KFL 72

“…….”

“I would have just sent another kid away, but I want to give Tae-kyung a chance.”

My head started to throb, perhaps because the perfume scent was too strong.

“Don’t think about it too hard. Just think of it as Tae-kyung gaining a good friend.”

Director Min took something out of her teal wallet.

“Buy some clothes first, at a brand that suits Tae-kyung.”

I stared at the black card Director Min held out for a moment, then shook my head.

“I don’t think I have a reason to accept this.”

“You probably haven’t earned much yet. Just use this card.”

A finger with crimson nail polish pushed the card towards the front of the table.

“Director Min, I receive enough allowance from home. I’m not short on money, and there’s nothing I particularly need.”

I couldn’t just sit there blankly any longer. My throat was dry, but I didn’t drink a sip of water and stood up.

“I came here today to greet Director Park Jin-seok. Since the director has already left, I think I should be going as well.”

“Tae-kyung.”

Director Min, leaning back in her chair again, called my name. I needed to leave the room right away, but for some reason, my legs wouldn’t move as I wanted.

“If you lose your dream, people wither away quickly.”

Inevitably, my gaze turned back to Director Min.

“I want to protect Tae-kyung. I’ll protect you just as you are now, shining so brightly. If you become friends with me, you can reach the top quickly.”

“If you’ve said everything you wanted to say, I’ll be going now.”

I bowed and left the room without looking back. As I walked down the hallway, people in black suits glared at me sharply.

I left the Korean restaurant, tense, afraid that someone might grab me. After getting outside, I ran mindlessly.

“Haa, haa…!”

I ran for a long time, and only when I was drenched in sweat did I start to walk slowly. I kept looking back, worried that someone might be chasing me.

The surroundings were noisy, and when I came to my senses, I realized I was entering a downtown area. I thought I should call a taxi before there were too many people, so I took my phone out of my back pocket.

Seven missed calls. Three of them were from Sung Se-han. Suddenly, I missed Sung Se-han so much that I became impatient.

I went to a place without streetlights and was about to press Sung Se-han’s number, but then I just squatted down on the ground.

If I talked on the phone now, I felt like I would cry like a fool, so I couldn’t make the call.

*

I deliberately got out of the taxi far from the dorm.

I wanted to sort out my feelings a bit more as I walked slowly.

“Hoo…!”

I didn’t want to tell the members about what happened today. I decided to just say that I greeted the director and came straight out.

As I got closer to the apartment entrance, I spotted a tall man standing far away.

I would probably recognize that figure even if he was hundreds of meters away. There was only one man who made my heart pound.

There couldn’t be another man who stole all the attention just by standing there with his hands in his pockets, leaning casually.

“…….”

I paused for a moment to catch my breath.

I missed Sung Se-han, but I didn’t want to meet him like this right away.

“Lee Tae-kyung.”

When I didn’t move, Sung Se-han started walking towards me with long strides. I had to suppress the urge to turn around and run away.

Sung Se-han was a really bad guy. He tied me down with words like “precious,” but he never gave me anything I wanted. He was a really bad guy.

“Lee Tae-kyung, what the hell.”

Sung Se-han stopped in front of me and looked down coldly.

“What the hell is this state you’re in?”

Ah, right. I must be covered in sweat right now. I looked down to check my clothes, but I couldn’t see how messed up my face was.

“What’s wrong with my state?”

My voice was weak, like a loser.

That’s right. I was a loser who couldn’t even look my friend in the eye and was busy hiding my churning emotions.

“If you don’t like the way I look, just leave.”

This was all Sung Se-han’s fault.

It was because he had the nerve to show up wearing a black suit. It was because his body wrapped in the suit was so beautiful, because Sung Se-han was causing me pain.

“Lee Tae-kyung.”

It was because even his husky voice made my heart ache.

“Did you really just meet Director Park Jin-seok?”

Thump. Along with the sensation of my heart dropping, my fingertips instantly turned cold.

Where had I left my mind? I should have expected that if Sung Se-han had stopped by the dorm, he would naturally know where I had been.

Sung Se-han, who had taken another step closer, grabbed my shoulder tightly.

“Tell me straight. Lee Tae-kyung, who did you meet?”

“Sung Se-han, please.”

I shook off Sung Se-han’s hand and stepped back. The unfamiliar scent mixed with Sung Se-han’s Cologne scent made me nauseous.

“Stop interfering with me.”

What was Sung Se-han doing while I was struggling with the perfume scent in an unfamiliar Korean restaurant? He was probably having a good time with beautiful women.

“I went to see Director Park Jin-seok, so I met the director. What else do you want to know?”

I felt like a hedgehog with all its quills raised. The resentment and anger that I couldn’t control myself shot out sharply, so that they could hurt others.

“I don’t interfere with anything you do or think! I don’t force you to do anything! So you should just stop it now!”

I vaguely thought it was late at night, but I couldn’t stop. My heart was about to burst from all the pent-up emotions, and I shouted.

“Tae-kyung.”

He reached out his hand to me, but I pushed it away as well.

“Get lost! I don’t even want to see your face!”

“Lee Tae-kyung, calm down.”

Even though I was shouting like a madman, Sung Se-han was calmer than ever. That made me even more furious.

“You calm down! Nothing works out because of you!”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Why! Why did you have to release a solo album when we were debuting! Look at the music charts! ‘I’ll Wait From 2 PM’ isn’t even thinking about coming down from number one! Wherever I go, I only hear your song. All the hype for the groups that debuted this time has been stolen because of you! We, our team, are because of you…!”

I was stunned by the words I had spoken myself.

Wow…! So I was thinking things like this inside.

I liked Sung Se-han so much that I couldn’t even look him straight in the eye, but deep down, I was burning with such dark jealousy.

Could a person be this trashy?

How would I look in Sung Se-han’s clear eyes? If he looked at me with contempt, I would never be able to handle it.

My vision swayed dizzily. I was looking for a place to escape to.

“Lee Tae-kyung.”

Sung Se-han grabbed my shoulders with both hands. He was going to hold me in place with force again. He tilted his head and looked down at me, who was biting my lip tightly.

“Tae-kyung, I’m actually very satisfied with this solo activity.”

What…? I stared at Sung Se-han with a dumbfounded expression.

Sung Se-han, with one corner of his mouth raised, gave a cynical smile.

“Lee Tae-kyung has once again admired Sung Se-han’s talent. So the way you look at me has changed too.”

“What are you saying…?”

What the hell was this bastard babbling about…?

“You’ll feel anew every day that your team is nothing without me. Right?”

In the darkness, the light swirled in Sung Se-han’s brown eyes.

As if those eyes had hypnotized me, I gradually lost my will to fight.

Every day anew.

If I said that I felt Sung Se-han’s absence.

Then I would become too pathetic.

Why wouldn’t this guy give my heart a moment to rest?

“Sung Se-han. Do you, do you like seeing me suffer? Do you have to expose everything like that to make me feel ashamed?”

The most painful thing was Sung Se-han’s indifference. The innocent indifference with which he wielded his sword easily, without any remorse.

I knew well enough that that was Sung Se-han’s nature, but I didn’t know how to not hate him even when that sword cut me.

I shouldn’t have liked Sung Se-han in the first place. If I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have known such painful feelings.

Sung Se-han firmly held onto my body, which was trying to step back.

“Tae-kyung, it’s natural to suffer.”

What…? I was so dumbfounded that I felt like I was losing the will to get angry.

Sung Se-han stared silently at my lips, which were moving without making a sound. And then he met my gaze again.

“Why couldn’t we debut in the same team? Why are we separated, and why is it so damn complicated to not even be able to use the same room or eat a meal together? If you think about things like that, it’s all fucked up. Right?”

“Hey, Sung Se-han! How can you say such things…!”

I wanted to curse at him, but my heart started to pound again without any sense of loyalty.

Sung Se-han was saying that he was suffering from the times we couldn’t be together, that he was in pain for the same reason as me.

“Sung Se-han, you’re really…!”

It was unbelievable that those words were coming out of his mouth.

“You’re a really shameless bastard.”