Kim Tae-oh.
Kim Tae-oh.
After Dad and I got home, I went into the shower to wash up.
And right after that, Lee Jin-seok came into our house.
Lee Jin-seok had to sweat buckets convincing Dad to just let this one go.
The voices were loud enough to reach me even in the shower...
Dad shouting, demanding to know what the hell Taebaek was to make any of this necessary—
I had never seen him that agitated in my life.
A few hours later, when Dad came out of his room and saw me, his eyes instantly welled up.
I hugged him and whispered that we should sleep together tonight, just like old times.
"Dad, I'm really okay, so stop worrying."
Dad buried himself in my arms and breathed deep, like he was trying to inhale every last trace of my shampoo.
He held me for a long time without letting go.
I stroked his hair and said,
"Nothing happened to me. Don't worry."
"You—!"
"Dad. I'm telling you I'm fine. Look at me. I'm totally fine. And, for the record, no seventeen-year-old daughter loves it when her scruffy-faced dad rubs his face all over hers, you know?"
"......"
"You should've seen Tae-oh and Ji-hoon. They literally flew in on motorcycles and jumped onto the ship. It was insane."
"Haah..."
"You did hear that if I hadn't been with Da-yeon, it could've been a lot worse for me, right?"
"...Yeah."
Lee Jin-seok had explained to Dad that Taebaek had an objective with me too.
Of course, he left out the truth about that room...
"If Tae-oh or Ji-hoon hadn't been there, it really would've been dangerous. But there's no universe where Da-yeon doesn't have Tae-oh next to her, so."
Dad couldn't tear his eyes away from my face, like he was trying to check every single one of my expressions, every feature.
I playfully pushed his face away with my hand.
"Da-yeon's the one with the problem because she's so sensitive. I'm fine~ You know your daughter. I'm a total reckless idiot who doesn't get how serious things are."
"Si-yoon... this is actually serious..."
"Would you rather I never came out of my room, just stayed huddled in a corner sniffling?"
"...No."
"I was a little startled. But I mean a little, so don't worry."
"Okay..."
"I'm more worried about Da-yeon than me..."
I talked with Dad for a long time, and after I'd finally managed to reassure him, we fell asleep.
As expected...
Da-yeon couldn't leave the house.
So I had no choice. As soon as I finished eating, I headed straight to Da-yeon's place.
-"Who is it?"
"It's me."
-"Oh, it's you, Si-yoon. Come in, dear."
The house had the atmosphere of a funeral.
Da-yeon wouldn't even open her door, so Lee Jin-seok had cautiously sent out an SOS.
He'd called first to make absolutely sure I hadn't been too badly shaken myself, and only then did he carefully ask the favor. Lee Jin-seok, who these days was insanely busy with Hanseong's India expansion. The fact that he was asking me for help meant Da-yeon's condition must really have him distraught.
Kim Seon-hwa came up to me and hugged me tight.
"Si-yoon... are you okay?"
"I'm okay. You said Da-yeon hasn't eaten anything. Please get her to eat something while we talk."
I tried to move past naturally, but Kim Seon-hwa grabbed my shoulders and looked into my eyes.
"...Are you really okay? Si-yoon."
"Me? It kind of felt like a fan signing event. They were actually super careful with me..."
Convinced I was forcing myself to act fine just to reassure her, Kim Seon-hwa—
like Dad—held me tight for a long time without letting go.
I took the food Kim Seon-hwa had prepared for me and knocked on Da-yeon's door.
"Da-yeon, it's me."
"Si-yoon... I'm sorry... please go back..."
"...I'm having a really hard time too... I was hoping Da-yeon could cheer me up..."
"......"
There was a moment of silence, and then Da-yeon's door opened, and I went inside.
The second I stepped in, she locked the door again. Her face was completely swollen, and the moment she saw me, she threw her arms around me and burst into tears like a little kid.
"Si-yoon... hh-hhk... are you okay...?"
"Yeah... you were really scared too, weren't you..."
"I was so, so scared..."
Da-yeon's face was a mess of tears.
I tore off a tissue and wiped her face.
Da-yeon cried into my arms for a while, holding me tight.
I hugged her back just as tightly, and we slowly started to talk.
"Da-yeon. In all those cartoons and comics, the princess always ends up in danger, right?"
"I don't want to be a princess..."
"And when pretty main characters end up in danger, a handsome guy always comes to save them. Like how Tae-oh and Ji-hoon came to save us?"
"I don't want to be pretty either... it's scary..."
It was a good thing my pajamas were fleece. They absorbed every last one of Da-yeon's tears like a towel.
I stroked Da-yeon's hair. She seemed to have regressed into a little child.
"Si-yoon... aren't you scared?"
"I'm scared too..."
I looked at Da-yeon's reddened face and pinched her soft cheek.
Her lips flattened into a straight line as her cheek stretched out.
Honestly, it was way too cute, but I didn't let it show and kept talking.
"But if I act like I'm fine, won't that help everyone else around me relax?"
"......"
"Da-yeon, you can cry as much as you need to. I'll be strong enough for both of us."
"Si-yoon..."
"If I started crying too, all the adults would have an even harder time."
I said it to reassure her, but after hearing that, Da-yeon seemed to take real comfort in it. She stayed in my arms for a long time and wouldn't let me go.
Time passed, and once Da-yeon had calmed down to some degree, I slowly brought it up.
"Still, Tae-oh and Ji-hoon got hurt pretty badly because of us. Shouldn't we go see them?"
"Yeah..."
"I'll stay with you until you're feeling better, Da-yeon. And once you're okay, we're going together to thank Tae-oh and Ji-hoon. Got it?"
"Yeah."
Da-yeon hugged me tight again and stayed in my arms for a long time, then she breathed in my scent, seemed to find her calm, and fell asleep.
The position was awkward, and I didn't want to risk waking her, so I just fell asleep like that too.
Eventually, the sound of a stomach growling echoed, and Da-yeon's eyes opened. She stirred, and that woke me up too.
"Yaaawn..."
Da-yeon, whose stomach had just made that growling noise, still didn't say a word, probably still too down. I glanced at the juk I'd left on her desk earlier.
"Hold on, I'll go heat up the juk."
"No, let's go... together."
I smiled at her.
"Should we?"
For a good while after that, Da-yeon and I made a habit of sleeping together every night. Either I'd sleep at Da-yeon's, or Da-yeon would sleep at our place.
After delaying and delaying, Da-yeon finally spoke up, as if she'd made up her mind.
"Let's go... see Ji-hoon and Tae-oh."
"Okay."
I left Da-yeon in her room and went to talk to Lee Jin-seok.
Me, Da-yeon, Dad, Lee Jin-seok—all of us moved out with dozens of bodyguards.
I sent a text to Park Ji-hoon, who was with Kim Tae-oh.
(Me) — I'm heading there now, so play it cool. Don't overdo it. You say the wrong thing and you're dead.
(Ji-hoon) — okay, okay~
(Me) — You little shit, you're making me nervous as hell... just try to mess this up. I'll break every bone in your body.
(Ji-hoon) — no seriously just trust me dammit
(Me) — ...?
(Ji-hoon) — srysrysrysrysrysrysrysrysry
It was a nerve-wracking reaction from Park Ji-hoon, but what could I do? He was one of only two subordinates I had left now... I had to trust him.
The moment we stepped outside, eyes naturally locked onto us.
Sure, the fact that we had dozens of bodyguards with us was part of it.
But how Da-yeon and I looked also did its fair share of the work.
At Kim Seon-hwa's advice to look as strong as possible,
'If Korea had nobility, this is what they'd look like.' We wore outfits that seemed to project exactly that.
Before we went inside, I received the fruit basket.
Only Da-yeon and I went inside where Kim Tae-oh and Park Ji-hoon were; the bodyguards waited outside.
"Yooo~ you're here?"
Park Ji-hoon greeted me when he saw me.
In complete contrast to that casual greeting, the state Kim Tae-oh and Park Ji-hoon were in was unspeakable.
They were wrapped head to toe in bandages, and half their faces were black and blue.
Da-yeon flinched, startled at the sight of them.
But then the thought that they'd ended up like this protecting her hit, and she immediately started to tear up.
"I'm... sorry."
Kim Tae-oh, flustered, spoke to her.
"No, it's fine. I did my duty, and you weren't hurt. That's enough for me to be completely satisfied."
Park Ji-hoon watched this scene and snorted a laugh.
"They saved you, shouldn't you give them each a big hug or some—"
Thwack.
Park Ji-hoon's sentence didn't get finished because of the fruit I hurled at him like a four-seam fastball. A shocked Da-yeon shrieked.
"Eek! Si-yoon, what are you doing?! Are you okay?!"
While Da-yeon went over to them, I hid from her line of sight and silently pulled out the knife stuck in the basket.
Both of them flinched at the sight.
I crossed my legs as naturally as you please and started peeling the fruit.
"Thanks... for saving us...?"
""No, not at all.""
Da-yeon's eyes went perfectly round when she saw the speed at which I stripped the peel off the fruit.
"Whoa, you're crazy good at that."
"You want to try, Da-yeon?"
"Yeah!"
Maybe just being out of the house was lifting her spirits, but Da-yeon had brightened right back up before I knew it.
I stayed next to her and showed her carefully how to use the knife.
The moment I peeled a piece of fruit and popped it into my own mouth, the two of them stared.
Park Ji-hoon looked at me and said,
"Wasn't that... ours?"
"What, this? It's for me and Da-yeon. If there's any left after we eat, you can have it. You guys eat the peels too, right?"
"......"
"I mean... it's not like it's pear skin you're eating...?"
Da-yeon giggled and handed a piece of fruit she'd peeled to Tae-oh. Park Ji-hoon watched her do it and demanded,
"What about me?!"
"I gave this to Tae-oh because he worked hard protecting me as my bodyguard. You go ask Si-yoon for yours."
"Excuse me—hey. I didn't protect you?! And do you really think she's gonna give me any?"
"Then just don't eat any!"
"Wow...! Wow!!!"
Da-yeon giggled mischievously and handed Park Ji-hoon a piece of fruit too.
"Because of me... thank you... really."
"It wasn't because of you. Don't worry."
"Hehe... yeah... thanks."
We sat there talking and eating fruit for a long time, and Da-yeon gradually got brighter and brighter.
After that day, a week flew by in a flash.
Da-yeon seemed to have gotten a lot better; she was back to her usual self now, and Dad was back to normal too.
I was texting Kim Tae-oh on my phone.
(Me) — What're you doing.
(Kim Tae-oh) — Yes, I'm preparing to be discharged right now.
(Me) — Been a while since I heard you use formal speech. You little shit...
(Kim Tae-oh) — I apologize.
(Me) — The hell? Stop with the extreme honorifics.
(Kim Tae-oh) — But...
(Me) — I said stop. Treat me like you usually do.
There was a brief silence, and then Kim Tae-oh replied.
(Kim Tae-oh) — k.
(Me) — Tae-oh.
(Kim Tae-oh) — yeah?
(Me) — I told you to drop the extreme honorifics, you son of a bitch. Why'd you suddenly get so fucking casual, asshole?
(Kim Tae-oh) — Ah... sorry.
(Me) — Treat me like you normally do. The Kang Han-seong you knew is gone now.
(Kim Tae-oh) — k k~
(Me) — Who the hell taught you how to text?
(Kim Tae-oh) — It's become a habit, sorry.
(Me) — Ha... Anyway, let's meet in three days.
(Kim Tae-oh) — Got it.
I snorted a quiet laugh and looked over at Alpha and Beta.
Ever since the incident that day, Dad seemed completely fine on the surface now, but he hadn't done a single broadcast since.
I watched him and said,
"Dad, come to my room."
"Huh? Just a sec~"
"Hurry up."
Dad finished what he was doing and dashed over to me.
"What's up?"
"Start making music again."
"No... I don't want to."
"Why? Because getting more famous will put me in more danger, so you're scared?"
"......"
I patted the sofa next to me, telling him to come sit.
Seeing my gesture, Dad naturally sat right down beside me.
I looked at him and said,
"Do you remember, years ago, when you were so overprotective you wouldn't let me leave the house? And because of that, I didn't go on Next-Door Hyungnim for a while?"
"...Yeah."
"But no matter what, I still ended up being an issue anyway. The second my face pops up anywhere, I'm instantly famous. 'Kim Si-yoon's latest update' and all that."
Dad had nothing to say to that.
"At times like this... I think it might actually be safer to get so famous that nobody can even dare to mess with me. Become the absolute best."
"...That's true..."
I grinned at Dad, and he stroked my hair.
And then, as if he'd made some kind of decision, he immediately tried to go to his studio, so I grabbed his arm.
"How about you feed me first? You want me to starve?"
"Ah!"
This time, I left Da-yeon behind and went to the hospital on my own to see Kim Tae-oh and Park Ji-hoon.
The moment he saw me, Kim Tae-oh knelt up stiffly on his bed.
"Good to see you, you little shit."
"...I truly... had no idea it was you, Boss."
The second I saw Kim Tae-oh, I burst out laughing after holding it in all this time.
"Hey Ji-hoon! This bastard, he confessed to me! Ahahaha!"
I stood next to Park Ji-hoon and the two of us pointed our fingers at Kim Tae-oh, cackling.
"...Jae-hyeong already gave me hell for it."
"He did? Still, confessing to a fifteen-year-old, isn't that a bit much?"
"......"
I flipped my hair back with one hand like I was shaking it out.
"What? Am I that pretty?"
"Please don't..."
""Ahahahahaha!""
Park Ji-hoon next to me was guffawing so hard he couldn't breathe.
"Ahahahahaha!"
"Kahahahahaha!"
"You dumbass! I knew this would happen! Going around confessing and shit—hahaha!"
"Fuck, this bastard seriously called me out and then—"
Kim Tae-oh's face went bright red. He clenched his fists and stared down at the hospital bed.
The sight of him just made me laugh even harder, and I kept pointing at him, cackling.
"Ahem. Ahem. 'I'm supposed to keep my eyes on Da-yeon so I can protect her, but I can't stop thinking about you.'"
I did a perfect voice imitation, and I didn't miss a single syllable of what Kim Tae-oh had said to me. He went an even deeper shade of red and lunged at me.
Park Ji-hoon looked at me, eyes full of expectation, telling me to hurry up and say the next part.
I kept dodging Kim Tae-oh as I spoke.
"I've finally realized my feelings. I like you...' Ahahaha!"
"DON'T!!!"
The hospital room instantly turned into utter chaos.
Once things calmed down, we all sat down.
"Well, anyway. Now that I know who you are, let me just say this: I'm fucking happy to see you, Park Gi."
"...Yes."
"And this son of a bitch is sulking again. What's with that silence?"
"It's nothing."
"Don't use formal speech. You might be comfortable with it, but it's weird for me."
"...Fine."
"So, something I'm curious about. There had to be a specific trigger that made you start protecting Da-yeon."
Kim Tae-oh was silent for a moment, then nodded.
"I mean... Lee Jin-seok... I was the one who made him like that."
"Hey, that was my order. Why are you carrying around guilt for it?"
Park Ji-hoon next to me started running his mouth, agreeing with me and saying it was all my fault. So I pulled something out of my pocket.
"".....""
The pink-gold knuckles I'd gotten as a gift from Oh Tae-hyeon...
Park Ji-hoon flinched the moment he saw them, went dead silent, and very naturally adjusted his position on the bed—onto his knees.
"Anyway. Now that I know you're Park Gi, I'll say it one more time. Da-yeon is off limits. Don't you dare set your sights on her."
"...Obviously."
"And don't use formal speech with me around other people."
"Understood."
"So, were Boss's ass and thighs pretty soft?"
"......"
""Kahahahahahahahaha! Haaaaahahaha!""
Park Ji-hoon and I pointed our fingers at Kim Tae-oh and started endlessly mocking him with the happiest expressions on earth.