“Ah, seriously. You have no intention of being serious.”
Sehyun grumbled.
“Anyway, the hotteok is delicious.”
Doha decided to agree with Sehyun’s words a little. He didn’t know why he was suddenly acting like this, but Sehyun seemed to be in a good mood right now.
“But is Battle Crown really over after tomorrow’s filming?”
“There’s more filming left. It’s just the stage performances that are over.”
“Hmm.”
It felt like it had been some grand journey, but it felt surreal that he’d be freed from the stage tomorrow. The fact that he’d been able to learn everything at breakneck speed—the songs, the dances, everything that had seemed impossible—was largely thanks to Battle Crown.
“You’ll do well.”
“Goes without saying.”
Sehyun was always confident. That probably came from the high self-esteem of believing in his own abilities. It was really fascinating to stand on stage alongside someone like this and do activities together.
“You can do anything.”
“What I’m going to do is already decided, though.”
He had no hesitation in running toward a single goal. It was something Doha wanted to learn from Sehyun.
The two of them continued walking down the dark road toward the dorm. When they had almost reached the dorm, the two turned the corner of the alley.
The alley was as quiet as a mouse. Only the sparsely lit streetlights illuminated the worn walls.
“By the way, what time did they say rehearsal was tomorrow?”
“9 AM. We have to stop by the shop and go straight there.”
“Ugh……”
Doha made a groaning sound as he took a step forward. The dorm building was right in front of them. Maybe about 50 meters left? At the end of the alley, under a streetlight, someone was standing.
It was a man wearing a black hoodie pulled low over his head. With both hands shoved in his pockets, he was just staring at the ground. Doha thought he might just be a passerby. Or maybe he was waiting for someone.
Doha walked alongside Sehyun without much thought. But as they passed in front of the streetlight, he felt something strange. Could he feel a gaze?
‘What is it?’
It was the moment the two were about to pass by the man.
Swoosh—
The man who had been standing like a shadow moved. The hand that had been in his pocket shot out like lightning. Something glinting in the streetlight. It was a heavy, rough brick.
The man’s arm raised high. The direction his arm was heading toward was none other than the back of Sehyun’s head.
“……!”
Doha’s eyes widened. There was no time to think. His body reacted first.
“Look out!”
Doha instinctively pushed Sehyun’s back while simultaneously ramming the man’s torso with his own shoulder.
Bang!
With a dull collision sound, the two became entangled and tumbled to the ground.
“Ugh!”
Doha fell onto the hard cement ground. Sehyun, who had been pushed aside, turned around with startled eyes.
“Hyung!”
From deep inside the hood of the man who had rolled across the ground with a crash, glinting eyes could be seen.
Still lying down, he picked up the brick that had fallen to the ground again. Whether enraged that his plan had been thwarted, the man swung his arm holding the brick toward Doha.
“You…… son of a bitch!”
The man raised the brick and tried to bring it down on Doha.
‘I’m going to die.’
The moment everything went black before his eyes.
Thwack—!
A sharp bursting sound echoed through the alley. Sehyun’s foot struck the man’s arm away.
“Urk!”
The brick flew from the man’s hand, slicing through the air. Crash! The brick smashed into pieces as it was embedded in a corner of the alley.
Sehyun didn’t stop. He roughly grabbed the collar of the man who was staggering after losing his balance.
“Who are you.”
Sehyun’s voice was low and menacing like a demon rising from hell. He violently shoved the man. The man tumbled across the ground.
“I said who are you, you fucking bastard!”
Sehyun roared as he roughly pulled back the man’s hood. Under the streetlight, the man’s face was revealed.
Yellow hair with black roots that had grown out disgustingly from lack of care. Sunken cheeks and bloodshot eyes. And a filthy appearance that looked like he hadn’t washed in days.
The idol Chase, who had been cheered under brilliant lights, had fallen to rock bottom and become a wreck filled only with venom. As soon as Doha saw his face, he gasped.
“……Jo Taejin?”
Sehyun seemed surprised too. He was bewildered at how a person could have changed this much in just one or two weeks.
“……Heh, hehehe……”
With his collar grabbed by Sehyun’s hand, Jo Taejin let out a twisted laugh.
“Hey, Lim Sehyun. How’ve you been?”
The smell of alcohol wafted strongly. Sehyun’s expression hardened coldly.
“You crazy……”
“Why? Surprised to see me? Are you so happy you could cry seeing me here when I should be crushed and ruined at rock bottom?”
Jo Taejin giggled. His unfocused eyes glistened as they faced Sehyun.
“I know everything you did.”
Suddenly Jo Taejin completely changed his expression and screamed.
“You’re the one who sent me to rock bottom! You think you’re the only one with connections to reporters? I have ears that hear things too!”
“If you do, then what? Do you have proof? If you had it, you wouldn’t have come looking for me with a brick.”
Sehyun was confident.
“You came to smash my head in out of frustration because you have nothing.”
At his words, Jo Taejin ground his teeth.
“Do whatever you want. Who’s going to believe what hyung says? The words of some bastard soaked in drugs spouting nonsense.”
Sehyun was speaking more sharply than usual, which wasn’t like him. It was because he was agitated by the dangerous situation from just moments ago.
“It was all your scheme! You’re living well and eating well, so why do I have to be in this state? Why!”
Jo Taejin’s scream echoed through the alley. It was the death throes of a loser steeped in injustice, anger, and a sense of defeat.
“What do you want me to do about it. Fuck, trash never gets rehabilitated to the end.”
He continued speaking clearly so Jo Taejin could hear exactly. Sehyun roughly released Jo Taejin’s collar. Then he swept back the hair that had fallen forward.
“I’ll kill you…… Lim Sehyun, I’ll kill you and then I’ll die too! Let’s go to hell together, you son of a bitch!”
He clung to Sehyun’s leg like a madman. Since he didn’t have the brick, he was thinking of sinking his teeth in instead.
Sehyun roughly shook his leg free. Jo Taejin’s body, in its poor condition, rolled pathetically across the ground.
“Who are you blaming, you druggie bastard.”
Jo Taejin was trash who didn’t deserve even the minimum of compassion. That’s what Sehyun thought. Not only was he the only one soaked in drugs, but he tainted those around him, and in the end, he sold out an innocent person to protect himself—absolute trash.
“Instead of cleaning up the shit you took, where do you get off causing a scene. If you want to die, go die nicely by yourself.”
Sehyun, who had been pouring out all his contempt without a filter, suddenly looked at Doha. He belatedly felt bothered about showing him this rough side.
“Hyung, are you okay?”
Sehyun approached Doha and bent down. The fierce appearance of despising and pressing Jo Taejin from just moments ago was nowhere to be seen.
“Ah, shit……”
Doha got up from his spot with a grimace. The shoulder he’d hit on the ground when he fell throbbed, but it wasn’t enough to make a fuss about. Ignoring Sehyun’s outstretched hand, he dusted himself off and stood up on his own.
“I’m fine. I didn’t die.”
Doha replied indifferently as he brushed the dust off his clothes. Sehyun anxiously looked Doha over from head to toe. His eyes showed concern, worried that something might be broken.
“Stay still for a second. Let me check if you’re hurt anywhere.”
“I told you I’m not. Stop making such a fuss.”
When he was looking so worried, it was difficult to show that he was in pain.
‘This bastard, does he have a split personality.’
Doha clicked his tongue inwardly. He could hardly believe this was the same guy who had been acting like a rabid dog just moments ago. Well, thanks to him he’d avoided getting hit with a brick and going to the afterlife.
“You were really scared, weren’t you? I’m sorry, hyung.”
Sehyun apologized with a stiff face. His voice was steeped in deep guilt.
“For what.”
“You got put in danger because of me.”
Sehyun bit his lip hard. The way he clenched his fist as if frustrated looked quite pitiful. Doha let out a deep sigh.
“Did I tell you to pick up that brick? Why are you blaming yourself for that crazy bastard going berserk.”
Doha gestured with his chin toward Jo Taejin groaning face-down on the ground.
“He’s the problem. Living life, you see all kinds of things.”
Doha spoke calmly as he took out his phone from his pocket. His hand seemed to be shaking a little, but he deliberately ignored it and dialed 112.
“Let’s just report this. Call the police.”
“I’ll contact the company first.”
Sehyun slightly hid Doha behind his back as he stayed alert to Jo Taejin. He seemed to be on high alert, worried that crazy bastard might charge at them again.
Looking at Jo Taejin still collapsed on the ground, Doha felt mixed emotions. He felt both pity and irritation. Then suddenly he became curious about something.
“Are you the one who sent the threatening messages?”
At Doha’s question, focus slowly returned to Jo Taejin’s hazy eyes. He looked up at Doha’s face blankly.
“The threats, did you do it?”
When asked clearly again, Jo Taejin’s eyes turned vicious.
