Stigma ✔

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Jin

"Hyung, did you ask?"

"Yes."

"What did he say?"

"He said no."

"Oh come on!"

Silence

"Hyung"

"I am not repeating myself."

This is exactly how my conversation with my different managers went till the time we reached our dorms and got a chance to contact our PDnim at the agency. I had called up her manager and he was kind enough to tell me briefly about what happened despite being in a hurry.

Apparently, it was not JooHyun who was admitted to the hospital but her brother. Bae JoonHee, who had secretly enlisted in the military had suffered a physical injury and was in the ICU for a day before he was shifted to a private ward, thankfully out of danger.

I was trying to call her when after one whole day, news from her manager came that her parents are not in the country and she was alone in the hospital with the manager. She had stubbornly refused to come back or stay at a hotel nearby.

I had expressed my want to go to the Gangwon-do military hospital but the request was immediately shut down by the managers. Since there might be a lot of fans around, security was at risk. All because Joohyun din't think of her safety before she and her manager drove all the way there, attracting all the attention she could.

It frustrated me to no end that she took such a reckless decision but a huge part of me understood her reasons. I remember that one conversation we had after my embarrassing encounter with her brother. She had told me how important her brother is to her and what role he played in her life.

Finally on the third day I got clearance from the agency to take a half day free and to go there. Hobeom Hyung had asked if I want him to accompany me but I refused. I wanted to go alone.

I asked hyung for the car keys and he readily gave it to me. Taehyung had also insisted to come with me but I had to turn him down too. I promised to take him out on a meal later.

All my forty-three messages to her had gone unseen and she wasn't even taking any calls. In the start, it had frustrated me to no end. I was worried sick and couldn't sleep that night at all. I was anxious throughout the night as I kept glancing at my phone, every moment the screen lit up I snatched it up to check if a message from her finally came.

I got in the car and typed the GPS and started the drive. I had six hours before I had to be back home and travelling takes up two of them. I had just four hours to meet her, give her a nice scolding and then drag her back home, if I have to.

------

Irene

I got up from the sofa and nervously paced the room. Jin was coming and I knew that he is not going to be happy with her. People who see him might think that he doesn't really care when someone ignores him, but it affects him way more than he shows.

I don't know if I should be relieved he is on his way or worried if our conversation will go well. In fact, I don't even know why I was worried. I was so busy and stressed with the happenings here that not only him but I had blocked communication with almost everyone. But I knew he would only be angry at me for he cares. 

Ugh. I don't know...

Fleetingly, I see myself in the mirror and decide that I should go and atleast clean myself up a bit before he is here. I walk towards my brother and see if he was alright before slowly closing the room door behind me. 

It was nearly after an hour of nervous waiting and quick replies to all my messages, I jumped when I heard the knock on the door. I stand up and rub my hands on my jeans, nervously. I walk towards the door and open it after letting out a staggering breath.

But the person on the other side of the door is not someone I was expecting. In fact, that would be a big understatement. 

How did he find me?

"S-sunbae?"

**----***----**

Hello everyone,
I sincerely apologize for disappearing for a fortnight. Honestly, I am currently not in a good mind-space. There is a lot going on and dealing with it is proving to be quite challenging, but like the quote 'After every dark night, comes a bright morning', I am waiting for my morning to arrive.

I know this a small chapter but I will be updating very soon.

Have a great day!