Falling for the Omega Idol-Chapter 229: HE HATED IT

HANEUL spun around and then stretched his right arm out like he was reaching for something just out of reach. His fingers spread wide and his arm stayed extended for a few seconds before he slowly lowered it. The move matched the exact part of the song that Eunwoo had paused on the tablet.

"Good. You finally got the rhythm down, Haneul-ah," Eunwoo said, nodding with approval.

Haneul was breathing hard, trying to catch his breath after running through the routine again. Then a water bottle appeared in front of his face. He didn’t need to look up to know who it was. Jeon Hyunsik had been like this the past few days, hovering around him, always ready with water or a towel or some comment about his dancing. It was like having a personal butler he never asked for. And Haneul didn’t appreciate it at all. If he was actively seeking the other’s attention, maybe he would feel different. But he wasn’t. He wanted nothing to do with the attention Jeon Hyunsik kept giving on him.

But it’s not like he could actively voiced that out. With all the cameras around, all he could do was smile and act oblivious to whatever Jeon Hyunsik was doing. Just like now.

He took the water bottle and smiled. "Thank you."

"You’re welcome," Jeon Hyunsik said with a smile as well.

Without making it obvious, Haneul checked if the water bottle was tampered. It had almost become a habit now. Every time Jeon Hyunsik handed him something to drink, he would secretly check it. He twisted it slightly, just enough to see if the seal had been broken. Feeling that it hadn’t, he opened it and drank, since he really was kind of thirsty.

Four days had passed since they got the dance mission. Under Eunwoo’s direction, their team had managed to finish a complete choreography for their assigned part. Suho had helped a lot too, coming up with some of the smoother transitions. Even Jeon Hyunsik, for all his unwanted comments, had offered a few useful ideas here and there. The only one who barely contributed was him.

So the best he could do was make sure he didn’t drag the team down. He’d almost managed it, but there were still a few sections where he kept messing up. Eunwoo had asked him more than once if they should change those parts to something easier. Each time, Haneul just shook his head and said he could do it. He didn’t want them rewriting the choreography just because he wasn’t good enough. If he couldn’t keep up, then he just had to work harder until he could.

Thankfully, his body seemed to go along with what he wanted. He pushed through and eventually got the moves down without taking up too much of the group’s time.

"Alright," Eunwoo said, clapping to get their attention. "Let’s run through the full choreo one more time. After that, let’s have a thirty-minute break."

***

Haneul stood at the stern of the ship. As soon as practice ended, he’d quickly walked out, telling the others he needed the restroom. That wasn’t really why he left. He just didn’t want to be around when Jeon Hyunsik inevitably tried to approach him. If he stayed, he might not be able to get away. They only had thirty minutes of rest. He wanted to spend them in peace.

But to not seem like a liar, he did stop at a restroom first. Just not the one in his cabin. If he went back to his room, who knew if Jeon Hyunsik would be waiting outside by the time he came out. That was too scary. So he used the restroom near the dining hall instead, then headed straight to the stern of the ship. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

He hadn’t really planned to come here. He just figured there would be fewer people. It was very humid this time of year, especially here in Jeju. Most of the other contestants would probably stay inside where it was comfortable. But in case Jeon Hyunsik came looking for him outside, he picked the stern instead of the main deck. If he’d gone there, it would’ve been too easy for the other to spot him.

Haneul stared out at the dark blue sea and let out a long, tired sigh. He just wanted this whole dance mission to be over already.

"That’s a long sigh."

The voice came out of nowhere and made Haneul jump. For a second, he was terrified it would be Jeon Hyunsik. But he recognized it almost immediately. By the time he turned, he already knew who he would see. Taeyang stood right there, gazing down at him.

"How come you’re here?" he asked before he could stop himself.

A small, almost shy smile appeared on Taeyang’s face. "My team’s on break. I went to the dining hall to get some water and saw you walking by. You looked like you were in a hurry, so I just... followed you without really thinking about it."

Oh. Haneul had been so focused on finding a spot where Jeon Hyunsik wouldn’t find him that he hadn’t paid attention to anything else. He couldn’t believe he’d walked right past Taeyang without even noticing.

"Sorry," he said, his voice a little awkward. "I was just thinking about something."

Taeyang nodded. "Is your team on break too?"

"Yeah, thirty-minute break," Haneul answered. "How about you?"

"Same. How have you been these past few days?" Taeyang asked, his eyes fixed on Haneul.

They’d both been busy with their own teams, so he hadn’t been able to spend time with Haneul like before. But in just a few days, why did it seem like Haneul had lost weight? There were dark circles under his eyes that hadn’t been there before. And his scent, that warm caramel smell, now had something else mixed into it. Taeyang couldn’t identify what it was. In truth, he wasn’t even sure if he could smell it. He just knew there was something off, something extra in Haneul’s scent that didn’t belong.

And he hated it.