Chapter - 58화 (58/150)
"Uh… no!! I'm sorry! I'm DinoSoul's adorable youngest, Minjae, and… what brings you to a shabby place like this…?"
Just like he had with the Zeus members, Minjae stepped in front of Jisu and greeted him politely. Dansol, meanwhile, was too busy fussing over Minjae—touching this and that with a worried look, unable to ignore the scrape on his face and the half-cast on his wrist.
Truthfully, Dansol was still far too young and clumsy to juggle exhausting social life while taking care of someone else at the same time, but he'd been the leader for so long that looking after the younger members came naturally, like a habit.
On the other hand, even if he was just a kid whose baby hair hadn't even fully gone away yet, Jisu didn't like the fact that the target of Dansol's affectionate attention was him.
'Seven betas… and the only omega is our Dansol.'
Having spent half his life reacting sharply to other people's traits to hide his own, Jisu could tell the members' traits the moment he saw them.
Even if they were all betas, putting an omega and that many betas in the same dorm…? He'd seen mixed-trait groups plenty of times, but he'd never heard of them sharing a cramped dorm with barely any rooms.
He'd known it from the moment he heard the dorm was semi-basement, cramped, reeked of mold, and that they were a "120th-tier group," but now he was sure—his instincts weren't wrong. Their agency CEO was really the type to be blinded by money.
"But where's Woo Hyun?"
While checking everyone's condition, Dansol realized one person was missing and looked around. With so many members, being short one or two often didn't stand out, but Dansol—who always took care of the younger ones first—recognized at a glance that the empty spot belonged to Woo Hyun.
After staring at Jisu for a while, Minjae had shifted his attention to the fruit basket Jisu brought, and Dansol asked him where Woo Hyun was.
"Ah… Woo Hyun hyung got hurt a bit more than us…"
Minjae saw Dansol's face go pale and hurriedly waved his hands, rushing to explain.
"No! It's not like he got that badly hurt, but… he kept trying to run off because he said he had to watch your stage, and he only just went to get treated now."
"How badly is he hurt? Where?"
"Uh… his leg's broken."
Ha. Dansol let out a deep sigh. He hadn't fully believed the "not badly hurt" line, but he hadn't expected it to be this serious.
"But then, hyung—what do we do about all the events and schedules we've got booked?"
"Why the hell are you worrying about that right now?!"
Dansol screamed without even realizing Jisu was right beside him. Minjae's eyebrows drooped into a deep frown. Maybe that was too harsh, especially when he was already hurt.
"Minjae, don't worry about that. Just rest. That's… Gilseong hyung will talk it through with the CEO…"
Gilseong, who'd been lying there, jerked upright like what are you talking about? But Dansol rushed out of the room.
He went out onto the terrace, suffocating with frustration, and Jisu followed after him.
"Is that how DinoSoul is, by company policy? Why are you all so desperate to tear yourselves apart?"
"Huh?"
Jisu asked quietly, his voice carrying worry, pity, and frustration all at once. Dansol tilted his head, not understanding—until the next words made his lips part in realization.
"...You were like that too. Before. When you got hit by a ball Daesu threw."
"Ah…!"
It was when he'd been hit by a full-power throw from Daesu and passed out. Back then, when Dansol cried because he thought he'd ruined the broadcast, Jisu had gotten angry and said something similar to him.
The sudden memory made Dansol let out a small laugh. Since he wasn't in any position to scold Minjae, and since he'd basically copied Jisu right in front of him, he felt oddly embarrassed.
"But back then! It wasn't this serious!"
"The ball Daesu threw probably had a higher instantaneous speed than a car."
"Is… is that so…?"
Dansol silently thanked the universe for the fact he was still alive after taking that hit.
"Hyung!"
Just then, Woo Hyun came out of the elevator on crutches and called to Dansol. To think this was how they'd see each other for the first time after that fight.
Woo Hyun felt awkward, but Dansol—like they'd never fought at all—started worrying the moment he saw him.
"Woo Hyun, are you okay? I heard you insisted on getting treated late—why did you do that? What did the doctor say? Are you really okay?"
"Uh… I'm fine. Hyung, did you eat?"
"Is my food the issue right now?! Seriously, you guys…!"
"I'm hungry, hyung. Buy me food."
Woo Hyun grabbed Dansol's hand and cut him off mid-lecture. Seeing that, Jisu felt his expression harden without meaning to.
Only then did Woo Hyun shift his gaze from Dansol and look at Jisu, reacting to the gloomy aura Jisu was letting off.
"Ah… he drove hyung all the way here."
"I see. Thank you."
Jisu didn't feel pleased at all about Woo Hyun's thanks.
"I don't think I did anything that deserves your gratitude. Sol, let's go. I'll buy you food."
Acting relaxed, Jisu took Dansol's wrist too. It felt ridiculous that he was getting territorial over a kid whose blood hadn't even dried yet.
The alpha bastards at Chunmonggak were already annoying enough, and now there were seven of them? For a split second, Jisu found himself calculating whether he could afford to feed Dansol too with the retirement money he'd saved.
"Ah…! No, I'll pay—!"
"Sol, do you have money? You left everything in the car, and you said you slept at Taeohh's place last night."
Jisu asked, remembering how Dansol had been wriggling around inside an oversized hoodie in the car earlier, changing clothes.
Without realizing Jisu's face stiffened at the scent clinging to the clothes, Dansol had rambled on—about fighting with Woo Hyun, about getting chased by high schoolers at the PC café, and about running into Ma Taeohh.
"Ma Taeohh?! Hyung slept at Zeus's dorm?"
"Uh…? Uh…"
"Shit…! Minjae said you were fine… why would you do that! You should've just slept outside…!"
Woo Hyun's face twisted as he scolded Dansol. Dansol, watching Jisu's mood, hurriedly slapped a hand over Woo Hyun's mouth.
"Hey! How can you talk to your hyung like that—!"
Less than thirty minutes after making up, they were about to fight again. Jisu stepped between them and redirected the conversation to something people their age liked most.
"Enough. I'll buy you food. Let's go."
"I'm paying."
Woo Hyun walked ahead like he was genuinely offended, but when they reached the seolleongtang place inside the hospital, Jisu ended up paying anyway.
"Th-thank you. I left my wallet in the car, and… as you know, our car got smashed… and you even bought for our members too…"
"Enough. Eat that and get better fast. Dansol was really worried about you."
While Dansol was in the restroom, Woo Hyun fidgeted and thanked Jisu. Even after that, Woo Hyun kept moving his lips like he still had something to say. Jisu noticed and spoke.
"You got something to say?"
"Uh… just… thank you."
"For what?"
"For everything… for taking care of Dansol hyung. Honestly, when hyung said he was going on that program, I was really worried. Everyone's so famous… but you took care of him, and… he didn't get dragged, and he seems like he's getting good screen time too. Maybe other people, sure, but I really wanted to thank you properly."
Woo Hyun kept thanking Jisu without even knowing whether the person in front of him was an alpha with lust for Dansol, or an omega offering goodwill.
"We honestly thought… we might just end our careers like this—forgotten. We know how hard it is for everyone to make it together… but Dansol hyung… I want him to keep being a celebrity."
Dansol definitely had standout looks and a vibe among the members. He was also the only omega. It was such a mismatch that Jisu couldn't help wondering what kind of intention their agency CEO had, grouping them together.
"It's a presumptuous request, I know… but from now on too, please stay by Dansol hyung's side… as a good hyung."
A good hyung—Jisu wasn't confident he could do that. He was barely holding himself back from locking Dansol up somewhere and keeping him all to himself.
"Hyung! The takeout's ready! Woo Hyun, let's go up."
"I'll take you in. You have to go home too—I'll give you a ride."
"Ah… no, hyung. I'm staying here for the day. I've got things to talk about with the guys…"
"Then I'll just take the food in. Let's go."
Jisu took the heavy bags from Dansol's hands, insisting on carrying them himself. For Jisu, being selectively kind only to Dansol was second nature—but Woo Hyun must've misunderstood it as Jisu "listening to him," because from an angle where Dansol couldn't see, Woo Hyun raised both thumbs at Jisu.
Seeing that, Jisu's face went dead, his brow furrowing as he muttered under his breath.
"What the hell is wrong with him…"
Jisu swallowed a sigh.
Things were starting to move in a direction completely different from what he wanted.
He should've wrapped everything up before meeting Dansol. Or… no. If he'd done that, maybe he'd never have met Dansol in the first place.
He was never supposed to make traits public in the first place.
It was all his own mess, with no one else to blame, and the frustration made him feel like he was burning from the inside.
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