Chapter 343 – 343. Destiny (8)
I sit on the bed and wait in silence until they come out of the bathroom.
I wasn’t nervous, and strangely I wasn’t already excited, but my shaking legs never calmed down.
… It’s probably because I’m anxious.
Yesterday, when I overlapped with Seo Ji-ah in a dark alley with no one around, I felt a sense of freedom, not anxiety.
It was a bit ironic that I felt anxious in a closed room where no one could see.
“… “Oppa, please come in for a moment.”
“Uh? Uh. Okay.”
As my legs began to tremble, Hinami stuck her head out of the bathroom and motioned to me.
The wet white hair sticking to my cheek should have stimulated my sexual desires, but strangely enough, I wasn’t that excited today.
I lightly kissed Ha-eun’s cheek, who was only blinking as she covered herself with the blanket. I got up, took off my top, and stepped into the bathroom where they were washing.
“Why?”
“… I have something to say. “Me and Jia.”
When I stepped into the bathroom, Seo Ji-ah, already soaking in a large bathtub full of water, leaned her arms on the edge and looked up at me.
While I was losing sight of her slightly trembling eyes and her buttocks barely rising above the water, Hinami, who had dragged me in, gently closed her open bathroom door, then grabbed my hand and led me toward the bathtub.
“What are you going to say?”
“First, take off your clothes, and I’ll talk to you when you come in. … “It’s a bit of a serious story.”
“… “I figured it out.”
Unable to overcome Hinami’s rare serious expression, I obediently took off her pants and soaked my feet in her bathtub.
I was a little hesitant due to the hot water temperature, but I quickly got used to it after holding my breath once and pushing my body into the water.
My mind, which had been so complicated that I was vomiting earlier, melted away as soon as the hot water touched it, and I felt a little more at ease.
“Hey, I heard you had something to say.”
“… “I want to speak in this position.”
Thanks to Hinami’s skin, which clung to me and hugged me tightly, my brain began to melt even more.
… To the point where I inadvertently wonder if I really need to worry about something like that.
“What on earth are you talking about, taking so much time?”
“… Today, you didn’t hear from us and it’s late. That’s actually because the director called me.”
“Well, I think that’s roughly it-“
“I got caught.”
“… “What?”
But as soon as Hinami continued speaking, my worries that had been flying away immediately came back to my head.
“… Oh, it wasn’t us, it was another member to be exact, and we got scolded by the director for taking pictures of her meeting a guy…, I also knew that I was meeting a man.”
… When I first heard that I had been caught, I almost took my breath away, but what followed was definitely not a good thing.
It’s none of my business whether a fellow member has a boyfriend, secretly married husband, or child, but it’s a different matter if a scandal breaks out.
“So, actually, I was going to say I couldn’t go today. But, Jia said we should talk today.”
“… Yes.”
I still remember the last time I had a problem with drugs and suffered for a long time, but in this situation, one more case is going to happen?
In the worst case, you might be trapped in your dorm again like last time, and everything will be found out at a time when you can’t even make an excuse.
Even if that’s not the case, reporters will look into this area more diligently.
No matter how much they keep their mouths shut, something will eventually come out if they dig in.
I can easily find out that the father of the child I am carrying in my womb is me just by secretly confiscating my cell phone.
If I were the decision maker at their agency…, Wouldn’t they bury me in a suitable mountain somewhere, or throw me into the sea and make it like never happened?
Although it was a funny delusion, it didn’t sound like a joke because it would have been something I couldn’t handle if it were made public.
“What are you going to do, brother-in-law? “I want to hear my brother-in-law’s opinion.”
“… “Wait a moment.”
It wasn’t that I wasn’t prepared at all.
As soon as Hinami finished her activities, she tried to escape, and even Jia rationally knew that she had to hide it somehow.
She knew that was too naive of her, so she planned to quit the gym and everything and run away to America or Europe.
But if something this disturbing happened to her, she could be caught by the tail before she could run away.
No matter how much I want to take responsibility, in the end, there is a limit to what one person can do.
… Which is the correct answer?
How can we protect them?
“… If you tell me to erase it, I will. Besides, I’m still certain-“
“Hey, don’t say that again. Because I will never do it.”
“… Yes.”
At least, I didn’t want to choose the option that came out of Seo Ji-ah’s mouth even if I woke up from death.
… If I had been going to ignore it like that in the first place, I wouldn’t have chosen this option.
Even if it meant receiving all kinds of criticism and abuse from countless people, I didn’t want anything more than to have scars on my body.
The scars left on my shoulder are enough.
It was impossible to increase her memory any further.
“First of all, our relationship isn’t at stake, right?”
“Yes, brother.”
“I haven’t even found out I’m pregnant yet.”
“Yes.”
“Which reporter caught the other member who was said to have been photographed?”
“I don’t know much about that. “First of all, the director said he would cover it by this year.”
“… First, let’s not react too sensitively. Anyway, we are going to Korea within this year.”
“… Yes.”
The only thing I could do was to make it popular in Korea as soon as possible.
It looked hideous because it was like running away, but it couldn’t be helped.
No matter how hard I tried, it was impossible to live in hiding for 10 months in a country where half the people walking around on the streets recognized their faces.
If you ask me if I don’t want to feel possessive or superior, I don’t have the confidence to shake my head,
Now they were more important than that.
… Growing inside Hinami’s belly that touches my body,
My child was more important.
“Brother-in-law.”
“Uh.”
“If I run far away, will I really not get caught?”
“… Well.”
Of course, there was no guarantee that you would be fine if you ran away.
Because the world has become so small, and these women were so beautiful.
The only places where there is no one to recognize them are remote areas in the countryside where there is no internet access, and it is impossible to take care of them in such places.
It’s something I can’t even do to Ha-eun.
However, no matter how hard you try, you may not be able to hide it.
“But it’s better than here. … Rather than a place where you can’t meet if you don’t wear a mask.”
“… That’s right.”
At least it would be okay not to worry about the gaze of someone whose face I didn’t even know.
As long as I could buy that much time, it was enough.
… Anyway, as time passes, everyone will forget.
“Don’t worry too much. “I can speak some English, and I know a little bit of Spanish.”
“You?”
“Why. Do I look that stupid?”
“English is like that, but Spanish is…”
“I learned a little bit of everyday conversation while chatting with mercenaries in the past. “You can order and eat a meal at a restaurant.”
“… “I don’t trust you at all.”
“Wow, I can’t trust people.”
I wanted to reassure them, even if it meant bluffing.
Anyway, no matter how bad it was, I wouldn’t starve to death in a year, so this was more important.
“If you don’t believe me, run away now. … “Don’t suffer with trash like me, get the hell out of here.”
“… “It’s a foul, that is.”
I hug Seo Ji-ah, who is grumbling, and I enjoy a quiet bath in the now lukewarm water with them in my arms.
She felt sorry for putting such a burden on her at a time when she had to be most careful as a woman.
I didn’t particularly want to be praised or hear other people say I was great.
If she was to take responsibility for what she had done, she had to bear that weight.
She stole two jewels that were beautifully displayed in a display case, and it would be even weirder if no one came after her.
“… “Aren’t you scared, Oppa?”
“What?”
“I’m scared. … You know, there was an old manager. “The man who was stalking Zia.”
“Uh.”
“That person…, It ‘evaporated’. Because I tried to do something strange again and got caught.”
“…”
“Your brother too… “I’m scared that it might just disappear like that.”
“I don’t think so. “Don’t say strange things.”
I didn’t really believe Hinami’s words when she told a story that was almost a ghost story.
However, I could understand why she was shivering after being submerged in such warm water.
I could understand the fear that I might disappear.
Because I was scared too.
I was scared to think that they could disappear at any moment, in an instant.
“… Please stay by my side forever.”
“Okay.”
“Even if you have a child, don’t abandon me, keep going. Please love me.”
“I will.”
“Even if I quit being an idol, I will always be an idol in front of my brother. For life…, Please become my fan.”
“… “I promise.”
In the end, all I can do is,
With his thick little finger entwined with his thin finger.
A look full of confidence is cast into anxious eyes,
There was nothing other than covering the twitching lips with your lips and making them calm.
“… Please promise me too, brother-in-law.”
Since we have come this far.
It was impossible to turn back time or sever ties.
Even if a bomb explodes right before your eyes tomorrow.
… Or even if it passes peacefully without any incident.
