Chapter 33: Red to the Neck

“Are you going to be this childish?”

Without a shred of shame, he shrugged his shoulders.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“I saw you clearly watching me walk in; how could you not know there was a person inside?”

“I could have forgotten. I’m leaving too, so take your time getting dressed.”

Whether he had found the prop he wanted or not, Euigeon mischievously slipped out of the storage room.

“You, you…!”

In times like this, he regretted not having a personality like Gye Gondae, someone who could shamelessly lecture others with a straight face.

Since he was left alone in the storage room anyway, he decided to check if there were any issues with his costume.

However, the zipper on the back was far too stiff.

He had to reach his hands behind his back to pull it up, but even the posture itself wasn’t easy.

After struggling a few times and giving up, Chaewoo decided to ask for help.

Just then, he felt a presence outside the storage room door.

Still wearing the costume awkwardly, Chaewoo walked over and opened the door.

“Excuse me, could someone help me pull up this zipper…”

He tapped the back of the person standing right in front of the door, and the human who turned around just happened to be Beom Euigeon again.

‘Ah, why is today like this!’

“…….”

Chaewoo shut his mouth mid-sentence with a sulky look.

Euigeon said, “One moment,” to the assistant director he was talking to and then looked at Chaewoo, who was loosely draped in the costume.

“No, never mind.”

“I’ll help you.”

“I can do it by myself…”

“Stage costumes are originally difficult to put on alone. They shouldn’t come undone in the middle of a performance.”

Euigeon pushed his way into the storage room and started babbling.

“Who doesn’t know that? But I’d like someone else to help me, not you. Hey, Beom Euigeon!”

But his body had already been pushed into the dressing room by Euigeon.

Chaewoo gasped for breath as he saw Euigeon standing behind him, reflected in the full-length mirror.

“Senior Seol.”

Euigeon, who hadn’t acknowledged him the whole time, gripped his waist and slowly pulled the zipper up.

Zzzzt, zzzzt.

With a stiff sound, the clothes that had been gaping open were gradually fastened.

“…What?”

“There are still a lot of marks on your back.”

He felt warm breath against the back of his neck.

Goosebumps rose on his smooth skin.

“By any chance, last night…”

“If you’re going to talk nonsense, get out.”

“Did you fall off the bed?”

“…….”

“That’s what I was going to ask. What were you thinking, Senior?”

“Phew…”

Chaewoo, whose nose had turned red in an instant, exhaled a long breath.

Having neatly pulled up the zipper, Euigeon didn’t move away but continued to stand behind him, staring at Chaewoo in the mirror.

He knew a few buttons on the shirt were undone, but the plunging neckline was quite deep.

Even if the length was right, the overall fit of the costume was large.

“It’s a bit big.”

Euigeon met Chaewoo’s eyes in the mirror while rummaging through the front of the shirt.

“What are you doing? If the clothes are big, I can just have them taken in.”

“It looks like they’ll need to be taken in a lot. About this much?”

This time, he pulled and folded the loose fabric of the shirt.

Chaewoo pushed away the hand that was wrapping around his waist.

“It’s not that much, so back off a bit.”

“In the scene where we walk out to the center, Paolo wraps his arm around Tinto’s waist. If I wrap my arm around you like this then, the fabric will get pushed to the other side and look bulky. Just like now.”

He was right.

But the hands that kept fumbling over his stomach and waist were incredibly uncomfortable.

While it seemed natural for Euigeon to be this close to him, it wasn’t for Chaewoo.

This was a storage room where anyone could walk in at any time.

Moreover, he was quite flustered because he hadn’t expected him to cling like this in public.

“Alright. I’ll make a note of it, so let go now.”

“But Senior Seol.”

“…What now?”

Instead of letting go, the heavy body pressed even closer.

Close enough that they could clearly hear each other’s breathing.

By this point, it was clear that Euigeon’s intention for entering the dressing room wasn’t innocent.

With his large hands, he suggestively wrapped his arms around Chaewoo’s lower abdomen and slowly fumbled.

“How is the pregnancy going? Do you think you are?”

“What?”

Flustered, Chaewoo tried to pull his head back, but Euigeon followed closely and pressed his lips against his ear.

Then he whispered as if telling a huge secret.

“I spilled a lot inside you last week, didn’t I?”

‘Why is this crazy bastard saying that here?’

He barely suppressed a scream.

“How could I be pregnant in just a few days!”

Even as he lowered his voice and struck Euigeon’s shoulders, the sturdy body didn’t budge an inch.

Because it was an enclosed space, even a little movement made him feel hot and out of breath.

“Right? To get pregnant, don’t we need to do it consistently? Let’s do it today. I want to.”

“W-we agreed to only do it on Fridays…”

Chaewoo whispered, trying to soothe him.

“That’s true, but.”

“Ah, come on…”

“Looking at you, Senior, your juices are filled up again.”

‘Perverted bastard!’

His whole face turned red as his mouth hung open.

But he was so shocked that he couldn’t even speak properly.

Reflected clearly in the mirror was Euigeon, wrapping his arms around Chaewoo’s body and biting his earlobe.

‘Weren’t we supposed to ignore each other in public? How can he say such things without hesitation in the rehearsal room?’

Dazed, Chaewoo was frozen, not knowing how to react.

While the silence stretched as he wavered, unable to answer, the storage room door swung open.

“Chaewoo, aren’t you finished changing yet?”

It was the actor who had come in and out earlier.

“Ah, not yet…”

“What did you say?”

“Not yet!”

“Is it that hard to get into? The zipper part is inconvenient, right? Should I help you?”

The actor’s footsteps grew closer and closer.

Even then, Chaewoo was still in Euigeon’s arms.

The footsteps soon stopped in front of the dressing room.

He tried to escape from Euigeon, who was clinging behind him, but the man didn’t budge.

It felt like they were really about to get caught.

Beom Euigeon must be insane.

‘What on earth is he thinking?’

‘Move!’

Chaewoo mouthed the words and pushed him with all his might.

At the same time, the curtain was opened.

As the light from the lamps flooded into the dim dressing room, Chaewoo’s squirming movements also came to a temporary halt.

“Chaewoo… oh. Euigeon?”

The actor’s eyes widened.

Her dilated pupils darted between the two of them.

Chaewoo’s thoughts came to a standstill, and his vision went dark.

‘What if our relationship is exposed like this?’

If possible, he wanted to sink through the floor and disappear.

“Senior Seol said he couldn’t pull up the zipper, so I was helping him.”

Euigeon explained without a single stutter.

He was surprisingly nonchalant.

To hear him tell it, it sounded like it was really no big deal.

However, Chaewoo couldn’t control his thumping heart and couldn’t add anything to the explanation.

That one second spent waiting for the actor’s reaction felt as heavy as if it were in slow motion.

“No wonder I kept hearing voices from the storage room.”

“It seems the size is too large. We’re discussing what to do about it.”

After smoothing out Chaewoo’s shirt collar, Euigeon let go.

“Right, Senior?”

“Uh, yeah.”

“I guess you two didn’t have a falling out after all. The actors were worried because you’re playing lovers but had a fight.”

“Surely not.”

‘Doesn’t that guy know what shame is?’

“Even if something happens that hurts each other’s feelings, don’t take it too much to heart. Isn’t that what’s good about being seniors and juniors? You shouldn’t say you won’t go on stage later because you fought, okay? That’s really the worst.”

Euigeon responded politely, saying that wouldn’t happen.

Then, as if nothing had happened, he greeted the actor and left the storage room.

Chaewoo, who was out of his mind, belatedly saw the costume in the actor’s hand.

“Ah, you said you were going to try on your costume. Then I’ll… head out.”

As he bolted out as if escaping, an actor from the minor team walked toward him.

“Is this the Tinto costume? The clothes are larger than I thought.”

“I think I’ll have to have them taken in. I’m worried they’ll look too loose on stage.”

“But what’s wrong with Tinto’s face?”

“…What about it?”

“No, I mean, even your neck is so red.”

“Ah.”

Instead of answering, Chaewoo fanned himself with his hand.

Come to think of it, he hadn’t checked what he looked like before coming out.

‘What if it’s obvious I was with Euigeon? What if the pheromones have seeped in deeply?’

“The dressing room is hot, isn’t it?”

“Exactly! There’s a lot of dust too, so it’s uncomfortable. You totally agree, Chaewoo, right?”

“Yes, a little.”

“This place would be the best if only the storage room were a bit more pleasant. Tinto must be particularly sensitive to the heat. My goodness, look how red his face is. To make matters worse, the top is white, so what if it gets dusty while you’re changing?”

Fortunately, people attributed Chaewoo’s changes to the dressing room issues.

Thinking it was a good thing, he eagerly agreed.

It was also true that it was hot because of Euigeon.

“Everyone! What are you all doing this Friday? Since it’s TGIF, how about a team dinner? We can eat and then go to karaoke.”

One of the lead actors clapped to get everyone’s attention.

Then she subtly looked at Chaewoo.

“Right, right. We’re about to start Paolo and Tinto’s practices soon. Shouldn’t we have one more team dinner to build teamwork in advance?”

‘There are really so many cases where schedules are disrupted due to discord.’

Looking at how everyone was so conscious of his relationship with Euigeon.

However, it was truly a needless worry.

He hadn’t been on good terms with Euigeon from the start, and even if it got worse, he wouldn’t irresponsibly bolt, saying he wouldn’t play the role of Tinto.

He wanted to go along with them if possible, but Friday was absolutely out of the question.

He had things to do with Euigeon and also his part-time job.

“I have my part-time job on Friday, so I don’t think I can make it.”

“Um… is that so? Then Paolo…”

“I also have a general education team project that day, so it will be difficult for me to attend.”

“Oh, dear. Everyone is busy, maybe because you’re young.”

The mood turned sour since the dinner was proposed because of Euigeon and Chaewoo, yet both found it difficult to attend.

“Oh, well! It can’t be helped. It’s true that it’s important because Paolo and Tinto are a couple, but is only those two important? I think socializing among ourselves is important too! Then it’s only right for us to build friendship among ourselves. Isn’t that right, everyone?”

Jeong Taehyun stepped forward, cutting through the awkward atmosphere.

For now, he was grateful for that meddling.

‘Right, take them all out for four rounds of drinks.’

Chaewoo cheered him on inwardly.

“That’s true. How about those who have time have dinner together?”

“I’m in.”

“I saw Taehyun mixing Somaek well last time.”

“I am the Somaek master with the most perfect ratio in the entire vocal department. Even the professor acknowledged it.”

“Ugh, here he goes again.”

Jo Seeun shook her head as if her ears were ringing.

The somber mood instantly shifted to a readiness to have the team dinner on Friday even without Euigeon and Chaewoo.