Survive! Foolish Bottom!

 

In the game, there was no event where Haeun could view Seongjae’s birthday billboard with him like this. Haeun felt a sense of pride, as it seemed like he had grown closer to him now compared to when he had only been focused on completing the routes. 

 

Initially, Haeun had been wary of the members, unsure when they might trigger a romance flag, but the more time they spent together, the less concerned he became. Trust had been built between them as colleagues and friends.

 

‘Yeah, that’s the limitation of dating sims. They push romance without really allowing you to form genuine connections or experience events like this. How nice is this, just being friends, huh?’

 

As he smugly mulled over these thoughts, Haeun gently spoke to Seongjae, who had remained silent.

 

“Did you come all the way just to see this?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

Seongjae’s short response came as he continued to look at the billboard. Without turning his gaze, he asked, “Do you feel annoyed that I dragged you all the way here just to see this?”

 

He faintly smiled as he spoke. Haeun thought to himself that it was the first time he had seen him smile like that. Strangely, it gave him the same feeling as seeing a well-raised son, and he quickly shook his head, smiling warmly.

 

“It’s a birthday celebration.”

 

“Come to think of it, you forgot that it was my birthday.”

 

Haeun said awkwardly. In truth, she hadn’t so much forgotten as she had never known in the first place, but he couldn’t say that. Seongjae shrugged and replied, “Doesn’t matter. I’ve never celebrated your birthday either.”

 

“True enough.”

 

Haeun casually agreed, and Seong-jae let out a small laugh. 

 

“My fans, they’re mostly middle and high schoolers, or at best, college students or young adults just starting out in the workforce. I don’t know how they managed to gather the money for this.”

 

“……”

 

“This place would be considered cheap compared to places like Gangnam or Hongdae, and some people might think it’s insignificant but…”

 

Even as he said that, Seong-jae’s expression was undeniably bright. Ha-eun was struck by the thought, ‘So he can make a face like that after all.’

 

“Seeing it makes me happy.”

 

“Out of all the billboards I’ve seen, this one came out the prettiest.”

 

Haeun felt Seongjae looking at him with a peculiar expression. He playfully gave his shoulder a hard smack and continued.

 

“Hey, let’s work hard and get a billboard for our 3rd debut anniversary next year. Doesn’t that sound good?”

 

“……”

 

When Seongjae didn’t respond, Haeun waved his hand at him.

 

“Stand over there.”

 

“What?”

 

“We came all the way here; we’ve got to take a picture to commemorate it. Hurry up and stand there.”

 

Despite hesitating, Seongjae handed him his phone and posed in front of the billboard. Even though he acted like he didn’t want to, his poses were polished—he was an idol, after all. Haeun, squatting low to get the best angle, carefully snapped a picture. Then he tossed the phone back to him.

 

“It turned out so good! Gosh, I’m scared of my own talent. Post it on SNS.”

 

With a mischievous grin, Haeun turned and started climbing the stairs.

 

“Hey, let’s go. If you dragged me out here, the least you can do is buy me a meal.”

 

As Seongjae quietly watched him from below, he suddenly spoke up.

 

“If we get a debut anniversary billboard next year…”

 

“Huh?”

 

“Let’s go see it together.”

 

Seongjae said, finishing his sentence as he began to ascend the stairs, overtaking Haeun, who was already ahead. He could tell he was probably embarrassed, and with a scoff, he started chasing after his retreating figure.

 

“You’re really not good at talking, are you?”

 

“Shut up.”

 

“Let’s get some hangover soup, hangover soup!”

 

Seongjae didn’t nod in agreement, but he also didn’t wave him off.

 

***

 

After their activity period ended, things felt a bit relaxed, and Haeun noticed he had woken up a bit late today. Ignoring the system’s voice announcing the number of days he had played, he peeked his head out the door. Soon, she went back to bed and opened the Stone Cherry chat room.

 

➥ Why is only Junwoo at the dorm?

 

However, when he tried to send a message, it wouldn’t go through. He thought it might be an app glitch and opened the window to check. The problem became apparent surprisingly quickly.

 『Try using cute emojis to get closer to your members (yωy*)』 

Haeun couldn’t help but think that they were really making him do the silliest things. Reluctantly, he opened the emoji window and looked for something suitable. Among the basic emojis, he found a peach-shaped character that was slamming a dish onto the table while holding utensils. 

 

It seemed just right to express how hungry he felt at that moment, so he chose that emoji. However, once again, it failed to send.

 『The emoji isn’t cute enough (ﾉдヽ)…….』 

“What the hell? This is cute enough; what more do they want?” 

 

Did they expect him to buy a new emoji just to send a single message? What a hassle. Eventually, Haeun entered the emoji shop and purchased a package that included a squishy rabbit emoji that patted its belly.

 (Rabbit patting its belly emoji)3     Why is only Junwoo at the dorm?  

This time, thankfully, the message was sent successfully. The number quickly dropped to 2. 

 [Ilhyun]   (Rabbit with hands together emoji)The boss called for me, so I’m out.  

‘Is that a pleading emoji? I don’t think he needs to apologize. Or maybe it’s expressing the desire to punch the boss in the face?’ 

 

After responding with the sad rabbit emoji, he asked another question. 

 2     What about Seongjae?  

The number didn’t decrease. Haeun stared at his phone, engaged in a battle of wills with the screen. Just then, a few seconds later, the number next to the message completely disappeared. It seemed both Seongjae and Junwoo had seen the message.

 [Seongjae]  Plans 

Haeun was dumbfounded by the brevity of the reply. He glared at his phone as if it were Seongjae’s face, frustrated that he had sent only two words before seemingly closing the app without hesitation. The next message had the number 3 next to it again.  

 (Surprised rabbit emoji)3     You have a friend to make plans with?   

The reply came almost immediately.  

 [Seongjae]  LOL   

“What the hell, is that all?”  

 

This guy was really getting on his nerves. Haeun gave up on receiving any meaningful response and let out a huge yawn. Just then, the notification for the group chat went off again.  

 [Junwoo]  But why are you asking through the chat instead of coming out? 

Haeun felt a sudden pang of guilt. If there hadn’t been anything to feel guilty about, he wouldn’t have minded, but the truth was he was hiding in his room to avoid Jun-woo. After quickly thinking it over, he managed to come up with an appropriate response.  

 (Rabbit emoji lying on the bed)  3   

He threw his phone aside and stood up. Since both Ilhyun and Seongjae were out for work, they wouldn’t be back anytime soon. That meant it was just him and Junwoo for now. If he lingered too long, he could end up saying something she might regret.  

 

After tidying himself up a bit, Ha-eun opened the door and stepped out. As soon as he did, Jun-woo greeted him.  

 

“Are you awake?”  

 

“Uh-huh.”  

 

He turned his head to find Jun-woo’s voice, but he was nowhere to be seen at the dining table or the couch. It was odd until he realized why; he was doing a handstand in the living room.  

 

“………..What are you doing?”

 

“Self-care.”  

 

His tone was remarkably calm for someone in such an awkward position. Wondering if this was some sort of joke, he cautiously asked.

 

“Are you kidding?”  

 

“Yes. But you might as well smile.”  

 

Though he hadn’t specifically asked her to, a vague smile escaped his lips.

 

Meanwhile, the TV was still on. Haeun couldn’t help but wonder how Junwoo could see the screen while upside down. He tilted his head as far as it would go, trying to catch a glimpse of what he was watching, and asked.

  

“Can you see the TV like that?”  

 

“I’m used to it, so I can see it well enough. As long as I can hear it, I can understand what’s going on.”  

 

“Do you do this often?”  

 

“Whenever I feel like I need to exercise more and when there’s no one in the dorm.”  

 

“Does that mean I’m not a person?”  

 

“Well, hyung didn’t come out.”  

 

As they exchanged these rather meaningless pleasantries, Haeun took a moment to examine Junwoo. Since he was an idol, there weren’t any burly figures in Stone Cherry. Junwoo was on the slimmer side, so he had never really thought much about it. But now that he was looking at him, he noticed that he had a well-defined physique. It was clear he had built it through systematic exercise.  

 

Staring at Junwoo, an oddly nostalgic memory of a friend from real life popped into his head.  

 

‘That fitness freak, he even opened a gym after all that working out.’

 

His friend was always going on about muscle loss and constantly pestering Haeun to sign up for personal training sessions, which often annoyed him. He eventually closed down his gym, claiming it was all because Haeun never registered for training, and he vividly remembered having to shove him into a taxi to send him home after he drunkenly ranted about it.  

 

If that friend had seen Junwoo, he would have been ecstatic. Apparently, there’s a specific kind of body that has the potential to build muscle easily.  

 

As he pondered these thoughts, he found himself gazing at Jun-woo with a sentimental expression. He never imagined he would feel this way looking at a guy’s body, especially someone like him. But then again, he knew the reason behind his emotions lay elsewhere, so there was no need for surprise.  

 

After staring at Junwoo, who was still holding his handstand for quite a while, he finally spoke up.

 

“Why are you looking at a person’s body like it’s a piece of meat at a butcher shop?”  

 

Junwoo finally came down from his handstand, perhaps feeling a bit awkward. Aside from his slightly flushed face, he looked nothing like someone who had just been upside down. Haeun rested his chin on his hand and replied.

 

“You must be really popular with the t-trainers.”  

 

He hadn’t actually stuttered; he had just instinctively tried to hide a swear word that almost slipped out. Junwoo made a face as if he couldn’t believe what he just heard. He shrugged lightly,  

 

“What’s that supposed to mean?”  

 

Haeun’s expression involuntarily twisted in confusion. What does he mean by “what’s that supposed to mean”? Did he think he was checking out guys with any ulterior motives?  

 

No matter how many nights he spent playing games where guys openly flirted with each other, and no matter how immersed he felt in that world, it didn’t mean Haeun had suddenly become gay.

Hey guys, this is Flo!

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