[Ka Jeriim! You bastard, where are you!]
“Me? I’m at Go Yoon, sunbae-nim’s house.”
[What?! (Where did Jerim say he is? No, is Jerim okay?)]
I heard Onseol asking Director Gye from beside him.
“I’m fine, nothing happened.”
[You think you’re fine?]
“Pardon?”
[Haven’t you checked the internet? An article just came out saying there was almost another accident at the place where Go Yoon had his accident!]
What does this mean. When I didn’t answer, Director Gye continued talking.
[Get on the internet right now!]
“Just a moment!”
What does he mean by accident. Quickly going on the internet, I opened my eyes wide seeing that the search ranking was 1st place Go Yoon, 2nd place traffic accident, 3rd place trauma.
Reading the article with [Exclusive] written at the very top, it was about how Yoon-i hyung had just made a sharp turn at the intersection where I died, even running a red light. And it had the title [Go Yoon, Still Traumatized?].
“What kind of article title is this.”
My expression naturally frowned at the provocative title. The back of Yoon-i hyung’s car was blatantly photographed.
“Was there a reporter tailing Yoon-i sunbae-nim’s car?”
When did they attach? No, in the first place, since we were only in the car, there was almost no opportunity for a reporter to attach. Hearing my words, Director Gye sighed long as if asking didn’t I even know that, and told me.
[Did you stop by a cafe in the middle?]
“Yes. But how do you know, Director?”
[You were photographed starting from the cafe. Do you know there’s a broadcasting station around there, or not?]
“Ah……”
So there was a broadcasting station nearby.
[There’s already an overflow of reporters trying to find out Go Yoon’s current situation. The reporter was probably at the cafe too, discovered Go Yoon and immediately tailed him.]
There were too many people in the world who wanted to know about Yoon-i hyung’s current situation. That’s why last time, just going out in front of his house resulted in witness articles being posted, and they even made it to the main page—I only heard about it, but actually experiencing it, I didn’t know it was this serious.
[But looking at the article, Go Yoon suddenly turned sharply at the intersection where he had the traffic accident last time and almost got into an accident, are you okay?]
I couldn’t answer since it wasn’t in my memory.
[Even a video of it came out. Everyone’s making a fuss saying Go Yoon might be mentally dangerous because of trauma. But they said there was a passenger in that car, and no matter how much I think about it, that’s you!]
“……Right?”
[Riight?]
Good grief, look at this unbelievable bastard.
Director, please calm down!
Beyond the phone, the director whose blood pressure had risen was shouting, not knowing what to do. And beside him, unlike the director, I could hear the voices of staff members buzzing as they dissuaded him from killing me who was so carefree.
Should I hang up the phone. Just when I was thinking that, fortunately Onseol took over the call.
[Yeah. Jerim. It’s me, Seol. What happened? You’re not hurt, right?]
“Seol-i hyung? I’m not hurt at all.”
[Then what happened to the car? Everyone was worried because they said you almost hit a roadside tree while turning.]
Hearing Onseol’s worried voice, I awkwardly scratched my cheek. Originally it was a vehicle trying to turn right from the third lane, but because I suddenly fainted, it seems he ran the red light and changed to a different route. After hesitating, I finally opened my mouth.
“I fainted so it seems Yoon-i hyung urgently changed direction……”
[Not Go Yoon but you fainted?!]
Director Gye heard my voice like a ghost, jumped in surprise, snatched the phone from Onseol and shouted.
“I get pretty bad car sickness.”
[Who faints from car sickness!]
“……Here?”
[Are you joking right now?!]
It’s not a joke, it’s really like that. To be precise, it’s not because of car sickness but because of trauma, but since I didn’t want to talk about trauma, I was vaguely passing it off as car sickness when my eyes suddenly met with Yoon-i hyung standing in front.
When did he come. Wondering if he might have heard the conversation, I looked at hyung with a slightly tense face, but he asked me as if he had just come in.
“Are you done with the call?”
“……Yes. Almost.”
[Is he beside yo…… I mean, is he there.]
“Ah, yes. Director, I’ll come right now.”
I’m sorry to Director Gye who was about to ask if he was beside me but hurriedly changed his form of address, but Director Gye’s voice was already too loud so I think Yoon-i hyung heard everything. Anyway, as soon as I answered that I’d go soon and hung up the phone, Yoon-i hyung opened his mouth.
“Do you have to go now?”
“……I’m sorry.”
“It can’t be helped.”
“I’m really sorry.”
In the end, time to leave approached without any gap to have a proper conversation.
I didn’t know what to do with myself, feeling sorry that I had to leave after causing nothing but trouble without properly hearing what Yoon-i hyung was trying to ask me, but he kept saying it was fine and told me to go now.
At those words, I eventually went to the shoe rack, found my shoes, put them on and stood up. But I couldn’t take another step at Yoon-i hyung’s voice that followed.
“Cha Hohyeon.”
What?
When I quickly turned my head at that sound, he was standing still in front of the shoe rack with his arms crossed, looking at me.
“―Were you acquainted with him?”
“No, no.”
I immediately denied it.
That startled me. Why is he suddenly asking something like that.
I grabbed my fluttering heart and shook my head. However, the real question came next.
“Then how did you know about <Poison Cup>?”
“<Poison Cup>?”
“The song you sang at the monthly evaluation.”
As Yoon-i hyung knew that I sang <Poison Cup>, I gradually began to turn pale.
If he had asked whether I knew the song called <Poison Cup> and then asked if I was acquainted with Cha Hohyeon, I could have said I received the song because we were close and escaped this awkward situation.
But now I had already firmly stated we weren’t acquainted, so there was no hole to escape through.
“That.”
Even wringing my brain, no excuse came to mind so I bit my lips hard.
No matter how much I pondered, I couldn’t see an answer. Because I never thought at all that he was looking for me because of <Poison Cup>. By the way, how does Yoon-i hyung have the monthly evaluation video? We’re not even the same agency, we’re completely different agencies.
“Th, that is.”
♩~!
At that moment, my ringtone rang. The ringtone stopped once then rang again, but Yoon-i hyung just stared at me blankly.
‘Should I bolt?’
Should I just run away? I hated myself for being so irresponsible, but that was the best method. Bowing my head deeply in frustration, I fiddled with the ringing phone. The call ended and…….
♩~
Rang again.
I just stood still in a frozen state, and then Yoon-i hyung suddenly opened his mouth.
“Seems urgent.”
“Sunbae-nim, I’m really sorry but…… I think I need to go now.”
This was the limit of my petty trick to escape this situation. Of course, I didn’t think hyung would obediently let me go, so I said it half-giving up. However.
“Okay.”
I was flustered seeing Yoon-i hyung readily nodding his head. According to common sense, anyone would normally press further here, but he even gestured for me to hurry and go as I hesitated.
But I should go when he tells me to go, I shouldn’t dawdle here and show suspicious signs. I’m already suspicious enough.
I quickly pressed the front door button. But I fumbled my hand in my impatience and pressed the wrong button, and the front door suddenly started beeping.
Beep-beep-beep-!!
I’m seriously going crazy.
What’s with this again.
I hurriedly pressed the proper button but the front door showed no sign of opening and rather the beeping sound gradually grew louder. At that moment, Yoon-i hyung approached from behind me and pressed the buttons one by one.
“Done.”
Now the noisy front door sound had stopped but my heart was beating like crazy from tension. Yoon-i hyung, not caring about me like that, pushed the front door open with one hand, and as soon as the door opened, I immediately stepped outside.
When I came outside and turned around, Yoon-i hyung was looking at me with one hand on the wall and one hand holding the door.
“Then I’ll be going. Please go inside, sunbae-nim.”
“Okay.”
I greeted him again and waited for the elevator, but he had no intention of going in at all and just stared at me blankly. Ah, the silence is really heavy.
Ding-
Finally, the elevator I’d been waiting and waiting for arrived at last.
This silence was only a few seconds, but it felt like eons of time. With a tired face, I bowed to hyung again, then pressed the elevator button and immediately pushed my body in.
And Yoon-i hyung, who hadn’t said anything until now, finally opened his mouth.
“……Sleep talking.”
“Pardon?”
“Be careful.”
Sleep talking?
I asked back, but he didn’t explain any further. Then, staring at me blankly through the gap as the elevator closed, he tilted his head to the side and gave a subtle smile. That was similar to the smile he occasionally gave me when I was Cha Hohyeon.
“See you again.”
Click-
And simultaneously with the door closing, I realized.
‘Since when did he drop the honorifics?’
* * *
Ka Jerim’s sleep talking finally stopped. Go Yoon wondered if it might be a dream or fantasy, but Ka Jerim’s face was wet with tears as if what just happened was real.
“What is this.”
When he rubbed his arm with his hand, goosebumps from the chills had risen on his forearm, and his body was trembling like an aspen tree.
Go Yoon crawled with his weakened legs to the next room, locked the door, sat down holding his head, then kept muttering.
“Go Yoon, get a grip.”
“This is because you didn’t go to the psychiatrist.”
“Are you crazy? Have you finally gone crazy. Please……”
Go Yoon endlessly doubted himself. Whether the content of the sleep talking he just heard was really correct, whether even now he was in falsehood like the dream he has every night.
