The Idol Who Returned from Hell – Chapter 171

Author: Dawn

“The hospital?”

Chae Ha-ru seems to have forgotten to bring his phone and left it at the dorm when coming to the practice room.

Seeing how the manager received a direct call on the emergency number registered at the company, it seemed like something serious.

Chae Ha-ru, who received the phone, first answered with a calm tone.

“Yes, this is Chae Ha-ru.”

Since Chae Ha-ru usually has no change in expression, there wasn’t much reaction even when the person on the other end of the phone spoke.

For about ten seconds, he continued with his default dead fish eyes.

But after hearing something, Chae Ha-ru suddenly opened his eyes wide.

“Wh-what did you just say? Please say that once more.”

His voice was also quite different from usual.

The kid who didn’t usually stammer much was struggling to open his mouth and his hands were also trembling.

Our faces watching Chae Ha-ru gradually became serious.

“What’s going on.”

“Has that kid ever been shaken to that degree?”

“Brother Ha-ru was calm even when we first got 1st place……”

While other members spoke with worried tones, Chae Ha-ru’s eyes strangely contorted.

“……So where is that hospital located? I’ll come right away. ……Yes.”

After pressing the call end button and returning the phone to the manager, Chae Ha-ru staggered toward the practice room door.

Seeing how he stepped on a water bottle placed in the middle without noticing and walked straight past it, Kang Seon-woo, who was closest, quickly grabbed his arm.

“Ha-ru. First calm down, and what happened—.”

“I have to go, quickly.”

“You can’t even walk properly right now. Where are you going like this—.”

“My mom collapsed.”

Everyone froze at the bomb-like statement.

Kang Seon-woo, who had said to calm down, was just opening and closing his mouth like a buffering character.

Chae Ha-ru, who said his mother had collapsed, swayed like a paper doll as the strength left his legs even more.

“……She suddenly collapsed while working and was rushed to the emergency room. They still don’t know what the cause is, but they say it’s likely a brain problem.”

“No, how did this happen……”

“They said she might need surgery, so I should come quickly.”

“You can’t go alone right now.”

I answered with a firm tone, watching for the timing.

“Looking at your current state, everyone here would want to follow you, but that’s absolutely impossible. Anyone who’s met Ha-ru’s parents before?”

“Me, me! I met them a couple times last time.”

“Right. Then Ha-woon will go with you. What hospital did they say it was?”

“……Severance.”

“It’s not too far. Brother, can you drive Ha-ru there?”

“Of course.”

Thankfully, Yu Ha-woon, who’s the most energetic, is staying by Chae Ha-ru’s side.

We watched as the three of them left the practice room.

We who remained sat down heavily on the floor.

The heavy atmosphere we hadn’t wanted to taste again had returned.

“I hope it’s not a serious illness……”

“Come to think of it, I’ve been thinking about this alone all along.”

Kang Seon-woo glanced at me.

I could roughly guess what story would come out from the context.

I silently nodded in response to Kang Seon-woo’s soundless question.

“I heard Ha-ru’s family is in a slightly difficult situation.”

“I see…… The feeling I had was roughly right.”

“I’ve also seen Ha-ru for as long as you have. When did you start noticing?”

“Since we were filming 〈ISL 2〉. If it were someone else, they might have just not heard and passed it by, but I felt it. That Ha-ru might have grown up in a somewhat difficult environment.”

I tried to recall my memories.

Certainly…… when food-related topics came up, there were times when Chae Ha-ru hesitated. Also, compared to other members, he reacted sensitively to money talk.

‘This guy is amazing for remembering that. And even more amazing that he’s kept it to himself in his heart until now.’

Meanwhile, Ma Si-hyeok was slumped down with a completely depressed expression.

“Ha-ru’s mother will be okay, right?”

“We can only hope she’ll be okay. There’s too little we can do from here.”

“Don’t worry too much. She’ll recover quickly. Let’s think about what gift to buy when we go visit her.”

Seong-hwi also tried his best to break through this gloomy atmosphere.

But easier said than done—the members, feeling Chae Ha-ru’s situation wasn’t someone else’s problem, completed the remaining practice in a state twice as quiet as usual.

I had completely intended to end practice, but everyone followed along without complaint as if they needed to move their bodies to shake off distracting thoughts.

Evening time passed by like that.

When we returned to the dorm and were waiting for Chae Ha-ru and Yu Ha-woon to return.

It was almost 10 o’clock when the two members came back.

I immediately led Chae Ha-ru, whose appearance had become haggard in just one day, to the kitchen.

“You’re hungry, right? Si-hyeok made pasta while waiting for you, so eat quickly.”

“Thank you……”

“Ha-woon’s portion is ready too, so wash your hands and come quickly.”

“Yes, Brother!”

The members gathered cozily in the kitchen were busy reading each other’s expressions.

While everyone was wondering who should ask first, Chae Ha-ru actually delivered the news first.

“The test results came out. They said it’s a stroke.”

“It’s not too serious, is it?”

“Was your mother okay?”

“I don’t know if it’s fortunate or not…… The bleeding wasn’t too severe, so they said emergency surgery isn’t immediately necessary. But she needs continuous treatment to lower brain pressure, so hospitalization will be essential…… If the pressure on the brain isn’t resolved with treatment alone, they said she might need surgery then.”

It seemed like the major crisis had been passed.

Since I have almost no medical knowledge, I can’t know the exact situation, but just not needing immediate surgery seemed fortunate enough.

The other guys also seemed to feel the dark clouds hanging over their faces clear slightly, but seeing Chae Ha-ru still looking serious made them return to their original state.

Yu Ha-woon, who had been picking at his pasta, continued the conversation.

“The major crisis was overcome well, but the doctor said long-term hospitalization treatment will probably be necessary. So probably……”

“I don’t know what to do about the cost issue right now.”

The words Chae Ha-ru had tried not to say filled the kitchen.

Even Kang Seon-woo, who usually handled this kind of atmosphere well, was just shuffling his feet as if the buffering from earlier was still remaining.

Cerberus, who had been quietly staying in his sweet house, spoke to me in a low voice.

{Master, it seems like you’re the only one who can solve this in the end.}

‘……So that incident is going to come to this.’

I took a short breath and asked slowly.

“Ha-ru, have you talked to your father?”

“The situation is too complicated. Monthly rent, maintenance fees, there are so many places money has to go, and the only way to somehow gather mother’s treatment costs right now is loans……”

Chae Ha-ru clenched his fists.

His voice trembled slightly.

“I chose this path to somehow resolve this kind of situation.”

The snowball I had mentioned to Cerberus.

Rave Entertainment’s internal problem related to settlement.

Currently, CENTIX had hit mega-hits twice in a row, but thanks to the higher-ups continuously taking massive dumps, the money we earned was being used to pay off past karma.

The manager said he’d provide settlement information as soon as possible, but that wasn’t something that would happen quickly like calling someone else’s dog’s name.

‘Even though we’re close members, this kind of issue is hard to touch easily, so everyone has no choice but to become like this.’

I and Kang Seon-woo who are just starting social life, and the two same-age kids who just escaped from twenty.

What could we say and what could we do.

While my head was complicated, I witnessed Yu Ha-woon biting his lips from across the table.

The youngest, who took a deep breath for a moment, squeezed his eyes shut and opened his mouth.

“Ha, Brother Ha-ru, I’ve been thinking about something since earlier.”

“Yeah?”

“I, I’ve been seriously agonizing over whether I should say this. If you’re okay with it……”

What could he have decided to say to hesitate this much?

“If you’re in a difficult situation because of costs, I’ll pay some of your hospital bills for you!”

Quite unexpected words moistened the air.

I felt like I briefly received Kang Seon-woo’s buffering.

While quickly organizing my dazed head, I recalled memories from 〈Idol Stove League Season 2〉 that had now been several months.

‘Certainly Yu Ha-woon’s family is well-off. He was so lonely because his house was too big for one person that he called me.’

But even if a family is wealthy, it’s not easy to casually offer to lend money to someone like this.

Especially if you’re still a high school student like Yu Ha-woon.

Chae Ha-ru, who heard Yu Ha-woon’s words, fell into silence.

Beyond his dead fish eyes, his two pupils now felt like completely empty black holes.

Eventually, an unexpected sound came from his mouth.

“Ha, haha.”

Dry laughter burst out.

“I really…… didn’t want to mention this one thing.”

“Brother……?”

“I hoped everyone wouldn’t know about this one thing. How did the situation flow so shittily.”

Chae Ha-ru’s usual gentle voice was nowhere to be found.

He wasn’t the blank-eyed Chae Ha-ru who insisted on a tone that seemed to exclude emotions as much as possible.

“Poverty? I thought it was natural. I was born this way, and I can’t ask anyone to help with this situation. But then I should blame my parents who seem to live three times harder than others? That doesn’t make sense!”

“Ha-ru—.”

“I wanted to avoid this somehow by succeeding myself. I wanted to avoid being pitied for being poor somehow.”

His eyes, reddened by being swept up in all sorts of complex emotions, looked at us resentfully.

“I hoped that at least the people here wouldn’t look at me with those eyes.”

“Ha, Brother Ha-ru, I absolutely didn’t mean it that way—!”

Yu Ha-woon’s pitiful cry didn’t reach its recipient.

Because Chae Ha-ru ran straight out of the dorm from that spot.

Hearing the door slam shut, Seong-hwi sighed and ruffled his hair.

“This feels like things got way bigger than expected.”

“I, I really brought up something I shouldn’t have……”

“No, no. Ha-ru knows full well that Ha-woon absolutely didn’t bring it up to pity him or anything. Sigh, what do we do about this.”

Kang Seon-woo, who had regained his voice, tried hard to comfort the youngest who was on the verge of tears.