Tae-oh hesitated in front of Yeong-ho, who was smiling fondly at the thought of the five of them getting along. The Tae-oh that Yeong-ho had always known was someone with a high threshold for patience. Things that would make others cry and complain, Tae-oh would endure quietly. He was the type who would find his own solutions, managing most situations on his own, and, as a result, required less attention from others.
However, Tae-oh was also the kind of person who, when faced with something beyond his ability to handle, would be direct and honest in asking for help—without hesitation. He would carefully consider things before approaching Yeong-ho, so there was usually no wavering in his actions. But today, for some reason, Tae-oh was faltering in front of him.
Though Yeong-ho had known Tae-oh for a long time, he had only seen this behavior once before—when Tae-oh had told him that he thought it might be time to quit being a trainee and face reality, just before Sol had joined them. Back then, it had been Yeong-ho who felt more anxious.
The thought of what difficult subject Tae-oh might be about to bring up made Yeong-ho’s heart sink. He feared that Tae-oh might be about to say he wanted to quit again. When Tae-oh had mentioned quitting before, Yeong-ho had regretted not handling it more maturely. Instead, he had taken out his frustration on the others.
Recalling that moment, when his anxiety had boiled over and he had snapped at the others, wondering how they could laugh while Tae-oh was thinking of quitting, made Yeong-ho swallow hard. Ever since then, he had thought long and hard about how he would respond and persuade Tae-oh if he ever brought up the subject again.
He thought things had been going well, but he never expected that he would need to use those carefully prepared words so soon. As Tae-oh’s hesitation dragged on, Yeong-ho’s face turned pale. This time, it seemed serious. What if his planned arguments didn’t work? Deciding it was better to get it over with quickly, Yeong-ho broke the silence first.
“Tae-oh-yah, is something wrong?”
At Yeong-ho’s question, Tae-oh nodded with a serious expression, but still didn’t speak right away. Yeong-ho, growing increasingly anxious, couldn't wait any longer for Tae-oh to respond.
“I know I messed up last time, but that won’t happen again. Just tell me. What’s going on?”
“It’s nothing serious.”
“Really? If it’s not serious, then…?”
Even though Tae-oh’s response was nonchalant, he still didn’t bring up the real reason he had come. As Tae-oh continued to hesitate, Yeong-ho’s unease only grew. His mind was consumed with the thought, “It’s coming! Something bigger is coming!”
“Tae-oh-yah, please. Don’t keep things bottled up and explode later. Please, just tell me. I feel like I’m going to have a heart attack.”
“……”
Tae-oh’s lips, which were usually firmly shut, were pressed even tighter today. Yeong-ho was almost tearing at his nonexistent hair, practically screaming.
"Please!"
If Tae-oh kept his mouth shut here, Yeong-ho would hound him all day, demanding to know what was going on. In the end, Tae-oh let out a short sigh and finally spoke the words he had been hesitant to say.
"It’s nothing. Everyone’s just worried about Sung Sol, so I was thinking of stopping by the dorm to bring him lunch."
"What?"
As Tae-oh had said, it really wasn’t a big deal. Feeling deflated after all his hair-pulling, Yeong-ho slumped his shoulders and looked at Tae-oh. Maybe because of his frustration, Yeong-ho began to nag Tae-oh in a way he usually wouldn’t. In fact, this was the first time Yeong-ho had ever personally nagged Tae-oh like this. Normally, this kind of nagging was something Tae-oh would dish out to the other members.
“Tae-oh-yah, instead of doing that, why don’t you practice a little more... no, actually, you’re already practicing enough. You should use that time to get some rest or catch a nap.”
“Ah, okay.”
“...Good, good. It’s nice that you’re looking out for your friend. But make sure to take care of yourself too. You were out there freezing during the shoot yesterday as well. If you have time to spare, at least take a breather. I’ll take good care of Sol, so don’t worry.”
“Yes.”
Tae-oh nodded at Yeong-ho’s words. In fact, the reason Tae-oh had hesitated was exactly that. He completely agreed with what Yeong-ho was saying. Everyone was visibly exhausted and couldn’t concentrate on practice. It would be more efficient to rest or conserve their energy during that time rather than going to the dorm and bothering with lunch. His head understood that, but the chatter from the members earlier had been exactly in line with his own feelings, which is what had led him to Yeong-ho in the first place.
“Then I’ll be going. Please look after Sung Sol.”
“Alright. Tae-oh-yah, there’s really nothing else going on, right?”
Still feeling uneasy, Yeong-ho asked one more time. Tae-oh nodded calmly and turned to leave. Just as he took a step, he paused, then turned back and called out to Yeong-ho once more.
“Yeong-ho hyung, Sung Sol hasn’t said anything about needing to go to the hospital or get any special treatment, right?”
“Huh? No, I haven’t heard anything like that. Why?”
Seeing the expression on Yeong-ho's face that indicated he hadn't heard anything about it, Tae-oh hesitated for a moment and swallowed his words. He couldn't shake off what Sol had said the previous night. He felt torn between the thought that his meddling might hurt Sol and the belief that Sol needed help. Just as Tae-oh nodded and turned to leave, Yeong-ho's voice stopped him in his tracks. Clapping his hands as if something had come to mind, Yeong-ho exclaimed.
"Oh, right. I heard from Director Choi and the Representative that when they scouted Sol, they met at some rehab? Like a manual therapy clinic or something.... Rehab—does that mean he got hurt? I never thought about it until now.... Is Sol sick or something?"
But the words that came out of Yeong-ho's mouth were far from what Tae-oh had expected. “Rehab” and “manual therapy” made it clear that Sol didn’t want to reveal this to the company, so Tae-oh decided to stop the conversation there.
“No, it's just that I'm worried he might be overdoing it again this time.”
“Yeah, staying late to practice, and yesterday he suffered in that cold, and now here we are. Maybe I should get him some supplements or something.... I should make sure he eats properly.”
“Anyway, please take care of Sol.”
As Yeong-ho continued talking, Tae-oh bowed deeply, asking him to look after Sol. Seeing Tae-oh’s earnest gesture, Yeong-ho burst into hearty laughter.
“Come on, no need to ask. It's only natural for me to look out for you guys. I’ll have to ask him about it directly at some point. Anyway, I’ll make sure he gets some porridge.”
Tae-oh felt slightly relieved after hearing Yeong-ho’s words, promising to take care of him. Although he thought he had meddled unnecessarily, it eased his mind to know Sol would be looked after. He felt lighter, ready to tackle the day’s training with a bit more ease. As he turned with a lighter step, Yeong-ho, smiling warmly, gestured for Tae-oh to come over.
“Tae-oh-yah.”
“Yes?”
“What the heck, why don’t we all go together?”
“…Alright.”
At Yeong-ho’s suggestion, Tae-oh nodded. Satisfied, Yeong-ho patted Tae-oh on the back with a proud look.
Meanwhile, Sol lay on the sofa, groaning under a pile of blankets. Finally alone, he tried to refocus his blurry vision and checked the inventory and items he had carefully accumulated. But soon after, he stared blankly at the mint-colored window that appeared in front of him and closed it. He was still hesitant to use any of the items. Sol’s eyes, dry and burning with fever, slowly closed as he gently rubbed his eyelids. Suddenly, a noise startled him, and he sat up abruptly.
The sound of the door lock's buttons being pressed. Sol, who had been lying down hugging the blanket tightly, got up and stared blankly at the front door. The door suddenly swung open, and Deuk-yong came rushing in.
"Sol hyung, have you eaten!?"
"Huh...?"
Deuk-yong, holding white plastic bags in both hands, was followed by the members who were supposed to be at the practice room, all filing in one by one. As each member crossed the threshold, they added a comment of their own. Sol, still in a daze, stood there staring at the members as they each said something to him.
"Why are you out here! You should be lying down where it's warm!"
Before Ji-ho's nagging was even finished, Ga-ram spoke in an exceedingly gentle tone.
"Sol, we brought porridge for you. Eat it and then take your medicine."
When Yeong-ho waved his hand, Deuk-yong raised the bags he was holding in both hands, acting excitedly. Deuk-yong seemed more interested in the food than anything else.
"Yeong-ho hyung bought it from the special porridge place."
Yeong-ho, Ji-ho, and Deuk-yong headed to the kitchen, and Tae-oh was the last to enter the dorm. Sol, still dazed, looked over at Tae-oh. Tae-oh had a much more serious expression than usual, almost solemn. Seeing his serious face, Sol began to feel tense, thinking maybe Tae-oh didn’t approve of the situation. Tae-oh, with a stiff expression, gave Sol a slight nod.
"...Everyone was worried about you."
"Ah, I see."
As the two stood there awkwardly facing each other, Ga-ram chimed in.
"Tae-oh was worried about you too. Right?"
"......."
Instead of replying, Tae-oh simply nodded. For a brief moment, Sol noticed that Tae-oh's ears, visible next to his black hair, had turned bright red. At that, all of Sol’s tension melted away. Wrapping himself tighter in his blanket and glancing at Tae-oh, Sol let out a small smile.
Yoon Tae-oh, someone who hated making mistakes. Having known Tae-oh for a long time, Ga-ram could see a little bit of what was going on inside him. Distracted by other thoughts, Tae-oh had even messed up the choreography he’d created. Even though he was worried about Sol just like the others, he found it awkward to express his feelings, which made him act so stiffly.
"What are you doing, guys? Come on, let's eat."
In the kitchen, at the sound of Yeong-ho calling, Ga-ram nudged Sol forward. Tae-oh, who was watching the scene, touched the back of his heated ear and approached the members seated around the table, moving next to Yeong-ho.
While looking at Ji-ho, Deuk-yong started acting cute in a way that didn’t suit him, even though they had brought packaged porridge. Holding a spoon that he didn’t even need, he glanced around at everyone with pitiful, pleading eyes.
“Kimchi octopus porridge. Can’t you spare me just one bite?”
“You’re scary when you look at me like that, Deuk-yong-ah. Will you pay me back if I lend you some?”
“I’ll repay you with chicken breast.”
“Will that do?”
At Ji-ho’s cold response, Deuk-yong pointed to the abalone porridge with his spoon and begged again.
“Ah, seriously, you’re too much. Then how about the abalone porridge?”
“That’s Sol’s. Don’t touch it.”
This time, Ga-ram smacked away his spoon. Seeing this, Sol felt bad and cautiously sided with Deuk-yong.
“Can’t we just share it?”
At Sol’s words, Deuk-yong’s face noticeably brightened, and he glanced once again at his strict older brothers. Seeing Deuk-yong’s desperate expression and Sol’s flushed face, Yeong-ho finally shook his head.
“Ugh, fine. Eat. Eat. I’ll let it slide just for today. But only a little. Sol-ah, you eat a lot.”
As soon as he was given permission, Deuk-yong let out a cheer of joy. Sol, his face now warmly flushed, gave a gentle smile and nodded. In that moment, it felt as if sunlight had poured onto the dining table, brightening the atmosphere.
