Chapter 42

All kinds of thoughts swirled in my head.

I left the kid sitting in the flower bed by the building and checked his condition. I pulled down his socks and touched around his ankle, asking,

"Where exactly does it hurt?"

"I don't know, hyung. It feels like I twisted it."

Judging by his pale face, it seemed he had twisted it pretty badly.

"Hyung, what do we do? If the manager finds out, he'll be furious. The trainers will be too..."

"Is that important right now?"

Sighing, I looked at the youngest, who was making such a fuss.

What should I do?

I called Seokhwan hyung, but there was no answer. The same with Minki hyung. After leaving a bunch of voicemails, I tried to calm my anxious heart.

I have to take action on my own.

"Let's go to the hospital first. We can get an X-ray and get a prescription if there's a problem."

"I can't walk, hyung. It hurts."

"Don't worry, I'll help you."

The youngest nodded. I bent down to wrap my arm around his smaller frame.

"Ah."

"Be careful walking."

Did he break a bone?

I saw his youthful face, with tears welling up in his eyelashes.

He looked scared.

Not only was his ankle twisted and painful, but he was also worried that this might affect his debut schedule or that he might cause trouble for the others during practice.

Only then did I realize something I had overlooked.

That Jiho is only 17.

He's not an adult yet, and he's five years younger than me, so I should take better care of him.

"Just hang in there."

I said as I approached the road to hail a taxi.

"Sure, hyung. I'll be fine."

Of course.

"Hey, so you were texting someone in the taxi, right? Who were you texting?"

"Ah, I was just telling him I got hurt and which hospital I was at... I said it might be so bad that I couldn't walk anymore."

"Lie. Did you send that to me?"

"Well, I was going to send it, but I stopped halfway because it hurt."

So he was complaining about the pain while texting someone in the taxi. It turned out to be Riheuk.

And he even omitted 'it seems' from 'I might not be able to walk anymore.'

I clicked my tongue while Jiho checked Riheuk's reaction. Riheuk was getting angrier by the second.

"Hey, so you're saying you twisted your ankle, and it'll take a week to recover?"

"It's not a week, it's two days."

The youngest glared at me for interrupting.

"So, your leg is... fine?"

"A little sore."

"Alright, as long as it's fine. As long as it's fine."

Just as Riheuk was muttering to himself, trying to calm down, he noticed something and narrowed his eyes.

"Wait, Wang Jiho. Is that my shirt?"

"No, it's not. Maybe..."

"It is my shirt, right? I told you I couldn't lend you this new one."

Riheuk's head turned 90 degrees towards me, his suspicion turning to certainty.

"Did you know?"

"Ah, I didn't know. Seriously, that's your shirt? Why did you wear it, Jiho?"

I knew but didn't care because it was a hassle.

Would I have known if I thought I'd see him like this?

Usually, I would have teased him for his good memory, but fortunately, Riheuk's anger was directed at the youngest.

If I stayed quiet, it might pass, but Wang Jiho wouldn't be Wang Jiho if he could stay quiet.

"Hyung, you can't hit me. I'm a patient, aah!"

"You crazy kid!"

The youngest, who was getting hit on the back like a son caught by his mother in an internet cafe, threw a plea for help my way.

"Hyung, you said you'd step in for me, aah!"

Of course.

"Ah, the manager called."

I ignored him cheerfully.

* * *

-What happened?

"Nothing much. Jiho and I went out for a bit, and he twisted his ankle."

Silence on the other end of the line.

Scary.

I quickly explained the situation, adhering to the six elements of news.

-How is he? Is it serious?

"It's not serious. The doctor said he just needs to take some anti-inflammatory medicine and rest for two days."

-That's a relief. How did he fall?

Cold sweat trickled down the back of my neck.

"He got his sneaker stuck in a crack in the sidewalk. Anyway, there was a reason."

-The hospital?

"We came to the university hospital. Here in Sinchon."

-...I'm glad it's nothing serious. Is Jiho okay?

I saw Jiho getting hit on the back at a distant bench. ("I was watching a robot vacuum at the expo and had to leave in the middle! Robot! Vacuum!", "I'm a patient, hyung!")

I looked around worriedly, but fortunately, no one was watching.

"Jiho seems fine. Sorry for bothering you on your day off, hyung. I didn't know what to do in that situation."

-Yeah, who would you call?

A pleasant voice came from the other end.

-I'll call you later. Try to get back to the dorm early. Don't wander around and get hurt again. Your body is your asset. Got it? ("Who is this?")

"Got it... Wait, hyung, I heard a woman's voice. Who is it?"

-I'm on a date, okay.

Curiosity arose as I thought about hanging up.

"Is she real?"

-You're too much, really.

I heard a laugh.

-I'll have to text your PT instructor to make your workouts more intense so you don't get distracted.

"Ah, I..."

-We'll talk later.

I felt like I had teased him for nothing.

I sent a text to Minki hyung telling him not to worry, then approached the bench where the kids were.

Things had calmed down a bit.

"How are you, Riheuk? Are you feeling better?"

"Not really. I'm going to hit him more. I was watching a robot vacuum at the expo because of him. It was a new technology."

"I can buy you that robot vacuum."

"It's not on the market yet. Didn't you hear about the new technology? It was being demonstrated for the first time at this expo."

I didn't understand his point of anger, but whatever.

"I'm a patient, hyung. I got hit so much on the back, I might need to go to the orthopedic department. What was it, Wooju hyung? The orthopedic department."

"Orthopedic."

"Ah, right. I might need to go to the orthopedic department."

"You're talking about the orthopedic department. Mister, can you teach me that tackle move? I need to use it now."

The kids were bickering, and I shared the conversation I had with Seokhwan hyung.

Jiho looked relieved that he hadn't been scolded, while Riheuk complained that such a careless kid needed to be disciplined.

But they both had a common reaction.

"Seokhwan hyung is on a date with his girlfriend."

"Girlfriend? A real one?"

"Yeah, I asked him too."

"What?"

"What? He said he's going to call the PT instructor to make your workouts more intense."

Both of their faces were filled with deep resentment.

I ignored them and pointed to the cafe on the first floor of the hospital.

"Let's go there and have something to drink."

"Sure. I need to drink something after dealing with this kid."

"...I'll pay."

As I approached to help Jiho up from the bench, he shook his head.

"I want Riheuk hyung to help me."

"Why?"

"Wooju hyung is too tall. It's more comfortable with a smaller person."

Riheuk's face cracked.

* * *

Only after I offered him the most expensive slice of cake at the cafe did Riheuk's mood improve a bit.

"So, did you have any trouble with that uncle? Did anyone recognize you?"

"No, not at all. I even prepared an autograph."

I chimed in, looking at the youngest.

"He said he was doing a celebrity cosplay and brought sunglasses."

"Sunglasses? You're not an influencer."

"Hyung, you brought them this morning too."

"...I brought them to protect my eyes."

We chatted for a while.

Riheuk's mood seemed to be improving, and when Jiho gave him a shirt he bought as a gift, Riheuk's mood completely lifted.

As Riheuk took the envelope, his lips twitched.

"Hey, isn't that Janghyun hyung and Biju hyung?"

The youngest's words made me blink.

What is he talking about?

"Are they doing a music cafe rerun? I don't see a TV."

"No, they're over there, Janghyun hyung and Biju hyung."

"What?"

...I turned my head and was startled.

Sure enough, Biju and Janghyun were standing not far away. They were talking, and then Biju walked off in another direction.

And Janghyun started walking towards us.

"Did you call them too?"

"No way. I'm not crazy. I don't want to hear their nagging."

It seemed Janghyun hadn't noticed us. As I was about to tell him not to acknowledge us, Jiho suddenly stood up, smiled brightly, and waved.

"Janghyun hyung!"

Janghyun, who had been walking like a relaxed lion, stopped abruptly. Then he turned his head towards us.

After three seconds, his face showed shock.

* * *

"An American football coach once said that if a sports team or office workers don't trust each other, they will have problems. And Ralph Waldo Emerson said that distrust is a very expensive price to pay."

"..."

"You said you were going to play basketball with Biju hyung. Are they playing basketball in the hospital now?"

Riheuk's logical words left Janghyun speechless. He looked at me, his eyes pleading for help.

Why do they always look at me like this?

"Janghyun might have a reason."

"Then what is it?"

Riheuk looked at me and Jiho.

"Things have been strange lately, and we've been letting them slide. Biju hyung has been spacing out every day. He even burned breakfast a few days ago. If things get this strange, don't we need to know?"

Janghyun seemed lost in thought before turning to me.

"What do you think, hyung?"

"Well, it's awkward. It's his personal life, so it's hard to say. But the problem is that we've already seen it. It's hard to pretend nothing happened."

Would it be funny to just say, 'Oh, it's Biju's personal life' and let it go?

And then pretend nothing happened when we got back to the dorm? Janghyun sighed, looking down at the table.

"Ah, Kim Biju wouldn't like it if he knew... but..."

I and Riheuk leaned in to listen.

Jiho, who had been watching the exchange, took a sip of his frappuccino.

"Kim Biju's younger brother is hospitalized, and he came to visit him."

"His brother?"

Janghyun's face showed internal conflict again.

After a long pause, his heavy mouth finally opened.

"His brother has cancer."

Jiho spit out the frappuccino he was drinking.