PA 24

“We will take responsibility for his treatment.”

The bodyguards were polite, but their words were intimidating. At that moment, Yejun understood. Hyungyu’s life was in Sanghyeon’s hands. Yejun, with a face that had given up on everything, obediently got into the car.

☂︎

There was still no contact from Yejun. Junhyuk picked up his phone and made a call somewhere.

“Manager Park.”

— Yes.

“How many bodyguards can I mobilize?”

— The number of bodyguards we can gather right now is about twenty.

“Have all of them come here right away, please.”

All sorts of thoughts ran through Junhyuk’s mind.

Was there an accident? Is he hurt and in no condition to call?

No. If something had happened to Yejun, like an accident, the media wouldn’t have stayed quiet. Junhyuk shook his head and sighed.

Or is he trying to avoid seeing me now?

The less he saw of him, the more frantic he became. Junhyuk took a deep breath. He longed for the scent of Yejun’s skin. He closed his two eyes and pictured Yejun. Right now, Junhyuk felt like he was going to go completely crazy because of Yejun, who was out of his grasp.

It was the first time he had ever felt such anxiety and desperation. For Junhyuk, relationships with others had always been merely trivial and relaxed. He could never understand why the other person would be desperate for him, and it only annoyed him. When he got tired of someone, he would cut them off without mercy. If they cried, he would smirk and turn his back.

But after meeting Yejun, the tables had completely turned. Junhyuk felt like he was going to go completely crazy because of Yejun, who seemed like he would come over to him but never did. Feeling an extreme thirst, Junhyuk gulped down cold water. At that moment, Junhyuk had no choice but to admit it. That love is a game where the person who likes the other more is bound to lose. But after admitting all that, Junhyuk actually felt more at ease.

It was then. All the bodyguards Junhyuk had summoned came pouring into the house. Junhyuk began to issue orders to find Yejun’s whereabouts over the past two days.

☂︎

Yejun continuously clasped his trembling hands together. The bodyguards sitting on either side of him sat in a formal posture like robots and said nothing. The dense high-rise buildings that had been visible outside the car window were no longer in sight. The car carrying Yejun was now climbing along the foot of Mount Bukhan, where huge mansions were sparsely located.

Before long, the sight of a mansion that seemed to look down on the city of Seoul came into Yejun’s view. Yejun hunched his shoulders at the overwhelming feeling given off by the high walls surrounding the mansion and its enormous main gate. The car entered through the slowly opening gate, and only then could he see the actual scale of the vast, sprawling mansion.

He wasn’t an opponent I could win against from the beginning.

Like a soldier who had lost the will to fight, Yejun gave up even the will to resist. The car carrying Yejun passed a beautiful garden created along the high wall, drove forward along a path between an incredibly wide lawn, and stopped in front of the main building of the mansion.

“Please get out.”

The bodyguards who had been sitting on either side of him quickly got out of the car and spoke to Yejun for the first time. Yejun barely held back the tears that were about to burst out as he got out of the car and entered the main building. Most of those invited to Sanghyeon’s mansion were busy marveling at the lavishly decorated interior. But Yejun, with his head bowed, only looked at the tips of his toes and followed the bodyguard who was walking one step ahead.

“We have brought him.”

Yejun stopped walking at the sound of the bodyguard’s mechanical voice and slowly raised his head. Yejun’s gaze fell upon the intimidating figure of Sanghyeon, who was looking down at him from the top of a white marble staircase that spiraled upwards.

“Come up.”

It was then. Yejun fell to his knees and began to plead with Sanghyeon.

“M-My father.”

“…”

Sanghyeon, who was about to turn around, stopped his movement and looked down at Yejun.

“My father needs to be treated.”

“That’s not something you need to worry about. I’ll take care of it.”

“You’ll really get my father proper treatment, right?”

Sanghyeon nodded his head. At Sanghyeon’s affirmative signal, Yejun, who was about to get up, couldn’t support himself on his trembling legs and collapsed back onto the floor. The bodyguards surrounding Yejun quickly approached to help him up, but at Sanghyeon’s gesture to leave him be, they took a step back. Sanghyeon slowly came down the stairs, extended his hand to Yejun, and spoke in a gentle voice.

“See, if you had just come when I first called, none of this would have happened.”

Yejun raised his head and looked at Sanghyeon. Contrary to his gentle tone, Sanghyeon’s intimidating presence no longer made Yejun angry. He was now only an object of terror to Yejun. For the first time in his life, Yejun had directly witnessed the scene of one person mutilating another’s body. Moreover, the target was none other than his own father. Yejun was in a state of near panic, his whole body trembling uncontrollably.

Sanghyeon, with a casual face, took Yejun by the shoulder and helped him up. As if handling a very precious treasure, he put his arm around Yejun’s shoulders and climbed the stairs.

“Go in.”

Sanghyeon gave a short command to Yejun, who was standing in front of a room on the second floor. Yejun didn’t even dare to think of resisting and quietly went into the room. After passing a hallway with a small study and a dressing room on either side, a bedroom with a large bed and a large balcony that was quite impressive revealed itself. At that moment, the strength drained from Yejun’s hands, and the bag he was holding dropped with a thud onto the plush-looking carpet.

“Wash up and come out.”

He couldn’t even remember with what state of mind he had washed up and come out. Sanghyeon saw Yejun, who had come out wearing the same clothes he had gone in with, neatly put back on, and let out a smirk.

“You’ll be naked anyway, what did you put them back on for?”

“I-I’m sorry.”

“Well… it’s nothing to be sorry about.”

Sanghyeon, seeming quite pleased with Yejun’s submissive demeanor, had a smile on his lips. Then, he handed Yejun a few documents and said,

“This is your group’s schedule.”

“…What?”

Yejun’s hand, holding the documents, trembled. It was filled with schedules, from a showcase held on a large stage to broadcast schedules that were difficult to secure even when Yeongsik ran himself ragged trying. Yejun bit his lip hard and managed to hold back the tears that were threatening to spill.

“Starting with the music video shoot next weekend, the full-fledged schedule will begin.”

“…Thank you.”

“I won’t touch you when you’re promoting, so don’t worry too much.”

“…Yes.”

Sanghyeon seemed pleased with Yejun, who answered obediently. He approached Yejun and began to slowly unbutton his shirt, one by one. Yejun’s thin shoulders trembled slightly.

“Get on the bed.”

He hesitated at Sanghyeon’s commanding tone, then slowly moved his body. On the bed, the tears Yejun had been holding back streamed down his white cheeks. Sanghyeon started to get annoyed at Yejun’s sluggish movements.

Yejun sat up and pleaded with Sanghyeon once more. He said he had someone he liked, asked him to save his father, please… to let him go.

“If you want to leave even your father’s wrist intact, just spread your legs.”

But Sanghyeon growled as if annoyed. Then he picked up the gel he had placed on the bedside table, roughly pushed Yejun down, and began to pour it between his legs.

How did it come to this?

He felt so powerless and pathetic, standing on the edge of a cliff, unable to do anything.

Pathetic.

Yejun hated himself for being so soft-hearted, unable to cut off his father who had been a nuisance his whole life. No, he despised himself for being unable to protect even his own body, let alone his family, despite starting his entertainment career at a young age.

Hoping that the act with Sanghyeon would end quickly, along with the thought that it would be better if he just vanished from this world, Yejun clenched his teeth.

☂︎

— The number you have dialed is not in service…

It seemed Yejun had changed his phone number altogether. Junhyuk, who had been continuously calling him, let out a long sigh. On top of that, Yejun had even taken a leave of absence from school for health reasons.

Junhyuk had placed bodyguards not only at the agency and the dorm but also in front of Yejun’s family home. However, for fifteen days, Yejun hadn’t appeared anywhere, and there was no news of him whatsoever. Left with no choice, Junhyuk once again visited the hospital where Eunseong was admitted.

“Mother, how are you feeling?”

“Ah, student Junhyuk. You’re here?”

Eunseong, who was undergoing her third round of chemotherapy, tried to at least sit up, but she had no strength at all. Junhyuk stopped Eunseong and spoke gently.

“Mother, it’s okay. You don’t have to get up.”

“By the way, what about Yejun?”

“Did he happen to contact you?”

Junhyuk subtly tried to find out if Eunseong had heard from him. However, Eunseong shook her head from side to side and gave a faint smile, as if apologetic.

“Yejun said his schedule is too busy these days and asked me to come in his place. Once his busy schedule is over, he’ll be in touch.”

“Yejun is asking too much of you, student Junhyuk.”

“Not at all. I’m doing it because I want to.”

Junhyuk made up a suitable excuse and reassured Eunseong. It was then. Junhyuk’s phone screen lit up.

[Confirmed that Lee Hyungyu was seriously injured and hospitalized.]

Junhyuk, who had checked the text message, made a suitable excuse to Eunseong and got up from his seat. He hurried down to the first-floor lobby, and the chief of security appeared before him. The two men hurried into a car, and from then on, Junhyuk began to bombard Manager Park with questions.

“Manager Park, why was that man, Lee Hyungyu, injured?”

“It seems he took out a private loan to gamble and defaulted on the principal and interest.”

“Crazy. So you’re saying that man, Lee Hyungyu, was done in by a loan shark?”

“Yes, that is correct.”

“Yejun wasn’t dragged into it because of that, was he?”

In response to Junhyuk’s question, Manager Park handed him a few photos and continued.

“This person is a loan shark named Jeon Sangup.”

“…”

“We raided their office, but there were no traces of them holding Yejun.”

“Sigh… For now, let’s go to the hospital where that man, Lee Hyungyu, is admitted.”

“Understood.”

Junhyuk, on the off chance, picked up his phone and searched for Yejun. An article about Serious was posted in the latest entertainment news.

[Serious, A Visit to the Secretive Music Video Filming Set!]

In his haste, Junhyuk clicked on the article. There, a picture of Yejun was featured, smiling as if nothing was wrong.

“Sigh…”

Junhyuk felt so ridiculous for having frantically searched for Yejun for the past fifteen days. Junhyuk let out a long sigh as if extremely annoyed, and Manager Park, who had been constantly watching Junhyuk’s expression, cautiously asked his intention.

“Shall I contact the agency and have them bring Yejun over?”

“No. Let’s just watch for now.”

“Understood.”

“Bring me all of Serious’s future schedules.”

“Understood.”

Junhyuk looked at the picture of Yejun in the article and let out a smirk as if finding it absurd.