By Zephyria “Can’t I give you a blood transfusion? I have a lot of blood….”
“What? Puhaha…! Ouch!”
I burst out laughing and covered my left cheek with the gauze. The faces of the surprised members turned into crying faces again because of that.
I waved my hand and reassured the members.
“Anyway… our members. Our debut is really just around the corner, so stop worrying about me now and let’s each be faithful to our respective tasks.”
“But it’ll take two months for Tae-kyung Hyung’s wound to heal completely. We can’t wear a mask, so what do we do?”
Gun-woo Hyung sighed at Jeong-min’s worry.
“There’s no choice but to start activities with a bandage on, as Team leader said.”
“Gun-woo Hyung, don’t worry too much. Everything will be fine.”
I smiled as brightly as possible to give the members confidence.
“We’ve already gone through the worst situation, so now only good things are left.”
Whether it was the tetanus shot or not, I slept soundly for seven hours without a single dream, for the first time in a long while.
When I opened my eyes, it was 2 a.m. There was nothing I could do at that hour.
I turned my head and saw Gun-woo Hyung asleep on the cot.
“Seriously… I told him to go back to the dorm…”
I felt grateful and sorry that Gun-woo Hyung was staying with me. Even so, my hands were busy searching for my phone.
Sung Se-han’s fan signing event must have been held in the afternoon, but I was too out of it to look anything up. As soon as I turned on my phone, a smile spread across my face.
There were five missed calls and two messages from Sung Se-han.
[Why was your phone off?]
[Call me, even if it’s late.]
I got out of bed and quietly went out into the hallway. As I walked to the lounge, I organized the text message I would send to Sung Se-han.
Since I had a wound on my face, it would be difficult to meet Sung Se-han for the time being. So, I needed to pretend that my schedule was packed.
Tap, tap. As I composed the message, I felt a little upset. If I had to wait until the wound healed to see him, it would be hard to see his face until our debut.
“No, come to think of it, I saw him yesterday.”
It’s not like I have to see him every day, but I don’t know why I’m being so dramatic. Annoyed with myself, I quickly finished the text and sent it.
[Se-han, my schedule is so tight now that it’s hard to even talk on the phone.]
[I’ll contact you whenever I have a chance. Sleep well.]
I had so many things I wanted to ask, like whether the fan signing event went well, but it wouldn’t be good if the conversation got too long.
I immediately picked up my vibrating phone and hesitated for a moment.
It would be difficult to talk on the phone right now.
I knew that Sung Se-han would definitely contact me if I sent a message. But did I really have to send a message at this hour?
“Hello…”
I had hesitated, but I couldn’t not answer Sung Se-han’s call.
—Why couldn’t I reach you all day?
Hearing his aggressive tone, it felt like the silence of the early morning was being shattered. I jumped up from the chair and walked to the window, where my face was reflected in the brightly lit glass instead of the night view.
“I told you, I was too busy all day…”
—So you didn’t even have time to check your phone?
A look of embarrassment crossed my face reflected in the window. He’s digging deeper than I expected…?
“Se-han, I’m a little tired. Can’t we talk tomorrow?”
Sung Se-han himself had a tight schedule with only one or two hours of sleep a day. I thought it would be better for him to rest even a little during this time, so my tone came out a bit stiff.
“Let’s just assume we’re both busy for a while, even if we can’t contact each other.”
He chuckled. Sung Se-han laughed.
—I don’t think that’ll work.
The moment I heard his instantly cold, low voice, my heart sank.
‘Why do I have to live the way you want me to?’
It was the first time I realized that Sung Se-han could speak in such a cold tone.
‘I should have stopped him from becoming an idol in the first place.’
It was also the first time I realized that an emotionless voice could be like an awl.
—Tae-kyung, there shouldn’t be a day when I can’t reach you from tomorrow. I was actually angry today too.
“Sung Se-han.”
My chest felt so tight that a suppressed sound escaped.
Always such a selfish brat…!
He never shows me what’s inside him, but he’s a bad bastard who’s only satisfied when he’s manipulating me as he pleases.
“I’m just saying that contact might be infrequent when I’m busy. Why are you being so sensitive? I know your schedule is packed until next week too…”
—I have to see Lee Tae-kyung’s face no matter what.
Huff. It was hard to calm my boiling heart, so I took a few quick breaths.
Just how far does this bastard want to push me around before he’s satisfied?
“Cut it out, Sung Se-han. I clearly said I’m busy for a while.”
—Okay.
I heard the sound of Sung Se-han moving, along with some rustling noises. At that moment, an ominous feeling made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.
—Since Lee Tae-kyung is busy, I’ll have to make a move.
“What? Hey! Sung Se-han, where are you…”
—Come out to the playground in a bit. I should be there in 40 minutes if I step on it.
My head rang, and everything went white.
“Se, Se-han! Sung Se-han! Wait a minute, where are you coming right now? The playground? The playground at our dorm?”
—Just give me about 10 minutes. I’ll just see your face and go back.
“Se-han, please…!”
I was so dizzy that everything was spinning.
It was all my fault for being a moron. If I had just made up an excuse and ended the call, there wouldn’t have been a problem.
Why did I have to provoke this crazy bastard?
“Se-han, isn’t it… too late now?”
I grabbed the window frame and tried to think as rationally as possible.
“Isn’t meeting at 2 a.m. too much? Don’t you think? I’ll go to your company when your schedule is over! Let’s meet then. Okay?”
I had to get through this crisis first, and then worry about what to do later. That’s what I decided, but Sung Se-han would never do as I wanted.
—It’s not okay.
The rustling noise didn’t stop.
—What’s wrong with 2 or 3 a.m.?
There was a large gauze pad on my cheek reflected in the window. If I met Sung Se-han, it would be impossible to hide it.
My lips were parched with anxiety.
“Se-han, I’m not at the dorm right now.”
—…….
After a moment of silence, Sung Se-han’s sarcastic voice returned.
—Where are you?
“Ah, um… Gun-woo Hyung said he had some spring clothes and luggage to bring, so… I stopped by Gun-woo Hyung’s house with the other members to help him. We’re all going to sleep here and go to the company early.”
—Oh, I see.
Even I thought it was a pretty plausible scenario. It seemed like Sung Se-han was easily convinced.
“Yeah. So go to sleep quickly. You need to get enough rest to stay in good condition.”
—Okay.
The call ended abruptly, leaving me standing there blankly for a moment.
“Seriously… I didn’t even do anything wrong…”
I just made a phone call, but my throat felt parched. I got some cold water from the water purifier and drank three glasses in a row before trudging back to the hospital room.
“Oh.”
When I quietly opened the door, Gun-woo Hyung was sitting on the cot.
“Gun-woo Hyung, did I wake you up?”
“No.”
Gun-woo Hyung held up the phone in his hand.
“I woke up because of Se-han’s call.”
Seeing me freeze in front of the bed, Gun-woo Hyung continued calmly.
“Why did you lie to Se-han? It’s not like you have anything to hide.”
“Gun-woo Hyung! Did you tell Se-han everything? That I’m in the hospital right now?”
I rushed over and asked urgently, and Gun-woo Hyung sighed.
“Se-han knew you were lying. Do you think I could fool him?”
“Still, Hyung, you could have just…”
I almost cornered Gun-woo Hyung, who hadn’t done anything wrong, but I barely managed to come to my senses.
“Hyung, so what happened? Is he coming to the hospital now?”
“Do you think he would? I told him I’d be discharged in the morning, so not to worry.”
Huff. I sat down on the bed with a thud and rubbed my face wearily, and Gun-woo Hyung came and sat next to me.
“It’s not like you have anything to hide from Se-han.”
“Yeah, but…”
I didn’t want Sung Se-han to know because it wasn’t just a simple accident, but something involving the Status Window.
It was because of an anxiety that I didn’t want to associate Sung Se-han, who held my life in his hands and tested me, with the Status Window even a little bit.
It was a fear that I couldn’t share with anyone else, and couldn’t ask them to understand.
“Se-han is too busy with his debut week. He doesn’t have time to worry about me…”
“Tae-kyung, how could Se-han not worry about you? Especially when he has such ulterior motives?”
“Ah, Hyung…!”
I let out a hollow laugh thanks to Gun-woo Hyung, who was saying ridiculous things again. Suddenly, Gun-woo Hyung jumped up and found wireless earphones in his jacket.
“Tae-kyung, have you listened to Se-han’s lyrics carefully?”
“Well…”
I listened to Sung Se-han’s songs whenever I had even a few minutes to spare for the past two days. I wanted to listen to his vocals all day long, but I was just sad that I didn’t have the time.
“I’ve memorized almost all of them.”
“Then don’t you get a feeling?”
Gun-woo Hyung, who sat next to me again, asked with a meaningful look.
“A feeling? What feeling?”
“Tae-kyung, Se-han is a bit of a germaphobe, right?”