THE polite smile Taeyang gave the won looked strained at the edges, his eyes slightly unfocused. It wasn’t annoyance at their approach, it’s more like he was concentrating hard on keeping his composure. Haneul recognized that look. It was the sa expression soone would make when they’re fighting nausea, trying desperately not to let it show on their face.
Haneul’s mind imdiately flashed back to their lunch. He rembered how Taeyang had eaten most of the sundae. Could that be the problem? If Taeyang really was so rich young master like people said, then it wouldn’t be surprising if his stomach wasn’t used to such food. Wasn’t that sothing he expected to happen in the first place?
The more he thought about it, the more it made sense. This might actually be a stomachache! It wouldn’t be an exaggeration at all. Soone with a delicate stomach could easily get sick from eating too much street food.
Seeing Taeyang’s obvious discomfort and how the two won’s approach was starting to draw curious looks from others in the tower, Haneul knew he needed to step in. If Taeyang suddenly rushed away now, people might misunderstand and think he was being rude to fans. That wouldn’t be good for his image.
Even though Taeyang’s hot-and-cold behavior still bothered him, Haneul couldn’t just stand there doing nothing. If this situation spiraled, it might give people the wrong impression of Taeyang and hurt his debut chances. That wasn’t sothing Haneul would want to happen, no matter how complicated his feelings were towards the other. Because despite everything, one truth remained clear in his heart. Taeyang absolutely deserved to be in the final group.
Haneul moved quickly toward Taeyang, taking off his glasses as he walked. When he reached them, he smoothly stepped between Taeyang and the two won. The won blinked in surprise at first, their expressions turning slightly annoyed at the interruption. But then Haneul flashed them his brightest, sweetest smile.
The effect was almost instantaneous. Their irritation lted away, replaced by stunned silence as they found themselves staring at Haneul instead, montarily forgetting what they had been doing.
"Hi, sorry to interrupt, but could I borrow Taeyang for just a mont?" he asked in a warm and polite voice.
The two won kept staring at him, their nods slow and automatic, like they weren’t really processing his words but just reacting to his presence.
Haneul gave them another gentle smile. "Thank you." He turned to Taeyang and then pulled him away. "Does your stomach hurt?"
Taeyang had been desperately trying to think of a way to escape the situation without seeming impolite when Haneul suddenly appeared before him. The relief hit him like a wave. Just monts earlier, as the two won approached asking for photos, a sharp pain had clenched his stomach so violently he could barely focus on their words. The nausea had been overwhelming, making it nearly impossible to keep his expression neutral. He had been seconds away from bolting from there, when Haneul appeared at the right mont.
But when Haneul asked if his stomach hurt, Taeyang’s face burned with sudden embarrassnt. That being Haneul’s first question ant his discomfort must have been painfully obvious. Worse still, Haneul had imdiately guessed it was stomach trouble. Which ant he probably assud Taeyang couldn’t handle the street food they had eaten.
The thought of Haneul picturing him as so fragile rich boy who couldn’t stomach street food made his ears grow hot. His pride stung at the idea of being seen as weak or pampered, especially by Haneul of all people. The embarrassnt crawled under his skin like ants, making him wish he could dig a hole and jumped right in.
But he could only bla himself for this. He should have realized that even though he had eaten street food in his previous world, his stomach in this present world wasn’t used to it yet. He should have rembered that at this point in his life, he was still playing the role of the obedient son who would never dare eat street food if it ant risking the approval of the woman he called ’mother’. Of course, his body would react this way now.
The worst part was Haneul seeing him like this. His ears burned imagining what Haneul must be thinking right now. The humiliation settled in his chest, heavier than the nausea.
At that exact mont, a fresh wave of pain cramped through Taeyang’s stomach, sharp enough to make his breath hitch. His fingers dug into his sides as his body tensed, the sick feeling rising in his throat. He clenched his jaw, fighting to keep his expression neutral even as cold sweat dotted his forehead.
But for Haneul, seeing this was enough answer to his question. "Okay. Let’s go and tell Soojin noona so we can take you to a hospital."
"There’s no need. I..."
Taeyang tried to say he didn’t want to cause trouble, but another sharp cramp cut him off. Before he could explain further, Soojin appeared beside them as if she had sohow heard their conversation.
"What’s wrong?" she asked, her eyes darting between Taeyang’s pale face and Haneul’s concerned expression.
"Taeyang’s got a bad stomachache," Haneul answered before Taeyang could speak up. "It looks pretty serious."
"How bad is it?" Soojin asked. Then, as if suddenly realizing the possible cause, she shook her head. "Was it the food? No, that’s not important now, we should quickly get you checked." She turned to Haneul and pressed the group’s remaining budget into his hand. "You’re heading to Haeundae Beach next, right? Take this. I’ll catch up as soon as I get Taeyang-ssi taken care of."
Before either Haneul or Taeyang could respond, Soojin had already taken Taeyang’s arm and was guiding him toward the elevator. The doors slid shut behind them before anyone could say another word.
Haneul was still standing there, holding the money Soojin had given him, when Robin and the others suddenly appeared at his side.
"What happened to Taeyang?" Robin asked, his eyes fixed on the elevator doors that had just closed. He must have caught sight of Soojin leading Taeyang away.
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