He walked unhesitatingly toward the source of the sound, and Ka Jerim, who was watching from behind, clutched his head with a face that said they were doomed, repeatedly saying “What do we do?”
“Huk.”
When Go Yoon turned toward the back of the car, Seon Hobeom, who had been sitting in the very front, locked eyes with Go Yoon and gasped.
“What is this now?”
Seeing the four people crouched at the back of the car, Go Yoon let out a hollow laugh.
Ma Doun, who had been recording out of concern that Go Yoon might verbally or physically assault Ka Jerim, flinched. Seon Hobeom, the culprit who had dropped the coin, looked up at Go Yoon while his hand was still outstretched trying to grab the coin, and stuttered.
“Uh, this is……”
At least Onseol and Park Eden maintained poker faces, but Park Eden frowned when his eyes met Go Yoon’s, and only Onseol calmly stood up while brushing off his pants. Going even further, Onseol smiled brightly at Go Yoon and greeted him.
“Hello, sunbae-nim.”
“Ah, ah, hello.”
“Hello!”
“Hello.”
Starting with Onseol’s greeting, the remaining members bowed in greeting. Ma Doun, unable to hide his trembling voice, bit his lip as he bowed his head, and Seon Hobeom also greeted him in a slightly trembling voice, seemingly just as nervous. However, Go Yoon didn’t respond and just silently stared at the four people greeting him.
“……”
While an awkward silence enveloped them, only Cha Hohyeon behind them was fidgeting restlessly, wondering how to stop Go Yoon.
“I wondered who was eavesdropping, and it turns out to be our hoobaes.”
Go Yoon was already dissatisfied with the management of the agency. He didn’t like that Ka Jerim had been hurt, nor that he was so thin, so naturally he didn’t have good feelings toward the Abyss members either.
Go Yoon paused with a “hmm” and glanced at Onseol, Park Eden, Seon Hobeom, and Ma Doun who were looking at him, then alternately looked at Ka Jerim.
‘Hyung, no. No! I don’t know what it is, but don’t do it.’
Ka Jerim shook his head with such feelings, but Go Yoon just smiled slightly at Ka Jerim with an inscrutable expression, then straightened his head and stared at the Abyss members again.
“Do you have time right now?”
The situation flowed in an unexpected direction.
“If you have time, since we’ve met like this by fate, how about we all have a meal together?”
It was the moment when a six-way confrontation was about to unfold.
## Episode 8
Director Gye, sitting in the passenger seat of the van, glared at the empty space ahead. He stared intently as if something would appear if he glared at it long enough, but when nothing changed over time, he eventually tilted his head back and yawned.
“When will they come?”
The Abyss members who had gone to meet Go Yoon still hadn’t returned. Of course, not that much time had passed, and it wasn’t like Abyss had another schedule coming up so they were in a rush, but he kept checking the time because he felt needlessly anxious.
The road manager sitting in the driver’s seat seemed to be the same way, occasionally glancing at the clock like Director Gye and tapping the steering wheel with his fingertips, clearly displaying his anxiety.
“But Director. Did Go Yoon really come because he was worried about Jerim?”
“That’s what I’m saying. I mean, why of all people did Jerim have to get involved with Go Yoon……”
Director Gye leaned his head against the car window and groaned in distress. Of course, it wouldn’t be bad for the highly recognized Go Yoon and the rookie Ka Jerim to build a friendship, but given Go Yoon’s personality to begin with, the possibility was low.
“Well, even if Go Yoon’s personality is a bit bad, everything else about him is clean, right?”
“So what? He absolutely can’t stand being wronged, so if you get on his bad side even by mistake, he’ll try to get revenge somehow…… Anyway, he’s no ordinary person.”
“That’s true……”
Director Gye shook his head saying that even talking about it now hurt his mouth. The road manager sitting next to him also chimed in agreement with Director Gye’s words, recalling some incident.
“They didn’t get caught hiding, right?”
“That’s what I’m worried about.”
He was very worried about the Abyss members who said they would hide and watch over Jerim in case something happened to him. He was concerned they might get caught and picked on for something when they came back.
When all sorts of worries kept piling up and Director Gye’s headache showed no signs of subsiding, Onseol appeared from around the corner.
“They’re here.”
Seeing Onseol’s calm expression, it seemed there was no major incident. Director Gye and the road manager breathed sighs of relief, as the faces of the remaining members appearing behind Onseol also had very peaceful expressions as if nothing had happened. But their relief was brief—they slowly opened their mouths when they discovered a man standing among the Abyss members.
Black coat, black knit, black shoes, black mask.
Because a man armed entirely in black was standing with his hands in his pockets, talking with Ka Jerim. At first they tried to reassure each other that it wasn’t the person they were thinking of, but they fell into despair after properly seeing the man’s face.
“Why is Go Yoon here? Those guys, what did they bring back with them!”
“Go, Go Yoon……? They must have gotten caught hiding!”
Because Go Yoon had appeared. Originally, they had told Ka Jerim to send Go Yoon back first after talking with him, then come to the van together with the members who had been hiding. But at this completely different and sudden situation, Director Gye and the road manager were in a state of mental breakdown, stuttering and denying reality.
“Why did he come to the van? Is it like, finding their base to mess them up…… something like that?”
“Surely he wouldn’t kill them just for peeking…… But what is he, the grim reaper? Why did he have to come wearing such pitch-black clothes?”
Just as they were fidgeting anxiously, wondering if things went wrong because the Abyss members somehow got on his bad side, Go Yoon briefly fixed his gaze on the driver’s seat.
“Can he see us by any chance?”
“No. It shouldn’t be very visible.”
Even though there was no way they could be seen due to the dark car tinting, Director Gye and the road manager reflexively held their breath until Go Yoon turned his head.
Click—
Then came the sound of the door opening, and Director Gye quickly turned around. But he slowly opened his mouth when he saw a person who shouldn’t be inside the van sitting there.
“What brings you here……”
Because Go Yoon had gotten into the car first so naturally and was sitting there having claimed a seat. Go Yoon glanced once at Director Gye who was speaking to him and answered calmly.
“Since it’s Abyss’s first broadcast today, I’m trying to buy something delicious for our hoobaes as a commemoration.”
Director Gye, who was momentarily about to respond ‘Ah, I see,’ belatedly realized that something was strange.
‘Why would you commemorate our first broadcast?’
He said it so naturally that for a moment it seemed like a matter of course and he almost let it pass.
Director Gye knew well that the Abyss members who were afraid of Go Yoon couldn’t have made the appointment first. Wondering if perhaps something had happened that could be used against them, he hurriedly examined the Abyss members’ expressions and sighed.
‘Doun and Hobeom have already……’
Though he didn’t know what had happened, Ma Doun and Seon Hobeom were sitting there with forlorn faces as if they had accepted their fate. Onseol, who had such a solid mentality, was smiling cheerfully with sparkling eyes as if the situation was interesting, and Park Eden still had an inscrutable face but his hands were busily offering a neck pillow and blanket to Ka Jerim.
“Thank you.”
Ka Jerim usually only rides in the passenger seat or behind the driver’s seat, and each time the members help with blankets, neck pillows, and everything else so that Ka Jerim can ride in the car as comfortably as possible. Ka Jerim was also uncomfortable with such kindness at first, but now he was accustomed to lying down, putting on an eye mask, and immediately preparing to fall asleep to avoid getting motion sickness.
“Please go this way. Jerim likes this place.”
When Ka Jerim lay down, Go Yoon, sitting next to him, naturally handed his phone showing the destination to Director Gye. The road manager and Director Gye, who had suddenly been given the role of driver, pondered how to refuse. But when they actually saw Go Yoon’s firm face, those words went right back in, and just as they were wondering whether they should navigate there, their eyes met Ma Doun and Seon Hobeom’s.
‘Save us.’
Ma Doun and Seon Hobeom must really not want to eat with Go Yoon. Director Gye deliberately ignored the gazes of Ma Doun and Hobeom looking at him with faces begging to be saved and said.
“Looking at the directions, it’s about 25 minutes from here. Um…… we’ll stay in the parking lot. Have a comfortable meal with the kids.”
“Thank you for your consideration.”
It was Director Gye and the road manager who chose escape under the name of consideration.
* * *
Go Yoon was in a bad mood.
The fact that his car was a 5-seater so he had to move to the Abyss members’ van including Ka Jerim, and Ka Jerim who gets severe motion sickness due to trauma, and the Abyss members who carefully looked after such a Ka Jerim.
He didn’t like everything at all, but he thought it couldn’t be helped given the situation.
However, watching them continuously act throughout the journey as if they knew more about Ka Jerim made him feel strangely twisted inside.
‘Why is that? Do I dislike that Hohyeon belongs to a different group?’
At first, he was just grateful that Cha Hohyeon was alive, but seeing himself act more and more petty as time went on, only a self-deprecating smile came to him. Seeing Cha Hohyeon, who should be active together in Fort, acting as the maknae of such a different group, a mischievous urge sometimes arose to say ‘He’s actually Cha Hohyeon.’
At that moment, piercing through Go Yoon’s thoughts, Onseol smiled brightly and spoke to him.
“Sunbae-nim, what should we get for the menu?”
“Choose whatever you want.”
“Then what about you, sunbae-nim?”
“You choose the menu first, then Jerim and I will choose after.”
