LS Ch 77

At the mention of Yiwon’s sasaeng fan, Jewoo was at a loss for what to do. He had been the target, but Yiwon was the one who got hurt. Moreover, hearing that the fan had followed Yiwon from Korea, apart from his anger, he felt he shouldn’t interfere carelessly.

The woman’s words—that she loved Kang Yiwon so much, and therefore hated him being involved with Jewoo—left him with mixed feelings. He even started to wonder if he was somehow at fault.

“What are you thinking?”

Yiwon took Jewoo’s hand and tugged it gently. When Jewoo turned, he saw Yiwon looking up at him with an anxious expression.

“It’s nothing, really.”

“That’s not the face of ‘nothing’.”

Jewoo shook his head, but Yiwon didn’t believe him.

“Don’t think about anything else.”

Yiwon insisted.

“Anything else like…”

“Like breaking up, or something.”

The immediate answer caught Jewoo off guard, and he swallowed dryly. Yiwon frowned deeper, his eyes asking if Jewoo had actually considered that.

“I didn’t.”

He hadn’t thought about breaking up, but he did consider that his relationship with Yiwon might be hurting someone. For the first time, he truly realized that his existence could be seen as an obstacle, blocking Kang Yiwon’s path, especially for those passionate enough to follow him all the way to Thailand.

“Sasaeng fans aren’t normal. Many of my personal fans support us being together.”

Yiwon reiterated, but Jewoo still felt unsure. Until now, he had only focused on his and Yiwon’s feelings, worrying only about being honest with himself. Facing this kind of situation left him confused.

“Can you do the rehearsal?”

He deliberately changed the subject. He didn’t want to continue the conversation because his thoughts were still jumbled. The rehearsal had already been delayed due to the commotion, so he asked if they could postpone Yiwon’s turn and proceed with others first. The production team agreed.

“Wait a moment.”

Jewoo excused himself, saying he was going to prepare for the rehearsal, and discreetly signaled to Doyoon without Yiwon noticing. Doyoon, catching the signal, followed Jewoo into the hallway.

“Are you alright, Mr. Han?”

Doyoon checked on Jewoo’s well-being first.

“Thanks to Yiwon. More than that…”

He started to speak, but words failed him. Doyoon tilted his head, seeing his struggle.

“Does this… happen often?”

“What kind of…?”

“Fans blaming or resenting Yiwon because of me.”

“Ah…”

Doyoon hesitated before answering. That alone was enough of an answer.

“It’s not serious. There have always been some fans who react strongly if they dislike something. Incidents escalating to criminal acts like today are rare. Like Yiwon said, she’s the unusual one. It’s not something you need to worry about, Mr. Han.”

He said it was alright, but it implied that things weren’t entirely peaceful. Jewoo bit his lip, lost in thought, but still unsure of what he could do.

“What…should I do?”

He didn’t want this to happen again. More than anything, he was worried about Yiwon’s injury. Doyoon stared intently at Jewoo’s question but didn’t offer a quick answer. The best solution would be for Jewoo to stop seeing Yiwon altogether, but saying that would surely cause an uproar from Yiwon.

“Well…”

In the end, Doyoon couldn’t give him a clear answer. As long as Kang Yiwon existed as Kang Yiwon, as long as he was loved by fans, incidents like today could happen again.

“The only advice I can give is to take care of yourself, Mr. Han. I don’t know what Yiwon would do if you were hurt.”

Today, Yiwon’s anger was contained because he was the one injured, not Jewoo. If Jewoo had been hit by the hot coffee, would Yiwon have simply forced the sasaeng fan to return to Korea and reported her to the police? He would bet his entire fortune that the aftermath would have been far worse.

“If you’re really worried, stay with Yiwon tonight.”

The following request stemmed from concern for Yiwon’s mental state. Separating them now would make Yiwon too anxious to sleep properly.

“I will.”

Jewoo readily agreed, also worried about Yiwon’s injury.

🎞️✮⋆˙

Back at the hotel after the rehearsal, Yiwon removed the bandage from his arm. It had been bright red and swollen earlier, but thanks to the immediate ice treatment and burn ointment, the redness had subsided considerably. It looked fine on the surface, so he probably wouldn’t need the bandage tomorrow.

“Is it okay to take the bandage off?”

Jewoo, who had followed him into the bathroom, noticed the discarded bandage on the floor and commented.

“I have to take it off to shower anyway.”

“That’s true, but…”

Trailing off, he approached Yiwon, lifted his arm, and examined the injury. He sighed in relief, seeing the redness had mostly faded.

“Thankfully, it won’t scar.”

“Because it hit my clothes.”

Yiwon emphasized again that he had been wearing long sleeves. He didn’t explicitly say it, but the implication was that if Jewoo, in his short sleeves, had been hit, it could have scarred.

“Don’t do that again.”

Yiwon looked at him with a questioning expression, “What?”

“Shielding me in situations like today.”

“…”

“I’m not so weak that I need to be protected.”

“Who said that?”

Yiwon replied gruffly.

“I didn’t think before I acted. My body reacted before I could even think. So, if the same thing happens again, I’ll do the same.”

“Kang Yiwon.”

“I can’t help it. Put yourself in my shoes. Do you think you would have just stood there and watched?”

That left Jewoo speechless. He admitted that he would have likely done something similar if he had seen someone trying to harm Yiwon.

“Still, I don’t want you to get hurt. I was more upset than I thought I would be.”

He murmured, looking down at Yiwon’s injured arm. He had genuinely felt his heart drop. The thought that he could have been injured by that coffee hadn’t even crossed his mind. He was just relieved it wasn’t worse. If Yiwon had been burned badly enough to scar, Jewoo might not have been able to face him properly out of guilt. He wouldn’t have been able to forgive the person who did it, sasaeng fan or not. He would have forgotten Yiwon was a celebrity and lashed out at her. Even now, he was suppressing his anger. He was holding back because the agency was handling it and Doyoon was taking care of it, but he was still angry.

Yiwon, who had been quietly watching Jewoo, put his arm around the back of Jewoo’s head and pulled him closer, so his head rested on Yiwon’s shoulder. He gently stroked Jewoo’s hair.

“Sorry.”

It was a short apology, and Jewoo couldn’t tell what it was for. He looked up to meet Yiwon’s gaze, and Yiwon smiled wryly.

“It’s all because of me, after all.”

Seeing Yiwon blaming himself made Jewoo feel even worse. It wasn’t his fault that he had a sasaeng fan. Yiwon was also a victim.

Instead of replying, Jewoo closed the distance between them. As they got close enough for their lips to brush, Yiwon’s eyelids fluttered closed. Jewoo also closed his eyes and touched his lips to Yiwon’s. More than any words, feeling Yiwon’s warmth was reassuring right now.

Their lips touched and parted lightly, repeatedly. Then Yiwon gently bit and sucked on Jewoo’s lip. His tongue slipped through the opening, deepening the kiss until it was breathtaking. Jewoo wrapped his arms around Yiwon’s neck, lost in the kiss. Yiwon pulled up and removed Jewoo’s shirt and then unbuckled his pants.

“Not going to stop me?”

He asked, nuzzling Jewoo’s neck with his lips. Jewoo shook his head and reached for Yiwon’s belt buckle. Click. At the sound of the buckle releasing, Yiwon devoured Jewoo’s lips again. The bathroom filled with the sound of their heavy breathing.

🎞️✮⋆˙

While preparations for the fan meeting were in full swing, Jiho sighed deeply as he looked at his phone backstage. He had accepted the news articles about yesterday’s incident. The problem was the videos uploaded by people who were there.

A video taken by a local fan captured everything from the moment the sasaeng fan threw the coffee to Yiwon shielding Jewoo. It also showed Jewoo frantically searching for ice and Yiwon comforting him. The full video was circulating online.

Anyone could see this was real.

Jiho agreed with one of the comments. Even though he seemed to be handling it calmly, Jewoo’s face had gone pale with shock after seeing Yiwon get hurt. 

Yiwon, immediately noticing Jewoo’s reaction, kept talking to him, seemingly explaining that he was okay. When Jewoo’s expression didn’t soften, Yiwon reached out with his other hand and cupped Jewoo’s face. 

Maintaining eye contact, he smiled faintly and reassured him again. Only then did Jewoo’s rigid face crumple, as if he were about to cry.

Han Jewoo and Kang Yiwon probably wouldn’t even remember what they had done. In that bewildering situation, their genuine reactions had surfaced unconsciously as they dealt with it. Even to Jiho, it seemed difficult to explain away their behavior as simply that of colleagues or close friends. Han Jewoo’s face was filled with worry as he looked at Yiwon, and Kang Yiwon, in turn, was trying to reassure him with gentle eyes and expressions amidst the chaos.