Chapter - 34화 (34/150)
The FD, with a short haircut that made him look like he'd only recently finished military service, still had that stiff, drilled discipline in him.
"You said there weren't any rooms."
"Ah… during the break, we made some structural changes, sir!"
Where the FD pointed, there was an extra door that hadn't been there before.
"We… split a room to make it, so it's small, but it's got everything you need, sir!"
It seemed that during the little more than a week off, they'd built a wall between the room Jisu and Dansol used, carving out a small new room.
The small room was so narrow that only a bed barely fit, but compared to Dansol's semi-basement dorm, it had good sunlight. More than that, you could see the quiet scenery outside the window—it was actually a pretty nice space.
"Huh. What is this? Are you messing with me?"
Unlike Dansol, who actually liked the room, Jisu—already on edge—snapped at the slapped-together look of it.
"Th-that's… please don't misunderstand! Han Jisu-sunbae gets the big room, and Dansol… ssi…!"
But the oblivious FD had no way of understanding why Jisu was angry.
"Yeah, of course! I'll use the small room!"
Jisu looked like he might grab the FD by the collar any second. With the air suddenly turning icy, Dansol stepped up first and volunteered to take the small room. But Jisu's anger didn't settle.
"Hey. I asked for separate rooms—who the hell told you to open a goshiwon?"
"Th-that's… we connected it to the room we used as an equipment room, so your room didn't shrink that much—!"
"That's not the point! Why is this neighborhood still treating omegas like garbage even after all this time? You—if Dansol and I were alphas, would you treat us like this too? You give a perfectly fine bedroom to the new alpha bastard, and you give an omega a room where a bed barely fits and expect them to go, 'Oh wow, thank you so much'?!"
Jisu raised his voice like he wanted Minseong—who'd moved his stuff into the room Yeomin had vacated—to hear him. The shouting definitely carried through the wall, but Minseong's door didn't open.
It had mostly faded, but the station still had a lingering atmosphere of looking down on omega celebrities. Jisu wasn't wrong, so the young FD could only sweat harder.
Truthfully, this wasn't the FD's fault. The real problem was the irresponsibility of the higher-ups who dumped this awkward situation on him to deliver.
"Hyung! I'm really fine! The sunlight's good here, and… honestly, this isn't even this person's fault. I'll use the small room. Okay?"
"Ha… Sol. Because you're so damn soft. Fine. I'll use the small room."
In the end, Jisu lowered his tail at Dansol's gentle insistence and grabbed his own bag, declaring he'd take the small room. But Dansol planted himself in the doorway and refused to move.
Without exaggeration, the newly made room was smaller than the bathroom in Jisu's house.
He couldn't bring himself to give Jisu that cramped room while he himself sprawled out in the big room.
"If you use the small room, people will curse me out! Whether it's seniority or age, I'm the one who should use it. Or… do you want me to get flooded with hate comments?"
With Dansol blocking him like a hamster protecting its sunflower seeds, Jisu had no choice but to open the door to his original room.
The FD, who'd been pressed to the wall in total tension, took the chance and tried to sneak away.
"If there's even the slightest inconvenience, say it. I'll punch through the wall or tear the building down—whatever you want, I'll fix it so you're comfortable. Got it?"
Jisu's cold stare stabbed into the FD halfway down the stairs, and the kid jolted like he'd seen a ghost.
"Yes! O-of course! Dansol-ssi! If it's uncomfortable, please tell us anytime!"
"Y-yeah…."
"You're still the same. Still prickly."
They had free time until dinner. Jisu was smoking in the backyard, taking advantage of the loosened camera surveillance, when—
"And you're still the same. Still following me around?"
The two of them had met not long after Jisu debuted. The indie film he'd shot with Daesu had unusually blown up, and thanks to that lucky timing, he'd landed a role in a commercial film by a director whose stock was rising fast.
That role was Ha Minseong's counterpart. A shamelessly cliché romantic comedy. For Jisu—who didn't really have dreams and didn't intend to stay in entertainment for long—it was perfect. A guy who was blasé about everything and didn't trust people easily.
Minseong had chased him relentlessly just to get a single glance from him. And to shake him off, Jisu had even revealed that he was an alpha.
What had he said back then?
'I don't care if you're alpha or omega. What I like isn't omega Han Jisu—I just like Han Jisu.'
A wave of nausea rose up, and Jisu sucked down a menthol cigarette until his cheeks hollowed.
"Your self-importance is insane. You really think I came all the way here because there's no one else in the world to date besides some alpha bastard?"
In truth, Minseong was the first and last alpha in Jisu's dating history. Jisu hadn't had real feelings, but photos of Minseong tailing him ended up on the front page of the sports news, so he'd acknowledged the relationship. Jisu thought of him less as a lover and more like a strategic M&A partner.
In the end, their relationship ended three months later, when Jisu smelled Minseong's pheromones in a sweet room and threw up.
"Then what? Revenge because I stole your Best Actor award?"
That bad blood he'd thought was completely over kept resurfacing—movie releases colliding in theaters the same season, year after year, until the awards circuit. Rookie awards, Best Actor, Best Picture, even overseas awards. The result: Jisu won again and again.
"No way. Have you ever seen me hungry for awards?"
Minseong had even auditioned and clawed his way into a Hollywood film, hoping for a huge reversal, but he'd just come back to Korea after critics called it a total defeat—because Jisu's film had gotten rare global popularity, beating it in artistry, completion, and box office.
Jisu even swept the overseas Best Actor award Minseong had dreamed of his whole life, leaving Minseong branded with the humiliating nickname: "the Bitter Applause Award, chosen by netizens."
"That's why. You've got no ambition to the point it's ridiculous. How the hell… you've been acting for years and you still don't have a single Best Actor. I'll take a year off so you can win."
Minseong had gotten to the point where, if you asked him to name the one person he least wanted to deal with—someone whose name alone gave him chills—he'd pick Han Jisu without hesitation.
"You're going too far, Han Jisu. I'm the one going easy on you. You know that?"
"And then don't. How long are you planning to 'go easy'?"
"Hah. An alpha bastard pretending to be an omega. Jisu—just the fact that I haven't leaked this to the media should make you grateful. Got it?"
Jisu, listening to Minseong talk big, kneaded the stiff back of his neck and answered.
"And who was the one clinging to that alpha bastard 'pretending to be omega'? Go ahead. Leak it. You think I don't know what you've been doing?"
Jisu wasn't someone you could push around, either.
"Huh. You never let a single thing slide. I didn't come here to fight, so let's stop."
Of course. Minseong was famous for having a filthy private life. Acting like Jisu knew something, Jisu clearly hit a nerve—because Minseong was the first to bend.
"Whatever."
—Now that a new member has joined, our production team prepared quite a bit. We've prepared a simple game, with tonight's dinner menu on the line.
—You'll form teams of two. Since it's the first time, would it be okay to give Ha Minseong the chance to choose his teammate first?
"Yes."
"Sure."
When Dansol went to the kitchen for food, the dining table was already packed. Glowing hanwoo beef, and at the other extreme, a table that was nothing but seaweed, rice, and kimchi.
He didn't know what game they were about to play, but right now, Dansol only cared about one thing: who would team up with Minseong.
He hadn't even properly greeted him yet, but if Dansol could just be on a team with Minseong, it felt like his wish would be fulfilled.
—All right. Ha Minseong-ssi? Is there someone you'd like to team up with?
"Yes. There is."
Minseong smiled as he said it, and Dansol's heart pounded like it had when he was a kid.
"Yoo Dohyeon-ssi."
The collapse was instant. Dansol's lower lip stuck out without him realizing it. Across from him, Taeohh looked just as disappointed—his shoulders slumping.
—All right. The others will form teams through drawing lots, as per the existing rules.
Dansol trudged over and drew a capsule. The one who drew the same color as him was Taeohh.
—Joo Dansol-ssi, Ma Taeohh-ssi.
—Lee Yiyeon -ssi, Jeong Daesu-ssi.
—Jegal Minhyuk-ssi, Han Jisu-ssi.
—And Ha Minseong-ssi, Yoo Dohyeon-ssi are a team.
—Today's dinner mission includes not only the dinner menu, but also a date pass.
Dansol and Taeohh, who'd been sitting there like citizens of a fallen country, finally perked up, eyes shining. Maybe, using the date as an excuse, they could even get a one-on-one fan meeting with Minseong.
But their joy didn't last long.
—The game for today, with dinner and the date pass on the line, is a quiz battle.
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