* * *

“I could have come, sorry.”

The place Daesoo brought Dansol to was the same apartment building where Jisoo lived.

‘Coming to such a luxury penthouse was supposed to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, but here I am again after just two weeks.’

You never know what life will bring.

“It’s okay… I took a taxi, so it wasn’t too far.”

Dansol smiled faintly at Daesoo’s words.

It felt uncomfortable to invite Daesoo, who was bigger than the front door, into the cramped underground dormitory, which was already bursting at the seams with just the members.

Meeting Daesoo at another restaurant or café in the neighborhood also seemed impossible.

After the commotion at the chicken restaurant, Dansol had to be extra cautious even when going to the convenience store in front of the house.

“Come… come in.”

Even though they had spent quite a bit of time together at Chunmong Pavilion, seeing Dansol in his home felt unfamiliar to Daesoo, who kept running his hand through his short hair.

Unlike Jisoo’s house, which felt empty like a model house, Daesoo’s house was like a charming gallery.

“Wow…”

The modular shelves covering the walls were filled with gleaming model kits and figures, with not a speck of dust.

“I… kind of like collecting these knick-knacks. It’s not too messy, is it?”

“No… it’s really cool.”

“Um… I’ll get you some tea. Could you sit and wait a bit?”

“Can I look around the house?”

“Oh… oh…! Of course.”

Daesoo nodded awkwardly, still stiff, at Dansol’s curious question, then shouted as he was about to enter the kitchen.

“Hey! Don’t go into the study!”

“Oh… wh-where is the study?”

“The room at the end of the hallway…”

Only after Dansol nodded did Daesoo, relieved, enter the kitchen.

In reality, Dansol wasn’t in the mood to casually tour the house.

He just didn’t want to sit there awkwardly.

Despite his current state, he couldn’t help but be drawn to the framed photos, paintings, and sculptures, realizing that Daesoo had quite an eye for aesthetics.

Pitter-patter.

While Dansol wandered the hallway, he heard tiny footsteps from somewhere.

They were too small to be human and heavier than dust.

“Woof!”

A small puppy suddenly appeared at his feet, biting his socks.

“Wow… you’re so cute. Hi!”

The puppy tilted its head at Dansol, then walked away.

As Dansol watched in a daze, the puppy barked at him as if telling him to follow.

The direction it headed was the room Daesoo had emphasized not to enter.

“No, no… you can’t go there!”

The puppy disappeared into the half-open door, making Dansol anxious.

Given that Daesoo mentioned collecting things, the study likely housed many expensive books matching his reputation.

If the young puppy, who clearly hadn’t been house-trained, chewed up or urinated on something valuable in the study, it would be a disaster.

“What do I do… Se, senior… I’ll just go in and get the puppy out…”

Knowing his small voice wouldn’t reach the kitchen, Dansol still sought the homeowner’s permission before opening the door.

“What… what is all this?”

Contrary to Dansol’s expectation of old, hard-to-read books filling the walls, the study was packed with Dansol’s merchandise.

From the DinoSoul eco-bags, which the company ambitiously released only to fail and fill the company warehouse, to awkward photo cards, bromides, grip talks, mugs, hoodies, tattoo stickers… and even unofficial goods that Dansol had never seen before.

It was nothing short of a Joo Dansol museum.

“My dream has always been you… Joo Dansol?!”

Reading the embarrassing slogans printed on the banners hanging around the room, Dansol slowly turned his head, feeling a chilling presence behind him.

“I told you not to go in there…”

*

“It was really a coincidence…”

Dansol sat in the living room with a mountain of desserts piled in front of him.

It looked like someone had raided a famous bakery.

Starting with a tower of macarons, Dansol, overwhelmed by the pile of éclairs, just sipped his coffee.

“Yes…”

“Really, someone gave them to me by chance. I couldn’t just throw them away because your face was on them, so I kept them. If you want, you can take them.”

“I understand. But there’s already a pile of them in our company warehouse…”

“Where? Where is it? I’ll call the CEO right away and buy them. Even if there’s a premium…”

Like a collector ready to buy any rare item, Daesoo grabbed his phone and coat, half rising, then awkwardly sat back down.

“So… it wasn’t a coincidence.”

“Sigh…”

Daesoo rubbed his aching head. Was there ever anything this difficult in his life?

“I’m… sorry.”

“It’s okay, there’s nothing to be sorry about. I should thank you. We don’t have many fans, so there aren’t many goods… it’s my first time seeing so many of them too.”

Even before the regression, the CEO went all out on merchandise as soon as Dansol’s appearance on Romatch Survival was confirmed, despite already struggling with leftover stock.

There were dozens of types of goods made in hopes of DinoSoul’s success, but when Dansol became a national villain, they couldn’t be sold or even given away, and they just gathered dust in a corner of the warehouse.

That image was still vivid, so seeing the study room filled with those items displayed as if they were precious art moved Dansol deeply.

“Um… why did you want to see me today?”

Daesoo, who had been nervously biting his lip, stiffened like a rock again.

The truth was, there wasn’t any particular reason for inviting Dansol to his house.

If there was a reason, it was simply because he felt it was unfair and a bit jealous that Dansol had visited Jisoo’s house but never his own.

On the day of the performance with Zeus, Daesoo had to leave without saying a word to Dansol because of a prearranged schedule, leaving only Jisoo behind.

This made him feel terribly uneasy. It seemed Daesoo had made a big decision as he began to speak.

“Just because…”

Seeing Daesoo blush and hesitate without giving a clear answer, Dansol was just as bewildered.

He had never seen Daesoo like this before, and despite having no proper romantic experience before or after his regression, Dansol could clearly understand.

This was definitely… a confession moment.

Even though he disliked being alone, coming to Daesoo’s house without thinking wasn’t a good idea.

Living together at Chunmongak had dulled his senses in this area.

“Senior, actually, I’m not really ready…”

“To feed you.”

“What?”

“Eat.”

Dansol was sure it was a confession moment, but perhaps he was mistaken.

Feeling embarrassed, Dansol scratched the back of his head and headed to the bathroom under the pretense of washing his hands to hide his flushed face.

Watching his retreating figure, Daesoo sighed quietly as he walked to the kitchen.

It seemed like a sigh of relief.

*

Dansol, who had washed his hands and returned to the dining table, looked around.

There was so much food, far more than enough for just the two of them, that he wondered if another guest had arrived without him noticing.

“Um, senior… Is this really for the two of us?”

“Yeah, it’s late, so I just made something simple. Why? Not enough?”

As if. There was so much food that even if he brought all the hungry members who were always hungry, there would still be leftovers.

What on earth did Jisoo or Daesoo think of Dansol that they were always worried about feeding him?

“No! It’s more than enough! Senior… I have a question.”

“What is it?”

“Why do you and Jisoo hyung always try to feed me whenever you see me?”

Daesoo pondered for a while as if he was not even aware of it.

Meanwhile, he diligently peeled soy sauce shrimp and placed it on Dansol’s plate.

“Well, I guess it reminds me of the old days. Seeing you makes me think of the hard times when I was a rookie.”

“Did you have such times too, senior?”

Daesoo’s time as an unknown was shorter than most.

He was lucky in picking projects, and he had the looks and talent.

But that didn’t mean he never struggled.

“I didn’t struggle as much as you, but I did have a tough time. It took a while to settle down after I first came to Korea. Even though my parents didn’t oppose, I couldn’t just come here to become an actor and ask for their help.”

The first movie that made Daesoo known took over a year to shoot.

There were more days waiting silently than actual filming days, so he naturally had no income.

So he worked part-time at a language school or appeared as an extra in other movies several times.

And while Daesoo had his struggles, Jisoo, who debuted as a model first, probably had it even tougher.

“Not being able to sleep, wash, or eat. Waiting without being able to do anything is part of our job. But while I could endure other things with youthful energy, not being able to eat felt like an added suffering.”

Even someone with the stamina to play American football found the life of an unknown actor hard to endure.

How did Dansol endure it for years?

Even though he was an idol, looking at Dansol’s body with no trace of fat made Daesoo wonder where all the food went.

“I heard idols starve themselves to diet. Is that what you do too?”

“No… I eat a lot! It’s just my metabolism. Other members don’t eat because they’re dieting… so they envy me.”

“That’s good. Eat up.”

Daesoo’s cooking was, without exaggeration, among the best Dansol had ever tasted.

Despite the large quantity of food, Dansol was clearing the plates energetically when they heard the sound of someone entering the door lock code.

Beep beep beep… beep.

Someone had entered the wrong code, and a warning sound followed.

“Did you change the code? Hey! Jung Daesoo!”

The person pounding on the door was instantly recognizable to Dansol.

“Isn’t that Jisoo hyung’s voice?”

Having their alone time disrupted by an uninvited guest, Daesoo rubbed his throbbing forehead.

* * *