The order of the REVE members’ ages, when arranged by birthdate, was Seo Ye-hyun, Gyeon Ha-jun, me, Kim Do-bin, and Ryu Jae-hee.
Although I technically belonged to the older line, I was exactly in the middle when considering age strictly by birthdate.
If Gyeon Ha-jun had gone to school early as an early-year student, he would have been grouped with Seo Ye-hyun as “the same-age duo,” and I would’ve had to call him hyung.
But as things stood, I was the same age as Gyeon Ha-jun and had already dropped formalities with Seo Ye-hyun, so “Yaja Time” (informal speech time) didn’t mean much to me.
What’s the charm of Yaja Time, anyway? It’s about experiencing “no hard feelings” rebellion—getting to do things you normally couldn’t, guilt-free.
But I didn’t have anyone in REVE to rebel against in the first place.
The only thing I’d gain from Yaja Time was irritation and the patience required to endure the younger members speaking informally to me.
The moment Yaja Time started, the “Yoon Eden gets screwed” narrative would begin to unfold.
Seo Ye-hyun, who would technically have to become the youngest, didn’t seem particularly enthusiastic about it either.
Gyeon Ha-jun, comfortably second in the team hierarchy, with Seo Ye-hyun below him, didn’t seem to care much.
The only ones eagerly pushing for Yaja Time were the younger line, who seemed desperate to seize this rare opportunity for rebellion.
However, the PD must have thought it was fine because they gave us the signal to proceed.
“Alright, sounds good. Yaja Time… Let’s take this chance to explore each other’s true feelings that age might have been holding back.”
Being a slave to capitalism, I could only obey orders.
“Let’s limit it to 10 minutes. Even in Yaja Time, don’t cross the line, and no hard feelings afterward.”
“Ten minutes is too short! How about an hour?”
“Fine, 20 minutes. That’s the best I can do.”
“Not 30 minutes? Just 20?”
“We haven’t even started Yaja Time yet, Do-bin.”
“Not even 30 minutes?”
“Be grateful it’s not 5, punk.”
Not willing to allow even a single second to go over, I set the timer to exactly 20 minutes on my phone.
“Start!”
The moment I announced the start, Ryu Jae-hee immediately called out to me.
“Eden-ah.”
The one who called me sounded nonchalant, but Kim Do-bin next to him looked more shocked than I was.
“Our dear Eden isn’t even responding to his hyung’s words, huh?”
Damn it, Jae-hee. After all the times I’ve treated you so well, you’re coming at me like this right from the start?
Seo Ye-hyun was already covering his mouth, desperately trying to stifle his laughter.
“Yes, hyung.”
As I obediently answered, Seo Ye-hyun completely lost it, falling to the floor laughing.
“Ye-hyun-ah, is something funny?”
Clenching my teeth, I asked, and he barely stopped laughing, wiping the tears from his eyes as he answered.
“No, not at all.”
“Eden-ah, why are you being so harsh to Ye-hyun? No matter how young he is, even the youngest has the right to laugh.”
The sheer ease with which the casual speech flowed out, as if he’d been waiting for this day, left me speechless.
It was as if he’d written a script in advance.
No wonder he was so quick to call for Yaja Time—he’d been planning this.
“Eden-ah, you’ve been coming home from the studio late at night recently.”
“Ah, yes. I’ll start coming home earlier.”
“I wasn’t blaming you. It’s good to come home earlier, though. Still, I know you’re working hard for the team, so don’t overdo it.”
At least he was mindful of the cameras and didn’t cross the line. Since my image was that of the leader who let the younger members win most of the time, it was a relief.
With a playful grin, Ryu Jae-hee continued.
“By the way, Do-bin’s been showing interest in songwriting and composing lately. He keeps aiming for Eden’s producer role, so if it’s too much for you, you could train him to assist you.”
“Jae-hee hyung? Why would I just be an assistant and not the main?”
“The main role obviously belongs to Eden.”
“I might have unexpected talent, you know?”
Clapping with admiration, I teased him.
“Wow, Do-bin, I didn’t expect it, but you’ve got ambition.”
“Ambition? Not really, no.”
Kim Do-bin waved his hand modestly, giving a shy smile.
Ryu Jae-hee patted my back and turned to me again, clearly not done. I wished he’d just move on to someone else already.
“And Eden, everything about you is great, but could you smile more? When you walk around expressionless, it’s kind of startling sometimes.”
“Blaming me for my natural expression feels a bit unfair, doesn’t it?”
“Of course, I know it’s not like you’re upset or anything—it’s just your natural look. But still, people should smile more—it brings good luck. Give us a smile!”
Forcing a smile, I glanced at the phone timer.
How had less than five minutes passed?
I should have pushed for 10 minutes, no, 5 minutes max.
“Next up, Ha-jun-ah.”
Apparently done with me, Jae-hee finally shifted his target to Gyeon Ha-jun.
“You called, hyung?”
“Thanks for always caring for the team and looking out for us. Ha-jun, you’re like the mom of REVE.”
Just when I thought he was being genuinely touching, it turned out to be a setup for his next line.
“But could you stop putting beans in the rice? I hate bean rice.”
“As the oldest, you shouldn’t be picky.”
“Being the oldest has nothing to do with being picky. Right, Ye-hyun-ah?”
True to his sharp instincts, Ryu Jae-hee perfectly balanced compliments and complaints, hitting both emotional and entertaining notes.
“And when Eden microwaves instant rice because he doesn’t like bean rice, no one says anything, but when I do it, I get bean rice scooped onto my plate instead. That’s just unfair.”
“That’s because we want you to grow taller, Jae-hee hyung.”
“Then Eden should eat it too and hit 190cm.”
That little punk was trying to drag me into bean rice hell too. As I glared at him, Ryu Jae-hee just smiled shamelessly.
“Ye-hyun-ah.”
Seo Ye-hyun, clearly struggling to adapt to the youngest addressing him informally, replied with a slightly awkward expression.
“You’ve always worked hard, but lately you’ve been practicing even harder. Eden’s really proud of you.”
“It’s a bit embarrassing to call this ‘working hard.’”
Blushing slightly, Seo Ye-hyun gave a shy smile in response to Jae-hee’s praise.
“Seeing our Ye-hyun grow and improve, this hyung is really happy too. Let’s aim to reach a level where REVE can show off sharp choreography in our next activity.”
Feeling touched by the warm encouragement, Seo Ye-hyun nodded with an awkward laugh.
“But try to finish your showers in under 30 minutes in the morning. It’s fine now since we have two bathrooms, but back when we only had one, I honestly wanted to just barge in.”
The other three members all nodded vehemently in agreement.
“I’ll try to finish as quickly as I can from now on.”
Scratching the back of his head awkwardly, Seo Ye-hyun replied.
“Yeah, aim for under 15 minutes. I won’t even ask for 10.”
I chimed in casually with a comment.
“Lastly, our Dobin!”
Since this duo usually said whatever was on their minds with ease, I doubted anything spectacular would happen here.
“Oh, Jaehee hyung. I’m ready to humbly accept anything you say.”
“Really? Can you promise not to sulk?”
In response, Kim Dobin confidently thumped his chest.
“Of course. Who do you take me for? I’m not that petty.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Ryu Jaehee launched his attack.
“Our Dobin’s jokes are seriously not funny.”
“Yes, hyung tells me that all the time, so zero damage here.”
“I just wish you’d develop a bit more social awareness.”
“That’s not something I hear all the time, more like once a week. Basic attack damage only this time? Okay, now please move on to the compliments.”
Meeting Kim Dobin’s expectant eyes, Ryu Jaehee ruffled his hair the way I usually did to him.
“That aside, when it comes to dancing, you’re absolutely irreplaceable as our group’s main dancer.”
“That’s it?”
“Yep, that’s it.”
Ryu Jaehee, having handled the Yaja Time with proper flair, smoothly passed the baton to Kim Dobin.
“Hey, Yoon Eden!”
Despite his bold shout, Kim Dobin quickly wilted when I glanced at him.
“I-I just called your name….”
“If you leave it at that, people might think I glared at you, hyung. If you have something to say, go ahead.”
Smiling benevolently, I urged him to speak. Kim Dobin, his voice barely audible, stammered.
“Well, uh… I just wanted to say thank you…”
But then, when it came to Ha-jun and Ye-hyun, he had plenty to say.
“To my protégé! These days, I feel so proud of you! I used to only care about OP characters like Eden, but now I kind of understand why people are so drawn to growth characters like you, Ye-hyun.”
Watching Seo Ye-hyun smile awkwardly, unsure of how to respond, I had to stifle my laughter.
For us older members—me, Ha-jun, and Ye-hyun—there wasn’t much to say during Yaja Time since we usually voiced whatever was on our minds anyway.
“Ye-hyun…?”
“Yes, Ha-jun hyung.”
“Hey, Ye-hyun. Seo Ye-hyun.”
“Yes, Eden hyung, you called?”
All we could do was enjoy the novelty of Ye-hyun calling us “hyung.”
“Ye-hyun, why do you always deny it when I say we’re the same height? We are the same height!”
“180.2 cm and 180.3 cm aren’t the same, though?”
“Well, I’m now 180.3 cm.”
“What? Really? When did you measure?”
“Oh, Ye-hyun. Are you talking down to your hyung?”
“Really? Wait, hold on. Now that I think about it, why do I have to speak formally when hyung talks casually to me?”
The blaring timer announced the end of Yaja Time.
“It’s over, it’s over!”
Seo Ye-hyun, faster than me, waved his arms furiously and declared the end.
While the youngest members looked visibly disappointed that the time for “lawful rebellion” had ended, the older ones, including myself, heaved sighs of relief and relaxed.
“This Yaja Time will go down in history as a fleeting midsummer night’s dream.”
“Still, I really can’t stand the bean rice, Ha-jun hyung.”
“To grow taller, you have to eat it.”
Despite Ryu Jaehee’s whining, Ha-jun was firm.
As we prepared to play Monopoly for more camera footage, the camera briefly turned off, and Ryu Jaehee immediately burst into laughter.
“What’s so funny?”
“It’s just hilarious seeing you hyungs smile so stiffly while politely nodding in front of the camera.”
Messing up his hair roughly, I then sat in front of the Monopoly board.
“Oh no, I landed on the island!”
“Pay the toll, please!”
“What did I even do to go bankrupt so fast…?”
“If all this land were mine for real, I’d be a global tycoon.”
“Hyungs, let’s play ‘Drunkopoly’ when I turn 20!”
“Let’s revisit the topic in two years. I might forget.”
And so, the night in Jeju came to a close.
***
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