On the way home, I immediately realized the reality.
'When should I speak?'
There was no time.
It wasn't a tour season where we could flexibly take time out if we wanted to.
At worst, it was an early base for activities where the schedule was set in minutes.
'It's hard to go out, so what now?'
During this crazy schedule, would there ever be a time to talk to Seon Ahyeon separately?
But the answer was easy to find.
"Would you like to use my room?"
"… !"
"I have a single room~ Let's talk at night after schedules!"
Yes.
Coincidentally, the guy who had a single room at the dorm knew everything about the situation. We wouldn't have to go out someplace else.
"Of course, Sejin has to sleep too~ If the story gets longer, I will use your room… Moondaemoondae? Are you listening?"
"Oh, thank you."
After I coordinated a few schedules on the plane, I decided to notify Seon Ahyeon separately as soon as we returned to the dorm... … …
"For now, I will be there too. No matter how much Ahyeon likes his friends, we need to create an atmosphere and make preparations so that he can trust us~"
That was right.
It seemed that Seon Ahyeon cared about the fact that there was something that Keun Sejin and I didn't share with him.
I'd leave the other parties alone.
That day, I talked to Seon Ahyeon at the commercial shooting site, which was directly from the airport.
"Ahyeon-ah."
"Yes?"
"When we go to the dorm after filming, I'm planning to talk at night with you and Lee Sejin…"
"Yes! O-of course!"
"Yes."
He was very active. Thanks to that, the appointment was made in an instant.
So, the story was that the three of us who were the same age sat together on the sofa in Keun Sejin's single room.
"Come on, everyone, sit comfortably~"
"Ah, yes… !"
"… …"
I didn't know how this bastard could sleep with ten of his own character plushies right in front of his bed. Were his nerves made of iron?
Anyway, I turned my head and looked at Seon Ahyeon with the plushie heads behind me.
Seon Ahyeon seemed nervous, but seemed to be expecting more than that.
'His eyes are twinkling.'
No, such a huge secret... It made sense.
Yes. Just last year, I didn't know that I would be able to say this openly.
"Hmm."
I cleared my throat and opened my mouth.
"First of all… I'm sorry if you've been feeling a little left out lately."
"N-no! Of course, um, you don't have to tell me... … You guys have been working hard, so that's why..."
"… ?"
Wait a minute.
I looked back at Keun Sejin. A look of bewilderment passes across his face.
In the meantime, Seon Ahyeon blushed and continued to speak.
"A-about me leading the conversation well… Business-wise, I haven't shown a great side... … Um, so it might not be easy to share, I guess…"
"… …"
Hey. This guy…
Apparently, Seon Ahyeon thought that me and Keun Sejin were handling some grandiose and complicated behind-the-scenes business.
And it seemed like he thought we didn't share it even though it was a group thing because he wasn't trustworthy enough.
For a moment, I looked back at Seon Ahyeon's recent activities and stayed silent.
'So… Did he actively participate because of that?'
Now the puzzle fit perfectly.
'Damn it.'
He had it twisted.
I put strength into the hand that was about to press down on my forehead.
'This… It's because it was buried.'
Because of my secret, incidents from Ryu Chungwoo to Keun Sejin broke out, so his brain was fixed on that side only.
If he wanted to hear anything from me, it was probably about my secret.
"… …"
Okay. Then again... There was no need to tell Seon Ahyeon about my identity.
'He can't even guess.'
This was the right time to gloss over the label or press issues with appropriate lies. Seon Ahyeon would move on.
'… But is that okay?'
I clenched my fist.
Even so, whenever I did system-related work in the future, I was going to leave this guy out again, so wouldn't he feel more deceived?
If that was the case, I should have stopped talking.
'At that point, I'd have nothing to say.'
It was not a work-related issue, but it was right to say clearly that I couldn't talk about it because it was a personal matter. Because we had a misunderstanding.
Seon Ahyeon might be a bit disappointed, but anyway, things would be sorted out there.
'The problem is...'
I… I didn't want to do that.
It was funny.
"… …"
I half-impulsively opened my mouth.
"That… It wasn't a matter of work. I never thought you couldn't work properly in the first place."
"What?"
"It's just my own personal problem."
I swallowed. Somehow, my mood was lifted.
"I wasn't originally Park Moondae, but I'm living as Park Moondae now."
"… … ??"
"I kept quiet because I couldn't talk about it."
"… What?"
Just like I told Keun Sejin, I started to explain it to Seon Ahyeon as well.
"When I woke up a few years ago, I was in someone else's body."
Still, the sentence came out in a more organized tone because I had said it once already…
'… This is really something I shouldn't be saying while being sober.'
"So, in my eyes, there's a kind of hologram…"
"Pffftt!"
"… If you laugh one more time, I will send you out."
"Huh? It's my room, but Moondae wants to send me out... Sorry. I got that plushie from a fan, Moondae-nim, be careful. Don't throw it at me."
I came to the crisis section desperate for alcohol a few times, but I was able to say the big line anyway and passed it safely.
'The story of Cheongryeo and Gold 2 should be said later.'
There would be no need to tell a complicated and diverse story to a guy who didn't even have a clue about what I was talking about.
I finished the story with a few supplementary explanations from Keun Sejin.
"… So now I'm doing fine."
"… …"
I finished the story... There was no response.
A little hastily, I opened my mouth again.
"I couldn't say it easily because it was so unrealistic. I was half caught by this guy."
"That's right. I am also very quick-witted~ Park Moondae tried not to tell anyone, but in fact, I found out everything?"
"… …"
And when I raised my head, I saw Seon Ahyeon's blank face.
The guy looked back at me and Keun Sejin a few times, then slightly lowered his gaze.
"… Th-that's right."
"Yes."
And there was silence.
"… …"
"… … ."
He was thinking… for a very long time.
'… ? Why.'
He didn't even ask questions.
By the time a cold sweat formed on the back of my neck…
Seon Ahyeon opened his mouth again.
But he wasn't talking to me.
It was Keun Sejin.
"… Th-there, Sejin also heard this story before, right?"
"That's right. It hasn't been that long... Not even a few months."
"Wh-what… did you think? When you first listened to it."
"Hmm?"
Keun Sejin shrugged.
"Is there any reason for Moondae to lie about something like this?"
"… !"
"Because of the way I've seen Moondae's personality so far… I just thought he wouldn't lie about this."
"… …"
At Keun Sejin's words, Seon Ahyeon lowered his head again.
'What is he thinking?'
Why was he doing that without asking me about the content? No, of course it was pretty shocking... But…
I bit my tongue.
'Stop making unnecessarily excessive guesses.'
Of course, he may have been curious about the thoughts of the person who heard the story first.
Still…
I opened and closed my hand a few times, then let go and opened my mouth.
"If it's hard to believe…"
But this sentence was not finished.
It was because Seon Ahyeon interrupted me.
"N-no. I believe you."
"… !"
The boy raised his head and smiled faintly with a slightly tired expression.
"Yes… … Th-that's right. Moondae is not the kind of person to lie about something like this... Of course, I know."
"I-it must have been hard… Moondae. All this time… you must have been through a lot."
Somehow, I was speechless.
After clearing my throat a few times, I was able to answer calmly.
"I made a lot of money and did well. That's enough for me"
"Yes… …"
Seon Ahyeon answered quietly.
"Still… If you are having trouble, tell me."
"Moondae must be feeling really reassured, right? You have two backups~ Ah, Chungwoo-hyung knows a little too."
"… Ch-Chungwoo hyung too... ?"
"Ah, that hyung had some family circumstances…"
I confirmed that Seon Ahyeon listened intently to what Keun Sejin explained.
Concentration returned to his face.
"… …"
Okay... was it over now?
Keun Sejin trembled at the end of the explanation.
"It's not like we've been the same-age-line since
I ended up laughing in the end, too. After thinking about it for a while, I reached out my hand to Seon Ahyeon.
"Yes, I look forward to your kind cooperation, Ahyeon-ah."
Seon Ahyeon's slightly trembling hand shook mine.
It was a little cold, but there was strength.
"… Yes!"
And when he responded to me, it was clear that I saw joy in his eyes. That was it.
Even the next day, Seon Ahyeon's joyous attitude did not change, and I... I guess I was somewhat relieved.
* * *
And after a few days…
A slightly unique schedule was back.
"Well, tomorrow is the day we go to Yeonhee University."
"Oh!"
It was the college festival schedule that came back after nearly two years.
It was because the ransom was so high last year, we had been steadily going there since our debut.
From our debut song after
Also, the university festival performance was quite a fun event, so everyone reacted well.
"Oh~ It's been a while. It sounds quite fun?"
"I know. Will it be an outdoor concert hall?"
Thanks to that, the conversation started like this, and after a few minutes, we went to talk about the university itself. Well, it was always like that when we chatted in the car.
"… If I get a chance later, I would like to attend a lecture."
"I see. I don't regret completing a cyber university to do my work, but I'm still curious about other options."
And Cha Eugene shrugged.
"I had a scholarship for college, but I came to Korea. It's amazing!"
"Wow."
"That's really great."
No one would be able to refute it. Kim Raebin was also nodding his head.
"Why did you do that?"
"Um, because dancing is more fun? [It's just there. Because I wanted to]."
It was fair to say that he kicked the scholarship because things went well.
Even I, who had covered my living expenses by being a data collector while maintaining my scholarship, had a job completely unrelated to my major.
"Hyung! Are you thinking of going to college?"
"Not at all."
I didn't want to go twice.
Being forced to go twice... This time, I thought of something that might lead me to active duty, but I quit for now.
'Hoo…'
I envied gold medalists and foreigners.
"OK~ Just take a look at the campus! You can do it secretly!"
"Well… When the time comes."
I checked the college festival in the schedule list with a rather strange feeling while listening to Cha Eugene's nonsensical words.
There was only one reason.
"Moondaemoondae, is this the university you graduated from?"
"… Yes."
When Cha Eugene stopped slapping me on the shoulder from the back seat, Keun Sejin spoke virtuously.
This was the university I attended.
'Is this the first time with this body?'
I mean, we didn't have to go here.
And only at this agency, university events were put in first-come-first-served basis.
But this time, it seemed that this school called in the biggest and fastest money.
'It's a cool way to spend the kids' tuition money.'
Those who had a lot of money raised their tuition every year like that.
I skipped over the schedule, twitching my eyebrows. I was squished between Keun Sejin, who was peering over my shoulder, and Seon Ahyeon.
"Ahyeonahyeon~ This is the university Moondae attended."
"… … I-I see."
Seon Ahyeon asked me cautiously.
"How… does it feel?"
"… Well, it's just so-so."
I chuckled.
"It's been a long time since I graduated, and the campus has been changed once, so to be honest, I'm not that impressed."
Keun Sejin smiled.
"Alright. Hyung."
"… …"
Stop it, punk.
"Hehehehehe…"
I held back a sigh as I listened to Keun Sejin trying to hold back a laugh with trembling shoulders. Seon Ahyeon smiled awkwardly.
'What… Anyway, we just need to do well on stage.'
It was an event in Korea after a long time. I cracked my neck.
We would be the ending performance.
If time allowed, we were in a position where we could sing three or four encores.
'We don't have time to do it all… I don't think so.'
But, as always, things did not always go as expected.