“Hide me, please hide me…….”
Since Taeui wasn’t someone I had to protect, nor did it matter how he viewed me, it felt like my true feelings had unconsciously slipped out. If I had been in front of the members of Prism or Pantheion, I would never have shown this side of myself.
‘…Damn.’
And, as a matter of course, I immediately regretted it when I saw the confusion and bewilderment on Taeui’s face. I realized I’d let the pressure of facing Jo Inchan muddle my judgment, and I hadn’t been able to think straight.
‘He’s not Choi Jeokhyeon. Why did you ask for help from such a kid, Seo Yutae?’
With such deep regret in my heart, I tried to pull myself up.
But at that moment, Taeui suddenly grabbed my wrist. Then, in a hurry, he helped me up and tried to get me out of there.
“…That way, quickly!”
Taeui seemed to have no idea who was approaching us now, or why I was suddenly so distressed. But since my immediate condition was quite alarming, he must have judged that he should listen to my request first, rather than trying to figure out the situation.
Before I even had time to be surprised, I was pulled away by Taeui, stumbling along. Our hasty escape was cut short, however, as a sharp, husky voice echoed through the quiet hospital hallway.
“Stop right there, Seungbeom-ssi.”
“…….”
It was Jo Inchan’s voice.
‘…Did he recognize my face in that short time?’
He was calling me by name, so I couldn’t pretend not to notice him.
Now that my senior had so clearly called me out, the excuse of “
I didn’t realize you were there because I was distracted
” wouldn’t work anymore. As I felt the escape routes closing in, I squeezed my eyes shut and let out a silent groan.
“…….”
As soon as Taeui heard Jo Inchan’s voice, his shoulders flinched, and he froze in place, his fingertips trembling. Seeing how unnaturally stiff he’d become, I resigned myself to the inevitable and turned around.
Then, I greeted Jo Inchan with a stiff “Hello” and bowed my waist. Although I kept my head lowered to keep my expression and gaze hidden, his eyes, dry and emotionless, remained fixed on my face.
“What are you so scared of that you run away from me? Have you done something wrong to me?”
“…I have somewhere I need to go urgently.”
“…….”
He didn’t respond to my excuse.
The way he simply tilted his head and looked away, it was clear he didn’t believe me at all. He rubbed his hand over his tired, heavy eyelids and then asked me again in a listless voice.
“You’re the member of the group that had an accident today, aren’t you?”
It took me a little while, but once I understood the meaning of his question, I let out a weak ‘
Ah
‘.
‘He wanted to ask about Do Yuda … Yeah, it’s only natural that people are more focused on Do Yuda, who’s causing a big stir with the accident news, rather than me.’
The phrase ‘t
he member of the group that had an accident
‘ made me remember, belatedly, that I was no longer
Seo Yutae
, but Han Seungbeom. There was no way Jo Inchan would recognize me. I made an effort to keep my composure and answered.
“Yes, that’s right.”
“How is your friend’s leg? I heard he underwent surgery.”
“He’s currently recovering after the surgery. I’ve heard that his prognosis is positive.”
Was my voice shaking?
I can’t tell.
I tried to respond as normally as I could, but I couldn’t make an objective judgment.
Fortunately, I didn’t seem to appear particularly strange. Jo Inchan gave a weak smile and mumbled something.
“…I see, that’s a relief.”
His dark face was etched with exhaustion, and his lips barely curved into the slightest hint of a smile, yet it stirred such a deep sense of longing in me. As my restless heart fluttered, I traced back my memories and realized it had been years since I’d last seen him smile, even that faintly.
Then, that smile no longer felt pleasant.
“Tell him to focus on his treatment and get plenty of rest so his condition doesn’t get worse.”
Just as I was fighting to control the tremor in my throat beneath my tightly pressed lips, Jo Inchan pointed to his knee—protected by a brace and marked with a clear scar—and continued.
“Otherwise, he’ll end up regretting it later.”
“…Thank you for your concern. I’ll make sure to tell him.”
Following his gesture, I dropped my gaze uneasily to the floor so as not to stare at his knee. After bowing slightly to express my gratitude, I slowly stepped back, trying to bring the conversation to a natural close.
Beeep! Beeep!
At that moment, Jo Inchan’s phone rang. As he silently watched me, he gave a nod, as if telling me to leave, and then answered the call.
“…I’m at the hospital. You’ve already heard from the manager, so why are you still doubting me?”
Leaving Jo Inchan’s weary voice behind, I gently pulled the still-dazed Taeui along as I started to walk away. As we passed through the long corridor and I began to feel relieved that Jo Inchan was fading into the distance, I heard a faint voice calling me from behind.
“Seungbeom-ssi.”
When I turned around, I saw Jo Inchan watching me, his hand covering the microphone of his phone as he held it down.
“Even if that member says something harsh, please don’t take it to heart … He doesn’t really mean it, he’s probably just saying it because he’s anxious and on edge. He’s not thinking straight.”
“…….”
“It’s just … you looked like you were having a hard time. I called you because I wanted to tell you that.”
His tone was gentle, just like the one he used for me in the past.
As soon as I heard that, I lowered my head again and left, practically fleeing the scene.
***
I made it to the break room in a panic, and as soon as I sat down in the chair, I hunched over and gasped for air. Then, Taeui, who had been wearing a serious expression the whole time, came over and asked me.
“…Do you have any relationship with Jo Inchan-sunbaenim?”
I hesitated for a moment before answering, deliberately trying to sound nonchalant.
“He’s one of the people who means the most to me. He probably doesn’t think anything of me, but he’s someone I care about enough that I don’t care if he doesn’t feel the same. I was just a little shocked to see that he didn’t seem to be in a good state. I’m sorry for showing you such a distraught appearance.”
After being so visibly shaken earlier, I knew lying about us being nothing wouldn’t work, so I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Plus, seeing Taeui try to help me earlier had made me see him a bit differently.
But my answer seemed to drain all the color from Taeui’s face again, just as it had been before Jo Inchan arrived, and he lowered his head.
“Taeui-ssi?”
Puzzled by his behavior, I called his name. But he didn’t respond at all, and instead began to speak in a rambling, frantic way, as if he’d lost his mind.
“There’s something I haven’t been able to tell you until now. But now that I know how important Jo Inchan-sunbaenim is to you, Han Seungbeom-nim, I don’t think I can hide it any longer.”
“…….”
“Han Seungbeom-nim, do you know what Director Kang Hyukwoo is doing to Jo Inchan-sunbaenim and the other members of Prism?”
Taeui’s words sent a chill through my heart.
Could it be that Taeui knows about Jo Inchan’s video?
That thought struck me, and when I quietly mentioned the name of the club where Jo Inchan had been dragged to, he nodded with a pale face.
“…How do you know about that, Taeui-ssi?”
I raised my voice and threw a sharp question, and Taeui, with his eyes tightly closed, started to confess.
“My father … worked under Director Kang Hyukwoo for a long time. He took out a loan from loan sharks connected to Director Kang Hyukwoo, leaving him no choice but to either die with his organs harvested or do whatever they told him.”
“…Taeui-ssi, you’re not saying that on the day that video was filmed, your father helped with that, are you?”
Taeui didn’t deny what I said. Instead, he spoke as if he were weighed down by guilt, barely able to breathe properly.
“…I think the person who filmed that video and stored the data was my father.”
“…….”
“I’m sorry. I’m truly sorry! I don’t expect you to forgive me. I have no intention of living a shamelessly happy life after pushing someone else’s life into a pit.”
Watching Taeui beg so desperately, I was filled with an emotion I couldn’t name.
Even though I knew Taeui wasn’t at fault, I still felt a surge of anger thinking about what Jo Inchan had suffered.
“…Where is your father now?”
“My father is living like a shell of a person now. He’s paid off all the debt, but Director Kang Hyukwoo won’t let our family go … I’m nothing but a replacement for my father.”
‘So, that’s why he knows all the ins and outs of RH Entertainment.’
But didn’t I also go through a time when I had to bear the full weight of my parent’ wrongdoings, just because I shared his blood? I knew better than anyone what that feeling was like, so I couldn’t bring myself to say anything to blame him.
Instead, I said something else.
“If you want to ease that guilt even a little, shouldn’t you focus on rectifying the situation, instead of just offering apologies like this? Just like you’ve been doing until now, Taeui-ssi.”
I didn’t know if Jo Inchan would ever forgive Taeui’s father. But what had already happened couldn’t be undone, and since the main culprit of all these things was still roaming this society perfectly fine, I had to pull myself together and keep my priorities straight.
Despite the danger to himself and his family, Taeui was cooperating with me to bring down RH Entertainment. I couldn’t let my anger be misplaced.
“The video that Director Kang Hyukwoo used for blackmail is edited. There must be an original version, and whether it’s to expose the truth or to make sure Director Kang Hyukwoo can’t use the video anymore, we need to get our hands on it as soon as possible.”
“…That’s impossible.”
Hearing my words, Taeui gritted his teeth and shook his head.
“The original version has already been stolen by someone. There was someone who paid off my father’s enormous debt and, in return, instructed him to steal the secured storage containing the data. Director Kang Hyukwoo was paranoid about hacking and theft, so he kept only one copy of the data, stored in strict security. Now that it’s gone, we have no chance of finding the original.”
“…If that was the situation, you should have told me sooner! Even putting aside the fact that we can’t get the original, you must know what could happen if it falls into the wrong hands.”
“…I’m sorry for not telling you sooner. However, other than the edited video one that Director Kang Hyukwoo has, the original video will never be misused again. You have my word on that.”
“That person might have a change of heart someday and try to use the video for malicious purposes like Kang Hyukwoo did. You’re not blindly trusting that person, are you?”
At my words, Taeui slowly shook his head, as if to say that wasn’t what he meant, and then repeated the same thing in a low but clear voice.
“No. Nothing will happen.”
His eyes, dark and lifeless, fell downwards as he averted his gaze from mine, and he continued softly.
“…Because that person is no longer in this world. After that person passed away, the whereabouts of the original became unknown, so how could it be used?”
“What do you mean……”
Before I could even frown at the unexpected answer, he uttered another news that shattered my mind completely.
“It was Seo Yutae-sunbaenim. He was the one who got his hands on the original.”
…What?
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Translator’s Corner:
Day 11 … I’m frozen … let it go …. let it go … can’t hold it back anymore….
Sorry for the delayed update. It has been raining heavily, with winds and all, for two days non-stop in my place T_T And it’s nonstop in literal way … not stopping at all … not only it’s cold as hell (I think there’s a hell that’s cold), but a lot of streets are flooded, so they had to turn off the electricity in the whole village for safety issue … I just got it back a few hours ago after surviving without lights for hours.
Anyway. Happy Chinese / Lunar New Year! May you have great luck and stay in good health in this Year of the Snake!
I guess it’s a good thing this chapter is delayed, so you guys didn’t spend your holiday in distress….