Chapter 42
All kinds of thoughts swirl in my head.
I quickly sit the kid down on the building’s garden and check his condition. I pull down his socks and touch his ankle area.
“Where exactly does it hurt?”
“I don’t know, hyung. I think I twisted it.”
He looked pale, so it must have been a bad twist.
“Hyung, what do I do? If the manager finds out, he’ll scold me a lot. And the trainers too…”
“Is that what you’re worried about right now?”
I sighed at the youngest, who was saying stupid things in this situation.
What should I do?
I called Seok-hwan hyung, but there was no answer. Min-ki hyung was the same.
After leaving a bunch of missed calls, I rubbed my frustrated chest.
I have to act on my own for now.
“Let’s go to the hospital first. We can get an X-ray there and get a prescription if there’s a problem.”
“Hyung. I can’t walk because it hurts.”
“I’ll support you, so don’t worry.”
The youngest nodded his head. I bent my body awkwardly to wrap his arm around me.
“Ow.”
“Walk carefully.”
Did he break a bone or something?
His wet eyelashes and innocent face came into view.
He looked scared.
My ankle was sprained and it hurt, and I wondered if this would affect my debut schedule. Or if I would cause trouble for my hyungs while practicing. He looked worried.
That’s when I remembered something I had overlooked until now.
That Ji-ho was only seventeen.
That he was not an adult yet. And that he was my younger brother who I had to take care of the most, being five years younger than me.
“Just hang in there.”
I said as I approached the roadside to hail a taxi.
“I’ll take you to the hospital right away.”
***
We visited the emergency room of the university hospital.
It was a holiday, so all the other hospitals were closed.
The doctor who took care of Ji-ho diagnosed him with a mild sprain.
He said he would be fine if he rested for a couple of days and not to worry.
We paid the hospital fee and came out of the hospital with Ji-ho.
“Are you okay?”
“I feel a bit better after taking the anti-inflammatory medicine.”
He looked much brighter than before, and I felt relieved.
“Don’t scare me like that. You gave me a huge fright.”
“I’m sorry.”
He would have made a joke like ‘Do you like me that much?’ at any other time, but he was obedient now. It was strange.
“Hyung, but…”
Ji-ho asked cautiously, looking around.
“Are you going to tell the others? The hyungs or the trainer teachers.”
“I have to. Min-ki hyung will pick us up tomorrow morning. What am I supposed to say? Can you go down the stairs?”
“Hold on.”
He got up and walked a few steps, then quickly sat down.
“I don’t think I can.”
“Don’t worry about it. No one will say anything for taking a day or two off because you’re injured.”
“I’m not afraid of getting scolded, but the nagging is scary. As soon as Bi-ju hyung sees me, he’ll nag me for a week. No, he’ll follow me like a babysitter every time I go down the stairs for a month.”
“Think positively. That’s how much we care about you.”
“I’m not a baby.”
I stared at the chocolate milk in his hand.
Ji-ho coughed and changed the subject.
“Then let’s at least compromise, hyung. I didn’t fall because I was looking at my phone, but because I had an unavoidable situation and sprained my ankle. For example, I got injured while practicing dance.”
“Why are you so afraid of hearing bad things?”
“Just…”
Ji-ho mumbled.
“I don’t like it when someone looks at me with disappointment.”
“No one will be disappointed by this, so don’t worry.”
I was ready to take responsibility if anything went wrong.
But that seemed unlikely.
“If anyone says anything or does anything, I’ll stand up for you.”
I blinked and saw the youngest one looking at me with a strange expression.
It was a hard-to-interpret look, as if he wanted to copy me.
He was about to open his lips when it happened.
“Wang Ji-ho!”
A hoarse scream erupted from his lungs.
Someone was standing there, drawing everyone’s attention.
Why is he here?
A sharp-faced young man in a striped shirt and black jeans approached with a frantic face.
“Are you okay? Did you get hurt? Who is this? Who did this to you?”
“Ri-hyuk, what are you doing here?”
He turned his head at my question.
“What happened?”
He was so overreacting.
His shirt was stained with sweat from running, and his face was as pale as a corpse, except for his flushed cheeks.
I knew he was secretly taking care of Ji-ho, but this was too much for a sprained ankle.
“He said he can’t walk anymore?”
“What?”
Ri-hyuk and I blinked at each other.
Then we realized something was wrong and looked at the same place.
The youngest one avoided our eyes.
“Wang Ji-ho.”
“…Yes?”
“Explain yourself.”
Ri-hyuk and I glared at Ji-ho, who was sitting in a chair with his arms crossed.
“Well… I told Ri-hyuk that I was hurt and needed to go to the hospital… And I said I was in so much pain that I couldn’t walk again.”
“Don’t lie. Is that what you sent me?”
“Well, I was going to send that, but I stopped in the middle because it hurt so much in the taxi.”
He was whining about the pain, but he was texting someone in the taxi. It turned out to be Ri-hyuk.
And he omitted the word ‘like’ from ‘can’t walk again’.
I clicked my tongue as Ji-ho glanced at Ri-hyuk. Ri-hyuk was getting angrier by the second.
“Hey. So you sprained your ankle, and it’ll heal in a week…”
“It’s two days, not a week.”
The youngest one gave me a resentful look for interrupting.
“So what about your leg? Is it fine?”
“It hurts a little.”
“Fine. As long as it’s fine. Fine.”
Ri-hyuk muttered to calm himself down.
I thought it was over, but then Ri-hyuk narrowed his eyes at something.
“Wait a minute, Wang Ji-ho. Isn’t that my shirt?”
“No, it’s not. Maybe…”
“It is my shirt. I told you not to borrow it because it’s new.”
Ri-hyuk turned his head 90 degrees toward me with a confirmed suspicion.
“Did you know?”
“Uh, I didn’t know. Geez, that was your shirt. Why did you do that, Ji-ho?”
I knew, but I didn’t care.
I didn’t expect to see him here.
If it was any other time, he would have scolded me for not knowing, since I have such a good memory. But luckily, Ri-hyuk’s anger was directed at the youngest one.
It would have been fine if he stayed quiet, but Wang Ji-ho wouldn’t be Wang Ji-ho if he did.
“Hyung, I’m a patient, so you can’t hit meeeeee!”
“You crazy bastard!”
The youngest one got slapped on the back like a son caught by his mom at a PC cafe. He threw me a cry for help.
“Hyung, you said you’d take my place, ahh!”
Of course.
“Oh, the boss called.”
I ignored him cheerfully.
***
-What’s going on?
“Nothing much. I went out with Ji-ho for a bit and he sprained his ankle.”
There was silence on the other end of the phone.
Scary.
I quickly explained the situation according to the 5W1H principle.
-How is he, serious?
“It’s not serious. The doctor said he just needs to take some anti-inflammatory pills and rest for two days.”
-That’s good. How did he fall?
Cold sweat ran down the back of my head.
“His sneaker got stuck in the gap between the sidewalk blocks. Well, anyway, there’s a reason.”
-Hospital?
“I’m at the university hospital. Here in Sinchon.”
-Well… I’m glad nothing serious happened. Is Ji-ho okay?
I saw Ji-ho sitting on a bench far away, getting hit on the back. (“I was looking at a robot vacuum cleaner and had to leave in the middle! Ro! Bot! Vacuum cleaner!”, “I’m a patient here!”)
I looked around worriedly, but luckily no one was paying attention.
“Ji-ho seems to be fine. Anyway, I’m sorry for bothering you on your day off, hyung. The situation was so chaotic earlier, I didn’t know who to rely on.”
-Yeah. Who did you contact?
I heard a cheerful voice from the other side of the phone.
-Let’s talk again when you get to the dorm. Even if you want to have more fun, try to go back to the dorm early. Don’t get hurt again on a day like this. Your body is your asset in your profession. You know that, right? (“Who is that?”)
“I got it… Huh? Hyung, I think I heard a woman’s voice just now. Who is that?”
-I’m on a date, you idiot.
I thought I should hang up quickly, but I was curious.
“Is she a real person?”
-You’re too much, really.
I heard laughter.
-Later, I’ll send a message to your PT teacher. Ask him to make you work out harder so you don’t get distracted.
“Uh, I…”
-Then let’s talk again later.
I felt like I had teased him for nothing.
I sent a message to Minki hyung, telling him not to worry, and approached the bench where the kids were.
It was a lull now.
“How are you, Ri-hyuk? Did you calm down?”
“Calm down? He hit me more. I had to leave the expo in the middle because of him. I was looking at a robot vacuum cleaner with new technology.”
“I can buy you that robot vacuum cleaner if you want.”
“It’s not for sale yet. Didn’t you hear me say new technology? It was the first demonstration at the expo.”
I didn’t quite understand his point of anger, but whatever.
“I’m a patient here. I have to go to the back surgery now. What was that, Woojoo hyung? Back surgery?”
“Orthopedic surgery.”
“Yeah, right. I think I have to go to the orthopedic surgery.”
“You sound like an orthopedic surgery. Mister, can you teach me that takedown technique? I can use it now.”
I told the kids about the conversation I had with Seok-hwan hyung.
Ji-ho looked relieved that he wasn’t scolded, and Ri-hyuk complained that such a careless kid should be punished.
But they both had a common reaction to one thing.
“Seok-hwan hyung is on a date with his girlfriend right now.”
“Girlfriend? Is she a real person?”
“Yeah. I asked him that too.”
“What did he say?”
“What did he say? He said he would contact the PT teacher and make us work out harder.”
The two siblings had a deep look of resentment on their faces.
I ignored them and pointed to the cafe on the first floor of the hospital.
“Let’s go there and have something to drink.”
“Yeah. I’m so angry because of him. I need to drink something.”
“…I’ll buy you one.”
As I approached Ji-ho, who was sitting on the bench, to comfort him, he shook his head.
“I want to be comforted by Ri-hyuk hyung.”
“Why?”
“Wooju hyung is too big. It’s more comfortable to be comforted by a smaller person.”
Ri-hyuk’s face turned red.
****
After I brought him the most expensive slice of cake in the cafe, Ri-hyuk’s mood improved a bit.
“So, did anything happen while you were dating that old man? Did anyone recognize him?”
“No. Nothing at all. I even prepared a paper for him to sign.”
I chimed in from beside the youngest, who was pouting.
“He cosplayed as a celebrity and even brought sunglasses.”
“Sunglasses? He’s not an attention seeker.”
“Hyung, you brought them too in the morning.”
“…I brought them to protect my eyes.”
We chatted for a while.
Ri-hyuk seemed to relax gradually, and when Ji-ho gave him a gift of clothes he bought himself, he completely cheered up.
He smiled as he took the bag.
“Huh? Isn’t that Jung-hyun hyung and Bi-ju hyung?”
I blinked at the youngest’s words.
What is he talking about?
“Are they re-airing Music Cafe? I don’t see a TV.”
“No. Look, there are Jung-hyun hyung and Bi-ju hyung.”
“What are you talking about?”
…I turned my head and gasped.
It was really Bi-ju and Jung-hyun.
They were talking about something and then Bi-ju disappeared somewhere.
And Jung-hyun walked away.
“Did you invite them too?”
“No. Are you crazy? I would never invite Bi-ju hyung. He would only nag me.”
Come to think of it, Jung-hyun didn’t seem to notice us. I was about to tell them to pretend we didn’t know them and let it go.
Ji-ho got up and waved his hand with a bright smile.
“Jung-hyun hyung!”
Jung-hyun, who was walking like a relaxed lion, stopped abruptly. Then he turned his head toward us.
For three seconds.
Then he looked shocked.
****
“The American football coach said that. Whether it’s a sports team or office workers, it’s hard if they don’t trust each other. And Ralph Waldo Emerson said that distrust is very costly.”
“…”
“You said you were going to play basketball with Bi-ju hyung. Are you playing basketball at the hospital these days?”
Jung-hyun was speechless at Ri-hyuk’s logical words. Then he looked at me. He had an expression that asked for help.
Why do they always make this expression when they look at me?
“Jung-hyun might have a good reason for that.”
“Then, what is it?”
Ri-hyuk looked at me and Ji-ho with a cold gaze.
Jung-hyun’s throat tightened.
I suddenly remembered the first time I met the members.
Jung-hyun’s impression was that of a charismatic eldest brother.
He looked like a handsome athlete.
But when I got to know him, I realized he was the kindest person ever.
Usually, these types of people brag about their muscles or strength, but I’ve never seen Jung-hyun use his strength on the kids, even as a joke.
Of course, if he did, we would all be dead by now.
“Jung-hyun hyung, we’ve known each other for over three years since we were trainees. I think that’s enough time to form a trust relationship with each other.”
“Ri-hyuk, there’s a situation here.”
“Then, what is it?”
Ri-hyuk said, looking around us.
“Lately, there have been more than one or two weird things, but we just let them go. Bi-ju hyung doesn’t know where his mind is and he’s spacing out every day. The other day, he even burned his breakfast. Don’t we need to know what’s going on when the situation is so strange?”
Jung-hyun pondered for a moment and then looked at me.
“What do you think, hyung?”
“Well, it’s tricky. I sympathize more with your position that it’s hard to talk about someone else’s personal life, but the problem is that we’ve already seen you guys. It’s a bit awkward to pretend it never happened and move on.”
It would be funny to say, “That’s Bi-ju’s personal life, let’s move on.” here.
It was funny how we acted like nothing had happened at the lodge. Jung-hyun sighed and looked down at the table without saying a word.
"Ah, Kim Bi-ju would hate this…"
Ri-hyuk and I leaned in to listen.
Ji-ho smiled brightly among the brothers and sipped his frappuccino.
"I came to see Kim Bi-ju's younger sibling. They're in the hospital."
"Sibling?"
I saw an inner conflict on Jung-hyun's face.
After a while, he opened his heavy mouth.
"They have cancer."
Ji-ho spat out the frappuccino he was drinking.