Chapter - 42화 (42/150)
"I'm sorry for ruining the date..."
Dansol answered in a drained voice to Iiyeon's words, which sounded more like he was scolding himself.
"Ah... that's not what I meant."
What stopped Iiyeon from trying to explain was the crackling noise of a walkie-talkie. The production crew had hidden cameras and radios all around to make them as unaware of the filming as possible.
—Um... uh... s-sorry, seniors!
Judging by the overly disciplined tone, it was the youngest assistant director. It seemed he had tried to interrupt several times but waited for the right moment because the atmosphere between the two felt off.
"Yes, go ahead."
With a sigh, Iiyeon pulled the car over to the side of the road. The assistant director hurriedly got out of the van behind them and held two bottles of drinks up to the window.
"Um... there's a PPL drink today... the seniors need to do a tasting...."
Only then did Dansol realize they were still filming a broadcast. He suddenly felt bad, thinking he'd acted purely on his emotions without noticing the cameras hidden so discreetly.
While Iiyeon frowned, Dansol leaned forward and took the drinks instead.
"So we just have to drink them?"
"Ah... just a moment!"
The assistant director pulled out a crumpled sheet of paper he'd been carrying around all day and recited it.
"Please emphasize that it's a calamansi ade with double the refreshing carbonation, and that it contains thirty times more vitamins than lemons...!"
"Okay...!"
After bowing at a full ninety degrees, the assistant director left. Silence settled back into the car. The bottles, as if taken straight out of an icebox, quickly made Dansol's hands damp with condensation.
Iiyeon slowly started the car, and when they stopped at a light not long after, he spoke first.
"Dansol, aren't you thirsty?"
At the natural line, clearly used to PPL, Dansol awkwardly twisted off the cap.
"Ah, yes... would you like the drink?"
"Yeah, thanks."
After taking a sip, Iiyeon's eyes widened. Seeing that odd expression, Dansol opened his own bottle and was about to take a drink too, when Iiyeon stopped his hand and continued speaking.
"This is that calamansi ade with double the refreshing carbonation, right? Dansol, did you know? They say calamansi has over thirty times more vitamins than lemons."
"Oh... wow... no. I didn't know."
"Haha, really? I actually like calamansi ade..."
As soon as he finished speaking, Iiyeon started coughing as if he'd choked. He snatched the bottle from Dansol's hand, screwed the cap on tightly, and tossed it into the back seat.
"That good?"
—Yes, that's good!
The assistant director's voice sounded much brighter over the walkie-talkie. Having essentially done nothing, Dansol just scratched his head awkwardly.
"That's the worst drink I've ever tasted."
"Pardon?"
Dansol's eyes went wide, having wondered if Iiyeon liked calamansi enough to keep it on hand.
"What kind of calamansi tastes like cosmetics...."
"Th-then...."
Realizing Iiyeon had deliberately put up with it for his sake, Dansol didn't know what to do and just fidgeted with his fingers. In the meantime, their car arrived at the parking lot of Chunmonggak.
Even after parking, the two stayed inside the car for a long while, leaving the staff outside awkwardly standing around.
—Um... seniors, aren't you coming out?
Unable to watch any longer, the assistant director asked. Iiyeon replied,
"We have something to talk about. Could you give us some space?"
—Ah... yes! Understood!
"W-what do you mean, something to talk about...."
Ignoring Dansol's question, Iiyeon locked the doors and turned off the cameras, walkie-talkie, and microphones one by one. Even though there were plenty of people gathered right nearby, despite the lack of streetlights, Dansol felt a sudden wave of fear.
"Wh-why...?"
"...I'm sorry. About earlier."
"Huh?"
"I should've apologized properly, but it took me time to think about what I did wrong. You should've come first...."
Iiyeon lowered his head and bit his lip. Dansol, who had been gripping his seatbelt tightly, unfastened it.
"I'm used to this. Sometimes... I think more about other people's eyes than my own. Even if I don't remember them, in their memories... I'll remain. I know it's a problem. I know I can't be a good person to everyone... but being hated by someone isn't easy either."
Dansol understood that feeling too. At first, he thought he could change the hearts of people who hated him for no reason. But the more he struggled to break free, the more people nitpicked his every move and criticized him.
Once branded in this industry, that stain didn't come off easily.
He never thought Iiyeon might carry feelings like this too. He'd always seemed dazzling, someone who only ever received love—someone who wouldn't understand pain like his. He'd assumed that on his own.
"I know. But for me... being hated by many people... hurts less than being hated by the person I like. What about you, hyung?"
"Hm?"
Without realizing it, Dansol had called him hyung, just like before the regression. At that familiar address, Iiyeon suppressed the flutter in his chest and answered casually. It was an offhand word, but if he acknowledged it, Dansol might never call him that again. Hyung.
"If everyone in the world likes me, but the person I like hates me— or if everyone hates me, but the one person I like believes in me—which is better?"
For Dansol, it was neither. The countless people in the world, and the person he once liked, all hated him. Still, if it were him, maybe he could give it one more chance.
"If everyone in the world hates me... my heart would grow exhausted. In the end, even that one person wouldn't be able to endure such a worthless me."
"I see...."
With a faint, unreadable smile, Dansol pressed the button and opened the car door himself. In the darkness, with his black cap pulled low, Iiyeon couldn't see what expression Dansol was making.
"Hey, could you... say you're sorry to me just once?"
Having stepped out of the car, Dansol bowed his head and asked Iiyeon, who was still in the driver's seat.
"Huh?"
"Just don't ask anything, and apologize sincerely. Say... I'm sorry about back then."
Iiyeon looked puzzled at Dansol's cryptic request. But soon, he gave the answer Dansol wanted. For someone whose profession was acting, it wasn't difficult.
"Dansol, back then... I'm sorry. I really am."
At those words, the horrifying days of the past flashed before Dansol's eyes like a panorama. He clenched his eyes shut, steadied his fading consciousness, then opened them again.
"Thank you. For apologizing."
"Wait! Dansol!"
Iiyeon got out of the car and grabbed Dansol. The distance between them had grown quite close. Dansol thought of that moment before the regression—when he'd avoided Iiyeon's face as he tried to kiss him. After that, the two of them had slowly drifted apart.
The Iiyeon from before the regression and the Iiyeon now were different—yet alike. Once again, Iiyeon's face was moving closer to Dansol.
"Hyung, you haven't changed at all."
Shaking off the arm Iiyeon had grabbed, Dansol walked into Chunmonggak.
"Sol's back?"
Even in the living room, they seemed to be filming a PPL scene—Jisu was holding the same drink.
"Ugh, Dansol, have you tried this? I've never tasted anything this awful in my life... it feels like my throat's burning!"
It didn't suit Taeohh's palate either; he kept frowning deeply. Having wiped his tears before coming in, Dansol smiled brightly at Taeohh as if nothing was wrong.
"I like it. Why is everyone making such a fuss? Sol, did you try this?"
"Uh... I...."
"Want to?"
A large hand held the drink out in front of Dansol. It was Daesu, his expression more tightly drawn than usual.
"Ah... no. I'm fine."
"What did you do today? Was it fun? Where did you go?"
Whenever Dansol came back from a date, Jisu always asked like this. Dansol liked it more than he realized—it felt like having a mom who asked what he ate after school, what he did with his friends.
"...We watched a movie, then went to the Han River."
"A movie? What did you watch? There've been a lot of good ones lately."
"Ah... we watched Senior Iiyeon's movie. An indie film."
"Ah... must've been boring as hell. Want to watch a movie with hyung too next week when we go out?"
"Ah... the schedule...."
"What should we watch? I should tell them to book a premium theater. Morning or late-night is fine, right?"
"Hyung! What about me? Can't I come too?"
"Nope, you can't."
"Why not!"
Before Dansol could answer, Jisu was already pondering what movie to see. Seeing that, Taeohh rushed in, asking to join as well. As the lively, not-unpleasant noise filled the room, Dansol finally felt it was easier to breathe.
But peace didn't last long.
{—The game to obtain voting rights will begin in thirty minutes. All participants, please gather in the front yard.}
'At this late hour... a game?'
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