Idol of the Heavenly One - Chapter 28.1
It was during that time when we were once again trapped in a schedule hell, just like the days before.
“Tomorrow’s schedule is clear for the whole day. But you all have to stay in the dorms. No exceptions!”
At the manager hyung’s sudden announcement that tomorrow was free, all the members threw their arms up and cheered. I felt the same. A break, after so long.
Honestly, I wanted to see my family, so it was a little disappointing that we had to stay in the dorms, but still, having a day off was a blessing. I washed up right away, jumped into bed, and opened YouTube.
Since I searched “YEARZ” every day, my algorithm was already flooded with our group. But we were still fresh into debut, so I had seen almost everything. I was idly scrolling past videos when something strange popped up.
[1001000] I hate you……. But! You bother me……
The video was barely two minutes long.
The first scene showed Baek Jae-heon on stage, never once making eye contact with me. The next cut was from our debut trailer shoot. It looked like it had been filmed through a crack in the waiting room door. No sound, but there we were, sitting face-to-face and talking.
Then came the day Baek Jae-heon went inside without sharing the hot packs. After a shot of his retreating figure, the video jumped to that same day on stage, showing me with a worried expression, as if concerned for him.
Another clip showed a music broadcast rehearsal. Baek Jae-heon pulled my arm to guide me into my proper spot. After being pulled, I avoided him without saying anything, turning my gaze away. Baek Jae-heon kept looking at me, then turned his head.
On a live radio broadcast, when our eyes accidentally met, we both awkwardly looked away. In the following scene, during our original content meeting, I was nodding along to everything Go Hee-min said. Across the table, Baek Jae-heon gave a brief laugh. When I quickly lifted my head to look at him, the camera caught him pretending as if it had not happened.
Edited together like this, the atmosphere felt oddly suggestive. Of course, most of the time I was just looking away without any meaning, so insignificant that I barely remembered them now. But slowed down and set to music, it came across strangely. Was I really like that with him?
Still, like I said, most of those actions were meaningless. What impressed me more was the editing skill.
But the last clip honestly surprised me.
Back then, I had really thought he had not smiled. But it turned out he did.
When I glanced sideways, Baek Jae-heon seemed completely uninterested, absorbed in his own phone. I plugged in my earphones, turned the volume down low, and replayed the clip.
Pff—
Baek Jae-heon smiled at me.
The feeling was strange. I did not know why, but I kept swallowing hard. With the slow motion and the music laid over it, it almost looked like Baek Jae-heon found me cute. I replayed it several times, but every time it gave me the same strange feeling.
When I looked again at the bed beside mine, Baek Jae-heon was still focused on his phone, not paying me the slightest attention.
I opened the comments section without scrolling past the video.
Homeosida: Is this that “hate-ship” people say even prodigal sons would come back for?
DespairRagePainEnvy: Ah this hate-ship is so damn good I’m losing it
AltPass: The last part killed me ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
NotInMyRightMind: Isn’t it weird how Baek Jae-heon treats the other members casually, but only acts like this with Cheonmyeong?ㅠㅠ
└ AngerManagementGood: Isn’t it just because Cheonmyeong only joined recently so they’re not close yet? lol
└ NotInMyRightMind: You think anyone doesn’t know that? That’s exactly why people ship it.
└ AngerManagementGood: lol sorry
MyPersonalTaste: Hate-ship…… hate-ship…… who said it…… I did……
There were a lot of comments using the word “hate-ship,” so I searched it up.
[Hate-ship: Short for “hate relationship.” A term describing two or more people who hate, despise, or dislike each other. It does not simply mean dislike, but refers to characters who, despite their hostility, are bound together in some kind of relationship, constantly clashing or fighting because they cannot avoid each other.]
“…Hm?”
Do I look like I hate and despise and loathe Baek Jae-heon? Even just from the video, it did not seem like we hated each other that extremely. It just looked like we were awkward. But from others’ perspective, did it look like hate?
“Baek Jae-heon.”
So I called him, lying on the bed next to mine, for once actually looking at his phone.
“Look at this.”
I went over and showed him my phone. Baek Jae-heon, without a word, quietly fixed his gaze on the screen I held out.
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