Chapter - 39화 (39/150)
"Hyung! Did you see it?"
"See what?"
"Ha Minseong sunbae and Dohyeon hyung went into the caravan together."
While Minhyuk and Jisu—who hadn't won date tickets—were lounging on the terrace, Taeeo came in making a fuss. Even though Taeeo had subtly switched from "sunbae" to "hyung," Jisu didn't even have the energy to get mad anymore.
"So what?"
"They went inside—what if they're doing something in there!"
"Ah… what a shame."
Unlike Jisu, Minhyuk seemed even more disappointed, leaning on the terrace railing and staring at the lit-up caravan.
"Minhyuk hyung, weren't you into Dansol? Did you change your mind?"
Taeeo asked with eager anticipation, but Minhyuk shook his head side to side.
"No… It's just… no one was using it, so I was thinking maybe we could use it as a cat house. It's getting cold."
"Ha, fuck… Is this a dating show or Animal Farm? If you feel that bad, then you raise it yourself!"
"Can I?"
"Why are you asking me? Ask the island owner."
"Oh, right…"
When the conversation went off in such a stupid direction—nothing like what he'd hoped for—Taeeo seemed to lose interest and muttered to Minhyuk.
"But… I think Minseong sunbae's ideal type is kind of a rude omega. How is he that consistent? Like a pine tree."
At Taeeo's words, Jisu's eyes turned sharp.
"Taeeo."
"Yes…"
"Hyung's not sleeping."
"Yes… yes?! Hyung! Can I really call you hyung now? Huh? Jisu hyung?"
Jisu immediately regretted his slip. The moment Taeeo heard it, he started calling him "hyung" like someone with a disease.
"Ah! Fine—just… one more 'hyung' and I'll shove you off this terrace."
"Yes! Hyung!"
"Ha… fuck…"
"Hyung! But I'm curious about something—can I ask just one last thing?"
"What."
"…Why did you and Minseong hyung break up?"
At that bold question, even Minhyuk—who was always steady and barely blinked at anything—turned to look.
Jisu thought it wasn't even worth answering, but then he heard Minseong and Dohyeon coming out of the caravan, and his mind changed.
"Taeeo, you curious about that?"
When Jisu lowered his voice, Taeeo tensed and nodded. Minhyuk had already scooted closer and was sitting near Jisu too.
Jisu lowered his voice even more and said in a small voice meant only for them.
"Ha Minseong can't get it up."
"Gasp!"
"O… w… wow…"
"Keep it to yourselves."
Taeeo and Minhyuk nodded violently at Jisu's words.
By the time Jisu came down from the terrace, Dansol and Daesu—who had gone out—had also just returned to Chunmonggak.
A white rabbit plush was tucked under Daesu's arm, and in Dansol's arms was an ugly plush of unknown identity.
"I'll carry it now. Give it to meee, sunbae."
Dansol had already had a few shots of soju after falling in love with the taste of spicy catfish stew for the first time. Slightly drunk, his tongue made cute sounds.
When Daesu handed him the rabbit, Dansol's arms were so full of plushies they looked strained.
"Did you stop by a dollhouse or something?"
"Ah! Jisu hyung! This one's yours!"
"Huh… me?"
"Daesu sunbae got it by taking first place at the shooting booth."
"What is this thing?"
With a grimace like he didn't even want to touch it, Jisu asked Daesu.
"Urechis. You like urechis."
That's when it's a drinking snack, you bastard.
Jisu cursed inwardly.
"Hyung… you don't like it?"
Worried that the effort Daesu had put in would go to waste, Dansol blinked his big eyes.
Jisu was hopeless against Dansol, so he took the urechis plush with a resigned look.
"Of course I like it. If our Sol gives it to me, hyung likes anything."
"I knew it! I was worried what you'd do without a security blanket now that I'm gone and we're not sharing a room anymore."
"…Yeah… thanks, Sol."
Humiliation washing over him, Jisu tried to hurry inside with the plush—just as Taeeo and Minhyuk were coming down from upstairs.
"Jisu hyung! What is that? It's so lewd! I'm an idol!"
"Don't tell me it's shaped after… that…!"
"Hey…"
Tipsy, Dansol stepped in front of Jisu.
"Don't tease him! This is Jisu hyung's security blanket!"
"No… Sol, that's not—"
"Wow… so that's how it is…"
Between Jisu panicking, Taeeo gaping, and Minhyuk looking impressed for some reason, Iiyeon came out of his room, and Minseong and Dohyeon—who had been outside—filed in too.
They froze when they saw the grotesque urechis plush in Jisu's hands.
Daesu found the whole thing hilarious and settled in to watch.
"It's not a dick! It looks like a dick, but it's urechis! A urechis that didn't sell for two years! It's Jisu hyung's security blanket, so if you tease him, I'm gonna scold you…!"
Dansol, looking seriously angry, warned Taeeo and Minhyuk, then stomped upstairs with the rabbit plush.
Daesu was laughing so hard he was practically collapsing in tears. Jisu, now beyond caring, hugged the urechis plush.
When Dansol opened his eyes after creating last night's urechis incident, he felt oddly refreshed.
With sunlight pouring in through the window, he rubbed himself against the bed for a bit longer, enjoying the drowsy feeling.
It was 7:30 a.m., and he was supposed to meet Iiyeon at 10.
Why was it that on days like this, he couldn't even sleep in?
But Dansol had no intention of leaving the room.
If he opened that door and walked out, it felt like the past would unfold all over again.
In the end, only when it was almost time did he hurriedly pull on sweatpants and a cap and go outside.
When Dansol came into the yard looking for Iiyeon, Iiyeon was feeding treats to the cat, Dantanzi.
"Y-you came out early."
As if soothing Dansol's fluster, Iiyeon walked up the steps and tidied Dansol's rumpled clothes.
"Looks like you drank a lot yesterday. Are you feeling okay?"
"Uh… yes. I'm fine."
If it was anyone else, fine—but he didn't want Iiyeon to have anything on him.
From the start, it felt like everything was going wrong.
"You sure you're okay? You look pale. Should we go another day?"
He was strict with self-management, and he wanted others to match that standard. Someone with obsessive tendencies wouldn't like him like this—barely washed, a mess.
"You've got something in your eye."
Before Dansol could even finish that thought, Iiyeon lifted a hand and picked the sleep from the corner of his eye.
His fingers touched Dansol's stiff face before he could dodge.
Dansol could say with certainty—before his regression, he had never once shown Iiyeon this side of himself.
Back then, he'd tried to look perfect, tailored to Iiyeon's preferences.
"Uh… I didn't know where we were going, so I didn't really prepare… No, I'll go wash up a little and come back—"
"Why? You're pretty like this too."
"Uh…"
Did regression really change a person?
He'd liked him before too, but they'd been more distant then.
The more he fluttered, the more awkward it got—and the more he tried to impress him, the more it felt like they drifted apart.
That distance—what he'd thought was "being polite"—eventually became the root of their distrust and separation.
"Then… let's just go."
Dansol didn't want to try to impress him anymore.
So even if he wasn't a perfectly put-together Joo Dansol, he wasn't anxious.
Even if Iiyeon waited, he wasn't frantic.
Even if he showed him a sloppy side, he didn't blame himself.
Because—
I can see your heart clearly now.
What had once confused him, made him agonize and burn with nerves, was now painfully clear.
And that heart could no longer give Dansol joy.
Before his regression, he'd wanted Iiyeon's interest.
Now, he wanted distance from him.
Only now did Dansol see Iiyeon as someone like himself.
Clumsy in love, someone who didn't know how to handle his own feelings gently, someone afraid he might make a mistake—just… someone who hadn't fully grown up yet.
Right now, he couldn't control the feelings he had for Dansol.
His body tilted not forward, but toward Dansol beside him, and like some kind of question-mark killer, he kept pouring out questions, afraid the conversation would cut off.
"Should we eat lunch first? You're hungry, right? No hangover?"
"I'm fine. It's not like I drank that much yesterday."
"Do you like drinking? Can't you drink with me too?"
"But… uh… you have to drive."
"Ah, right…"
A conversation had to be shared by both sides, but Dansol had no will to keep it going.
One side kept forcing words out, and the other kept holding back to cut them off.
Iiyeon, who had never needed to try to entertain anyone—only ever had people trying to talk to him—wasn't good at this kind of conversation.
So, naturally, awkward air filled the car.
When Iiyeon's questions stopped because he'd run out of topics, Dansol just stared out the window.
The car left Chunmongdo and headed into Seoul.
Just like that day, before his regression, when he'd once felt a flutter of excitement for Lee Iiyeon.
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