Bambi's Open Door

Jeonghyeon-hyung's whining dragged on for a long while after that.

"Yeonjae, what's wrong with your hyung?"

That was how pure-faced Han Haram finally asked, which said ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠everything.

My face was burning.

"……Don't worry about it. Just eat your melon."

It was far too awkward to say, Yes. He says he wants to become my family. So I changed the subject instead.

"Ijun-hyung, how have you been?"

When I turned to Seong Ijun, who was nibbling on a melon beside me, the answer came back curt and sulky.

"Fine."

"…?"

What was wrong with him now?

"Hyung, are you mad at me about something?"

"No."

"……."

Seriously, what was with everyone today?

I stared at him in bewilderment, and Seong Ijun slid his eyes away from mine.

"I got a message from your manager, too…."

"Jinbae-hyung contacted you as well?"

Unbelievable. The two of them weren't even close.

Jinbae-hyung's shamelessness made my head swim. I screwed my eyes shut, and Han Haram, tucked against my chest, poked at the corners of my eyes with his small fingers.

"Yeonjae, do your eyes hurt? What's wrong?"

"I'm fine."

It wasn't my eyes that hurt. It was my head.

Jeonghyeon-hyung, fine, whatever. But what's Seong Ijun's excuse?

There was no reason for him to be so hung up on the word family. I was racking my brain for whatever mistake I might have made when the answer came back in a mopey voice.

"I heard from Euntaek… that you've been on video calls with Bihyeok every day."

"…? Yeah."

So what?

At my puzzled look, Seong Ijun's face crumpled further into an outright pout.

"I deliberately didn't contact you because I figured you'd be too busy filming…."

"Oh, were you waiting to hear from me? You could've just texted."

"……You said you hated texts."

Seong Ijun answered, sharp-edged and wounded. His voice was so obviously sulking that I had no comeback left.

This is insane.

I really needed to consider a career change into professional babysitting.

Seong Ijun kept muttering to himself about how we traveled through Italy together, you know, and I soothed him with a promise to stay in touch far more often from now on.

I'm exhausted.

How did things even get here? Forget sentimental moods — all I wanted was sleep.

That was when Noh Bihyeok, having clocked my exasperated expression, sidled over with a snicker.

"Figures. Life as a popular guy is exhausting. Heavy is the head that wears the crown, my liege!"

"Bihyeok. Let's be quiet for just five minutes."

I caught his arm and pulled it down as he jabbed at my cheek over and over.

It was annoying how he couldn't let a moment of silence pass without clowning around — but he'd made time to come all the way here in the middle of his comeback preparations, and I was grateful for it.

Of course, that gratitude extended to the others, too.

"Your face has gotten rough since I last saw you. Something happen in LA?"

I gave a vague shake of my head at Lee Euntaek's comment.

This is the first time we've all been together like this since the Christmas party.

I had no intention of ruining the mood with talk of Noah Patterson.

"You two are okay staying here? You're busy, aren't you?"

"We're fine. Since we're here to see you, our director cleared time off our schedule for us."

"……Please stop calling me 'the kid' in front of people."

While I was wrangling with Lee Euntaek over this, Noh Bihyeok barged in, voice rising. It got pretty loud and pretty tiring.

And yet, the strange thing was this:

It finally feels like I'm home.

How comfortable and cozy it all felt. It took me a long moment to realize the corners of my mouth had curled up on their own.

A few hours later, Noh Bihyeok went live with the following title:

The viewer count shot up the moment the stream started.

Noh Bihyeok read the chat and answered in his brightest broadcast voice.

"This is Lee Yeonjae's room!"

"Everyone else is out in the living room, so we have to keep it down."

Lee Euntaek's follow-up sent the chat window into overdrive.

They really will find anything adorable.

It never ceased to amaze me. Especially when I saw comments like these:

I quietly studied Lee Euntaek on my left.

What would it take for that face to read as cute?

With those sharp eyes of his, it would be a tall order no matter how you looked at him.

The fans' capacity for love was truly something else.

Ah.

"This stream is for NAID's fans, so I figured it would be odd if I did most of the talking. I've been keeping my mouth shut on purpose."

The moment I hurriedly explained myself, the chat flooded with "lololol" and messages telling me not to worry about it.

"You could do rap music with lungs like that."

Lee Euntaek snorted, and Noh Bihyeok on my right snickered along with him.

"Don't sweat that stuff. If it ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠really mattered, it would've just been the two of you on stream. It's fine — talk freely."

"Okay, okay, quit poking my cheek."

Flustered, I pressed Noh Bihyeok's hand back down.

Am I sure I belong here?

I'd asked the two of them this several times before they even started the broadcast, but it kept nagging at me. Lee Euntaek told me not to worry, that he'd cleared it with the director, and Noh Bihyeok was too busy being thrilled to finally go live with me to entertain the question at all.

Ugh, who knows.

The fans said it was fine, so I guess it was fine.

After that, my heart settled down too, and I found myself chiming in now and then between the two of them.

"Someone asked how tall Euntaek is. I can confirm he's 185 centimeters."

"He's not."

At my rebuttal, Lee Euntaek jabbed me in the ribs, quick as a whip.

"Shut it."

Then he turned forward again, utterly shameless.

"On a good day I measure 185. Usually it's 183 or 184."

"It's 182."

"I said shut it."

"I am being quiet."

"Agh, keep your mouth shut, I said!"

Lee Euntaek ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠lunged at me with a you little pest face, and I dodged out of reach.

Through it all, Noh Bihyeok — clearly used to this by now — slid off the bed and read the chat with practiced calm.

"Ah, don't worry, everyone. These two always roughhouse like this."

I was still mid-wrestle with Lee Euntaek as Noh Bihyeok's voice washed over us.

Knock, knock.

Along with the knock came a tiny voice from beyond the door.

"Yeonjae, it's me…."

It was Han Haram.

I shoved Lee Euntaek aside without a second thought and bolted for the door. Only after confirming the camera couldn't catch this side of the room did I open it.

"Yeonjae…."

Cool air washed in, and there stood Han Haram, on the verge of tears.

Alarmed, I swept him up into my arms.

"What's wrong? Are you hurt somewhere?"

"No…."

"Then what is it?"

God, he's heavy.

As he slid down my body, I hoisted him back up, and Han Haram buried his face in my chest. He was mumbling something, but not a word of it was decipherable.

"It's okay, it's okay."

I was patting his back, doing my best to soothe him, when Seong Ijun rushed over in a panic.

"Yeonjae, I'm so sorry…! I looked away for one second."

"It's fine. What happened?"

"I think he had a nightmare. He woke up from his nap calling for you, and I told him you couldn't come right now, but…."

As he apologized for the interruption, it belatedly dawned on me that the broadcast was still running.

Lee Euntaek and Noh Bihyeok were staring at me, wondering what was going on.

I considered telling them to wrap things up on their own, but leaving without so much as a goodbye felt too rude, so I stepped toward the camera instead.

"I'm sorry, but I have to step out now. Keep chatting, Bihyeok, Euntaek-hyung."

With Han Haram buried against my chest, my face never made it on screen anyway.

Whether it was because I'd randomly appeared cradling a child, the screen filled up with chat demanding to know who this was.

What was I supposed to explain?

Just as I was floundering, the man himself made his entrance.

"Yeonjae? Is Haramie in there?"

Jeonghyeon-hyung's face popped through the crack of the open door.

That instantly recognizable top-star voice sent the chat ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠scrolling even faster.

This is a total mess.

What kind of circus was this?

I swallowed a sigh and, for the moment, simply answered.

"I've got Haramie."

Seong Ijun added a quick explanation beside me, and Jeonghyeon-hyung nodded with an ahh of understanding.

"I'll take Haramie with me, so you go ahead and finish your stream."

The moment Jeonghyeon-hyung spoke, Han Haram clung to me even harder. His grip had gone from stubborn to downright desperate, and I couldn't bring myself to put him down. I hitched him back up again.

"That's all right. I was about to leave anyway."

In for a penny, as they say — better for everyone to just say goodbye together.

I shot a meaningful glance at Jeonghyeon-hyung and Seong Ijun, still standing awkwardly near the door. No words were needed; both of them came over at once.

"Hello, everyone~ This is Lee Jeonghyeon. Sorry for the interruption."

"Hello. This is Seong Ijun. I'm sorry…! We'll be leaving right away."

And so, in a single camera frame, there sat Lee Euntaek, Noh Bihyeok, Seong Ijun, Jeonghyeon-hyung, and me with Han Haram — all of us together.

Feels like a family portrait.

Maybe Lee Euntaek thought so too, because he muttered:

"It's a crime that Jinbae-hyung isn't here."

"Should we call him? Jinbae-hyung! Come here―"

"I didn't mean actually call him."

I mouthed good job at Lee Euntaek as he clapped a hand straight over Noh Bihyeok's mouth.

"Keep streaming a little longer, then head out."

I whispered it to Lee Euntaek, gave the camera a small bow, and walked out. The camera caught Seong Ijun and Jeonghyeon-hyung scrambling to trail after me like ducklings.

And that was how the broadcast ended in complete chaos.

Never again. Seriously.

The next day, the company called and asked if I could come in. I assumed it was about yesterday's livestream — but it turned out to be a visit from people I never could have imagined.

I looked at Team Leader Woo and asked, dazed.

"……Why are those people here?"

Isn't this Korea? Did I wander into LA by mistake?

Behind the glass wall of the conference room sat a pair of familiar faces. Noah Patterson — and his father, Alex Patterson, to boot.

"What do you think? They've come to strike a deal — get you to delete that recording."

"I already turned them down by email last time, didn't I?"

"You did. And judging by the fact that they've flown all the way here, they must be sweating bullets."

I gave a hollow laugh at Team Leader Woo's assessment. Well, this is a first.

The moment I stepped into the conference room, Alex Patterson shot to his feet, his face tight with impatience.

"Oh, sweetheart! It's been far too long! I came all this way just to see your face!"

Noah Patterson glowered at me with a sulky expression until his father elbowed him, at which point he rose with the air of someone granted an unbearable chore.

"What brings you here?"

"…Excuse me?"

Both of their faces shifted to confusion, and I pressed on quickly.

"I'm short on time, so let's skip to the point. I have training right after this."

"Hold on, what did he say?"

"I asked why you came."

At the rapid-fire Korean, the two of them reacted as if I'd been speaking gibberish.

Yeah, and? What of it?

I simply stared back at them, unmoved.

Sad news for them, of course.

Home turf's changed, kids.

This was Korea.