PA 43

But at the sight of Yejun, who looked terrified, a slender thread of guilt grazed Sanghyeon’s heart. He deliberately ignored the stinging pain and handed the bouquet to Yejun.

“I didn’t know what you like.”

They had only mixed their bodies. Sanghyeon didn’t even know what Yejun liked. For the first time, Sanghyeon studied the other person’s reaction. Yejun stared at the bouquet in his hand for a moment, then soon dropped it limply to the floor.

It was all as he had expected. But along with the bouquet, Sanghyeon’s heart also fell to the floor. On the outside, he appeared unfazed, but inside, his chest was in turmoil as if a fierce whirlwind was raging.

“Why, why did you come?”

“…”

“I tried to die, but I ended up living.”

“Lee Yejun.”

Resentment was laced in Yejun’s trembling voice.

“Would you rather just kill me?”

“…”

As Yejun’s voice grew sharper, Sanghyeon’s stinging pain also grew larger.

“I’ll gladly die for you.”

Yejun spat out venomous words. Yejun’s words pierced his ears sharply. Like a sound heard underwater, his voice buzzed and echoed. Sanghyeon’s irritation surged at his own gradual changes.

When someone angered Sanghyeon, he would retaliate brutally or cast them out mercilessly. Cutting off a person’s fingers one by one was a common occurrence for him.

If I were to break the ankle of Lee Yejun, who is determined to run away…

Or what if I made it so he could never set foot in the entertainment industry again and cast him out without mercy…?

But strangely, Sanghyeon couldn’t picture himself harming Yejun, who was glaring at him.

That kid says he dislikes me so much he wants to die…

The moment Sanghyeon understood Yejun’s sincerity, which did not shy away from death, his heart sank rather than feeling anger. He was so flustered and confused. However, he was a well-trained poker face. He simply looked at Yejun silently with an expressionless face.

Gentle eyes that had no trace of intimidation, a slender body far from being strong.

Sanghyeon had been certain that he was the one controlling Yejun’s life. But he wasn’t. On the contrary, Yejun was shaking Sanghyeon to his very core.

“Rest.”

Hiding his flustered state, he left the hospital room with a composed face. He thought he should escape as quickly as possible before falling deeper into this absurd emotion.

Emotions are nothing more than unpredictable variables. I mustn’t be swayed by them.

“Damn it!”

Sanghyeon, who had left the hospital room, cursed with an irritated face and called Secretary Song.

“Take that kid from last time to the hotel.”

☂︎

Wooju and Suho couldn’t hide their bewilderment upon hearing that Chairman Cha Sanghyeon, the head of Sail Group, was in Yejun’s hospital room.

“For the head of a huge corporation to visit an advertising model… well, is it like a boss-employee concept?”

“…I guess so?”

Wooju tried his best to ignore the ominous premonition that was slowly creeping up on him and put on a bright expression. He thought of himself as a natural genius at controlling his expression, but right now, he couldn’t hide his constantly creasing brow.

The door flew open with a loud noise. Immediately after, Sanghyeon burst out of the hospital room with a murderous aura. He spat out rough curses and uttered nonsensical words.

What, what was that?

Wooju and Suho, who were waiting in the hallway, looked at each other, unable to hide their bewilderment. After Sanghyeon passed, a quiet silence briefly descended upon the long hallway.

“Hah…”

The first person to grasp the situation was Wooju. He soon felt a rage bubbling up from the depths of his abdomen. It was enough to make his fingertips tremble faintly.

“Wooju hyung.”

“…”

“Whatever happened, we are unconditionally on Yejun’s side.”

Suho also seemed to have a rough idea of the situation. He patted Wooju’s back with an anxious face and said.

“Phew…”

“Don’t make it too obvious.”

Suho guessed the situation from Wooju’s expression. In truth, he too was finding it hard to contain his anger. The two cautiously entered the hospital room with devastated faces.

“Yejun.”

“Lee Yejun.”

They approached Yejun, who looked gaunt at a single glance.

“Hyung…”

Yejun answered quietly, unable to even lift his head, like a sinner.

“Lift your head, Lee Yejun.”

“…”

“Did you do something wrong? You didn’t. So why are you cowering like this?”

Wooju said in a low voice as he firmly gripped both of Yejun’s shoulders. At that moment, Yejun burst into the sorrowful sobs he had been holding back.

“I’m, I’m sorry. I’m having a really hard time… so, what I mean is…”

“Yes, tell us what you want to say.”

“…I want to take a break from activities.”

Wooju quietly looked into Yejun’s eyes.

“You should have done that sooner. Why did you go that far?”

“That’s right, Yejun. If things are hard, just complain that they’re hard. Why do you try to hurt yourself?”

They hugged Yejun, who was crying without even making a sound. A rather long silence continued in the hospital room while Yejun cried.

“Yejun.”

It was Wooju who broke the heavy silence. Yejun slowly lifted his head and looked at Wooju and Suho in turn.

“You… what is your relationship with Chairman Cha Sanghyeon?”

“Th-that is…”

The hyungs know everything.

Yejun’s heart felt like it was sinking. Terrified that the members would look at him with contemptuous eyes, Yejun clutched at the innocent blanket.

“Don’t tell me you were sponsored by that bastard?”

“…”

“Is that how we became so successful?”

“…I’m sorry.”

Wooju hung his head and couldn’t say anything. He roughly wiped away the hot tears streaming down his cheeks with the back of his hand. Suho grabbed Yejun’s shoulder, made eye contact, and said in a low voice.

“Why are you sorry?”

“…”

“You have nothing to be sorry to us for. If anything, we should be sorry to you.”

“…”

A hot emotion welled up inside him, and Suho, clenching his jaw, couldn’t continue speaking. Wooju, who had been trying to calm himself down beside them, asked Yejun as if pressing him.

“But Yejun… why did you go that far? Did CEO Song threaten you? Or did that bastard, Chairman Cha…”

“Hyung… I, I.”

Yejun’s voice, engulfed in fear, trembled faintly.

“Lee Yejun, lift your head and straighten your shoulders.”

“Hyung…”

He couldn’t bring himself to lift his head and look at them. Wooju sat in the guardian’s chair and spoke to Yejun in a firm voice.

“Listen to me carefully.”

“…”

“This is absolutely not your fault. So don’t cower like someone who’s committed a crime.”

“…”

Unable to give any answer, Yejun just let thick teardrops fall. Wooju and Suho felt like they wanted to take legal action. However, their opponents were the CEO of their agency, who could control them at will, and the head of a massive corporation who could shake the entire country. If they took legal action, rather than punishing them, their own image for accepting sponsorship would just be tarnished. The two hyungs let out long sighs at this situation with no solution.

“We’re sorry we don’t have the power.”

The only thing they could do was comfort Yejun.

“Yejun.”

“…Yes.”

Wooju, who had been contemplating for a while, called Yejun in a serious voice.

“You said you wanted to take a break from activities, right?”

“What? Yes.”

“For now, let’s run away. Stay abroad until you’ve had time to sort out your feelings.”

“Is that okay?”

Yejun lifted his head at the unexpected proposal and looked at Wooju. Then, Wooju began to speak rapidly.

“It seems we’ll need to see a lawyer before you leave.”

“H-hyung… if you’re trying to stand up to Chairman Cha… you can’t.”

“We also know that would be too reckless. Still, we have to terminate the exclusive contract with the agency.”

“Ah…”

“We’ll handle the fight with the CEO. Don’t worry.”

“But if you guys suffer disadvantages…”

“We’re the breadwinners of the company right now. So don’t worry too much.”

“…”

The two hyungs had a firm and resolute attitude, but Yejun couldn’t help but worry about them. Then, as if he had thought of something, Suho spoke to Yejun.

“Yejun, you said it was your dream to do a concert tour, right?”

“Yes…”

Yejun had been happy and excited to hear about an overseas tour.

“Then let’s do this tour. After the tour is over, you don’t get on the flight back.”

“…Is that really okay?”

Wooju thought that if Yejun were to leave the country alone, those bastards would quickly notice and follow him. He judged it would be better to move when they were relatively free from the eyes of the agency’s CEO and Sanghyeon.

“We’ll create a smokescreen for you, so go to a place even we don’t know.”