IWDAR Chapter 10

Having cornered Wooyoung with nowhere left to escape, the men, who had been cautiously observing him, flinched and raised their heads at the sound of heavy footsteps.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

The men were flustered by the appearance of Mo Tae-uk, the host of today’s event and CEO of ON Entertainment.

“C-CEO.”

“Greetings, CEO Mo, we’re with ON Entertainment…”

Tae-uk walked past them indifferently, as if the men speaking to him didn’t even exist. 

His cold gaze fell on the small boy huddled like a dying animal. Tae-uk, staring at Wooyoung, who looked like he was about to lose his breath, with calm eyes, and then slowly approached. 

Stopping right in front of Wooyoung, Tae-uk reached out his large hand and covered the boy’s tear-filled eyes. He just felt like he had to. 

As if he had to comfort the boy, who had been trapped in the deepest despair. Just then, Wooyoung’s ragged breathing gradually returned to its normal rhythm. 

Seeing him relax so quickly, as if Tae-uk’s touch was his only lifeline, a strange emotion bloomed on Tae-uk’s face.

 ｡ﾟ•┈꒰ა ♡ ໒꒱┈•  ｡ﾟ

Wooyoung was used to being overwhelmed by negative emotions. Pain, fear, shame, melancholy… all kinds of messy feelings. 

He was familiar with countless negative emotions, but there was one he wasn’t close to: anger. 

Whether it was a result of his upbringing after adoption or simply an innate trait, Wooyoung couldn’t tell. He simply believed he didn’t have the right to be angry. 

In that world, the existence known as Han Wooyoung was allowed nothing. 

He couldn’t cry freely, nor could he laugh heartily. 

Wasn’t it said that smiling brightly and expressing various emotions was the lifelong profession of those who appeared on TV and other media? It was something Wooyoung couldn’t even imagine. So how could he not long for it?

Exactly two years had passed since Wooyoung left the orphanage. 

That’s how long it took for his muscles to feel distorted even at the slightest twitch of his lips, forcing him to keep a stiff expression. 

It was also the time it took for Wooyoung to become accustomed to being treated as less than human. 

After that, until he became an adult, Wooyoung tried to endure all the murky emotions. If he did that, it seemed like he was truly getting better, not realizing he was rotting from the inside out.

Before he died, that is, before he woke up here. 

Even while desperately hiding and running in the tightly locked suite, Wooyoung didn’t feel anger. 

He was just sad. 

Very, very sad. 

To the point to the point that he wanted to melt away and disappear. 

To the point that he wished everything would just end…

‘Did you sing that song just now?‘

…No.

No.

Was it truly only painful?

‘I…’

Me.

My song—

Suddenly, something powerful pulled Wooyoung’s sinking consciousness. 

He felt like he had seen a small but clear light beyond his weak mind, which was fading in and out of  consciousness. Wooyoung thought for a moment.

‘I feel like I’ve forgotten something very important.’

｡ﾟ•┈꒰ა ♡ ໒꒱┈•  ｡ﾟ

“Gasp… Huff…”

Wooyoung woke up gasping for air. 

His whole body was covered in cold sweat, as if he had been tormented by dark and gloomy emotions in a dream. He didn’t remember what he had dreamt. 

He just felt dazed. 

Wooyoung sat up and blinked until his blurry vision returned. 

With each blink, the dimly lit, spacious room came into view. A dimly lit mood lamp softly illuminated a corner of the stylishly decorated bedroom. 

The light of the night view pouring in through the wide window, the white bedding, the familiar atmosphere. 

Wooyoung’s face hardened. 

He finally remembered what had almost happened to him in the hotel room after being left alone. 

The familiar gazes sweeping over him. Wooyoung instinctively checked his body. 

Only his jacket was missing; his clothes were mostly intact.

Only the collar that was choking his throath was unbuttoned a couple of buttons down. 

‘Was I dragged here again?‘ 

Suddenly, Wooyoung felt disgusted by it all of this. 

—Did you think your life would change just because you went through something strange? 

The unpleasant voice gnawed at Wooyoung’s mind. 

It felt like someone was mocking him endlessly. Wooyoung gritted his teeth and clutched the soft sheets, holding his breath. 

‘What was I even expecting?‘ 

Click— 

At that very moment, the tightly closed door opened. 

A bright light, like a spring breeze, poured into the dark bedroom. The light gradually reached Wooyoung, huddled in the corner. 

Wooyoung slowly turned his head, his eyes widening. A dark figure stood there, silhouetted against the bright interior light.

“Are you feeling alright?”

“……”

“—is what I was going to ask. But you don’t look like it.”

The dry, low voice punctuated the suffocatingly still air. 

Wooyoung stared at the man approaching him with large striding towards him without hesitation. 

One step, two steps. 

The man’s steps were as large as his frame. 

The dark gaze closed in quickly. 

A familiar, yet strangely unfamiliar man, resembling a dark tiger. 

It was Mo Tae-uk. 

The very reason Wooyoung had to come here was standing right before him. 

Mo Tae-uk stared for a moment at Wooyoung, half-buried in the large bed. 

The man was still impeccably dressed in a suit, and he took out a dark navy blue handkerchief from his pocket.

“Wipe your face.”

Mo Tae-uk’s gaze moved from Wooyoung’s eyes to his cheeks. Wooyoung raised a limp hand and touched his cheek. His fingertips were wet with tears.

“Ah…”

Only then did Wooyoung realize he had been crying the whole time. Fresh tears welled up and streamed down his round cheeks. 

Tae-uk was still holding out the handkerchief. 

The large, firm hand extended towards him wasn’t threatening at all. 

Hesitantly, Wooyoung accepted the handkerchief Tae-uk. The soft fabric had a scent that suited the man. 

The cool, refreshing scent, like the night sky, resembled the freedom Wooyoung had desperately sought. 

Wooyoung shamelessly buried his face in the handkerchief and sobbed uncontrollably. 

Perhaps he had been clinging to the hope that it was all a dream. 

That he had died that day, falling onto the terrace. 

That everything was over. …

…The prize of realizing it was reality was that much heavier.

“Wow, I think this is the first time I’ve cried like this.”

But at that moment, Wooyoung was shocked by the fact that he had just cried in front of a stranger. 

He fiddled with the man’s handkerchief, soaked with his tears. 

The place where Wooyoung had woken up was indeed the main bedroom of the hotel suite. 

But it was different from the suite where he had almost been assaulted in his previous life—Wooyoung, now aware of reality, had concluded he had been reincarnated. 

It didn’t feel unpleasant or frightening. 

Despite its overwhelmingly large size, it felt warm and somehow comforting. 

The reason for that seemed to be…

“Drink this.”

Tae-uk reappeared and handed Wooyoung a teacup. 

The tea in the cup wasn’t hot at all, but just the right temperature.

‘Crying is harder work than I thought.’

He felt drained, all the strength gone from his body. 

Wooyoung just quietly stroked the teacup, looking dejected like a tired little animal. 

Tae-uk, silently watching him, sat down opposite him. 

A young boy with broken limbs, dragged here by a greedy man to be used as a bargaining chip. 

Because of the nature of the industry, Tae-uk had seen countless people in Wooyoung’s situation. Trainees from agencies big and small, regardless of gender. 

Or aspiring trainees who hadn’t even made it that far. It had gotten worse after the bizarre rumors about his personal life began to spread, so incidents like this were tediously common for Tae-uk. 

The only difference was perhaps that no one had ever made him feel as disgusted as this boy did today.

“Do you need help?”

“…Pardon?”

Was that why he was acting like a good samaritan, unlike himself? Tae-uk expertly swallowed the rising sarcasm.

“Tell me if you need help”