"So you're telling me that you first got into an accident, got saved by a stranger, he took you to the hospital, and then you lost your phone and he gave it back to you-and knowing that it's your birthday, a stranger who knows nothing about you and vice versa wished you a happy birthday? What kind of fanfiction is this?"
"Come on, Qian. Stop being so over-dramatic. I know it seems all too good to be real, but it is what it is-and it's not a fanfiction," Yuta said, rolling his eyes at his one and only friend named Qian Kun, who lives in China and hasn't been able to meet Yuta for the past few years but is still his best friend.
After a second of silence, Yuta heard the Chinese man laugh softly, making Yuta furrow his eyebrows in a questioning manner.
As if Kun sensed it through the call, he gave an explanation for his laugh.
"I find it cute."
"Shut up."
"What shut up? It's true, man. I find it absolutely heartwarming and cute. I mean, who does this much for a stranger? That guy must have a heart of gold. You should feel lucky that you got saved at the right time-or we can't even imagine what could've happened to you," Kun said, getting serious.
Yuta nodded, placing the dishes in the sink. He decided to wash them in the morning, as he just wanted to sleep-it was already past 1 a.m.
"What's his name? I find it awkward to address him as 'that guy,'" Kun asked, to which Yuta paused for a second and realized that, during all the mess, he forgot to ask for the name of the person who had helped him-far more than he'd ever expected.
Feeling a little stupid now, he sighed. "I didn't get to ask his name," Yuta admitted, embarrassed.
Kun scoffed. "Couldn't have expected any better from you."
"Seriously, among all that chaos, how do you expect me to spare some time to get his introduction?" Yuta defended himself, earning a tired sigh from the other end of the call, followed by Kun giving Yuta an earful of nagging and lectures about how he missed a good opportunity to get to know someone.
Yuta sighed again. He wanted to defend himself, but he knew cutting Kun off in the middle of his rant would do more harm than good-the Chinese man would just extend his lecture.
So, letting Kun speak his mind, all Yuta did was listen patiently, giving short hums as responses here and there, while his mind drifted off to flashbacks from his unexpected encounter earlier that day.
After what felt like hours, Kun finally hung up, making Yuta heave a sigh of relief.
He made his way to the bed while scrolling through his emails and messages to check if there was anything important-but there was none.
Just some emails from the company, and a few unread messages from people-including one from Jeonghan, who had taken his sweet time to wish Yuta a happy birthday.
Smiling softly at Jeonghan's message, Yuta replied with his typical formal tone before scrolling further to see a text from his sisters, who had also wished him a happy birthday-just like they did every year.
After replying to them, Yuta was about to close his phone when a notification popped up on the screen.
Checking it, Yuta saw it was a message from his older sister, who was surprised that he'd replied on time, since he usually didn't. She asked how he was doing.
Replying to each of her texts, Yuta waited for a moment before getting a response, and the two of them continued texting for a few more minutes-teasing each other and laughing through the screen-until she suddenly asked a serious question that caused Yuta's mood to drop.
Did you receive any text from Mom or Dad?
Looking up from the phone screen, Yuta sighed bitterly, shaking his head before typing back:
You always ask me this question. Why? You know they've stopped talking to me for years now. Why would they contact me?
Then why can't you contact them?
You know well I can't.
Yu, it's been years already. Why can't you guys let go of the issues you have with each other?
It's not about the issue, Ane. It's about the fact that I can't afford to make them more disappointed in me.
They're not disappointed in you. Why would they be? They never were, and you know that.
Let's just not talk about it.
Yu, you can keep ignoring it, do you really think ignoring Mom and Dad is the solution to this problem?
Yuta stared at the text for a long moment, memories from the past swirling in his mind. Shaking his head, he decided to end the conversation, not wanting to ruin either his or his sister's mood by stretching the topic any further.
Goodnight.
He typed the text, sent it, and placed the phone down.
Letting out a long sigh, he lay back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling in the dim light of the room, lost in thought-until a voice from the past echoed in his mind, one he couldn't ever forget.
"Did I send you to Korea for this? You said you wanted to pursue your career as a K-pop idol, and even though your mother and I weren't sure about it, we let you go to chase after your dreams. And this is what you've done? Getting kicked out of the company right after getting selected for the final line-up?
If it was because of any other mistake, I wouldn't have felt this bad. But this?
Do you have any idea what would happen if anyone else came to know about it? You really didn't think twice before getting into a relationship with a boy? You've brought shame on me and your mother, Yu. This is the last thing I ever expected to face in this lifetime... that my son turned out to be a... to be ....gay."
Closing his eyes, letting a tear slip from the corner, Yuta couldn't help but feel the same piercing pain he had felt six years ago-when his father had said those words to him.
Back then, Yuta had been kicked out of SM Entertainment after the revelation that he was dating his fellow trainee, who had also made it to the final lineup.
The company had taken swift and harsh action, cutting short the careers of both Yuta and his trainee mate, Winwin, before they even had the chance to debut.
When Yuta returned home, he couldn't bring himself to lie to his parents. He knew how much they loved and supported him.
He still remembers-his parents, not his sisters-being the first to question what had happened in Korea to lead to such a decision, especially considering how Yuta had always been regarded as one of the best trainees in his batch.
After gathering up the courage to tell them the truth-after coming out-Yuta had already braced himself for disappointment.
But nothing could prepare him for the moment his father uttered those words. It had crushed him. In that moment, Yuta had truly felt like he was the source of his parents' shame.
His mother was against it. She wanted him to come back and talk things through. But Yuta knew better.
Any attempt to settle the situation would only result in pressure to marry a woman-something Yuta could never do.
As much as he loved his parents and was willing to walk away to avoid making things harder for them, he would never let the world dictate his life. He wasn't ashamed of being gay.
Years passed, and Yuta became increasingly occupied with his work and life in Korea. The pain slowly began to fade in the warmth of a new environment and routine.
Within his family, it was only his sisters who remained in contact with him-and they became the bridge, passing on information between Yuta and their parents whenever needed.
Not being able to live in the same house any longer, Yuta decided to pursue his Master's in Marketing & Business.
He got selected at Osaka University and moved into the hostel to avoid making things even more awkward between himself and his family. Fortunately, his parents didn't stop him.
Time passed.
Yuta managed to complete his Master's in Marketing with high scores and eventually landed a job at a small company near his university.
By that time, communication between Yuta and his parents had completely stopped. Neither party made any effort to reconcile.
After serving under the company for a year as an assistant to the Marketing Manager, Yuta applied for a job at D&R in 2019.
Once selected, he made the decision to move to Korea permanently-and that was the last time he spoke to his parents, informing them of his decision.
To say that Yuta never met his parents again after everything would be wrong.
They had crossed paths once more-two years ago-on the occasion of his older sister's wedding.
The Nakamoto family had managed to put on the perfect image of a happy, united family in front of the guests. But once the ceremony ended, Yuta didn't waste a single minute.
He left quietly. No one questioned him, understanding that-for him-work always came first.
"Guess... Happy Birthday to me," he scoffed bitterly, rolling to his side as he turned off the lights. The room, along with his thoughts, was swallowed by darkness-silent and still.
It wasn't long before sleep took over, pulling the Japanese man into a dreamland equally as quiet... equally as dark.
[]
Months passed, and everything slowly fell into place.
D&R were able to protect their brand from collapse-thanks to their new Global Ambassador, who created an international buzz the moment she stepped onto the runway at Paris and Milan Fashion Week.
Representing their newest brand, Park Chaeyoung proved to be an absolute fashion powerhouse, elevating the company's image and driving massive profits overnight.
Meanwhile, Hoshi and Yuta had almost forgotten about each other.
Both were far too occupied with their respective lives and demanding schedules to think about something that felt like chaos from two months ago.
Things had been especially hectic for Hoshi after Taeyong exposed how he helped a stranger, practically becoming a knight in shining armor.
That revelation earned Hoshi a full week of nonstop teasing from Haechan, Seungkwan, Ten, and Joshua-but thankfully, the hype eventually died down.
Currently, Hoshi was drowning in work, focused on preparing the perfect choreography for the Pledis Entertainment boys' upcoming world tour, which had been officially announced to kick off in February next year.
And while February might seem far off, the end of the year was already knocking on the door. Within a week, the world would bid farewell to 2023 and welcome 2024.
As if things weren't already exhausting enough for the entire company and staff, Pledis decided to drop the tour announcement out of the blue-catching not only the boy group members but the entire company off guard.
Hoshi couldn't help but curse the CEO internally. Over and over again.
"I swear to God, I am losing my mind right now-and I want to kill PD-nim," Hoshi said, clearly pissed off, addressing the CEO with barely contained frustration.
He looked deadly serious, his expression scary, as he stepped out of the company building alongside his colleague and friend, Woozi-who was widely regarded as the genius music composer of Pledis.
"You can't do anything about it now," Woozi said, the hint of teasing in his voice evident. "Just focus on your work and drop the idea of killing our CEO."
Hoshi shot him a side-eye but couldn't help letting out a soft chuckle. No doubt, his friends knew exactly how to lighten his mood.
"It's Shua's birthday in two days, you remember that, right?" Woozi asked, as they both stopped in front of their respective cars parked beside each other in the company lot.
Hoshi squinted in confusion-of course, he remembered Joshua's birthday. They'd already made plans for the celebration.
All their friends were taking half-days from work, and they were going to throw a party-a wild one, at that. What was there to forget?
As Hoshi explained, Woozi let out a disappointed sigh, confusing the older male even more.
Then, Woozi fixed Hoshi with a long, firm glare-holding eye contact in such a way it felt like he was trying to telepathically communicate the answer.
And as if the signal was received, Hoshi's eyes suddenly widened in realization. A beat later, his expression dropped.
In that exact moment, all the anger and complaints he had toward the company disappeared like smoke. Because now he realized what kind of chaos he had unknowingly signed himself up for.
"Now I want to kill myself. Oh GOD!"
To be continued....