Reveal | haobin

Twenty-Four

"Do you want to tell me what's wrong?" Zhang Hao asks Hanbin as they sit down on a nearby bench, away from the crowd.

They had been having a lot of fun. They went on some cool rides, ordered some more food from the food stand, and even bought ice cream, but out of nowhere, Zhang Hao noticed Hanbin wasn't having fun anymore. He looked sad.

"Is it about Matthew?"

"How did you know?" Hanbin asks, surprised.

"Jiwoong told me you had an argument with him." Zhang Hao tells him. "How did he find me anyway?"

"Oh... the day of the meeting, he was the one who drove me to the restaurant."

"Oh, that makes sense." He nods. "But whatever's going on between you and Matthew, I'm sure it'll be okay."

"I was an idiot." Hanbin feels his eyes watering. "Our friendship was so precious to me and I didn't want to ruin it. Now he doesn't even answer my calls. I think he blocked me."

"I'm not sure what exactly happened, but I saw Matthew a few days ago. It was probably the day you two had the argument since he seemed so upset." Zhang Hao starts. "I won't tell you what we talked about since he trusted me enough to tell me. All I'm going to say is that he really needs someone right now. He's going through a lot."

"I don't know what to do, though. Like I said, I've tried calling him, but I also went to his apartment and he just doesn't want to see me. I don't know how to apologize to him."

"You know... when I first met Matthew, I thought he was a really rude person and someone I'd never want to be friends with. But then... the last time I saw him, I really wanted to help him and be there for him. I think he'll come around and find you when he's ready to talk. Maybe he just needs some time. It seems like what happened between you two was serious."

"I do want to give him time, but if he's really going through something right now, I want to be there for him, just like we were always there for each other when we were just friends." Hanbin stands up. "We should get going. I feel guilty for coming here to have fun while he's heartbroken. If he knew about this, he'd think I don't care about him."

Zhang Hao doesn't know what to say since he doesn't know the full story, so he just follows Hanbin out of the amusement park.

-

"My contract is coming to an end soon." Matthew starts once he's more calm. He and Jiwoong had gone to a cafe to talk. "My company's not letting me renew it. They don't want me anymore. I thought I could convince them to give me another chance, but today it was confirmed that they're letting me go." He sighs. "And I don't think any other company would want me after the scandal. Hanbin took the blame and it was hidden as a prank, but still. Not everyone believes it. I'm not good at anything else so I don't know what to do now. I gave up so many years of my life to be an idol under that company, but now they don't care about me."

"I know there's probably no words that can comfort you right now, but maybe this is a sign, Matthew." Jiwoong tells him.

"A sign?"

"I don't think your reputation's completely ruined. Yes, your personality kind of needs work..." Jiwoong starts, making Matthew frown. "But you're really talented and I'm sure any other company would be happy to accept you in. I'm sure you'll become even more famous in the future and this company that's dropping you right now, will regret it later... because they won't be able to find someone as talented as you."

"You're just trying to make me feel better." Matthew can't help but smile. "I don't get why though. I've been really mean to you."

"It's okay. It's not like you hurt my feelings or anything." Jiwoong lies.

"Actually, the other day that I went to Hanbin's apartment..." Matthew starts. "Actually, never mind. It seems like whenever I apologize to you, I always have an excuse. I don't want to do that anymore. I want to apologize without any excuses." He sighs. "I'm really sorry for how I spoke to you the other day. I didn't mean anything I said."

"Did Hanbin ask you to apologize to me again?" Jiwoong jokes, forgetting they're not on talking terms. He mentally face palms himself.

"You know we haven't talked since that day. I'm apologizing because I think it's right." Matthew tells him. "And I know sometimes saying 'I'm sorry' isn't enough, so I promise to also make it up to you. If it's not too much to ask for... could we start over?"

"I'd like that." Jiwoong nods and smiles.

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I hope you liked this chapter! I've come to the conclusion that this story will probably have 40 chapters maximum or less than that. I don't want to drag it out too much, but thank you for reading!💙