When the company first found out about my hospitalization, they were understandably shocked.
Hearing I had to take four weeks to recover after they've given me vacation was nothing less than having a bombshell dropped on you all of a sudden.
And they were even more shocked when I explained the full story of the incident.
"A s-stalker?"
"Yes. I got caught by some crazy person..."
The rough excuse was similar to what I had told the other members, but when I told them that 'I also beat him up pretty hard', the agency's complexion changed.
It was clear they wanted to ask me to be patient with it instead of blowing up this issue and stirring up public opinion. But as I directly asked for this myself, they were pleasantly surprised.
"Very well, Moondae-ssi. We will be adding as many security personnel as possible, so you don't have to worry. To think that something like this happened on your vacation..."
It was very clever of them to insinuate that they weren't responsible for it since I was on vacation.
I guess they felt a bit guilty as they knew I was on vacation and had not contacted me for days, even though they were clearly aware I stayed back at the dorms.
'They're obvious.'
Anyway, thanks to that, this made the article title an easy choice.
[TeSTAR's Park Moondae, hospitalized after falling during concert rehearsal]
It was efficient.
The notice was also decided to be posted on the company's official account. The contents were well organized, mentioning my sprains and bruises just adequately.
'That's good enough.'
I actually thought this would be the end of this topic.
When I searched it up, I found out that there were rumors circulating about my hospitalization, but the source of it was a bit of a mystery as everyone was hushing it up.
Although obvious, the people who were obsessed with idols' private lives were the first to come up with stories.
- Heol, M00nd43, he's hospitalized while on vacation. I guess he's not faking it?
- ㅠㅠㅠ I think Park Moondae is really hospitalized. He's not coming out from the dorm. It's making me worry.
- There's no trace of him but it seems he's still using KaTalk... What's going on?
There was nothing more out of line than to this extent.
Moreover, the hospital where I was hospitalized was originally used by the company, so the insiders were tight-lipped.
This meant that not many details about my condition have been told.
Occasionally, people almost got it right, but there were a lot of rumors and lies mixed in, so those were treated just as rumors.
- I heard from an acquaintance that he got caught up with some psycho sasaeng and got a fracture somewhere... Hmm.
- It's body fatigue. Honestly, there's no point talking about this. We all know he gets sick every time he takes a break.
- A wrist injury ㅋㅋ I think it's just an injury from dance practice. He's a practice maniac so it's understandable.
With all this talk, I thought the 'stage injury while rehearsing for a concert' excuse was pretty convincing and not particularly shocking.
Furthermore, the company quickly took matters into its hands and went on an embargo to prevent unnecessary articles from appearing before the official announcement.
Certainly, the company seemed to be running on the right track under this director.
'It's going to be fine.'
I gave them a passing grade in my thoughts and enjoyed the rest of my vacation.
'I'm glad I can rest even if it's just four days.'
My hospitalization was extended to the end of my vacation to coordinate with the company's statement and the official documents for the injuries, but I had no particular complaints about it.
In fact, except for the fact that my vacation was cut in half, this wasn't much different from what I initially wanted to do as I was in a single-person hospital room.
Although I was a little hesitant.
'...This place has to be expensive.'
From what I've heard, even a six-person room was quite expensive, so a single-person room must cost quite a lot.
In fact, my injuries were fine enough to only receive outpatient treatment which made this even more laughable.
'I'm going through all sorts of unusual events.'
Well, what's good is good, and since the company would be paying for it anyway, I had a good rest and a relaxing time.
I could read books and watch some videos. I spent my days eating three meals a day without thinking about anything else.
Occasionally, the visiting members would bring food from outside, giving me a delicious special treat.
"M-moondae-ya. I brought strawberries."
"Ah, Thank you."
"I-I'll wash it for you...!"
It was mainly Seon Ahyun, but sometimes it was someone else.
"Moondae-moondae~ Pizza!"
'I think this guy's using the excuse of visiting the hospital to buy food he wants to eat.'
Anyway, those four days of laying down and stuffing myself with food were pretty exhilarating.
And on the last day of vacation.
The articles and the announcement were released as planned.
[Park Moondae falls during the concert practice... '4 weeks for a full recovery']
[TeSTAR's Park Moondae, news of injury while on vacation]
However... as it turns out, things went a little differently than I expected.
The responses were much more intense.
- Ah, Moondae, what to do?
- I'm going crazy. T1, these bastards can't even manage their stage?
- I'm so frustrated and crying since the kid who went to rehearse got hospitalized even though he was on vacation
- What did they make him do for him to fall off the stage and take 4 weeks to recover... Ah, please, stop making him do dangerous things.
Park Moondae's fans were worried and seething with anger.
'Wait a minute.'
I broke out in a cold sweat.
I mean, it wasn't like I was unconscious, and I didn't even break my leg, so what was the big deal?
I expected there to be a bunch of people bashing me as I agreed to not participate in the group's official activity schedule for about ten days even after my vacation was over, but surprisingly, there were very few.
Even with those few, the fans were beating the crap out of them every time they emerged.
- Was on vacation and then not showing up for the schedule... ㅋㅋㅋ What a mess
└ ㅎㅎ Your bias must be on vacation every day. Since they don't have any schedule ㅠ
└ The virtuous life of a fangirl who can only show that their fave is practicing
└ Aigoo! The remarks of a fan of a failed idol with dead eyes (clapping emoji)
It was gruesome.
'First of all... I never expected the agency to be attacked this much.'
The members often showed themselves participating in the album or stage production in our own video content, so I thought the setting of the stage would be accepted like that.
Perhaps... they were so overly concerned that they wanted to find the cause by any means to take corrective action.
'...Do they care that much about Park Moondae getting hurt?'
It was a strange feeling.
"...Hmm."
I rolled up the sleeves of the patient's gown.
It still felt a little swollen, but the bruises were mostly gone, leaving only hints of yellow and blue.
'This should be good enough.'
I was scheduled to be discharged and get back to the dorm tomorrow, so I had to do something while I was still in the hospital.
Click.
I took a selfie and uploaded it on social media.
=========================
Hello, Loviewer.
I am Park Moondae.
I am sad and sorry for having to miss out on activities since I was negligent in taking care of my health.
It wasn't a serious injury, and I will be released from the hospital tomorrow. I will recover quickly so I can do my best to show myself back in action.
(Picture)
=========================
In cases like this, it was best to use polite words to keep things from getting out of hand.
"Looks good."
There were no unnecessarily fancy words. I included the necessary information and even a photo to show my current state.
That should put everyone's mind at peace.
I was satisfied as I immediately monitored the response to my post.
"...??"
And I became flustered.
- ㅠㅠㅠㅠ I'm so unfamiliar with Moondae's post that doesn't start with 'This is Moondae'. What to do? Moondae-ya, don't beat yourself up for being sick ㅠㅠㅠ
- There is no Moon Puppy... There is no Tibetan Moon Puppy either... A Moondae without emojis...
- There's nothing for you to apologize for. What did the trash company T1 say to the kid?
- Moondae-ya, I'd rather you get a good rest, recover well, and meet us with a bright face than push yourself to participate in schedules quickly. Don't be so hard on yourself, please.
Below that, my post was translated into all sorts of languages, including English and Japanese, with an endless stream of crying emojis.
It was like a wave of sobbing.
They were even able to identify the bruises by correcting the contrast of my wrist color in the photo.
"..."
What should I do with this?
I ended up posting a picture of myself taken with the members with the caption 'This is Moondae' after I was discharged from the hospital the next morning.
Only then did the atmosphere calm down a bit, but the flow of sobbing and extreme commitment still remained.
'I'll have to work hard... to prepare for the concert.'
I couldn't tell which way this atmosphere would go if I didn't show up looking intact. I kept this in mind with the feeling of breaking out in a cold sweat.
And as I entered the dorm after checking out from the hospital, another intense reaction awaited me.
Cha Yujin had just returned from his vacation.
"Moondae hyung! I'm hom-... Huhhh?!"
"You can't!"
"M-moondae's ribs are injured!"
Perhaps there was no time to brief him as he returned at dawn, but the guy raised both of his hands at the front door to try to pat me on the back, only to be physically restrained by the other members.
Cha Yujin's eyes widened.
"Ribs?? Like grilled ribs meat?"
"This place."
When I roughly pointed to my waist to show him, Cha Yujin shot me with a shocked look.
"Really?? Didn't you hit him?"
"...I got hit while hitting him."
"His wrists are also injured."
"Oh my god!"
Cha Yujin muttered with a shocked face.
"Were you defeated..."
"I told you I won. I hit him more."
[Did you punch him in the jaw??]
"Yeah. I blew his jaw and smashed his head."
"Oh."
Only then did Cha Yujin nod with a look of restored respect.
"You're so cool!"
"Sure."
The fatigue quickly set in.
'...This reminds me, I'm roommates with this guy.'
It has been so eventful that I had forgotten about it.
'I want to return to the single-person room.'
It was a spontaneous wish so of course, it didn't come true.
[So, my mom isn't a huge fan of seafood, but she did like the cutlassfish! Mmm, the flavor was sweet.]
"...Cutlassfish is delicious."
[I hope we can go eat together as a group!]
As soon as I lay on my bed for the first time in a while, I listened to the story of Cha Yujin and his mother's trip to Jeju Island until just before his schedule.
My attempts to sneak out into the living room were thwarted about three times by a barrage of questions.
At this point, my only hope was that I didn't have to accompany him to the schedule.
'Please.'
And as scheduled, the members, including Cha Yujin, left the dorm for a short evening schedule.
The final rehearsals for the concert began on full-scale tomorrow, making this one of the few official schedules I would be missing.
"We'll be back. Have a good rest."
"Call the manager hyung if you're in a pinch."
"I will see you when I get back home at around ten o'clock."
The crowd disappeared from the dorm like a falling tide. I crawled back into bed as soon as they left.
"Phew."
I took a bite of the half-dried persimmon that I received from Kim Raebin in return for enthusiastically singing on the video call.
It was sweet.
The world was serene.
"...Hmm."
But it wasn't as... pleasant as I thought it would be.
'Should I say it feels like I took a break from class for oversleeping on an important major?'
It felt like I was losing money without gaining anything, skipping one schedule in my life.
'Let's come up with ideas.'
I needed to act like I was working. I frowned and recalled some of the problems at hand.
The top priority was... of course, the concert.
'Should I change the stage composition of my solo song?'
Since I was the only one performing, it would be a predicament if I wasn't fully recovered from the injuries and the performance quality dropped, making it hard for the fans to enjoy.
And this would be the most effective way to make Park Moondae's excuse of being injured while practicing alone on vacation seem credible.
'The performance should be the kind where falls and wrist injuries are likely to occur if you messed up.'
But at the same time, it has to be a performance that allows you to maneuver flexibly even if the injury was less healed...
'Hmm.'
I came up with a few options, then halted at one.
"Is this the best choice?"
And a little past 10 pm.
I asked for one of the guys back from the schedule.
"Ahyun-ah."
"Yeah??"
"Can I ask you something about your major?"
"Uh, huh??"
If I couldn't handle it all myself, I was going to utilize a momentary influence.