By Zephyria The filming of our team, which resumed two days later, continued smoothly.
“Tae-kyung-ah! Your vocals are so good right now! It’s crazy! Se-han is going to faint if he hears it!”
Thanks to Hu-seon Hyung, who was rambling while pressing the Talkback Switch, I burst out laughing. It was a very pleasant shoot, with the director laughing along and smiles never leaving the faces of the staff.
“Tae-kyung-ssi, I’ll get a few more cuts.”
They said that the way I looked with headphones on was like a painting, so I also added the act of looking at the sheet music seriously and shaking my head.
“Thank you for your hard work!”
“Thank you! Thank you for your hard work!”
Even after finishing the filming, we repeated the re-recording for several hours, doing our best not to lower the quality of Sung Se-han’s song.
“Guys, let’s eat and then do it!”
“Wow! Hyung! I thought I was going to starve to death!”
And before Jeong-min could collapse from hunger, lunch boxes were delivered to the recording studio.
“No way, what’s this? This is Swing Burger?”
“Doo-hyun Hyung bought it? I heard you have to stand in line all day to eat this?”
At the cheers of the younger ones, Doo-hyun Hyung, who was carrying the shopping bag, glanced at me.
“Sung Se-han sent it. He’s cheering us on to cheer up our team.”
“Huh? Se-han Hyung!”
I couldn’t help but look up in surprise at the words that Sung Se-han had sent it. He sent a colorful assortment of hamburgers, french fries, and various drinks.
“As expected, Se-han Hyung is the only one who cares about us! I’m so excited!”
When Jeong-min took out his cell phone and started filming, the other younger ones also took out their cell phones.
“Wow…! I’m finally getting to eat Swing Burger thanks to Sung Se-han Sunbae!”
“Tae-kyung Hyung, I wanted to try Swing Burger too. Please be sure to thank Sung Se-han Sunbae for me.”
“Okay. Don’t worry and eat quickly.”
I patted the polite Soo-in on the shoulder and swallowed the laughter that was leaking out.
I must have mentioned in passing a while ago that I wanted to eat Swing Burger, and he didn’t forget it. I also took out my cell phone, took a commemorative photo, and immediately sent it to Sung Se-han.
[Sung Se-han, the hamburgers arrived well.]
[The younger ones like it so much. Thank you. I’ll enjoy it.]
[Of course, I’ll enjoy it the most, lol]
It seemed that Sung Se-han was late in checking the message, so I also put a hamburger in my mouth for now. At that time, the cell phone that I had put on the sofa vibrated. I immediately checked Sung Se-han’s message.
[Tae-kyung-ah, don’t eat too much.]
[I’m going to take you to eat something delicious later.]
Huh? I opened my eyes wide and typed on the keyboard.
[Later? When? You have a schedule in the evening.]
A reply arrived immediately.
[Something more important came up.]
[I’m going to see you.]
[Don’t go to sleep even if it’s late.]
Of course. Sung Se-han is coming to see me, so how could I possibly fall asleep? I bit down on the hamburger in my mouth to hide the laughter that was leaking out.
There are moments when everything feels positive, and this was one of those moments.
A perfect feeling that everything will work out, and that nothing bad or unpleasant will happen, such a stable and fulfilling feeling.
A time when bad things seem to be far away and have no effect on me at all.
So I think I was thinking that I was happy. Waiting for Sung Se-han to come and see me, and putting the hamburger that Sung Se-han sent for me in my mouth at this time.
Thanks to the smooth recording, we were able to return to the dorm earlier than expected.
“Tae-kyung Hyung, can I take a shower first?”
“Okay. Take your time.”
While Jeong-min was taking a shower first, I was deeply troubled while looking at the closet. Judging from the nuance of what Sung Se-han said, it seems that he has reserved a restaurant. Then I think it would be better to wear a jacket…
“Ah, why don’t I have a decent jacket?”
I really wanted to wear something that looked good today, but there wasn’t a single piece of clothing that caught my eye.
“Should I stop by home now…?”
8:13. There was enough time, so it would be okay to stop by home and then go to meet Sung Se-han when he contacted me.
“But then it would look like I’m trying too hard.”
I want to show Sung Se-han a cool side of me, but I also don’t want to look like I’m trying too hard. Then it might be better to wear a T-shirt as if I don’t know anything…
“Tae-kyung Hyung, aren’t you going to take a shower?”
Jeong-min, who came in while shaking his head, showed me two shirts.
“Jeong-min-ah, which one do you think looks better?”
“Why are you so nervous about meeting Se-han Hyung? Just wear anything.”
“No, but…”
Jeong-min, who had a towel around his neck, shook his head as if he felt sorry for me.
“Hyung, I think you’re slowly developing a rivalry with Se-han Hyung these days. Does that make sense? Just give up.”
Ha. I was so dumbfounded that a burst of laughter escaped.
“Jeong-min-ah, I’ve heard a lot that my shirt fit is good too.”
“Hey, even so, can you compare to Se-han Hyung’s physique? Just look at the photos of the two of you together, Se-han Hyung has a solid and cool body, but Hyung is skinny…”
“Kang Jeong-min.”
When I lowered my voice, Jeong-min closed his mouth. I didn’t mean to be serious, but as I listened, there were parts that made me feel subtly upset.
“I’m going to build up my body a bit in the next album too. Then I won’t be behind Sung Se-han either.”
“What? Why? Tae-kyung Hyung, your current style is just nice and pretty? Hyung, wait a minute…”
Leaving Jeong-min, who was trying to stop me, I packed my clothes and went into the bathroom. Actually, it was something I had been planning for a while. I thought that if I built up some muscle, I would look much more masculine than I do now.
I want Sung Se-han to look at me like that, just like I secretly steal glances at Sung Se-han’s body. It was a simple and grand ambition.
“Just you wait. I’ll make you fall in love with me twice.”
I took a shower for a little longer than usual and carefully washed my hair with the new shampoo I had recently changed to.
I was predicting how long it would take for Sung Se-han to notice the new shampoo scent, and I laughed out loud without realizing it.
As I finished showering and came out of the bathroom, I saw the members gathered in the living room. I felt that the atmosphere was strange, but more than that, I was getting impatient and wanted to dry my hair quickly.
“Tae-kyung Hyung…”
As I was heading to my room with a towel on my head, I heard Jeong-min calling me. I waved my hand without looking back.
“Yeah, I’ll dry my hair quickly and come out.”
And as I was about to move again, this time Gun-woo Hyung stopped me.
“Tae-kyung-ah.”
I stopped abruptly. I couldn’t move for a moment for some reason. In a short moment like a flash, I was having thoughts like I had heard this voice somewhere before.
“Tae-kyung-ah…”
Gun-woo Hyung’s voice was shaking a lot. I moved my stiff hand and took off the towel I was wearing on my head. Gripping the towel tightly, I took a deep breath and turned to face the members.
“Why…”
I wanted to ask why they kept calling me, but my throat was so tight that no words came out.
Gun-woo Hyung was looking at me with a desperate face as if the world had ended. I looked at Gun-woo Hyung’s red eyes before turning my gaze to the younger ones.
“……”
The other members were the same. They all stood there with expressions as if the world had ended. Soo-in couldn’t bring herself to look at me and kept her head down, and Ho-soo had his mouth open, looking like he was about to faint. And Jeong-min….
“Tae-kyung Hyung…! Se-han Hyung is…!”
He was silently shedding tears. He was crying so quietly that I only just realized Jeong-min was crying.
“Tae-kyung…!”
Gun-woo Hyung’s eyes were bloodshot, probably because he was trying so hard to hold back his tears.
“The news came out right after you went in to shower….”
When did I go in to shower? I tried to estimate the time in my head. It took much longer than usual, so it must have been over 30 minutes.
“I, I’m sorry. Tae-kyung…! I couldn’t, couldn’t bring myself to call you….”
The unnecessary words were too long, and I felt a little frustrated. I held the towel tightly in both hands and looked at Gun-woo Hyung.
“What does the news say?”
“Th, that’s….”
Suddenly, tears started falling from Gun-woo Hyung’s eyes. Gun-woo Hyung quickly wiped his eyes with the back of his hand and opened the phone he was holding.
“Ar, around seven… th, there was an accident…! At Munyeon Intersection… a five-car pileup because of drunk driving and speeding….”
Munyeon Intersection. Drunk driving. Speeding. Five-car pileup. All familiar words. I was tearing at the towel because Gun-woo Hyung was listing all the facts I already knew and leaving out the most important part.
“What about Se-han?”
Thud. I heard a loud noise and glanced to the side to see that Ho-soo couldn’t take it anymore and had collapsed. As if that wasn’t enough, he fell to the floor and immediately started sobbing, his shoulders shaking.
“Th, the drunk driver’s car… it, it hit Se-han’s car… the driver’s seat….”