119. The Reason for Action (6)

"Alright, all done."

"Thanks, hyung."

Si-woo carefully finished disinfecting and applying ointment to Ha-jin's bloodied hands before wrapping them with gauze. As Ha-jin bowed his head in thanks, Si-woo glanced at him, then at the youngest members kneeling on the floor beside them, and let out a small sigh.

Then, in a cynical tone, he gave Ha-jin some advice.

"If you're hurt, go to the hospital."

"...Huh?"

"You did this last time too. The day Yu-geon disappeared. I told you to take medicine and rest, but you stubbornly went all the way to the convenience store next door to find Yu-geon and bring him back."

"No, that day I wasn't even hurt..."

"How could you not be hurt? You had a fever. Your body was burning up, your face was red. Did you think I told Eun-chan to take you away, give you medicine, and put you to bed for no reason?"

Jung Si-woo scolded Ha-jin quite firmly.

Ha-jin was surprised—first, by the fact that he had actually been hurt, and second, by how stern Si-woo was being.

This was the first time he'd seen Si-woo this angry, so Ha-jin didn't even think of arguing and just kept his mouth shut. Now that he thought about it, he really had done something worth scolding.

"Since the company will be doing health checkups and psychological evaluations soon, I won't report this incident separately to the staff. But if you're hurt, go to the hospital and get treated. Don't try to fool yourself or others by saying you're fine."

"...Yes. I'm sorry for causing concern, hyung."

Instinctively sensing he should keep his head down, Ha-jin quickly lowered it. Si-woo exhaled deeply.

Then, turning to the youngest members waiting their turn, he added,

"You guys should be asleep by now. What are you doing playing games this late? At your age, managing your sleep should be basic."

"...Sorry."

"Be glad it's just me. If you'd woken up the others, what would you have done? ...Given the situation, I won't say more. Just make sure to sleep at the right time from now on. Don't doze off during practice tomorrow."

"Okay..."

As the youngest members answered glumly, Ha-jin felt bad that they were getting scolded because of him.

Avoiding Si-woo's gaze, he mouthed a quick "Sorry" to the youngest members, but Si-woo, with uncanny perception, noticed without even looking at him.

"If you're going to apologize, do it properly."

"Huh?"

"You scared them. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠How terrifying must it have been to see you covered in blood in the middle of the night? Apologize properly and show them you're okay so they don't have nightmares."

Then, nodding at the youngest members who had been fidgeting on their knees, he said,

"Come take a look. I'm leaving."

As Si-woo got up, the youngest members rushed toward Ha-jin.

"Hyung!!! You're really okay, right!?"

"Sh-shouldn't you go to the hospital now!? That was really scary earlier!"

"Hey, hey! Keep it down! You're scaring Ha-jin hyung!"

"Yuki was really scared too!"

"Hyung, what if this leaves a scar...?"

Though he played with them often, he hadn't expected such intense concern.

But even he had to admit that his earlier state was nightmare fuel. So, feeling a sense of responsibility toward the worried youngest members, Ha-jin showed them his now-fine body.

"It's just a cut from something sharp like a razor. It was dark, so I didn't realize how much it was bleeding."

Truthfully, he'd been too dizzy to even feel the pain.

Still, the wound wasn't that bad—just a few days of gauze and ointment would do the trick.

'Still, it's nice they care.'

At least there were no filming schedules for a while, so that was a relief.

As he comforted the puppy-like youngest members surrounding him, Ha-jin thought to himself.

And the very next day, Ha-jin found himself smacking his forehead at his own complacency.

'...I should never have jinxed it like that!'

He wanted to take back yesterday's thought about being glad there were no Miro Maze filming schedules. Clearly, his life was firmly entrenched in the tropes of #misunderstanding #cliché #predictable!

Facing Ji Soo-ho, who was beaming across from him, Ha-jin asked again,

"We're doing a special stage? On A-Countdown? With 'To You'? And it's filming tomorrow?"

"Yep. Apparently, one of the stages suddenly fell through. Since 'To You' is getting good reactions anyway, NTV proposed it to us."

The news Ji Soo-ho delivered after summoning the "Sad Ending" team first thing in the morning was none other than their appearance on a music show.

"Since it was decided last minute, the schedule is tight... But either way, appearing on a music show will be a good experience for you guys. The broadcasting station agreed to adjust everything except the timing to fit our needs."

Ji Soo-ho smiled brightly and told them to think it over slowly, but honestly, no one in the room needed time to decide.

"I'm in. But we'll get separate practice time today, right?"

Tae-hyun eagerly jumped at the offer. Soo-ho nodded as if it were obvious.

"Of course. This is your first music show—how could we not give you proper practice time? That's why I called you so early. There's a lot to prepare if you're doing it."

"Then I want to do it. What about everyone else?"

Tae-hyun's gaze locked onto Ha-jin. Feeling the silent pressure of Tae-hyun's burning eyes urging him to say yes, Ha-jin subtly hid his injured hand under the desk and answered,

"I'll do it too. If they're offering, we should. But will fans be in the audience?"

"No. The schedule's too tight, and it's a pre-recording anyway, so there won't be ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a live audience. It'd be better to perform for fans, but oh well."

With Ha-jin agreeing after Tae-hyun, the decision was quickly made.

Fortunately, except for Ha-jin, who had taken his school uniform home after the last competition, the rest of the team were still in high school, so stage outfits wouldn't be a problem.

"We'll get Ha-jin's uniform from home. Can you let your parents know?"

"Ah, yeah. I'll tell my mom."

"Good. I've already reserved Practice Room A for today, so you can rehearse there. I'll be there tomorrow to take care of you guys, so don't stress too much—just do what you've practiced."

"Yes!"

"Good job, kids. Remember, this is all because of your hard work. Go grab breakfast before the cafeteria closes. Eat well—today's menu is delicious."

Ji Soo-ho dismissed the "Sad Ending" team with a proud expression. At the mention of their first music show, Ha-ru and Jae-young were already buzzing with excitement, giggling among themselves.

As the trainees got up to leave, Soo-ho suddenly remembered something and quickly spoke up.

"Ah, Ha-jin and Tae-hyun, can you stay for a sec?"

"...? Sure."

Ha-jin, who had already half-risen from his chair at the mention of "today's menu is delicious," spun back around and sat down properly.

"Hmm. I was thinking of telling Tae-hyun separately, but I think Ha-jin should know too."

After confirming that Jayden, Ha-ru, and Jae-young had left the office, Soo-ho cautiously broached the subject. Tae-hyun, sitting beside him, seemed to have already guessed what it was about, quietly lowering his gaze with a bitter smile.

'...What's with this atmosphere?'

Why am I the only one out of the loop?

Ha-jin, who hated this kind of tension, quickly glanced between the two. Soo-ho cleared his throat and got to the point.

"We're trying to adjust the schedule to avoid overlap, but... there's a chance your recording might coincide with B-Liver's tomorrow."

Ah.

Hearing that, Ha-jin immediately understood why Soo-ho had called them aside.

B-Liver. That group was familiar to Ha-jin too...

"Of course, it's all in the past, but I thought Tae-hyun should know."

B-Liver was a spin-off group formed by the debut team from "Boyhood Under Heaven"—the same show Seo Tae-hyun had been eliminated from.

Due to their short contract period, the original group, B-Light, which had debuted through "Boyhood Under Heaven," had disbanded sometime last year, if Ha-jin recalled correctly.

'Was B-Liver's comeback around now?'

B-Liver was a group formed by three popular members from B-Light—all from the same agency—after the disbandment.

They debuted immediately after the breakup, drawing some criticism from fans who accused them of planning B-Light's demise all along...

'But their results were decent.'

In fact, fans who liked the trio's chemistry praised the agency for handling things well.

Either way, they were probably an uncomfortable presence for Tae-hyun.

'Meanwhile, Tae-hyun spent three years rotting at Miro without debuting and is still stuck in survival shows. At least it's not those Rene bastards... Wait, no.'

Ha-jin caught himself mid-thought, shaking his head to stop that train of thought.

He was determined not to jinx things again.

[System Alert: The life of a cliché-savvy fanboy...]

[System Alert: (Shaking head)]

Sipsam, who had popped up out of nowhere, interjected, but Ha-jin muted him out of habit.

[System Alert: Fool me twice, shame on me—but not a third time!]

[System Alert: Ahahaha!!!]

But Sipsam, having apparently hacked the system, reappeared undeterred.

Unfazed by the taunting, Ha-jin calmly reduced the transparency.

[System Alert: Aaaah! How do you even do this!??]

Ignoring Sipsam's whining, Ha-jin turned to Tae-hyun.

"What about you? Will you be okay if you run into them?"

"...I knew they were having a comeback. It was in the news, and those hyungs contacted me directly."

What was Tae-hyun's relationship with the B-Liver members? If they were still in touch, it couldn't be that bad, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠right?

As Ha-jin and Soo-ho scrutinized Tae-hyun's expression, Tae-hyun calmly shared his thoughts.

"Still... I'd prefer not to run into them if possible. If we're recording the same day, it might be unavoidable, but... I'd rather avoid unnecessary talk."

"Got it. I'll talk to A-Countdown's team about it. I'll be there tomorrow, but if things get complicated, I'm counting on you two to take care of the others. I'm trusting you."

"Yes."

"Sure. ...Thanks for looking out for us, Team Leader."

Tae-hyun nodded gratefully. Soo-ho, as if embarrassed, laughed and patted Tae-hyun's shoulder.

"I should be thanking you for making such amazing stages since coming to Miro. Now, you two go eat. Don't skip breakfast."

As the warm moment ended, Ha-jin raised his hand.

"I have a question."

"Sure, what is it?"

"What's for breakfast today?"

"Tteokmandu-guk, I think?"

At that answer, Ha-jin's eyes lit up—his brain had been struggling to function from hunger. Grabbing Tae-hyun's arm, he stood up abruptly.

"Awesome. Then we'll get going. Hey, Seo Tae-hyun, get up."

"Huh? Why me... I don't even eat breakfast!"

"Then watch me eat. I hate eating alone. The others probably already ate anyway."

"...What kind of hyung are you?"

"A grandpa, you ungrateful brat. Team Leader, we're off."

"Ah, yeah. Enjoy."

"Ugh, seriously... ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠We'll be going, Team Leader. Hey! Slow down!"

With a sigh, Tae-hyun bowed to Soo-ho and was promptly dragged out by Ha-jin. Even after leaving the office, their bickering could be heard for a while. Listening to the noise fondly, Soo-ho sat back down with a smile.

"...Was I worried for nothing?"

Even as he said that, he pulled up the A-Countdown PD's number on his phone.

Determined to ensure the kids' first music show went perfectly, he felt a surge of motivation.