Tae-oh’s eyebrows shot up like a mountain. Tae-oh had clearly told Sol yesterday that practice would start at 10 AM and asked him to wake up on time. After exercising with Ji-ho at 7 AM and waking Ga-ram and Deuk-yong around 8:30 AM, Tae-oh thought waking Sol would be relatively easy, considering the routine. However, he was mistaken.
Sol was unlike Ga-ram or Deuk-yong. At least the latter two would pretend to wake up and turn off the alarm when it rang. Sol, on the other hand, remained motionless, as if he couldn’t hear anything. Tae-oh initially tried to wake him gently, but when that didn’t work, he resorted to shaking him vigorously.
Seeing that scene, Ji-ho asked if Sol was still alive, and Tae-oh even touched under his nose with his fingers. Sol didn’t open his eyes, and his pale face under the tousled hair made Ji-ho’s words sound plausible.
Today, Tae-oh found himself calling Sol’s name more times than he had called Ga-ram’s in the past few years. Sol’s sleep was stubbornly deep. Not wanting to waste everyone’s time, Tae-oh sent the other three ahead and resorted to shaking Sol forcefully. After about an hour of effort, Sol finally opened his eyes, responding with a nonchalant “Why?” when asked about being late.
“Yesterday, I told you that we had practice until 10 PM.”
“Did you...?”
Sol, with an indifferent demeanor as if it was an inconsequential matter, stretched like a cat. Sol’s indifferent behavior made Tae-oh felt that even the slightest expectation he had inside him had vanished. Sol didn’t show any remorse for waking up late or any willingness to hurry.
With a vacant stare, Sol blinked at Tae-oh. As Tae-oh’s face hardened, Sol felt a sense of discord and tried to recall his memories. Although yesterday, he seemed to have a clear mind, today everything felt hazy, trapped in a foggy uncertainty. Listening to Tae-oh’s words, it seemed like he might have said something similar, or maybe not. His memory was fuzzy.
“...Get up.”
“Hmm...”
“Get up, wash up, and be out in 20 minutes.”
Sol briefly looked at Tae-oh. He understood in his head why Tae-oh was angry. Based on his hazy memory, he guessed that Tae-oh must have clearly mentioned yesterday by what time Sol needed to wake up. Despite knowing he had to get up and being aware of the consequences of not doing so, he didn’t get up. However, knowing this fact and actually acting upon it were two separate matters.
In his mind, he knew what needed to be done, but he lacked the will to do so. A sense of helplessness filled his entire body, adding weight to the burden. Even his fingers felt heavy, and he couldn’t move a muscle. Wrapped in the blanket, it felt like he was sinking to the bottom of the sea.
Tae-oh, who had been sitting on the edge of the bed, stood up. Tae-oh reached out towards Sol, who was lying sluggishly, and forcefully grabbed his wrist, lifting him up. Sol, pulled out of the bed in surprise, staggered, feeling dizzy. Sol never liked sudden movements. Even during dance practice, he would only start moving after warming up in a cardigan and towel until his body became warm. It was not only because he disliked moving suddenly but also to prevent injuries.
Sol, forced to stand up by Tae-oh’s hand, swayed for a moment, regained his balance, and stood upright. Tae-oh looked down at him and pointed to the bathroom with a stern expression.
“Go wash up right now.”
Despite the urge to hurl random harsh words at Sol, who was provoking his anger, Tae-oh held it in. He stood there, his face still wearing a stern expression. It seemed like whatever words were said, it would be of no use. One had to vent their anger to someone who could take it. There was no point in being angry if it was all one-sided. One would just end up burning themselves up inside.
Sol stood there like a person in a trance until Tae-oh pointed to the bathroom. Slowly and hesitantly, he moved his feet toward the bathroom. When Sol entered, and the sound of water was heard, Tae-oh finally checked his phone. Unauthorized social media and messengers were all deleted, leaving only contacts from family and agency personnel. Messages had piled up on the phone that had been neglected for a while.
Kim Deuk-yong: Hyung, is he still not up?
Kim Deuk-yong: Just leave him alone.
The time of the last message was 9:59. It was the time when Manager Yeong-ho would urge them at the door to quickly bring out their phone. His head throbbed. Most of the guys who had gone through the debut process had issues. The majority of those who went through the debut process didn’t even know the basics of singing or dancing. Among them, some would casually curse or ignore others. At first, he thought that if he focused on their debut and did well in the center, everything would be fine. However, no matter how much effort he put in, it was futile if the other party had no intention of participating.
Determined to somehow salvage the situation and lead, when Tae-oh confirmed Sol’s skills, he felt relieved. There were some awkward moments, but there was hidden strength in every movement of Sol that seemed precarious, as if about to fall. Even in the face of a strong wind that might have knocked him down, he quickly regained his composure, displaying a resilience akin to unbreakable branches. The curves formed by his arms and legs were graceful and unyielding. Tae-oh quite liked the lines of his movements.
With a bit of refinement in accentuating the crucial elements and consistent practice in synchronizing the choreography, Sol could eventually excel in his dancing position. Perhaps in the future, he thought, he might have to give up the position of the main dancer to the other.
With Ga-ram and Ji-ho in the song, as long as he didn’t stand out too much, it was fine to gradually improve his skills and expand his parts. Compared to those who had joined before, he was far better.
It was just a few hours ago when Tae-oh closed his eyes while organizing his thoughts in that direction. Tae-oh’s plans and enthusiasm faded in the face of Sol’s lackluster response, draining his energy even before the day began.
Tae-oh stared at the tightly closed bathroom door and contacted Manager Yeong-ho belatedly. Regardless of the circumstances, being late was being late.
Ignoring Yeong-ho’s scolding, Tae-oh looked at the black plastic bag on the table. The patches, cold medicine, and packaging were left untouched, as if the other hadn’t touched them. Tae-oh turned his head to look at the tightly closed bathroom door.
The sound of water was constant, but even after 20 minutes, Sol showed no intention of coming out. If it were someone like Kim Deuk-yong, he would have finished brushing his teeth and come out after 10 minutes. Suppressing the impatience that wanted to shout for Sol to open the door immediately, Tae-oh tried to maintain composure. Since becoming a trainee at YC Entertainment, Tae-oh had never been late even once. He was always punctual, especially for idols, where every minute of practice time was crucial.
When he was just an ordinary trainee before joining the debut group, he sat in the corridor from dawn, wanting to use the practice room with the best sound system just once. After the senior trainees finished practicing, he wanted to dance in a place with proper sound for at least 10 minutes. Now, the practice room had been renovated, and such worries were gone, but Tae-oh always carried that sense of urgency from back then.
Unable to endure any longer, Tae-oh stood in front of the bathroom door, ready to knock with his fist when the sound of water stopped, and the door opened abruptly. Tae-oh’s hand lost its way due to the sudden opening.
Tae-oh’s fist, which had lost its target, landed on Sol’s head as it was. Sol’s wet hair swayed with the force hitting his forehead. Water droplets hanging at the end of his black hair scattered in all directions. Sol, who was suddenly hit on the head, widened his eyes and screamed, covering his forehead with both hands. Tae-oh, who unexpectedly hit Sol’s head harder than intended, was also bewildered.
Although he heard the ultimatum to shower and come out within 20 minutes, but Sol remained defiant.. That much, he admitted. After going into the bathroom, Sol stood in front of the mirror for a long time with a dazed look. The scattered men’s toiletries placed here and there created an unfamiliar atmosphere, making Sol behave differently than usual due to the unfamiliarity.
He absentmindedly turned on the water and watched it pour out of the faucet, seemingly not realizing that Tae-oh, who was waiting for him outside, was probably annoyed by now. It wasn’t until he mistakenly turned the tap and received a cold water baptism that Sol snapped back to reality. Only then did he hurriedly finish washing and come out, only to be hit on the head out of the blue.
Sol grabbed his hair and looked at Tae-oh with bewildered eyes. No matter how ugly and wrong he thought he was, violence was out of line.
It was indeed saddening, but above all, it was too painful. Sol’s forehead was purple and bruised from where he’d hit his head while rolling around in the restroom during the system shutdown yesterday.
His face was swollen, there was a lump, and just scrunching his eyebrows caused a sharp pain. When Tae-oh’s fist landed on top of that, a scream involuntarily escaped. At the scream of ‘Ah!’ Tae-oh, too, unconsciously took a step back.
“Sorry...!”
In his confusion, he couldn’t even finish his words and unintentionally ended up using informal language. His expression broke, and Tae-oh's embarrassment was evident on his face.
