[LEE HWAYOUNG’S POV]
When I was younger, children my age in my neighborhood were kidnapped.
It was targeting the children from an affluent neighborhood in London, so their objective was obviously money. Since my mother’s family was famous enough that every member’s name was known to the public, it was inevitable that we would be targeted first.
In the end, my mother, worried for me since I was very young, chose to take me abroad for a while. To a country where there were no guns, where it was safe; the country where my father was born and raised.
As we were settling into life in an unfamiliar country, South Korea, a major accident struck my mother’s company. Naturally, both my mother and father had to dedicate their time to resolving it, which required them to travel back and forth between the UK and Korea.
As a result, when the time came when neither of my parents could take care of me, I was taken in by a man who was my father’s half-brother.
The man, fully dressed in a perfect suit down to the best details, with his hair neatly styled in a pomade fashion, appeared flawless. I couldn’t find a single stray strand. He looked less like a living person and more like a deliberately crafted being.
He scanned me with eyes that held no emotion, then muttered.
“…This is troublesome. What should I do with this?”
As soon as I met those deeply sunken red eyes, accompanied by a stoic expression that didn’t seem to be troubled at all, I got terrified and froze in place.
Being so young made me feel it even more instinctively.
That man is not normal.
He was fundamentally different from my mother’s family, who had showered me with unconditional affection.
Later, when I was older and asked my father why he had entrusted me to a such a human being who lacked humanity, my father answered like this.
“Because at least, he would never get greedy and put you in danger. Unlike the other family members. The hired people were untrustworthy to begin with.”
“…….”
“Nick, humans are scary because they are human.“
For my safety, my father chose the person who seemed least likely to have any interest in me. It wasn’t until after I met the rest of my father’s family, excluding Choi Jeokhyeon, that I understood the logic of his ridiculous decision.
The young me, who couldn’t understand my father’s intentions at all, was experiencing fear for the first time in my life when I faced Choi Jeokhyeon, and between us, only a chilling silence hung in the air.
Choi Jeokhyeon looked at me, who naturally lagged behind and couldn’t understand complicated sentences, as if observing an unknown creature, and eventually made a phone call to someone.
“Hey, Yutae-ya.”
And shortly thereafter, a strange man appeared.
“…Do you even know how to hold a baby?”
“Why do I have to hold him?”
The man, who sighed in resignation at Choi Jeokhyeon’s response, had hair longer than my mother’s. However, unlike my mother’s wavy, curling hair, his was perfectly straight, flowing smoothly along the curves of his body like silk.
I clung to him with desperation, holding on to him as if my life depended on it.
I wanted him to get me away from that person quickly.
“What did you do to this child?”
“Well, I didn’t do anything.”
He seemed taken aback for a moment, but then he picked me up as if he’d done it a thousand times.
‘It must be because he had the experience of taking care of Seo Yuseong for so many years.’
“…He smells like a baby.”
He would bury his face next to my cheek and breathe slowly, and when I lifted my head, his deeply amethyst-colored eyes would stare back at me. And on his arms and neck, exposed through his clothes, were black drawings, which I was told were of his mother and younger brother’s birth flowers. I used to love tracing them with my fingers.
The strangest thing was that ever since he appeared and started giving me affection, the Choi Jeokhyeon I had feared so much began to smile like an ‘
ordinary person
‘, spent his days normally, and even treated me as part of his
‘family
‘.
Seeing that, it wasn’t so surprising that I, who hated being touched by people, grew so attached to the human being named Seo Yutae so quickly.
“Nicky really likes Yutae. Right?“
My mother even said that to me once.
Everyone did.
Everyone was drawn to his affection and uniqueness, and they found themselves wanting to stay by his side. It was quite an amusing situation, because he was so oblivious that he wasn’t even aware of it.
“Jack, when I’m on stage, the fans in the audience look like shining stars.”
“Then, I become the sky that holds them up.”
When Seo Yutae took me to the concert hall, he often said such things to me.
But I had never agreed with him.
He was a person who shone brighter than anyone I knew.
Even in a crowded room filled with famous celebrities, he would still stand out as a special existence. I could say with certainty that it would have been impossible for him to live an ordinary life, even if he had wanted to.
“Jack, you can’t just expect others to understand you without any explanation. Not everyone can immediately grasp your feelings like I do. If you try to explain yourself a little more, everyone will understand you. So, keep trying.“
“I hope you grow up being loved by many people.”
Seo Yutae was a special person to me.
“Trainee Nicholas Hwayoung Lee gives off a vibe very similar to Seo Yutae-ssi. You can really feel that he was born with exceptional star quality.”
“They seem to have similar personalities and Korean speaking styles, don’t they? Maybe it’s because he’s his fan.”
He was a guiding light in my life.
“They said he fell off a building and died.”
The notion that someone like him had left the world that way, I didn’t want to believe it.
No, to be honest, I didn’t believe it.
Because I knew a secret that no one else knew, a secret even Seo Yutae himself wasn’t aware of.
One day, when I was a bit older than when I first met him but before my appearance had matured, as I had yet to go through puberty, Seo Yutae came to Choi Jeokhyeon’s house as usual.
“You’ve worked hard. You seem very tired these days. Isn’t your schedule a bit too demanding?”
“….I don’t know. It suddenly increased a lot. I have a lot of work to do, but I don’t have the time.”
“Take a quick nap.”
“Yeah, I’m going to bed right now.”
Judging from his conversation with Choi Jeokhyeon and the deep shadows under his eyes, Seo Yutae seemed like he hadn’t slept for days due to his busy schedule. Perhaps he had come to rest at Choi Jeokhyeon’s house because the environment was more comfortable and familiar than his dorm, and it was also close by.
Looking dazed and exhausted, he was about to go straight into the house when he belatedly noticed me standing quietly a little distance away. He gave me a weak smile and said, “
Jack, you’re here?
“. As if by habit, he stretched out his hand to hug me, but then paused and stepped back.
“Ah, I can’t right now. I didn’t know you were coming, so I smoked. Wait until I finish my shower.”
Choi Jeokhyeon, who had been quietly watching him, spoke with a tone filled with concern.
“I think it’s better to get some sleep first. You can do it after you wake up.”
“It’s fine. It’s not as bad as it looks.”
He casually dismissed Choi Jeokhyeon’s request, turned around, and went straight into the room with an en suite bathroom.
I followed him in less than ten minutes, feeling anxious at the sight of his condition, which didn’t seem normal in the slightest. However, as soon as I entered the room, the situation before me was far more serious than I had anticipated, and I was so startled that I gasped and let out a sharp scream.
“…Seo Yutae!”
There was bright red blood scattered on the floor, and Seo Yutae, with his hand pressed against his nose to stop the bleeding, was sitting on the floor, unable to maintain his balance. As soon as I saw that, I tried to approach him, but even in that state, he told me he was fine and asked me to leave.
I didn’t believe what he said at all, so I jumped up and tried to call Choi Jeokhyeon, who was working in the study. However, the moment I turned my back, I felt a chilling sensation from behind.
“…….”
When I slowly turned around and looked back, what I saw was Seo Yutae collapsing on the floor, completely unconscious.
“What is this…….“
There was a
huge beast with white fur.
It was no ordinary animal.
The beast, whose enormous body could fill the spacious room, had large, lightly pigmented eyes that almost looked amber, and fur so white and glossy that it seemed not of this world.
The
thing
, which had been gazing at me without a sound, slowly coiled its massive body around Seo Yutae as if guarding a treasure. Then, it gently closed its eyes. As time slowly passed in that state, the shadows under Seo Yutae’s eyes, the chapped wounds on his lips, and other signs of exhaustion gradually faded, and color began to return to his face.
And when Seo Yutae blinked his eyes open, fully recovered, the beast vanished without a trace. He got up and said calmly, as if he had no idea what had happened to him.
“Jack, I’m strong, so I’m really fine. Go to Choi Jeokhyeon and ask him to keep you company for a bit. Don’t wait here.”
“…What was that just now?“
“What?“
I felt like I was dreaming.
I didn’t tell anyone what I saw that day. I felt like the beast was watching me wherever and whenever I was. I also knew that no one would believe such a ridiculous story.
But this much was clear.
It
was clearly protecting Seo Yutae, regardless of his will.
‘Would that beast have stood by and let Seo Yutae take his own life?’
I kept repeating that question to myself, almost like brainwashing, as a way to deny reality.
I didn’t think I would be able to bear it if I didn’t.
And then I returned to Korea and spent my days preparing to stand on the stage—the place that suited him best, the place where destiny had led him.
During that time, I met Han Seungbeom.
The trainee of the same age, with amber-colored eyes, was the exact opposite of Seo Yutae on the outside, but on the inside, he was eerily identical to him.
A genius with exceptional composing, dancing, and leadership skills.
Han Seungbeom possessed all three abilities that defined Seo Yutae.
Also, when he was deep in thought, he would unconsciously raise his hand, only to belatedly realize that his neck was bare and scratch it awkwardly. His movements felt out of place, as if he had once had a larger body, and his English pronunciation was similar to Seo Yutae’s.
And, just like Seo Yutae, he couldn’t sleep well.
As the night deepened, it became common for him to absentmindedly look up at the sky or stare at the ticking second hand of a clock.
‘You, you keep doing this…….’
‘Are you having trouble sleeping?’
. The unfinished sentence was always lingering on the tip of my tongue.
Every time Han Seungbeom barely managed to fall asleep, he would always let out suppressed groans, as if he was having a nightmare.
But today, he uttered a clear word.
Someone’s name.
“…Yuseong-ah, Seo Yuseong. Yuseong-ah……”
He must have been referring to Seo Yuseong of Prism.
However, Prism were significantly older than us, and as our seniors, they weren’t the kind of people Han Seungbeom could casually call on. Yet, to call one of them, as if he was longing for someone more precious than anything else? Something was strange.
I jerked him upright and softly called Han Seungbeom.
“…Han Seungbeom.”
But he didn’t answer.
I shook his body, drenched in a cold sweat, and calmly called him again.
“Han Seungbeom.”
Then, Han Seungbeom opened his eyes and mumbled something strange.
“████ ██ ██ ██████.”
“…What?”
He seemed to be out of his mind. His eyes were unfocused, and his hands were shaking frantically.
“█ ███ ██ ██ ██.”
As soon as I heard his panicked voice, the words Choi Jeokhyeon had said to me not long ago came to mind.
“The more nostalgic you feel, the more you should look at your surroundings carefully, Nick.”
…Seo Yutae?
[END OF LEE HWAYOUNG’S POV]
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Translator’s Corner:
If you’re wondering about the last part, no, Nicholas didn’t hear a robotic, unclear, blurred words like usually happen in a novel with system (well, at least it happens in SSS Cafe). He heard it clearly, he just didn’t tell us the readers (I seriously don’t remember him even telling us what he heard too in future chapter, so I’m not sure. Nicholas, stop with the gatekeeping??? (but my memory can be wrong too))
I really like a lot of details explained in this chapter tbh like. It was really funny if you looked back at how Jay just kept quiet when he met Nicholas in SI even though he 100% must have remember that blond guy is the same person as the baby his hyung used to bring every concert. No one was expecting MC not to recognize him just because the little sulky cat has turned into a vicious tiger. (This is why it’s important how Prism members said MC literally didn’t care about anyone else that he grouped to “The Rest”, he can’t even remember them or recognize their presence, but even that, he subconsciously aware of Nicholas and concerned with him from the very start).
Also you knew how fans usually got offended when a rookie imitating their idol, just like how Taeui was getting a backlash from Seras back then, but Nicholas was keep getting “You look like Seo Yutae”, “Your personality to style really similiar to Seo Yutae” but SERAS DIDN’T SAY ANYTHING ABOUT NICHOLAS. They KNOW LOLOLOL It’s just like how you usually recognize the kids who often close with idols, and cheered them when they’re debuting as idol later. Like, Ella from MEOVV who’s getting supported by members of Blackpink. It kinda what happened here. Just that, maybe they’re quiet because Seo Yutae’s reputation isn’t great and linking a trainee as “close to him” wouldn’t do any good, and the media themselves are too afraid of Nicholas’ family to write article about their relationship. And it was also awkward to ask, you know, considering it’s a sensitive matter.
And well, the rest will be explained soon. I want to do it soon, but sighs, I need to help my neighbour today. Their daughter is getting married, so there’s a lot of things to help with … and by things, I mean cooking (village is different from city where people would have a wedding event in a rented hall and everything is bought) (we literally cooked everything in our own here) (which requires me, a neighbour’s daughter with no job, to help asdfghjkl) (it’s fun though, i will bring home a lot of food) (and cooking with older mamas really boost my cooking skill).
omg it just occured to me how hard Nicholas’ daily life must have been … his roomate keeps groaning when sleeping