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Join the ServerYoon Ji-heon and Noh Hae-min continued their conversation with smiles.
They didn’t seem very close, but they didn’t seem uncomfortable either.
Probably because, as Noh Hae-min said when he said the ‘senior’ title felt awkward, ‘Eternals’ and ‘BURST’ had debuted around the same time and promoted together as same-generation rookies.
…And how did I know all this?
Because I could hear Kwak Jun-sung and Lee Woo-rim whispering right next to me.
“Actually, wouldn’t Ji-heon hyung be a little more senior?”
“Maybe by a few days or weeks.
That was right after I joined my former company.”
Now that I was seven months into preparing as an idol trainee and for debut, I had learned quite a lot about the idol groups and songs in this world, but there was no way I knew the details like who debuted when and who promoted with whom.
“Come to think of it, there are also our company’s kids on this team, right?”
Noh Hae-min, who had been talking with Yoon Ji-heon, suddenly changed the subject and turned his head to look at us.
His gaze traveled across each of our faces, then stopped at the very end where Seo Jun-jae and Yeo Hyun-tae stood.
“Nice to meet you.
I heard both of you are very talented.”
Noh Hae-min laughed brightly and extended his hand toward them along with words of praise.
Seo Jun-jae, who had shown an unreadable expression for a moment, immediately put on a smiling face and shook Noh Hae-min’s hand.
Their clasped hands shook lightly up and down along with his thanks.
After Seo Jun-jae pulled his hand back, Noh Hae-min’s hand turned toward Yeo Hyun-tae.
After shaking hands with him as well, Noh Hae-min looked at the two for a moment, then turned back to Yoon Ji-heon.
“Kyu-jeong hyung watched the show and said he was really jealous of you, Ji-heon-ssi.
He said if you’re going to be in charge of a team, this is the kind of team you should be in charge of.”
Following Noh Hae-min’s joking voice, the inevitable small whispers continued.
‘Kyu-jeong hyung’ was the leader of Eternals, wasn’t he?
Listening to this conversation, which felt awkward as if someone were explaining it for someone else’s benefit, I suddenly thought that maybe the role these two were given in this game was something like narration.
Come to think of it, everyone here except me was living according to externally set values.
As this small suspicion grew and thoughts began to spiral, my mood suddenly felt heavy and sank.
At the beginning, I had treated everyone as game characters…
My head, which had become complicated with all sorts of thoughts for a moment, lifted and I looked around.
The faces that had become familiar in just a few months now felt more real than my original reality, and my head began to throb painfully.
And the next moment, along with a sudden surge of nausea, my legs gave way limply and I collapsed.
“Jae-seo!”
“Jae-seo hyung!”
As my knees hit the ground with a thud, a ddiring sound came faintly behind the screams of my name.
With my hazy mind, the moment I recognized the notification sound of Please Take Care of My Idol, I somehow expected the message that would be floating on the game screen.
[Your stress is too high.
A status abnormality has occurred.]
And the way to resolve this status abnormality was…
“Sim Jae-seo!”
The moment my shoulders, swaying weakly as if about to collapse at any moment, were wrapped in a firm embrace, the notification sound rang out again as expected.
At the same time, the headache that had been stabbing at my temples gradually subsided.
I lifted my eyelids, which had been tightly shut from the pain.
Beyond my blinking vision, I saw Seo Jun-jae holding my shoulders and Yeo Hyun-tae kneeling on one knee behind him.
“Are you okay?”
At the same time, a stranger’s voice suddenly came.
I looked up and saw Noh Hae-min looking at me with worried, lowered brows.
Just as I was about to answer that I was fine, Seo Jun-jae, after glancing at Yeo Hyun-tae, suddenly stood up.
He positioned himself between Noh Hae-min and me, answering that I was fine on my behalf, and my body was suddenly lifted.
“Hmm, if you need to be carried, are you really okay?”
Noh Hae-min craned his neck to check on me, being held in Yeo Hyun-tae’s arms.
The moment our eyes met, a voice so hard that it was hard to believe it came from Seo Jun-jae came out.
“He’s fine.”
The atmosphere instantly turned cold, and even Lee Chan-seo rolled his eyes as if being cautious.
As everyone remained silent, a woman who happened to be running out from the concert entrance glanced at us, then raised her arm.
“Hae-min, what are you doing there?
We need to go now!”
Noh Hae-min, turning to look at the woman who seemed to be his manager, answered that he’d be right there and then turned his head back to us.
He immediately raised the corners of his mouth in a bright smile and continued casually.
“Ji-heon-ssi, it was nice seeing you after so long, but unfortunately I have to go now.
See you next time.”
After shaking hands with Yoon Ji-heon, Noh Hae-min suddenly turned to me and told me to take care of myself.
As I answered with thanks for his concern, Seo Jun-jae’s back filled my vision again.
“Haha, and you two, Jun-jae and Hyun-tae-ssi, see you again.”
Despite Seo Jun-jae’s repeated rudeness, Noh Hae-min smiled and waved at us, then quickly walked toward the concert entrance where his manager was standing.
Once Noh Hae-min disappeared completely inside the venue, a heavy silence fell over the parking lot again.
Not only the younger members, who seemed busy looking around nervously, but even Manager Kim Jung-chan and Yoon Ji-heon, who would normally have been the first to step up, didn’t open their mouths easily.
…Wait a minute.
Hadn’t Noh Hae-min just said ‘Jun-jae and Hyun-tae-ssi’?
He had first said ‘our company’s kids’ and greeted them as if seeing them for the first time, but…
“…Seo Jun-jae.”
Yoon Ji-heon barely opened his mouth in a low voice, but hesitated and closed it again.
Seo Jun-jae quietly looked at Yoon Ji-heon, then parted his lips with a smile no different than usual.
“It’s okay, don’t worry.”
“…Alright, I understand.”
Yoon Ji-heon let out a long sigh at Seo Jun-jae’s answer, and Manager Kim Jung-chan behind him also nodded slowly.
Looking at the situation, it seemed there was something the three of them knew simultaneously about Noh Hae-min.
Something that Manager Kim, who had been in the entertainment industry for a long time, Yoon Ji-heon, who had debuted at the same time as Eternals, and Seo Jun-jae, who clearly seemed to know them, would be aware of.
…Well, judging by the atmosphere, it didn’t seem like a good story.
“More importantly, Jae-seo.”
While I was also lost in thought, Seo Jun-jae suddenly brought up my name, and only then did the manager and members turn to me with an ‘oh’ expression.
“Jae-seo, are you okay?”
“Hyung, are you okay?”
…I was not okay.
The status abnormality had improved a lot thanks to my body being in contact with Yeo Hyun-tae’s while being carried, but being held like this for several minutes in front of other people, not just when we were alone or for a brief moment like in the pool, brought on an indescribable amount of shame.
I was worried that my stress level might go right back up as it went down.
“I’m okay.
My legs just lost strength for a moment.”
“Hey, you turned pale, no, blue earlier!
What are you talking about!”
At Park Seo-hu’s worried shout, I clamped my mouth shut, stopping my feeble excuses.
The sudden status abnormality symptoms appeared not as a vocal crack this time but as a physical illness, so I had nothing to say.
“I’ll ask a staff member here for the hospital location, so wait a moment.”
As the manager opened the car door and looked ready to run off immediately, I urgently reached out my hand.
What hospital would treat a status abnormality inside a game?
“I’m really okay.
It was just… um, a dizzy spell.
I’ll be fine after resting a bit.”
Only after desperately pleading that I was a chronic anemia patient – something I had never experienced in my life – was it decided that I would rest at the hotel.
As Yeo Hyun-tae carefully put me in the car as if moving a critical patient, the manager suddenly opened his mouth.
“At this rate, can you even perform tomorrow?”
“Yes, I’m really okay.”
As Yeo Hyun-tae lightly grabbed my arm to stop me from moving on my own and carried me like a piece of luggage, I answered that I was fine.
The manager clicked his tongue in disapproval but soon nodded, saying okay.
Though I had improved a lot, I still felt slightly nauseous and lethargic.
To recover from the status abnormality, I leaned my head on Yeo Hyun-tae’s offered shoulder.
Soon after, Seo Jun-jae sat in the remaining seat next to me.
“Are you really okay?”
I nodded weakly due to the status abnormality, and the worry on Seo Jun-jae’s face deepened considerably.
Soon, his hand touched my palm, which was lying limply on the seat.
Hearing the game notification sound ring out as expected, I grabbed his hand.
Since it had come to this, I did it without much thought, meaning to help my recovery, but Seo Jun-jae, thinking I did it because I was in pain, suddenly raised his voice and asked if I was okay.
The moment he did, everyone’s eyes – from the manager in the driver’s seat to Yeo Hyun-tae next to me – all turned to my face at once.
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