Episode 41
While pressing the elevator button and waiting, Jaewon called Joomin.
After a few rings, the call connected.
"Hey, what's up?"
"Where are you?"
"I'm on the 3rd floor, grabbing my stuff. I just came down to the convenience store on the 1st floor for a bit. Thought I'd buy something for the kids to eat. Where are you?"
"I'm on the 5th floor, waiting for the elevator. The Team 2 leader went down to see Jiwon on the 2nd floor, so I'm going there too."
"Jiwon?"
"Yeah. The staff from Team 2 said Jiwon suddenly texted them yesterday saying he wanted to quit. He came today to pack his things, and the team leader went down in a hurry to talk to him."
Surprised, Joomin asked quickly.
"Jiwon said he's quitting? Seriously?"
"Yeah. When I heard that, something felt off, so I thought I'd go see him myself. Oh, elevator's here. I'm heading to the 2nd floor now, so come up when you're done."
"Okay, got it. I'll buy what I need and head right up."
A moment later, the elevator carrying Jaewon stopped on the 2nd floor.
As he stepped out, some trainees walking down the hallway during their break spotted him, startled, and quickly bowed.
"Hello!!"
"Hello, sunbae (senior)!"
Smiling, Jaewon returned their greeting and caught sight of someone he recognized.
"Hey, did the Team 2 leader come by here?"
"Ah, yes! He went to the changing room a moment ago."
"Got it, thanks."
After thanking the trainee, Jaewon texted Joomin to meet him at the changing room.
He knocked on the door, and a familiar voice responded.
"Yes, come in."
When he opened the door, the Team 2 leader was standing face to face with Jiwon, who had his head bowed.
"Oh? Jaewon! What brings you here?"
"Long time no see, team leader. I remembered you asked about that track we talked about before, so I came to discuss it. But then I heard you were here... Jiwon, it's been a while. How have you been?"
Even at Jaewon's greeting, Jiwon stayed silent, his head still lowered.
The team leader frowned at his behavior and raised his voice.
"Lee Jiwon! Even if you said you're quitting, when someone older greets you, you should at least respond! What's gotten into you?!"
Startled by his stern tone, Jiwon flinched and hunched his shoulders.
Then, in a small trembling voice, he muttered.
"I'm… sorry... team leader…. And… I'm sorry, sunbae…"
Hearing his subdued tone, the team leader sighed deeply, and Jaewon was visibly shocked.
He had always been cheerful and full of energy, someone who brightened up everyone around him. He had never seen him so withdrawn in all these years.
Taking a deep breath, Jaewon asked gently.
"Jiwon, the staff said you decided to quit being a trainee. Did something happen?"
At that question, Jiwon suddenly looked up, eyes wide, and shouted.
"No!! Nothing happened! I just… just don't want to be a trainee anymore!"
Both the team leader and Jaewon froze in surprise, not just at his sudden outburst, but because the face that looked back at them didn't seem like the Jiwon they knew.
"You…"
The team leader couldn't speak, he just stared intently at Jiwon's face.
Startled, Jiwon dropped his gaze to the floor again.
Jaewon carefully looked him over.
It had been hard to tell because of his loose training clothes, but now that he looked closely, he had grown noticeably thinner.
"Something is going on, isn't it? What happened? You can tell us, okay?"
When Jaewon asked urgently, Jiwon shook his head violently, refusing to answer.
His fragile state left both the team leader and Jaewon at a loss for words.
Just then, a knock broke the suffocating silence inside the changing room.
"Yes?"
Jaewon replied, and soon Joomin opened the door.
As he stepped in to greet them, he immediately sensed something was wrong and quickly closed the door behind him.
"Hello, Team Leader."
"Ah… yes."
The team leader's hollow expression made Joomin uneasy. He looked to Jaewon for an explanation, but Jaewon too was standing stiffly, his eyes fixed on Jiwon.
A heavy silence filled the air until Jaewon finally turned to the team leader and spoke.
"Team Leader, do you mind if we take Jiwon with us for a bit? I don't think he'll open up here."
"...Alright. Go ahead. Jiwon, we'll talk again later, okay? I'll head upstairs for now. Sorry about the work talk, let's do that another time."
"Yes, of course."
"See you next time."
The team leader rubbed his face tiredly, sighed, and left the room.
Once he was gone, Jaewon and Joomin approached Jiwon.
"Jiwon, we don't know what's going on, but let's step outside and talk, okay? Even if you want to quit, we should at least understand why. Right?"
"Yeah. It's stuffy in here anyway. Let's get some fresh air and talk, huh?"
But Jiwon didn't move or respond, he stood frozen like a statue.
"You don't want to talk? That's fine. But at least come outside for a bit. If you really are quitting, we might not see you again easily. Let us at least treat you to something good before you go. Can't you do that for us?"
Joomin's gentle tone finally made Jiwon lift his head.
His eyes were brimming with tears.
Seeing that, Jaewon and Joomin immediately wrapped him in a comforting hug.
Once in their arms, Jiwon broke down silently, shoulders shaking with soundless sobs.
He cried like that for a long time before he finally began to calm down.
Gently patting his back, Jaewon spoke softly.
"Feeling a little better now?"
"...Yes."
"Alright, then wipe your face and let's go out. Do you want to eat something? Or is there anywhere you'd like to go?"
"...No, nowhere."
Hearing his quiet response, Joomin hesitated, then carefully suggested.
"Then how about coming to our dorm? You'll feel more comfortable there. The other members are around, and you can see Hajin's nephew too. There's even a puppy."
"Yeah. Call your parents and tell them you'll stay over at our dorm tonight. If you go home like this, they'll just worry. Let me talk to them, I'll explain and get permission."
After some persuasion, Jiwon finally took his phone from his pocket.
He called his mother and then handed the phone to Jaewon. His mother, who was already worried, gratefully gave him permission after hearing Jaewon's calm reassurance.
"Jiwon, grab your stuff. Do you have a hat? You might want to wear one, the light's pretty bright outside."
As he spoke, Joomin opened Jiwon's locker, his name neatly written across it.
"Yes, I have one."
As Jiwon began packing the things from his locker into a large bag, Joomin quickly stepped in to help, then took the bag from his hands.
"Oh, I can carry it."
"No, I've got it. It's not heavy anyway. You just put your hat on."
"Alright, if you've got everything, let's go."
The two led the way out of the changing room and toward the elevator.
Luckily, since it was practice time, the hallway was completely empty.
The three of them entered the elevator, went down, and got into the car parked in the basement lot.
As Joomin glanced back at Jiwon sitting in the rear seat, he asked gently.
"Got your seatbelt on?"
"Yes."
"Good. Then just rest for a bit. It'll take about 20 to 30 minutes to get to the dorm."
"Okay… thank you."
Sensing how tired Jiwon was, both men stayed quiet for the rest of the drive, focusing on the road.
After some time, they arrived at the dorm. When Jaewon entered the passcode and opened the door, Bbokdol, their dog, was the first to rush out.
"Woof! Woof!"
"Aww, Bbokdol came to greet us!"
Bbokdol excitedly wagged his tail and ran up to Jaewon and Joomin, but then stopped when he noticed a new face.
After sniffing curiously around Jiwon, the dog began wagging his tail again and jumped up as if asking to be held.
Startled, Jiwon froze and looked at Jaewon and Joomin for help.
They both burst into laughter.
"Hahaha! Looks like Bbokdol likes you!"
"Yeah, go ahead, pick him up. He loves being held."
Jiwon hesitated for a moment, then carefully lifted the little dog into his arms.
As he felt the warmth of its body and saw those big black eyes looking up at him while its tongue brushed against his hand, tears suddenly began to fall before he even realized it.
Jaewon and Joomin exchanged a quiet, pained look, swallowing their sighs.
The sound of the door opening had drawn attention, and soon the other members and little Sejin came out to the entrance to see what was happening.
"Huh? The uncles made hyung cry!"
Sejin's accusation made Jaewon and Joomin wave their hands frantically.
"No!"
"Yeah! Sejin, Uncles didn't make him cry!"
Their flustered expressions made Jiwon suddenly burst into laughter through his tears.
"Pfft… hahaha!"
The others stared in surprise at his sudden laughter. Once he calmed down a bit, Jiwon wiped his eyes and smiled at Sejin.
"Hey there. You're Sejin, right? The uncles didn't make me cry. I just… had a hard time lately, but I suddenly felt relieved. That's why I cried."
Sejin looked up at Jiwon, thought for a moment, then nodded seriously.
"Then it's okay. Hyung's all better now?"
Jiwon almost teared up again, but managed to smile and answer softly.
"Yeah. I feel a lot better now."
Watching the exchange, Hajin stepped forward and greeted him.
"Jiwon, it's been a while. But wow, you've lost so much weight. You need to eat more."
"Hello, sunbae. It's been a long time."
Roy and Hwan also came over to greet him and patted his back kindly.
Surrounded by their warmth, Jiwon felt, for the first time in a long while, a true sense of comfort.
When they brought him into the living room, the housekeeper smiled and waved.
"Oh my, I don't recognize this one. But dear, why are you so skinny? You didn't starve yourself for some diet, did you?"
"He's a trainee preparing to debut as an idol. He'll be staying over tonight, so please make something delicious for him, Auntie. I want to make sure he eats properly while he's here."
"Alright then, I guess it's time for me to show off my cooking skills again."
The housekeeper said with a warm smile.
Joomin guided Jiwon to sit down on the sofa.
"You should have a glass of water first. You must be thirsty after crying."
"Yes… thank you."
Before Joomin could move, Hwan rushed to the kitchen and quickly returned with a glass of water.
Jiwon accepted it with a polite bow and took a slow sip.
The cool water soothed his dry throat, and the pounding in his head began to ease.
"There's a guest room upstairs on the second floor. You can sleep there tonight. The bathroom's right across the hall, so use it comfortably. Do you have clothes and underwear with you? If not, we'll lend you some."
"It's okay. I brought my things from my locker."
"Alright then. Go get some rest before dinner. Hwan, can you show Jiwon to the guest room?"
"Got it. Jiwon, let's go."
As Hwan helped Jiwon up, Roy took the bag from his hands.
The three of them went upstairs, and only after they disappeared did Hajin speak up in a low voice.
"What happened with Jiwon all of a sudden? And... what's wrong with his face?"
"We don't know. When we got to the company, we heard he suddenly texted saying he wanted to quit. We went to talk to him, but he was in no condition to have a conversation, so we brought him here for now. We'll talk once he's calmed down."
"I was surprised because he suddenly started crying in the entrance. I haven't seen Jiwon cry in years."
"Same for us. He cried a lot at the company too. Something big must've happened, but he won't tell us anything."
"Still, it's a relief he cried it out. At first, he looked... really unstable."
Everyone nodded in agreement to Jaewon's words.
A little later, Hwan and Roy came back down to the living room.
"Where's Jiwon?"
"We told him to wash up and rest. He took his clothes and went into the bathroom before we came down."
"Good. Thanks."
After hearing more about the situation from Jaewon and Joomin, Hwan and Roy agreed that for now, it was best to just let him rest.
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