Chapter 286: It'll Be Okay (1)
It all happened in an instant.
Before anyone had a chance to stop it, the situation unfolded without warning.
“Ahhhhhhh!”
The one who screamed wasn't me—it was the woman.
The bodyguards rushed over and grabbed her, but they were a step too late.
Thud.
The awl with the red handle dropped limply onto the floor.
I blankly stared at the surreal scene before staggering back a step a moment later.
Seo Haim's urgent voice rang in my ears.
“Seohan! Seohan! Are you okay?”
“Call the police... Hurry!”
The person who had actually been stabbed was standing there perfectly fine, yet everything around me descended into chaos.
The panicked woman clamped a hand over her mouth as she screamed.
“What do I do... What do I do...! I-I didn't really mean to stab you!”
The hand reaching toward me was restrained by the bodyguards.
Her ridiculous nonsense pounded against my ears.
“I just... I just wanted to see your face because you kept not answering my messages....”
At those words, I frowned.
“I only meant to scare you.... I never thought I'd really stab you. I'm sorry... I'm sorry... Seohan!”
It was hard just standing there and listening to her horrifying cries.
Sharp words escaped my lips.
“Don't get the wrong idea.”
Who brings an awl just to see someone's face?
Get a grip.
This is attempted murder.
Biting down hard on my lower lip, I spoke coldly.
“Because of people like you... I have to worry about tomorrow. I have to live in fear.”
“......”
“I can't let my guard down for even a single moment.”
I took off the outer jacket that had been pierced by the awl and set it aside.
Kang Siwoo let out a relieved sigh when he saw the stab-proof vest underneath.
Ha Junseo squeezed his eyes shut as his right hand trembled violently.
She had aimed straight for my chest.
“You think 'I just wanted to see your face' is a valid excuse?”
“Seohan....”
If I hadn't been wearing the stab-proof vest I'd been putting on every day for the past few days because of an uneasy feeling, I would have gone to the other side just like that.
I didn't need apologies or those pathetic excuses.
Staring at the insane woman, I spoke.
“Every time something like this happens... it feels like the world is trying to push me toward death, and it feels absolutely awful....”
I let out a short sigh before adding,
“So don't ever appear in front of me again.”
Beside her, the bodyguards' faces had gone deathly pale.
They had all been left stunned after nearly witnessing a disaster.
I nodded toward the bodyguards.
“That's enough, right? Please take her away.”
This time, the woman didn't resist.
There was no point trying to reason with someone insane, but I couldn't keep everything bottled up inside any longer.
Maybe those words weren't really meant for her....
Maybe they were directed at the world that kept trying to erase my existence like I was nothing more than a thorn in its side.
I slowly picked up the awl.
“Seohan!”
The moment the bodyguards stepped away, my hyungs all rushed over.
Even Kang Siwoo, who had already seen the stab-proof vest with his own eyes, frantically checked my clothes with his hands.
Their urgent voices surrounded me.
“You're really okay?”
“Are you hurt anywhere? You weren't stabbed, were you?”
Something like that had just happened right in front of them.
Of course they would be shocked.
It seemed they couldn't calm down unless they confirmed for themselves that I wasn't bleeding.
“Thank goodness... Thank goodness.... Ha....”
As if his legs had suddenly given out, Kang Siwoo braced himself on his trembling knees.
Seo Haim slowly let out a relieved breath as well.
“It blocked it completely, right? You're not hurt, are you?”
“Were you really scared?”
“You're really okay?”
At the flood of questions from my hyungs, I took a rough breath and nodded.
“I'm okay....
Everything's okay....”
Other than my legs trembling slightly beneath me, I really was fine.
When I rubbed my face with both hands, they were ice-cold.
Slowly steadying my breathing, I gently closed my eyes.
“...Should we rest for a bit before we go?”
The insane woman was immediately taken to the police station.
There were countless witnesses, and the entire incident had been captured on CCTV, so she wouldn't be getting out anytime soon.
I'd asked them to delay breaking the news for a while, so things would probably stay quiet until the festival ended.
And then...
We arrived at Incheon International Airport in that state.
“...Seohan.”
The problem was my hyungs.
Even after the van stopped in the airport parking lot, worried voices continued pouring in.
“You're really planning to go through with the schedule?”
Jin Sehyun asked me with a serious expression.
He was usually the type to respect my decisions as much as possible, but this time he genuinely wanted to stop me.
At Jin Sehyun's words, Ha Junseo nodded and added,
“You don't have to push yourself. If we rearrange the formation in a hurry, six of us can manage just fine. If you're worried about us....”
“Exactly. Hey, you think we can't handle that? It's not like we've never performed with six members when one of us wasn't feeling well.”
“We can adjust the formations in no time. Don't worry about that.”
Cha Seongbin shook his head vigorously and patted my shoulder.
“Take a break. Listen to your hyung for once~.”
“That's not why.”
“I know it's a huge stage and you're feeling pressured.... But you really don't have to. You don't have to leave the country.”
I knew they were worried.
If I were in their position, I probably would have tried to stop me first too....
But there was still one issue I couldn't ignore.
I spoke in a dry voice.
“We still have the concert.”
“The con... cert is important, sure. But hey, the situation is what it is. What's more important—the concert or you?”
“Your health comes first. Once the news breaks, people are going to lose it.... They made you perform in this condition.”
It seemed my hyungs thought I was being stubborn because I felt responsible for the concert.
Considering the fans who had traveled all the way here, they weren't entirely wrong.
But there was also another anxious calculation running through my head.
What if the audience from a stage I didn't participate in wouldn't count toward my achievements?
I hate that I'm worrying about something like that even now....
“Ha....”
I clutched my throbbing head.
Swallowing dryly, I spoke calmly.
“I'm not hurt.”
“You were terrified. Really terrified. You just can't see your own face right now. You're completely pale....”
Of course I was scared.
I'd already experienced death before.
At this point...
“I'm okay.”
My trembling hands gradually calmed down.
The awl hadn't even touched me in the first place, so I wasn't physically injured.
As for the shock...
I just had to pull myself together.
But.
An overseas tour wasn't an opportunity that would simply come around again.
My lifeline depended on this.
I had to be stubborn this time....
I understood that they were worried.
But I didn't have the luxury of thinking about that right now.
I gave Kang Siwoo a faint smile and quietly muttered,
Maybe I just wanted to believe I'd be okay....
“Anyway, I'm fine.”
“Wow, this is my first time waiting at an airport.”
After years of being a fan.
From concerts to fan signing events, the unpopular fansite master Yoojin—who had followed every offline schedule just to take a single photo—looked around with fascination.
She ran her fansite purely as a hobby.
She didn't have that many followers to begin with, and she didn't have enough money to attend every offline schedule.
So waiting at an airport just to see an idol was a first for her as well.
Everything felt unfamiliar.
Still, that didn't mean all her experience at offline events counted for nothing.
Let's find a good photo spot.
“This looks like a good place.”
Yoojin squeezed through the crowd of reporters and managed to claim a spot with a decent view.
It was a position she'd barely secured after an intense battle of timing.
After that came endless waiting.
How many departing passengers had she watched pass by like that...?
Soon, the airport grew noisy.
“Ooooooh!”
“Aaaaaah!”
“Stardust! It's Stardust!”
A surge.
People frantically ran toward one direction.
She'd expected a crowd, but there were even more people than she'd imagined.
Not just fans, but curious tourists as well.
Even to Dusty Yoojin, who had attended countless offline events, it was an incredibly chaotic scene.
The voices of fans shouting their favorites' names blended together.
“Junseooooo!”
“Seongbin! Seongbin! Look over here!”
“Seo Haim is so freaking cute!”
Her camera lens quickly spun in search of one person.
Fansite master Yoojin's favorite was Do Seohan.
She had followed Seohan's schedules ever since the Stardust Project.
Even her most-viewed photo was a candid shot she'd taken during the concept evaluation.
Beyond the airport entrance, the silhouettes of seven tall figures gradually drew closer.
Even from a distance, celebrities looked like celebrities.
She found herself admiring their incredible proportions as always before snapping back to reality.
“Ah, I need to take pictures.”
Comfortable clothes with a hoodie pulled low over his head.
Leader Kang Siwoo entered through the gate first.
The bodyguards looked unusually tense today as they pushed the crowd back with their hands, clearing a path.
“Move back! Please move!”
“Step back! It's dangerous!”
Dusty Yoojin stood a step behind, stretching her neck for a better view.
The view was better than she'd expected.
Without stopping, she searched the crowd for Seohan.
Past Ha Junseo.
Past Cha Seongbin.
The very last person to walk through the entrance.
Even with his cap pulled down low, she recognized him instantly.
“Seohan!”
She hurriedly raised her camera.
She wanted to capture her favorite's handsome face in high resolution as quickly as possible.
“Aaaaaah!”
“Ahhhhhhh!”
The deafening cheers of fans erupted from every direction.
Many people shoved their way forward before anything else.
Caught in that wave, she threw herself into the crowd as well.
“Here! Just look this way once...!”
“Do Seohan! Do Seohan!”
But then.
The moment she finally saw Do Seohan's face clearly,
the smile on her lips froze.
“......”
Fansite master Yoojin slowly lowered her camera and frowned.
“Our baby... is he hurt somewhere?”
It was pure instinct.