CH 5

It wasn’t easy for Sugyeom to get rid of his lingering feelings after the performance. Let alone making a mistake, it had gone better than expected. However, as it was a performance he had longed for, it left a bitter feeling.

He stared at the stage where he had stood just moments ago.

“Ah, it’s cold. Let’s quickly go in.”

Minseong held out a blanket to Sugyeom. After receiving the blanket and wrapping it around himself, he turned around and walked with cautious steps so as to not fall.

When he entered the waiting area, other members could be seen huddled together in front of a heater.

Taewon, having noticed him, gestured for him to come over. Soon after, Taewon and Yuchan receded to the side to make room between them.

“What were you doing in the cold?”

Sugyeom gently smiled instead of answering. He didn’t seem to know what to say. On the contrary, Taewon became quiet when he saw him smiling faintly.

At the sudden awkward situation, he swept the bridge of his nose.

“Minseong-hyung, please buy us something to drink!”

“Don’t bother me and drink what’s here.”

“Then, I’ll go buy it. Please give me the company card.”

Hansol extended his hands as if to say ‘give me.’ In response, Minseong burst out laughing.

“Oh my, fine. I’ll go buy it, so tell me what you want.”

“Yay. Thank you, Minseong-hyung!”

It was hard to dislike Hansol’s apparent shameless personality. That being the case, Minseong would always give in whenever he would skillfully ask for help or favor.

Among the members, Hansol was a trainee for the longest time at seven years. It would have been understandable for his worldview to become twisted by the fierce competition that he must have experienced from a young age, but the current him seemed to show no such signs.

Naturally in the future that only Sugyeom knew, many rather unexpected things were revealed after U-PITE was caught up in various scandals. As such, he had vowed to support Hansol, so it wouldn’t happen in this life.

“Hot americano for me.”

“Latte for me. And hot please.”

“I want a latte too.”

“I’ll have hot milk tea.”

Taewon, Chagyeom, Hansol, and Yuchan said what they wanted to drink accordingly.

Sugyeom, lost in thought while looking at Hansol, only came to his senses when he saw four pairs of eyes looking at him.

“I want Acho!”

“Ah, hyung! Drink something warm. You’ll catch a cold.”

Hansol frowned as soon as Sugyeom’s words fell.

The Acho that Sugyeom had said was iced chocolate. Boasting a single-minded taste for drinks, Acho was his drink of choice unless there was a special situation such as for PPL.

(Note: PPL means product placement.)

Jongwoo, another U-PITE’s manager, picked up his camera. He beckoned the members lightly to alert them that he would start filming.

What he would be filming now was behind-the-scenes footage that will be uploaded to U-PITE’s YouTube and fancafe.

“Don’t think you can convert a member of the Ice-Even-In-Death Association.”

(Note: People who drink cold beverages even when it’s freezing outside.)

“Whew…Don’t come near me if you catch a cold later.”

“Don’t? I suddenly feel like sticking to Sol.”

Aware that they were being filmed, Sugyeom crept up to Hansol and clung to him as if to prove what he had just said.

Hansol retreated with his eyes wide open in surprise, but the more he did so, the more he snuggled up to him. Then, as if that wasn’t enough, he put his hands on Hansol’s broad shoulders and hung on while he looked up at him with sparkling eyes.

“I’m going to stick to you until you catch a cold.”

“Wow…you’ve gone insane.”

“What’s that? All right, all right. I’ve gone insane .”

“Aye, okay. Hyung, do whatever you want.”

At Hansol’s words, Sugyeom retreated as if sulking. On the other hand, Hansol took a step back. Thinking he had won against Hansol, he grinned.

Not only that, it was all captured on film.

Perhaps the actual scene would be slightly different from what had just happened after editing, but the big picture would remain the same.

He felt proud inside of what he had just achieved.

* * *

The members spent time warming up near the heater again with the drinks Minseong had bought.

Meanwhile, midnight was drawing nearer. In a little while, every singer outdoors, including U-PITE, will go back out on stage and do a countdown to welcome the new year.

Before that, Sugyeom walked with short steps to the bathroom. It was because the thick, long padded jacket was locked from the ankles, which made it difficult to walk.

“Oh…Yuchan…”

Sugyeom was about to happily greet Yuchan when he saw him on his way to the bathroom. However, following Yuchan was a man walking out from the corner.

His eyes grew round when he saw the black-haired man who was about the same height as Yuchan.

The man was Shin Myeonghyeon, a member of an idol group called BlackA that had debuted around the same time as U-PITE. His forehead immediately crumpled like a piece of paper.

That son of a bitch…!

It was only natural that he would become furious when he saw him. After all, because of him, Yuchan had suffered in his previous life.

Although he wasn’t keen on the details, it was revealed that there was a relationship or fling between the two when Shin Myeonghyeon posted a picture of the two on social media.

It wouldn’t have warranted such hatred if it was just that much. However, Shin Myeonghyeon had saved himself by painting Yuchan as a crazy stalker.

Yet, the reality was different. Yuchan didn’t talk about it in detail, but according to what he had heard over the years, Shin Myeonghyeon was the one who had approached Yuchan first.

And even before the incident was settled, the other members’ problems exploded one after another and U-PITE fell into the abyss.

In the end, Shin Myeonghyeon was the starting point to the terrible events in Sugyeom’s previous life.

He gritted his teeth, approaching the two with quick steps.

“Yuchan!”

Pretending not to know anything, Sugyeom brightly called Yuchan’s name.

Then, intentionally intervening between the two, he stood next to Yuchan. As a result, Yuchan lightly stepped back and avoided him, but the more he did so, the closer he stuck to him.

“Great, I’ve been looking for you!”

“…Me?”

“Hm, I had something to say. Oh, hello? I didn’t know you were here. Anyway, Happy New Year.”

Sugyeom roughly greeted the nearby Shin Myeonghyeon and grabbed Yuchan by the arm. Yuchan was dragged away by him out of the blue.

Yuchan tried to remove his arm that was caught by him several times as they walked, but he didn’t let go. It was because he was worried that Shin Myeonghyeon would reappear.

In addition, he became heated again when he recalled Shin Myeonghyeon.

Shin Myeonghyeon was the oldest member of ‘Black A.’ He didn’t know his exact age, but he was older than Taewon.

In comparison, Yuchan was still a 19-year-old minor. He wouldn’t be twenty until after tonight.

Thinking that a person who wasn’t young anymore was still trying something with a minor like Yuchan, he felt the urge to go to Shin Myeonghyeon immediately and kick his ass three times in a row.

“Hyung, can you let me go…”

“Yuchan.”

Sugyeom actually knew why Yuchan was so sensitive to physical contact. He didn’t know at the time, but now that he looked back, he could see why.

The reason why he felt uncomfortable and avoided physical contact was because he was afraid of being outed as gay.

He didn’t know since when he had realized his sexual orientation, but that was probably why he felt out of place and unable to open his heart since joining U-PITE.

His heart ached when he thought how he must be suffering in fear alone at such a young age. Filled with emotions, he looked at him.

“Hyung, are you crying…?”

Surprised by Yuchan’s question, Sugyeom hugged him with all his might instead of answering.

He had never hugged him like this even when he had found out that Yuchan was gay in his previous life.

Not because he was uncomfortable. Rather, he was worried about what would happen to U-PITE and what would happen to him, so he couldn’t comfort Yuchan who must have suffered the most from the unwanted outing. It had remained his stain of regret.

“Hyung…?”

“You know, Yuchan. I’m on your side no matter what.”

When Yuchan called out to Sugyeom, he hugged him even more. Although Sugyeom’s voice was mixed with tears, he was as firm as his tone.

“Hyung…”

“It doesn’t change even if we’re far apart, no, even if we’re on two different sides of the world. I’m on Yuchan’s side no matter what.”

“Wh-what…What are you saying all of a sudden…?”

Yuchan’s voice trembled. The shaky voice made Sugyeom’s chest numb to the point where he thought he would burst into tears.

“Just…I just wanted to tell you at least once. I really want to tell you, to you who will soon become an adult. You’ll need to fight this harsh world with every fiber of your being, but nothing will change the fact that I’ll always be there by your side.”

Yuchan became silent. However, Sugyeom could feel his sturdy body trembling softly. As such, he patted his solid back as if to soothe him.