38. Camera (2)
"Hey, your phone keeps ringing."
"Oh, that... It's okay. You don't have to worry about it."
"......What?"
Lee Aram frowned. Did the words "don't worry about it" bother you?
I opened my mouth reflexively, but Lee Aram snatched the phone from my hand.
[Caller ID Restriction]
Lee Aram's body froze as soon as he saw that phrase. I looked around and patted his shoulder.
"Hyung, let's talk later."
"...... You have to explain properly."
There was nothing to explain. I nodded while thinking that. There were too many eyes on us right now.
Lee Aram asked me as soon as we got in the van.
"Have you been getting calls all this time? Why haven't you changed your number?"
"I was planning to change it after this promotion ended. I guess we exchange numbers often these days. I thought it would be confusing if I changed my number in the middle."
"Hey, but sasaengs...!"
Aram shouted.
He clenched his teeth tightly, surprised by his own loud voice. Even Hwang Bo-kyun, who was waiting for an opportunity to mediate, blinked.
A brief gap opened up, and I opened my mouth to ask something I was curious about. It was a question that would be difficult to ask otherwise.
I chose my words a little bluntly to elicit an answer.
"I didn't answer any of their calls or texts. It's okay. I'm the one who wants to hear an explanation, why are you so... scared?"
"...What did you just say?"
"It's stressful to keep getting calls and being obsessed with me. I know. But even before debut, you've been...... "
"Stop it."
Aram cut me off and avoided answering. It was a warning to me not to cross the line anymore. It was a similar reaction to when I was a trainee.
'But things are different now. It seemed stable for a while, but after the accident, it became sensitive again.'
When we're all together, it's the same as usual, but when he is alone.... Anyway.
It was different from usual to wake up early during the filming.
If you react like this while working as an idol, you won't be able to endure it. I understand his actions so far because I know how it feels to be harassed by sasaengs, but I can't just let it go without explaining the situation anymore.
Above all, isn't it hard for him? If I left it like that, Lee Aram's mind would break first or his feelings could spread into hatred towards fans.
That's why I'm saying that you need to learn how to ignore these things.
'Or learn how to ask for help.'
A short standoff followed. The other members didn't know what was going on and just looked back and forth between me and Lee Aram.
I held back a sigh and rubbed the back of my neck.
"Hyung, if you don't say anything, it'll be hard for me to understand."
"....."
"If it's hard to talk now, please calm down and think about it at the dorm and tell me. I'll wait."
In the end, Lee Aram chose to keep his mouth shut. In an instant, it became quiet.
Only then did Hwang Bo-kyun and Ji Young-heon intervene and stop us... to be precise, hold our arms and shake it.
"We have to go to our schedule now. Both of you, relax and calm down. Okay?"
"Yes. I'm sorry."
"Aram, you too."
".... Oh."
Fortunately, the remaining schedule was only a simple photo shoot.
I was relieved that I didn't have to worry about this cold atmosphere possibly leaking into the filmed video. Now, I had to be careful, even more careful, of even the smallest of rumors and scandals.
'Thank goodness behind-the-scenes video filming is prohibited here.'
The interview script was already set during the meeting, so we just have to take good pictures and come back.
I took a deep breath and looked out the window. I looked at the distant mountains and the sky from inside the moving car, then lowered my gaze.
Rii-ing. My phone notification rang again. I felt like the back of my head was going to be pierced by the intense gaze. I could feel everyone's attention on my phone.
'Why does it feel like I got into an accident...?'
I lowered my hand that was about to go to my head, then clenched and unclenched it. The notification displayed the name of the person who contacted me.
[(Rebel) Senior Woobin: Did something happen because of me?]
[(Rebel) Senior Woobin: I'm sorry, I didn't mean to]
For a moment, his eyes lost their light.
At that moment, a sigh was heard. Lee Aram looked at Hwang Bo-kyun and said.
"Why, are you going to reply?"
"...said."
Hwang Bo-kyun added while looking around. He seemed nervous that I would ignore Lee Aram's words.
'....I made the other kids look at me.'
Ji Young-heon glanced at me from the side. Please focus on driving....
"It's Woo-bin senior who contacted me."
"Huh...? That senior contacted you..?"
"Yes, I just happened to see it."
Ryu Hyunseung asked appropriate questions, so the conversation was light.
Lee Aram coughed and turned his head. It seemed like that guy didn't want to make the situation awkward anymore.
[Me: No, senior]
[Me: I saw you mentioned us on Outstar]
[Me: Thank you, haha...]
I sent a moderate reply to Woobin and this time I logged into the official account used by Intro members.
Even though I had a schedule, I posted every time I picked up my phone, so there were quite a few notifications that I hadn't checked.
- Have a happy day today and eat something delicious!
- Our Young is so cute and precious ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
- I love you more, Young-ah! (Heart emoticon)
After reading all the comments one by one, I pressed the write button.
My stomach was ticklish. It felt like the strangely sensitive feeling I had just felt was going away.
I calmly organized what I wanted to say while looking at the basic SNS phrase, 'What's going on?' It wasn't that long.
- What are you all doing? We're on our way to shoot today too. #Intro #Yooyoung (+Yoo Young selfie photo)
After finishing the upload, I turned my phone off again. Before entering the photoshoot studio, I left it with Ji Youngheon.
Then I patted Lee Aram on the back for no reason. When Lee Aram turned his head, I whispered softly so that only he could hear.
"I'm sorry if what I said earlier bothered you. Let's work hard on the shoot."
"...Uh. I'm sorry for yelling too."
Okay, let's tie up the details later. I thought that this level of reaction wouldn't spoil the atmosphere on set.
Entering the studio, I greeted them normally, changed into my clothes, and started shooting. Today's shooting concept is 'free youth.'
The shirt, vest, knit, and large jeans I wore for the first shooting gave off a light feeling.
As I was leaning against the corner waiting for my turn to shoot, Hwang Bo-kyun came closer and whispered in my ear.
"What's wrong with you all of a sudden? Is something going on with Aram?"
I looked around and shrugged my shoulders when I realized that no one was there.
Hwang Bo-kyun thumped his chest as if he was frustrated.
"Oh my, I don't know what's going on, but you two should solve it quickly. You know that guy is secretly delicate."
"...... That's right."
"Aram said that. Something was strange about you since last night's break."
"Huh? Me?"
When I asked back because I couldn't understand what he meant, Hwang Bo-kyun tilted his head as if he really didn't know. He observed me for a while and then rubbed the back of his neck.
"Me, Jung-woo, and even Yi-soo-hyung seemed to have noticed. Maybe only Han-gyul and Seung-i didn't know."
What happened during break last night...? After thinking about it carefully, I remembered that I heard the news of Planet's comeback that day.
'These guys....... They think there's something wrong.'
At first, when I heard the news of the comeback, I felt strange, but I quickly shook it off. I can't be by the Planet members' side forever, right?
But I didn't know that he would catch it in a flash. Since Lee Aram saw the text from Sasaeng in that state, it was understandable that he would misunderstand.
He must have thought that I was foolish for not changing my phone number and holding out.
"You misunderstood. I'm really fine."
"Then that's fortunate, and you should know that we care about you more than you think and worry about you as much as you do."
My mouth felt dry for a moment.
Up until this point, I had never thought about what Intro guys thought of me.
What should I call this feeling right now? My heart was pounding loudly.
"Yes, I'll be careful."
After nodding, it was Hwang Bo-kyun'z turn. I watched Hwang Bo-kyun wave his hand and walk away and thought.
'Hwang Bo-kyun seems to be secretly good at being the leader. He didn't want to do it at first.'
Look at that, he takes care of Lee Aram and other members while going to shoot. He may not be meticulous, but he was considerate.
Hwang Bo-kyun, wearing a black T-shirt and white shirt, poses naturally.
As I approached the shooting site, I saw the photographer taking pictures with all his might. He seemed to move more than the model Hwang Bo-kyun.
"Okay~ Oh, you're posing well. Should you turn your gaze a little bit? Yes, that's right. Let's take a picture. One, two."
When I monitored the footage, I saw several decent results. Before Hwang Bo-kyun, Lee A-ram, Ahn Jung-woo, Ryu Hyun-seung...... They were all doing well.
"Whew! Should we go next, Mr. Yoo Young?"
"Yes, please take care of me."
The photographer who was adjusting the camera shifted his eyes to me. He frowned and then opened his eyes quickly. As if something had come to mind.
"Wow, why do all the faces in this group look so good?"
"Thank you."
"Haha, the girls would like it. Weren't you popular in school?"
"No. I wasn't."
"Hey, don't do that."
"There really wasn't any."
"It's not funny."
The photographer licked his lips and tapped my shoulder. His hand must have been quite tense, because it hurt.
"It's a blessing that women follow you around. If I had your face, I would choose to date women."
"Ah......."
"These days, what, on the internet, there's a lot of talk about idol sasaengs? That kind of thing. If a woman stalks you on her own, I'd be grateful~ You should do it. Everyone's full."
Who brought this kid?
The cold air hit my cheek. If I hadn't been able to control my facial muscles properly, I would have just shown my contempt.
'If it's exclusive, it's disappointing. They're bringing someone who can't even keep his mouth shut properly.'
Judging from the results, it seems like his skills are good, so I guess he has a job even at that age.
I turned my head with a smiling face. Ji Young-heon was running towards me in a hurry with a woman in a suit.
I fixed my head straight ahead again. Then I spoke brightly like a child who didn't know anything.
"Haha, well. We still like work more than dating. We've never thought about that, so I don't know."
"You guys are still young, so you probably don't know much~"
"Hey, since earlier...!"
"Yes, we are young. But it doesn't matter if you don't know that, right?"
I pushed back Lee Aram, who was about to explode. We're the ones who'll get hurt if we act emotionally here.
'This kid's definitely scratching people on purpose.'
If he was quiet when he was with other guys, but then suddenly acted like this after seeing me... Either he didn't like Yoo Young's face, or he was annoyed by me meddling in the meeting. It had to be one of the two.
'Should I ignore it...? No, if I ignore it, it'll just get worse. It'd be better to just cut him off now.'
The individual shoot hasn't even finished yet. If you include the group shoot, it'll easily take a few hours, but I didn't want to bother with such a low-quality argument.
Unfortunately, I had already returned my phone, so I couldn't even turn on the recording function.
I furrowed my eyebrows as I counted the number of people who were pretending not to care and eavesdropping. In this case, 'I don't know anything~' works well. The point is to be polite.
"Besides, we're already receiving so much love from our fans. That's enough for us... I wonder if we really need to date."
"Huh?"
"Well, I don't really know, but I heard that there are people in this world who are crazy about the opposite sex and dating. I don't understand, but I have to respect them, right?"
"You, you...!"
"Huh? Why are you doing that? Did I say something wrong! I...? I'm sorry."
Just before the photographer, whose face had turned red, exploded, Ji Young-heon and a woman in a suit appeared. If they had been a little late, I would have gotten slapped.
'But getting slapped is also good for negotiation.'
If you intentionally ruin the result because of this, it would be stupid and even kill your own livelihood, so I wouldn't do that.
Ji Young-heon stood there blocking me with his body. When I stared at him with the corners of my mouth raised, Ji Young-heon's eyes trembled.
'Oh, dear. I almost got frozen eyes.'
I blinked my eyes to bring them back to life. The situation calmed down somewhat, and the first one to speak was a woman in a suit.
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