LS Ch 69

The MC looked puzzled at the word “pretty,” rather than “handsome.” Sihyeon, Yejun, and Jiyoo chuckled at Yiwon’s comment. Their expressions clearly said, “Only you would think that,” but the reporters and MC wouldn’t know.

“Who would believe Kang Yiwon if he said that?”

Jewoo refuted his statement. It was embarrassing to hear compliments like “pretty” or “handsome” from the guy known as a “face genius.” He could tolerate it when they were alone, but he didn’t expect Yiwon to be so openly smitten in public.

“Shall we check the video to see if Mr. Kang Yiwon is right?”

The MC, seemingly having a video prepared, suggested they watch it. A scene from the drama appeared on the screen. Jewoo, or rather, ‘Haeyul,’ was standing under a large tree. A breeze blew, showering white flower petals down on him like rain. The camera zoomed in on ‘Haeyul’s’ profile as he looked up at the falling petals. His sharp features and long, wind-blown hair created a dreamlike atmosphere.

“Wow….”

The reporters and the MC couldn’t help but express their admiration. They seemed surprised, as if they had discovered something unexpected while focused solely on Kang Yiwon’s looks.

“The chemistry between these two visual powerhouses is already exciting.”

Just one scene from the video significantly raised expectations for Jewoo. He felt awkward with the sudden attention focused on him. But that was just the beginning. The video of ‘Haeyul’ shown at the production presentation spread rapidly, and the attention on ‘Han Jewoo’ skyrocketed.

🎞️✮⋆˙

After the production presentation, Sihyeon dragged Jewoo, Yejun, and Jiyoo along for dinner and drinks. Sihyeon grumbled to Jewoo about how busy he’d been, never showing his face.

“I was in Japan for the movie.”

“Hey, how long ago was that? You know it’s been almost a month since the movie wrapped!”

He couldn’t deny Sihyeon’s accusation of not contacting him once during that time. He’d been exhausted from working continuously and wanted to rest, but whenever he had free time, he spent it with Yiwon, without a thought for anyone else.

“Leave him alone. He’s in the honeymoon phase.”

Jiyoo intervened. At the mention of “honeymoon phase,” Sihyeon frowned for a moment, as if holding back further comments, but then just sighed and shook his head. Yejun quietly chuckled, watching the older two bicker.

The conversation shifted to casual chatter and catching up. As the meal progressed, along with the accompanying drinks, Yejun, who couldn’t hold his liquor well, was already flushed and nodding off.

“Shouldn’t we send him home first?”

Jewoo gestured toward Yejun with his chin.

“Just leave him. I’ll take him home when I go.”

Sihyeon replied nonchalantly.

“Hmm.”

Jewoo narrowed his eyes and hummed skeptically, causing Sihyeon to recoil, asking what that look meant.

“Just thinking you two have gotten close.”

“You haven’t been hanging out with me. That’s why I’ve been dragging this guy around, so what?”

The petulant tone suggested genuine hurt feelings, and Jewoo smiled sheepishly. Sihyeon just shook his head, telling him not to try to charm his way out of it.

“Why would I try to charm you, hyung?”

Yiwon interjected seriously, earning a disgusted look from Sihyeon. Jewoo, laughing, stepped in between them, suggesting they just drink. Sihyeon finally picked up his glass and drained it in one gulp.

“Han Jewoo, check out your shoes.”

Choi Jiyoo, who had been fiddling with her phone across the table, suddenly asked Jewoo to look at his shoes. He stared blankly, wondering why. She stood up and walked over to him, examining his shoes. Then she went over to Yiwon and checked his as well.

“Whoa.”

She looked up, incredulous, glancing back and forth between Yiwon and Jewoo.

“Did you two coordinate on purpose?”

Jewoo blinked, confused. Jiyoo gestured towards Yiwon’s shoes.

“Ah….”

Jewoo glanced at Yiwon’s shoes and groaned. He understood what she meant. The sneakers he was wearing were a recent gift from Yiwon. Since he wasn’t wearing a full suit, just slacks and a semi-formal jacket, he figured sneakers would work.

The problem was that Kang Yiwon was also wearing the same design of sneakers, just in a different color. It stood out even more because Yiwon was wearing a full suit.

“Kang Yiwon.”

Choi Jiyoo addressed Yiwon and sighed briefly.

“Those sneakers are from the brand you model for, right? And they’re not even on sale yet.”

Jewoo looked back at Yiwon after her explanation. Yiwon remained silent, seemingly confirming her words.

“Social media is blowing up. They’re saying you two showed up at the production presentation in matching shoes. They’re sure Kang Yiwon gave them to you as a gift.”

Choi Jiyoo held up her phone screen to Jewoo. It displayed comments under the production presentation photos posted by the production company. One commenter pointed out the matching shoes, and hundreds of replies followed. Speculations and testimonies filled the thread: “It can’t be a coincidence,” “Isn’t that the brand Kang Yiwon models for?” “I looked it up and they’re not for sale yet, how can they both be wearing them?” Wild guesses emerged, suggesting they’d known each other for a while, and that their occasionally matching outfits in the past weren’t coincidental.

“Will this be okay?”

Jiyoo glanced at Jewoo, concerned that their relationship might be exposed. Jewoo read the comments, smiled faintly, and nodded.

“They’ll just think we became close while filming the drama. It’s good publicity.”

“True.”

She nodded in agreement.

“Apparently, behind-the-scenes videos will be released with each episode. It’ll be even crazier then. Matching sneakers is nothing.”

Sihyeon’s mention of behind-the-scenes videos made Jewoo’s face harden. He hadn’t thought that far ahead. He worried about how it would look since they were practically glued together throughout filming, as even his manager, Jiho, had pointed out.

“Well… try to manage it.”

Jiyoo patted Jewoo’s shoulder and returned to her seat. While Jewoo’s mind raced, Yiwon seemed unconcerned, casually sipping his drink.

“Did you do that on purpose?”

He turned and asked Yiwon, who looked back with a “What?” expression.

“The shoes.”

“Ah.”

Yiwon gave a noncommittal response, neither confirming nor denying.

“Now that I think about it, you were wearing dress shoes when I saw you in the waiting room.”

He recalled that Kang Yiwon had definitely been wearing dress shoes that matched his suit when they first arrived. Why did he suddenly change into sneakers when they went on stage? Was it too much of a stretch to think he changed them after seeing Jewoo wearing the sneakers he’d gifted him?

“It’s good publicity, right?”

Yiwon’s nonchalant reply made Jewoo sigh. He had done it on purpose.

“Matching clothes or shoes can be brushed off as similar tastes, but something this blatant is troublesome.”

Yiwon stared intently at Jewoo’s exasperated sigh.

“Are you planning on going public with our relationship?”

He asked, just in case. Yiwon remained silent again.

“I’m not.”

Yiwon’s eyebrows twitched slightly at his answer, but Jewoo needed to be clear on this.

“It’s fine if people think we’re particularly close. Given the genre of the drama, many viewers will have those expectations. But if it comes out that we’re actually dating, the fans’ reactions will be different. Especially for you. You’ll suffer the consequences more than I will.”

Even in this day and age, an idol dating was different from an actor dating. Recently, an idol’s public relationship announcement caused such an uproar among fans that they broke up within a month.

Moreover, Yiwon was younger than him, only twenty-four. He still had a long career ahead of him, and a dating scandal with Jewoo wouldn’t be beneficial. The damage would be far greater for Yiwon than for Jewoo, who was an actor with a smaller, less intense fanbase.

“I don’t really care about that…”

“You should care. Starting now.”

Jewoo cut Yiwon off firmly. Yiwon’s eyes, locked on his, wavered slightly. He hadn’t expected such a strong reaction. Jewoo usually gave in eventually, no matter how much Yiwon pushed.

Instead of arguing, Yiwon just turned away after staring intensely at Jewoo, seemingly swallowing his words. He clearly wasn’t convinced. Jewoo didn’t push the issue further, considering they were in company.

Still, they needed to have a serious conversation soon, especially if Kang Yiwon was even remotely considering going public.