In the evening, Joo-Han's anger hadn't subsided at all, so Yoon-Chan wasn’t able to patch things up with him. According to Goh Yoo-Joon, Yoon-Chan had spent the time blaming himself and crying. So even if they had met, reconciliation would have been unlikely.

The next day arrived. Although we had the afternoon free until the evening event, the atmosphere remained sour. Given that this incident involved Joo-Han and Yoon-Chan, there was no hopeful scenario like with Goh Yoo-Joon or myself where things would just be forgotten after a night's sleep.

“Do you have a drama schedule today?" I asked Yoon-Chan.

He was startled. “No, not today," he replied, shaking his head.

Why was he so nervous? Did he think I was siding with Joo-Han?

“That's good. It means you can finally relax tonight."

There were only two events scheduled for the evening. Despite my cheerful tone, Yoon-Chan's expression grew even darker.

‘Ah, maybe he thought I was hinting at something.'

Yoon-Chan shook his head. “Oh, it’s just been a while since I’ve had some free time, so I was planning to head to the practice room."

“Geez! Aren’t you tired, hyung?” Jin-Sung asked. “You haven't been sleeping well lately."

“No, I need to practice. I don’t want to make any mistakes."

Goh Yoo-Joon chimed in. “Oh really? Then I will come along. Jin-Sung will join us too."

“Yeah, why not?”

Goh Yoo-Joon shattered the awkward silence by agreeing to join Yoon-Chan for the practice session. Fortunately, from the moment Goh Yoo-Joon emerged from his room, his chatter with Jin-Sung helped dissipate the unbearable silence. I was on the verge of running out of the dorm.

After dinner, Goh Yoo-Joon whispered as he walked past me, “Try to talk to Joo-Han hyung while we are at the practice room. He cares about Yoon-Chan a lot. He wouldn't want things to stay like this forever."

“Alright, I will. Yoon-Chan’s vocals have gotten worse, so take a look at that when you can."

“Of course. I will see you later."

Goh Yoo-Joon clenched his fist in determination and disappeared.

In the now quiet dorm, the only sound was the music coming out from Joo-Han's earphones. “Are you completely isolating yourself from us? Are you not going to talk to me either?"

Joo-Han never listened to music with earphones when he was in the living room. It was clear he was using them as a means to shut out conversation. Yet, he would hear me as I was sitting right beside him. If not, he would at least see my lips moving.

“Hyung."

I was persistent and continued calling out to Joo-Han until he sighed deeply and took off his earphones to look at me. “You are going to tell me to talk to Yoon-Chan or something, right? Just wait until I’m ready to talk to him."

“I know you are already over it. You just haven’t been able to talk it out."

Joo-Han showing up to eat with us meant he had cooled down and was checking on Yoon-Chan’s condition. Joo-Han pondered for a long while. His eyelids lowered before finally speaking. “Even if I reconcile with him now, it doesn’t seem like Yoon-Chan’s behavior will change."

“Well, that’s true."

“I just want to have an open conversation, but it’s hard with so many members around. Yoon-Chan isn’t one to openly express his feelings."

That was right. Yoon-Chan was always extremely conscious of others. When the members were previously known under the name Elated instead of Chronos, Yoon-Chan had not ventured into acting during that period. He was afraid of being a burden on the group, so he kept his desire to act to himself and only pursued acting after the Elated group disbanded. This led him to find success at a later time.

Yoon-Chan always held back on what he really wanted to do by suppressing his desires to align with the group's needs. Thus, even if he had a private chat with Joo-Han right now, he wouldn’t dare to reveal the true weight of his struggles.

I sprawled backward on the couch, lost in thought. “I don't know. It's something you guys need to sort out yourselves. Even if we push you to patch up, you two won't budge."

“Right, so just leave us be."

“We can't do that. Your tension is ruining the group's mood," I insisted, concern and frustration mixed in my voice.

“..."

“I will try to make sure you and Yoon-Chan will be alone so you can at least talk. I can’t stand seeing you like this.”

I purposely ignored Joo-Han’s piercing gaze and continued speaking. I grabbed one of the earphones he was holding.

“Callia Lawrence doesn’t like the recording? Or why do you keep listening to it?"

“...She said there might be a better combination," he muttered, more to himself than to me.

“Must be because of the sudden line distribution change. Why didn't you tell me?"

“About what?" His confusion was evident.

I responded with brazen confidence. “What’s the point of having a sub-leader? Right now, I've got nothing to do but help Yoon-Chan and you make up."

If there was an issue like the line distribution change, it would have been good to discuss it together. That was the essence of my argument. Ultimately, Joo-Han's anger at Yoon-Chan wasn't solely Yoon-Chan's fault. It was also a culmination of Joo-Han's bottled-up stress reaching its peak.

“Let’s think about the lines together. Tell me specifically what Callia Lawrence said."

“...Alright, I will."

“And hyung, about the part you gave me… No matter how I listen to it, it seems like Yoon-Chan should be the one to sing it. It suits his falsetto. I am not saying this just to increase the number of Yoon-Chan’s lines."

“I know. I reluctantly passed it to you because Yoon-Chan seemed unwilling," Joo-Han admitted, his voice laced with regret. I wondered how angry he must have been to act so impulsively. It was so unlike him.

I smiled awkwardly and listened to the recording until the end. Most of the part distribution was done well, but there were a few spots where I thought it would have sounded better if different members had sung different vibes.

The parts Joo-Han had distributed were tailored to his taste, but he mentioned that Callia's preferences were slightly different. Thus, the song needed to be adjusted.

Joo-Han looked at me wearily and chuckled. “Thanks. It’s a bit better with you around."

“I’m glad I could help. After all, I’m confident in my listening skills. My opinions on line distribution might surprisingly be worth considering."

“Honestly, I’ve been overwhelmed with too much work," Joo-Han candidly expressed his thoughts and leaned his head back, looking utterly exhausted. “Ah, I feel dead. So, if you have any opinions on redistributing the lines, let me know. I will also show you the email Callia sent."

“Got it."

I took out the earphone and was about to leave when Joo-Han asked me a question. “But Hyun-Woo, what do you think?"

I paused in the doorway. “About what?"

“About Yoon-Chan's issue."

Ah, he was referring to the issue with Yoon-Chan's performance mistakes.

“Why do you ask?" My eyebrows knitted in confusion. I hoped he was not suggesting we should all criticize Yoon-Chan together.

Since I looked puzzled, Joo-Han blinked and expressionlessly said, “I am just worried you might be holding something back."

He was wondering if I could tolerate Yoon-Chan’s misbehavior while Goh Yoo-Joon and Joo-Han were becoming more sensitive in response to the issue at hand and while Jin-Sung was simply careful about the situation.

“Ah, me? I’m fine with that."

There had been plenty of times when I’d been pissed off. I didn’t get easily upset over unavoidable circumstances.

“Although I was a bit disappointed with Yoon-Chan yesterday, it’s not like I don’t understand where he’s coming from. You feel the same, right?"

I left the room, and my conversation with Joo-Han came to an end just like that.

***

[Yoo-Joon: Is Yoon-Chan crying?]

- Yes

[Jin-Sung: I told you that Yoon-Chan hyung will cry as soon as he makes it in his room]

[Yoo-Joon: I told him not to start with an apology as soon as he returns]

[Jin-Sung: Then, what’s left? All he can do right now is apologize]

[Yoo-Joon: Ah, I want to eat an apple[1]]

[Jin-Sung: Oh, do you want me to bring an apple to you, hyung?]

- If you are going to talk nonsense, can I leave the group chat?

[Yoo-Joon: No!!!!]

[Yoo-Joon: Jin-Sung, no more nonsense]

[Jin-Sung: What? You are the one who started with the nonsense, hyung]

In the early hours after the event, Su-Hwan took us directly to the dorm without having to practice at all, just as I requested. After remaining silent for a while, Joo-Han quietly called out to Yoon-Chan, who immediately followed him, tears brimming in his eyes.

What about the rest of us? We couldn’t gather openly without drawing attention, so we each went back to our own rooms. From there, we received updates through Jin-Sung, whose room was closest to Joo-Han's.

This setup was informally known as the Chronos Make-Up Status Report Room. The reason for its unexciting and outdated name was that it had been coined by none other than our manager, Lee Su-Hwan.

Things were not going smoothly, partly because this dorm had excellent soundproofing. We couldn't hear their conversation clearly. Moreover, Goh Yoo-Joon kept blurting out nonsense whenever he had the chance.

“Ugh."

Maybe it would have been better just to wait quietly and ask them about it after they finished talking. I shook my head as I watched the chat messages enthusiastically pop up.

[Jin-Sung: Su-Hwan hyung]

[Su-Hwan: Yes?]

[Jin-Sung: Looks like they are wrapping up their talk]

[Jin-Sung: They left the room]

Just as I was about to get up after reading Jin-Sung's update…

“Hey! Everyone, come out!" Joo-Han flung open the door and summoned all the members to the living room with a tearful Yoon-Chan by his side. “We are going to play the Game of Truth[2]!"

1. The word ‘apology’ and ‘apple’ are both ‘??’ in Korean. That’s why an apple was mentioned all the sudden haha ?

2. A social game where participants take turns asking each other questions, and the person questioned must answer truthfully. The focus of the game is solely to reveal truths or facts about oneself. This game differs from "Truth or Dare" since it does not involve the element of 'dare.' ?