Chapter 354
Chapter 354
A member who disappears for hours at dawn during a promotion period, without even a smartphone, completely out of reach.
And what if, just before that, the entire group’s schedule had been halted for three days because of that same bastard?
‘He’s lost his mind.’
It was an act of insanity with no room for excuses. I grit my teeth.
‘Even Cha Yu-jin would have at least left a note.’
I didn't even need to see it to know the dorm was in a state of emergency. If things were bad, the company might have already been notified…
‘…Dammit.’
I’m the f*cking disaster.
I could already guess what kind of expression Seon A-hyun would be wearing.
I grit my teeth again and looked back at the intercom.
Ding-dong.
To make matters worse, Seon A-hyun wasn't standing at the main entrance on the first floor; he was right in front of this very front door. I had no idea how that was even possible.
The confusion only mounted, but…
“It’s your fellow member, Junior. Should I open the door?”
“…Wait.”
I stared at the door for a moment, then took a slow, deep breath.
“I want to open it.”
“Hmm? Sure.”
Leaving behind the guy whose face clearly asked, ‘Is that really necessary?’ I headed for the entrance.
I pulled the door open. The person I had seen on the intercom screen began to appear through the gap.
“…!”
Even behind his mask, Seon A-hyun’s face was deathly pale. But the moment the door opened, his complexion shifted.
It was relief.
Seon A-hyun bowed his head deeply.
“Y-you were… here.”
This was driving me crazy.
I barely managed to force my mouth open.
“I… I didn’t realize I’d left my phone behind. I’m sorry. For this morning.”
“…! N-no, it’s okay. I…”
Seon A-hyun took a sharp breath and spoke without lifting his head.
“I’m sorry…”
“……”
Looking at him, it seemed like he’d been running around since dawn, so what on earth was he sorry for?
“F-for making a scene… M-Moondae, you might have n-needed some time alone… I j-just didn’t know…”
“No.”
I wanted him to stop with these damn apologies.
Suppressing those useless emotions, I tried to respond as calmly as possible.
And I failed.
“It’s the fault of the person who disappeared without a word, so let’s stop.”
“……”
“……”
Seon A-hyun fell silent instantly. I wanted to bite my tongue off.
‘You stupid idiot.’
Why did I answer like that? Was I swallowing poison instead of spit?
The silence was suffocating.
At that moment, a detached voice cut in.
“Kong-i might mistake this for a walk, so I’d appreciate it if you’d either come in or go out.”
Woof!
The sound of a dog barking echoed through the hallway. Seon A-hyun jerked his head up.
“…! I-I’m sorry. T-then… M-Moondae.”
He didn't meet my eyes. Something resembling a smile appeared on the part of his face not covered by the mask.
“W-when you… feel better… c-come back whenever you’re ready. H-here.”
“……”
Then, he carefully held out my smartphone toward my hand, as if asking me to take it.
“I t-thought you might n-need your phone…”
I stared at the dented apple logo on the back before clenching my fist.
I took the phone from him.
“…I was actually just about to head back anyway.”
“……”
“I’m coming out.”
“O-oh, okay…!”
I took the phone and stepped out the door. Seon A-hyun hurried toward the elevator to press the button.
“Woof-woof!”
And then the dog, clutching its harness in its mouth, came bounding out excitedly… Why you?
“Kong-i’s already got the wrong idea. Thanks to you, Junior, his walk ended up being quite short.”
“……”
“Kong-i, wait. Let’s put this on.”
I managed to squeeze out a few words.
“I’m sorry.”
“Sure.”
No, I was talking to your dog.
With only the dog excited as its harness was put back on, the three men rode the elevator down in silence.
I was the first to speak.
“How did you… know I was here?”
Seon A-hyun flinched slightly.
“I-I checked the C-CCTV.”
“…!”
CCTV?
He had resorted to an extreme measure I hadn't even considered.
Usually, that would require a police report or company intervention… but Seon A-hyun hadn't mentioned anything like that.
‘Wait, don’t tell me?’
“I t-told them it was an emergency and b-begged them… so I signed a c-consent form and they let me see it…”
The subject wasn't plural.
Did this guy go to the management office all by himself and beg that much?
I looked down at his feet. He was wearing slip-ons over bare feet, the heels crushed as if he’d scrambled into them in a rush.
“……”
It wasn't exactly a pleasant realization.
And yet… despite my discomfort, a strange sentiment bubbled up.
‘I guess everything hasn't completely gone to hell yet.’
The tension that had been rising to the top of my head began to recede.
I answered quietly.
“So you saw me following this… senior.”
“…Y-yeah.”
Seon A-hyun nodded vigorously.
Just as the atmosphere seemed to soften slightly—
“That’s strange… I don’t recall ever mentioning my unit number.”
“…!”
“Even so, I doubt they’d show you the interior of a building you don’t even live in… That wouldn't be enough to find me, right?”
The person in question hit the nail on the head.
But Seon A-hyun wasn't surprised.
“Y-yes… I-I called a VTIC senior and asked, and h-he told me…”
“……”
“Who?”
“S-Senior Chae-yul. H-he was kind enough to tell me right away…”
“Ah.”
I witnessed another disaster looming for the guy about to enlist.
‘Poor bastard.’
Bad things really do come all at once. Just endure it.
Cheong-ryeo parted ways with us at the first floor.
Whatever his mood, he was the type to take care of his dog, so he’d probably give it a proper walk now.
Though he did leave me with one last comment.
“Hmm, I see why you were worried. That one… he’s the type whose condition fluctuates wildly.”
“…!”
“Haha. So it was a promotion issue. Then it’s certainly worth worrying about.”
‘This bastard…’
He had immediately recognized the risk of Seon A-hyun’s stats dropping.
‘…That trait isn't just for show.’
I acknowledged Cheong-ryeo’s trait once again.
[Appraisal (A)]
: Value is rare; trash is everywhere.
— Human Resource Judgment +150%
‘…I need to be careful.’
Seeing that his appearance stat had even increased in the meantime, it seemed this guy intended to keep succeeding by any means necessary.
Cheong-ryeo dropped his lowered tone of voice.
“I won’t change my advice.”
“Yes.”
Whatever.
“Get back safely.”
I rubbed my face before finally responding.
“…Thanks for the tea.”
“Haha.”
Cheong-ryeo walked off in the opposite direction with his dog.
Silence returned once more.
Seon A-hyun didn't ask why I had followed Cheong-ryeo, nor did he pry into why I had suddenly rushed out at dawn.
We walked in silence along the path away from the apartment complex.
Then, surprisingly, Seon A-hyun was the first to speak, bringing up a different topic.
“…W-would it be okay if I… c-contacted the others to say I f-found Moondae?”
“…If we go back to the dorm now, won’t everyone be there?”
Don't tell me some of them went to the police station?
For a moment, the future looked bleak, but fortunately, there was no mention of a police report.
“T-they probably are, but… I c-came out alone, so j-just in case…”
“……”
It seemed this guy had also acted independently without looking around in his frantic state. Now that he’d regained some composure, Seon A-hyun lowered his head, seemingly embarrassed by his own actions.
I hesitated before speaking.
“Thanks. For worrying about me.”
“…! N-no…”
Seon A-hyun suddenly stopped in his tracks.
Judging by the choked sound he made… was he crying?
“Seon A-hyun.”
But he wasn't crying.
Instead, he continued in a trembling voice.
“M-Moondae. I-I know you must be tired of this… b-but could I just say… o-one thing?”
“……”
I nodded silently.
His words followed immediately, as if he had rehearsed and chewed over them many times.
“You… you are a truly amazing person, and the p-promotions… no matter what you do, you’ve always done everything s-so wonderfully. Always… there’s never been a time you weren’t. I-I mean it…”
Ah.
I recalled what he had shouted yesterday.
—Right now, y-you shouldn’t be p-promoting… It’s g-getting worse…
He was now crushing every negative implication that those words could have held.
“I… I spoke out of turn, so… Moondae, you’ve always done well…”
Standing still on the empty path in front of the dorm.
I listened to his words blankly. Seon A-hyun wasn't finished.
“T-the problem is me.”
“…!”
“I-I know… I’m the one who wavers and has f-fluctuations. E-every time… it’s been like that.”
What?
As if he had overheard Cheong-ryeo’s words, Seon A-hyun slowly delivered his verdict.
It was cruelly objective.
“B-because… it was like that before, too.”
As if already feeling a familiar sensation, he looked down at his own feet.
“Right now… I m-might be much more a-awkward than usual… and t-that will be a burden to the team…”
Seon A-hyun finished his sentence with the calm tone of someone who had already reached a conclusion.
“I-if that happens… I’ll just announce that I’m s-sick.”
“I-it’s my problem. Y-you won’t have to… say anything else.”
Seon A-hyun swallowed hard.
“And I’ll p-practice as much as the s-schedules I miss… I’ll practice h-hard.”
His voice grew increasingly desperate.
“Then, to some extent, I’ll b-be okay on s-stage. T-there won’t be a problem for the t-team… You don’t have to s-solve my problem, Moondae… It’s okay.”
“……”
“T-the person who said those things yesterday… is the one who needs to go to the h-hospital himself… so don’t m-mind what you heard yesterday. P-please forget it…”
“That’s—”
Don’t say it like that.
But before I could speak, Seon A-hyun hurriedly continued.
“B-but, Moondae. I-I know it might make you feel b-bad… but just once.”
A trembling plea was added.
“Could you… p-please get counseling?”
I turned my head.
Seon A-hyun flinched.
“I-I’m sorry. For bringing this up again…”
“……”
“And n-next time, I’ll d-definitely listen properly, I promise… I’ll listen to whatever you have to say…”
Seon A-hyun’s shoulders might have been shaking, but he never cried or raised his voice.
Though he stuttered, a conclusion had already been reached within him.
—All conflict is due to my own problems, and I will handle those problems myself.
Therefore, his request was for Park Moon-dae to feel at ease and, just once, re-examine his own condition.
“……”
I chose my words several times, then discarded them.
The logic was a mess.
But I knew what conclusion I wanted to reach.
“You said you’re ready to listen to whatever I have to say.”
Seon A-hyun nodded quickly.
Then he spoke again in a suppressed voice.
“E-even though I was the one who a-asked you to tell me…”
“No, that was my fault.”
I continued without hesitation.
Your conclusion is your conclusion, and I have mine.
“It wasn't a story anyone would find believable. Thinking back on it, it sounded like pure insanity.”
“M-Moondae…”
Seon A-hyun looked like he was holding back tears.
I nodded seriously. My thoughts naturally fell into place.
Right.
That was the root of my mistake.
“I should have explained it properly so that you had no choice but to believe it.”
“…H-huh?”
Let’s think about it.
Seon A-hyun isn't the type to have intuitive sparks of ideas or make leaps in logic.
He’s the type who filters everything to remove impurities and contradictions, leaving only the most suitable answer before he can accept it.
‘He achieved results in this album by doing exactly that.’
I knew this.
Then I should have explained it accordingly from the start.
It was clear now.
‘This… isn't a matter of trust or intimacy.’
It was a matter of timing.
Normally, I would have controlled the situation by considering all those factors, but I had made the mistake of letting go of the reins, wrongly assuming he would believe me immediately.
“You said you’d listen. Fine. I’ll explain it again, so listen up.”
“…!! T-that…”
This time, I would pack it with witnesses and evidence so there would be no room for escape.
Then, for better or worse, we would reach a conclusion with no regrets.