Chapter 26: Did He… Like Guys?

Woohyung didn’t like Jemin.

It wasn’t a particularly new feeling.

He was annoyed that Jemin held no real role for a member brought in to replace Hyunguk-hyung, and it bothered him that Jemin spent more time on superficial extras than on the actual stage.

Watching him obsess over unproductive activities was displeasing to his eyes.

Even so, during the Ryuseong incident, Woohyung had felt it was unfair that Jemin was taking heat for something he hadn’t even done.

No matter how much he disliked the guy, they were in the same group, and Woohyung hated seeing outsiders who knew nothing insult a teammate even more.

That was why he had charged headfirst into Ryuseong without overthinking it, which ultimately ended up looking like he took revenge on Jemin’s behalf.

‘I seriously can’t stand watching this with my eyes open.’

Regardless, just as Woohyung thought his negative feelings toward Jemin were softening slightly, a brand-new reason for him to dislike Jemin was added to the list.

“Tighter…”

Woohyung scowled fiercely.

Unless his ears were deceiving him, Yoo Jemin just said that to Seo Eunhan…

“Hey, Seo Eunhan. Move.”

“Huh?”

To reiterate, Woohyung simply could not stand the sight.

He strode over and shoved Eunhan aside.

Since Eunhan wasn’t putting any weight on his legs, he ended up rolling helplessly off to the side.

“What are you doing?”

Jemin stared in disbelief at Woohyung’s sudden intrusion.

Woohyung stared back at Jemin with an expressionless face, his tone asking what the problem was.

“I’ll just hold them for you instead.”

It was hard enough enduring Jemin’s baby-talk routines and shortened-tongue whines for the fans whenever the cameras were rolling.

Whatever Yoo Jemin was plotting, Woohyung felt he had to nip it in the bud before he tried anything weirder.

That was Woohyung’s train of thought.

“No, forget it. I don’t want to. Eunhan, you come back.”

“Why does it have to be Seo Eunhan?”

Jemin couldn’t bring himself to state the actual reason aloud.

How could he possibly say, ‘I’m dropping fan service bait right now, so shut up and step aside’?

“Then why are you stepping in?”

From Jemin’s perspective, Woohyung made even less sense.

He could have just watched on with his usual indifferent face, so why was he unnecessarily interfering in someone else’s fandom marketing?

“To inject some act-your-age into you.”

Woohyung answered without batting an eye.

At Woohyung’s response, which implied he was asking the obvious, Jemin seemed genuinely enraged for a second.

“Haha, what’s wrong with you guys?”

Sensing the chilly atmosphere, Yunbin stepped in between the two.

“Both of you, cut it out. We’re on camera.”

While pretending to pat their shoulders, Yunbin covered his microphone with his hand and whispered softly.

‘If it weren’t for the cameras, I swear…’

Countless staff members were watching Woohyung and Jemin.

They tilted their heads in confusion, unable to tell whether the two were playfully bickering or actually fighting.

“Get ready~”

Due to Woohyung’s stubborn persistence, Jemin’s feet ended up being held by Woohyung.

Woohyung hadn’t stepped in because he actually wanted to do this, but rather to avoid witnessing that bizarre sight again, so he wasn’t particularly thrilled either.

‘If it were with Eunhan, the fans would have absolutely loved it.’

Thanks to that, Jemin was able to focus strictly on his sit-ups.

He literally gritted his teeth and put every ounce of strength into his core, breaking his all-time personal record across all 24 years of his life.

However, because he mechanically did sit-ups without saying a word, it was guaranteed to get completely edited out.

And because no other members threw in ad-libs due to the tense power struggle between Woohyung and Jemin, the edit was even more certain.

It would likely just be fast-forwarded with a plain counter displayed on screen.

‘I didn’t want my screen time stolen like this.’

Jemin felt a surge of resentment.

It was humiliating that even after putting in all that effort, his sit-up record was still beaten by Jung Woohyung.

“That was exhausting.”

Eunhan finished his sit-ups as well.

Jemin rested his chin on Eunhan’s shoulder and pouted his lips.

Then, his eyes met Jung Woohyung’s once again.

‘What’s his deal?’

By now, Woohyung should have been accustomed to the artificial behaviors Jemin put on.

However, Jemin’s attitude today felt a step even stranger to Woohyung.

“Hyung, that tickles~”

While Yunbin was enthusiastically explaining the next segment, Jemin wrapped his arms around Eunhan from behind in a backhug.

Eunhan simply assumed Jemin was playing a tickling prank on him and giggled softly.

“I can’t watch this.”

In an instant, various past scenes flashed through Woohyung’s mind.

Come to think of it, there had been subtle moments where he wondered if Jemin might actually like guys.

‘Nah, no way.’

Woohyung looked at Eunhan and Jemin, then shook his head.

What kind of delusion was he entertaining?

Just as Woohyung let out a soft chuckle at himself for entertaining such a thought, even for a second…

“Eunhan-ah~”

Jemin’s eyes shone with hearts as he looked at Eunhan.

Having witnessed that scene head-on, Woohyung’s pupils shook violently.

“Woohyung-hyung…?”

Suddenly, Woohyung squeezed himself right between Eunhan and Jemin.

Eunhan stumbled again after being pushed by Woohyung.

“What? We should be standing in our basic formation.”

In 4ever’s basic formation, center Woohyung stood in the middle, flanked by Jemin on his right, Eunhan on his left, with Yunbin and James holding down the outer edges.

Because of this, HanJem shippers used to dislike Jung Woohyung for splitting up the HanJem two-shot.

It hadn’t even been intentional back then.

Though right now, Woohyung was indeed deliberately standing there to divide Eunhan and Jemin.

‘I get the distinct feeling he’s intentionally sabotaging me.’

Jemin glared menacingly at the back of Woohyung’s head.

“Everyone! Please show some interest in my content!”

Yunbin pleaded, clapping his hands pitifully.

• Passing by

  

  📚 Also on NHV NovelsI, The Interstellar Idol, Woke Up To Find Myself a MotherRead Now →

No proof, so take it with a grain of salt~

I worked as a assistant staff member today for a 5-member boy group variety show, and it seems like their relationship is worse than expected.

A feud rumor is bound to break out eventually lol.

└ DM me the subject, deleting in 1 min.

└ Deleting in 1 min: JWH & YJM.

└ OP is a Ryuseong fan? It’s so obvious!

After the first reality show filming, all the members except Yunbin were completely exhausted.

Because Yunbin suggested content based on his own physical standards, it felt less like a variety show and more like a sample platter of Marine Corps boot camp.

As a result of a fierce battle among the three members—excluding the casual gamer James—the palette badge went to Woohyung.

“Jung Woohyung really has it all. This is why God doesn’t exist.”

James, who had long hair for a male idol, made a comment that sounded like a specific religious figure while proclaiming his atheism.

Having arrived back at the dorm, they finally had some time to rest.

Woohyung, who won rock-paper-scissors, went into the bathroom first to shower.

“Ha…”

After finishing his shower, Woohyung looked into the bathroom mirror with a troubled face.

“…Was that what it was?”

Yoo Jemin likes men.

Thinking about it that way, everything Jemin had done to Eunhan so far made sense.

He thought Jemin was just a guy who acted overly cute, but to think he was an atrocious gay guy trying to satisfy his own selfish desires.

And toward a fellow teammate who had just turned twenty, no less.

“I can’t just leave this as it is.”

To be honest, he was surprised, but from Woohyung’s perspective, whether Jemin liked men, women, or aliens was none of his business.

The problem was harboring those kinds of feelings toward a teammate.

While the massive impact on the team’s survival if it leaked to the public was a big reason, the thing Woohyung found most uncomfortable was something else entirely.

“Because I don’t want to keep seeing that disgusting sight.”

Woohyung shook his head side to side.

Busy flying through endless schedules, Eunhan’s birthday arrived on the very next day.

Since it was his first birthday after debuting, the fandom seemed to be preparing various events.

Seeing the excited fans, Jemin felt his own heart flutter in anticipation.

Jemin sat waiting in front of his laptop, pulling up a server clock used for concert ticketing.

The second it struck midnight, Jemin posted a birthday message for Eunhan on the fan app.

[From. Jemin]

Our team’s youngest, our big puppy dog Eunhan-ah ><

You’re finally a real adult now! I can’t believe it…

How does it feel to be an adult? hahaha

Comparing it to our trainee days, you really grew so much in the meantime…

St… stop growing! hahaha

Just kidding, I love you.

#Brightly_Shines_20yo_Eunhan_Season

#EUNHAN_HBD

Jemin even showed off his tact by uploading two photos: a selfie taken with Eunhan during their trainee days, and another selfie taken yesterday.

Starting with Jemin, birthday messages from other members followed in a chain.

[From. James]

Eunhan-hyung, you’re the same age as me now~ Congrats!

For your gift, I’ll drizzle hot sauce around a pizza twice.

The picture is Eunhan coming in holding two boxes of pizza~

[From. Yunbin]

Eunhan-ah, happy 20th birthday!

I draw strength from your positive and optimistic energy.

Thank you for trusting me and following me all the way here…

… Read more (2,000 characters)

Looking at the unusually quiet side of the room, Jemin asked just in case.

“…Are you sleeping?”

Woohyung didn’t budge.

Having completed two schedules today, it was natural for him to be exhausted.

It wasn’t that Jemin couldn’t understand Woohyung.

Right.

It wasn’t strictly necessary to congratulate someone on their birthday right at midnight sharp.

If someone was tired, they could go to sleep early.

“He seemed to be working on songs for the next album lately, too…”

The members had previously agreed to do a live stream for fans at 6 PM to hand over gifts.

Even so, Jemin felt uneasy.

He would rather have two members post and two members not post on the From board, but having everyone post except for one single person made things awkward.

To be more specific, what he worried about was… the relationship between their individual fandoms.

And as if to prove Jemin’s worries right, the fans immediately began fighting among themselves.

ReallyJungWoohyungFan @realwoohyungbba

Yep, Jung Woohyung didn’t show up.

Don’t wait up, just go to sleep.

EunhanNamed @mybigpuppyeunhan

Not even celebrating the youngest’s birthday, is this what an idol is?

Now it’s not just hating fans, he hates the members too?

│

EggAccount @eggmoneyna_foryou

Is a birthday a medal or something? Y’all are being so dramatic.

As if no one else has ever been born before.

Replying to @mybigpuppyeunhan

EggEggAccount @dhgpqehfvdklsnaql

I screenshot this lol. Let’s see how many hours it takes Seo Eunhan to rush over on Jung Woohyung’s birthday lol.

Trending in South Korea

1st #Brightly_Shines_20yo_Eunhan_Season

2nd #EUNHAN_HBD

3rd Where is Jung Woohyung

4th Even though it’s his birthday