Just in case, he checked the clothes he had thrown into the washing machine again, but his phone was still nowhere to be found. Even as he spoke, his hand that was searching for the phone trembled slightly. For Sol, who often lost things and didn’t have many people to contact, the phone was practically useless, so it wasn’t a dire situation. Though he was concerned about the notes left inside about the members, the discomfort was outweighed by his desire to lie down and sleep due to exhaustion.
After rummaging through the clothes and the room, Sol soon sighed and crawled into bed. His energy was depleted from practicing longer than usual. The fatigue that he felt was overwhelming and hard to ignore. That phone would turn up somewhere, and even if he truly lost it, it didn’t matter much. Besides, he hadn’t been able to deal with the uncomfortable family photos on the phone, so it might be better to lose it now. Not wanting to think any further, Sol turned off the light.
The room that descended into darkness was quiet. Tae-oh wasn’t loud or talkative, but the room he used alone was unusually quiet, like the calm before a storm.
***
Information on YC’s Next Boy Group
ㅇㅇ(123.123) | 17:24:08
(Picture of young Tae-oh who was active as a public trainee.jpg)
(Picture of youth Ga-ram wearing a hat, sitting in a cafe.png)
(Screenshot of Ji-ho participating in an audition program in his early teens.jpg)
I brought over information about YC’s next trainees that was posted in another community.
YTO / KGR / DJH / DK / Sung Sol
Sung Sol? Apparently, he was the one who collapsed before; is this not public information? Does anyone know him?
└ Wow, TO and GR are still at YC? They’ve been there a long time.
└ Any recent photos?
└ Which community did this come from?
└ It’s been a while since those first two ã…‹ã…‹ã…‹ã…‹ It was a big deal when YC first released them.
└ Why?
└ Because they are good-looking.
└ Which community did this come from? Can anyone provide the source and a response... please ã… ã… especially the second one.
└ YC had introduced this on YouTube before, but it’s taken down now.
└ This is the second stalker photo. It was famous on Twitter.
└ I’m a noob, but do they even have stalkers? Their looks are bad.
└ Bad looks? No way. He’s handsome. If he looks like that, he’s sssa ta chi*. Haven’t you heard of visual shock? (T/N: An abbreviation commonly used in Korean internet slang that stands for “싸서 타치,” which translates to “best quality” or “top-notch.)
└ His face seems really small.
└ But where did this discussion come from? Which community?
└ I heard YC replaced all long-term trainees...
└ What about DK? He’s not a Chinese member, right? Please don’t include him.
***
“It’s time to wake up.”
“Okay.”
Sol responded almost reflexively to Tae-oh’s familiar voice. Though he responded, he did not get up. His eyes remained closed, and he was still lost in sleep.
“Sung Sol.”
“I came home really late yesterday. Just 10 more minutes... just a bit more...”
Sol frowned deeply at Tae-oh’s soft voice calling his name. Still groggy, Sol mumbled with his face scrunched up in annoyance. Tae-oh silently watched Sol’s sleep-deprived face. The first person to greet Tae-oh when he returned home at dawn was Ji-ho.
As soon as Ji-ho, who was out preparing breakfast, saw Tae-oh, he told him that Sol had come home very late and that Ga-ram was very worried. Tae-oh, staring at Sol’s annoyed face, relaxed his stiff shoulders. As the tension left his body, his broad shoulders slumped forward.
“...Okay.”
Sol’s sleep vanished upon hearing the unexpected answer. The frown on his face disappeared, and his eyes, now clear, sparkled in the sunlight. Sol doubted his ears for a moment. Did he hear that correctly? It seemed like an exceptionally lenient answer from Tae-oh, who disliked deviating from scheduled times, so Sol rubbed his ears in disbelief.
“...Yoon Tae-oh...?”
A mint-colored notification window appeared in Sol’s suddenly opened eyes. Behind it, he saw a pair of long legs standing by the bedside. He must still be dreaming. Otherwise, there was no way Yoon Tae-oh would give such a response.
[New User Support Event! Login Bonus]
Sol dismissed the notification without properly reading the reward details. It was a routine sight that had been repeating for some time. Except for the first time, the login bonus was always ‘Random Concept Ticket X2’, ‘Lower-Grade Fatigue Recovery Potion X2’, and some pocket money. They had accumulated quite a bit by now.
Thinking they might be needed someday, Sol especially saved the fatigue recovery potions without using them. After clearing the system window that obstructed his view, Sol slowly raised his gaze up the straight legs in front of him. At the end of that gaze was Tae-oh, looking quite exhausted with bloodshot eyes.
“Are you okay?”
Seeing his drooping shoulders and red eyes, Sol asked almost reflexively. Ironically, he had previously hated it when someone asked him, ‘Are you okay?’ But seeing Tae-oh looking so unwell, the words slipped out unconsciously.
“I’m fine. Actually, I woke you up 10 minutes early because I thought you wouldn’t get up.”
“What? No, that’s not what I meant….”
“Oh. I’m fine. I couldn’t sleep.”
“It seems like you’re the one who needs to sleep, not me…?”
Sol’s eyebrows raised slightly at the mention of being woken up 10 minutes early, then quickly lowered when he saw Tae-oh covering his eyes with his hand. Tae-oh’s large hand covered his entire face, making him look utterly exhausted and weary. Sol pushed the blanket aside and groggily got out of bed. Seeing Sol, who usually struggled with Tae-oh to get up until the last minute, rise immediately, Tae-oh looked at him quizzically.
“You can sleep more.”
“Your unusual words woke me up. I might as well get ready early today.”
“……”
As Sol roughly brushed his messy hair and got out of bed, Tae-oh sat down at the edge of the bed. Tae-oh’s complexion was as pale as someone who had stayed up all night. Usually, Tae-oh or Ga-ram would look at him like this, but today, the situation was reversed.
As Sol went into the bathroom, Tae-oh started to tidy up Sol’s bed and then collapsed onto it. Sol’s scent lingered on the blanket, like the faint fragrance of coffee after some time had passed.
After spending a sleepless night at the hospital and returning to the dormitory, ironically, he felt a sense of relief. It might be an extremely selfish thought, but the time spent with his family was more exhausting, and it was more comfortable when they were not in front of him. Tae-oh closed his eyes tightly as his head throbbed. His thick eyebrows furrowed, deepening the wrinkles between his brows.
Sol, who had just returned to the room with wet hair, froze at the scene before him. It had only taken a few minutes to wash up and come out, but in that short time, Tae-oh had fallen asleep on his bed. Judging by the neatly arranged blanket, it seemed he had fallen asleep while straightening it up.
In fact, Sol, who always fell asleep earlier and woke up later than Tae-oh, had never seen him asleep before. Sol, curious and cautious about his unfamiliar appearance, tiptoed like a criminal at a crime scene and approached Tae-oh quietly. He craned his neck to get a better look at Tae-oh’s sleeping face.
Even in his sleep, his face looked serious. His hand clutching the blanket was clenched into a tight fist, and his thick eyebrows were firmly set. His jawline was pronounced, as if he were grinding his teeth. Sol stared at his face quietly. Regardless of whether he felt pity for Tae-oh’s situation, the first thought that came to his mind was simply, ‘He’s really handsome.’ His sleeping face looked so serious, as if he were bearing the weight of the world, that Sol let out a small laugh.
But soon, Sol’s mood sank as Tae-oh’s appearance reminded him of himself. He wanted to ask what had happened, but he was still cautious. Sol hesitated for a moment, wondering if he should wake Tae-oh, but then checked the clock and decided to leave him be for a bit longer. Since he had woken up early and saved some time today, it seemed better to let Tae-oh rest, even if it was just for a minute. Sol gathered his clothes and tiptoed out to the living room like a thief, trying not to make any noise that might wake Tae-oh.
“Sol-ah, are you running away?”
“Oh, you scared me.”
Ji-ho’s sharp voice pierced the air behind Sol, who had been closing the door gently to avoid making noise. Startled by Ji-ho’s unusually loud voice, Sol clapped his hand over his mouth. Turning around, he saw Ji-ho standing there, wearing an apron and opening a package of chicken breast that Deuk-yong always carried around.
“You startled me, hyung. Why would I run away?”
“I thought you were sneaking out with your clothes.”
“Shh, shh.”
“Why? You said you weren’t running away.”
At Ji-ho’s exceptionally loud voice, Sol repeatedly brought his index finger to his lips. Each time his well-shaped lips touched his finger, they got squished. Finding Sol’s urgent gestures quite amusing, Ji-ho’s eyes curved into crescent moons as he let out his characteristic fox-like smile. Despite clearly understanding Sol’s intentions, Ji-ho continued to ask questions, causing Sol to stretch out both arms and push him away from the door. Ji-ho, wearing an apron, obediently allowed himself to be pushed back by Sol.
“Tae-oh. He’s sleeping right now.”
“Tae-oh is sleeping? At this hour?”
“He stayed up all night at the hospital, so I thought I’d let him sleep a bit before going to practice….”
“That’s unusual. But why are you up so early?”
At Sol’s words, Ji-ho also looked surprised, widening his eyes. His expression showed it was hard to say which was more surprising: Tae-oh falling asleep or Sol getting up early without making a fuss. It seemed the latter was more surprising.
“Tae-oh woke me up when he came in. What about you?”
“Making breakfast. Now I need to wake up the others.”
“I’ll do it. You should… Ji-ho hyung, you should rest a bit too.”
Sol glanced at Ji-ho and hesitated before continuing. Come to think of it, not only Tae-oh but Ji-ho also had been very busy. Tae-oh, under the pretext of being the leader, and during his absence, Ji-ho, under the pretext of being the eldest, were both busy taking care of their younger members who needed a lot of attention.
ooo did the weird stalker find his phone
ReplyDeleteI'm so sure that person stole his phone and is gonna put up the info n pictures ( the family picture) online
Delete