Chapter 257

After talking with the Prism members, the first thing I did upon returning to the hotel was call Han Seungbeom’s aunt. She had probably already heard from the manager that I had been found, but unless I reassured her myself with my own voice, she would undoubtedly remain anxious.

As I pressed the call button, the call was connected within a few rings. It must be because she had been holding onto her phone the whole time, worrying about Han Seungbeom’s safety.

“Seo Yuseong, have you still not found him?”

“The search is being delayed due to bad weather.”

I knew the weight of that time. That’s why I first explained that Han Seungbeom’s body was safe, then apologized to her with a heavy heart.

Then, through the speaker, I heard a sigh of relief as she calmed herself. After that, she remained silent for quite a while. The only sounds that reached me were the occasional sniffles.

After opening and closing her mouth several times, swallowing her emotions, the first thing she finally said was, “Is Seungbeom’s body okay?” . In response, I looked over Han Seungbeom’s body again before answering that it was fine.

Then, a faint resentment escaped her lips, “…Why did that child have to give his body to someone like you?” . It seemed like she was letting go of her tension after confirming Han Seungbeom was safe.

“Honestly, I don’t care what kind of person you are. I’m not even curious about how hard things have been for you or what state you’re in right now. I’m really sorry, but as long as you’re in Seungbeom’s body, please just prioritize his body above all else. I’m begging you … After all, you’re only alive because of that child, so you can at least do that much!”

It was only natural. From her perspective, a stranger had practically taken over her nephew’s body. How could she not feel anxious every time something like this happened? If I had properly explained what had happened, she would have felt even more so.

As I pondered while listening to her uncontrollably shaking voice, I decided to reveal a certain truth that might ease her anxiety, at least a little.

“If you’ve kept in regular contact with Han Seungbeom, you would know this well. There was a time when Han Seungbeom couldn’t settle in that house and wandered outside. I was the one who took care of him during that period.”

“…….”

“I know this might be unpleasant to hear from the perspective of his blood relative, but to me, Han Seungbeom was like my own child. And I think he saw me as a father as well. Earlier, you wondered why Han Seungbeom gave his body to me … Perhaps that was the reason.”

And just as you cherish your nephew, I also cherish this child very much. So, I promised to do everything in my power to make sure that this body remains unharmed in the future.

Upon hearing that, Han Seungbeom’s aunt remained silent for a long time, showing no reaction. I had brought it up in hopes of easing her anxiety, even a little, but she didn’t seem relieved at all. Instead, it seemed like her mind was completely preoccupied with something else.

If I had to describe Han Seungbeom’s aunt’s reaction at that time in one word…….

“…Seungbeom saw you as his father?”

Yes, the word ‘ confusion’ would be the most fitting.

After that, Han Seungbeom’s aunt, as if something had gone wrong, abruptly hung up the phone without even properly finishing the conversation.

“Finished with the call?”

As I silently stared at the phone screen, now black after the call had ended, Cha Woon peeked his head out and spoke to me.

I gave a slight nod in response and stood up, only to see the other Prism members getting ready to leave. In the brief time I had spent on the call, they had already opened the door and were heading out. A bit flustered, I hurriedly followed after them.

“At least have a meal before you go.”

“It’s fine. Now that we’ve confirmed you’re safe, we need to get going. We all have personal schedules after this. There’s a program meeting too.”

Seeing them head straight for the elevator without delay even while talking to me, they must have been in a real hurry.

“…Okay. I guess there’s nothing we can do.”

“I’ll contact you when we get there…….”

As I lowered my gaze slightly, Nam Yihwon, who was about to press the button, saw my face reflected in the elevator door. Startled by the sight, he quickly turned around.

‘Ah, f**k.’

I had been so distracted that I didn’t even realize my face was reflected in the door. I didn’t even know what kind of expression I had been making just moments ago, so I stood there with my usual look, as if nothing had happened. Seeing this, Nam Yihwon, who had been wide-eyed in surprise, let out a small chuckle as his gaze softened.

He bent his head down to meet my gaze and asked,

“What? What was that expression just now? Seeing that look on your face, of all people, makes me feel like I’ve committed a crime.”

“…What did I do?”

“You’re making the people who’re leaving you feel uneasy. Do you not even realize what kind of expression you were making?”

Instead of answering Nam Yihwon’s question, I simply pressed the elevator button. Then, Lee Chise put his arm around my shoulder and asked in a playful tone.

“Since we’re leaving, you must be going crazy because you’ll miss us, right?”

“…Shut up. There might be people in the elevator, so don’t cling to me.”

Ding!

The elevator arrived at just the right moment, and there was no one inside. Feeling a bit embarrassed, I silently stepped in. Seeing this, Lee Chise grinned smugly as if to say, “ See? ” and started messing around with me even more.

“Aww, something like this is totally fine between seniors and juniors, right, hubaenim?”

“…….”

“You said it yourself earlier. We have to do our best in our respective positions. We’re going to keep that promise, so don’t be too sad. Even though all sorts of problems pop up behind the scenes, we’re still handling our jobs like true pro-fes-sion-als! Perfectly. It’s just the fate of working adults, you know.”

Every time he emphasized each syllable by poking my cheek, I frowned. Then, Lee Chise teased me with an exaggerated, “Oh nooo, I’m scareeed”, before quickly slipping out with a cheerful stride the moment the elevator arrived.

He was a classic example of an adult who couldn’t … no, an adult who chose not to act his age. Watching him, I clenched Han Seungbeom’s bony fist tightly, then Jay calmly grabbed my hand and gently lowered it.

He then took his car keys from his pocket with his other hand and asked me.

“When is your comeback date?”

“It’s still undecided. I’ll probably have to start preparing the album as soon as I get back. The remaining time for our contract isn’t that long.”

“Will you be able to get along with the members? Things have gotten a bit awkward now.”

“Well, that depends on how the members feel. Honestly, your situation is a special case … I know I shouldn’t expect the same from the Pantheion members.”

“…It was something that you had to tell them eventually. No matter how hard you try, you can’t become Han Seungbeom. Living your life pretending to be someone else will only make you suffer. It’s not like you wanted it to turn out this way. So, don’t feel too guilty.”

He seemed to be trying to comfort me. Of course, Jay prioritized me over the Pantheion members, and since he didn’t know the exact situation the Pantheion members were in, he was only considering my perspective.

I didn’t want to rationalize things based on his words. However, because I knew what kind of feelings Jay had when he said that to me, I silently nodded without saying anything.

As I was talking to Jay, Jo Inchan, who had been watching us, finally chimed in.

“To be honest, I thought it would be better if you distanced yourself from Pantheion. I just want to take you away from them. I want to completely block any other options besides Prism … I want to feel secure.”

“…….”

“Because those kids have no idea how awful and helpless it feels to have your arms and legs tied down so you can’t do anything, or how frightening it is to have someone precious disappear in the cruelest way … They wouldn’t know a single thing. I want to tell them, you guys aren’t as desperate as we are, and your everyday lives won’t fall apart just because you don’t have him . I just want to beg them to give you up, hyung.”

Jo Inchan had a pale face, as if someone had forced him forward, and with his eyes tightly shut, he was forcing out those words. Seeing how unwell he looked, I tried to stop him from talking any further.

“But still, I can’t shake the feeling that I don’t want those kids to ever know all the emotions I went through … so I think I need to say it.”

“…Jo Inchan.”

“If the members of Pantheion were just a little older, I might not have had these thoughts … I’m a coward, so honestly, I hate saying this right now. If I just stayed quiet, you might naturally drift apart from them.”

However, as Jay, who was quietly staring at Jo Inchan’s face, gently pressed my wrist once more, I kept my mouth shut and watched him. Then, a faint voice, as if struggling to come out, continued.

“It’s true that there were many things you couldn’t tell them until now, but was there even a single lie in the feelings you poured out for those kids?”

His question left me at a loss for words, and I kept my mouth shut.

Having confirmed my reaction, Jo Inchan continued to speak with his usual gentle smile.

“In the end, those kids have become precious to you too, right? And I’m sure it’s the same for them. Hyung, you might have slowly grown attached to us as we worked together, but from the moment we first met, I knew this was how we would end up. Because I thought, I want to sail this long journey with this person …. I know all too well what kinds of feeling those kids have.”

“…….”

“So, please talk to them properly. So those kids don’t have to go through a sad farewell like we did.”

***

After seeing off each of the members as they left, I took the elevator up, and it stopped on the floor with the convenience store. Since I wasn’t planning to get off, I lowered my head and pulled my hat down low. But soon, I heard a familiar voice coming from the front, forcing me to slowly raise my head.

“Hyung.”

In front of me was Lee Danbi.

Lee Danbi stepped into the elevator before the doors closed and nodded briefly at me with his usual expression He acted composed, as if he had forgotten everything I had said.

Was he trying to treat the incident as if it never happened?

Or was his strange calm nature kicking in again this time?

“…….”

“……”

Just as my head was starting to spin from this child’s extremely peaceful face and the words Jo Inchan had said to me, Lee Danbi took out a black coffee from the black bag he was holding and handed it to me.

“Here, please take this. I’m not sure if it’s okay for someone who was just lying down to drink it, but I’ve never seen you drink anything other than this, so I bought it for you, hyung.”

Judging by the way he mentioned that I had just been lying down, it seemed like he wasn’t pretending to completely ignore the incident. So, I slowly exhaled and took the coffee he offered.

“…Thanks.”

To make it less awkward, I opened the coffee lid and tried to strike up as casual a conversation as I could.

“Did you go to the convenience store to buy a drink?”

“No. I bought the drinks as an afterthought. I went for bandages and ointment.”

‘Bandages and ointment? Did someone get hurt?’

As I looked at Lee Danbi with a slightly anxious expression, feeling a wave of unease hit me all at once, that child calmly continued speaking before I even had a chance to ask.

“Right now, Zen-hyung and Yuda-hyung are fighting, grabbing each other’s collars. They’ve probably already bitten each other two or three times.”

I almost spit out the coffee I had in my mouth into the air.

You can support this translation through Buy Me a Coffee or Wishlist!

Translator’s Corner:

Almost forgot posting this. I was busy defending Red Velvet on internet

Never a boring day in Pantheion … place your bet who won …. ^^

Anyway, I already said this before, but I’m going to say it again … what I like the most about this novel … aside Seo Yutae …. is that everyone is obsessed with Seo Yutae, but they’re not doing the creepy obsession only I can have you” thing … like even Seo Yuseong is chill sharing his brother with Prism …. Choi Jeokhyeon is head over heels but doesn’t get jealous with the others … like, they genuinely want him to be happy and put his feelings first ….. I seriously hated when a character acted too territorial over MC, that’s why this novel is really perfect for me … They’re obsessed but they’re not making their obsession became everyone’s problem …. even when Prism hates it seeing MC with a new group, they didn’t straight up sabotage him or take him far away so he can’t be with his new group … romance manhwa male lead, take notes

If you find any errors (non-standard content, ads redirect, broken links, etc..), Please let us know so we can fix it as soon as possible.