Chapter 10: Clue

Unconsciously, my face scrunched up.

Watching Woo Yeongchan, Han Hoseong burst out laughing.

“You have such a vivid expression right now.”

“Your eyes are wide like cherry tomatoes……”

“It is funny.”

“I do not think I have ever seen you make a face like that before.”

It did not seem like sarcasm.

Still, the uneasy feeling remained, so Woo Yeongchan spat out grumpily.

“I cannot do this.”

“Why?”

“The shoot is almost over anyway.”

“I am not saying I will not do it, I am saying I cannot.”

“Even when I try, it is not working right now.”

Han Hoseong stared blankly at Woo Yeongchan.

He had felt it before, but Hoseong’s eyes were excessively clear, making it overwhelming.

Woo Yeongchan turned his head to avoid Hoseong’s gaze.

“Are you upset because you think you are not doing well?”

It hit the bullseye.

Woo Yeongchan stubbornly refused to face forward.

Regardless, Han Hoseong said in a casual tone.

“It is fine.”

“Getting that much direction during a shoot is a common thing.”

“……The shoot was delayed.”

“That is common too.”

Han Hoseong patted the strawberry mascot costume.

“You are doing well.”

“If there is anything difficult, tell me.”

When it came to difficult things, Woo Yeongchan had countless things to say.

There was no reason to refuse when a platform was laid out for him.

Woo Yeongchan voiced the most urgent issue.

“It is embarrassing.”

“The outfit?”

“Yeah.”

Han Hoseong let out a low hum.

After scanning Woo Yeongchan from the strawberry stem down to his toes, he spoke.

“For someone who says that, it suits you pretty well.”

“No, it does not!”

“So what?”

“You said it is not your body anyway, right?”

Woo Yeongchan started to snap, then calmed down a little.

At least those words were right.

Since it was not his own body, something like a strawberry stem might actually suit it.

“When you took a selfie, you said it yourself, ‘It is not my face anyway.’”

“How about thinking of it that way this time too?”

“……”

Woo Yeongchan chewed over Han Hoseong’s suggestion.

It was not advice he wanted to follow willingly, but right now, it seemed like the best option.

“Lee Jujin-ssi, we are starting your shoot.”

At the director’s call, Lee Jujin stood in front of the chroma key screen.

Woo Yeongchan shifted his gaze over there.

Holding fruit and vegetable juice in both hands, Lee Jujin was taking poses.

It was not as much as Han Hoseong, but he also struck a variety of poses.

Woo Yeongchan watched the shoot with his arms awkwardly crossed.

“Thank you for your hard work.”

“Everyone worked so hard!”

The shoot ended.

While HIGH-5 exchanged greetings with the director and staff, Woo Yeongchan caught his breath.

The solo photo shoot seemed to have gone reasonably well.

It was thanks to closely observing and copying other people’s poses.

Of course, the fact that he repeated ‘This is not me, this is not me’ dozens of times in his head played a part too.

Even if he struck a cute pose pressing fruit juice against his cheek while lifting one leg slightly, that was something done by Zenon’s body, so it was none of Woo Yeongchan’s business.

“Phew……”

Still, fatigue was unavoidable.

It was because he was exhausted both mentally and physically.

Wanting to quickly take off the strawberry mascot mask, he headed toward the waiting room, but Seol Itae caught Woo Yeongchan.

“You are not going to say goodbye?”

“Yeah.”

“……Why is your personality the exact same even after losing your memory?”

“Never mind, just go.”

His tone suggested he would not say more because it left a bitter taste in his mouth.

However, Woo Yeongchan was not someone to care about that.

Without even looking back, he walked away, but someone put an arm around his neck.

“What is this?”

Surged with displeasure, he shoved the arm away, but the other person did not fall off.

Instead, the arm draped around his shoulders subtly applied strength.

“We are outside.”

“Watch your words and watch your actions.”

“Got it?”

“What if I do not?”

“Then I will have to teach you from now on, until you get it.”

Han Hoseong said in a casual tone.

Despite having a kind-looking face, he was the most annoying out of the four.

Woo Yeongchan ground his teeth and said.

“So.”

“What do you want?”

“Let us take a picture.”

“If it is pictures, I took plenty.”

“We did not take any for social media uploads.”

“Where else do you get a rare chance to wear clothes like this?”

“We have to leave a record.”

“Are you a historian?”

“Recording just anything?”

If it were up to him, he would never leave a record of wearing such a mascot costume.

No, what was a record?

He wanted to erase even the memories inside his head.

“Do not be like that, hurry.”

Han Hoseong extended the arm holding his phone far out.

His other arm was still hugging Woo Yeongchan’s neck.

While he struggled to escape, the other members came running over.

“Let us take it together!”

“Me too.”

Four men surrounded Woo Yeongchan.

And not just any men, but men wearing mascot suits packed with cotton.

Escaping from between them was impossible.

“I am taking it.”

“One, two.”

Click.

Han Hoseong pressed the shutter.

Regardless, Woo Yeongchan did not smooth out his frowning expression.

In contrast to the brightly smiling men around him, his face looked even gloomier.

He looked just like a rotten fruit stuck among fresh fruits.

“You should smile.”

“……”

Woo Yeongchan tightly set his mouth and glared at the lens.

He would do public duties in place of Zenon, but he had no intention of doing private things.

Han Hoseong let out a small sigh.

Then he pressed the shutter continuously.

Click, click, click, click.

It was continuous shooting reminiscent of a photographer on a red carpet.

It felt like ten photos were being taken per second.

“You are taking pictures until I smile?”

“Trying to threaten me like this……”

“Huh?”

“No, I thought if we take about a hundred pictures, we might get at least one usable shot.”

To Woo Yeongchan, that was no different from a threat.

He did not want to smile out of stubbornness, but he hated getting his picture taken continuously even more.

In the end, he relaxed his mouth.

Just that alone made his expression presentable.

At least he did not look like someone filled with dissatisfaction toward the world.

“Good job.”

“Now let us take off the costumes.”

Only then did Han Hoseong put his phone away.

The members, who had been stuck close together to fit into one frame, moved away again.

“You……”

“Why?”

Woo Yeongchan glared fiercely at Han Hoseong, but Hoseong showed no sign of being intimidated.

Woo Yeongchan spat out through his teeth.

“Hand over the phone.”

“No way.”

“If I give you the phone, you will just delete all the pictures.”

“I do not need yours.”

“Hand over mine, or more accurately, Kim Jeguk’s.”

To modern people, a phone was no different from an alter ego.

Looking at a phone usually revealed the owner’s personal relationships, residential area, hobbies, tastes, and even financial information.

Until now, Woo Yeongchan had been too busy adapting to Kim Jeguk’s life to pay attention, but the moment he saw Han Hoseong’s phone, the thought occurred to him.

‘Maybe Kim Jeguk’s phone holds information to get my body back.’

Even if not for that reason, he needed a phone.

He needed a phone to make calls and use the internet.

However, Han Hoseong did not cooperate obediently.

“Speak a bit more nicely.”

“If someone hears you, they will think I stole your phone.”

“Why are you looking for your phone from me?”

“……You do not even know where it is?”

“I have a rough idea, but why?”

“What are you going to do this time?”

Han Hoseong looked at Woo Yeongchan with suspicious eyes.

He did not seem inclined to hand over the phone easily.

Woo Yeongchan’s anger flared to the top of his head as he spat out.

“I am not doing anything weird.”

“Do you think I am Kim Jeguk?”

“Out of all the things I heard today, that sounds the weirdest.”

“Ah, weird!”

As soon as Woo Yeongchan opened his mouth, Han Hoseong covered it.

Because of that, the words “I am not doing anything weird!” died uselessly.

“Alright, I got it, so do not shout outside.”

Han Hoseong calmly met the eyes glaring at him.

He was not scared of this rebellious gaze, or the dissatisfaction contained within it.

However, Zenon doing something ‘weird’ was more terrifying than anything else.

“Mm-ph……!”

“I said I got it.”

“It is probably at the dorm.”

“For some reason, you seem a bit different now…… but you had mild mysophobia, so when you were not using your phone, you used to put it in a UV sterilizer.”

If Kim Jeguk himself claimed ownership of his belongings, Han Hoseong had no choice.

As he answered with half concern and half resignation, Woo Yeongchan’s fierce momentum eased up a little.

Han Hoseong removed his hand from his mouth.

“Hey.”

“What now?”

“Where is that UV sterilizer?”

“……Let us go.”

“Let us go quietly and talk more there.”

Han Hoseong practically rolled Woo Yeongchan, who was wearing the strawberry mascot costume, back into the waiting room.

Apart from completing the shoot safely, both of them felt a heavy weight resting on their chests.

Clue

Just as Han Hoseong guessed, Zenon’s phone was inside the UV sterilizer.

Having obtained what he wanted, Woo Yeongchan took the phone into his room—more accurately, Zenon and Han Hoseong’s room.

Watching the door slam shut, Han Hoseong let out a sigh.

‘What should I do with Zenon?’

At this rate, an attitude controversy or rumor of member discord might break out because of Zenon.

Scared that Zenon might eventually cause a major disaster, Han Hoseong remained tense the entire time.

His heart felt sore, as if it had been scorched beyond mere anxiety.

‘I cannot fail again.’

Han Hoseong pressed firmly on his chest as he thought.

He had already experienced falling into a pit because of a disaster caused by a member in the same group.

It was a devastating event he never wanted to experience twice in his life.

He would rather remain as an ‘idol who sadly failed to blow up’ like HIGH-5 was before, than become an ‘idol who succeeded briefly and plummeted.’

“……”

Han Hoseong shook his head side to side.

What was he thinking just now?

Whether it was this or that, both were equally terrible.