* * *
As his brows furrowed, both Seonwoo and Yeongdeok’s phones buzzed at the same time.
[Gwak Dupal: So, how’s it going, you two? Having a good chat?]
[Daerimdong Red Fist: I hope you guys become good friends!]
After reading the chat, Yeongdeok smirked with a wicked grin, his cold expression betraying his amusement as he tapped his thumbs on the phone screen.
[You brats are going to regret this the next time we meet.]
[Natsuyama Soseki: Waaahhhk!]
[Gwak Dupal: The next meetup is canceled forever!]
“Every single one of them is rude and irritating,” Yeongdeok sighed in exasperation, but Seonwoo thought he was actually growing fond of them.
“You’re handling it better than I expected.”
The only reason Yeongdeok tolerated these brash ‘Beautiful Life’ members was to get back at ‘PetitRolang.’
There wasn’t any other reason, but he kept that thought to himself.
ꔚ
With nothing left to say, the two of them finally left the café.
Seonwoo stretched to relieve his stiff body from sitting for so long and waved his phone in front of Yeongdeok.
“I’ll be in touch. Make sure you keep your promise, okay?”
“I never go back on my word.”
“…Right, of course.”
Feeling reassured that Yeongdeok wasn’t the type to break a promise, Seonwoo nodded.
“It was a strange day, starting out with Choa and the others, but… I enjoyed it.”
Seonwoo, openly expressing how he felt, asked how Yeongdeok felt about the day.
His answer was already set in stone.
“What a pointless question.”
“You’re back to the old Cha Yeongdeok, huh?”
Seonwoo chuckled and turned to leave.
Watching him walk away, Yeongdeok placed his hand over his chest.
The strange feeling that had briefly stirred there was gone.
He couldn’t shake the thought that something inside him was beginning to change, as he walked in the opposite direction from where Seonwoo had gone.
ꔚ
About three days after Yeongdeok had watched a movie with Seonwoo, he woke up and grabbed his phone from the shelf, only to see that there were messages from Seonwoo waiting for him since the morning.
[Seonwoo: Cha Yeongdeok, are you free today?]
[Seonwoo: I won’t keep you for long. Can we meet up for a bit?]
He had promised to be there for Seonwoo when needed, but seeing him message again after just a few days made Yeongdeok feel like he was already taking advantage of the promise.
Narrowing his eyes, he stared at the phone screen.
[It hasn’t even been that long since the promise—_]
He was about to say something but stopped himself.
A promise was a promise, after all. Resigned, Yeongdeok got up from bed and put his feet on the floor.
[Fine. Where do you want to meet?]
[Seonwoo: In that case…]
After washing up and getting dressed, Yeongdeok stepped outside.
Even though it was mid-February, the weather was unusually mild.
As he squinted into the sunlight, the door of the neighboring apartment opened.
Jihoon, clearly tired, yawned as he rubbed his mouth with his palm, only to stop when he saw Yeongdeok.
Startled, he quickly tried to fix his disheveled hair.
“What the—? Where are you going?”
“Unfortunately, I’ve got plans.”
“With who?”
Jihoon mentally ran through the list of people Yeongdeok might meet.
Since Cha Yeongdeok didn’t have any friends, the options were limited.
“Those meeting folks?”
“Let’s just say that.”
“You’ve been meeting them a lot lately….”
Jihoon remembered that Yeongdeok had gone to see a movie with them a few days ago.
What could possibly be so interesting about these meetings that he kept going out so often?
Growing increasingly irritable, Jihoon frowned.
“What kind of meeting is it? Can I join?”
“I don’t think it’s your thing.”
In Yeongdeok’s eyes, Jihoon had no interest in novels and couldn’t imagine him reading anything.
Though, given how he got along with younger people, he’d probably fit in just fine.
“What the heck? What kind of meeting wouldn’t suit me?”
Pestering him for details, Jihoon followed as Yeongdeok quickly punched in the rehearsal room Seonwoo had mentioned into his phone’s navigation app.
The quickest route popped up.
“Enough. I’ll see you later.”
“Alright… have fun.”
Jihoon waved a small goodbye as Yeongdeok, ever punctual, headed off without giving him any more information.
ꔚ
After getting to the bus stop and transferring a few times by subway, Yeongdeok finally arrived at Seonwoo’s rehearsal room
Following the directions, he wandered down a long hallway until he found room 402.
The rooms seemed soundproofed, as no sound escaped into the corridor.
Stopping in front of room 402, Yeongdeok sent Seonwoo a message.
[I’m here. Open up.]
Barely three seconds had passed when the door opened, and Seonwoo popped out.
“Come in, Cha Yeongdeok.”
At Seonwoo’s invitation, Yeongdeok stepped over the threshold.
The air inside was so warm it felt stifling, wrapping around his skin like a heavy blanket.
In the center of the room was a grand white piano, matching Seonwoo’s elegant style, while in the corner stood a small round table with a coffee pot and tea set.
As Yeongdeok began to take off his coat, Seonwoo stepped behind him and helped him out of it, hanging it neatly on a coat rack.
The way he was attending to him so attentively today made Yeongdeok suspicious.
“What’s with all the special treatment today?”
“It’s just… I’m really grateful you actually came.”
Seonwoo, who was sitting on the long piano bench, gestured for Yeongdeok to sit on the folding chair next to him.
Without a word, Yeongdeok complied.
“So, why did you ask me to come?”
“No reason. Just thought you could use a change of pace.”
All this, for a little change of pace?
He had me take public transportation for an hour just for that?
Annoyed, Yeongdeok crossed his legs, making his discomfort clear, but Seonwoo didn’t even blink as his hand hovered over the piano keys.
Seonwoo’s pale, delicate fingers lightly touched the clean black and white keys.
He leaned forward slightly and began to gently play the piano, filling the room with a pure and beautiful melody.
Without any warning, the music had already begun, and before Yeongdeok could express any objections, he found himself listening to Seonwoo’s performance.
At least, to his relief, Seonwoo’s playing wasn’t bad.
“Schumann’s Träumerei, I see.”
“As expected, you’re more familiar with this than with pop songs.”
“I’d appreciate it if you didn’t look down on me. I know pop songs too.”
In reality, Yeongdeok had only listened to a few new songs to shake off the “obsessive” image people had of him, but Seonwoo’s patronizing tone was irritating, so he said it anyway.
“Oh really? You do seem to know Pororo well.”
“You little…”
As Yeongdeok’s voice lowered, scraping the bottom of his throat, Seonwoo, who had just finished playing, lifted his hands off the keys and looked at him.
“Is there a song you’d like to hear? I’ll play it since you came all this way.”
“I don’t particularly want to hear you play anything.”
“Ah, you must want the Pororo theme song. Got it.”
Seonwoo, who seemed to find joy in teasing Yeongdeok, quickly searched for the sheet music to the Pororo theme song on the tablet on the music stand.
Soon, the once-quiet room was filled with a lively, bouncy melody.
As Seonwoo played with enthusiasm, he noticed Yeongdeok’s sharp gaze and paused.
“Why are you looking at me like that? I thought this was what you wanted.”
“Are you just a walking corpse if you strip away the foolishness?”
With a mischievous grin, Seonwoo chuckled and switched to another song, resuming his piano performance.
As the melody reached his ears, Yeongdeok found it oddly familiar.
“Haven’t you played this a lot when you were younger? Or am I mistaken?”
At Yeongdeok’s words, Seonwoo’s fingers paused mid-performance.
His expression, as if to say ‘You remember that?’, was visibly surprised.
“I didn’t think you were listening back then.”
“It’s not like I wanted to. My ears work, so I couldn’t help but hear.”
“Hah. Of course.”
Seonwoo sighed, muttering that he shouldn’t have expected much from Cha Yeongdeok.
However, as he looked down at the keys, lost in thought, a small smile tugged at the corners of his lips.
* * *
Jihoon jealousy
🤭
Jelly ^^
he is very jealous
pororo strikes again HAHA
they’re actually adorable together, a pity they just don’t work out as well as yeongdeok with jihoon.
Yeah cus their chemistry is just 🤭
Thanks for the chapter
My cute little boys
Сунву хороший мальчик, но я предпочитаю Джихуна 🥰
It’s nice to see them get along
Thanks!
Que abusado~
Thanks for the chapter 😸
more bonding time !!
❤️
😊
so jelly
If he had come in earlier maybe he would’ve stood a chance
Alguien está celoso y alguien más está descubriendo su lado masoquista xD
Yeongdeok charming everyone ML lol Jihoon go get your mans
ahhh… the charming begins