CRANK 5

I tossed my phone to Youngjun as if throwing it away. The van was large enough for a few people to lie down in. I roughly took off my outer coat and tossed that over, too.

“Hyung, this is a sponsored item.”

“That’s why I’m taking it off for you.”

I crumpled my body into the seat, buried myself in it, and rummaged through the back seat to pull out a blanket.

“Are you going to sleep?”

“Yeah. Wake me up when we get to the house.”

It took over an hour to get from the broadcasting station where the awards ceremony was held to my home. I closed my eyes slowly. A vibration sound rang out from somewhere.

“Hyung, I think a call is ringing from your jacket.”

“…”

“Hyung?”

Fatigue washed over me in an instant. Youngjun’s voice sounded muffled, as if he were speaking from very far away.

What kind of jerk is he, anyway? What kind of jerk is he to be so brazen? Unanswered questions filled my head. Along with that hypocritical face that had been beaming so brightly.

I shouldn’t meet him again. I absolutely won’t get involved… In my fading consciousness, I made a vow to myself.

🍋🍁

Ding—

Ignoring the cheerful notification sound, I buried my disheveled face deeper into the covers.

Ding—

Who could it possibly be at this hour? I barely managed to open my bleary eyes, and strong sunlight was streaming in through the window. I got up from bed to draw the curtains.

Ding—

The notification sounded once more. A text? Only then did it strike me as strange. Most of the people I knew used messengers, and Youngjun would just call. Both had been set to vibrate for a long time.

But a text? It could just be an advertisement, but for some reason, I felt a sense of unease. I crawled into bed, reached out, and flipped my phone over.

“Ah… fuck….”

Hyung, watch your mouth! Youngjun’s voice rang out in my head. But there was no way I couldn’t curse.

2 Missed Calls — Woo Dobin

Hello, Sunbae. Did you sleep well?

(11:56 AM)

Ah, I am Woo Dobin. It is an honor to have met you yesterday. Thank you for giving me your number as well.

By any chance, what is your schedule like today? Actually, I wanted to ask yesterday, but you weren’t picking up your phone.

(11:57 AM)

Is this guy a psycho? And what’s with the missed calls? The three characters ‘Woo Dobin’ displayed on my phone looked as if they were grinning hypocritically.

I ended up giving my number to this persistent guy. Woo Dobin hadn’t moved from his table even after another round of awards had finished. Smiling prettily and brightly, he had kept pushing me to give him my phone number. His tone was extremely polite and courteous, but it was bordering on half-threat. That was because Shin Yu-hye, sitting next to us, had started looking at us with increasingly strange eyes.

If I kept ignoring him, it looked like he would follow me around like a lost puppy. Then, it would be a matter of time before everyone at the awards ceremony knew of this “strange relationship.”

What “strange relationship.” The only thing strange was Woo Dobin’s attitude. There was nothing strange about our relationship. It was just… just a senior-junior relationship.

My head throbbed as I recalled him calling me right then and there to verify it as if taking my number wasn’t enough. He had stared intensely at the screen, saying, “Please make sure to save it since it’s my number.” Having seen with my own two eyes that I had barely managed to type in those three characters, ‘Woo Dobin’, he still texted, “Ah, I am Woo Dobin”? What a ridiculous bastard.

I set all notifications to silent and shoved the phone under my pillow. As I pulled the blackout curtains, the room was instantly swallowed in darkness.

Today was that rare, precious day with absolutely no schedule. Since it had been 3:00 AM when I arrived home, washed up, and fell asleep last night, it was still way too early to get out of bed.

How many days were left until the crank-in? Was it a week? I could rest a bit longer, right? Since I had already memorized the entire script, I just needed to finalize the hair concept with Mi-yeon… It was as I was burying myself in the soft bedding, slipping back into a stupor, that it happened.

Ding-dong—

This time, it was the front door. Where I lived, visitors couldn’t get in without being verified at the front desk. It was an apartment complex famous for its thorough security. So, who could it be?

There were very few people who could bypass the security at the front desk. Youngjun, who already knew the staff by face; Mi-yeon, my stylist; or my parents. If not them…

Ding-dong—

A familiar voice came through the intercom near the bedroom.

“Sunbae, it’s me, Woo Dobin.”

“What the fuck.”

Woo Dobin, a person famous enough that the building manager wouldn’t have a single doubt.

Thinking about how my photos with him had plastered the main pages of portal sites just yesterday, the manager’s actions were understandable. Yeah, I could understand it. He probably thought we were close.

“Sunbae, please open the door.”

That didn’t mean I forgave him. You let just anyone in because we’re close? I clenched my eyes shut, vowing to file a formal complaint against the manager for letting Woo Dobin up.

Whether he showed up or not, I just had to not open the door. I pulled the blanket up to the top of my head.

Ding-dong—

“Um, Sunbae. I really have something urgent. Since you aren’t checking your texts.”

Texts? I clumsily reached under the pillow and pulled out the phone. There were two more texts from Woo Dobin. As soon as I unlocked it and checked the content, I bolted upright. Then, I stomped over and flung the front door open.

“Sunbae!”

Woo Dobin smiled, his eyes crinkling. He held up the items he was carrying in both hands.

“You haven’t eaten yet, have you?”

“Hey, what is this…”

“If it’s alright with you, may I come in?”

There were quite a few residents who knew I lived here. If we were caught arguing in the hallway, rumors would spread in an instant.

“…Come in.”

“Excuse me.”

Woo Dobin bowed his head and neatly organized his shoes. Unlike the audacity he showed by just showing up, he stood quietly by the doorway, looking at me.

“What are you doing? Just sit down, for now.”

There was one single-person sofa and one three-person sofa in the living room. I purposefully plopped down into the single-person one and gestured toward the others with my chin. I didn’t want to sit on the same sofa as Woo Dobin.

“Yes.”

Woo Dobin placed the bags he was holding on the kitchen table and sat on the sofa. He sat with his long legs carefully stretched out and his back perfectly straight.

“You’re using casual speech with me again. I’m happy.”

It just slipped out. I don’t know if it was because the other person was being so deferential, or because I was just too angry. I didn’t want to fall for his games again, so I hardened my face.

“The text—what are you talking about?”

“Exactly what it says. Didn’t you hear from your manager?”

Speak of the devil. At that moment, the phone rang loudly. The three characters ‘Youngjun’ were displayed on the screen. I pressed the call button irritably.

“Yeah.”

What Youngjun said didn’t differ by a single syllable from what the man in front of me had texted.

“So. Yeah. Okay, I got it. It’s not a surprise, fuck. I… yeah.”

Woo Dobin was still there. I clamped my mouth shut. He was just grinning even at the harsh language coming out of my mouth.

“No, we’re together. …I don’t know either, it just happened. Am I crazy? I got it, just hang up. Yeah, hang up.”

I pressed the end button more aggressively than when I had pressed the call button.

“It seems you’ve been informed.”

Woo Dobin had his hands folded neatly on his lap.

“Ha…”

I was subconsciously raking my hands through my hair when I suddenly remembered that I was in the same state I had been when I woke up from sleep. I hadn’t brushed my teeth, there was sleep in my eyes, my hair must be a total mess, and my face must be swollen.

“Just a second, to the bathroom.”

“Yes, go ahead.”

As if he were a well-trained butler, or perhaps a top-tier hotel concierge, Woo Dobin remained consistently polite.

I passed by him toward the bathroom. The sight in the mirror was a spectacle. My hair was sticking out in all directions, and my eyes were puffy. No wonder I couldn’t see well. I’m prone to swelling anyway, but it seemed I had fallen asleep way too exhausted last night. I splashed cold water on my face and scrubbed my teeth hard. I managed to tame my hair somehow, too.

Even as I brushed my teeth, the situation felt absurd. Why on earth am I doing this in my own home? Ptooey—I spat the toothpaste into the sink. Without rinsing, I just stared at the sink. The text Woo Dobin had sent flashed through my mind again.