If an ordinary adult man were suddenly called “cute,” how would he react?In Lee Seo-eul’s case, he stayed silent for about fifteen seconds. Then, without a word, he raised his right hand and slowly rolled up his sleeve. When the skin hidden beneath his clothes was revealed, he lifted his arm as if to display it.“Fix this goosebumps situation for me.”Cute, my ass.The words were so saccharine they made his skin crawl; Seo-eul shuddered in genuine disgust.Maybe it would make sense if something had actually happened to warrant such a comment—but all he’d done just now was the verbal equivalent of clowning around. Where on earth was Sa-heon looking when he came up with that?He himself had often thought Sa-heon was cute now and then, but those were private thoughts, nothing more. That kind of besotted delusion was a side effect of love. True, Seo Sa-heon was objectively capable of being cute sometimes—but still, not once had Seo-eul ever said it out loud.It was a textbook example of double standards, but that didn’t bother him. Sa-heon couldn’t read his mind anyway, so he stood his ground confidently—so confidently, in fact, that even when Sa-heon came right up to him and brushed his fingers over the wrist he’d just raised, narrowing his eyes in playful defiance, Seo-eul only tilted his chin upward.“There’s no goosebumps.”“Look closer.”“It’s just smooth.”“Don’t touch, just look.”“Mm. White.”“……”“Then why does being called cute give you goosebumps?”At this point, Seo-eul gave up on the idea of explaining anything to this wall of a man.He pulled his sleeve back down and muttered wearily,“…I’m not talking to you anymore.”“I could convince you, though.”“What?”“Just listen.”Convince what, exactly? Listen to what? The conversation made no sense. Seo-eul blinked in disbelief, then hurriedly interrupted. Something told him this was going to be nonsense.“No, I’m not listening.”“Let’s say we have a cat.”“We don’t have a cat.”“She’s a genius at catching feather balls. Even if she’s napping, the moment she hears the bell jingle, she sprints out into the living room on her tiny paws and leaps. Jumps really high, too.”“……?”The story veered off course so fast it broke the sound barrier.Seo-eul was too baffled to even interrupt. Sa-heon, meanwhile, calmly tugged at the cuff covering Seo-eul’s hand and kept talking.“But honestly, she doesn’t really care about the feather toy. She doesn’t even like jumping.”“……”“She only does it because her owner gets happy when she does. Really, she’d rather just keep napping.”“……”“See? That’s cute.”…Fine, it is cute. A cat who plays feather-ball games just to please her human—that’s adorable. She deserves a hundred treats.But what the hell did that have to do with me?Seo-eul gave up on interpreting him. No, he refused to.He couldn’t even sigh anymore; he just grabbed Sa-heon’s hand where it kept tugging at his cuff. After comparing him to a cat, Sa-heon still had the nerve to tilt his head with a straight face, as if asking What’s wrong?Seo-eul’s expression turned serious.“Sa-heon.”“Yeah.”“You’re tired right now.”“Me? No, I’m fine.”“No, you are tired. Normal people get tired after running twenty kilometers.”He wasn’t wrong. If anything, the fact that Sa-heon was still this energetic was more terrifying. At Seo-eul’s firm tone, Sa-heon arched a brow and glanced down, as if to say, All right, let’s hear this.“…So?”“Your brain’s malfunctioning from exhaustion. That’s why you’re talking about cats.”“……”“You didn’t even eat, and you drove too. You’re basically half-delirious right now.”“……”“And Seo Sa-heon—are you a cat? How do you even know what a cat thinks? For all you know, maybe she does like the feather toy and does enjoy jumping. What you’re saying is cat slander, infringement of feline autonomy. You want to get sued by a cat?”Nonsense could only be countered with more nonsense.Having already held himself together all day, Seo-eul finally let go of the last thread of self-restraint required for filming.It was all because of that face attached to the mind of an elementary-school-level wordfighter. The more you indulged him, the worse he got, so enough was enough. Since they’d be together practically twenty-four hours a day for the next two weeks, it was better for his sanity to start drawing boundaries now.After delivering his lines in a rush like an actor finishing a monologue, Seo-eul felt completely drained.After hearing “cat” repeated so many times, even his brain was meowing.“…Ha.”Sa-heon, looking down at the suddenly exhausted Seo-eul, smiled softly. His gaze said, What on earth am I looking at?—the kind of look you give to the most harmless, amusing creature in existence. Since he couldn’t actually put him in his mouth and roll him around on his tongue, teasing him was the next best thing.But he couldn’t say that out loud, so instead Sa-heon made a show of crouching low and whispered in mock fear,“Okay, okay. I surrender. Scary.”“Then please stop talking nonsense and bring up the luggage.”“Yes, sir.”From this point on, it was back to the part where he had to behave.Without another word, Sa-heon nodded and disappeared out the door in an instant.Once Seo-eul heard the sound of his steps going down the stairs, he pressed his fingers to his forehead. He had plenty to say, but now wasn’t the time. Since Sa-heon’s stride was long, he’d be back soon. Time to focus on the original goal.“……”Turning his head, Seo-eul began to properly inspect the room.Only now did the interior come into focus—decorated in soft pastel tones, the pale green roof matching the overall color scheme. Two beds stood side by side near the window, sunlight pouring across them like a painting.He brushed his fingers across the taut, ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) wrinkle-free blue bedspread and looked up. One entire wall was a window, its curtains drawn open.Outside stretched a wide, open view.The house was built at a high elevation, so even from the second floor, he could look down over the surrounding area.“It’s pretty, but…”He was sensitive to light when sleeping, and the room seemed far too bright. The curtains were made of sheer chiffon, not blackout fabric, so they wouldn’t do much to block the sun.Would the other rooms be the same?Worried, Seo-eul walked down the hallway. From what he’d seen earlier, there were only two rooms with beds—this one and the one at the far end.Peeking through the slightly open door, he saw someone already inside.“Ah, did you finish looking around? I figured you were still talking, so I came to check this one first.”It was Yoon Hyuk. Not surprising—he’d expected that ever since he heard movement. But he had assumed Ye Ju-yeol would be with him. Seeing no sign of him, Seo-eul opened the door wider.“Where’s Ju-yeol?”“He’s wiping the floor.”Found him, then.It was right by the entrance, and there weren’t even any visible marks, so cleaning wasn’t really necessary. But Yoon Hyuk shook his head.“He says he needs to mop or he won’t calm down. I’m sorry about earlier, by the way. You must’ve been startled.”“…Did I look that startled? Don’t worry about it.”“Still, I want to apologize on his behalf. And I mean this seriously—he’s a huge fan of yours. Like, really huge. Owns every Blu-ray you’ve ever released—ah.”Apparently, Yoon Hyuk felt guilty about his friend’s overly eager first impression. He offered the apology with a careful look. His stoic face made it hard to notice, but Seo-eul caught the subtle shift right away. When Yoon Hyuk suddenly trailed off, Seo-eul tilted his head slightly.“…Um, is it okay if I call you sunbae-nim? Or… what should I call you?”Since they were in the same industry but in different fields, it was understandable that he’d be unsure about honorifics.Seo-eul didn’t really mind any title, but he also saw a chance to gauge their age difference.“I don’t mind either way. How old are you, by the way, Yoon Hyuk?”“I’m twenty-three. Ju-yeol’s the same age. You can speak informally if you like.”…Twenty-three?That was younger than he’d expected. Seo-eul’s expression softened noticeably.Come to think of it, he had heard they’d debuted as minors. Remembering Manager Oh’s endless “my precious boys” talk, the timeline added up. Five years in the industry—that meant they’d debuted at eighteen.After doing the math, Seo-eul hesitated. Normally, he wasn’t the type to drop formal speech easily, but seeing Yoon Hyuk standing there so politely, almost like a student waiting for instructions, made him reconsider. Refusing might actually disappoint him.“If I say I’m fine with it, would that make you uncomfortable?”“A little. …But really, whatever’s easiest for you.”Yoon Hyuk answered honestly, even adding a gentle reassurance. Having gauged his personality, Seo-eul let out a small laugh. So this is what ‘cute’ actually means, he thought, his tone unconsciously softening.“All right, I’ll keep it casual then. You can call me hyung, Hyuk-ah.”“Uh… really? Is that okay?”“Why wouldn’t it be?”Definitely better than “sunbae-nim.”Then, recalling something, Seo-eul paused and asked,“…You still call someone six years older hyung, right? That hasn’t changed, has it?”

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