Chapter 354: Family Affairs (7)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 354: Family Affairs (7)
Choi Je-ho furrowed his brow. Apparently, the drink wasn't to his liking, as he kept roughly wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.
"This tastes like fucking shit."
"What's wrong with you?"
"I was just curious why everyone makes such a big deal out of drinking this."
Choi Je-ho set the cup down with a loud thud. The others, who had no idea what was going on, simply stared at us with bewildered expressions.
"My parents are divorced."
"Huh?"
"My dad was an alcoholic and a gambler."
The eyes of the guys who hadn't known about Choi Je-ho’s family history widened to their limits.
"I don't see my dad either. I didn't even drink because I was afraid I’d turn out like that bastard."
"Are you... trying to comfort me?"
"I'm saying it's okay to live without seeing your family if that's what you want."
Despite the bluntness of the consolation, Lee Cheong-hyeon looked moved.
"Since we're on the subject, ask me anything you're curious about."
"Huh?"
"I'll give you an answer."
The others didn't quite understand what I meant, but Lee Cheong-hyeon did. He knew this was an extension of a conversation we had once shared in passing.
"If you don't have anything, go back to sleep."
"No! Let's talk a bit more!"
Lee Cheong-hyeon tapped the table. Jeong Seong-bin stood up and busied himself, bringing over a plate of cucumbers sliced into bite-sized pieces from the refrigerator. It was the move of someone who sensed the conversation was going to be long.
Jeong Seong-bin and Park Ju-woo began firing off questions as if they had motors attached to their mouths.
"Hyung, who is listed as your guardian? The company keeps emergency contact info on file."
"I'm a full-grown adult; do I really need a guardian? Besides, Manager Chan-yeong handles most of that stuff."
"Is there anything we can do to help...?"
"You're helping enough right now. If it weren't for you guys, I might not have even made it back to the dorm. I don't even remember how I got here yesterday."
Lee Cheong-hyeon, of course, had more to say.
"How much do you not remember? Is it always like that?"
"It only happens when I'm under extreme stress. I'm fine normally."
"Did you mention this during your counseling sessions?"
"I did. I answer everything sincerely."
True to his nature as a rapper, he didn't even give me room to breathe. I was losing my mind just trying to keep up with the answers. Seeing Kang Gi-yeon chime in with questions every now and then, it seemed he wasn't without curiosity either.
In the midst of it all, I noticed everyone was trying their best not to touch upon anything related to my family. They had all, how should I put it, become much more considerate.
"...Your neck?"
Choi Je-ho, who had been silent, finally asked. I pulled my collar down slightly to show him the freshly dressed bandage, and he turned his head away. He seemed satisfied with that much of an answer.
Kim I-wol finished a whole bottle of liquor by himself. He didn't hesitate for a second as he reached to open the next one. Other than his face turning a shade paler, there wasn't much of a visible change.
Seong-bin Hyung wasn't kidding when he said this guy could drink.
Lee Cheong-hyeon marveled inwardly. Choi Je-ho had made it sound like Kim I-wol had only gone on that drinking broadcast early in their debut to fill in for him, but Cheong-hyeon now realized the show might not have been a bad fit for Kim I-wol at all. Though, given his health issues, they probably wouldn't let him do it again.
"You should eat something while you drink."
Kang Gi-yeon spoke up, but Kim I-wol firmly refused.
"Eating snacks makes you gain weight fast."
"It's just cucumbers; how are you going to gain weight from that?"
"He's right, Hyung. You'll ruin your stomach."
At Jeong Seong-bin’s words, Park Ju-woo jumped up from his seat. A moment later, he returned with blanched tofu and stir-fried kimchi.
"Eat this too, Hyung..."
He even brought out the Pororo chopsticks, which were rarely seen. With a troubled expression, Kim I-wol ate the snack, unsure if the pairing even made sense.
Watching Kim I-wol chew the tofu, Kang Gi-yeon asked, "...Is it okay if I ask how many years apart you and your sister are?"
Lee Cheong-hyeon nudged Kang Gi-yeon’s thigh under the table. Kang Gi-yeon didn't look entirely comfortable either, as if he hadn't asked without thinking.
"...Years?"
"Pardon?"
Kim I-wol’s pronunciation was slurred, almost like a mumble. Since he wasn't the type to talk with food in his mouth, it seemed the alcohol was finally making his tongue heavy.
"I'm not... entirely sure. Seven or nine years... something like that. Yeah."
"That's a big gap."
"I suppose so."
Even as he spoke with uncertainty, Kim I-wol remained calm.
It was moments like these that Lee Cheong-hyeon felt a sense of dissonance. Like when he asked when I-wol started playing bass, or when he couldn't figure out where I-wol had learned to navigate social life so well—and now, this.
"Hyung."
"Yeah."
"Is the reason you don't tell us things clearly because you don't trust us, or because there's a specific reason?"
Kim I-wol blinked. His long, dark eyelashes moved slowly with his eyelids.
"In the beginning, it was because I was cautious about trusting anyone."
"Oh?"
"And the reason I still can't explain things properly even now... is because of the circumstances."
The answer was more honest than they had imagined.
"Why?"
"..."
"Did you think I’d lie?"
"I just didn't expect you to tell us this much."
"Keeping secrets isn't exactly comfortable."
Kim I-wol took a sip of his drink. He didn't look particularly bothered.
"Then what about now?"
"It's much better."
Perhaps because the answer was so refreshing, Jeong Seong-bin, who had been tense, let out a relieved laugh.
Throughout the conversation, Kim I-wol finished two bottles by himself. He acted just like his usual self, even nagging Choi Je-ho.
Because of that, no one dared to think that Kim I-wol might actually be drunk.
"...Don't you think he's drunk?"
Until Lee Cheong-hyeon cast a suspicious glance.
Kang Gi-yeon jumped at the sudden voice of his friend directed straight into his ear. After rubbing his ear for a moment, he realized what Lee Cheong-hyeon had said and turned his gaze toward Kim I-wol.
"He looks the same as usual, though?"
Kang Gi-yeon whispered back. Lee Cheong-hyeon covered his mouth with his hand and lowered his voice even further.
"He leaned his head on Ju-woo Hyung."
"What?"
Kang Gi-yeon doubted his own ears. Unfortunately, Lee Cheong-hyeon wasn't the boy who cried wolf. Kim I-wol really was resting his head on Park Ju-woo’s shoulder.
The reverse was a common sight, but this was not. No matter how much Spark was a group that stuck together like injeolmi rice cakes that had been microwaved for too long—a phrase Kim I-wol had used while selecting group photos—it was usually the younger members clinging to the older ones. This sight was truly rare.
Moreover, the person doing it was the Kim I-wol. The man who never stood with his legs crossed, who always maintained a perfectly straight back to the point of being photoshopped into protractor memes, and who sat on the floor with his knees neatly tucked.
The eldest hyung, who never crossed his arms when facing someone and insisted on an upright attitude because "manners come from posture," was leaning a part of his body on someone else?
It was nothing short of a major event. Park Ju-woo, unable to adapt to the unfamiliar situation, sat stiffly in a rigid posture.
"What are you two whispering about?"
"Look at that. He's jumping in because we're talking without him. Usually, he just watches us like someone holding a glass on the third floor of an opera house."
"True."
Whether Kim I-wol intervened or not, Lee Cheong-hyeon and Kang Gi-yeon continued to mutter seriously, unbothered.
"He's definitely drunk."
"Should I go get some hangover cure?"
Jeong Seong-bin asked, seemingly agreeing with the younger ones. In their refrigerator, there were still five bottles of hangover cure they had brought with them, wrapped in bubble wrap, when they moved in.
"Hyung’s body is cold..."
Park Ju-woo added. Choi Je-ho suggested they clear away the alcohol first, then clicked his tongue when he saw the bottles were bone-dry.
"The guy who used to drink so much soju gets drunk off two of these small bottles? This hyung needs to quit drinking. From now on, we're having serious talks over grape juice."
Lee Cheong-hyeon shook his head.
"It must be because the alcohol content is high. How many degrees is that?"
"Do they even write that on the bottle?"
Jeong Seong-bin turned the small liquor bottle this way and that, looking for the alcohol percentage. Kang Gi-yeon, reaching for the remaining bottle purely to satisfy his curiosity, flinched and pulled his hand back at Kim I-wol’s sharp rebuke.
"Where do you think a minor is going, touching a liquor bottle...! Give it here. I'll clear it away."
"I won't touch it, so just sit down, please."
As soon as Kang Gi-yeon tucked his hands obediently under the table, Kim I-wol became docile again as if nothing had happened. Then, he leaned his head back onto Park Ju-woo’s shoulder. He was like a piece of shape-memory alloy.
"Sigh, if our eldest hyung is gone, who's going to represent Spark and drink at company dinners?"
"I'll drink."
"I'll drink too, Seong-bin...!"
"Just tell everyone you're all taking herbal medicine."
At Lee Cheong-hyeon’s question, Jeong Seong-bin and Park Ju-woo displayed their tear-jerking friendship. Choi Je-ho offered a rare, sensible solution, but it didn't reach the younger ones.
After a moment of joking around, Lee Cheong-hyeon rested his chin on his hand and asked.
"Hyung."
"Yeah?"
"Do you like promoting with us?"
Lee Cheong-hyeon swallowed hard. It was a question he had buried until the very end, debating whether or not he should even ask.
Kim I-wol fell into thought for a moment. Seeing the hyung even cross his arms, Lee Cheong-hyeon regretted bringing it up.
"I don't mean whether you find the work fun! I mean, if you're okay living with us. I was worried you might be overextending yourself because of your circumstances."
The explanation grew longer in proportion to Kim I-wol’s silence. Everyone watched Kim I-wol’s reaction. Lee Cheong-hyeon broke into a cold sweat.
"I just... I hope you don't think of us as too much of a burden..."
Kim I-wol caught the trailing end of his sentence.
"Do you think I see you guys as a burden?"
"I think sometimes you might. There isn't a single part of our idol activities that you haven't touched. Even down to the angles of our selfies."
Lee Cheong-hyeon remembered what Kang Gi-yeon had said during his difficult times.
That he felt sorry for only receiving help from his hyung. That he felt like someone who couldn't be of any help to him.
In Lee Cheong-hyeon’s eyes, Spark seemed to carry a debt of gratitude toward Kim I-wol, in varying degrees. Including Lee Cheong-hyeon himself.
Everyone relied on Kim I-wol in some way, but no one was a pillar for him to lean on. Knowing that even Choi Je-ho had received help with family matters from Kim I-wol only made him more concerned.
I wish I could just say I'm glad I found out now.
He wanted Kim I-wol to say, "Now I should rest too! Live your idol lives proactively!" Then, even if Kim I-wol blacked out the next day, he could insist, "Hyung, you gave us notice yesterday, so I'm going to do what you said!"
But Kim I-wol’s consideration always delved deeper than Lee Cheong-hyeon’s imagination.
"I think this is the question you really wanted to ask."
"..."
"I don't think that way."
He spoke in a way that made it impossible not to feel firmly supported.
"I think of you all as admirable kids."
Kim I-wol smiled.
There wasn't a single camera around, no outsiders present, and they weren't just talking nonsense or engaging in a conversation that required social grace.
It was a soft smile that a man in his early twenties would typically wear. It was the first time they had seen it on Kim I-wol’s face.
"Wow... I guess I'm starting to get drunk."
Returning to his usual faint smile, Kim I-wol pushed himself up from the sofa.
"I'll put the bottles in the sink. I'll rinse them and put them out tomorrow, so don't you guys touch them. Same for the dishes."
"Just go wash up and sleep."
"Choi Je-ho, if you're not going to clean them for me, be quiet."
"I'll put them in the sink, so just go to bed. I won't make the kids do it."
"Oh."
Kim I-wol gave a dry exclamation of admiration.
"Then I'm just going to brush my teeth and sleep, okay? Everyone, go to your rooms. See you tomorrow."
With that, Kim I-wol actually brushed his teeth for exactly three minutes and came out of the bathroom. He walked straight to his room, lay down on the bed, covered himself neatly with the blanket, and fell asleep the moment his head hit the pillow. Watching the sequence of actions, Kang Gi-yeon let out a hollow laugh.
"He's something else, really."
Kang Gi-yeon muttered to himself, leaning against the doorframe. Lee Cheong-hyeon watched the eldest hyung, who had turned into a drunkard, for a moment before turning off the light and quietly closing the door.