Chapter 435: Goodbye and Promise - The Story of Three People (4)

At first, Park Yoon-Chan thought the members had fought among themselves. Given how close they normally were, it wasn't surprising that they had their frequent quarrels. This time seemed no different.

With the atmosphere this tense, it must have been either Goh Yoo-Joon and Suh Hyun-Woo, or Joo-Han and Goh Yoo-Joon who had fought. If I just stayed quiet and pretended not to notice, Jin-Sung would usually cling onto me and tell me everything without me having to ask. That was why I had thought lightly of this whole situation.

But this time was different. Everyone was acting weird. Jin-Sung neither grumbled nor clung to me, his attention solely on the other members, and the others acted the same. It was as if Park Yoon-Chan was the only one left out among the members. He even worried if they were mad at him.

It wasn’t that the members ignored him. On the contrary, they took extra care of him if he seemed left out, yet this strange atmosphere persisted for days.

“Tae-Seong hyung, don't you think the members are acting weird?"

Kim Tae-Seong glanced at Yoon-Chan and nodded. “They do seem a bit off lately. Especially yesterday and today."

Yoon-Chan frowned deeply. “They were being weird the day before yesterday too."

“...Are they sick? Jin-Sung is still sleeping, right? He's not even snoring, could he have collapsed instead of sleeping?"

“The members say he's just sleeping. But he has been sleeping for quite a while."

“It might be from food poisoning, or did he overdo the practice? Yoon-Chan, should we reduce your practice hours?" Kim Tae-Seong briefly deviated from the topic, genuinely worried about Jin-Sung's health.

But as Yoon-Chan's expression turned strange, he returned to the main topic. “I thought the members fought among themselves."

“I thought so too, but that doesn't seem to be the case. It's not that the members don't get along. Rather, it seems like their personalities have changed."

Kim Tae-Seong agreed with Yoon-Chan's observation with a nod. Quarrels among the members, especially between Suh Hyun-Woo and Goh Yoo-Joon, were common. However, they would reconcile quickly after any dispute.

Even if the vibe was off one day, it was as if they had never fought by the next day since they returned to chatting and playing around as usual. That was the Chronos that Kim Tae-Seong knew. But he felt that the past few days had definitely been different.

Now in their second year after debut, the members were well into their roles, and unless serious problems arose, he preferred not to interfere. Although there wasn't any bad blood between the members, there was a perceptible discomfort.

There had to be a reason for that. With Kang Joo-Han around, Tae-Seong thought the members would resolve things and return to normal the next day. Yet the awkwardness persisted the next day and the day after.

Everywhere—inside the dorm, in the car—the silence continued. Although it seemed like more than just a simple fight, he was considering asking Su-Hwan for advice to see if there had been such instances before.

“Do you also not know what's going on?" Kim Tae-Seong asked.

“Not at all. It seems like I’m the only one who doesn't know what's happening."

“Did you ask the members what's going on? Joo-Han or Jin-Sung?"

“No. The vibe wasn't right for asking. Not even Jin-Sung...."

Although Yoon-Chan hated how much he was accommodating the members, and even disliked himself for it, he hadn't managed to ask what was wrong. He felt Jin-Sung was particularly distant toward him, so he was worried that he could be the cause of this situation.

Kim Tae-Seong hummed thoughtfully, but he quickly brushed off his concerns and smiled. “Alright, Yoon-Chan. Don't worry too much. These guys will return to normal soon enough. I will also discuss this with Senior Su-Hwan."

“Okay..."

“You’re still worried? I will ask Joo-Han for you."

What was he supposed to do?

Upon Kim Tae-Seong's question, Yoon-Chan pondered for a moment, then shook his head. “We will try to resolve it among ourselves."

No matter how observant he was, this was a matter for Chronos. Help from outsiders, no matter how helpful, wouldn't be necessary unless they couldn't resolve it themselves.

Kim Tae-Seong smiled as if he knew Yoon-Chan would say that. “Alright then."

After Kim Tae-Seong left the dorm, Yoon-Chan was left alone in the dorm's living room. No matter how much the dorm expanded like a neighborhood playground he used to visit when he was bored as a child, there would usually be a couple of Chronos members around making it lively. That was how it had been until a few days ago.

“..."

But now, the living room was eerily silent and lonely. It seemed like everyone had something to hide, either holing up in their rooms or whispering about something, everyone except Yoon-Chan. If he hadn't been so perceptive, he wouldn't have noticed at all.

The members were definitely not acting like the usual Chronos. Yoon-Chan finally decided to take action after sitting in the chilly living room and fidgeting with his fingers.

'If I did something wrong, I should apologize.'

And that was when he headed to the studio where he knew Joo-Han would be.

“Are you going back, hyung?"

“What nonsense are you saying?"

From inside the studio, the listless voices of Goh Yoo-Joon and Joo-Han could be heard.

Yoon-Chan's steps paused before resuming. Having both of them together was actually better since he could hear more of their conversation.

However, just as he was about to knock, what Joo-Han said stopped him in his tracks.

“Remember Hyun-Woo's face. How can we tell him to live with us again? I can't."

...What was that supposed to mean?

“Let's go back to our own lives."

Yoon-Chan couldn’t understand what the two were talking about. His hand, which was about to knock on the door, unwittingly dropped. He knew he shouldn't have, but Yoon-Chan stood still and listened to their conversation until he could understand what they were talking about.

“If we go back to our original world, Suh Hyun-Woo won't be there, right?"

But even as he continued to listen, he still couldn't grasp the meaning of their words.

Their original world? Talks of returning, not wanting to go, sacrifices, choices? These were phrases and words that would never normally come up in Chronos' conversations. It was as if... the members were talking about a completely different world.

If the members had been playful as they always were, Yoon-Chan would have passed this off as game talk under normal circumstances, or the result of them crafting some scenario to chat about. But he couldn't do that this time. First of all, the conversation between the two was laden with seriousness, and it was definitely not the time for idle chatter given the recent atmosphere of the group.

'I will ask later.'

Park Yoon-Chan eventually turned around without asking anything. To think there was a subject of discussion among the members that only he was unaware of... He felt like crying.

However, it wasn't long before Yoon-Chan would discover their secret. The next day, when he once again headed to the studio to ask Joo-Han about the situation with Chronos, he stopped in his tracks, but not because he heard them talking.

“...What is this?"

Yoon-Chan rubbed his eyes. Even after looking again, there was something strange floating in front of him. Well, not quite in front of him. It was in front of Joo-Han's studio door, to be exact. The blue holographic window text floating there looked like a sign.

[This area is under scenario progression! No entry for outsiders. (Because you were not chosen by the creator god's scenario)]

Yoon-Chan reached out his hand toward the blue window without realizing it. The blue window was surprisingly solid, isolating the door and Yoon-Chan. Sounds of Suh Hyun-Woo crying and other members consoling him came from inside the studio.

“Hyungs..."

They were beyond this blue window. Yoon-Chan realized that the strangeness he had felt for days and the uncomfortable atmosphere among the unfamiliar members were all due to something his human mind couldn’t comprehend. But he also realized that just this blue window alone couldn't provide any information about what was going on.

This was the moment when an overwhelming challenge disrupted the peaceful and composed life of Park Yoon-Chan, who had lived his entire life in a calm and graceful manner, facing every trial before him head-on.

‘What should I do?’

Yoon-Chan panicked. What if the members inside were in danger?

Just as he grasped the door handle firmly...

"Thank you."

For some reason, he could clearly hear Suh Hyun-Woo’s voice as if he was speaking right in front of him. The text on the blue window changed, and the members' voices gradually became tearful.

[Scenario 90% complete...]

“Thank you so much."

With Suh Hyun-Woo's heartfelt words of appreciation, Yoon-Chan heard farewells from the members. Suddenly, Yoon-Chan snapped back to reality and let go of the doorknob. He stepped back, then turned and headed to his room.

He should have intervened immediately upon hearing farewells from the members. However, he strangely felt that wasn't necessary. The moment he heard the calmer voices of the members, he felt an inexplicable relief.

Yoon-Chan stood still, gathered his thoughts calmly, and then began walking again. Once freed from the incomprehensible phenomenon and after their scenario had ended, he would ask the members what had happened over these days.

The tangling questions he had were slowly unraveling. At least now he knew what to worry about and what to ask the members. Whatever the members would say, now he could understand everything.

If they kept this hidden from him out of consideration for his inability to accept the truth, Park Yoon-Chan was ready to become their confidant because he had seen with his own eyes and directly witnessed what had happened.

Later, Yoon-Chan went to see Suh Hyun-Woo after the members slowly returned to normal and after Suh Hyun-Woo finally stopped crying.