Chapter 27: A Place Where Light Falls

It was Lunar New Year’s Day.

Filming for the drama wasn’t finished yet, but thanks to the director’s consideration, they were given a special day off with no shoot scheduled.

Normally, filming continued regardless of holidays, so this kind of break was rare.

Yesterday’s shoot had ended a little early.

That said, “early” still meant 1 a.m.

He thought he should call his parents, but since this was a rare holiday, he wanted to enjoy it just a little longer.

The warmth of the bed felt incredibly nice.

Thinking he would lie there for just ten more minutes, Sim Eun-chan rubbed his face into the blanket.

Bzzzt.

His phone vibrated.

Wanting to stay lazy a bit longer, Eun-chan pulled the blanket over his face, but when the vibration continued, he groggily lifted his head.

There was a message on his phone.

It was from Kim Hyuin.

— Eun-chan, happy New Year!
— Make sure you eat tteokguk!
— I already did!

Along with the message, he had sent a photo of tteokguk.

Sim Eun-chan smiled as he read it.

He had grown quite close to the other cast members during filming, but he was especially close to Kim Hyuin.

Even if their bond had started because of the “catnip” trait, Hyuin’s warm personality had brought them surprisingly close.

Daily phone calls were a given, and they exchanged trivial text messages all the time.

Because they worked in different fields, it was actually easier to open up and talk honestly.

More than anything, Kim Hyuin had guided Eun-chan so he wouldn’t flounder during his first serious drama role.

He never showed any annoyance, and sometimes he even pointed out things Eun-chan himself hadn’t noticed yet.

Whenever Eun-chan was filming, Hyuin would always come out to monitor and watch.

It was something even a manager would find hard to do.

With his own schedule already brutally packed, just managing his own work must have been exhausting, yet he was still that kind.

There was no way Eun-chan could dislike him.

Eun-chan pressed the call button immediately.

After only a few rings, Kim Hyuin picked up.

“Hyung.”

— Yeah, Eun-chan.

“That tteokguk looks good.”

— You just woke up, didn’t you?
— You couldn’t go home, right?
— Want to come to my place today?
— I’ll make you tteokguk.

Kim Hyuin invited him without a moment’s hesitation.

Eun-chan liked how Hyuin always told him he was pretty and cute.

Because of that, Hyuin became one of the very few people Eun-chan spoke to comfortably.

Hyuin’s insistence was also a big reason.

At first it had been awkward, but he quickly got used to it.

“Next time.
We have practice today.
Next time, make it with lots of dumplings.”

Kim Hyuin laughed.

— Of course.
— If it’s what our Eun-chan wants, I have to do it all.
— But if you’re practicing today too, does that mean the other members didn’t go home either?

“Our Eun-chan.”

It was an embarrassingly affectionate nickname.

Eun-chan hadn’t been able to adjust to it at first, but that was just the kind of person Kim Hyuin was.

He showed an almost excessive level of closeness, but it never felt fake.

He treated Eun-chan especially warmly.

If either of them had been the opposite gender, rumors would definitely have spread that they were dating.

“We have a music video shoot coming up, so we need to coordinate.”

Among the members, Sim Eun-chan was the one who lacked practice the most.

That had been true in his previous life, and it was still true now.

Come to think of it, this wasn’t the time to be lazing around.

Eun-chan slowly sat up in bed.

— A music video shoot?
— Wow, our Eun-chan is busy.

“It’s something I have to do.”

— You’re so admirable.

Lately, this had been one of his growing worries.

The music video shoot.

More specifically, the filming location.

The last place they’d filmed at was an abandoned factory.

Even during the shoot, they’d suffered endlessly from dust, and whatever they’d done with the lighting, the place had been dim.

Shadows fell across the members’ faces, blurring everything.

The few fans they had complained nonstop, asking if this was really the best they could do, why the members’ faces looked like the moon, and whether an eclipse was happening.

If he hadn’t known any better, he might have let it go.

But now that he knew, he couldn’t stay silent.

This was another problem that needed to be solved.

— Eun-chan.
— Is something wrong?

“Huh?
No, nothing.
Why?”

— You sighed.

“……Ah.
It’s really nothing.”

Thinking about the music video must have made him sigh without realizing it.

Kim Hyuin was someone he felt comfortable with, but Eun-chan wasn’t careless enough to share even this.

This worry belonged solely to him.

Fortunately, sensing something from his answer, Hyuin didn’t pry any further.

That clean restraint was something Eun-chan really liked.

— Oh, right.
— My cousin is opening a bakery café.
— Want to go together sometime after filming?

“A bakery café?
Sounds good.”

— It’s huge.
— About 600 pyeong.
— It’s got this botanical garden concept, but I don’t think it’s fully finished yet.
— The photos are from while it’s still under construction.
— I’ll send them now.
— Want to take a look?

As Eun-chan checked the photos that arrived one after another, he felt as if lightning had struck the top of his head.

The moment he saw them, he knew.

This was it.

This was the place for the music video shoot.

There was no need to think twice.

“Hyung.
I hate to ask, but I have a favor.
Would that be okay?”

— What is it?
— Go ahead.
— If it’s our Eun-chan asking, I’ll do anything.

Still, it was a one-sided request, so he hesitated.

Eun-chan finally spoke with effort.

“Could you possibly give me your cousin’s contact information?
The one opening the bakery café.”

— That’s easy.
— I’ll talk to him first.

Kim Hyuin agreed without even asking why.

After a brief pause, he spoke again in a voice tinged with laughter.

— Did your worry get resolved a bit?

Eun-chan was inwardly impressed.

Kim Hyuin really was Kim Hyuin.

Even though Eun-chan hadn’t said anything, he seemed to have seen through everything with uncanny intuition.

Sometimes, when Hyuin showed moments like this, Eun-chan wondered if he had some kind of superpower.

At this point, he couldn’t deny it.

Smiling, Eun-chan answered.

“Yeah.
Thank you so much, hyung.”

After ending the call, Eun-chan stretched deeply.

Hyuin said he’d contact his cousin and let him know, so Eun-chan would have to reach out after that.

In the meantime, it seemed better to do something else.

Grrrk.

Right.

Something like eating.

When had he last eaten?

Checking the time on his phone, Eun-chan slowly walked toward the fridge while thinking it over.

“……Wow.”

It had been roughly eighteen hours.

No wonder he was this hungry.

He had slept an absurdly long time.

He hadn’t meant to, but he’d ended up doing intermittent fasting.

He hadn’t planned to starve himself this much.

Still, considering how sleep-deprived he’d been, even if he went back in time, he probably would have chosen sleep over food again.

“Is no one here?”

The dorm was too quiet.

At this hour, everyone was probably at the practice room.

Checking his phone, he saw a message telling him to come to the practice room once he woke up.

They hadn’t woken him because the members knew exactly how sleep-deprived he was.

With his weekly average sleep barely reaching ten hours, they probably decided it was better to let him rest than force him to learn choreography.

Maybe because it had been so long since he’d slept this deeply, his head felt a little foggy, but his condition was better than it had been in a long time.

Even if he was going to go, he should eat first.

The others wouldn’t complain about that much.

Still, he should at least let them know he was awake.

Eun-chan sent Jeong Min-yu a message saying he’d just woken up but was too hungry and would eat before coming.

Rubbing his stomach with his palm to calm its wild growling, Eun-chan opened the fridge.

Inside were various side dishes.

Some had been bought, others sent from their families.

Right now, he felt like he could eat anything.

He took out the side dishes and lined them up, then opened the freezer.

There was no frozen rice.

He checked the cupboard, but there was no instant rice either.

Letting out a groan as if the world had collapsed, Eun-chan put all the side dishes back and pulled out a cup of ramen from the corner of the cupboard.

He tried tearing open the plastic with his fingers, but maybe because his stomach was empty, he had no strength.

It kept slipping, failing again and again.

As he sighed and looked up at the ceiling, he heard the front door open.

There shouldn’t be anyone coming at this hour.

Who was it?

“Who is it?”

Still holding the cup ramen, he raised his voice without moving.

There was no reply.

Just as Eun-chan slowly started walking toward the door—

“Eun-chan hyung, have you eaten?”

“God, you scared me……
It’s you, Wooyoung?
At least make some noise when you come in.”

Letting out a breath, Eun-chan realized his tone hadn’t been great and awkwardly added,

“But why are you here?
Aren’t you supposed to be at the practice room?”

“I heard you woke up.
There’s no food at the dorm.
That’s cup ramen, right?”

A plastic bag dangled from Hyun Wooyoung’s hand.

Inside it, instant rice shone proudly.

Without realizing it, Eun-chan let out a soft,

“Wow,” and stepped closer to Wooyoung.