By the time the two finally arrived at Friendly House, two full hours had passed since leaving home.Stumbling out of the car like a pair of people who had just met the Grim Reaper, Ye Ju-yeol and Yoon Hyuk could barely keep their balance.The first-come-first-serve event? Long since abandoned.They were simply grateful to be alive. Just as they were dragging their suitcases toward the front door, Ju-yeol perked up, pressing on Yoon Hyuk’s back with both hands.“Come on, come on— just in case we still make it!”Never mind that he’d screamed every time they changed lanes; now that his feet were safely on solid ground, he’d recovered miraculously. He even typed in the door-lock password at lightning speed, grinning as if he’d never been exhausted in the first place. Hope was his perpetual operating system.“Hey, stop pushing…!”And that was when Yoon Hyuk’s leg caught on the suitcase.Before he could steady himself, he stumbled forward— straight through the wide-open door. Ju-yeol, eyes round, dove in after him.Thud, crash, thump!The two of them barely caught themselves against the wall, narrowly avoiding a humiliating tumble across the floor. Sweat they’d just washed off came right back, and Yoon Hyuk clenched his jaw, whipping around to glare at Ju-yeol. He was about to snap Can you please be careful for once— when he saw Ju-yeol frozen like he’d seen a ghost.“…What’s wrong with you?”He hadn’t said a word yet.Was he trying to preempt a scolding? Yoon Hyuk narrowed his eyes— but Ju-yeol wasn’t the preemptive type. Normally he’d be flat on the ground by now, whining sorry, sorry, sorry in panic.Following Ju-yeol’s stiff gaze, Yoon Hyuk turned toward the living room.Someone was sitting on the sofa.It wasn’t hard to tell who it was.Because that face— that person everyone in Korea knew— was staring back at them in shock.The man seated opposite him, lazily leaning back, was equally familiar. And that was when Yoon Hyuk realized why Ju-yeol had turned to stone. The stupid joke they’d made that morning had somehow come true.Wait. That really was Lee Seo-eul, wasn’t it?Why? Why is he actually here?!“Hello.”While the two of them floundered inside their respective daydreams, the first to recover— naturally— was Seo-eul. Rising smoothly to his feet, he greeted them with polite calm, as if meeting two stiff mannequins. A perfect smile bloomed across his pale face, and Ju-yeol immediately began to tremble like he’d been struck by lightning.“S-s-s-Seo-seo-seo—!”“Um… are you all right?”Seo-eul’s smile faded as he asked carefully. At first he’d assumed the shock had just robbed them of speech, but now he wasn’t so sure.Both of them looked way too pale.He didn’t know they’d nearly ended up driving all the way to Busan; all he saw were two shell-shocked men who looked ready to faint. He even considered calling the crew for help, but before he could, Yoon Hyuk snapped out of it and rushed to cover.“Ah, no, no, we’re fine. It’s just— he’s a huge fan of yours, Seo-eul-nim, and I think his brain’s… lagging a bit.”“Ah…”“We’re sorry for being so late. We took a wrong turn and went the long way around… have you been waiting long?”“Oh, not at all. We just got here ourselves. You’re Yoon Hyuk, right?”“…You know me?”Yoon Hyuk’s eyes went wide. He’d never imagined the man of Cannes would know who he was. Hearing his name spoken first felt surreal. But Seo-eul just laughed softly.“Of course. We’ve got so many Anak fans in our company.”Anak was Yoon Hyuk’s official fandom name, taken from “Anak Gunsu”— meaning someone who never leaves the house. It was practically a mad vow: If you ever debut from your living room, I’ll never step outside again either.Hearing even the fandom name come from Seo-eul’s mouth, Yoon Hyuk went speechless. Before he could recover, Seo-eul, perhaps thinking the distance too formal, had already walked to the entryway.He’d seen that face on screens countless times, yet meeting it in person felt entirely different. The camera didn’t capture even sixty percent of Lee Seo-eul’s real presence.Now he understood why his fans fought to death for film-premiere tickets.Anyone who saw this face up close once would chase it forever.If even idols— whose job was to look beautiful— felt this way, what must it be like for ordinary people?People say a well-painted picture looks lifelike, and a breathtaking scene looks like a painting. Seo-eul was both at once— as if brushed with watercolors instead of acrylic, every line drawn with impossible delicacy.Maybe it was that luminous white skin.In that moment, Ju-yeol’s previous gushing that “he’s more beautiful than handsome” finally made sense.Even the simple motion of Seo-eul extending his hand looked unreal.While Yoon Hyuk was still caught in brief awe, Seo-eul reached out for a handshake.“I look forward to working with you.”“Ah, yes— likewise, I look forward to it.”There wasn’t even time to be flustered. Wiping his palms on his pants, Yoon Hyuk bowed and took Seo-eul’s hand with both of his. The skin felt smooth but firm— the unmistakable hand of a man. And though Seo-eul exuded softness, he wasn’t small.As Yoon Hyuk found himself staring at their joined hands, he felt Ju-yeol inching closer beside him. When he turned, Ju-yeol’s shoulders were still shaking.“S-sen-sen-senpai…!”“……”Guess not recovered after all.Suppressing a sigh, Yoon Hyuk released the handshake gently. Maybe he should drag Ju-yeol outside for a breather before he embarrassed them further— but just then Seo-eul followed his gaze and broke into a bright smile.“Ah. Nice to meet you too, Ye Ju-yeol-ssi.”“Huh— how did you… know my name…?”“Haha, of course I do. I’m your fan! I really enjoyed Taming— I even watched it again before coming down here because it was so good.”“…Really…?”Seeing Ju-yeol’s disbelief, Seo-eul’s expression turned playful. He’d started acting as a child, and now in his twentieth year in the industry, he knew this look well— the frozen awe of rookies meeting him for the first time.If he didn’t loosen the mood now, it would only get worse. Clearing his throat, he steeled himself and went for it.“I can even recite one of your lines.”“……”“‘This is my meal. Would you care to pray with me?’”It was one of Taming’s iconic lines from the character Cha Yoon-je— the moment when the cold genius chef, after having his secret exposed, speaks with unnerving calm and a strange glint of exhilaration. Seo-eul even mimicked the slight curl at the end of the sentence, then glanced at Ju-yeol.That was the most enthusiasm he could muster.Truth be told, Seo-eul was ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) shy by nature. He knew it was on him to break the ice, but smooth banter wasn’t his strength. All he could offer was this kind of well-meaning mimicry— and he was lucky he already knew a bit about the two.Ju-yeol said nothing.He just clutched his trembling hands to his chest and pressed his lips tight, looking for all the world like he really was praying. Seo-eul chuckled awkwardly. Guess that didn’t work either.“Uh… sorry. I guess that was a bit much for a first meeting.”Muttering under his breath, Seo-eul took a step back, ears burning. He wanted to crawl into a hole. Even as a professional actor, pretending to be fine was getting hard; imagining this scene being broadcast on camera made him want to bash his head against a wall.He was about to retreat when suddenly— a hand grabbed his.Startled, he looked up to find Ju-yeol staring at him with the expression of a man who’d lost his entire country. Understanding finally dawning, Ju-yeol shook his head desperately.“No, no, sunbae-nim—! I was just so moved I couldn’t even speak! Please don’t misunderstand, really! I just— I never thought I’d actually meet you, so— I just— I—!”“Ah, it’s— it’s fine.”Flustered, Seo-eul took a step back— only for Ju-yeol to step two forward. It was obvious he wasn’t thinking straight anymore. Trying to calm down a man over 185 centimeters tall and emotionally overwhelmed was proving… difficult.

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