‘It’s over.’
Also, Seon Hobeom and Ma Doun breathed sighs of relief at the long-awaited peace.
“I’ll take your order—”
The server checked the order sheet once upon entering and left, and now everyone silently waited for the food to come out.
Until the food came out, Ka Jerim kept watching Go Yoon’s mood, but Go Yoon, as if he couldn’t feel Ka Jerim’s gaze, was lost in thought alone, silently staring straight ahead.
At that moment, Onseol, who had been sitting quietly, broke the silence and asked Go Yoon with a bright smile.
“Since when have you known Jerim?”
Go Yoon, who had been lost in thought, blinked at Onseol’s sudden question and answered slowly.
“It’s been a long time.”
When voices filled the space that had only had the sound of utensils, the tense atmosphere softened, so outwardly it looked like a reasonably peaceful gathering between sunbaes and hoobaes building camaraderie.
“Really?”
Hearing Go Yoon’s answer, Onseol smiled cheerfully with a good-natured expression.
Watching this, Doun was thinking ‘Seol isn’t someone who reacts well, so why is he reacting so well today?’ when he heard the following words and froze solid in that same state.
“But why have we never heard about you, sunbae-nim?”
“……”
“Huk.”
Doun felt like he would get a crick in his neck while still in his puzzled state and trembled, and Go Yoon’s face instantly hardened coldly upon hearing those words. Anyone present could feel that this wasn’t a good nuance.
However, Onseol with his strong mentality was indeed an amazing person who could smile back even after seeing Go Yoon’s hardened expression.
‘Seol hyung…… lives like there’s no tomorrow.’
Ka Jerim also alternately looked at Onseol and Go Yoon, then soon firmly closed his mouth, his flustered feelings clearly evident as he wondered what to do.
While everyone was tense in a situation where it wouldn’t be strange for Go Yoon to scold Onseol for being rude, surprisingly Go Yoon quickly relaxed his expression and said calmly as if nothing was wrong.
“Jerim is tight-lipped, you know.”
“That’s right. He has a good personality.”
Fortunately, Onseol seemed to intend to stop there, saying this and not continuing further.
“Here are the dishes you ordered.”
Fortunately, the food came out at the right timing. As soon as the server set down all the food, they quickly left as if not to interrupt the conversation.
“Please call again if you need anything.”
Thud—
The neatly arranged dishes were embarrassingly pristine to touch.
‘It looks expensive…… No, it IS expensive.’
What kind of plates shine so brilliantly? The plates sparkled so much it was embarrassing to even bring chopsticks near them. And seeing the Abyss members who couldn’t readily touch the food, Go Yoon said as if belatedly realizing.
“I hope everyone enjoys the meal.”
The meal began.
* * *
“I had fun today.”
“Thank you for the meal!”
At Go Yoon’s words after finishing payment, the Abyss members except for the injured Ka Jerim bowed their heads deeply and loudly said they ate well.
“The elevator’s here.”
“Let’s get on.”
The members began boarding the arriving elevator one by one.
At that moment, Go Yoon, who was standing at the very end, was about to board the elevator last when he hesitated and pulled his foot back. The Abyss members who saw Go Yoon like this cast puzzled glances, wondering why Go Yoon wasn’t getting on when there was plenty of space in the elevator.
“I’m going to smoke a cigarette…… You all go ahead.”
Hearing this, Ka Jerim’s eyes widened.
‘Hyung smokes cigarettes?’
He had never once seen Go Yoon smoke. Especially since Go Yoon was someone who disliked it, saying cigarette smoke was nauseating.
Go Yoon’s eyes met with Ka Jerim’s, who was surprised at the story that he smoked. Seeing Ka Jerim’s wide-eyed expression, Go Yoon chuckled as if understanding what he was thinking. He probably seemed surprised that he, who hated even the smell of cigarettes, was smoking.
“T-take care on your way back, sunbae-nim.”
“Thank you for today……”
“Good work.”
And Go Yoon turned his gaze to look at the Abyss members clumsily bowing and greeting him, then suddenly opened his mouth toward them as they greeted.
“I’m jealous.”
Since Go Yoon was standing in front of the elevator, the members who still couldn’t go down turned their heads with faces seeking an answer to Go Yoon’s sudden words. Go Yoon chuckled lowly while looking at Ka Jerim, then took a step back as if viewing the whole picture, and answered slowly.
“That there are five of you.”
At that moment, even Onseol who had been continuously wearing an inscrutable subtle smile until now, Ma Doun and Seon Hobeom who still found this awkward situation uncomfortable, and Park Eden who had been staring at empty space without any thoughts. Everyone’s expressions crumbled.
“……Congratulations on your debut.”
Go Yoon, greeting them like this, looked momentarily so desolate and lonely, and they couldn’t say anything to such a Go Yoon.
The elevator closed. While the elevator descended from the 12th floor to the 10th floor, 7th floor, 2nd floor at a very fast speed, the members who had been dazed began coming to their senses one by one.
“Ah, I feel like I have indigestion.”
“Me too.”
Doun, who was agreeing with Seon Hobeom’s words, also bonked his head against the elevator corner and muttered.
“I hope Director-nim bought digestive medicine.”
“That’s why I told you guys to order porridge.”
“No, but hyung, you ate really well even in that situation? You really have a good stomach.”
Seon Hobeom let out a hollow laugh as if flabbergasted toward Park Eden who was patting Doun’s back and speaking.
The three chatted among themselves, but Onseol and Ka Jerim didn’t join the conversation.
Onseol still had a face deep in thought as he silently watched the changing floor numbers, and Ka Jerim standing beside him also only stared at the numbers.
[This is basement level 2.]
They arrived at basement level 2 where the van was parked.
As the members got off the elevator saying they wanted to quickly return to the dorm to shower and rest well and headed toward the van, Seon Hobeom, who was grumbling about feeling stuffy while rubbing off the makeup he hadn’t fully removed with his hands, turned around when he saw that Ka Jerim, who should have been following beside him, wasn’t there.
“What are you doing there? Aren’t you coming?”
Ka Jerim alone was still remaining inside the elevator.
The members who heard Seon Hobeom’s words all turned around to look at Ka Jerim, but Ka Jerim just stood still without moving, as if thinking about something deeply.
“Jerim-ah?”
At Onseol’s call, Ka Jerim, who had been standing as if rooted like a statue, soon lifted his head with a face that had made some decision.
“Hyung, if I just go upstairs for a moment……”
“No. You need to rest.”
But before Ka Jerim’s words could finish, Park Eden spoke firmly.
The members also gestured to Ka Jerim to come quickly without doing that, but he didn’t move and kept alternately looking inside and outside the elevator.
“I’ll be right back.”
“……Huh?”
“I’ll just talk for a moment and go, so go ahead!”
“Hey!!”
Ka Jerim quickly pressed the close button. Startled, Seon Hobeom reflexively ran and pressed the elevator button, but the door had already closed and was going up.
“Wh-what do we do?”
Ma Doun, who had also run over beside him, looked at the elevator with a worried face. It was because he was worried about Ka Jerim, who must be in pain but was moving without resting. Park Eden sighed deeply with a concerned face and told the members.
“Let’s go get him. It seems like he went to meet sunbae-nim…… Meeting aside, Jerim’s physical condition isn’t very good, so it seems like he needs to rest quickly.”
Everyone nodded in agreement with that opinion.
Coming from the hospital to eat was actually too much of a strain. He had lost quite a bit of blood, and the anesthesia would be gradually wearing off so it would be quite painful.
While everyone was worrying and waiting for the elevator, an unexpected voice cut between them.
“Let’s just go.”
It was Onseol.
“Seol hyung?”
Clearly Onseol disliked Go Yoon, yet suddenly saying to readily let Ka Jerim go was strange, so the members exchanged glances.
“Why?”
“No, Seol-ah. Don’t you hate Go Yoon?”
“Yeah, I hate him.”
“Then we should stop him.”
Having experienced that hell earlier, Ma Doun wanted to quickly rescue Ka Jerim from that demon-king-like Go Yoon.
However, even though Ma Doun spoke unusually firmly, Onseol said it was fine, poked Ma Doun’s side with his elbow, and just moved his feet.
“Let’s just go.”
“You. You hate that sunbae so much, yet why on earth……”
Hearing Ma Doun’s words, Onseol silently stopped in place and quietly stared at the van in the distance that had spotted them and was approaching happily.
Onseol slowly closed and opened his eyes, recalling Go Yoon’s words he had just heard.
‘I’m jealous. That there are five of you.’
Go Yoon, who had been looking at the door closing desolately, hesitated as if a line had been drawn between the elevator we were on, then pulled back his foot.
“What a whim.”
He’s a top idol, and probably achieved everything he wanted to achieve. He has such a powerful fandom that the rookie Abyss couldn’t dare covet, and he was a member of Fort that has been sweeping awards at year-end ceremonies for several years.
But the moment he said those words and turned around, more than anyone else.
“……What a whim.”
He looked lonely.
* * *
Thanks to the restaurant’s consideration, Go Yoon was able to use the smoking room on another floor alone. He watched as if entranced as the acrid smoke filled the smoking room, then lowered his head.
Tap—.
Watching the red embers fall when he tapped them with his finger, he let out a hollow laugh.
“Being maudlin all alone.”
Cigarettes are bad for the throat and bad for health, so he wondered why people smoked them…… but at some point, he was smoking them himself. When he was immersed in terrible depression, standing in the hazy smoke seemed to make the depression carved into him fade away.
