Idol of the Heavenly One - vanish into fiction

The second question was a little harder. Joo I-rip or Kwon Ji-hak… the official lunatic of YEARZ or the noisy youngest member who never stops talking for 24 hours. Honestly, neither of them were good choices. Still, my decision came easily. It seemed Baek Jae-heon felt the same way.

“Kwon Ji-hak.”

“Oh yeah!”

I heard Baek Jae-heon’s low laugh beside me. So, I looked at him through the screen. I could have just turned my head, but somehow I kept glancing at the screen instead, maybe because I was too conscious of him. Anyway, he was smiling with such an easy, relaxed expression, and seeing that face made my stomach twist again. So, he could smile like that too. Normally, even when he smiled, it was just the corners of his lips that lifted a little, or he gave a short chuckle and that was it. But that smile… It was pretty.

“What’s the next question?”

I quickly turned my eyes away from the screen and asked Ji-hak to move on to the next question.

“Fun, right?! Okay, the next question is…”

While Ji-hak was choosing, I read through the chat messages. The speed had slowed a little, so even though it was fast, I could still read them.

[Ava: 1001000♥♥♥]

[Amélie: 1001000]

[Valentina: 1001000]

[Clara: ♥1001000♥]

[MintChocoKiller: 1001000]

People were spamming 1001000, probably because Baek Jae-heon and I were sitting together. If I hadn’t known what 1001000 meant, I might have cluelessly asked about it right there. Just imagining that sent chills down my spine.

Anyway, the fact that so many people were linking me and Baek Jae-heon like this… it felt both fascinating and strange. Was there really no discomfort in pairing two male members together like this?

“Okay, next question! Answer while thinking of each other.”

“Huh? Each other?”

“Yes! Holding hands all day with your member VS linking arms all day with your member!”

What kind of question was that? I turned to Ji-hak in disbelief, waving my hands. Holding hands or linking arms with Baek Jae-heon all day—those were extreme choices. If it were between Ji-hak and someone else, I could probably choose.

“One, two, three!”

“No…!”

“Holding hands.”

And of course, Baek Jae-heon answered firmly. My mind went completely blank. How could he say something like that so casually? Ji-hak kept shouting “Oh—!” and urged me to answer quickly. Damn it… ah…

Since Baek Jae-heon picked holding hands, should I choose that too? But still…

“Linking arms.”

“Why?!”

“What do you mean, why? You told us to choose.”

“No, you two have to agree. It’s supposed to apply to both of you!”

I sighed without thinking. It was supposed to be just a game, but what was wrong with him? And it was impressive that he even knew the word “agree.” I thought all he ever did was eat and run around.

“Isn’t linking arms better…?”

I scratched the back of my neck awkwardly as I turned to Baek Jae-heon.

“Why.”

“Because you can still use your hands…?”

“That’s true.”

He nodded calmly, as if my reasoning made sense. Really, he was just as strange. Taking such a ridiculous question seriously… Both Ji-hak and Baek Jae-heon were weird. I wanted this to be over already.

[Mr. Jabbodori Human: I think, as humans, they should at least show one scene of either holding hands or linking arms.]

“Huh?”

“That’s what they’re saying. You two, show us!”

“Ah, no way…!”

Ji-hak was acting especially weird today. Earlier on the plane, he said we should row while the tide’s high, and now he was actually creating this kind of situation. Seriously, even without this kind of thing, he’d do just fine, so why was he so desperate to pair me and Baek Jae-heon together?

I shook my hands firmly, refusing. But at that exact moment—

On top of my left hand resting on the table, quietly, Baek Jae-heon placed his hand.