What kind of person was Seo Hoyun?
Usually, he was calm, rational, and uninterested in anything that didn’t benefit him—but he also had a mischievous side that caught people off guard.
Not that he was always irritating. Once in a while, he’d remember something someone had said years ago in passing and suddenly surprise them with a gift related to it.
A bastard, yes—but a bastard who had everything else.
Kang Ichae had known Seo Hoyun for well over ten years, yet predicting his patterns was still difficult.
He cherished his younger brother dearly, but oddly enough, didn’t seem particularly attached to living with Seo Hojin. Otherwise, wouldn’t he have already moved back into the dorms?
“I’m going to live alone! Mwahahaha!!!”
So even when Jung Dajun shouted that with all his might, Kang Ichae had faith.
Faith that Seo Hoyun, standing there with his arms crossed and his cool gaze, would simply say, “Do as you like,” and that would be the end of it.
“I’ll just work from home for a while then.”
...But instead, he calmly dropped that.
“Huh?”
Excuse me, what?
Kang Ichae stared at him in shock. What he just said sounded insane—but Seo Hoyun was so casual that it was hard to tell.
“Wait, hyung. Were you serious just now?”
“Why?”
So right °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° after The Dawn had all gone their separate ways, Ichae had caught him again to double-check—but Seo Hoyun, looking down at his phone, replied flatly,
“Dajun’s right. If no one’s there, there’s no reason for me to be.”
He swallowed back the words I’m there, and argued instead.
“Hyung, living separately is inefficient.”
But Hoyun finally looked up from his phone, lifted his chin slightly, and, with his lashes lowered, slowly ran his gaze from Ichae’s head to toe.
Startled, Ichae mirrored him by raising his own brows. Hoyun tilted his head a little.
“...Hmm.”
“......”
“Kang Ichae, you’re funny.”
And then he walked away.
“......??”
What the hell?
What was that reaction supposed to mean?
‘Kang Ichae, you’re funny?’
Left standing there, replaying Hoyun’s last words, Ichae scratched his head and sighed.
‘Forget it. If I go now, I’ll definitely get rejected.’
Even if he clung to Hoyun’s leg, the man would walk away without so much as twitching an eyebrow.
Where had that man gone—the one who once whispered, Run with me?!
Fuming, Ichae muttered under his breath, but he was nothing if not persistent. He began forming a plan.
First, convince Sung Jiwon through conversation.
Second, lure Jung Dajun as bait.
Third, hook Kim Sunghyun through emotional appeal—
‘Heh, flawless execution.’
And indeed, everything had gone exactly as planned.
Picturing the original The Dawn members gathered cozily not in the dorm but in his own home, Kang Ichae smiled with deep satisfaction.
Just imagining the familiar nagging, the noisy chatter, the inevitable chaos—it felt like coming home. His grin was that of a well-fed fox.
‘Almost there.’
Now only the highlight remained: Seo Hoyun.
‘Where the hell did he go?’
But he was nowhere to be found.
Thinking he might be with Lee Jihyun, Ichae burst into the office—
“Huh? Mr. Seo Hoyun isn’t here.”
Even when he went to the film set where Hoyun was supposedly shooting—
“He’s not here?”
“Yeah, he wrapped up super fast and disappeared. Said he had another schedule.”
“Right....”
When he dropped by Lim Hyunsu’s studio, hoping to find him—
“Huh?! Who—oh my GAWD it’s Ichae!!”
“Masterrrr~~!!!”
“Come here, come here~~.”
“This is touching, so touching.”
Kim Heeyoung clicked her tongue beside them, but Ichae was already bouncing with excitement, grinning widely.
He got so caught up chatting about music with Lim Hyunsu that he forgot all about Seo Hoyun—for three full hours.
‘Wait... that’s not what I came here for!’
It had been fun, but priorities were priorities. Flustered, Ichae sent a message to someone he knew.
[Me: You at hyung’s place???]
The reply came quickly.
[BadGuyMinimi: Yeah, just got in]
Oh, come on.
[BadGuyMinimi: But I barely see him, he just crashes and leaves again]
[Me: Hojin-ah..]
[Me: Wanna move into the dorm with us?]
[BadGuyMinimi: Why would I..?]
Ordinary civilian Seo Hojin’s baffled reply made Ichae mutter about how both brothers were equally cold, and he gave up on the “recruit Hojin” plan.
Sure, the warmhearted members would welcome Hojin with open arms—but the kid would definitely freak out, and more importantly, Hoyun probably wouldn’t be thrilled either.
‘Damn it, I can’t do anything until I run into him first.’
Convincing Seo Hoyun without a crazy plan was impossible.
Missing the timing had already thrown off his strategy, and the delay made him anxious.
To calm down, he went to eat with Kim Sunghyun.
“Seo Hoyun?”
At the WH cafeteria, while eating avocado toast, Sunghyun swallowed and said,
“He’s busy lately. There’s that spy movie he got an offer for... and, uh, the ‘thing’ we’re preparing too.”
“Show me his schedule.”
When Sunghyun handed it over, Ichae couldn’t believe his eyes.
What the hell was Hoyun doing—his schedule was packed in thirty-minute increments, one after another.
Ichae wondered if it was even humanly possible.
‘He’s determined to live a long life, huh?!’
Which was admirable and all—
but still, damn it!
“Well, we’ll see him at practice anyway. Not seeing him much since moving out though... hey, what—what’s with your face?! Are you... crying?!”
“Waaahhhh...”
“You’re not.”
As he faked tears, Sunghyun sighed and looked at him wearily.
To shut him up, he stabbed a cherry tomato with his fork and popped it into Ichae’s mouth.
“We’ll see him in four days.”
Chewing the tomato gloomily, Ichae decided he’d have to resort to the worst option.
‘Strike fast. For someone like Seo Hoyun, who lives for efficiency, buildup is poison.’
So, after parting with Sunghyun, Ichae thought for a moment, then opened the group chat.
[Me: Who wants to eat samgyeopsal with the cutie Ichae today♡]
Replies came in one after another.
[DaJunTheLoveBug: Me!!! But hyung can I go home first and watch a movie??]
[OfficialBabyDumpling: You don’t have any side dishes, do you?]
[PracticeTerminator: hahaha sure!!]
But Seo Hoyun still didn’t respond.
About thirty minutes later, finally—
[RealBadGuy: You home?]
Gotcha.
Confident, Ichae grinned and replied, “Yeah, how about in two hours?”
Five minutes later—
[RealBadGuy: ok]
“Ha.”
Knew you’d come anyway.
He double-checked every detail of the house, then went out to buy every cut of meat the supermarket had and even grabbed alcohol he didn’t particularly like.
Thinking over ten different ways to lure Seo Hoyun back to the dorm, he pulled down his cap and pushed his cart forward.
‘I got this.’
Brimming with confidence, he slung his bag over his shoulder, pressed the elevator button, and waited for the luxury elevator to reach the top floor.
—Ding. The doors slid open.
“......”
“—Yeah, I know about the shoot.”
A man stood there, wearing gray sneakers and a black turtleneck, leaning against a small carry-on suitcase, phone pressed to his ear.
His long legs stretched across the corridor as if he’d been waiting for someone.
As Ichae stepped out of the elevator and crossed his arms, Seo Hoyun—still on the phone—looked at him.
“I can’t cancel it. —Yes, understood.”
While Ichae debated whether that “schedule” meant their dinner or some damn movie shoot, Hoyun ended the call, stood up, and asked casually,
“Are all the members here?”
“...Yeah~.”
“Good. I’ve got something to ask them face to face.”
He spoke lightly, but Ichae blocked his path.
“Hyung, before dinner.”
“......”
“I’ve got something to say.”
Fast and direct.
Hoyun twitched an eyebrow, clearly tempted to say What the hell is this nonsense, but Ichae only smiled smoothly.
“I’ll be honest.”
There was one proven method for handling a maniac.
“Move in with me. The rent’s a waste.”
“......”
Money.
“Dajun and Sunghyun-hyung already fell for it. And Jiwon-hyung... well, not totally, but he agreed.”
“......”
“My place already has three people staying regularly. So, tell me—paying rent separately, isn’t that a waste?”
Money was the strategy.
Even if Hoyun was a top-tier idol now, his minimalist spending habits hadn’t changed.
And the inefficiency of commuting separately? He hated that.
Logical persuasion should work.
‘Hojin might be an obstacle, but still.’
Of course, Hoyun would probably see through his real reason right away—that he just wanted them all together again.
‘So what?’
It wasn’t like he didn’t already know everyone’s real feelings and chose to ignore them anyway.
He expected a reply along the lines of, Yeah, it’s a waste of money, or As long as it doesn’t interfere with schedules.
But instead, Hoyun stayed silent, staring at him with those dark eyes.
“......”
“......”
Ichae’s brow twitched slightly.
‘This might not be working.’
Fine—on to the next phase.
He had plenty of countermeasures when it came to Seo Hoyun.
He was just preparing to shift gears, when Hoyun, still scanning him up and down slowly, folded his arms.
“...Hmm.”
Ready for anything, Ichae braced himself—then Hoyun said,
“Kang Ichae. I’ve been thinking this for a while...”
“What.”
“Let’s be honest.”
What now?
Hoyun tilted his head slightly; his long bangs fell over his forehead.
“Just say you miss me.”
“......”
“One word would’ve been enough.”
.........Huh?
Before Ichae could even blink, Hoyun put a hand on his shoulder, said “Move,” and pushed him aside.
He entered the passcode smoothly and opened the door.
“Ah, Hoyun, you’re here?”
“Oh~ long time no see, hyung~.”
Inside was the sight of Kim Sunghyun portioning side dishes into containers, Jung Dajun happily sorting through DVDs he’d brought, and Sung Jiwon brewing tea while moving comfortably around the kitchen.
It looked exactly like their old dorm.
Before Ichae could even savor the pride of success—
“Hey.”
Hoyun crossed his arms.
“If it’s going to be like this, let’s just all live together.”
“...Should we?”
“Should we?!”
“I’m in!”
Hey—
“As long as we can use Ichae’s place.”
“Uh... well.”
“Ichae, is that okay?”
Well, that was the whole point. Dazed, he nodded.
“Yeah, sure....”
But wait. I did all this.
How dare he swoop in and steal the finale?!
Burning with frustration, Ichae had plenty he wanted to say.
But when he looked up and saw Seo Hoyun smiling at him—he couldn’t say a word.
“Happy?”
...Damn it. So annoying.
