Because Someone Has to Watch His Back

Taeha pulled his body away.
In the meantime, as the path darkened, Hanbyeol moved slightly to properly see Taeha’s eyes, which were obscured by the streetlight.

“Hanbyeol, you’re the type who shows a competitive spirit, thinking you must somehow achieve something you’re not good at.”

His expression was nonchalant, but once he set a goal, he pushed forward like a bulldozer.
As Hanbyeol muttered ‘That’s right,’ Taeha spoke again.

“Also, you trust other people well.”
“Huh…?”
“Trusting someone well is a tremendous strength.”
“Why is that?”
“Because there’s no greater gift to the other person. I think your brother probably knows too.”
“Yuseong hyung does?”
“Yeah. When he first went on Pick My Dol, didn’t he only tell you?”

That’s true.
At the start of the program, Yuseong didn’t tell his parents or his friends.

He only told his younger brother, Hanbyeol, that he would become an idol, and only informed his family that he was on the program around the time it aired.

“Even though you were flustered, you supported and believed in him.”
“No, well… it’s because he’s family.”
“I also believed in you, Hanbyeol. So I know. What it feels like.”

Under the dim streetlight, Taeha’s eyes were shining.
Embarrassed by all the praise, Hanbyeol slightly turned his head away.

And the figure that seemed to be watching Hanbyeol and Taeha from afar had already disappeared.

****

The controversy about Yechan vanished as if it never existed, and the power abuse controversy about Sehyun also quickly subsided.
As if they had prepared a way to respond from the beginning.

Realizing this, Hanbyeol understood that the recording file he sent didn’t exert much power in this situation.

If there had been no evidence at all, it might have been different.
Surprisingly, other staff who were watching the situation backstage at the time came forward and gave testimony, turning public opinion around.

That’s because it spread that before Cha.N went on stage, a team from the local event that performed on the same day had an injury.
Thus, the arrows of criticism turned toward the staff who posted the power abuse allegation.

“Wow…”

Hanbyeol blinked as he checked the posted articles and explanations.
It was cleaner than saying ‘It’s a misunderstanding. We have a recording.’

‘Hanbyeol-ah. Why did you record this? Can I ask?’
‘There’s no particular reason.’

The reason was really nothing special.
It was because he noticed people sending strange looks toward Cha.N.

At first, he thought about letting it go, but the manager was busy preparing for fans crowding in after the situation or after coming down, and the members were busy preparing for the stage.
Only Hanbyeol, who came along as an extra, had time to spare.

The person Hanbyeol kept an eye on wasn’t the staff who clashed with Sehyun.
He had a suspicion that they might be pretending to be staff, so he recorded just in case.

In an outdoor event, safety was obviously important.
He came as quietly as possible even to the waiting area, but hadn’t some fans already noticed and were peeking?

‘So, the reason for recording was…’
‘If proper management of people coming and going isn’t done, they could make all sorts of demands with that. Compensation or…’
‘……Ah.’
‘I recorded it thinking I’d send it to my brother right away if something happened, but it was Sehyun hyung’s incident that got recorded.’

In short, he got lucky.

The other party raised their voice as if they might hit someone any moment, but in contrast, Sehyun responded with a calm voice from start to finish.

Hanbyeol didn’t stop recording until that situation was resolved.
The end of the uncut recording even captured the host’s announcement saying ‘Let’s welcome the Cha.N you’ve all been waiting for to the stage,’ so it was solid evidence.

‘Smartphones these days record really well.’
‘Ah. That, yeah…’

What kind of siblings are you…?
Danyeong, who had been muttering quietly, gave a resigned laugh and ended the call saying they’d talk later.

Actually, at first, he thought about sending the recording file to his brother, but since he couldn’t reach him and felt annoyed, he sent it to Danyeong.

No matter how resourceful his brother was, such matters were better left to the team’s leader.
There’s a leader two years older than his brother, so why send it to his unwell brother?

After the CSAT ended, as Hanbyeol worked hard to piece together his shattered mental state, he now worried about how to handle the accumulating contacts.

He left room with the company, saying they should show him they could handle things so he could feel at ease, but Hanbyeol still strongly felt he didn’t want to become a celebrity.

In a situation where controversies had settled like now, he needed to be even more careful.

There was no guarantee that the behind-the-scenes maneuvers by the company would stop because of him alone.
But they would likely decrease.
It was only natural since they couldn’t target at least one of the Cha.N members anymore.

For now, Hanbyeol was relieved that at least his brother wouldn’t suffer immediate image damage.

The problem was Yuseong’s physical condition.
Although he was taking medication consistently, there was no significant improvement, and it was a situation that required continued monitoring.

It was a situation of regulating pheromone-related functions with medication.
Whether fortunate or unfortunate, Yuseong’s heat cycle was currently paused.

But the scheduled comeback preparations had to continue, and preparations for year-end performances were also needed.

“If your health gets worse, just quit, seriously.”
‘–Hey, hey…’

Hanbyeol, who was scolding him with a bit of resentment, let out a sigh at the aggrieved voice from the other end of the phone.
Since the pheromone issue was due to poor condition, Yuseong needed proper care right now.

It wasn’t that there was no financial leeway.
If his brother didn’t try to start some absurd business with the money he had earned so far, he could live the rest of his life unemployed.

Since their parents’ income was also good, Hanbyeol could accept it even if Yuseong quit work immediately to rest.

But he couldn’t tell someone doing what they wanted to do to rest immediately because their health was poor.
People with clear goals often don’t hear such words.

Hanbyeol, being quite ambitious himself, could understand.
He received CSAT tutoring from his brother while visiting the dorm and effectively used his brother’s colleagues as composition and arrangement teachers.

So since things had started anyway, Yuseong’s health condition must not be discovered by anyone.

“Don’t forget you’re going to the hospital tomorrow.”
‘–Yeah, I know. Hanbyeol-ah, get some rest~ See you tomorrow.’
“You get some rest, hyung. You.”

Yuseong was planning to come under the pretext of taking Hanbyeol to the hospital.
After the CSAT ended, the school said they wouldn’t have shortened classes for student safety, but Hanbyeol was an exception.

“My brother’s timing is really something.”

Ji Taeha
So you’re leaving early tomorrow?

That’s right.
Actually, it’s not just tomorrow.
Hanbyeol nodded as he read Taeha’s message.

With Hanbyeol being a dominant Omega, and the fact that students with dynamics at school could be counted on one hand, it seemed like his brother had really grilled them over the phone.

Since he even missed school right before the CSAT due to his cycle being off, from the teacher’s perspective, who wanted to graduate students safely, the field trip requested by his family member Yuseong must have been secretly welcome.

A lot of kids leave early after the CSAT to prepare for practical exams anyway.

Ji Taeha
Don’t you have to prepare for practical exams too, Hanbyeol?

If it weren’t for my brother…

Ji Taeha
^^;;;

They said they’d excuse me from academy time, so it’s fine.

Seeing Taeha, who didn’t even mention Yuseong’s health condition in his messages, Hanbyeol felt comfortably at ease.

Hanbyeol decided to only tag along to a few of Cha.N’s schedules.
The company actually proposed it, saying that following his brother’s schedule a bit might make him want to become an idol.

Given his brother’s condition, from Hanbyeol’s perspective, it was a situation where he should say ‘Thank you so much!’ but he wondered what confidence they had to insert him into Cha.N’s schedule.

And Yuseong, who he thought would naturally oppose if he found out about this situation, surprisingly readily agreed for some reason.

Ji Taeha
Hanbyeol-ah, will you be okay?

Knowing well why Taeha was worried, to Hanbyeol, Taeha shone even brighter than his brother who created this situation.

Ji Taeha
What are you going to do about motion sickness?

What can I do?
……Just die, I guess.

****

“It’s okay, we’re not going far.”
“I’m glad to hear that.”

Hanbyeol, who had packed the medication, neatly folded it and handed it to Yuseong.

The name called at the hospital was ‘Choi Hanbyeol.’
Of course, only the guardian Hanbyeol’s name was called for the appointment, and the medical records remained with Yuseong, but they were preparing for any unforeseen circumstances.

After finishing the prescription pickup and getting into the van, Hanbyeol tried to keep his gaze as far away as possible, hoping the effect of the medication he had taken earlier was certain.

“……I’m sorry, brother.”
“If you’re sorry, send me something tasty. I won’t accept anything less than meat.”

At Hanbyeol’s firm voice, Yuseong laughed with a ‘puhuhu’ and nodded.

“But, Hanbyeol-ah, why do you get motion sickness so badly?”

When Danyeong, sitting next to Hanbyeol, asked, Yuseong and Hanbyeol fell silent.

It wasn’t a long distance, but with traffic signals constantly stopping them, the time kept increasing.
Frequent red lights were a blessing for Hanbyeol, but not for the manager, it seemed, as they could hear him muttering small curses.

“I don’t know.”
“Huh?”
“It just suddenly happens like that.”

No matter how much he thought about it, there was no reason.
The cold sweat starting even before getting in the car clearly showed just how much he disliked riding in vehicles.

Actually, the statement that he could ride for about 30 minutes and got severe motion sickness after 30 minutes was half true and half false.

Hanbyeol’s condition deteriorated before he even got in the car when he had to ride, and he felt dizzy.
As he endured and endured, nausea would start to rise.
So, in fact, motion sickness came even before getting in the car.

Knowing that, Yuseong remained silent.
Enduring even the company’s absurd act of inserting Hanbyeol into his schedule.