Hot blood running down. He felt his limbs twist.
It was the same foreign, wrong feeling he'd felt in the accident before the regression.
Who was this person screaming so desperately for him?
He wanted to see the face behind that familiar voice, but his eyes wouldn't open easily.
It was only when he forced his heavy lids up and opened his eyes—
"Sol! You're awake?"
"Mr. Dansol! Are you okay?"
"Shouldn't we move him to the hospital⁈"
What Dansol saw was the ceiling of the room he shared with Jisu inside Chunmonggak.
With people bustling around, checking his condition in his blurred field of view, he couldn't remember the man's voice that had called out to him.
"Ah... was it a dream...."
"Sol, what is it? Did you dream? Are you okay? Does your head hurt?"
"Uh... I'm okay...."
When he fumbled at his face at Jisu's questions, he felt a bandage on the bridge of his nose. Under the smooth strip, the ridge felt slightly swollen.
"Uh... what happened to me?"
"You got hit by the ball Jeong Daesu threw, bled from your nose, and passed out. Don't tell me... you don't even remember us playing dodgeball?"
At Minhyeok's words, Dansol jolted upright. The sudden movement made him dizzy, and when he swayed, Han Jisu grabbed him.
"Are you okay⁈ You can't get up like that! What do you need—want me to bring something?"
Dansol scanned the people standing around his bed, looking down at him.
Everyone was here except Jeong Daesu.
Which meant—
"Isn't filming delayed because of me? I'm fine, so hurry—"
"…Ha. What are you saying, Sol."
"We were in the middle of the game, and then... I'm sorry."
"Ha."
Dansol, eyes unfocused as he talked about filming, made Jisu look like he couldn't believe it. He quickly grabbed Dansol by the shoulders.
Sometimes, when you looked at rookies, there were people who didn't even realize they were breaking themselves—they just kept running, trying hard.
Jisu hoped Dansol wasn't that type.
This was a place where being clueless could make you lose your life.
"Lie back down."
Jisu's firmness—something Dansol had never seen—shrank him. Thinking he was being scolded, Dansol perched on the bed.
"Lie down properly."
"Yes...."
He ended up lying down awkwardly, but he didn't feel comfortable at all.
Maybe if he'd still been out of it, but lying down in front of seniors was not an easy thing.
"Sunbae, you're being too hard on someone who's hurt—"
"And you're the first to dodge when a ball comes flying at you?"
"That was reflexively—"
Minhyeok, as if he'd noticed Dansol's discomfort, tried to stop Jisu, but it only turned into a pathetic excuse.
If he argued more, it would turn into a fight with Jisu in front of the injured Dansol, so Minhyeok shut his mouth.
Reading the chill in the air, Yoon Yeomin shoved the others out of the room.
"He seems fine, so let's all go. Leave Mr. Dansol to rest."
"Yeah. Rest."
"I'll come wake you for dinner later!"
"Either way... it's largely my fault for not blocking it. I'm sorry, Mr. Dansol."
Jisu looked like lasers might shoot from his eyes, but Minhyeok didn't care. He waited to the end, apologized to Dansol, and left.
Only then did an awkward silence settle over the room.
Still standing with his arms crossed, Jisu walked over and sat on the edge of Dansol's bed.
"Sorry I snapped. But you dropping out doesn't mean something huge happens. We don't have to film today, so rest."
Jisu meant it so Dansol wouldn't worry about filming, but to Dansol, it sounded like: You're not needed anyway.
The voice he'd heard in his dream was probably a hallucination his desperate wish had created.
If he died—if he disappeared—was there really anyone in the world who would be sad?
That thought crumpled Dansol's face, and tears sprang out in bursts.
"Sol, are you crying...? Are you hurt somewhere? Should we go to the hospital?"
Dansol tried to say it wasn't that, but his voice got swallowed by sobs until only garbled sounds came out.
When Jisu asked again and again if he was in pain, Dansol just shook his head.
"You're not hurt? Then why... Is it because I yelled? I'm sorry, Sol. Huh? Don't cry. Hyung was wrong, okay?"
Even though Jisu hadn't done anything wrong, he kept apologizing, and Dansol shook his head even as he cried like a child.
He didn't understand why he was acting so clingy.
In truth, Jisu's words had no malice at all.
Dansol was injured and had even fainted—resting for the day was the right call.
Before the regression, even after going through all that cruelty, he didn't cry easily. Later, he even thought he'd become someone whose heart had hardened to the point he couldn't feel emotions.
He wondered why he'd become such a crybaby.
There was only one answer.
Because there were people like Jisu, who scolded him and worried about him—he started wanting to whine and lean on them, like a weak kid.
Only Jisu, not knowing why, fidgeted in panic.
"Why... what's so unfair... Are you upset because you can't film because you're hurt? I already made that bastard Jeong Daesu suffer so bad he could barely breathe. Hyung will make sure you get your screentime. Don't worry."
"Snff... hng.... I'm... fine...."
"What do you mean, fine!"
"Hng."
He finally managed to stop crying and push out one sentence, but Jisu's words made tears well up again.
It wasn't fear. It wasn't shock.
He was crying because he was grateful—because someone was getting this worked up and worried over someone as insignificant as him.
"…Sorry. You got scared, didn't you? Hyung keeps getting pissed because your pretty face got hurt. Hoo... I won't shout again. Sorry."
"…Waaah... th-that's not it. Snff, th-thank you, sunbae. I'm crying because I'm grateful.... Thank you."
Stumbling through the words, Dansol sat up and hugged Jisu, who was sitting in front of him.
He thought he wanted a hyung who would always look after him like this.
It felt like, in this harsh industry, he'd finally met that kind of hyung.
Jisu felt like he understood—and like he didn't.
He hadn't exactly survived this world easily either.
But relatively speaking, he'd been able to make a living without much struggle, and he'd barely had a "nugu" period—so there was a limit to how fully he could grasp Dansol's heart.
And he'd been trying hard to soothe Dansol while hiding his pitch-black ulterior thoughts—
But when that small body suddenly hugged him, it became hard to endure.
Jisu buried his nose in the back of Dansol's neck and inhaled deeply.
It was sweet skin-scent, as sweet as Dansol's name.
"By the way, where is Jeong Daesu sunbae?"
"Why do you care about that bastard?"
Right as Jisu was wondering if he should just swallow Dansol whole and retire from this miserable celebrity life, Dansol pulled his body back—and said the name that could cool a thousand years of lust with those pretty lips.
"I want to tell him I'm okay.... In case he's worried."
"It's fine. He needs to suffer a little. I almost called 112—I barely held back."
"Come on, sunbae.... 112 over something like this? I'm really fine now. I... I'm going to go see Jeong Daesu sunbae!"
"Uh... wait—!"
Before Jisu could grab him and tell him to stay lying down, Dansol jumped up, opened the door, and ran out.
Didn't they say the one who got hit could sleep with their legs stretched out, but the one who hit them couldn't?
It didn't feel that way when he thought about the people who'd left him malicious comments, but still—Dansol only wanted to tell Daesu he was fine, in case Daesu was drowning in guilt.
He didn't even have to go far.
Daesu was sitting on the chair outside Dansol's door, his face buried in his hands.
The atmosphere was so heavy you'd believe this wasn't Dansol's room—it was the entrance to an ICU.
At the sound of the door, he assumed it was Jisu and asked without even looking up.
"How is he? They said he's okay?"
"Yes! Sunbae! I'm fine!"
Only then did Daesu jerk his head up, eyes wide.
It had only been an hour, but Daesu's face looked as dark as someone who'd endured brutal torture.
"Ah..."
Seeing Dansol's face, he seemed flustered, unable to continue.
Dansol said it again, more firmly.
"I'm really okay! You were startled, right... I'm sorry. I popped out so suddenly."
Faced with Dansol's heh-heh smile, Daesu crumpled, burying his face in his huge palm again.
Even though the medical staff said it had only been a brief faint, he couldn't feel reassured.
There was no excuse—his own greed had gotten Dansol hurt.
Even if Dansol never wanted to see him again, Daesu wouldn't have anything to say.
He couldn't even step into the room, so he stood punishment outside the door.
He'd been imagining every worst-case scenario, wondering how he should apologize if he faced Dansol—
And Dansol apologized first.
Daesu felt something surge up in his chest.
If he answered, it felt like a ridiculous voice would come out.
"Sunbae... are you okay?"
Dansol bent forward, trying to meet Daesu's eyes.
When that didn't work, he tapped Daesu's finger with his small hand, then patted Daesu's back—still huge, even hunched over.
In that moment, Daesu had the absurd thought that Dansol might be an angel.
{Interview}
Q: Jeong Daesu-ssi, are you okay?
Jeong Daesu: Ah... yes. I'm oka— ngh.... Just, just a second. Hoo... Let's do the interview later. I don't usually... cry. Ha...
Q: Should we give you a moment?
Jeong Daesu: Yes, thank you. Ah, I think I'm okay now.
Q: You must have been very startled by the accident.
Jeong Daesu: Yes.... Because it happened from the ball I threw. I was really worried. About Joo Dansol.
Q: Our cameras caught the moment Joo Dansol comforted (?) you. Could you tell us what happened then?
Jeong Daesu: Uh.... I was waiting outside the door, and Joo Dansol came out. Um... My apologize.... I mean, it was my turn to apologize, but I was so sorry I had nothing to say. But Joo Dansol apologized first. I thought, What is he even sorry for? And then I saw the injury. On his nose. And then, honestly, I felt like I was going to cry. His face is really small, Joo Dansol's. I hated it. That I did that to that small face with my own hand. I hated myself.
Q: Is that why you cried?
Jeong Daesu: Ha, a little? I felt like I might. I didn't cry. I just... when Joo Dansol patted me, I really almost did.
Q: Joo Dansol-ssi, are you okay?
Joo Dansol: Yes! I'm fine! But Jeong Daesu sunbae cried earlier. I'm really fine though... Everyone, I'm fine!
Q: Han Jisu-ssi! We know you're close with Jeong Daesu in real life. Is Jeong Daesu usually the type who cries a lot?
Han Jisu: Yes. Jeong Daesu is a crybaby.
{RO Match Survival on Island Portal}
Jeong Daesu must've been seriously flustered today. He talked way more and his pronunciation got hella gyopo-ishㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
⤷And his English pronunciation is sexy as hell... Why did they only make a guy like this speak Busan dialect, you Chungmuro gentlemen
⤷Same same, I want to hear Jeong Daesu speak English for a long time
⤷There's a clip from an overseas awards show (Jeong Daesu Cannes interview.mp4)
⤷Holy shit, sexyㅋㅋㅋㅋ but yeah he really talked a lot today
⤷I feel so bad for himㅠㅠ He must've suffered all day, sitting outside the doorㅠㅠ
⤷He scratched an idol's face, even Jeong Daesu would have to be scared. Joo Dansol's agency should be grateful they didn't sue
⤷It was an accident during filming and not intentional, why are you talking about lawsuits? Crossing the lineㅋㅋㅋ
⤷Does Joo Dansol's agency even have that kind of power?
⤷Rewatching it, it kinda looks like Joo Dansol stuck his head out on purpose—trying to get famous by getting hit by God Daesu?
⤷You're the one crossing the line—putting an offender frame on the victim. So if someone's not famous they can just get hit?
⤷Everyone chillㅠㅠ If he says he's fine why are we fighting?
(Angel Joo Dansol patting Jeong Daesu clip.mp4)
⤷Insane.... It's like a hamster comforting a tiger
⤷I was getting mad reading comments and now I'm being cleansed
⤷Hamster omgㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ one bite-sizedㅠㅠㅠㅠ Daesu/Dansol I'm buying~~
⤷Nope. Daesu/Jisu is the enemies-to-lovers restaurant
⤷Isn't Daesu/Jisu just pure hate?ㅋㅋㅋ
(Real-friend "crybaby" certification by Han Jisu.mp4)
⤷I felt bad for Daesu then I saw this and burst out laughingㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
⤷The best part is Daesu said he didn't cry but Dansol worrying is even funnier
⤷Yeah I saw that. Harmless but annoyingly funnyㅋㅋㅋ
⤷Jeong Daesu will cry again watching the broadcastㅋㅋㅋ
⤷I hope they upload a reaction video laterㅠㅠㅠㅠ Please…
Continue reading up to chapter 40+ at Novelshub.org
Continue reading up to chapter 40+ at Novelshub.org