Chapter 35
“Why did you cry so much?”
“We both gave our best to that stage, but I felt sorry that only I advanced.”
Though the tears had stopped, Juha’s eyes were still swollen red. The production crew had probably requested an interview right now targeting that. Juha answered calmly to avoid showing any more pathetic behavior.
“Trainee Lee Juha passed because he did well. It’s a death match.”
At the interviewer’s words, Juha’s gaze dropped down.
“Taeri originally does better than me, but he hurt his ankle in the middle of the stage. If he hadn’t hurt his ankle, he would have done much better……”
Juha controlled his emotions by pressing his fingertips firmly with his nails.
He had barely stopped crying, but answering made him choke up again. The scene of Taeri twisting his ankle on stage and collapsing after elimination due to his ankle injury replayed in his mind. Juha shuddered with his eyes tightly shut.
It was a horrific scene he never wanted to see again in his life.
“At the end, trainee Choi Taeri seemed a bit surprised – was the stage ending scene something you’d agreed on?”
“Ah…… I changed that because I was worried Taeri’s ankle would get worse.”
He also felt bothered about arbitrarily changing the final ending by wrapping the leash around himself.
Had Taeri been eliminated because of that? Juha felt unnecessary guilt wondering if the evaluation about being dragged around by a trainer was because of him.
“So how do you feel about both of you advancing?”
“……Good. Heh……”
Juha, who had been alternating between tearing up and stopping, finally answered with a bright smile. His eyes narrowed like crescents on his pale white face, and his thin lips curved long upward on both sides.
As Juha, who had been frozen during every interview, smiled brightly for the first time, the interviewing staff member’s cheeks unconsciously rose into a grin.
* * *
Coming out of the interview booth, Juha saw Taeri waiting for him. After all that commotion, he was grinning widely about something enjoyable. Seeing Taeri on crutches made Juha’s chest churn again.
“What are you smiling about?”
He wanted to speak affectionately, but seeing Taeri smiling foolishly despite his injured ankle annoyed him, so his words came out sharp instead. Still thinking it was good, Taeri just kept smiling.
“I’m smiling because I passed. Would I be smiling if I was eliminated?”
“That’s true.”
Hearing it, that made sense. Lee Juha was the only one who had cried because Taeri passed.
“Let’s go. We need to pack now.”
Taeri tapped Juha with his crutch. The eliminated trainees had already left, and the hotel was chaotic with the qualified contestants packing and leaving too.
“Is your leg…… okay?”
Juha asked cautiously. Looking at the half-cast and crutches, it couldn’t be a minor injury, so what was he so happy about that he was smiling?
Seeing him like this, passing wasn’t something to be happy about.
“A little…… oof.”
Taeri swayed as he spoke.
“Choi Taeri!”
Juha was startled and grabbed his arm.
“Whew, it seems I’ll need some support.”
“Lean on me!”
With wide eyes, Juha wrapped Taeri’s long arm around his shoulder. Though Taeri was 7 centimeters taller and more than 10 kilograms heavier, Juha was so earnestly supporting him that Taeri turned his head the other way to suppress his laughter.
* * *
Juha walked to the penthouse with Taeri’s arm around his shoulder and his waist embraced. Though sweat beaded up, he didn’t care. Finding it cute, Taeri deliberately leaned on Juha more. Unaware of this, Juha groaned while supporting Taeri.
The penthouse was already clean, with the production crew having removed their equipment.
“Haah.”
As soon as they arrived, Juha wiped the sweat from his forehead. From how much he’d cried, Juha’s eyes were still swollen and red.
“Was our Juha very surprised?”
Taeri cupped his chin with both hands and rubbed around his eyes. With emotions not yet settled, Juha’s face touched by Taeri’s hands was warm. It seemed like if he put it in his mouth and slurped it, he could swallow it without getting burned.
“But what about the next competition? With your leg like this……”
Juha looked at Taeri’s half-casted foot and the crutches standing beside it.
“What do you mean what to do.”
Taeri smiled mischievously and threw away the crutches.
“Hey, your crutches……”
“It’s acting.”
Juha’s gaze wavered as if he still couldn’t believe this situation. Taeri spun around in front of him as if to show off. Though he limped slightly, it wasn’t to the extent of needing crutches.
“You, you……”
Juha couldn’t continue his words.
“Of course it’s acting. My ankle doesn’t break from something like that. The production crew said let’s create some visuals, so I went along with it.”
“Ha, this bastard really……”
Juha clenched his fists. Even if it was acting, since he’d seen the injury with his own eyes, he couldn’t bring himself to hit him.
Frustration and relief hit him all at once, but relief was much greater. He even let out a hollow laugh at the absurd situation.
“I’m fine, so don’t worry. There’s no way I’d be eliminated. Geez, how can you be so naive.”
Taeri rubbed Juha’s cheeks hard. After throwing away the crutches too, feeling even more relieved, Juha’s face brightened considerably.
“I’m not naive. I was just a bit surprised……”
“That’s all broadcast manipulation to raise viewership ratings and tame me.”
“Why would they tame you?”
Acting was one thing, but Choi Taeri hadn’t done anything wrong enough to need taming. Juha couldn’t understand those words.
“To tell me to stay sharp since they can drop me anytime?”
“You did so well, why do you need to stay sharp too?”
“Well…… it’s true I didn’t demonstrate 100% of my skills.”
Taeri spoke as if it wasn’t a big deal.
“We did well today though……”
“Lee Juha. Don’t get too hurt while broadcasting.”
Seeing Juha’s disappointment, Taeri gripped both his hands tightly.
“I won’t get hurt……”
Juha trailed off and looked at Taeri’s hands holding his.
When Taeri failed his jump landing, his heart sank. What he felt then was concern for Taeri’s ankle rather than worry about ruining the stage. He wanted to stop the stage immediately and run to him, but he held back only for Taeri who had said ‘focus.’
The stage Juha and Taeri created today didn’t receive fair treatment. No matter how much of a failed trainee Juha was, he knew the value of that stage.
As his gaze dropped from disappointment, Taeri smiled mischievously and hugged Juha tightly.
“From today I’ll be sleeping alone, so I’m a bit sad about that. Aren’t you?”
“We have to sleep separately sometimes.”
Juha tried to comfort himself. On a night like today, it would be nice to lie together, talk all night and stay close, but he had to give up the room.
No matter how much of a burden he was, his parents would be waiting at home, so he had to go home.
Also, since he couldn’t keep rubbing bodies like this forever, he had to learn to keep appropriate distance.
“Tch, you’re really cold at times like this. You were crying and wailing earlier when I was eliminated. Now you seem like someone trying to stand alone without me.”
Taeri put strength in his arms and hugged Juha as if to burst him.
“No. Just. For my sake.”
Because I think it would be too hard for me if you disappeared.
Right now we’re both laughing like this, but we don’t know when one of us might be eliminated.
“Lee Juha, you’re not thinking of running away again, are you?”
Taeri, who had ghostly intuition about Juha’s true feelings, grabbed both sides of his jaw and lifted it.
“N-no.”
“Then hurry up and say you like me.”
Taeri’s voice had laughter mixed in.
“I like you. Choi Taeri.”
At Juha’s confession, the corners of Taeri’s mouth shot up to the sky.
Lee Juha’s charm was definitely his clear sweet-and-salty personality. But he himself didn’t know he was like that and constantly made people’s hearts go up and down.
In this moment, Taeri felt like he couldn’t bear not confessing his feelings to Juha.
“I like you more, Lee Juha. But don’t cry in front of others. Everyone only looks at you and it makes me jealous.”
“I cried because of you……”
“If I don’t make you cry, you won’t cry?”
Taeri’s voice rose playfully.
“Mm……”
Juha reluctantly nodded.
“I want to make you cry a little in bed though……”
“This bastard again……”
Really, he doesn’t miss a single line.
“I get turned on when you curse.”
Taeri laughed and gave Juha a peck on the lips.
Disappointed that it was just a touch and separation, Juha wrapped his arms around Taeri’s neck. As if he’d been waiting, Taeri wrapped both arms around Juha’s waist and kissed him.
With the rushing relief, he could only laugh. He just wanted to stay in this room one more day and keep bumping lips like this.
Knock knock.
Breaking the sweet atmosphere, someone knocked on the penthouse door. The person standing at the door was one of the production staff.
“Trainee Choi Taeri. Come down with us.”
“Why?”
He was planning to go down with Juha, but this was too sudden.
“Since we can’t expose that your leg is injured, you need to exit through the staff-only entrance. We’ve already contacted your home separately.”
“You contacted home?”
“Yes. When there’s an injury, we have to inform the guardian immediately.”
“……”
At the word ‘home,’ Taeri’s face became extremely dark. It was an expression as if facts he didn’t want revealed had been exposed.
Juha immediately noticed Taeri’s subtle change.
“Should I come with you?”
When Juha approached and asked while gathering himself, Taeri chuckled.
“Am I a child? You think I can’t go home alone?”
“Still……”
Behind Juha’s worry, Taeri roughly packed his remaining belongings and closed the suitcase zipper.
“I’ll contact you.”
As Taeri was about to leave pulling his suitcase, Juha hastily grabbed his collar.
“Make sure……”
“Hm?”
At Juha’s words, Taeri tilted his head as if he didn’t understand.
“Make sure to contact me.”
“If you’re curious, you contact me. I’m going.”
Taeri left following the staff with a smile. Left alone, Juha stared blankly at the floor.
“He really…… went alone.”
It was over.
The daily life of being attached to Choi Taeri 24 hours, this bed they slept in together every day, the glamorous stage too. Juha felt like he was left alone on an empty playground.
His desperate crying when Choi Taeri was eliminated had faded like something from long ago.
Everything ended well.
From the next competition, there won’t be a chance for Taeri to be eliminated, so I just need to do well myself.
Juha comforted his bitter feelings and pulled his suitcase out.
At the hotel entrance, trainees carrying their luggage were pouring out in droves. On the main road in front of the hotel, vehicles that came to pick them up were lined up like a parking lot.
‘There should still be subway service.’
Juha turned his steps without regret and headed toward the train station. It was easier not to depend on family. It wasn’t like he didn’t know how to get home alone. He was prepared to endure loneliness, but actually being left alone felt bitter.
Before Juha had even taken a few steps rolling his suitcase:
“Hey, Lee Juha!”
From far away, a car window rolled down and a woman’s voice rang out loudly. At the familiar voice, Juha’s cheek twitched momentarily. It was his younger sister Lee Yunha.
Usually such an enemy-like sister, but after being released from the prison-like communal life, he couldn’t be happier to see her.
“This…… calling oppa by his name.”
Juha snapped while running to the car. He couldn’t hide his rising smile.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
