A tremor shook the ground beneath their feet.
Choi Jeho opened his eyes and pushed himself upright. The stage had descended into chaos, screams mixing with the shrill noise of malfunctioning sound equipment. The overwhelming volume almost sounded unreal, like noise bleeding in from another world.
“Kim Iwol.”
Choi Jeho called out to Kim Iwol, who had pulled him away and was now sprawled on the floor beside him.
Kim Iwol’s unfocused eyes turned toward Choi Jeho.
“Are you hurt?”
The voice and expression were flat, completely unlike the desperation he had shown just moments ago when reaching out his hand. The frantic intensity had vanished without a trace.
“No.”
“Good.”
After hearing the answer, Kim Iwol muttered blankly, like someone who had lost his soul.
“That’s how it should be.”
Jeong Seongbin and the other members rushed over from the opposite side. Managers and security guards came running up both stairways.
Hands grabbed the microphone still clenched tightly in Kim Iwol’s grip and switched the power off. Someone seized his shoulders to check for injuries. People moved debris from the shattered lighting equipment while emergency announcements blared all around them.
Even as someone helped him to his feet, Choi Jeho’s gaze remained nailed to Kim Iwol.
Those lifeless eyes, that sense of complete detachment from the world around him—
Choi Jeho had seen it before.
‘That’s because... I hid the container.’
The day Kim Iwol’s family had come to the company.
Kim Iwol, endlessly muttering incomprehensible things to himself, had looked exactly like this.
‘Why?’
The moment they got off stage, Kim Iwol collapsed weakly to the ground. He couldn’t stand on his own, and the members had to support him from both sides.
He couldn’t answer anyone’s questions.
At the hospital, and later in the car ride back, Kim Iwol remained silent.
Without even saying he was going to sleep first, he disappeared under the covers still dressed in the clothes he had worn outside.
Kim Iwol’s head was filled entirely with thoughts of his sister.
From the moment he ruined everything with his own hands, he forced himself to relive every memory he possessed as though punishing himself.
Again and again, he carved into his mind everything he had received from her, driving nails into his own brain as he replayed it all.
He relentlessly whipped himself over what he had done.
Like someone trying to gather spilled water back into a cup, Kim Iwol clawed endlessly at the bottom of his regret with his bare hands.
Until his hands split open and blood formed.
But there was nothing he could undo.
Outside, everything was pitch black. The world was so quiet it felt asleep. Once he was left alone with no one around him, life became just like this room—silent and dark as midnight.
Kim Iwol opened the door and walked outside.
He kept walking wherever his feet carried him.
Not a single car passed by. He trudged along roads lit only by blinking signal lights.
Even after passing massive buildings and several street signs, his legs didn’t hurt. His hazy mind gradually cleared. The sound of his heartbeat rang loudly inside his head.
He already knew where this road ended.
He had walked it before.
The streetlights shut off around sunrise, but even in the dark predawn hours before the sun fully rose, he remembered the route clearly enough not to lose his way.
The familiar scenery began to appear.
The night view of the Han River spread out before him.
Kim Iwol judged his pathetic self.
He had returned to the past only to fail in the end.
He hadn’t grown even a little from the person who once asked his dead sister whether he should keep living like this.
If he hadn’t turned away complacently, this would have ended long ago. He was the one who allowed things to continue this far.
There was nothing left he could do.
He was so exhausted that even the strength to struggle had run dry.
At least now, Kim Iwol decided to correct his mistake.
He already knew the right answer. All he had to do was carry it out.
Kim Iwol’s hand gripped the railing.
Even the familiar cold touch failed to stop him.
Just as he tightened his arms and began lifting himself over—
“Hey!”
A strong grip seized his other arm.
His balance faltered violently. Rough hands yanked him back from the railing by his clothes.
“Sir, please calm down for a second! Just talk to me—”
The buzzing voice slowly became clear.
It was a voice he had heard before.
Kim Iwol’s eyes met the man’s.
“......Mr. Iwol?”
Polo stood there in front of him, looking uncertain.
“What a coincidence! I actually left some clothes at Yur hyung’s place, so I was just on my way to pick them up.”
“......Okay.”
Polo pretended to sound casual.
In reality, he had simply been driving home after finishing radio work.
Exhausted from an unexpectedly long meeting, he had been driving when he spotted a man about to throw himself off the bridge.
It truly had been coincidence.
Polo slammed to a temporary stop on the shoulder and ran like hell to grab him.
The moment he realized who the other person was, he was shocked.
Kim Iwol, whose accident had flooded entertainment headlines, standing here instead of at a hospital or dorm.
If not for that uniquely cold and dried out expression, Polo might not even have believed the person he caught was Kim Iwol.
Polo glanced sideways.
Kim Iwol sat in the passenger seat looking utterly soulless.
After confirming that Kim Iwol had fastened his seatbelt, Polo tilted his phone screen sharply and sent a message.
〈 (Hellas) Captain
Me
1 [Hyung]
1 [Hyung hyung]
1 [Please look at this ASAP]
1 [Hyung can I bring Mr. Iwol to your place right now?? Even if I can’t please let it slide this once for me, think of it as saving someone’s life]
1 [I’ll explain everything later I panicked and already told him we were heading to your place]
As always, his leader replied quickly.
(Hellas) Captain
[Okay. How long? What should I say when you get here?]
Me
[20 mins]
[Just say I left clothes behind]
[Seriously thank you sorry]
(Hellas) Captain
[No. He must be really shaken up. Drive carefully.]
“I’ll head out now.”
Polo pressed the accelerator.
Beside him, Kim Iwol silently closed his eyes.
“Told you to double check your stuff before leaving.”
Yur welcomed the two guests as though he really had been with Polo just moments ago.
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen you, Mr. Iwol.”
“......Yes.”
Kim Iwol lowered his head.
The moment Yur saw those unfocused eyes, he roughly understood why Polo—someone who almost never made sudden requests—had brought a junior artist to another member’s house without warning.
“How about sleeping over tonight, Mr. Iwol? There are barely any taxis at this hour, and it seems awkward to call your manager.”
Kim Iwol rejected the suggestion immediately.
Rather than a deliberate refusal, it sounded more like an automated response.
Having spent years working alongside people who had broken down from exhaustion, Yur knew instantly that Kim Iwol was not someone who should be left alone.
“Come on. Just stay one night.”
“......”
“We were supposed to eat together anyway. You can just buy breakfast tomorrow.”
Kim Iwol couldn’t refuse again.
He didn’t even seem to have the strength left to reject it.
As though he had been waiting for this, Yur handed him fresh clothes.
Then he practically shoved Kim Iwol into the bathroom.
Once the bathroom door closed and the sound of the shower started running, Polo lowered his voice.
“Hyung, I’ll stay over too—”
“Chaejun, you should head home. You finished late, you must be exhausted.”
“How can I do that? I’m the one who barged in here at dawn.”
Guilt was obvious across Polo’s face.
“You were shocked.”
“......”
“Go rest. I’ll contact UA myself.”
Polo couldn’t argue with Yur.
There wasn’t a single member capable of hiding their true feelings from him.
Escorted out by Yur, Polo reluctantly forced himself to leave.
Once the front door shut, Yur glanced once toward the bathroom, where water still ran, then obtained Spark’s manager’s number through his own manager.
Considering he was requesting contact information for a group that had suffered a major accident just yesterday—and doing so in the middle of the night—the reply came almost immediately.
In the meantime, Polo had also sent a long message explaining the situation.
Yur called Spark’s manager, Im Chanyeong.
He persuaded the man not to rush over immediately.
Whether Kim Iwol’s condition stemmed from the company or from the accident itself remained unclear. It wasn’t wise to abruptly force him to face company staff.
The members were all younger than Kim Iwol.
On top of that, they themselves were victims who had been present at the accident scene yesterday.
Leaving an unstable older member in the care of coworkers who themselves needed emotional stability was not ideal either.
“For now, I’ll keep him here... and contact you again in the morning.”
— Yes, we’ll wait. Please call anytime. Thank you, and I’m sorry.
The call ended there.
Kim Iwol emerged from the bathroom, water dripping from his hair.
Like someone who no longer knew what he was supposed to do, he simply stood motionless in the hallway.
“Mr. Iwol.”
Yur called out to him from the living room sofa.
“Want something to drink before bed?”
When Kim Iwol answered that anything without caffeine was fine, Yur handed him a warm cup of chamomile tea.
Kim Iwol only stared silently at the steam rising from the cup.
Instead of urging him to drink, Yur took a sip from his own tea.
His damp hair and long eyelashes cast sharp gray shadows across a face that looked carved with a sculptor’s knife. His straight nose bridge and brow line gave him an elegant, intellectual air. Combined with his pale, flawless skin, he resembled an aristocrat from a painting.
Yet despite all those perfectly composed features, the thing that stood out most about Kim Iwol’s face was still his eyes.
Those deep black eyes seemed capable of seeing straight through people while simultaneously holding immense compassion.
Seeing those eyes emptied of light was painful.
Without a word, Yur tilted his teacup again.
“......Sunbae.”
Kim Iwol’s voice came out dry and cracked.
It was hard to believe this was the same voice that sang with such clean, steady tone.
“Sunbae...”
Kim Iwol spoke very slowly.
“Have you ever been trapped in a situation that felt impossible to escape from...?”
It was a question like black waves, carrying something dark and submerged far beneath the surface.
