The Second Chance of A Suicidal Idol

Joon-woo & Reggie (4)

"Talk to him." Ryeo Hyun said.

"I can't!" Reggie insisted, sounding a bit panicked.

"We live in the same dorm, of course you can..." Ryeo Hyun folded his arms.

"I can't! I– I don't know how he'll react..." Reggie admitted.

Ryeo Hyun shook his head disapprovingly. "Joon-woo is reasonable and mature, what are you so scared of?"

Reggie paused, "It's– I mean, you've seen how irritable he gets about this... gay nonsense..."

Ryeo Hyun rolled his eyes, "So it gets to you too, this messy romance stuff." He scoffed. "You clearly need to talk it out."

Reggie pursed his lips, "But Hyung–"

Ryeo Hyun put a finger to Reggie's lips, "It's my job to take care of my youngest dongsaengs, so when they are at odds, my advice is needed."

Reggie tapped anxiously at his thigh. "If this goes wrong, hyung..."

Ryeo Hyun shook his head, "It won't."

Reggie stared suspiciously at his Hyung.

"It better not."

–+–

Joon-woo felt uptight all around. He had caved a bit, due to stress, and had a snack too many more than he'd like. It showed in the mirror when Joon-woo looked, a small bloat of gluten ruining his flat stomach.

He didn't even care that much, sure he had caved to the sugary desires, but it only stemmed from his Hyung's insistence to. Sure, his body felt better, but his insecurities didn't. He had been more stressed about image more than anything.

Every word a rookie spoke was dangerous, especially when one of said rookies is your supposed 'boyfriend'. Cameras only followed Joon-woo and Reggie, wherever ASCEND went. It was like no one even cared about the music or other members anymore, and it was suffocating.

He leaned into the car seat beneath him. ASCEND was on their way back from the airport after their music show appearance in Japan. They didn't win, not to Joon-woo's surprise, but they recorded tick-tocks with other idols and even got along with some of them. Perhaps it was good for interactions, the visit.

He had been catching weird stares all day, it felt. Not just from Carre or Kite, because they were always watching with lingering eyes. Kite and Carre, Joon-woo had grown used to, but this time it was Reggie being odd and staring at Joon-woo.

It wasn't concern or the fake 'lust' stares they made when in the media's eye, but anxiety.

Even as Joon-woo peered out the window of their van, he could feel Reggie's gaze piercing the back of his neck and even saw Reggie staring in the reflection of the window.

"Maybe Reggie's embracing the BGP fully now." Carre joked with a sinister grin. Kite was oddly quiet, when he was usually more vocal when opposing Carre's unnecessary comments. Stuff like 'do you ever shut your mouth?' or 'not the time, furball'.

She had been making ongoing comments about Joon-woo and Reggie, too many.

Joon-woo shifted in his seat, uncomfortable. He was really just trying to get through this promotion period. His body was exhausted from overwork and now, finally out of media-eye, he just wanted to lie down and rest.

When the van pulled up to their dorm, Joon-woo fell into auto-pilot.

Thanks to his long hair that now ran about four inches past his shoulder, he was given the leisure of showering first in their two-bathroom dorm. He practically ran to the hot water, after all a warm bed awaited him.