Chapter 61:

Chapter 61:

Chapter 61

I hope it’s for the better.

Ian didn’t have anything to worry about.

“I bet my right kidney that he went to open the gifts.”

“I bet my left one after he received them.”

Jo Tae-woong and Kim Joo-young said as they watched the van carrying Ian to the company.

“Who’s betting on the other side?”

“Probably no one?”

Park Jin-hyuk shook his head when Kim Hyun asked.

“Did you all know?”

Lee Joo-hyuk asked. He was secretly concerned that the other members might feel bad because of Ian’s popularity.

“It was on Parangse. Didn’t you see the photo he posted in front of the support company today?”

“Dong-soo hyung was looking at us earlier.”

“It’s a fact that Ian is the most popular member of our group.”all new stories at n0ve/lbi/n(.)com

The members answered casually, not knowing Lee Joo-hyuk’s feelings.

They got on the elevator and pressed the floor number.

“Did you see how Ian looked when he opened the gifts yesterday?”

“He’s good at acting, but he sucks when he’s with us.”

Kim Joo-young imitated Ian’s expression.

He made a furrowed brow and a grim face, which made Park Seo-dam laugh and hit his back.

“Anyway, is Ian too considerate or too timid?”

“Let’s say he’s timid. He needs to have at least one flaw with that face and talent.”

“Agreed.”

Jo Tae-woong agreed with Lee Joo-hyuk’s words, and everyone nodded.

“Honestly, it’s annoying that he cares about us so much.”

“You too? Me too.”

“Just act confidently. We won’t say anything even if you bring less gifts.”

“Okay. And if you get something limited edition, let us borrow it later.”

“You bastard, that’s your real motive.”

“What, you’re not?”

“No, actually I thought about that too. How can we three have the same shoe size?”

“A destiny of mutual benefit?”

Jo Tae-woong and Kim Joo-young snickered and laughed together. Ding- The elevator door opened.

Lee Joo-hyuk sighed when he saw a small shopping bag hanging on the door handle.

“When did our address get leaked?”

“Our numbers were leaked long ago, so our home address must be the same.”

Everyone shuddered and trembled when Kim Hyun’s phone rang at that moment.

“Ah, why does it have to ring right after we get home?”

“It could be planned.”

“Hey Park Jin-hyuk, don’t say scary things like that.”

The members had received calls from unknown numbers that were not saved on their phones before. Not only calls, but also texts and CocoaTalk messages saying things like “Who are you? Is this your CocoaTalk?” that gave them goosebumps.

“Well, judging by the sasaengs we had since debut, they must have a good estimate.”

“I’m going to change my number next week.”

“Hyung, let’s go together. I want to change mine too.”

Lee Joo-hyuk opened the door without picking up the small shopping bag on the floor. It was not a good thing to bring it in. It was something for Park Dong-soo to deal with later.

“I feel like I’m alive since we got a dorm maid.”

“What should we order for dinner?”

The members lay down in the living room and took a nap from exhaustion.

It was when Lee Joo-hyuk was lying on the sofa and looking at the delivery app.

The sound of someone pressing the door lock rang out, and Ian came into the dorm.

“Huh? What? You came early?”

“Hey Ian, we know everything about you opening the gifts!”

Jo Tae-woong jumped up.

“Oh really? You knew?”

Ian smiled awkwardly.

He had already heard everything from Jin through his earpiece.

Jin even told him [Hey, your members are much more sociable than you.] as he played their conversation.

Ian felt more relaxed after seeing that scene.

“But why are you empty-handed? I thought you would bring something.”

“Yeah, you don’t have to care about us, Ian. We’re fine.”

“Hyung, that’s not the problem.”

Ian sat down on the floor with a thud, and the members who were lying down got up one by one.

“We got invited to NMA.”

“NMA? Nnet?”

Ian nodded his head, and all the members pulled back their faces with nervous expressions.

“Why would they invite us?”

“Do they think we’ll forgive them for ‘rigging’ so easily?”

“That doesn’t make sense?”

The members had the same reaction as Ian. Park Jin-hyuk frowned.

“It’s dangerous if we don’t run away now!”

Ian blocked Jo Min-hwan’s way as he tried to jump to the other side.

“Please go ahead.”

“I’ll go with you...”

“No. Comrade, you must survive. The future of our country is in your hands.”

“You...!”

Ian turned around and ran toward where the policemen were.

The remaining independence activists grabbed Jo Min-hwan’s shoulder.

Bang- A gunshot rang out and Jo Min-hwan looked back.

He hurried his fleeing steps as he clenched his teeth.

Ian fired his gun wildly and bought time for the independence activists.

He ran out of bullets after a few shots and threw his gun away.

“Catch him!”

“There he is!”

Japanese voices and footsteps echoed in the dark alley.

He heard some of the independence activists who had scattered to meet in Shanghai being caught.

“I guess we can’t do this. We can’t leave our comrades behind.”

Jo Min-hwan tried to jump to the other side again, but Ian snatched his gun from his waist.

“Please go ahead.”

“What about you...”

“No. Comrade, you must survive. The future of our country is in your hands.”

“You...!”

Ian turned around and ran toward where the policemen were.

The remaining independence activists grabbed Jo Min-hwan’s shoulder.

Bang-

A gunshot rang out and Jo Min-hwan looked back.

He hurried his fleeing steps as he clenched his teeth.

Ian fired his gun wildly and bought time for the independence activists.

He ran out of bullets after a few shots and threw his gun away.

“Catch him!”

“There he is!”

Japanese voices and footsteps echoed in the dark alley.

He fought with some policemen who popped out from the side, but he was eventually caught by their numbers.

A Japanese policeman pointed his gun at Ian’s forehead.

“Wait! Don’t shoot!”

A man in a police uniform shouted in Japanese.

He approached Ian, who was kneeling down, and squatted down to meet his eyes.

“Where did the remaining Koreans go?”

“What are you... Are you Korean?”

Ian raised his head at his fluent Korean accent.

The man in a police uniform was a pro-Japanese policeman.

Ian looked at him with a hateful expression.

“Where are the rat bastards?”

Ian clenched his mouth shut, and the man nodded to his subordinate.

The policemen who restrained Ian pinned his right arm to the ground.

He saw a knife coming to his hand and clenched his teeth.

“Talk.”

Ian let out a desperate breath as he endured the Japanese policeman’s torture.

He didn’t want his scream to catch the feet of his fleeing comrades.

He just breathed heavily as he was tortured, and the Japanese policeman stabbed his finger with a knife again.

“Talk!”

Ian writhed in pain, but he never opened his mouth.

“Long live Korean independence3.”

A drop of tear fell from his eyes, which were burning with anger.

The pro-Japanese man sneered at his face, which was soaked with sweat and blood.

“You little...”

The man took out a gun from his pocket and aimed it at Ian. Ian glared at him with fiery eyes.

A drop of tear fell from Ian’s eyes, and the man pulled the trigger.

Bang-

The camera zoomed in on Ian’s lifeless eyes as he fell limp.

“Cut!”

The director Choi Moon-sik, who was watching the acting, clapped his hands.

“Wow, that was perfect. You’re a total scene stealer.”

Ian, who had been lying like a corpse, got up and bowed.

“Thank you! You’ve worked hard!”

Ian shook off the fake blood that was stuck to his hand.

His teeth and jaw were sore from clenching them during the acting.

[How come you’re always blood, sweat, and tears?]

‘Tell me about it.’