TeSTAR wrapped pre-recording for their comeback stage and waited for their manager in the waiting room. Having finished the recording in a single take, time hovered on the boundary between midnight and early morning. Most members drifted near sleep, caught in a hazy daze. Cha Eugene, who had been bouncing around on stage moments ago, let out a long yawn as sleepiness caught up with him, leaning his head against the person beside him.
Offering his shoulder, Hajun pointed toward Bae Sejin—who lay curled under a blanket in the corner, fast asleep—and spoke to Eugene. “Champ, if you want to sleep, lie down.”
“Nooo… too cramped…”
Mistaking Hajun’s suggestion to lie on the floor as an offer to use the sofa, Eugene shook his head with closed eyes. Given four guys over 180 cm tall crowded onto the narrow sofa, his point held truth. Park Moondae, who had retreated to a separate chair early on, checked reactions to their pre-recording stage while casting a cold glance at the sofa.
Kim Raebin hovered on the edge of sleep, nodding off while squeezed into the end of the seat. Keun Sejin lay stretched out cold on the opposite end. Seon Ahyun and Ryu Cheongwoo sat on chairs a short distance away. Hajun stroked Eugene’s hair as the younger guy rubbed his head against him like a sleepy cat. Coarse like dog fur. As the member responsible for hair dyeing, Eugene’s hair felt rough to the touch.
“Mmm…”
The gentle stroking brought even more sleepiness, and Eugene smudged his lips before drifting off. Removing his hand, Hajun let out a wide yawn. Watching everyone sleep made him feel like closing his eyes as well. Just as he set his phone down to rest:
Ding.
[Fred Turner: Just in case, I’m Fred Turner! From Beverly High. Remember me? When did you change your number? I tried reaching out a while back and panicked when the line went dead! I asked Alex and he gave it to me. I had no idea the MIT genius who launched a company with him was you! I heard you dropped out, vanished, and were exploring Africa! Anyway, a familiar face popped up on my Wetube recommendations… ]
Loud text. Still the same chatterbox. Africa? Why is a rumor like that going around? The gossip world remained beyond reason. Hearing Hajun click his tongue, Ryu Cheongwoo asked what was wrong.
“Did something happen?”
“A high school classmate reached out out of nowhere. Guess he just realized I became an idol.”
Cheongwoo looked puzzled. Just now? Most members had received messages from acquaintances back during Idol Co-op, making Hajun’s delayed news a rare case.
A combination of factors created this result: Hajun never used personal SNS, seldom picked up calls, his alumni were busy fresh graduates buried under coursework and jobs, and Idol Co-op had little reason to trend on the other side of the globe. A brief buzz had occurred in the States regarding Katy’s dating rumor with Hajun early on. Yet due to the gap in public recognition between the two countries, American news focused on “Katy Marvell’s second older brother revealed” rather than Hajun. Acquaintances who knew the siblings early on skimmed right past the article headlines, missing the small mention at the end: “Meanwhile, her second older brother, Damon Won, drew attention by appearing on a Korean audition show…”
Blind to those background details, Cheongwoo misread Hajun’s expression. “Were you guys on bad terms?”
“No, not really. Why?”
“You don’t look happy to hear from him…”
Hearing Cheongwoo’s words, Hajun relaxed his brow. “He sent utter nonsense, so I reacted without thinking.”
“Watch your language.”
“He sent words boasting a sad lack of intelligence, so I reacted without thinking.”
“What did he say?”
Listening nearby, Park Moondae swallowed the objection rising in his throat. Is it fine as long as you drop the swear words? The content got even harsher.
“Looks like a rumor is going around that I’m exploring Africa.”
“Africa…? Why?”
“How should I know?”
Hajun started to shrug, then caught himself, remembering Eugene was fast asleep on his shoulder. He glanced toward the car keys left by the manager on the waiting room table. Should I just take the kids and head to the dorm first?
Before Hajun could act on the thought, the manager opened the door and walked in. “Guys, sorry for the wait… oh, everyone’s asleep.”
Cheongwoo asked, “Should I wake them?”
“That’d be good. I have good news—”
“Ugh!”
“Argh!”
“—so… Oh, everyone’s awake now.”
Hajun stood up without warning, causing Eugene to tumble sideways into Keun Sejin. Eugene rubbed his head with a groan. Struck in the ribs out of nowhere, Keun Sejin let out a yell as he woke up. Startled by the commotion, Kim Raebin and Bae Sejin opened their eyes. A swift, effective way to wake everyone at once.
Stepping over to the manager beside Cheongwoo, Hajun asked, “Good news?”
“W-Well… you guys got booked for a variety show…”
“What kind of show?”
Hajun leaned in with sharp, glaring eyes. Failing to meet his stare, the manager turned a pleading look toward Cheongwoo. He still found Hajun intimidating. With an awkward smile, Cheongwoo pulled Hajun back a step.
Rescued from the suffocating pressure, the manager let out a breath of relief. “It’s a show where you ride horses and shoot arrows…”
“Horses?”
“…Arrows? Is that… booked because of Cheongwoo? What’s going on.”
Bae Sejin, rubbing his sleepy eyes as he walked over, froze as he felt a hand on his head. Sleep made his reactions slower than usual. Smoothing down Bae Sejin’s messy bedhead, Hajun answered, “Your hair was sticking up.”
“…Leave it. Anyway, was that show booked because of Cheongwoo?”
The manager explained that wasn’t the case, giving a quick summary of the show’s format and purpose. Finishing with Bae Sejin’s hair, Hajun looked up to find Cheongwoo wearing a serious expression.
“That sounds far too risky. Riding horses alone is dangerous, but shooting arrows on horseback is worse.”
“Ah, that part is fine! They prepared well! It’s public TV, so they won’t make you do anything reckless or dangerous.”
“Still…”
Under the manager’s persistent assurances, Cheongwoo gave a reluctant nod. Hajun patted his shoulder. “Relax your face. It’s fine.”
“Hmm, yeah… I’m sure they prepared well.”
“No, according to my gut, they’re going to hand us toy horses and toy bows.”
“!”
The manager’s eyes widened, failing to keep his composure. Hajun pointed at him, throwing the members a See? look. The members gawked in realization.
Realizing his blunder, the manager tried to cover up the spoiler. “N-No? I never said that! T-That’s just your hunch, right?”
It failed to work. Keun Sejin grinned. “Don’t you know Hajun-hyungnim’s gut is top notch? Bullseye every time.”
“So the station prepared something like that…”
“True, they wouldn’t hand beginners real horses and bows right away.”
“Beginners? I took horseback riding lessons.”
Hearing Hajun’s casual young master remark, Moondae wore a blank Tibetan fox face.
Cha Eugene asked, “Hajun, you ride horses? You have a horse?”
“Yeah. My stepmother’s family owns a ranch in Arizona.”
“Awesome!”
Stunned by the absurd scale of the conversation, the manager struggled to steer the topic back to Earth. “…Can you guys give good surprised reactions when we get there?”
“Sure!”
“Leave it to us~”
Keun Sejin gave a confident idol smile to reassure the manager. Remembering how he got tricked by the PD on Working Humans, Moondae clenched a small fist. Am I going to take it again?
Seon Ahyun saw Moondae’s sudden resolved face and asked with care, “W-Why the face, Moondae…?”
“I’m looking forward to it.”
“R-Right…! M-Me too.”
Glancing at Moondae’s face, Hajun thought to himself: Well, getting tricked aware or unaware comes to the same thing. Moondae seemed to hold a strange rival spirit against variety show PDs, but Hajun preferred flipping the board or enjoying himself on it rather than playing by their rules. In that sense, he looked forward to this show as well. Truth be told, doing anything alongside these guys proved fun.
As expected to some degree, seeing idols dressed as handsome Hwarang warriors riding a pink merry-go-round while holding colorful toy bows presented a striking sight. In more ways than one.
Inspecting his toy bow, Keun Sejin asked, “Hajun-hyungnim, is this really okay? Can you check if our ancestors are angry?”
“Why would someone from the Silla Era still roam the living world? Want me to hold a ritual to summon them?”
“…I was just joking, can you actually summon them?”
“That’s what rituals are for.”
Giving a casual answer, Hajun left the stunned Keun Sejin with Park Moondae and walked over to Ryu Cheongwoo.
With his defined features and upright aura, Cheongwoo looked suited for Hwarang attire. Hajun offered praise. “That look suits you well. Like an exemplary Hwarang who trains mind and body.”
Cheongwoo gave a warm laugh. “Haha, thanks. You look… great too.”
“I know.”
Park Moondae picked up the implied words between Cheongwoo’s line: Though you look far from an exemplary Hwarang, and look more like a playboy who abandoned discipline to loaf around under the excuse of practicing the arts…
Won Hajun’s confident smirk tilted his chin slightly, highlighting the red makeup around his eyes. The word seductive existed precisely for moments like this.
Cheongwoo spoke in a low tone of admiration. “It really suits you.”
“I said I know. No need to waste your breath saying it twice.”
Moondae held up his phone and took a photo of the two. Having the most roguish-looking Hwarang standing next to the neatest-looking Hwarang created an eye-catching visual. Shutter opportunity.
Keun Sejin popped between the two older members, smiling bright for the camera. “Moondae-moondae, take one of me too!”
Three guys over 185 cm tall standing together radiated the vibe of a model group shot. Surrounding eyes turned toward them. Moondae took another photo in silence, reflecting a moment on the bias of growth plates.
