Yoo Jay, who had been gazing at me with unblinking eyes the whole time, lifted his head towards the sky and quietly exhaled.
As if even breathing felt suffocating, his restless hands roughly yanked open the shirt buttoned up to his neck. But when one stubborn button refused to come undone, Yoo Jay tore it off with a sharp rip and began scratching at his now-exposed neck without restraint.
“Stop it!”
“…Do you know why I made such a fuss back then with just a shard of glass? It was because, no matter what, I didn’t have it in me to actually hurt you, hyung. So if it came down to it, I was just going to stab myself and use that to threaten you.”
I wasn’t sure at the time whether he meant to kill me or hurt himself, but it was clear he had no intention of laying a hand on me. Maybe, just maybe, despite everything Jay said, he wouldn’t be able to overpower me and leave by force. That faint hope began to flicker.
“But not this time.”
But that hope was shattered by Jay’s next words.
“I mean it this time. I’ve had enough. I’m sick of living under that bastard’s control, of being a burden on you, of watching the other members suffer. So, I’m going to end it, right now. This is my limit, hyung.”
‘…Limit?’
Something about Yoo Jay’s dry, scattered words felt off.
It really sounded like he was making excuses. I’d never once shown how exhausted I was from protecting the Prism members in front of him, nor had I ever pointed out his limits. Why was he saying such things?
I didn’t quite understand.
I felt like he was looking at someone else, not me.
“Or is it because I’m getting in your way again? Hyung, you’re always like this … You can handle everything perfectly without any help from me, just like this time, but I can’t do the same.”
“…No, it’s not like that. Take a deep breath, calm down, and think rationally about what it actually means that you got your hands on this video.”
“…….”
“Prism is finally free now. Just like you said, we’ve finally escaped that hellhole, RH Entertainment. But now you’re telling me you’d dirty your hands by killing a lowlife like Kang Hyukwoo and put the shackles back on yourself? By your own will this time? Don’t be ridiculous!”
“…….”
“I could never give up on you. I’m fighting this hard because I want you guys to be happy, but if you’re gone, none of it means anything.”
Even as I poured my heart out, Yoo Jay didn’t look my way once. Without a word, he started walking again. He still didn’t seem willing to listen to me.
‘Damn it. He’s not listening to a word I say.’
No, I must not give up. Use your head, Seo Yutae.
The reason I was having such a hard time right now was because Han Seungbeom’s frail body didn’t have the strength to subdue Yoo Jay. So then, wouldn’t it be enough to just hold out until someone who does shows up?
‘It’s already been a while since I texted the members. They’ll be here soon.’
I calculated the time in my head, then took a deep breath to calm myself.
‘Let’s hold out as long as possible and buy some time … and when the other members get here, we’ll catch that brat and tie him up until he calms down.’
With that resolve, I grabbed his arm again. Yoo Jay tilted his head, seeming lost in thought, and remained silent for a moment. Then, after a while, he muttered in a voice barely above a whisper.
“…Even so, no matter what, I feel like if I lay a hand on you, hyung, I’ll end up regretting it later.”
“Yeah, then you should just behave and listen to your hyung, Jay-ya.”
Up until then, I still had enough room to force a smile.
“So, the thing is, I built my house bigger than it needed to be … so there are a lot of extra rooms. Among them, there’s one I had made just in case, designed to be locked from the outside.”
“What does that have to do with anything right now…….”
“I’ve never used it before, but I think it’ll come in handy this time.”
As soon as I heard what Jay said next and felt his hand on my shoulder, an ominous feeling began to set in.
“Hyung, you might get hurt, so if possible, just let yourself be caught quietly.”
“…What?”
No, what the hell was he talking about?
Is he planning to lock me up in there? This is unfilial conduct.
While I was still reeling from the shock of hearing such nonsense, Jay suddenly hoisted me up in one swift motion. As I felt my feet lift off the ground, I swallowed hard on reflex, then snapped back to my senses with a jolt, ‘F**K, this can’t be real.’
“…This f**k**!”
The years had gone by, and I was now thirty-five.
I was too old to be carried around like this, like some stubborn seven-year-old playing peekaboo.
“Put me down!”
Of all the things I imagined happening in my life, getting hauled off like this by a kid younger than Seo Yuseong wasn’t one of them. Damn it, I should’ve done whatever it took to maintain that barely-over-60-kilo weight I worked so hard to put on.
Thoughts like, ‘Should I just knock him out by hitting his head right now?‘ and ‘If I do it right, I might be able to kick him in the solar plexus‘, filled my mind, along with vivid images of striking his vital points. If the guy dragging me away right now weren’t Jay, I’d probably already be hammering his head like a whack-a-mole.
I mean, it wasn’t like there was no way out of this situation.
But the thought ‘What if I hit him wrong and he gets hurt?‘ kept nagging at me. In the end, all I could do was feebly strike his chest with my clenched fist.
“You disrespectful brat!”
“You shouldn’t yell, hyung. The neighbors might think something’s wrong and come out to see.”
“This brat, you still pull this kind of shit even though you know that?”
“I don’t care what happens to me. But you wouldn’t want to turn me into a kidnapper, would you, hyung? Besides, you came here because you were scared I might kill Kang Hyukwoo anyway.”
‘…Don’t waste your brain on things like this.’
I have to hold on no matter what.
As I was flailing my arms and legs with that thought in mind, I heard the roar of a sports car’s exhaust.
‘…Finally!’
I quickly turned my head in that direction and saw a white sports car. It was Nam Yihwon’s.
And just as the car passed by the spot where we were standing, I made eye contact with Lee Chise, who had his face sticking out of the wide-open window like a dog on a drive.
At that moment, Lee Chise’s reaction to seeing me hanging upside down from Yoo Jay’s shoulder was this,
“Whoa.”
That’s right. Lee Chise, as if he had seen something rare, let out a dazed exclamation and then whooshed past me. It was because the driver, Nam Yihwon, hadn’t noticed we were here and just went on his way.
What did I just see?
I stared blankly at the back of the sports car as it drove away, then murmured with a voice full of futility.
“…Stop right there, you rascals…….”
Having witnessed this utterly ridiculous situation right before my eyes, it really hit me.
‘Ah, not every situation goes along with the mood.’
In the middle of all this, Yoo Jay was still steadily walking toward the front door.
‘…He still hasn’t given up?’
The car, which had made a U-turn and rushed back at full speed, screeched to a stop. From inside the car, there was a loud, noisy argument, and then a bunch of muscular guys with long legs tumbled out. It felt like something out of a skit.
“See? I told you it was Hyung!”
“Oh, well, you could have said it earlier.”
As soon as I saw those guys, I quickly used my wits to wedge my leg, which was hanging in mid-air, between the door to stop it from closing. Then, I yelled out in annoyance.
“What are you waiting for, get here!”
From the outside, they probably could only see the soles of my sneakers, but they must have immediately sensed from my voice that my sanity was hanging by a thread, because they came running in a fright. It was total chaos, the worst kind of mess.
Cha Woon, at the very front of the rushing group, squeezed his body through with a loud crash to prevent the front door from closing while I resisted. Then, seeing me getting pulled away, he shouted desperately, his face turning pale with fear.
“No, hold on to me, hyung! I won’t let you go!”
Then, Lee Chise, who had been right behind Cha Woon, exclaimed, “Oh my, our hyung!” and quickly snatched me away with his strength.
“Ah!”
I seriously thought my back was going to snap in two.
Finally free from the crisis, I slumped forward, groaning from relief, shame over the ridiculous situation, and the throbbing pain in my back. Meanwhile, Lee Chise, who had tucked my body under his arm like a sack of rice, whispered with a slightly repulsed expression on his face.
“Wow, this body can’t even compare to your old body. This weight? No wonder you got dragged around so easily like that. The great Seo Yutae’s pride must have taken a hit.”
“Shut up.”
Despite the situation flipping in an instant, Yoo Jay rubbed his swollen eyes with one hand, while with the other, he grabbed my ankle, which had been dangling loosely in the air, and muttered in a low voice.
“…Give him back to me.”
Since the members of Prism have already forced their way in, hiding me anywhere wouldn’t change the outcome. If Cha Woon had come alone, maybe there would’ve been a way, but the moment Lee Chise arrived, it was already game over.
Ah, swinging the knife in his pocket might have been of help to Yoo Jay.
But I could assure you, Yoo Jay would never do such a thing to the Prism members.
In other words, it had become impossible for Yoo Jay to reach Kang Hyukwoo.
‘We’ve put out the immediate fire for now…….’
However, Yoo Jay was still fixated on the goal right in front of him. It was a clear sign of how irrational he was at that moment.
“Don’t get in my way!”
When Jay finally went as far as yelling at his hyungs, Nam Yihwon, who had been watching, stepped between me and Jay. Then, as if to calm him down, he lightly tapped and tapped Jay’s chin with his palm.
“Well, well, this guy is completely out of his mind. Look at our youngest, his face is all messed up.”
Then, he lowered his head to look Jay directly in the eyes and hammered in the final nail.
“…Hyung kept trying to hide it because he was worried you’d act like this. Do you still not get it?”
“…….”
At those words, Jay’s body flinched, and the focus returned to his eyes. Then, he lowered his head deeply and fell silent. Nam Yihwon nodded and tried to slowly continue the conversation. However, he was soon pushed aside by Jo Inchan, who arrived a little later than the other members.
“Ah, are you crazy?”
Ignoring Nam Yihwon’s harsh words, Jo Inchan stood in front of Yoo Jay.
The moment Jo Inchan laid eyes on Yoo Jay’s face, he had to hold back the surge of anger that welled up, and slowly raised his right hand as if to slap him. However, in the end, he couldn’t bring himself to strike and, instead, shook his hand before using the shopping bag he was carrying to hit Yoo Jay’s chest.
“…….”
Jay didn’t even try to avoid it; he just stood there and took the hit. There wasn’t a sharp ‘thwack‘ or a loud ‘smack‘, just a weak, muffled sound, accompanied by the subtle rustling of the shopping bag crumpling. When the bag slipped from Jo Inchan’s hand, it hit the floor with a louder sound than when it struck Yoo Jay.
“Uh-oh…….”
“Whoa.”
The second and third brothers gaped at the sight of Prism’s greatest pacifist resorting to violence, something they thought they’d never witness in their lifetimes, and tightly held the eldest brother. I felt exactly like a doll being squeezed and crushed in the arms of a patient at a dental clinic. Nam Yihwon raised an eyebrow, shrugged as if there was nothing he could do, and let out a resigned sigh.
Yoo Jay was still looking down at the floor, showing no reaction.
On the floor, the contents of the shopping bag—snacks Yoo Jay had loved since his school days—were scattered in a mess. The rest of Prism wouldn’t even think of touching them.
“…Yoo Jay.”
Without sparing a glance at the members who were watching him cautiously, Jo Inchan, still panting, immediately grabbed Yoo Jay by the collar.
Then, he shouted in anger,
“You, you crazy bastard!”
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Translator’s Corner:
I’m so sorry to Pantheion, but Prism is really … the peak of found family genre … this is no longer top idol group … this is top found family …..
LIKE THEY’RE SO SILLY WHY AM I LAUGHING AND CRYING AT THE SAME TIME. It’s funnier if you remember they did this in Jay house’s front yard … like considering his level, he definitely lives in that elite neighborhood where his neighbors are probably celebrities too …. like imagine you hear commotion and look out your window briefly, but then just thought “Oh, it’s those Prism guys fighting again. Just an ordinary day in this neighborhood” T_T
On today’s note, today it was announced Yeri and Wendy didn’t renew their contracts with SM Ent. As they should tbh, that pink company is shitty, but I’m still sad because this means I would get a Red Velvet comeback like, once every 3 years at most T_T Actually, when you think about it realistically, it’s the best choice for idols at their level to just focus on solo activities, but I guess fans are fans ….. I just can’t say goodnight …. stream the best kpop song of the decade, Cosmic …. (the world could end tomorrow, and I would still promote RV)
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