By Zephyria “I’m fine. Our Mom is healthy, and Tae-min is doing well in school, so what problems could there be? He even has good grades….”
“But.”
Sung Se-han glared at Tae-kyung and wiped the sweat that had flowed down his chin with the back of his hand. Tae-kyung swallowed hard. That’s because Se-han tended to show a lot of the whites of his eyes like that when he was pissed.
“Why did you come here from this morning? No, if you were going to come, you should have contacted me in advance! Why are you suddenly doing something you never do!”
Sung Se-han shouted so loudly that the neighborhood echoed, and Tae-kyung’s mind went blank for a moment.
“No…. Well, I’m sorry for coming so suddenly….”
“I’m so busy these days that I don’t even go to the dorm often! What if I hadn’t checked my phone? I would have gone to my schedule without even knowing you were waiting here!”
Because Se-han was so angry in front of him, Tae-kyung felt somewhat intimidated. So, he seemed to have taken a humble posture without even realizing it.
“I didn’t think of that… I was in a hurry….”
“You ignored me even when I contacted you so much. Why did you suddenly come? Were you going to wait here and resent me again? Are you trying to screw me over right now?”
Wh, what? Tae-kyung’s mouth dropped open at Se-han’s crazy words.
“Sung Se-han! Why are you so twisted? Is that all you can say after I came all this way?”
“I’m twisted?”
Pfft. Sung Se-han, who raised the corner of his lips, put his hands on his hips.
“Ah, that’s right. I guess I became very twisted inside as a result of being ignored by you for 1 year, 5 months, and 13 days.”
Wow, what a terrible guy! He was even counting the days like that? The air was as cold as ice, but Tae-kyung’s face flushed with heat.
“Did I ignore you for no reason? In the first place, you….”
You left the company. You debuted in a different team than us. You went far away alone!
The anger that Tae-kyung had been suppressing surged up, and he felt suffocated.
You went alone to a high place that I couldn’t reach! But, I’m not even allowed to resent you? Because you’re a genius?
“Who made me ignore you! You betrayed us and left!”
Ding-dong.
The Status Window, which he had completely forgotten, turned on.
[Inferiority Score has increased by +1.]
[Inferiority Score has increased by +1.]
“!”
It was as if he had been splashed with cold water, and he suddenly came to his senses. The sweat on his body rapidly cooled down. What was he doing right now? He was supposed to be saving Se-han….
[We are now informing you of Lee Tae-kyung’s Inferiority Score.]
Tae-kyung’s eyes widened as if they would pop out. His Inferiority Score…? Come to think of it, he had only heard the mission to make his Inferiority Score 0, but he had never heard his score.
[Congratulations! 95 points!]
Huff! Tae-kyung hurriedly covered his mouth and swallowed the groan that was about to burst out. Crazy, his Inferiority Score was 95 points…? Damn it… What was there to congratulate him for right now?
[There are 365 days left until Sung Se-han’s fatal accident. Make Lee Tae-kyung’s Inferiority Score 0 (zero) to escape the risk of the accident.]
Tae-kyung’s legs began to tremble, unable to overcome the shock.
“Us…?”
In the meantime, Sung Se-han was glaring at Tae-kyung.
“Ah. Park Gun-woo and Kang Jung-min are on your side, and I’m a traitor and an enemy?”
Tae-kyung hated the guy who was looking at him with a crooked face, but he was momentarily speechless. It was too much even for a brazen person. What was he supposed to do if Se-han was looking at him with hurt eyes?
“I didn’t mean it that way.”
Tae-kyung’s fist clenched tightly. He didn’t come to argue with Sung Se-han. If he, with an Inferiority Score of 95 points, didn’t want to lose this guy, he had to pull himself together.
“Hey, Lee Tae-kyung.”
Sung Se-han, who swept back his hair, glared at Tae-kyung.
“Don’t say ‘us’ anymore. I betrayed you, not them. I don’t have any loyalty to protect with Park Gun-woo and Kang Jung-min.”
Se-han’s eyes were on the verge of turning over. Tae-kyung gently waved his hand with the feeling of taming a wild animal.
“Of course, I know that! You came to Global because of me….”
If he had to say in three letters how he felt about having to appease a guy who proudly said he had betrayed him?
It sucked.
“Se-han, I really came in a hurry to check if you were doing well. So, let’s not get angry over unnecessary things.”
Sung Se-han raised one eyebrow and looked down at Tae-kyung.
“Lee Tae-kyung, what did you say to me on Christmas? Didn’t you say you weren’t going to see me anymore?”
“Ah, back then….”
Damn it, really. Why was he bringing up that story now! How angry was Tae-kyung back then….
Feeling frustrated, Tae-kyung swept his face with one hand and unconsciously turned his head.
“!”
While Sung Se-han and Tae-kyung were focused on their argument, sasaeng fans were gathering around them.
“Se-han…!”
Instinctively, Tae-kyung stood in front of Se-han, thinking that he had to protect him. But Se-han snatched Tae-kyung’s wrist.
“Oh, oof!”
Sung Se-han seemed to be going back to the van. Se-han started running while holding Tae-kyung’s wrist, but Tae-kyung was still out of breath, so it was difficult to keep up with the speed.
“Sung Se-han, wait a minute….”
“Let’s talk there.”
No, Tae-kyung’s mind was so complicated right now that he wasn’t in the mood to hold hands and run with him.
“Hey! You go quickly! Why should I….”
Ding-dong.
Tae-kyung’s hair stood on end at the unexpected notification from the Status Window. What was it going to say this time….
[‘How to prevent the death of the genius idol Sung Se-han!’]
The letters in the Status Window grew larger and appeared. And fireworks of all colors exploded around it. Tae-kyung watched the Status Window with disbelief.
[Opening Event!]
Opening… what?
[You can lower your Inferiority Score to 90 points right now!]
He could lower it to 90 points? He could cut it by 5 points? How?
[It’s simple. Hug Sung Se-han and say, ‘I missed you!’ Soothe Sung Se-han’s heart.]
What…? His eyes, which had widened as if they would pop out, narrowed in an instant. What kind of nonsense was this? Who was supposed to soothe whose heart right now….
[This is not an everyday event!]
[Time limit is 5 minutes!]
Tae-kyung’s feet stopped as if they were glued to the floor. Sung Se-han, who had staggered because of that, turned to look at Tae-kyung.
“Lee Tae-kyung…?”
Ha, haha. Tae-kyung was so dumbfounded that he laughed.
“I’m really going crazy.”
Sung Se-han frowned as Tae-kyung shook his head.
“Let’s go together. I have a lot to say.”
He was already a strong guy, but he was in agony because he was holding his wrist even tighter. But Tae-kyung made a smile while pretending to be resilient.
“Yes, Se-han. We have a lot of things to talk about, don’t we?”
As I answered obediently, his grip on my wrist loosened slightly.
[3 minutes remaining!]
Hahaha. This is too easy. I just have to say I wanted to hug you, right? We always hugged each other, so it shouldn’t be difficult. I’m getting points for free.
“Se-han, you know….”
Ugh… but why does it feel so awkward?
“Lee Tae-kyung, I’m late right now. Can’t we talk on the way?”
[2 minutes remaining!]
No, wait a minute. If I suddenly hug him, Se-han will be surprised too, right? Do I have to startle the kid?
[This is not an everyday event!]
“Se-han, wait a moment. You’ll catch a cold like this.”
Since I was worried about the guy wearing only a short-sleeved shirt, I slowly took off my padding jacket.
I was so frustrated with myself for dawdling, trying to delay the execution even a little.
“Hey, you wear it. I’m fine….”
“Just stay still!”
I forced the padding jacket onto the shoulder of the guy pushing me away.
[1 minute remaining!]
With a feeling of my heart dropping, I reached out without hesitation. Then, I grabbed Sung Se-han’s neck and pulled him into my arms.
The guy, who was bigger than me, was pulled in weakly, letting out a surprised groan. As I pressed my face against his shoulder, I felt his body stiffen awkwardly.
Yeah. I feel awkward too, you brat.
Since I’m doing this, I might as well do it properly. I wrapped my arms around Sung Se-han’s broad back and hugged him tightly.
“Se-han.”
The guy, who was awkwardly bending at the waist to be held in my arms, slightly lifted his head. I pressed his face back against my shoulder.
“I missed you!”
[Inferiority Score has decreased by 5 points.]
I looked at the Status Window with a triumphant expression.
[Reporting Lee Tae-kyung’s current Inferiority Score.]
[Congratulations! 90 points!]
Hahaha! I chuckled, patting Se-han’s back. If it’s this easy, I can get to 0 points in no time.
“Tae-kyung.”
Sung Se-han freed my arms and lifted his head. As I raised my head to meet his gaze, he gestured behind me. I naturally turned around and flinched in surprise.
Camera shutters were exploding around me like fireworks.
On the way back to the dorm by taxi, I got a call from Jeong-min.
“Sigh… Gun-woo hyung is angry, so he’ll probably tell you to come back quickly.”
I wanted to go back and sort out my thoughts quietly… but I couldn’t ignore it, so I accepted the call.
“Yeah, maknae.”
―Tae-kyung hyung… can you come back a little faster? Gun-woo hyung is angry….
“Okay. I’m in a taxi. I’ll be there within 20 minutes.”
―Oh? You already parted ways with Se-han hyung?
Jeong-min’s voice rose, sounding surprised.
“Yeah. He said he had a photoshoot today. I couldn’t even talk for long.”
I remembered the look the Vice Manager gave me when he came to pick up Sung Se-han in a hurry. He seemed very resentful of me for calling Se-han out… I was quite worried that Sung Se-han might get scolded because of me.
―Oh, I see! Wow… Se-han hyung looks cool even wearing a short-sleeved shirt in this weather!
“Huh…? How did you know Se-han was wearing a short-sleeved shirt?”
―What? Hyung. Didn’t you know you were being photographed?
Ah, photos…! I knew sasaeng fans would take pictures, of course. But I didn’t expect them to be uploaded in real-time like this.
―The photos and videos are all over SNS and community sites right now?