It was the first time for me to see Kim Raebin's complexion change like that.

Some of the members who were separately doing their own business noticed it right away.

"Raebin-ah, what's wrong? Hyung, what's going on?"

When Ryu Chungwoo approached and asked quietly, the manager took Ryu Chungwoo and left somewhere with him.

"..."

When it came to complicated personal circumstances, most would be reluctant to meddle. Since Ryu Chungwoo was the leader, it was okay but I didn't know what Kim Raebin would think about other members interfering.

'Let's take a closer look at the situation first.'

Sure enough, the manager came back with Ryu Chungwoo after a while.

Kim Raebin had already disappeared.

"...How about Kim Raebin?"

"Wait a bit. Let's talk when we're done shooting."

The manager seemed to mind about the staff around us. The members understood the situation and kept their mouths shut. And after a while when we had briefly paid our greetings with the production crew, we got in the car and listened to the whole story.

"You mean his grandmother collapsed?"

"That's right. So he went straight to the hospital."

"..."

Because we already knew that Kim Raebin lived with his grandparents, all of the members' complexions changed.

I clicked my tongue... I felt bad.

'...Still, they let him go.'

At the end of the day, they contacted him after the day's schedule was over and he got sent right away without complaints.

...Wait a minute.

How can the bad news... happen at such good timing?

"Hyung, when did you get the call about that?"

"What?"

"When were you contacted when Kim Raebin's grandmother collapsed?"

"..."

The manager had a slightly somber face.

"...The call had come at around the end of the rafting. I had the phones turned off to get things organized so I only checked it after filming was over."

"...!"

The atmosphere froze.

"Then... even if Raebin has already gone."

"I-it might be too late..."

"It won't be like that! I kept getting calls after."

The manager hastily added an explanation.

"...Yes."

At least the atmosphere in the car had eased.

I looked at the manager.

'Could he have checked it in advance but just didn't say anything?'

It could have been like that.

'He could have been deceiving by holding out to get the rest of the cuts filmed, and then sent him away since we were almost done with the shooting.'

After all, whether Kim Raebin went or not, if he rationalized it by thinking that his grandmother wouldn't suddenly get better anyway...

...No. That's too much. Whether it was the manager or the agency, they weren't that ethically reckless. Besides, if that was the case then he wouldn't have told us so honestly.

I held back my sighs and leaned back.

"What to do, grandma..."

I heard sniffling next to me.

Cha Yujin was crumpled in the corner with a depressed face.

'He must have met them in person.'

Ryu Chungwoo struggled to open his mouth.

"It will be fine. Let's... call Raebin later."

"Yes..."

The atmosphere in the car was heavy. Even Keun Sejin didn't know what to say and shook his head when our eyes met.

"Hmm..."

Lee Sejin turned his head out of the window as the atmosphere was suffocating him.

In such a gloomy atmosphere, we rode the car and headed for the dorm.

The insanely lively schedule for the past two days and one night ended like a lie.

//TN: The way my heart dropped while translating when I read that his grandma collapsed, especially when my grandpa passed away just recently... Poor baby Raebin ㅠㅠ

* * *

It was past midnight at dawn when Kim Raebin returned to the dorms.

"...!"

"You're back."

Some of the members were still awake sitting in the living room.

Seon Ahyun and Lee Sejin, who had a pictorial schedule in the morning, were made to enter their rooms by the manager's force.

'It was wise because you never know when Kim Raebin will come back.'

And it was the right judgement since it was half past three in the morning now.

"Did you take a taxi?"

"...Yes."

Kim Raebin had been crying and his face was swollen but he didn't look especially upset.

'It must not have been a big deal.'

I opened my mouth.

"Is your grandmother okay?"

"Yes... They got to the hospital fast so there were little after-effects."

Turns out, his grandmother collapsed from a cerebral hemorrhage. Fortunately, Kim Raebin's older sister found her quickly and the treatment was completed within the golden hour.

"Thank god..."

"I'm really glad, Raebin-ah."

"You must have gone through a lot. It was hard, right? Good job."

"...Thank you."

Kim Raebin seemed to have started crying again as he came to the living room while rubbing his eyes. A warm welcome and consolation followed.

"Have you had dinner?"

"...No."

"Sigh."

"Either way, you must have had a hard time, so it would be better to eat something before you sleep."

That was true.

'...It can't be helped.'

I sighed and volunteered. With this lineup, I was the only one who could finish the fastest.

"...Sit down. I'll warm something up for you."

"It's, it's okay!"

"It's the middle of the night. Lower your voice."

"Yes..."

The members got up with more relaxed faces and stretched out after confirming that the situation was okay.

"Then, Raebin, get some rest. Thanks for the trouble, Moondae~"

"Yes..."

"Go in after you finish eating."

"You did well."

Lastly, Cha Yujin patted Kim Raebin on the shoulder and went in.

There was another group schedule for tomorrow afternoon.

Once it was confirmed that there was not a major problem, it would have been more burdensome to sit as a group in front of an eating kid and watch.

'I should also finish quickly and go in.'

I moderately heated up the instant rice and the stew. It was a wise decision for us to order another one for dinner just in case.

"Here."

"Thank you..."

After making sure that Kim Raebin was eating, I realized while turning around to go into my room.

'...Wouldn't it be strange to eat by yourself at dawn in this situation?'

This was the perfect moment of becoming sad. So it would be right if one or two stayed with him.

And I was the one who had volunteered.

'...Still, this is right.'

I sat across from him.

But he couldn't finish half of it and put down the spoon.

"...Does it not taste good?"

"That's not it..."

Kim Raebin lowered his head and muttered.

"My grandma, I made sure she was okay... but still... I feel weird."

"...Why?"

"Next, next time when this situation occurs again if I go see her late and... back then, if... if she really..."

"...Mm."

"Even if I didn't go see her late, is it right for me... to just stop during a performance or filming? Then... it would seem that I lack professional skills."

"..."

"I can't... I can't stop thinking about that."

...It was an understandable worry.

And it was also a worry that anyone would have if their lives were changed by their work. What should you do when you were busy working on something very important and one day got a fatal phone call?

The problem was that Kim Raebin was not even an adult yet.

I wondered if a work environment, that made you have these kinds of worries, was normal when you were at an age that didn't even allow you to legally drink yet... I couldn't tell, honestly.

'I have nothing to say whether it's professional or not since I also make the money.'

That kind of phone call... The people who haven't experienced it wouldn't understand.

"..."

It was hard. I didn't expect to talk about this at this late hour.

I opened my mouth after thinking.

"When I got contacted... I was at the after-school academy."

"...!"

"I was in class, so I had put my phone on silent... I didn't see it until quite a while later. The exams were just around the corner."

"..."

There were 24 missed calls.

Even now I still thought about it. What would it have been like if I didn't go to the academy?

I wondered what would have changed if I had not gone and followed them to the family gathering... It was such a meaningless thought.

"At that time, I was a lot less busy than you now, and I was just a student. So this... honestly, I think the timing issue is just up to luck."

"...Ah."

"Besides, you're not going to live on a schedule like this for the rest of your life. The schedule is something that can be adjusted as much as you want when you have more experience."

I wiped the back of my neck and continued speaking.

"If you're still worried, tell the manager to check it out as soon as your family contacts you. And there would be no problems even if you left in the middle of work."

"...!"

"Everyone lives like that. The person who would swear at that is a psychopath who is happy about others' misfortunes."

"..."

Kim Raebin, who did not answer for a while, eventually nodded his head.

"...Okay."

"Are you feeling better?"

"...Yes!"

Kim Raebin answered with a little more force and lifted the spoon again. I was glad he seemed to gain some energy.

'Looking at his speed, I can go in in about five minutes.'

I checked my watch with some relief. ...Well, I think the sun will rise when we go in.

'The day and night are changing again...'

I could hear a crack in my biorhythm. When I get on vacation, I have to start with the pattern of going to bed at 9 pm and waking up at 9 am the next day.

"Umm, hyung."

"What?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"...Do it."

Kim Raebin carefully opened his mouth, cleaning up the table where he had finished eating.

"I think you said you have amnesia. No matter how much I think about it, I don't know how you remember the incident of that time."

"...I suddenly remembered it while sleeping."

"Ah, I see."

This guy is really consistent.

* * *

TeStar's reality show travel episode drew cheers from the fans as soon as the news article came out.

And this response doubled when the episode preview came out.

The fans had been eagerly waiting for the first travel episode of the reality show, which was only a few days away.

And at the same time, they were wondering if there were any other entertainment treats while scraping at any rumours.

And they saw an anonymous post without any authentication.

It was said that VTIC's Chungryeo was filming a variety show with Park Moondae.

Naturally, ridiculing reactions were rushing under this vain claim.

Of course, the fans didn't believe it either.

However, a few days later.

An official article was published.

It was real.

After a while, a preview video of appeared.

//TN: Moondae is literally becoming the group's personal therapist at this point ㅠㅠ Not surprising if you think about it since he's actually quite a bit older than them and had gone through a lot.