[ Cho Seungmin's POV ]
On the morning of our third day of break, I got a text from Moondae hyung.
Park Moondae: Hey, are you free today?
Panting, I wiped the sweat off my neck with a small towel and picked up my phone.
"Hey J, why ya stopping?"
He wasn't B or C or D. He was just another member of my Father's gang, so he didn't wear a mask. I peered at him through the holes of mine.
"Give me a minute."
Cho Seungmin: In the afternoon, yes. Why?
I waited a minute before I tossed my phone down and sighed.
"Dude, you just sighed," Jeongkook, my sparring partner, choked.
I shrugged my shoulders and got back in the ring, readjusting the tape around my knuckles.
He hit his knuckles together intimidatingly, explaining, "You never sigh."
I was frowning under my mask, but he couldn't see.
"See? Like that. You just stare at me like that all the time. Do you know how scary and boring it is?"
"Say something fun. Then I'll respond."
I swung at him with a sharp jab, and he swiveled down to avoid it.
He immediately came at me from the side with a booming laugh. He was a fighting maniac. The only reason why I spar with him was his love for doing it. No one else liked fighting enough to want to fight a stranger with a rabbit mask.
"By the way, your phone just rang."
I didn't fall for it and blocked his kick with my forearms. I had to bounce back to let the sting in my arms dissipate.
"Man, you never fall for my tricks. Oh yeah, how's your back now?" Jeongkook asked as we circled the ring slowly.
"Healed up. My fingers too," I answered. "The doctor patched me up well."
I shot another jab, but I changed the last second to a left hook, getting a clean hit. Jeongkook threw an uppercut at the same time. He barely nicked my chin.
"Give yourself some credit, J. No one works with barely fixed fingers and an almost broken back for a week and calls it fine. You're just a monster."
"I also had to practice hours as an idol trainee."
This time, it was Jeongkook's phone that rang. I knew I would get some time to myself by the way he excitedly exited the ring.
I checked my own phone.
Park Moondae: Do you want to go to this billboard together?
<picture of Seungmin and Moondae's billboards across each other at a station>
Park Moondae: It's at Yongsan station exit 3.
Cho Seungmin: I can go. What time?
Park Moondae: What about 2?
I checked the time. 12:07 PM.
I would have enough time to shower and change if I went home now.
Cho Seungmin: Ok ^^
At once, I unraveled the tape around my hands and stuffed them in my bag.
"Hyung, something came up. I'm leaving," I shouted.
Being enamored by his phone call, Jeongkook simply waved his hand without looking behind. So I left. I went through 4 different blind spots before taking off my mask and also placing that in my bag.
It took twenty minutes for me to jog home. I took the elevator all the way to the highest floor where my penthouse was. I lived there alone; it was something I bought as soon as I turned eighteen.
When I entered, I threw my bag to the side. My clothes were next.
The water in the shower was cold because I didn't turn on the boiler, but it was fine. Soap bubbles fluttered in the air as I washed up.
I languidly toweled off my hair and wrapped it around my torso before walking out of the bathroom. When I was almost at my bedroom, I saw someone familiar sitting on the single couch in the living room.
"You weren't answering, so I let myself in," B shrugged. "Why are you showering so early in the day?"
"...I was sparring. Moondae hyung asked to go to a billboard together at 2."
B's expression let up.
"You're about to go change, right? Let me find an outfit for you."
I nodded. If she was choosing out of my closet, it would be something I like.
She shuffled past me and barged into my room first. I sat on my bed and waited for her to give me what to wear.
It was a black compression shirt and olive-colored sweatpants. It was something I'd wear to the gym.
"...?"
"When you get there, mention that you were working out. I'm sure fans will love that."
"But it's cold outside, Gaeul," I muttered, eying the thin shirt.
"You've camped at a port during winter before. You'll live," B huffed. "Seeing you in casual gym clothes is like seeing a boyfriend. It's appealing."
I couldn't understand enough to ask what that meant. I wore what she told me to once she left the room, and then I put in a simple pair of earrings.
When I exited my bedroom, B was in my bathroom and shouted, "In here. Come spray some cologne."
I did.
B seemed satisfied enough with the overall look. She drove me all the way to the station due to her good mood.
"Oh, I forgot to tell you, but I made sure those clips would be seen by the editors. I feel bad for that kid. Can't believe someone got on your nerves."
I thanked her for her hard work as I got out of the car and went down the escalator to the subway exit.
By the time I got there, Moondae hyung was waiting by the billboards. He was wearing a mask and a hat to hide himself.
"Moondae hyung," I greeted upon reaching him.
"Oh my gosh, Cho Seungmin?" someone gasped. "So that's Park Moondae?!"
I was surprised that people recognized me. A crowd of people formed at once. Moondae hyung pulled down his mask.
"Moondae, you have to debut!!"
"Park Moondae, fighting!"
He murmured 'thank yous' here and there as I stood closer to his side.
"Sorry hyung," I smiled sympathetically. "I was at the gym, so I didn't think about a mask..."
"Where do you work out?" a fan squealed.
"Uwahhh aren't you cold, Seungmin?"
"You two, fighting!"
He shook his head, saying it was okay, and asked me for my phone.
"Let's take a picture," he said.
When the people heard this, they shouted to others to give us space.
I smiled and thanked them as I stood by my billboard. I stared at it for a while. The feeling of seeing my face on such a huge screen was weirder than seeing myself on a TV.
"Seungmin, turn and strike a pose."
I glanced over my shoulder and smiled.
"Okay, Moondae hyung."
There were already people taking pictures and shouting out poses for me to do. All I had to do was listen to what they said. I even knew how to make a heart on my cheek after Moondae hyung taught me at the Press Conference.
"Moondae hyung, I want to take pictures for you too," I said as I walked up to him, not wanting to stand in front of so many cameras for longer. I wasn't used to this.
But when I was given his phone, I paused. I took a few photos of him, but I don't think they were good. I never really took photos before.
"...Moondae hyung, I didn't take the photos very well..."
He glanced at his phone and exhaled reluctantly.
Sauntering to the closest person to him, he muttered something to her and handed his phone.
"Seungmin, come here. Let's take a picture together." He stood in front of a blank wall and waited for me to stand next to him.
People around us shouted out more random things I couldn't understand.
Recognizing only "cheek heart," I put my curved hand on my cheek and tilted my head toward Moondae hyung.
After a bit, the fan returned the phone to Moondae hyung, to which we both thanked.
"We should go now," he said. "We're causing traffic."
I nodded, and then we both bowed to the crowd and jogged away.
The voices continued to cheer loudly.
"Seungmin, I hope you do well!" I heard someone say amidst it all.
"Bye, guys! Good luck with the rest of your shooting!"
"We're supporting you!"
"Fighting!"
I glanced back and saw the crowd get smaller and smaller away as I walked.
But their words became louder and louder within my thumping heart.