to him, holding onto the sparklers that were shoved to him.

The smell of smoke emanating from the burning sparkler filled the air. Lights from the sticks that were in their hands brightened up the dark space.

He glanced at the man next to him as the light highlighted Cha Euijae’s fair face. His dark eyes reflected the light, making it seem like he had stars twinkling in his eyes.

Cha Euijae, feeling the eyes on him, tilted his head to the side, questioning him. He just shook his head in response.

***

They both cleaned the spot after they were done playing around with the sparklers. Intending to get rid of the smell of smoke that clung to their clothes, they both walked along the seaside. For once, the smell of the salty air is a welcoming one to Lee Sayoung.

With only the moonlight as their source of light, they strolled along the water, a comforting silence surrounded them. Their hair flutters playfully along with the wind.

Lee Sayoung lifted his face from the ground. In front of him stood Cha Euijae, who was trudging in the water with no care in the world, dampening his trousers in the process.

This time, the moonlight casted a gentle glow on his face, highlighting his already good-looking features. With the stars decorating the sky as his background, Cha Euijae was breathtaking. He seems like he had just come out from a masterpiece sculpted by God.

Lee Sayoung stopped in his tracks, entranced by the being in front of him.

He proceeded to stretch out his arms, wrapping them around Cha Euijae’s shoulders and waist possessively, startling him.

“Sayoung?”

Lee Sayoung quickly snapped out of his trance. Cha Euijae’s already wrapped in his arms. He inhaled a deep breath.

‘Ah.. How annoying..’

“Excuse me?” Cha Euijae was feeling offended for some reason.

“Not you..”

“...”

‘Hyung.’

“...Yes?”

‘I like you.’

“Huh?”

He can feel the body in his arms stiffened. However, it wasn’t for long as—

A firm hand carelessly ruffled onto his already messy hair.

“Hey… Try saying it out loud.. I want to hear it directly from your lips, not from your thoughts." Cha Euijae chuckled.

He said that yet his face was burning, probably from embarrassment. How amusing.

However, the ambiguous air is still there.

“...”

Lee Sayoung scoffed, releasing the man from his embrace. He turned Cha Euijae around by his shoulders to face him.

He extended his arm again, this time with his palm facing upwards.

Slightly bowing his body, Lee Sayoung mumbled, “..Give me your hand.”

Cha Euijae accepted the outstretched hand with no hesitation despite having a dumbfounded look etched all over his face. Lee Sayoung tightly interlaced their fingers together.

Then, the man pulls his hand with no warning, twirling him above the water. The seawater splashes everywhere as they move around in them.

One, two, three.

One, two.

Twirls.

As they danced around with no practice, they accidentally stepped on each other’s feet most of the time. Sounds of genuine laughter filled the atmosphere.

Smiling, Lee Sayoung circled his free arm around Cha Euijae’s waist, pulling him close before dangling the man above the water’s surface.

Dark eyes met with violet ones. Both filled with heat of the same intensity.

“Cha Euijae, I adore you, always have been.”

“...”

“Whenever you did something stupid, I just thought that it was cute of you.”

“Hey.”

Cha Euijae pinched onto his cheek.

“Ha.. I love you. I truly am.”

The taller man dragged him back into his embrace. Cha Euijae placed both of his hands on the sturdy chest, taking in the loud heartbeat.

Silence.

Lee Sayoung was about to let him go when he felt something soft approaching the mole under his lips.

“I love you too.”

He stood there stunned.

‘It was mutual?’

Their faces heat up at the same time. Cha Euijae nodded, laughter evident in his twinkling eyes.

“...”

“Woah!”

The man hoisted him up with his large hands supporting Cha Euijae’s back. He wrapped Cha Euijae’s legs around his own waist, ignoring the wet sensation from the seawater.

Cha Euijae placed his arms around Lee Sayoung’s neck. He lowered his head and brushed their foreheads against each other affectionately.

“What a romantic confession.”

“We’re both actors. It’s hard to find a refreshing method.”

“True..”

They quietly gazed into each other’s eyes and lips.

“Hyung.”

“Mm?”

“May I have the honour of having your lips pressed against mine?”

Cha Euijae laughed in disbelief, “Why are you being so formal all of a sudden?” and closed his eyes. Pressing their bodies together, he captured Lee Sayoung’s lips with his own, willingly parting his lips as something slipped between their locked lips.

After a long time, the sun rises, marking a new day.

…

It was also a new beginning for both Lee Sayoung and Cha Euijae.