Chapter 114
Chapter 114
Kim Sanho returned not long after. It had been roughly the time it took Baek Gyeonwoo to clear three rounds of a game, so about five minutes had passed.
The first person to speak when Kim Sanho came back to our waiting area was Jeong Sowol.
"What's your relationship with him?"
"Oh, he's... a hyung I used to train with..."
"Whoa. You were at another company before, Sanho? Where?"
"EO......."
"Whoa! Really?"
Come to think of it, was I the only one who knew Kim Sanho was from EO?
Man, Kim Sanho really doesn't talk about himself much, does he.
I cleared my throat for no particular reason and asked on behalf of the members.
"What did you two talk about?"
"Oh, nothing much. Just asked how he'd been."
Well, five minutes was exactly enough time for that kind of brief exchange.
There didn't seem to be much else to pry into, but just in case, I double-checked.
"You two seemed close."
"Ohhh? Cha-gyeom's jealous! Afraid someone's gonna steal Sanho!"
No, what jealousy.......
I was just thinking that if there had been some bad blood between them, it could make things awkward down the line, so I wanted to confirm it now.
Kim Sanho rolled his eyes as if mulling over my question, then answered in a voice so quiet it nearly got swallowed by the ambient noise.
"I dunno....... I don't think we were that close back then."
It was an ambiguous answer, but his eyes made it clear there wasn't anything more to the story.
'So it was just a business relationship.'
I nodded and turned my gaze back to the screen where Baek Gyeonwoo was gaming.
And while I was watching the screen without much thought, Baek Gyeonwoo, who had already stopped playing, added another remark.
"You're relieved right now."
"Oh, I'm telling you, that's not it......."
* * *
The moment for announcing this week's number one on 'K-Stage'.
It was the climax of the music show, but to a rookie group in their second week since debut, it was nothing more than someone else's celebration.
We stood lined up like folding screens, ready to applaud another team's win.
And right then, someone poked me sharply in the right side.
'......I'm sixth from the right, aren't I?'
Which meant it wasn't one of our members.
I turned my head to check, and sure enough, it wasn't an unfamiliar face—well, actually, it was.
'That's the guy from earlier.'
The Hainoeo member who had taken Kim Sanho aside.
He glanced around cautiously and sidled up close to me.
Instead of asking what he wanted, I raised my eyebrows slightly to signal my confusion.
In response, he silently mouthed his words.
'Can we talk for a moment after this?'
With me?
Well, it wasn't impossible. Just a bit of a hassle.......
'I'd like to meet somewhere private.'
Even if it had been impossible, this conversation seemed worth participating in.
I gave a short nod, and only then did he take a step back and resume his role as a folding screen with full dedication.
A moment later, the winner was announced with a flashy burst of confetti, and the encore stage began.
After making an excuse to the members coming off stage that I had a quick call to make, I headed to the emergency stairwell the Hainoeo member had mentioned.
There was only one route to the emergency stairwell, so naturally... our paths overlapped.
During the awkward walk side by side, he didn't say a single word.
'How secretive is this story that he can't even speak one word?'
When we finally arrived inside the deserted emergency stairwell, his firmly shut mouth at last opened.
But his very first words were.......
"You are looking after Sanho properly, right?"
......What?
The question was so out of nowhere that I lost my words for a moment in bewilderment.
The only thing I could say was this.
"Excuse me?"
"The choreography just looks too intense for Sanho."
What on earth was this situation.
'Is he underestimating Kim Sanho's skills?'
The stamina issue was the only real problem. Kim Sanho's dancing ability was by no means terrible.
Sure, we adjusted his positioning in key parts because of that characteristic languid feel he had, but that was our problem to solve.
Was this... something for a member of another team to point out?
"I'm not sure I understand what you're getting at....... Sanho's handling his part just fine right now."
I suppressed my emotions as much as possible and answered calmly. Even if only a few months separated us, a senior was still a senior.
But despite my efforts, he shot back in a snide tone.
"Of course he's handling it fine."
Then what was his point.......
"Shouldn't you be avoiding choreography that uses the shoulder? He shouldn't be overexerting himself."
"Excuse me?"
Shoulder?
Seeing my reaction, his eyebrows lifted as if in disbelief.
"Oh, wait a second. Don't tell me."
He looked me up and down, then let out a few incredulous snorts.
"You seriously don't know?"
"What?"
"Ah, right. I can see why he wouldn't say anything. To you, especially."
No. Wasn't this getting way too openly antagonistic?
The voice from earlier that had carried the slightest hint of concern for Kim Sanho was completely gone.
"Honestly, I've been worried ever since I found out Sanho was debuting with you. Sanho's way too naive for his own good......."
"Excuse me, sunbae-nim."
I cut him off before I knew it.
I tried to pick my words carefully for a moment, but in the end, the truth that had been simmering inside just blurted out.
"Do you know me?"
And as luck would have it... he really did know me.
"Of course. You were infamous ever since your Mary days."
"......You were a trainee at Mary?"
"No. Not me. I had quite a few friends who were trainees at Mary. Thanks to them, I heard all kinds of things."
"Ah."
Good grief.
"I see....... Understood."
This was a conversation not worth continuing.
I scraped together the last shred of courtesy and bowed.
"The members are waiting for me. I should get going."
And just as I turned my back without hesitation and started down the stairs.
A mocking voice came from behind me.
"No interest in the story about Sanho's shoulder, huh? Even though he's your own teammate?"
I stopped my descent, turned just my head, and answered.
"I'm very interested. I just plan to hear it from his own mouth."
Leaving him with no reply, I disappeared completely from his line of sight.
Thud, thud. The sound of my footsteps going down the stairs felt louder than usual.
* * *
'Shoulder?'
In the car on the way back to the dorm.
My head was filled with the conversation from the emergency stairwell.
'So basically, there's something wrong with Kim Sanho's shoulder.'
But over the past several months, I had never once seen Kim Sanho show any discomfort or pain because of his shoulder.
I'd only known that he lacked stamina.
And this stamina problem... actually had a more fundamental cause.
Lethargy.
Something only the President and I knew: last year, Kim Sanho had suffered from a fairly deep depression and the accompanying lethargy, caused by prolonged parental control compounded by the shock of being dropped from the debut lineup.
Fortunately, after I brought him out—less 'solving' his problems and more dragging him out by force from Kim Harok's family home—he had gradually shown signs of improvement.
He still struggled, but he had no major trouble keeping up with our practice schedule.
So I'd assumed the stamina problem was pretty much resolved by now.......
'What choreography even uses the shoulder?'
How bad was it, and exactly where and to what extent, and what range of movement was safe without overdoing it.
If it was serious, we'd have to make adjustments.
Ah, damn, my head was a mess.
'Why didn't he say anything?'
Of course, the mere fact that Kim Sanho's shoulder had a problem was a significant issue for our team's future activities.
It could place restrictions on our choreography, and if the injury were to worsen during promotions... just thinking about it was horrifying.
But more than the fact itself, what was needling at my nerves even more sharply was something else.
―Ah, right. I can see why he wouldn't say anything. To you, especially.
'What the hell does that even mean?'
Did it mean Kim Sanho hadn't simply not mentioned it, but had deliberately hidden it from me?
The thoughts chained together, one leading to another. A feeling of irritation and unease lingered in a corner of my chest.
"......."
I must have been frowning without realizing it, because Han Neuti in the seat next to me glanced over and asked cautiously.
"What's wrong? Not feeling well?"
"No, I'm just a bit tired."
I brushed it off vaguely, but my head remained a tangled, unraveled knot.
'......Let's just observe for now.'
Rather than prodding recklessly, I'd watch Kim Sanho's condition more closely first. Starting with whether he showed any signs of discomfort during choreography practice later today.
That was the moment I'd reached a carefully weighed, prudent decision.
From the back, a carefree voice rang out.
"Sanho hyung, is your shoulder bad?"
......Huh?
"Oh, um....... How did you know?"
"I was reading fansign reviews. They said you told a fan directly. That you quit violin because you hurt your shoulder."
"What? Sanho, your shoulder's bad? Why didn't you say anything!"
"Well... it's fine now... that was just an excuse I made up because I didn't want to play violin anymore......."
.......
'Are you kidding me?'
The first thought that came to me, before the hollow realization that all my serious worries from just moments ago had been a complete waste of time, was this.
'What's that guy's deal?'
Why did he act like he knew something?
* * *
"Ah, you mean Seho hyung."
Having decided there was no particular reason to hide it, I went straight to Kim Sanho's room as soon as we arrived at the dorm and spilled everything about what had happened in the emergency stairwell.
After hearing the whole story, Kim Sanho answered calmly.
"Yeah, that hyung's always had that side to him. He just... how should I put it, he likes being overly protective of people. He was like that back then too."
That definitely tracked with what I'd seen.
"......Did you talk about me with him back in your trainee days?"
At my question, Kim Sanho tilted his head and rummaged through his memory.
"Yes."
"What kind of stuff?"
Kim Sanho answered blankly, as if relaying someone else's story he'd read about in the newspaper.
"I heard you told a trainee who was sick that if they were going to be ill that often, maybe they shouldn't be an idol... or something like that?"
"Yeah. And?"
"That's it."
......Ha, seriously.
I ruffled my hair and flopped down onto the bed.
Since it was Kim Sanho's room, his roommate Baek Gyeonwoo was naturally present and smoothly inserted himself into our conversation.
"Sounds about right."
No, never mind right or wrong—did I really say something like that straight to someone's face.......
'Did I?'
I might have.
It was so long ago that it was hazy.
Alright, even if I did say it, wasn't it, as Baek Gyeonwoo said, correct?
If your body couldn't hold up, you'd miss schedules frequently, you'd have a lot of stage absences, and you'd make fans worry.
I still had no intention of retracting my past statement.
Feeling a sense of alignment with my past self, I glanced sidelong at Kim Sanho's shoulder.
"Your shoulder's really fine?"
"Yes."
"How did you get hurt?"
"Oh, a fall accident. But it's nothing serious."
Kim Sanho kneaded his own shoulder and, as if to prove it, swung his arm around in a full circle.
When I still didn't drop my skeptical look, Kim Sanho blinked and continued his explanation.
"The gym director said it looked fine, too."
"The boxing gym?"
"Yes. I told him when I first signed up."
Then... it was probably fine.
Only then did I nod and leave the two's room.
And so, the matter appeared to be settled.