The Conditions for Becoming a Gentle Idol Leader - Chapter 51

Slowly, his eyes opened. Had he fainted? What was that memory just now—was it a dream? In that brief span of time?

Unlike usual, the moment he woke, the memory remained vivid. Was it some forgotten piece of the past?

It felt like something from a long, long time ago.

Ah… come to think of it…

Hah. The instant he realized he was awake, his breathing began to come short and fast. Damn it. So this was what had happened.

His head was still spinning, but oddly enough his mind felt sharper than before.

The hallucinated voices that had been drifting around lately had vanished at some point, and the blurred edges of his vision were steadily clearing.

This wasn’t the first time, so he wasn’t surprised. Knowing full well it was useless, he still tried to exhale as slowly as he could.

The breath wouldn’t come right. His instincts screamed to clutch at his throat, but then he remembered he couldn’t afford to leave marks where they could be seen, and instead he clawed uselessly at the floor.

What a real piece of shit status window. Fuck.

...Eased, my ass. It didn’t change the fact that he still couldn’t say what he wanted. Whether he should be grateful he only had to endure this for ten minutes was another matter entirely.

"You fucking bastard, Go Young-in—!"

Damn it. Why was Kyeon In-woo here? As if the memory that had surfaced wasn’t enough, now he had this on top of it.

Go Young-in desperately wanted to reassure the furious Kyeon In-woo, who was stalking toward him like a lion letting out a battle roar, but all that came from his throat was a thin, wheezing sound.

Kyeon In-woo reached out a hand toward him, then froze as if remembering something. He clenched his jaw and muttered something through his teeth before shoving a hand into his pocket.

No way. No way—he’s not calling an ambulance, is he?

Absolutely not. Fuck. Please. The hospital would only tell them his body was perfectly fine, anyway.

And if he got hauled to a hospital from the dorm right now, it would absolutely become headline material. That could ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠not happen.

Just ten minutes. I only need to survive ten minutes.

He opened his mouth to stop Kyeon In-woo by force, but it only ended in a strangled gasp.

It really felt like he was going to die.

If only he could just faint, maybe that would be easier, but this wretched status window wouldn’t even allow him to collapse until the penalty was over.

Let’s not make this worse... Please...

Go Young-in flailed weakly and reached toward Kyeon In-woo’s shoes, but he had no strength left to put into his arm.

In the process, while scraping along the floor, he must have cut himself somewhere, because there was a tiny wound on the tip of his finger.

So he had gotten scratched after all.

"Damn it, shit..."

Kyeon In-woo, rummaging through his pocket for his phone, remembered that he had thrown it onto the bed before coming out and cursed under his breath.

Then, glancing at Go Young-in, he saw a face so bad it wouldn’t have been strange if he stopped breathing at any second.

His face had gone red from the difficulty of breathing properly, and his whole body was trembling like a leaf. He’d been looking half-dead already lately, too.

Taking Go Young-in’s phone from the desk, Kyeon In-woo stabbed at the emergency call button. What a filthy little pain in the ass.

"You’re calling 119?"

"What else would I be doing?"

Kyeon In-woo answered without taking his eyes off the phone, then suddenly stopped, sensing that something was off.

Turning toward the source of the voice, he saw Cheon Sa-yoon standing by the door, apparently back from being out somewhere.

Now that he thought about it, that bastard’s timing always had a way of feeling suspiciously deliberate.

"Fuck... So you’re not calling, then? You see him like this and you’re not calling?"

"Hmm. Well, yeah..."

Cheon Sa-yoon trailed off in that slippery, evasive way of his, and Kyeon In-woo’s face instantly darkened with rage.

"In your eyes this isn’t an emergency?"

"Of course it is, it’s an emergency. But it seems like Young-in hyung doesn’t want us to call."

"Even in a situation like this, you fucking son of a..."

Kyeon In-woo glared at Cheon Sa-yoon like he meant to kill him on the spot, then seemed to decide it was not worth the effort and simply ignored him.

Even so, Cheon Sa-yoon strode over without a care in the world.

"Look."

With his usual unreadable face, Cheon Sa-yoon examined Go Young-in once, blinked, and went on.

"Young-in hyung would probably rather let this pass quietly than have it blow up because of him."

"Your damn mouth is always the problem."

Hot with anger, Kyeon In-woo seized Cheon Sa-yoon by the collar as he came closer.

Instead of reacting, Cheon Sa-yoon merely tilted his head, smiling soundlessly.

"If you’re going to hit me, at least miss the face. Filming isn’t over yet. Oh, or were you one of those idiots who can’t separate work from personal ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠matters?"

Kyeon In-woo raised his fist, then ground his teeth and slowly swallowed down his fury.

"Work and personal matters" reminded him of what Go Young-in had said last time. Besides, the only one who’d lose if this dragged on was him.

The problem in front of him wasn’t Cheon Sa-yoon.

And Kyeon In-woo knew better than anyone—better than even Cheon Sa-yoon, maybe—that Go Young-in would not want him to call for help.

Fuck. This just pisses me off.

Looking back and forth between Go Young-in and Cheon Sa-yoon, Kyeon In-woo let out a long sigh, released Cheon Sa-yoon’s collar, and shoved him hard.

"Get lost, asshole."

"Or what? Want me to ask him myself? If he says call, I’ll call. Young-in hyung, should I?"

From the moment Cheon Sa-yoon had arrived, Go Young-in had half given up and lain there weakly, already anticipating their fight. Now he forced himself to steady his ragged breathing and lifted his head with effort.

Cheon Sa-yoon had crouched close beside him at some point and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was waiting quietly for his answer with a serene expression.

"Hah... cough... n-no..."

"Told you."

Cheon Sa-yoon gave a light shrug and smiled brightly. His face looked innocent enough to make one think he had absolutely no intention of mocking anyone.

Ah, seriously... what a lunatic.

Go Young-in inwardly winced, though he was still too winded to do much more than groan.

Annoying as it was, Cheon Sa-yoon wasn’t wrong.

God, the guy was ridiculously quick on the uptake.

Kyeon In-woo was also worrying too much. This was just a symptom that would vanish cleanly once time passed.

At least, with the clause relaxed, he wasn’t spouting nonsense about stopping fights or whatever.

Not that there’s anything I can do in this state anyway.

There wasn’t much time left, which was a relief.

Sure enough, with those two idiots making noise, time seemed to pass more quickly than when he was counting the minutes alone. His head still hurt, but at least the chaos made the minutes slip by.

Cheon Sa-yoon, having finished what he wanted to say, stood back up with that same smiling face.

"If the person involved says he’s fine, what can we do?"

After that, Cheon Sa-yoon began acting with perfect diligence, like someone who had simply returned from being out.

He naturally took off the watch he had been wearing, placed it in the watch winder, then opened the dressing room door and chose clothes to change into.

"It’s not like there isn’t a reason," Cheon Sa-yoon said softly, almost singing the words as he moved along with easy grace.

He came out holding an armful of clothes, closed the dressing-room door as quietly as possible, and opened another compartment of the drawer Go Young-in had searched through earlier, rummaging inside.

"And it’s not like you’re acting out of some stupid pride, either."

How he’d known about the emergency paper bag tucked away there, Go Young-in had no idea.

Cheon Sa-yoon pulled out the paper bag as if it were his own drawer and held it out toward him.

"You’d have to be an idiot not to."

He gave a bright little smile, lightly shaking the hand that held the paper bag, as if asking why Go Young-in wasn’t taking it.

Go Young-in had no strength in his body. Practically fused with the floor, he couldn’t even fully extend his hand.

"Here you go."

Cheon Sa-yoon knew that too.

That didn’t mean he would do anything kind, like lowering himself or bringing it directly to Go Young-in’s mouth.

He merely watched, staring intently as though observing how he would respond.

Damn it... So that was his plan. The bastard clearly knew I couldn’t take it myself.

Damn, he’s relentless. Disgusting bastard.

He couldn’t tell whether the reason his mouth still wouldn’t close properly was Cheon Sa-yoon’s infuriating behavior or the fact that he simply couldn’t breathe right.

He was always even crazier than one could imagine.

Instead of the troubled Go Young-in, a hand snatched the paper bag away roughly.

It was Kyeon In-woo. He must have decided Go Young-in was beyond help, too.

Cheon Sa-yoon let out a small exclamation of surprise.

"You still weren’t leaving?"

"Fuck. Just shut up already."

"Then why are you making a scene in someone else’s room? Even if it weren’t you, I’d have helped on my own."

Kyeon In-woo said nothing further to that. He didn’t even look at Cheon Sa-yoon anymore. That didn’t mean he wasn’t angry, though.

Hey. That paper bag’s getting so crushed it’s about to be ruined. I appreciate you giving it to me, but...

Fuck, finally.

After reading the status window, his body—trembling in fits and starts—gradually settled, and his breathing slowly returned to normal.

The throbbing pain vanished as if it had never been there.

No matter how many times he went through the process of returning to a normal state, he never got used to it. It wasn’t exactly a pleasant feeling.

He still needed a little more time before his strength fully returned, but he absolutely could not leave those two lunatics together for even one more second.

Go Young-in forced strength into his useless arm and pushed himself up off the floor.

His arm was shaking so badly it looked as if he’d just been born and had no business supporting a body at all. Damn it...

He brushed back his disheveled hair from where he’d been sprawled on the floor and cleared his throat lightly. His mouth was so dry that even parting his lips felt like a chore.

"Hold on. Cough. First, let’s all go out and..."

"...Fuck. What?"

Kyeon In-woo’s glare looked ready to unleash all the rage he’d been holding back. It made Go Young-in nearly lose his breath again.

Fierce didn’t even begin to cover it, you dangerous bastard.

"No, In-woo... I’m going out too. Sa-yoon, you should rest."

Calm down.

Those two clearly needed to be separated. The importance of communication did not apply universally. These two were in urgent need of communication deprivation.

Thanks to them, he’d learned the hard way that one-sided communication wasn’t a solution to everything.

He was receiving the sort of life lesson you couldn’t buy no matter how much money you spent. Damn it.