31. The Damned
W hen Wooju wakes from a nightmare in the middle of the night, Yunho isn’t in the room.
Afraid to have awakened in a timeline where Yunho no longer lives, Wooju struggles to catch his breath.
He sprints to the door, his heart beating against his chest as he searches inside the cabin.
He doesn’t settle down until he finds Yunho on the floor, resting over a pile of documents on the coffee table, his head against his elbow, his chest slowly rising and falling.
Wooju breathes out a sigh of relief before inching forward and leaning down next to the slumbering blond.
He lifts an arm to rouse the boy, but then he catches a glimpse of the papers Yunho had been reading scattered all over the table. There were a few with Jo Wooju and Noh Jaehee’s names on it, along with others about the entertainment company he works for.
Star Entertainment Korean Singer found dead at home.
Star Entertainment names Noh Jaehee as CEO and personal manager of rookie actor Jo Wooju.
Unnamed Korean actor allegedly abused by manager; Agency refutes allegations, states it was a misunderstanding.
Exploitation in S. Korea’s Entertainment Industry.
Before Wooju can lay a hand on any of the articles, Yunho cracks his eyes open.
The blond takes a moment to scan his surroundings, finds all his research displayed on the table, and looks at Wooju.
“Oh, about this...” he drawls. “I can explain.”
“Thank you,” Wooju mutters.
“Huh?” Yunho blinks and grins. “Really?”
“But Yunho,” Wooju adds, reaching out to grab Yunho’s hand, “you don’t have to do this for me. I told you I’ll take care of it. You just have to believe in me.”
The corners of Yunho’s lips curve down. He jerks his arm away.
“How, then?” Yunho demands, his voice stern. “You can do it now. You can call the police. Tell them about what he’s been doing to you and what he will do in the future. I’m sure they’d believe you. A lot of people saw your video at the hospital before it was taken down. You can just tell the cops you were abused. What’s holding you back?”
Wooju hesitates. “It’s more complicated than that.”
“Because he’s your manager and he raised you?”
Wooju doesn’t respond.
“Do I have to hold back, too, just because you’re holding back?” Yunho challenges. “Isn’t that unfair, Wooju?”
“I just want to protect you,” Wooju insists, knots forming in his gut as everything escalates fast.
“Wooju, do you think I died for no reason?” Yunho’s eyes narrow, and a hint of distress mars his face.
“Yunho . . .”
“I must have died because I wanted to protect you, too,” Yunho says. “Just like how I landed in jail when I went to find you, worried to death because you weren’t answering my calls. I just wanted to protect you, too.” Their eyes lock onto each other as the tension between them ignites. “We should be working together, not separately. Is that so hard?”
But Yunho doesn’t know everything that happened to them in the other timelines. They’ve done this before: joined forces against Jaehee, shared secrets with each other...
Yunho still died, and Wooju was always left to bear the guilt.