SDM 64

Watching the rear of the car disappear yet visibly reluctant to leave, Seong-woon rewrapped his scarf and entered the house quietly with quick steps. However, his father, who had been in the study, was waiting for him in the living room.

“Chae-yoon.”

“Yes, Father?”

“Ahem.”

Clearing his throat, Chairman Ryu tentatively began to speak.

“Where have you been?”

“Just in front of the house. Someone came to see me.”

“That… actor?”

“…Yes.”

“Hmm, I see. Chae-yoon, um…”

What is he trying to say? Seong-woon quietly waited for Chairman Ryu, who was uncharacteristically choosing his words carefully. While his siblings were one thing, his parents were undoubtedly the ones he was most concerned about.

“…Never mind. Go upstairs and rest. It’s very cold out.”

“…Yes. You too, Father.”

“Yes, yes.”

A large hand patted his head gently like a feather. As he went up to the second floor, Seong-woon sent a message to Sang-hyun just in case. He already knew how far the people in this household could go when it came to Ryu Chae-yoon, so his uneasiness hadn’t completely disappeared.

You: Let me know if you get any contact or anything from my family.

Sang-hyun: I will.

Still, he couldn’t feel completely at ease. That damn secretariat, manager, and Ryu Chang-yoon… They’re people who don’t treat anyone who isn’t a Ryu as human.

“Maybe it would be better to just openly say we’re dating.”

Wouldn’t that actually prevent them from interfering? As Seong-woon hung up his padded jacket, he thought about various things for a while, but he still couldn’t muster the courage to say with his own mouth that he and Sang-hyun had become that kind of relationship. Even if everyone around them had already noticed, there was definitely a difference in saying it directly.

After hugging the warm sweater once, Seong-woon neatly folded it away and climbed into bed. Though the illness had passed, the aftereffects remained, and his stamina limit was still very low.

As soon as his head hit the pillow, Seong-woon fell asleep. His phone flashed a few times before going quiet.

Sang-hyun: I’m home now.

Sang-hyun: Good night.

It was a series of messages from Sang-hyun, as if he knew Seong-woon had already fallen asleep.

* * *

Is it the advertisement filming that’s hard, or is this script the problem? After filming an advertisement heavily influenced by Haeyun, Seong-woon melted into a puddle.

“I want to do something cool too…”

Once again, the advertisement that fell to Seong-woon was flashy and overflowing with cuteness. With an enormous set that was a slight modification of “Alice in Wonderland” as a backdrop, Seong-woon had to wear a blouse full of frills, a necklace with a pendant the size of a fist, and bright blue prince pants.

Wasn’t Alice originally wearing just a simple sky-blue dress? But no one answered Seong-woon’s question.

It was a TV advertisement that could express even very deep and vivid colors well, so it was understandable… No, it wasn’t understandable at all. Holding an umbrella with a bright red background and white polka dots, performing all sorts of cute acts, Seong-woon had to briefly immerse himself in deep embarrassment, but his body moved naturally to the shower of compliments.

“It’s so good! Oh, how pretty!”

They say even a whale will dance to praise, right? How could a mere human resist? All he could do was dance enthusiastically. The director who had filmed Chae-yoon’s first advertisement was back again for this one.

“It was worth building the set all night. Once we polish it with CG, it will turn out really well.”

Instead of Alice in Wonderland, it became ‘Cherry in Wonderland’, meeting the rabbit, the Cheshire cat, the Mad Hatter… The TV release would be 15 seconds, but a 3-minute version would be uploaded to NewTube.

“How are we going to edit this into 3 minutes? Can’t we just do all the post-production and upload a full 15-minute video? We’re releasing behind-the-scenes footage anyway… and Ryu Chae-yoon’s acting doesn’t even need behind-the-scenes footage, right?”

Except for the necessary cuts to change sets and characters, Chae-yoon’s acting was uninterrupted, so there wasn’t really any behind-the-scenes material from the actual filming scenes.

Unable to hide his embarrassment yet feeling elated, Seong-woon’s face turned bright red. He then tugged at the collar of his blouse, made even more uncomfortable by the frills. Sounds of admiration and something like screams flowed from those around him.

“We’ll shoot the last part once more from a different camera angle!”

“Okay.”

Since the Cheshire cat would be added with CG, Seong-woon had to act towards empty space again. He made an exaggerated surprised expression with wide eyes, then moved his body dramatically as if in a play… It was certainly different from his usual acting, but fortunately, it wasn’t too difficult because the script was so detailed.

“Ah, that’s good! Great!”

The praise felt good, but it was also somewhat embarrassing… Looking down at his incredibly flashy prince outfit, Seong-woon sighed and mentally cursed Ryu Haeyun.

“Cut, that’s a wrap. Good work everyone.”

Seong-woon bowed deeply to the director, whose voice remained cheerful until the end, seemingly very pleased with the filming. The most important thing on a film set isn’t acting or looks. It’s manners.

“Good work, young master.”

“Yeah…”

As he was responding languidly, feeling exhausted, a sudden commotion broke out from behind him. Wondering what was happening, he turned around to see Baek Sang-hyun, perfectly dressed in a three-piece suit, entering the set and greeting the staff.

“Oh my, Sang-hyun!”

“Hello, Director.”

“What brings you… Ah, you were filming an ad next door?”

“Yes. I heard you were here, so I came to say hello.”

“That’s nice, whether you mean it or not.”

After exchanging a few words with the director, Sang-hyun slowly approached Seong-woon. Staring blankly at Sang-hyun, perfectly styled by professional hands, Seong-woon realized his own appearance was like that of a mischievous prince and cupped his cheeks with both hands.

“Chae-yoon.”

“…Hello.”

Embarrassment is embarrassment, but greetings are greetings. Seong-woon, who was about to casually say “hi” without thinking, addressed Sang-hyun as a senior when Sang-hyun called him Chae-yoon.

“You’re like a little prince?”

“Little prince… This is Alice in Wonderland.”

“The fans will love it.”

“…I suppose so.”

If the fans would like it… Seong-woon would do almost anything. Perhaps because Chae-yoon was young, and his first media appearance was as a high school student – albeit in a zombie show – and his first advertisement had a cute concept, the fans found him extremely adorable.

He’s an oppa older than me, but he’s so cute! 👍 780

Chae-yoon, can you do the cutie challenge? 👍 1892

I want to see Chae-yoon’s super cute acting. Would that be in a teen romcom? 👍 556

I want to see Chae-yoon’s idol hameKo 👍 2438

Colored contacts and dyed hair! Please ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ 👍 1772

It was a bit off-topic, but there was someone who came to the fan cafe every day shouting for idol hameKo, and who knows how many likes that person’s posts got.

“By the way, do you know what ‘cutie challenge’ is?”

“…Sorry for being cute?”

“Why sorry for being cute?”

Sang-hyun took out his phone and played a video. Seong-woon’s mouth unconsciously fell half-open as he watched blankly. The video ended and started over from the beginning.

“This, this…?”

“They’ll like it. Want to try it now?”

“What?”

They want to see that? Just how much do they like cute things? Besides, it’s cute when preschool children do it, but how could it be cute when a man over twenty does it…

“First… let me practice a bit.”

Sang-hyun chuckled at Seong-woon’s words. He wished “Orbit Collision” would be released soon. Wouldn’t that change his image a bit? But at this point, Seong-woon didn’t know this hope was in vain.

“Are you done with filming?”

“Yeah. You?”

“Me too. I think I just need to do the behind-the-scenes interview and change clothes…”

“Want to come over to my place?”

“……”

“I’ll cook something delicious for you. Hmm?”

As Seong-woon just stared silently, Sang-hyun asked as if urging him on. Unable to resist the longing and pleading in his eyes, Seong-woon nodded.

Sang-hyun smiled brightly, told him to call when he was done, and left the set. Seong-woon stood in place for a while before roughly putting on the padded jacket Hyung-seok draped over his shoulders.

After a hectic interview, he contacted Hyung-seok to say he was going to Sang-hyun’s house, and his family to say he’d be home late. Only then did he realize that this would be the first time they were truly alone together since confirming their feelings.

* * *

“Young master, you’re really… going to stay there overnight?”

“Yes.”

“……”

“It’s not the first time, so…”

Seong-woon avoided Hyung-seok’s eyes after making an excuse. Before, it had been an escape from the existence of Ryu Chae-yoon, but now that the meaning had changed, he felt strangely embarrassed.

“You told the chairmen you’d be home late, right?”

“At first I planned to, but it’s already past 7 PM. I thought it might be okay to stay over.”

He had already received a very affectionate reply saying, “Dad will wait up for Chae-yoon,” so he was planning to send another message. Of course, he couldn’t bring himself to say he was staying over right now, so he’d tell them a bit later.

“Young master, I really… don’t want to interfere with your private life, but…”

You’ve been interfering just fine until now, what are you saying? When Seong-woon frowned, Hyung-seok cleared his throat, seemingly a bit embarrassed himself.

“Perhaps with actor Baek Sang-hyun…”

Then he pressed his lips shut, unable to finish his sentence. Honestly, his family was probably already 90% aware, and Hyung-seok was likely 99% certain… But there’s a big difference between saying it out loud and not.

“I’ll try not to cause any trouble.”

“…That’s not what I meant. Why do you think managers and secretaries exist in the first place? I just thought if I knew in advance, I could support you better.”

One strange thing was that even though Baek Sang-hyun and Ryu Chae-yoon were the same gender, no one seemed to care about that. While Hyung-seok might be used to the low morals of the entertainment industry, even his family, who were on edge about Ryu Chae-yoon’s “first love,” didn’t seem to care “at all” about it being “a man and a man.”

“I’ll tell you when I’m a bit more mentally prepared.”

In truth, Seong-woon found it hard to say it out loud because it still didn’t feel real. Lover? Partner? Words that Sang-hyun had uttered several times, and that Seong-woon had said once too, but they were just so… embarrassing.

“…I understand. Then I’ll drive you to Hanam-dong.”

The makeup on his face felt quite stuffy and heavy. Seong-woon leaned his forehead against the cold car window, then rubbed off the smeared makeup with his fingertips.

After the Soul Adjustment Project ended, C1012’s voice and blue hologram completely disappeared. The feeling of having glimpsed a corner of some hidden existence that keeps this world running… still felt unreal.

Strangely enough, like the grand phrase “union of body and soul,” he now felt that his body and soul had truly unified, and he could regard Ryu Chae-yoon and Jin Seong-woon as almost the same self.

The emotions poured onto Ryu Chae-yoon no longer felt like someone else’s, and surprisingly, he could distance himself a bit from the malice previously directed at Jin Seong-woon. It wasn’t his fault, after all.

“We’ve arrived.”

Seong-woon put on his padded jacket properly and pulled his hat down low. He remembered the photos that had been taken in this parking lot.

“If anything happens, please contact me… You’ve contacted Chairman Ryu, right?”

“I will.”

“Young master.”

“Ah, I’ll do it right away when I get up there, really.”

Ignoring Hyung-seok’s worries, Seong-woon crossed the underground parking lot. The timeline had branched, and those who could put souls into one body or another had given him a clean bill of health, so he probably wouldn’t get seriously ill anymore. But if he said that, he’d end up in a psychiatric ward, so Seong-woon decided to listen to the worried words a bit longer. As time passed and he got healthier, everyone would worry less.

To think that Baek Sang-hyun’s dating rumor, which he had denied himself, had become true. After patting his warm cheeks a few times, he stood in front of the automatic door that led directly to Sang-hyun’s home. The moment he did, the door opened smoothly without him doing anything.

“Huh?”

“I came to greet you.”

A hand gently grabbed Seong-woon’s arm and pulled him inside. As he stumbled a bit, losing his balance, Sang-hyun casually embraced him.

“I missed you so much.”

“We just saw each other earlier.”

“I missed you, senior.”

“Whether it’s me or Ryu Chae-yoon, we’re the same person…”

“…Are you the same person?”

“Ah, right.”

I didn’t explain it to him. From beginning to end, Sang-hyun had recognized Jin Seong-woon despite this ridiculous phenomenon of body switching. And now, the fact that he didn’t ask or seem curious about what had happened… felt almost creepily blind.

“So, what happened was…”

“Let’s eat dinner first.”

“Huh?”

“It seems like you lose weight if you don’t eat for even a little while.”

Entering Sang-hyun’s house, Seong-woon put on the cardigan that seemed to have become his dedicated clothes and sat on the sofa as Sang-hyun guided him. Soon, a mug filled with warm barley tea was placed in his hands.

“I prepared something simple in the morning, so I just need to heat it up. Please wait a moment.”

“Okay…”

The house seemed more homely than before, but it was still cold. It seemed that while the illness had improved, the aftereffects remained – his terrible stamina and fragile body were still the same. Seong-woon was still extremely sensitive to cold, dozed off as soon as evening came, and had to exercise with a doctor by his side.

At this rate, isn’t it all the same as before, except for not getting atrial fibrillation? Of course, the risk of dying from a seizure is gone now…

Still, drinking the warm barley tea made him feel better as warmth spread from his stomach. Though his hands and feet were still cold, making him fidget constantly.

Listening to the household noises from the kitchen like background music, Seong-woon rubbed his hands together and pressed his palms against each other. But no matter how much he rubbed cold things together, they wouldn’t get warm.

Giving up on trying to raise his body temperature alone, Seong-woon picked up the remote control on the side table and pressed the power button.

“……”

The large TV screen was filled with ‘Jin Seong-woon’s’ face. A very young face – perhaps from when he played the role of young Jeongjo in a historical drama during middle school?