SDM 63

Side Story 1. Cherry in Wonderland

“So… you decided to go out after celebrating the holiday?”

– They’re letting you go?

“Yeah, I’m surprised by how positive their reaction is…”

Seong-woon was prepared to go on a hunger strike (…) or even run away from home when declaring his independence, but thanks to speaking to his father first, who acted as a shield, it was accepted much more easily than expected.

It’s probably because his previously ill body has almost fully recovered.If we believe Yoon Gwan-wi’s words that the congenital issue caused by a lack of soul has healed and Seong-woon is showing a much more stable attitude than before.

– What are you planning to do at the end of the year?

“I think I should be with my family, after all…”

Contrary to his hasty declaration of independence, Seong-woon still felt some guilt towards his family members.

Although he was originally the same soul as Ryu Chae-yoon and they were separated due to an unfortunate accident, he still didn’t fully identify himself as Ryu Chae-yoon. He worried that he might have taken away their beloved youngest son from them… a concern that some might dismiss as unnecessary.

“Are you going to the awards ceremony?”

– Just on the last day.

“Ah, you’re going to the KBC awards?”

“Collaboration,” which Seong-woon filmed together, aired from the end of last year to early this year, and because of that, Sang-hyun was nominated for the Best Actor award. Some say he could even aim for the Grand Prize, but wouldn’t it be difficult since weekend dramas are usually dominant on KBC?

– Do you want to come?

“…Why would I want to go there?”

– I have an invitation.

“No thanks.”

As he giggled quietly, a comfortable laugh came through from the other end of the phone. Normally, he wouldn’t have been able to laugh like this, but after removing all the cameras citing recent medical records and privacy invasion as reasons, he felt much better.

Well, of course, it’s not that he disliked his family’s concern, affection, and love… no, he was very grateful and happy about it, but having cameras monitor the entire house was a bit too much.

When removing the cameras, he thought Ryu Chang-yoon would throw a fit, but strangely, he acted as if it was inevitable. Rather, it was Ha-yoon and Ho-yoon who were more upset. The conversation went like this:

‘Chae-yoon, what if something happens? Should I sleep with you? Or should I stay by your side constantly…!’

‘I’m fine, really.’

‘Or do you want to come to my house? I’ll prepare a separate room for you, okay?’

‘You’re married, what are you talking about?’

Seong-woon shut them up with short answers and removed all the cameras. Chang-yoon looked frustrated, but that was it. At that moment, Seong-woon could once again feel the power of being the youngest in the Ryu family.

“I’m going to get my license.”

– Driving license?

“Yes. I have a car but no license.”

There were plenty of cars in the parking lot. In fact, there were even two cars registered under Chae-yoon’s name… His oldest brother and second brother gifted them for his 20th birthday, even though their younger brother didn’t have a license. And then they wouldn’t let him get a license ironically, saying it would be a big problem if he had heart issues while driving. Their bro-com was, beyond hopeless.

“I used to be quite a good driver. Well, I ended up selling the car later.”

As Seong-woon got older, the public’s view of him gradually worsened. Despite this, when acting skills were needed more than public popularity, he was still cast for villainous roles that were better if hated, or supporting male leads that absolutely shouldn’t gain popularity, but even that had its limits and work decreased. In such a situation, it wasn’t easy to maintain a house or a car.

“When I get my license, let’s go for a drive.”

– We could go now with me driving.

“No. I want to drive.”

The low laughter was pleasant to hear. Seong-woon leaned back on the sofa, pressing the phone closer to his ear.

He could understand why Sang-hyun had asked him to read scripts. No matter what was said in a good voice, it felt nice to have one’s ears tickled.

“Ah, did you hear that the production company wants to have a team dinner?”

– Yes.

“We both missed it because we were so busy that day.”

Seong-woon hadn’t seen Sang-hyun’s face since the last day of filming. This was because Sang-hyun left the country the very next day for photo shoots and commercial filming that had been postponed during the movie production.

Seong-woon, who hadn’t exchanged friendly words or greetings with people in a long time, felt awkward and couldn’t really contact him, but Sang-hyun called every day, and even on Christmas…

‘Young master, a flower delivery has arrived…’

‘Flowers?’

The flower that Hyung-seok handed to Seong-woon with a complicated expression was one Seong-woon had never seen before.

“I accepted it because the sender was someone I know…”

Seong-woon wondered why Hyung-seok smiled so bitterly, but then realized it was because the sender was ‘Baek Sang-hyun’. Seong-woon, his face turning bright red without realizing it, hugged the bouquet and fled to the second floor, spending a long time trying to identify the flowers.

The bouquet Sang-hyun sent was lisianthus, and the flower language written at the bottom of the search results was… Surely, he didn’t send it knowing that… Did he?

Just recalling it made Seong-woon feel like his face would burst again, so he just let out a long sigh. Was Sang-hyun always this type of a person, casually saying and doing such embarrassing things? Come to think of it, he himself would say he only said “I like you” once out of ten times, but Sang-hyun would blurt it out at any moment…

“Sunbae?”

“Ah, yes…”

“It looks like they’re setting a date for the company dinner.”

“Oh, they said they’ll do it after the New Year. Everyone else is busy too.”

Of course, Baek Sang-hyun was the busiest of them all. It seemed he was even being called to an awards ceremony in the US because “The Definition of Human” had become a huge hit.

“So I guess I won’t see your face until then?”

“…You won’t?”

“Huh?”

“We haven’t seen each other for almost a week now.”

Hearing him speak so dejectedly, Seong-woon wondered if he was hallucinating the image of a large dog with drooping ears. He was about to burst out laughing but caught the sincerity in Sang-hyun’s voice and sobered up a bit.

“Are you back in Korea?”

“Yes.”

“When? Today?”

“Mn. Today.”

Then… would it be okay to go see him? Seong-woon checked the current time. It was just past nine… But if he arrived today, he must be tired, right? Seong-woon lay back down after sitting up abruptly, trying to calm his racing heart. But Sang-hyun’s next words were even more outrageous.

“Actually, I’m in front of your house.”

“What?”

“I’m just down the alley in front of your house…”

“Wait a minute!”

Seong-woon hurriedly left his room in a flash and ran down the second-floor stairs. He shook his head at the housekeeper who peeked out, startled by the loud noise, and opened the front door. Hyung-seok, who popped out as soon as the door opened, widened his eyes in surprise.

“Young master?”

“Ah, I’m just going out for a bit.”

“Where to? You’re not even dressed properly.”

“Ah, clothes…”

He couldn’t bring himself to say he was just going out because he is right here. The biting wind coming through the door gap made his whole body shiver.

“Put on some clothes and come down slowly.”

“How long have you been…”

“I’m good at waiting, you know.”

The voice coming from the phone still pressed to his ear was as soft as the scarf now being wrapped around his neck.

Hyung-seok, who had somehow brought down a scarf and padded jacket from upstairs, helped Seong-woon get dressed, albeit reluctantly. He even wrapped the scarf tightly, covering half of Seong-woon’s face.

“Where are you going? Do you need the car?”

“No, just down there for a moment…”

“Are you going to buy something?”

“Someone said they’re here.”

“Who…”

Hyung-seok, who had narrowed his eyes, let out a sigh. It seems everyone from family to managers knows about this now… Come to think of it, recalling what he had done, Seong-woon was busy hiding his reddening face with the scarf.

“Should I go with you?”

“No! I’ll be back soon.”

“If you end up going somewhere else, please let me know.”

Seong-woon nodded his head quickly several times and left the house, wobbling slightly, perhaps due to the bulky padded jacket. He could feel the bodyguard following behind, but he couldn’t shake them off.

At this rate, how could they even kiss… Feeling like his face might turn from red to scarlet, Seong-woon shook his head to scatter the thought. Opening the gate and going down the alley, he spotted an SUV with its interior lights on.

“Ah…”

Seong-woon quickly approached, opened the passenger door, and climbed in. Only then did Sang-hyun end the call that had been connected.

“It’s been a while, sunbae.”

Even while looking at Ryu Chaeyoon’s face, Sang-hyun called out to Seong-woon without a moment’s hesitation. There was no awkwardness in the way he addressed him as ‘sunbae’.

Seong-woon was a bit dumbfounded. There were still times when he doubted if he was going crazy, but with Baek Sang-hyun being so unwavering like this, Seong-woon had no choice but to be swept along.

“You must be tired, go and rest.”

“I haven’t seen your face for too long.”

His warm and cozy voice was even sweet. Seong-woon met the gaze that was quietly looking at him, then nervously pulled up his scarf to cover his face. He worried that his face, reddened because of Hyung-seok, might now look like a well-ripened apple.

“Can you show your face? Please?”

“Uh… don’t come too close. I have bodyguards, you know.”

“Are you afraid I might kiss you?”

It’s more like I’m afraid I might kiss you. Seong-woon shook his head vigorously, his face hidden behind his hands even though he had unwrapped his scarf.

“Ah, I brought you a gift.”

“…A gift?”

Baek Sang-hyun had been to France and England for filming. He must have been incredibly busy with multiple schedules including advertisements and photoshoots, so how did he manage to buy a gift?

“I sent you flowers too.”

“Yes, that was for Christmas.”

“And this?”

“This, if we have to name it… an end-of-year gift?”

Smooth talker. Seong-woon hugged the rather large box. Judging by its weight, could it be clothes?

“During the photoshoot, there was an outfit that was a bit small for me. I thought it would suit you well, so I brought it. It’s to keep you warm since you get cold easily…”

I guess I have to open it here? Seong-woon tore open the beautifully wrapped box. A light gray sweater with a bluish tinge filled the box. It had a warm, sweet scent. It was Baek Sang-hyun’s perfume.

It looked soft and fluffy, likely to be very warm when worn. Seong-woon took it out and held it against his padded jacket. It did seem a little small for Sang-hyun.

“The designer made it personally. So my name is on it…”

Baek Sang-hyun turned the sleeve inside out to show. Indeed, Baek Sang-hyun’s initials were embroidered there. Why would he gift clothes with his own name… Unless? When Seong-woon looked at him with wide eyes, Baek Sang-hyun nodded with a grin.

“It’s exactly what you’re thinking.”

“…What? I wasn’t thinking of anything.”

“It just flashed through your mind, didn’t it?”

“No, it didn’t.”

Until now, it had been cold in the car even with the padded jacket on, but now Seong-woon was breaking out in a sweat. He unconsciously started fanning himself.

Baek Sang-hyun firmly grasped Seong-woon’s frantically waving hand and gazed at him quietly. Baek Sang-hyun’s hand was not just warm, but hot, and his gaze seemed to pierce through to the soul. Ah, this is maddening. Seong-woon’s flushed face showed no signs of cooling down.

“We can’t go to my place right now, can we?”

“Staying out overnight is still a bit…”

After his declaration of independence, his parents had been too depressed, so Seong-woon decided to spend as much time as possible with his family until then. Even afterwards, he would visit his family home once a week, but it would be completely different from seeing them every day.

“That’s why I like you, senior.”

“…What do you mean by that?”

The smiling face without an answer was pleasant to look at… Seong-woon couldn’t help but smile back. Baek Sang-hyun’s fingers intertwined with his own. With their fingers tightly interlocked, Baek Sang-hyun just kept looking at Seong-woon.

“This is instead of a kiss.”

“Huh?”

Then he raised their interlocked hands and waved them.

“How is this equivalent to a kiss?”

“Then what should we do?”

Being a celebrity naturally makes one sensitive to gazes, so Baek Sang-hyun must have noticed the presence of the bodyguards stationed around.

If we drove the car a bit further, couldn’t we at least kiss? Though tempted, Seong-woon decided to be content with this much, not wanting to cause any more panic for his manager secretary and bodyguards.

“Go inside and rest. You’re not fully recovered yet.”

“I’m fine now.”

“……”

“It’s not me who’s the problem, it’s you who’s tired. Go and rest quickly.”

“I’ll come again tomorrow.”

“Why would you come, don’t.”

“Then do you want to come over, senior?”

“I’m busy.”

“You’re not busy.”

“Didn’t you extend the Ryu Shin Construction advertisement? I heard you’re filming that tomorrow.”

“……”

“I have to go film an advertisement tomorrow too. They said the Ryu Shin Electronics ad was extended.”

The greed of the eldest brother knows no bounds. Well, it was understandable since Ryu Chae-yoon’s first advertisement filmed in September was a huge hit. This time it’s not for phones but for TVs, but I haven’t even looked at the storyboard yet. The later you receive the shock, the better.

“Then at least a phone call?”

“Okay.”

After holding hands tightly for a long time, Baek Sang-hyun reluctantly let go, unable to hide his disappointment. When their palms that had been pressed together separated, the air that rushed in felt very cold, causing Seong-woon to shiver once.

“Let’s go to the door together.”

“No. Just go straight back.”

Seong-woon got out of the car and waved his hand. Baek Sang-hyun, who was about to get out too, saw Seong-woon’s stern eyes and got back in, starting the engine. He seemed to quickly realize that leaving promptly was the best way to not keep Seong-woon in the cold for long.