“Ughh……”
Even though he’d used Sehyun’s body as a cushion, there was no way there wouldn’t be an impact. Doha let out a groan.
“Hyung……”
Then Sehyun patted the back of Doha, who was cradled in his arms, and chuckled softly.
“You really have no athletic ability.”
It wasn’t like he threw his body to hear such words.
Anyway, at that moment, Doha deeply etched into his heart the image of Sehyun toppling the large man with a single kick.
From now on, no matter how infuriating things get, let’s absolutely never resort to physical force.
* * *
The situation came to an end when the manager and security guard arrived. Haram’s older brother and mother screamed that they would report Sehyun, but honestly, it was useless talk since there was evidence on CCTV of them wielding a wrench.
Manager Cheolhwan forcibly chased them away, and the three gathered in the company practice room. The reason they came here instead of going home was the anxiety that Haram’s family might come back around the house.
Doha wasn’t too pleased about coming to the practice room though. In this world, there are cafes, hotels, and at the very least, some bench on the street somewhere, but why specifically the practice room?
“Haram, shall we have a separate talk?”
After Cheolhwan brought a first aid kit and placed it in Doha’s arms, he spoke to Haram.
‘Why are you giving this to me?’
Doha, who had inadvertently been given the first aid kit, looked at the first aid kit once, then at the patient once, alternating between them. He really requires a lot of attention.
“No, hyung. Let’s talk here……”
Haram answered in a weak voice. Sehyun’s gaze had been glued to Haram the entire time.
“Are you okay?”
Cheolhwan handed him bottled water and patted Haram’s back.
“I’m fine. I just feel sorry to the members and the company……”
Haram said while fiddling with the water bottle he hadn’t even opened. Doha approached Sehyun with the first aid kit, but was startled when Sehyun suddenly bolted upright from where he’d been leaning against the mirrored wall.
“Hey. What crime did you commit? Why is your voice like that?”
Sehyun spoke to Haram in a sharp tone. Then Haram flinched, his shoulders jumping in surprise.
“Stand up straight. Your brother and mother are the problem, so why are you acting like a criminal?”
“……Still, it’s all because of me. You getting hurt too……”
“I told you.”
How could the protagonist’s actions not stop even when someone was waving a first aid kit right in front of him? He felt like he’d get burned by the heat radiating from Sehyun. Doha decided to just give up.
Whether the two exchanged burning gazes or not, he just rummaged through the first aid kit and took out disinfectant and bandages.
“I don’t know since I’ve never had things like a mom or older brother, but from what I see, those leeches attached to you are absolutely not family.”
“……”
The words were a bit harsh. But after seeing what happened today, Doha thought that while Sehyun’s language was rough, it wasn’t exactly wrong.
“Isn’t family supposed to worry about what might happen to you, whether you’ll be a burden, or whether you’ll go hungry?”
“Oh boy, Sehyun. Still, that’s a bit too……”
Cheolhwan tried to stop Sehyun, but it was useless.
“I was worried about you. Doha hyung was worried about you too.”
I wasn’t though…… I knew it would all be resolved anyway…….
He refuted Sehyun’s words internally, but didn’t tactlessly voice them out loud. Doha grabbed Sehyun’s hand and focused on spraying the disinfectant. These days disinfectant comes in spray form too.
Pssh, pssh.
“Isn’t this what family is? Is your family really those leeches? Just like the members are family to me, it’s the same for you.”
At Sehyun’s words, Doha nodded.
“You couldn’t talk about your family until now because you didn’t want to make us worry, right?”
“I……”
“If you keep acting like that, you won’t just make us worry, you’ll destroy the team.”
“……”
“I won’t tell you to trust me. Just try trusting our team. If you want to help your family, we’ll look into getting proper legal counsel, and if you want to run away from those people……”
He wanted to ask if they’d even smuggle him out of the country, but he held this back too. Doha tore off the tape and began wrapping the compression bandage. The hand was very swollen.
“I’ll remove them so they leave no trace in your life.”
Sehyun’s final words ended somewhat slowly. So they left an aftereffect. Though they were just the youthful words of a mere twenty-year-old kid, perhaps because of Sehyun’s passionate intensity, they didn’t feel like a joke.
A moment of silence flowed. The person who spoke first after a while was Cheolhwan.
“Since it’s come to this, let me say something too. Haram. I’ve been watching your family for a while but…… they don’t seem like good people. Covering things up and helping isn’t always the right way.”
“……”
“I want to separate public and private matters, but…… I’ve been watching you guys for how long? Since you came here holding your mother’s hand when you were little, I practically raised you on my back.”
“Hyung……”
When Cheolhwan patted Haram’s shoulder, Haram’s eyes grew moist again.
“How can ruining you be love?”
Haram’s gaze dropped down, down.
“You have so many people who love you. The members, the company staff, and what about your fans?”
At Cheolhwan’s words, Haram nodded. Wet spots began forming on the practice room floor.
“Kang Haram. Just make your choice. Whoever it is, whatever it is, we won’t let you be ruined.”
At Sehyun’s words, the dark spots increased even more, soon becoming large clumps. Doha, who had been watching their scene from the side, somehow felt his nose tingling.
Having to witness firsthand a story that would have been sufficient just reading as text was an overdose of emotion.
“I, hic……”
Haram, who was trying to say something, started sobbing heavily. Tears that must have been suppressed for who knows how long continued to overflow.
The dam that finally collapsed poured out helplessly. Haram made choking sounds as he repeatedly wiped his eyes with both hands.
Everyone was silent. They held their breath so as not to block what he was pouring out.
It was a wail as if not a human but a beast was crying out. What kind of anguish could be in such a small body that it was so harsh and obstinate he couldn’t properly expel it? It was a deep resentment they couldn’t even dare to estimate.
It was the moment when a member’s story, which he’d considered just a hardship the protagonist would resolve anyway, approached not as fiction but as reality. The grief unfolding before his eyes was too sad to dismiss as merely content from a novel.
In the practice room filled with sobbing sounds, not even the common comfort of “don’t cry” was exchanged.
They simply stayed together in a space completely submerged in Haram’s emotions.
It was quite a while later that Haram’s crying subsided.
* * *
“I’ll make sure there’s nothing to worry about regarding my family from now on.”
It had been quite a while since the CEO, Haram, Sehyun, Doha, and Cheolhwan had sat in a circle at the round table. Haram opened his mouth as if he’d made a decision.
“If anyone from my family comes to the company, please chase them out immediately.”
Below his puffy eyelids, Haram’s eyes shone with determination.
“It snapped me awake. I can tolerate them ruining me, but I won’t let them ruin our group.”
“I didn’t understand any of that. I said not to let you be ruined.”
Sehyun picked up an ion drink from the table and placed it in front of Haram, then also placed one in front of Doha.
“I won’t be family with those people anymore. All my family is right here.”
“……That’s a big decision.”
The CEO said, stroking his chin. He’d always been troubled whenever Haram’s family would show up unannounced and cause a scene.
“How can I cut them off well?”
At Haram’s question, Sehyun quickly opened his mouth as if this was his moment.
“You have to pressure that kind strongly. Gather up all the evidence of them siphoning off your money until now.”
“……Yeah.”
“Back them into a corner as if you’ll strip them down to their underwear, then at the right time, let them escape. Then even if you want to see them, they’ll be the ones avoiding you.”
“Yeah.”
“Those eyes are the problem. Widen them like this, all fierce and sharp!”
Sehyun reached out and stretched Haram’s eye corners upward. Because of his puffy face, that appearance was devastatingly funny.
“Pfft.”
When Doha, who happened to be sitting directly opposite, couldn’t hold back and laughed, Haram laughed along.
“Thank you everyone. I feel relieved.”
“Just from making a decision? Hey, you wait and see. Your family will end up begging you on their knees.”
Sehyun snorted.
“……I don’t need that money. As long as I don’t have to see them from now on, as long as it just turns out that way, I don’t care about anything.”
Haram just wanted to escape from them. It also meant he was so disgusted he didn’t even want to calculate the money that had been taken from him all this time.
Then, suddenly the conference room door burst open.
“Who bullied Kang Haram? What’s with the sudden summons!”
Yunbeom rushed in violently. Behind him was Eden, whose face had a glossy sheen.
“What’s going on all of a sudden?”
As the two barged in, the conference room became bustling.
“What? Who made him cry? Was it you, CEO-nim?”
Yunbeom’s gaze whipped toward the CEO.
“Hey…… Have I ever shortchanged you guys on anything? Why am I already the culprit?”
The CEO looked at Yunbeom with an absurd expression.
