#41
‘Imuuuun! Should I tell you some amazing news?! I, actually, won tickets to your fan signing event!’
‘…Really?!’
‘Yeah! Is this how you’re supposed to announce it so suddenly? It’s three days away, so I already booked my flight. Anyway, are you free that day?’
As expected, Hajun had won the fan signing event, but luck wasn’t on his side. Out of all the fan signing events, he had unfortunately applied for the busiest day.
If he could have his way, Imun would have asked him to come on a different day, but he couldn’t bring himself to say this to someone so visibly excited. It was also uncertain whether Hajun would come to Korea without a specific reason.
In the end, despite asking the members for understanding and adjusting the schedule as much as possible in advance, the best he could manage was to free up two to three hours in the evening. Though it was a very short time, back then the joy of being able to meet Hajun outweighed everything else.
And then, the day before yesterday. The moment he first saw Hajun at the fan signing event, a tingling sensation like an electric shock ran through his entire body. He could understand how fans felt when they burst into tears at the sight of him.
Trembling nervously without even making eye contact, Hajun was just like a baby deer. Even while unintentionally teasing him, Imun couldn’t help but burst out laughing. It felt like instant compensation for all the days he’d anxiously worried that Hajun might cancel his trip to Korea.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the evening spent with him was the fastest time had passed in years. Just holding hands, just making eye contact brought peace to his heart and a sense of fulfillment.
It was a vivid and novel sensation that couldn’t even be compared to video calls. It seemed he had to admit now that Hajun was an irreplaceable presence in his life.
Perhaps that’s why the brief meeting with him left only regret when he thought about it again. He wished he had suggested a different schedule to Hajun, even at the risk of being rejected. He also felt sorry for the members who had to accommodate a tight schedule because of him.
While checking on the three members lying exhausted, he frowned at a sudden image that came to mind.
The snow-white neck revealed as soon as Hajun unwrapped his scarf. For some unknown reason, since meeting Hajun, that scene had filled his thoughts at every opportunity. He must be thinking strangely due to extreme fatigue.
After shaking off the vision before his eyes, he moistened his dry lips. First, he wanted to check on Hajun. After quickly collecting his scattered thoughts, he moved his thumb.
[Did you arrive safely? What are you planning to do now?]
[Oh noã… ã… Good jobã… ã… ]
[I just started streaming lol]
He just arrived today but is already streaming? Imun abruptly sat up and went to Twitch. Indeed, the live stream had just started, not even past the 1-minute mark.
Fortunately, Hajun’s face as he greeted the viewers didn’t show significant fatigue. Observing his usual awkward smile, Imun unknowingly raised the corners of his mouth.
After this promotion ends, I wonder if hyung will stop showing his face on broadcasts too. Video calls were nice, but watching him stream was also quite enjoyable. While contemplating what excuse to use next time, he sent a comment to Hajun.
“Imun hyung, there’s air in your lungs again.”
Sura said grumpily, shaking his head. Despite being openly chided for Imun to hear, he showed no intention of removing his earphones.
Someone who used to be busy sleeping whenever he had time, after getting to know Hajun, now clung to his phone at every free moment. “Leave him alone. He’s probably watching Hajun hyung’s stream again.” Sura rolled his eyes at Saha, who answered as if on Imun’s behalf.
“Isn’t it a bit scary how much he’s changed? Reducing sleep to talk and watching streams, it’s just like—”
Someone in love. Sura barely swallowed the absurd words he almost carelessly blurted out and hurriedly sat up straight.
“Rai hyung, I must be really tired. My brain is malfunctioning and I can’t think normally.” As he dramatically sobbed while wrapping his arms around Rai’s neck, who was sitting in front, Saha joined in, exclaiming “How long must we live as slaves to the company!” while forcefully pulling on the same person’s arm.
“Why are you all doing this to me? Don’t you know I’m in the same situation?”
After trying to detach the two leeches who had suddenly clung to him, Rai eventually surrendered to his seat. The whining from both sides of his ears was comparable to surround sound. It was just as he desperately turned to Imun, on the verge of fainting from stress.
“Guys, did you know hyung is being discussed on Twitter?”
Imun showed them his phone. The three instinctively closed their mouths at his expressionless face, markedly different from a few minutes ago.
Sura shot Rai a desperate look as if to say “Do something.” Reluctantly taking the phone from Imun, Rai sighed with a “Haa.”
Here it comes. Rai’s expression darkened further as he scrolled through the screen while observing Imun’s reaction. The posts from Twitter accounts made of random character combinations were all uniformly eye-furrowing.
Once upon a time, Imun was so particular about Hajun that he didn’t even want to share the content of their calls. For someone like him, seeing Hajun being attacked online was more than enough to flip his mood.
Still, it’s been quite a while since he’s been this angry. While contemplating how to comfort the clearly agitated Imun, Sura snatched Imun’s phone over his shoulder.
“How did you find this when you don’t even use social media? Don’t search for things like this. Hyung, you’ll just stress yourself out.”
Saha, who peered at the tweet content with his forehead against Sura’s, awkwardly agreed.
“There are always malicious tweets… Hyung, didn’t you usually ignore these things? …Should I not have mentioned it?”
“So you all knew about this?”
“Ah… Seriously, Hajun hyung isn’t even a bad person, why do people have to comment on friends hanging out? It’s really frustrating—”
Imun snorted and took back his phone. His once frighteningly cold expression now even looked pale. Rai, who was worriedly watching Imun as he couldn’t take his eyes off the screen, took the phone from him again.
“Looking at it… won’t change anything.”
Imun simply stared down at his empty palm without responding. Acting like someone in a trance, the shock seemed quite significant. Rai, choosing his words carefully with mixed feelings, hurriedly grabbed Imun’s hand.
A subtle tremor was distinctly transmitted through his palm. This is more serious than I thought. After waiting for Imun’s anxiety to subside, Rai painfully voiced the solution lingering in his mind.
“For now… how about trying an ALive? I understand why you don’t do it, but honestly, that’s what fans are most disappointed about…”
“Wait… I need to think for a bit. I’ll be back.”
“You can think without your phone, you know.”
Noticing Imun’s gaze, Rai quickly hid his hand with the phone behind his back. After staring at him silently for a long time, Imun sighed as if giving up and went outside. As soon as the door closed, Saha swiftly grabbed Rai’s arm and shook it.
“Was there another reason why Imun hyung doesn’t do ALive? Why didn’t I know? Sura, did you know too?”
Sura quietly shook his head and stared at Rai. Avoiding the blatant stares from the two members, Rai laughed awkwardly.
“That’s… something you should ask Imun directly later. I can’t tell you.”
“How are we supposed to ask that? As soon as we bring it up, he’ll smile sweetly and say ‘Don’t cross the line.'”
Sura grumbled softly and turned his eyes toward the window. Imun, who had been frequently looking up at the sky all day, was repeating the same behavior now.
Really, he’s different from usual. “Go after him and comfort him.” With his eyes fixed on Imun, Sura pushed Rai’s back. Joining forces with Saha’s pressure, Rai reluctantly got up as if he’d rather die than do this.
***
The plane landed in Tokyo late in the afternoon. As soon as he got home, Hajun put the food items he brought from Korea in the refrigerator and caught his breath.
His grandmother had been enjoying a short trip with his aunt’s family since the day he left for Korea. The silence that filled the house felt quite strange.
After roughly organizing his luggage, he spent time watching TV in the living room. Today, the day seemed unusually long.
I should stream and then go to bed. After habitually checking for messages from Imun, he headed to the small room.
He gently furrowed his brow as he observed his appearance on the monitor. The face on the screen seemed to have gained chubbier cheeks in the past few days.
I hope the fans don’t tease me. He shuddered, recalling last night and this morning, which had been like torture with all the food, then pressed the broadcast button.
Perhaps because the live stream was a day earlier than announced, viewers greeted him with confusion. “Hello, everyone.” While welcoming them with a brighter voice than usual since it had been a while, messages like “how could you,” “traitor,” and other puzzling words began to appear in the chat.
“Traitor? What do you mean?”
[5,000 won donation! Is this the Gangha who secretly went to someone else’s fan signing event and held his own private fan meeting?^^]
Huh, what, how did they know? As he opened his eyes wide and made a bewildered expression, some viewers took the opportunity to express their grievances.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
