Roi sensed the crisis. If he said one wrong word here, he’d make Hojin cry.
He tried his gentlest tone to soothe him.
“Hyung, let’s not do this here. Let’s at least move—”
Slap!
Hojin shook his hand free and took a step back.
Roi’s hand hovered awkwardly in midair.
“...Hyung?”
At Roi’s wounded expression, Hojin’s eyes trembled.
“No, I—I wasn’t trying to—”
Drip.
A tear fell at last.
I’m screwed.
Once Hojin started crying, he’d shut down communication entirely. He’d ant to approach carefully, without causing stimulus, but he’d ended up making him cry.
I don’t know why, but it’s definitely my fault...
Roi glanced back to see Taeeon and Yeonwoo wiping tears too—though theirs were tears of laughter, not sorrow. He shot them a resentful look for failing to help and still chuckling.
Silently glaring at the pair, Roi stepped forward as Hojin backed away. He gently gripped Hojin’s wrist and pleaded.
“Hyung, I’m sorry about everything, okay? So please just tell why you’re doing this.”
“Hngh... sniff... hngh.”
Roi coaxed him softly, trying to et his eyes.
“Hey? Hyung. Do you really want to see go crazy?”
“Kyah—”
He thought he heard a strange noise from behind, but couldn’t look back.
At the provocative words, Hojin startled, eyes wide.
Roi’s voice softened further as Hojin hesitated on the verge of answering.
“I told you there’s no one but you for . But when you act like this, it really hurts .”
Then he heard everyone exhale sharply.
The entire classroom had fallen silent, all ears trained on the two of them.
“Kim Hojin, please.”
Finally, Yeonwoo blurted out in exasperation.
“Are you crazy dogs or what?”
“...!”
Crazy dogs? Yeonwoo’s shock remark left Taeeon’s mouth agape. In Gyeongsang dialect, “crazy dog” simply ant “crazy idiot.” So roughly he’d said, “Are you guys out of your minds? What are you doing?”
But Hojin’s boyfriend look, his attempted flight, and Roi’s heartfelt plea—the perfect storm had blinded everyone’s eyes and ears.
Amid endless misunderstanding, the country cousins latched onto Yeonwoo’s phrase and cheered.
“Wh-what a breakthrough!”
“No way. Does that an the guy on that shirt is him...?”
“Holy shit, this is insane.”
Cries and misunderstandings echoed everywhere; Taeeon felt like fainting. Yeonwoo shook his head in disgust.
“Stop the show. I swear I’m losing it.”
He looked as if he regretted coming all this way just to witness this spectacle.
anwhile, Roi and Hojin stared at each other with heated gazes, so absorbed they didn’t hear anyone else.
“I rushed here as soon as filming ended to see you. You really won’t look at ? Should I just go?”
“...”
“If you don’t hold , I’ll leave. I’m really going.”
Despite Roi’s ultimatum, Hojin only flinched, silent. When Roi tried to let go of his wrist, Hojin finally reacted.
Snap—
Hojin grabbed Roi’s wrist.
“...Don’t go.”
At that trembling voice, the classroom fell silent again—until,
“Kyaaaa!”
An enormous cheer erupted: the birth of a legendary anecdote that would forever trail their nas.
✧
The four of them retreated to Taeeon’s studio apartnt. They’d fled the academy in panic after Hojin and Roi’s performance.
“Hey, want so coffee? I can whip up the basics no problem.”
Yeonwoo’s eyes lit up.
“Can you? Then give a vanilla cream frappuccino with half-ground java chips, extra espresso whip, chocolate drizzle, and the rest of the java chips whole on top.”
Taeeon froze, blinking dumbly. He should’ve just offered water... Realizing his foolish remark, he tried to think of a similar nu.
Behind him, Yeonwoo mocked, “Have you no conscience? How is that basic?”
“If you ran a café, this would be kiddie play, right?”
“Uh, no.”
Roi led Yeonwoo out of the kitchenette and spoke to Taeeon.
“Hyung, I’m fine with anything, but do you have lemonade? If you’re out of ingredients, I’ll go buy so.”
“Lemonade? You only drink stuff like yourself, huh.”
Yeonwoo mocked again. Roi snorted.
“I’m not drinking it—I’m giving it to Hojin hyung.”
“With him? Yeah, I’m sure hyung would love it.”
Yeonwoo taunted them both, as if the drama-worthy bromance in Hongdae wasn’t enough—these two cockroaches doted on each other even here.
“Ugh, you guys are so childish.”
“Alright, alright. Epidemic lovebirds. I’m serious, I won’t watch. Call when you’re done.”
He spun on his heel and stalked back into the kitchenette. Taeeon heard him whisper, “If you don’t want to turn away, don’t co out,” crystal clear.
Enough, enough.
Yeonwoo’s antics were old hat—clearing up Hojin’s misunderstanding was far more important. He’d barely persuaded him to talk.
Roi approached, finding Hojin slumped on the living room sofa.
“Hyung, are you feeling any better?”
Hojin nodded without speaking.
“They said you two have stuff to do in the kitchen, so just let know.”
“Mm...”
“First, tell why you blocked . Did I do sothing wrong?”
Roi already understood the rough outlines from Galbi: Hojin had started attending a fringe church and was hunting Awakener blood. But those fragnts didn’t explain how he’d landed here. They needed details, and Roi would get them step by step.
“You have to tell if you want to fix it.”
At those words, Hojin lifted his tear-glazed eyes, heavy with unspoken stories.
“Roi...”
“Yeah?”
“You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“So... did you just stop liking ?”
Hojin shook his head vehently.
“No?! No, not at all.”
Then he looked away, muttering.
“It’s just... I feel so pathetic. I’m not an Awakener, and with my personality, I can’t rely on you...”
Roi was stunned.
He knew Hojin was introverted and timid, but this low self-esteem was new. There had to be a cause—he needed to find out.
Then Hojin spoke words heavy with aning.
“You said there was no one but ... but now that’s not true anymore. So you don’t need .”
Tears spilled again.
“I—I’m not needed by you anymore.”
“What? Why would you think that—”
“Sob... but I hate being discarded, Roi. I really want to die.”
Clank!
Sothing shattered in the kitchen at Hojin’s shocking confession—soone making drinks had been eavesdropping and jumped in fright.
If you listened only to Hojin’s words, Roi sounded like garbage. But the blow they dealt was nothing compared to how Hojin felt.
Roi’s expression went blank as if he’d been struck in the head.
“Roi... sob... I’ll work so hard to be soone useful to you. Please don’t throw away, okay? Please... sob.”
Hojin shook uncontrollably, pitiable in his despair.
“No...”
Only after a long mont could Roi utter a single word. His mind had shut down; all he could muster was “No.”
No, what is any of this?
Shock, guilt, frustration—so many emotions knotted together he couldn’t na them.
But one thing was clear: Hojin was in far worse shape than he’d realized.
He wants to die? Because he thinks I’ll discard him?
This—this wasn’t normal.
What should he do? Take him to a hospital?
Had Hojin joined that fringe church just to awaken?
Roi was paralyzed by panic.
He pulled his hand free and stepped back, trembling.
“...Roi?”
At that, Hojin was doubly shocked, and the mood plumted to rock bottom.
Even Yeonwoo and Taeeon poured in from the kitchen to try to diate.
“Hey, you two! Isn’t it said that couples’ fights are like slicing water with a knife—calmly?”
Flustered, Yeonwoo babbled, “Right, guys. First, let’s all calm down.”
Taeeon tried to bring calm too, but then Roi suddenly scread.
“Ah!”
“What’s wrong with you! So scary...”
Yeonwoo, consoling Hojin, genuinely looked frightened. Taeeon stared at Roi, who was frozen in fear.
“Roi, are you okay...?”
But even Taeeon’s concerned question drew no response. Roi simply stared at the three of them, mouth covered, unable to speak.
Because he now understood why Hojin had broken down like this.
Could it be...
Is this gaslighting?
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