Idol of the Heavenly One - vanish into fiction

“What is this? When did you two prepare something like this?”

“Ah, so that’s why Baek Jae-heon was always coming over to our dorm.”

“Isn’t that unrelated? It seemed like he was just going there anyway?”

“That’s true.”

“You two… were seriously cool….”

“Hyungs, please show us that choreography one more time. The part where you hold hands, stretch out, and do that wave with your heads together.”

Amidst the members’ relentless chatter, Kwon Ji-hak begged us to show the part of the duet choreography they had modified. This was despite the prompt on the screen reading: ‘Jihak: That was a truly amazing stage. Thanks to you guys, the concert feels even more heated up!’ In the end, Baek Jae-heon and I stood side-by-side with a laugh and performed the specific move Ji-hak mentioned. As I stood in front, extending my right arm out to the side and holding the center of my belt with my left hand while waving my upper body, Baek Jae-heon stood behind me, overlapping his hand on my extended right hand and placing his other hand on my shoulder, following the wave of my arm up toward my face.

This was a dance strictly created by our choreographer, but I had been flustered when I first encountered it. When I asked, “Isn’t this a bit too suggestive?” Baek Jae-heon simply looked at me as if to say we do even more than that at the dorm, so what was the big deal? I had no choice but to shut my mouth.

“Everyone, you caught all that, right? Baek-Cheon?”

As Kwon Ji-hak spoke while flashing a mischievous smile toward the fans, a sound that was somewhere between a cheer and a scream erupted from all directions. It wasn’t just the fans reacting. The company frequently pushed pairings between the members, and when Kwon Ji-hak openly mentioned our most popular couple name, Joo I-rip burst out laughing and slumped to the floor, while Go Hee-min stared at us with an expression as if he’d just chewed on a bitter persimmon. Lee Soonbok’s eyes were sparkling as if he were watching a dating reality show, while I just stood there awkwardly in my embarrassment.

Kyaaaaak—!!

Suddenly, another roar of cheers broke out. Wondering what was happening, I turned my head to look at the electronic screen and saw Baek Jae-heon making cat ears over my head from behind. When I knit my brows and whipped my head around to glare at him, he just looked at me and laughed as if I were adorable. The screams in the concert hall grew even louder at that, making me feel flustered. It felt like the spotlight was focused far too much on just the two of us.

To be honest, pairing us as a couple is inevitably a directive from the company. Funnily enough, at first, the official pairing wasn’t Baek Jae-heon and me. Baek Jae-heon and Go Hee-min were the couple the company originally picked, and I was being paired with Kwon Ji-hak as the “youngest line.” Of course, I’m older than Kwon Ji-hak, but in terms of birthday order, I was the youngest after him. However, somehow Baek Jae-heon and I became the main pair, and since the reaction was good, the company didn’t miss the opportunity. This special unit was also created by company orders. While I do like having many opportunities to shoot couple-themed pictorials and stay close to him… I was occasionally on edge. When I saw the videos fans compiled of us, it was clear that we were making it far too obvious.

Because of that, I had told Baek Jae-heon several times that he needed to exercise some restraint. The things the company openly ordered—like the unit choreography from the stage just now—were actually better because they were made with a clear intention. But that expression of his that bursts out defenselessly, like just now, looking like he doesn’t know what to do because he finds me so lovely… that was truly a problem. What if we really get caught? Of course, people might not believe it, but a guilty conscience needs no accuser; in my panic, I failed to control my expression and stood there with my body frozen awkwardly.

“Everyone—this concert is heating up! Shall we keep enjoying ourselves like this?!”

Before my expression could be captured in even more detail on the screen, Joo I-rip jumped in by shouting the lines written on the prompt. The other members responded to boost the atmosphere, and after exchanging a few more comments, the lights went out and we descended below the stage via the lift. The stiffness in my expression still showed no signs of fading.