By Zephyria “No! There’s no way Se-han Hyung is dead!”
Jeong-min suddenly screamed, and I was so startled that my hair stood on end.
“Gun-woo Hyung! Wait a little longer! There’s no proper news yet!”
Jeong-min ran to Gun-woo Hyung and snatched the phone away so he couldn’t see it.
“In a little while, sob! News will come out that Se-han Hyung is safe! Waaah…! If we just wait a little longer… news will come out that he’s being treated at the hospital! Right?”
Jeong-min’s pronunciation was unclear as he sobbed, having lost his reason. Gun-woo Hyung, like an idiot, opened his mouth again and started shedding tears.
“Sniff! Waaah…!”
Gun-woo Hyung suddenly started crying loudly, so I slowly bit down on my teeth.
“Wh, what are you gonna do! You have to tell Tae-kyung properly…! Sniff! Se-han, before he was even taken to the hospital….”
Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Suddenly, I heard the sound of someone entering the password on the front door. I turned my head sharply and looked towards the entrance.
Ah, it’s Se-han. Se-han came running because he thought I’d be surprised. With my eyes wide open, I waited for the sound of footsteps approaching the living room.
“Guys!”
The person who rushed into the living room was Manager Doo-hyun Hyung. I couldn’t move my wide eyes as I checked Doo-hyun Hyung’s pale face several times.
“You guys can’t be like this right now. Come on, everyone needs to pull themselves together.”
Doo-hyun Hyung, who was flustered and waving his hands, made eye contact with me and covered his face with one hand.
“Tae-kyung…! I really, I don’t know what to say…!”
I felt like the ground was constantly sinking beneath my feet, so I looked down to check the floor. It was strange that my feet were firmly planted on the floor, but I couldn’t feel anything.
“Tae-kyung…!”
I felt Doo-hyun Hyung approaching and gently touching my back.
“It’s going to be a shock, but let’s be strong. Okay? We have to go to the funeral hall.”
Funeral hall. I raised my head and looked around at the people in the living room. Ho-soo, who had collapsed. Soo-in, who was hanging her head. And Jeong-min, who was behind Gun-woo Hyung, hanging his head, and Gun-woo Hyung, who was shedding tears.
“Doo-hyun Hyung.”
“Yeah, Tae-kyung.”
Doo-hyun Hyung grabbed my hand, which was tightly gripping the towel.
“This isn’t a dream, is it?”
I asked because I wanted to confirm the exact facts, but Doo-hyun Hyung made a painful expression.
“Tae-kyung…!”
“Sniff! Tae-kyung Hyung!”
Jeong-min rushed over and hugged me tightly. I stumbled backward because of the force and hit my back against the wall.
“Tae-kyung!”
“Tae-kyung! Pull yourself together, okay?”
Gun-woo Hyung and Doo-hyun Hyung grabbed my arms from both sides and lifted me up, so I must have been sitting down. I tried to get up quickly, but somehow I couldn’t muster any strength in my body.
“Okay, Tae-kyung. Let’s sit down for now.”
Doo-hyun Hyung, with his arms around my armpits, took me to the sofa. I watched my feet drag along the floor before I was forced to sit on the soft sofa. Gun-woo Hyung, who was sitting next to me, took my hand and started massaging it.
“Doo-hyun Hyung, Tae-kyung can’t right now. You should go first….”
“Doo-hyun Hyung.”
I looked up at Doo-hyun Hyung, and he quickly answered as he took out his phone.
“Yeah. Yes, Tae-kyung.”
“Is there any other news? Anything I don’t know?”
I spoke relatively clearly, but Doo-hyun Hyung kept making a face like he was about to cry.
“That’s why I came….”
Doo-hyun Hyung, who hadn’t done anything wrong, opened his mouth hesitantly like he had committed a crime.
“Sung Se-han’s funeral hall is at Hajeong Hospital… but they’re not accepting condolences right now…? Reporters can’t even get in… but we got a call saying our team can come….”
My vision kept getting darker, so I shook my head hard. I was cowardly wanting to be comfortable. It’s not like reality would change if I closed my eyes and ignored everything, but I wanted to avoid this moment and be submerged.
But I can’t do that.
“Jeong-min, can you get me some water?”
“I’ll get it!”
Soo-in, who had been standing like a stone statue, immediately turned around. Soo-in staggered after only a few steps before running back to the kitchen.
“Thank you.”
I gulped down the bottled water that Soo-in handed me. Gun-woo Hyung busily wiped the water that I couldn’t swallow completely and that was running down my chin.
“I’ll go change and come out.”
I couldn’t even get up from the sofa on my own, so Gun-woo Hyung supported my arm.
“You guys change too.”
I said a word to the pale, frightened members and headed to my room. I still couldn’t feel my feet touching the ground. Still, I came into the room and opened the closet.
I put aside the blue shirt I was planning to wear today and took out a white shirt and a black suit. I dropped the clothes a few times in the middle because my hands lost strength, but I still managed to put them on without much trouble.
“Hyung… Tae-kyung Hyung…!”
I turned around to see Jeong-min standing at the door, wiping tears with the back of his hand.
“Hyung, you seem a little strange right now…! Are you really okay?”
I stared at Jeong-min for a moment before staggering towards him. Jeong-min quickly reached out and supported my waist.
“Jeong-min, I’m okay for now, okay?”
“Yeah, yeah!”
I stroked Jeong-min’s head, who was holding my waist tightly, and patted his shoulder.
“Later, if I faint or show any strange signs, slap me in the face to wake me up.”
“What? How can I hit Hyung….”
“Please.”
I grabbed Jeong-min’s shoulders and looked into his tearful eyes.
“I’ll feel too sorry towards Se-han if I lose my mind again. I have to stay properly conscious this time.”
“Tae-kyung Hyuuung! Why are you scaring me…! Sniff!”
“What’s wrong? Tae-kyung, what’s going on?”
Doo-hyun Hyung, startled, ran into our room. I tried to reassure Doo-hyun Hyung, but I couldn’t manage a smile.
“It’s nothing.”
“Doo-hyun Hyung! Tae-kyung Hyung keeps saying strange things! Sniff…!”
“Okay, Jeong-min. Now let go of this….”
“No! Sniff!”
I urged Doo-hyun Hyung while Jeong-min was still holding onto my waist.
“Hyung, we have to go to the funeral hall now.”
“Th, that’s right.”
Doo-hyun Hyung, who was standing there not knowing what to do, quickly turned around.
“Guys, if you’re all ready, let’s leave quickly.”
The members, who were putting on their clothes in a hurry, and Gun-woo Hyung couldn’t make eye contact with me. As I followed behind Doo-hyun Hyung, I felt the members quickly approaching.
They were probably trying to support me in case I collapsed. However, my legs were wobbly, but I wasn’t about to fall.
When we arrived at the parking lot and got into the car, I felt my mind gradually clearing as we headed to the funeral hall in a heavy atmosphere.
I judged that I didn’t have to worry about fainting at this point.
When we arrived at Hajeong Hospital, we couldn’t see in front of us because of the reporters and journalists surrounding the funeral hall.
While we were walking after getting out of the car nearby because we couldn’t park, we had to keep listening to the cries of the fans who had gathered.
“Why aren’t they accepting condolences? How peculiar, how peculiar!”
Jeong-min flinched at the reporter’s rough tone as he grumbled while walking towards the entrance.
“What is it? Can we go in…?”
The members hesitated at the strict atmosphere at the entrance of the funeral hall, where men in black suits were controlling the entry of reporters.
I couldn’t delay even for a moment, so I left the members behind and walked towards the entrance of the funeral hall. A man in a black suit, who was looking this way with sharp eyes, blocked my path.
“Let him in.”
The man who had blocked my path quickly stepped aside the moment I heard a familiar voice. I looked towards the direction of the voice. Vice Manager, who was smoking in a dark corner, gestured for me to go in.
I bowed lightly and entered the funeral hall.
Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. The inside of the funeral hall was so quiet that the sound of my shoes echoed loudly. It was a completely different world from the noisy outside.
I walked straight in the right direction and entered the place where the door was open. I had walked all the way here without stopping for a moment, but I had no choice but to stop at the entrance.
Ah, I really didn’t know.
That I would meet Sung Se-han, with his beautiful eye smile, again in a portrait.
That I would come to Sung Se-han’s funeral again.
I was so confident that I would protect Sung Se-han and never let him go again. I really didn’t know that I would end up back in this place again.
“Come up.”
I must have been standing there too blankly. Kang Robin Sunbae, who was leaning against the wall and waiting silently, urged me in a low voice.
“Yes.”
I slowly took off my shoes and stepped up, feeling the hard wooden floor. I carefully approached Sung Se-han one step at a time, worried that I might stagger in an unsightly manner.
Nevertheless, the closer I got to Sung Se-han’s face, which was smiling beautifully, the harder my heart beat, and I had no choice but to stop in the middle.
In fact, looking at Sung Se-han’s portrait for a long time is too cruel for me. So this distance was appropriate.
“Lee Tae-kyung.”
Kang Robin Sunbae was looking at me while leaning against the right wall. He didn’t even have the strength to stand up straight, but Sunbae’s transparent eyes, which were looking at me, were flashing sharply.
“Is this your first time at a funeral hall?”
I only turned my head and looked at Sunbae before shaking my head.
“It’s my second time.”
“Then why are you standing there so blankly?”
Kang Robin Sunbae forcibly took his back off the wall and straightened his body.
“Didn’t you learn that you’re supposed to light incense and bow when you come?”