By Zephyria “Hoo…!”
Out of nervousness, Tae-kyung took an unnecessarily large breath. He was about to see Se-han, but Sung Se-han’s portrait began to float before his eyes. And Sung Se-han’s Auntie, who was wailing….
“No, no….”
Tae-kyung covered his face and shook his head, but the unease didn’t dissipate. He checked the phone he was clutching in his hand. There should have been missed calls, but there was no contact from Sung Se-han.
Could it be that he was deliberately ignoring him?
It was certainly possible. Se-han must have been angry with Tae-kyung for always ignoring his calls. But thinking about it, they seemed to have had a bad fight during their Christmas call…?
“Tae-kyung, Tae-kyung. Why did you fight again after finally answering the phone after so long….”
Gun-woo Hyung had told him to just block Se-han if he was going to ignore his calls, but Tae-kyung couldn’t bring himself to do it. To be honest, he had never even considered cutting ties with Se-han.
Tae-kyung was just… unable to control his anger.
“Not knowing what’s important… I was such a loser.”
Tae-kyung, fidgeting with his legs due to anxiety, couldn’t stand it and opened his phone again. He immediately pressed the speed dial, but Se-han still didn’t answer.
“Se-han, please pick up. Please….”
As Tae-kyung couldn’t reach Sung Se-han, his heart started beating faster and faster. He had never felt such extreme anxiety before, and he couldn’t breathe properly.
He was worried he might faint like he did at the funeral, but thankfully, he arrived at his destination safely.
“Driver! I think I can get off here!”
Getting out of the taxi, Tae-kyung could see Hyperion Villa, Sung Se-han’s dorm, straight ahead. He walked towards the entrance of the villa, opening his phone again.
Should he wait at the entrance until he gets in touch? Was there any other way to meet him…?
Perhaps because it was such a quiet neighborhood, his hurried footsteps sounded particularly loud. The whispers around him were also very clear… Huh?
Walking while looking at his phone, Tae-kyung suddenly realized something was wrong when he looked up.
What came into view was a group of female students camped out everywhere leading to the entrance of Hyperion Villa.
They seemed to be the sasaeng fans who were causing various problems, such as invading the privacy of Perfect Puzzle. Tae-kyung’s shoulders shrank under their blatant gazes.
“Isn’t that a Global Enter trainee?”
“Oh, it is! He was in the debut group with Se-han.”
“What was his name again? Oh, it’s Tae-kyung. Kim Tae-kyung.”
It’s Lee Tae-kyung. Tae-kyung pulled up his hood and turned around. He needed to get out of the driveway of the dorm first.
“Weren’t they supposed to have cut ties? They haven’t been in contact since Se-han left Global.”
“They definitely broke up. But why is he suddenly here?”
“Se-han probably won’t see him….”
Wait a minute. It sounded like he had been hearing camera shutters since a while ago… They weren’t taking pictures of him, were they? Nah, what would they do with pictures of a trainee who hasn’t even debuted….
“Gasp!”
Just in case, Tae-kyung glanced around and was startled. The female students who had gathered around him started taking pictures indiscriminately.
Tae-kyung covered his face with one hand and walked as if running away. Whew… He was getting all the attention here that he hadn’t even experienced during his debut.
“Kyaaaa!”
“Kyaaaa!”
Then, Tae-kyung’s head snapped around at the sudden screams. The sasaeng fans were heading towards the entrance of the underground parking lot of Hyperion Villa. A black van was sliding out from there.
Judging by the reaction of the sasaeng fans running towards the van, it was definitely Perfect Puzzle’s vehicle.
“Se-han! Is Se-han in there too?”
His mind became instantly complicated, and he could only twitch his feet, unable to figure out what to do.
Meanwhile, the van, passing by the sasaeng fans, drove up the gentle slope. And it passed by Tae-kyung, who was spacing out, in an instant.
“…!”
Only then did Tae-kyung come to his senses and hurriedly chase after the van. But catching up with a vehicle that had started to pick up speed was impossible from the start.
“Se-han!”
Tae-kyung called out his name with all his might. He needed to see Sung Se-han’s face right now. He had to make sure he was safe.
Otherwise, he was so scared that he felt like someone would scold him at any moment and tell him that all of this was a dream.
Tae-kyung shouted Sung Se-han’s name and ran like crazy, but the black van grew farther and farther away and eventually disappeared from sight.
Still, Tae-kyung couldn’t stop running.
“Sung Se-han…!”
His eyes grew hot with despair. At that moment, the phone he was clutching in his hand started ringing. Tae-kyung slowly stopped and looked at the screen.
“Huff! Hah, huff…!”
[Sung Se-han]
Tae-kyung gripped the phone, where Sung Se-han’s name was clearly displayed, as if it would break, afraid he might drop it. With trembling fingers, he hurriedly accepted the call.
“He, hello! Se-han…!”
—…….
Unable to bear the silent two seconds, Tae-kyung shouted again.
“Se-han!”
—Lee Tae-kyung.
The moment a familiar voice called his name, Tae-kyung could no longer hold on and collapsed. Even then, he pressed the phone tightly to his ear with his sweaty hand.
—Are you the one who called me?
Sung Se-han’s words were cut off by his rough breathing. Tae-kyung quickly continued.
“Se-han, yes… I’m the one who called you!”
—Suddenly? What business does Lee Tae-kyung have with me?
Se-han’s grumpy tone didn’t bother Tae-kyung at all. He could gladly smile even if he was being cursed at right now.
Ding-dong. Ding-dong.
At that moment, the Status Window, which he had momentarily forgotten, rang loudly.
[Inferiority Score has decreased by -1.]
[Inferiority Score has decreased by -1.]
[The accident score of the genius idol Sung Se-han is decreasing. The risk of death is decreasing.]
Tae-kyung looked up and glared at the Status Window that had appeared before his eyes. He didn’t need to pay attention to such obnoxious words anymore.
If only Se-han could come back safely, he wouldn’t have any reason to feel inferior.
Tae-kyung put strength into his legs and stood up vigorously.
“Se-han, I came to see you right now. But were you perhaps in the van?”
—What?
Sung Se-han’s voice grew louder.
—What do you mean, you came to see me? Where are you right now?
“Well, I’m in front of your dorm… I saw a van passing by a little while ago. Maybe….”
—In front of our dorm? Wait, Jong-soo Hyung! Stop the car, quickly!
Sung Se-han seemed very flustered, stuttering unlike his usual self. His breathing was calming down, but for some reason, his heart started beating even faster.
—Lee Tae-kyung! Stay right there. I’ll go to you. Got it?
There was a dull noise, as if Sung Se-han was getting out of the car. Tae-kyung’s slowly walking feet gradually quickened.
“Se-han, just stay in the car. I’ll be there soon.”
Only small noises flowed from the silent phone. He was probably running without even hanging up.
“Ha… That guy doesn’t listen.”
Tae-kyung started running headlong.
The sound of footsteps echoing through the quiet neighborhood was as loud as his heartbeat.
He never knew it would be this hard to see Sung Se-han’s face. He should have come to see him sooner, he should have made up with him sooner.
“!”
Turning a corner, Tae-kyung saw Sung Se-han running from afar.
“Se-han!”
Seeing Se-han running with all his might made Tae-kyung’s throat feel tight. He wanted to go faster, but his legs were already at their limit.
“Hah! Huff, huff!”
Even if he stopped, he couldn’t breathe, and he felt like he was going to die. He staggered and was only able to stand properly after leaning against a stone wall.
“Haa! Ah, I’m going to die…!”
“Tae-kyung!”
Sung Se-han, who was running towards him, was getting closer and closer, but Tae-kyung, damn it… once again recalled the portrait of Se-han with his smiling eyes.
“That bastard, he’s alive and well…!”
He was running around so energetically, but he didn’t know why the tip of his nose was stinging and his throat was choked up.
“Tae-kyung!”
Tae-kyung reached out his hand to check Sung Se-han, who had run right up to him, to see if he was safe.
“Se-han… Ugh!”
But a large hand that reached out before Tae-kyung’s snatched off his hood. Then, it grabbed his chin and turned it left and right, almost making him bite his tongue.
“Ah, hey. Sung Se-han! What are you doing….”
“Tae-kyung! Huff, you…, are you okay? Are you sick somewhere? Is that it?”
Se-han spewed out nonsense, unable to control his rough breathing.
“Uh, huh…?”
He wasn’t asking if Tae-kyung was crazy, was he…?
Before Tae-kyung could answer, Se-han arbitrarily turned his body around. Due to the rough force, Tae-kyung had to show his front and back sides equally, regardless of his intentions.
“Hey, calm down! Who said anyone’s sick….”
“Is something wrong at home? Did something happen to your Mom, or Tae-min?”
“Ah, what are you talking about! Why is your mind going to such extremes….”
Tae-kyung was about to get angry, but Sung Se-han’s panting face was etched in his eyes.
Even though it was such a cold wave today, he was only wearing a short-sleeved T-shirt, and beads of sweat were forming on his forehead. He had run so frantically that his heaving chest was still rising and falling. Because he was worried about Tae-kyung….
“Se-han.”
That’s right. Sung Se-han was originally this kind of guy. He was always considerate and thoughtful of Tae-kyung, and he was one of the few people Tae-kyung could trust….