Chapter - 41화 (41/150)
"I'm sorry..."
Dansol only woke up after the movie had completely ended and apologized to Iiyeon with an awkward look. Seeing Iiyeon's face stiffened so seriously, Dansol shrank back.
"You're awake? We still have some time."
But Iiyeon hid his hardened expression and smiled brightly, as if it didn't matter at all that Dansol had slept through the entire two-hour movie.
"Should we go to the Han River?"
Iiyeon suddenly suggested going to the Han River. All at once, memories from the past surfaced in Dansol's mind.
'Sola, should we leave the island and go on a date?''Huh...? Uh... sure.''Anywhere you want to go?''The Han River! I saw it on social media... They say it's nice in spring, when the cherry blossoms bloom. Eating ramen there, ordering chicken... Ah, but hyung wouldn't be able to. People would recognize you.''If I wear a hat, a mask, and we go at night by car, no one will know.''Really?''Yeah, really. Sola, do you know how cute you are?'
He couldn't even remember what he'd answered back then. He only vaguely remembered how unbearably embarrassed he'd been—and how he couldn't fall asleep all night after returning to the dorm.
In the end, the two of them never met even once after the program ended.
"...Okay."
This time, it wasn't him—Yiyeon was the one who stepped closer first. Dansol forcefully pushed the memories away, trying to separate the Iiyeon standing in front of him from the Iiyeon of the past.
"There are so many people..."
Spreading out a picnic mat they'd bought from a nearby shop, Iiyeon spoke. The Han River in the early evening, as summer shifted into autumn, was crowded with couples, friends, and families.
The production crew filmed them from a distance, at angles where people wouldn't notice. Thanks to that, not many recognized Iiyeon and Dansol, both wearing their hats pulled low.
Even so, just the glancing looks drawn by their unusually good builds and proportions made Dansol flinch again and again.
"If you wear a hat, people won't recognize you anyway."
"...You must come out here often?"
At Dansol's question, Iiyeon smiled as he replied.
"What? You think I go on a lot of dates?"
"...No! That's not what I meant...!"
There was a bit of bitterness in his heart. Iiyeon was kind, handsome, and lacking in nothing. Naturally, Dansol assumed he must have far more dating experience than someone like himself.
"It's close, so I come here a lot to run. If I don't have a schedule, I run about ten kilometers a day. With a hat and sunglasses, if I just zip past, no one recognizes me."
"Ah... I see."
"If you're okay with it... we could go together sometime, when we're both free."
At Iiyeon's shy-sounding suggestion, Dansol forced himself to answer calmly. He hypnotized himself, telling himself not to fall for that gentle smile.
"But... our dorm is far from the Han River. Really, really far."
"If it's not that you don't like me, but just that it's far, then I'll come pick you up."
"That's... that's not it...!"
"Huh? Looks like the chicken's here. I'll go get it—stay here."
Unable to say outright that he felt uncomfortable with that smiling face, Dansol hesitated. Just then, Iiyeon's phone rang. As if he had no intention of waiting for an answer, Iiyeon hurriedly stood up and headed toward the pickup spot.
No matter how hard he tried to steady himself, it felt like he was constantly being swept along by Iiyeon. Without realizing it, Dansol let out a deep sigh.
While he was squatting there, plucking at the grass, a small white shape came toddling toward him.
"Yap!"
"...A puppy?"
"Yap! Yap!"
The puppy was barely as big as his forearm—clearly still very young. Wearing a neat red hoodie and even a leash, it plopped itself down on Dansol's knee as if it were its rightful place.
Startled, Dansol looked around. No matter how he searched, he couldn't see anyone who looked like they were searching for a lost dog.
"Who are you...? Hm? Where's your mom?"
"Yap! Yap!"
He scratched the puppy's little head as he asked, but of course, there was no way it could answer.
"Huh⁈ Where did it go!"
"I told you to watch it better!"
"Am I the only owner? What were you doing!"
At that moment, voices searching for the puppy came from a picnic mat about ten meters away. Without thinking, Dansol stood up and called out.
"The puppy's over here!"
Hearing what sounded like an argument over the missing puppy, Dansol grew anxious.
"There it is! Go get it."
"Ah, damn it... seriously."
Scolded by the woman, the man approached Dansol with his face twisted in irritation. He practically snatched the puppy away from Dansol. Not only did he fail to thank him—he snapped angrily instead.
"How could you take someone else's dog⁈"
"Uh... I didn't take it."
The shameless attitude irritated Dansol too, and he answered firmly.
"Hah, seriously. Even if the dog walked over on its own, you should've found the owner. Honestly, if I hadn't come looking, you would've just taken it with you, right?"
"What? What are you talking about!"
"Why are you like this? Why aren't you coming back?"
The woman, who'd been watching from her seat, walked over. When her eyes met Dansol's, her voice grew louder, as if she recognized him.
"Oh⁈ Oh!"
"What is it...?"
"Hey, you know! That variety show we watched a few days ago!"
"What? Ah... right! That... that guy!"
It seemed they couldn't quite remember Dansol's name, even though they'd seen the broadcast. Dansol just wanted to leave as quickly as possible.
"Uh... what was it. I can't remember your name. The idol!"
"Zeus?"
"No! Not them! You know, that failed idol! Anyway, that's you, right?"
They rudely stood Dansol there, talking about a "failed idol" right to his face. It didn't seem to occur to them that the Dansol standing in front of them wasn't some character in cyberspace, but a person just like them.
"Excuse me."
At that moment, Iiyeon returned from picking up the delivery food. He wrapped an arm around Dansol's shoulders, as if shielding him from interrogation.
"What seems to be the problem?"
"Uh...! I... Iiyeon...."
They clearly knew Iiyeon's name. As if accustomed to such reactions, Iiyeon smiled lightly and lowered his voice.
"We're on a date right now—could you keep it a secret? There are a lot of eyes around."
They'd deliberately chosen a darker spot, and no one had recognized them yet, but because of the commotion, people were starting to look their way one by one.
"Oh, of course! I'm a big fan of yours, Mr. Iiyeon!"
"Me too, me too!"
The two who'd been rude to Dansol moments ago now bowed and scraped before Iiyeon, as if nothing had happened. He should've been used to it by now, but that strange sensation—of being present in the same space yet treated like an invisible person—never became familiar.
"We're enjoying R-Match Survival a lot. Um, sorry, but could we get a photo...?"
"Sure. But since this is being filmed, please don't spoil anything."
"Of course!"
Dansol took the phone that was suddenly thrust at him. Within the angled frame, Iiyeon was smiling brightly with them. After taking several photos, Dansol handed the phone back. Perhaps bothered by their surroundings, Iiyeon folded up the picnic mat.
"This won't work. Let's eat in the car instead. Is that okay?"
Only then did Iiyeon finally speak to Dansol, who'd been standing there blankly. But Dansol didn't hear him—he was listening to the couple who had just taken the photos.
"Hey, but shouldn't we have taken one with the idol he's dating too? Why can't I remember his name... He was pretty cute."
"Hey, hey. At best, guys like that just flash and disappear. We got one with Iiyeon—that's enough. Thanks to our Merry, we totally hit the jackpot."
With his hat pulled low, Iiyeon hadn't been able to see Dansol's expression. Only then did he bend down to look at Dansol's face beneath the cap.
"Sola...!"
Dansol was crying silently. No matter how much he tried to keep a blank expression, his face was already soaked through.
"What's wrong? For now... let's get in the car."
Worried about the attention around them, Iiyeon hurried Dansol toward the car.
"Sola... huh?"
No matter how many times Iiyeon asked, not understanding what was going on, Dansol could only shake his head. He didn't even know why he felt this miserable himself—how could he answer?
"...Let's just go. I want to go back."
"Is this because of those people earlier? Don't take things like that to heart. Okay? This kind of thing comes with our work."
"...I don't really know either."
Being mistaken for a dog thief, being called a failed idol to his face—none of that mattered. Things like that were nothing to Dansol anymore.
What hurt him again was Iiyeon's attitude.It was obvious, but he truly hadn't changed at all from before the regression.
Even words that Dansol—who had poor hearing in one ear—could hear clearly, Iiyeon deliberately pretended not to hear.
He was always the same: gentle and kind.And that kindness extended even to the people who hurt Dansol.
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