Chapter 8: Things That Don’t Halve

But arriving at the waiting room didn’t mean they could rest.

Before Ye-jun, sitting in a chair, could even reach for a water bottle, a staff member from the event side came in.

“How can you suddenly do this? Everyone’s in an uproar.”

“I’m sorry. Things turned out that way…”

Because the manager wasn’t there, another staff member stepped in and bowed instead, and they argued for a while.

It was understandable that they’d be baffled; only four had gone up on a stage that was supposed to have five.

“You should have told us in advance.”

“That’s because it happened to us just five minutes before the start…”

Maybe because no one knew the details, the staff talked like that for a long while.

Since they didn’t know the exact cause, the conversation kept going in circles and didn’t progress easily.

“The manager hyung needs to get here quickly…”

Hwi-young checked the time on his phone and muttered to himself.

He didn’t know exactly where the hospital was, but only a little over twenty minutes had passed, so it was clear the manager wouldn’t be back for a while.

Then Ye-jun, who had been sitting still, quietly rose from his seat.

He walked over to the staff who were still talking seriously and bowed his head.

“I’m sorry for causing this so suddenly.”

“Hey, you’re not the one who’s missing, so why are you apologizing, Ye-jun? Sit down.”

One staff member tried to stop him, but Ye-jun apologized firmly.

Sending Jun away had been entirely his decision.

If it was wrong, apologizing was the right thing.

Soon the staff said they’d discuss the money-related part later and went outside.

“…”

No one could easily speak to Ye-jun, who was running a hand through his hair with a displeased face and steadying his breathing.

Ye-jun quietly picked up his phone.

Social media was already flooded.

The sudden news of a member’s absence spread widely and even appeared in portal site real-time search rankings.

[I’m at the venue right now and even the staff are flusteredㅠㅠ]

[Earlier during the morning dry rehearsal, Jun was thereㅇㅇ The agency isn’t saying anything either]

It wasn’t something announced in advance, and there hadn’t been a single word that he was sick, so all kinds of stories went around.

Starting with rumors like maybe he’d been kidnapped, gossip spread widely and people began demanding feedback.

Ye-jun, who had been reading news article comments asking if he’d gotten into some kind of accident, turned off the screen and lowered his phone.

It was hard to call it lowering, since the phone dropped vertically from midair to the floor.

“Uh…”

He hadn’t thrown it, but he’d dropped it from a high place, so of course the screen cracked.

Hwi-young rolled his eyes, gauging the mood, then picked up the phone.

“Hyung. The screen is cracked.”

“I was going to buy a new one anyway.”

‘This hyung is talking nonsense again…’ Hwi-young said only with his eyes, holding the cracked phone.

Ji-gu stepped forward and took the phone, then placed it carefully back on Ye-jun’s hand.

“It still presses fine, so you could probably just replace the screen and use it.”

“I guess so.”

Ye-jun nodded, and not long after, the manager opened the waiting room door and came in.

Jun wasn’t with him.

“Did the stage go well?”

“Ye-jun hyung knew all of Jun’s parts. But where’s Jun?”

“I dropped him off at the hospital. It seemed serious; the kid’s hands were shaking so much.”

The manager couldn’t talk long and had to be dragged away by the staff.

After agreeing to refund the event fee for the missing member and pay an additional amount, the manager returned and hurried the remaining members into the car.

“We’ll give feedback that he had to leave suddenly due to a family matter, so just keep that in mind.”

The manager said this as he stopped the car in front of the dorm.

The members just nodded quietly.

The manager waved his hand for them to go in quickly and left to pick up Jun.

The members, who knew nothing about which hospital it was or why he’d gone, sat around in the dorm living room.

“Was it your mother who’s sick?”

“He never said anything… The last time I saw her was during the final episode of Survival ID.”

The members each said a word, then eventually all fell silent.

If he’d left like that right before a stage, it had to be something serious.

It was Ye-jun who broke the silence that had flowed through the living room.

“Just go in and sleep for now. We have a schedule tomorrow morning.”

“You’re the one who cares least about schedules, hyung.”

Ha-hyeon retorted with a baffled look, but Ye-jun stubbornly pushed everyone into their rooms.

Just before everyone went in, dazed, Ye-jun quietly said one thing.

“All of you, just act like usual.”

After all the members went in, Ye-jun quietly sat on the sofa.

He pushed the phone with the cracked screen aside and silently stared down his reflection in the black, blinking TV screen.

Time raced toward midnight, but his thoughts only grew.

“You weren’t asleep, hyung?”

The front door opened about thirty minutes later.

Jun asked with a surprised look at Ye-jun, and Ye-jun just nodded and patted the seat next to him.

Jun closed his slightly open mouth and quietly walked over and sat down.

Ye-jun asked in the gentlest voice he could manage.

“Is your mother sick?”

Instead of answering with words, Jun slowly nodded.

The things he’d overheard by chance naturally came to mind.

The person in the next bed had been discharged, a student had filled that spot, the woman in the bed in front had a similar sense of humor… They were all trivial details, so Ye-jun immediately shook them from his head.

“A little… The doctor said that with consistent treatment, she’ll get much better.”

The two hands resting on his lap couldn’t stay still and fidgeted.

If it were something that would heal soon, he probably wouldn’t be that anxious.

It was obvious at a glance that the situation was serious.

Ye-jun deliberately looked away.

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

Because in ten years, he’d never once heard anything like this.

Ye-jun had his own pride about it: that the five of them were closer than family to each other.

Four years later, they really were like that.

When something was hard, they told each other first, and gave comfort equal to that courage.

They’d come together through a survival program, but he was confident they had something tighter than any other group.

“It’s just, not exactly good news…”

Ye-jun had to think of his next words with his mouth just open.

Thinking before speaking wasn’t his style, but now he felt he shouldn’t rashly say just anything.

“Who in the world only has good news? Anything shared is halved. Leaving aside that I’m the leader, and putting aside the impact on the team, I just want to know as your hyung.”

Honestly, after ten years, it’s hard to see you as just a somewhat close younger brother.

Ye-jun swallowed the rest of the sentence.

In truth, Ye-jun was quite flustered.

By the fact that he knew the dongsaeng he thought he knew best less than anyone.

He didn’t want to press him.

If he spoke, Ye-jun could listen or help, but right now Jun’s mouth didn’t seem likely to open easily.

As expected, no answer came.

Ye-jun quietly asked one more thing.

“Are you okay right now?”

“…A little.”

“Then that’s enough.”

Right, if he couldn’t tell a hyung he’d known for five years, there was no way he’d tell one he’d known for one year.

Ye-jun shoved his hands into his sweatpants and stood up from the sofa.

His long legs and wide stride let him reach the bed in just two steps.

He pulled back the blanket covering the bed and was about to lie down without hesitation when he heard a voice from behind.

“Hyung.”

“Yeah.”

Ye-jun didn’t ignore him and responded dutifully.

A low voice followed the reply he threw out without looking back.

“There are some things that don’t get halved when you share them.”

Because no one wants to keep a gloomy person by their side.

Because sometimes it’s best if no one knows.

He said the rest only in his head.

Because Ye-jun, who had people gather around him even when he stayed still, probably couldn’t empathize.

Jun forced his heavy mouth open again.

“Please act like nothing happened. Joke around, scold me. Just treat me like usual. I’ll do the same.”

It was different from his usual lively tone.

At the polite words and voice, Ye-jun finally turned around and saw it for the first time in ten years.

A heavily sunken expressionless face.

The bright face that had made people worry his cheeks would cramp from smiling so much had completely disappeared.

“You don’t say anything but you’ve got a sh*tload of requests.”

I was going to do it even without you saying it.

Ye-jun deliberately muttered loud enough for him to hear.

It was a grumbling remark, but Jun immediately knew it meant yes.

Only then did he relax his expression and smile again.

It was the silly smile his mother, friends, and fans loved.

“Anyone listening would think I scold you all the time. Do you hate me?”

“I like you, hyung. Because you’re a good person.”

They’d made a promise, but now Ye-jun couldn’t help but worry.

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