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"Guys, you know what? Let's decide on Sejin's gift later. Can I talk to you for a second?"
At those words, the members lowered their phones and looked at Hajin.
"What's going on?"
"Did something serious happen?"
Seeing Hajin's serious expression, the members asked with concern.
Swallowing nervously, Hajin carefully began to speak.
"Um… You might not believe me when I say this, but I'll tell you anyway. Do you remember the day Sejin woke up from the ICU and got moved to a regular room? A reporter showed up and caused a scene."
"Hey! How could we forget that?!"
"Exactly! I still get mad just thinking about that guy."
"Now that you mention it, what happened to him? I heard the police were investigating."
"The police finished the investigation, and I think the case has been handed over to the prosecution for indictment."
"Oh really? Then it'll take some time if there's going to be a trial and all."
As the conversation started to drift off track, Hajin quickly brought it back.
"Anyway, that reporter came into the hospital room and harassed Sejin, right?"
"Yeah."
"But Sejin said he saw something strange about that man."
"Something strange?"
"Yeah. According to Sejin, he saw something like a black cloud attached to the reporter's body. He was so shocked that he thought he was just seeing things and tried to forget about it. But not long after, he saw it again."
Only then did the members realize that something was off.
"Are you saying Sejin is seeing… like supernatural things or something?"
Joomin asked with a confused expression.
"Yeah. As unbelievable as it sounds, it seems that way. Not only does he see the black cloud, but he also feels a bad energy from the people it's attached to. Sejin says he sees it on people who are… bad."
Everyone looked surprised at Hajin's explanation.
"Is Sejin okay? It must be really scary for him to see something like that."
"Exactly. But Hajin, you said Sejin saw the black cloud again recently, right?"
"Yeah. Not long after that incident, Sejin became close with another patient in a different hospital room. One day he visited that room, and since the patient runs a company, one of their employees came by for an approval. Sejin saw the black cloud on that employee."
"Whoa! And then?"
"That day, the patient's son happened to visit too. His name is Seongjun, he's the guy I was on the phone with earlier. Sejin pulled Seongjun aside and told him about it. Thankfully, Seongjun believed him and ran a background check on the employee."
"And something came up from the background check?"
"Yeah. He didn't share the full details, but apparently that guy had committed a lot of corrupt acts. Coincidentally, he was in charge of a major business deal at the company. Thanks to Sejin, they were able to prevent a huge loss."
"If what we've heard so far is true, then this black cloud Sejin sees only appears on bad people?"
At Jaewon's question, Hajin nodded.
"Yeah. Sejin said the same thing. He said those black clouds don't appear on good people, only on bad ones. And he also said he feels something unpleasant from them."
"That's kind of fascinating."
"Yeah, it is."
"Then, Hajin, if you're bringing this up now after all this time… does that mean something else happened?"
Sensing something, Joomin asked sharply.
"Yeah, you're right. Honestly, I didn't want to say anything because I thought no one would believe it and they'd think Sejin is weird. I planned to keep it a secret… but Sejin saw one again yesterday. At the company."
"At the company?"
"Seriously?"
The group's voices rose in shock.
"Guys, let's keep it down. You're going to wake Sejin."
Jaewon cautioned.
Once the others settled down, Hajin continued.
"You remember the trainee we saw yesterday in front of the elevator before meeting with our CEO?"
"Oh, the one with brown hair?"
"Yeah. Sejin said he saw a black cloud on that trainee."
The members were stunned again.
"What?! On that trainee?"
"Wait, isn't he just a high schooler?"
"Right. What the heck could he have done?"
"This is bad. Didn't our company say they were preparing a new boy group? Don't tell me he's one of the debut candidates?"
As the group started to panic, the leader, Jaewon, raised his hand to calm them down.
"Alright, let's all calm down. We don't have any confirmation yet. I'll check with Cheolhwan hyung."
He picked up his phone and called Cheolhwan.
After a few rings, the call was answered.
"Hey, Jaewon."
"Hyung, are you still at the office?"
"Yeah, I'm just about to head out. What's up?"
"Oh, I just wanted to ask you something."
"Go ahead."
"Um, I was just wondering... You said the next idol group we're preparing is a boy group, right?"
"Yeah, that's right."
"Has the debut lineup been finalized?"
"Pretty much. You remember Seunghwan, the kid you saw yesterday? He's almost confirmed."
"Why do you ask all of a sudden?"
"Oh, we were just chatting and got curious since it's been a while since the company's launched a new group. By the way, when did that Seunghwan kid join us? I remember someone mentioning yesterday that he joined not too long ago, and now he's already part of the debut lineup?"
"Haha, now that you guys are shareholders, I guess you're interested in the company's affairs? Seunghwan was scouted by the head of Team 2 from another agency where he was a trainee. He's good at dancing, decent vocals, and on top of that, he's got the looks. From what I've heard, they're planning to build the new team around him."
"I see… I didn't know that."
Noticing something off in Jaewon's voice, Cheolhwan asked.
"Hey, what's with your voice? Something happen? It's kind of weird that you're suddenly asking about Seunghwan."
"Oh, no. Like I said, I was just curious. If he debuts, he'll be part of our younger brother group. So I care about it, and the guys were curious too. My voice just feels a little scratchy, that's all."
"It's not a cold, is it?"
"No, no. I probably just choked a bit earlier."
"Still, better be careful. Turn on the humidifier and drink some warm tea before bed."
"Yeah, I will. You're heading home now, right? Drive safe."
"Got it. Talk later."
"Okay. Hanging up now."
After ending the call, Jaewon looked up to see the other members staring at him.
"So? What did Cheolhwan hyung say?"
"Don't tell me that kid is part of the debut team?"
"Seriously? Has the debut lineup already been finalized?"
Jaewon nodded.
"Yeah. That Seunghwan kid we saw yesterday, he's basically confirmed. Apparently, the Team 2 leader scouted him from another agency. Seems like he's pretty skilled."
The members sighed.
"Sigh…"
"What are we supposed to do about this?"
"We can't even report it to the company… This is a real mess."
"Even if we did, what would we say? 'Kick him out because our Sejin saw a black cloud on him?'"
As the group sat in silence, trying to figure out what to do, Hajin spoke up.
"Hey… do you guys really believe me?"
The members chuckled.
"What? Did you think we wouldn't?"
"And if you really thought that, why'd you even tell us?"
"Well… I mean, it's not something easy to believe. It's not like we can see it for ourselves. And Sejin's just a kid, people might say he has a vivid imagination. But you guys took it so normally, I'm kind of stunned."
"Haha. Come on, it's not like we don't know you and Sejin."
"Yeah, and Sejin isn't the type to make up lies, either."
"Right. And considering everything that's happened, I think it really makes sense that those black clouds only show up on bad people."
Hearing their words, Hajin nodded.
"Thanks. For believing me."
"Sheesh, no need to thank us for that."
"Exactly."
"Then… who all knows that Sejin can see those black clouds? Just you, and the man you mentioned from the hospital… and now us?"
At Joomin's question, Hajin nodded.
"Yeah. That's right. At first, it was just me and Seongjun hyung who knew. But I realized I couldn't keep it secret anymore. If something happens when I'm not around, Sejin might see another black cloud… and he'll need an adult to help him. The only people I could trust to believe him and actually help… were you guys."
Hearing that, the members all nodded in understanding.
"Yeah. Most people wouldn't believe something like that."
"And even if they did, there could be people who'd try to use him because of it."
"Ugh. You're right. Hajin, we probably shouldn't tell anyone else about this. It could actually put Sejin in danger."
Hajin nodded at Jaewon's words.
"Yeah. I agree."
"So then, back to the real issue… what do we do about that trainee?"
"Oh! Don't worry about that. I already called Seongjun hyung earlier today and asked for his help."
"Oh? He's looking into it?"
"Yeah. He has a few employees who handle that kind of thing. He said he'd get them to do a background check and told me to give it a few days."
"That's a relief."
"Seriously. We wouldn't be able to do anything ourselves, but if he's handling it, that's a huge help."
"Yeah. He really likes Sejin, and he said that thanks to Sejin, he was able to prevent a major loss at his company. So he's happy to help."
"He sounds like a really good guy."
"Totally. So all we have to do now is wait."
"Yeah. He said he'd contact me within a few days once the investigation is done. He also warned me that since we're celebrities, it's better if we don't get involved directly. We don't want to spark any rumors."
"Right. If we start snooping around, reporters might catch on and stir up something. We should definitely stay low and let him handle it."
"Exactly. Now… how about we lighten the mood and pick out a gift for our sweet Sejin?"
Hwan tried to brighten the mood with his voice, and the other members followed suit.
"Yeah, let's do that. We should pick something by the end of the week so we can buy it next week."
"You were doing some searching earlier. Find anything interesting?"
"Looks like these are trending right now."
Roy showed them a toy he had found online.
"Oh~! Toys these days are really high quality. But doesn't Sejin not really play with toys? I feel like the ones we got him before are still sitting around untouched."
"Yeah, he just plays with Bbokdol all the time. Hahaha."
"Or his teddy bear!"
"Haha. Alright, let's keep searching. There's gotta be something Sejin will like."
"Got it."
And so, the members stayed up late into the night searching for the perfect gift for Sejin for Children's Day.
At the same time, Seongjun, who had promised Hajin he'd look into things, finished up his work at the office and called his secretary.
He had been stuck in meetings all day and finally had a break.
"Sir, you called?"
"Yeah. Secretary Cha, assign a team to monitor the person I mentioned."
"Should they just monitor him?"
"Hmm. Have them watch him 24/7 and also look into his background, his home life, school records, personal connections. I want everything."
"Understood. Who's the subject?"
"You know Ain Entertainment, right?"
"Yes."
"There's a trainee there named Kang Seunghwan. He's in high school, I believe."
"Got it. How long should the surveillance last?"
"As quickly as possible. If anything turns up, report to me immediately."
"Understood."
As Secretary Cha took notes and exited the office, Seongjun leaned back in his chair.
Sejin had once helped him, and now it was his turn to return the favor.
It may not be a grand gesture of repayment, but he could continue helping whenever needed.
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