NOVEL NEXT Chapter 30: Reassurances
Everyone was looking at Ji-hun without letting their eyes blink once, as if by blinking, they might miss a slight change in his expression and that would cause them to lose out on the most important information in the world.
Hyeon turned to face him with a smile and said "Yes Ji-hun, what do you want to tell us?"
"Hyung, I know I am a lot to put up with, but I promise- I won't do anything which will affect the band's image negatively. This is my promise to you; and I am totally fine, so please let me do the practice along with the other members. I don't want to ruin the hard work that everyone else has been putting in. And I also wanted to share a new song with all of you, but I have been distracted for the past two days- I am sorry for that. It will not happen again, and if something goes wrong, I will take full responsibility for that!"
'Ji-hun said all this, thinking how he was always a burden for everyone and still they had to carry him along with them, just because he was blessed enough to get the nicest set of people in the world. But this time, he would not let anybody or anything to hurt them, and if he had to change the destiny for that, he would do so as well!'
Everyone was struck by his announcement, even Hyeon couldn't find the appropriate words to reply. This was when Kaoru stepped forward and sat on the bed beside Ji-hun, and held his hand tightly, trying to wordlessly assure him that his brother was always going to support him, no matter what!
He spoke gently, cautiously, as if his brother was a mirage that would disappear if he dared to raise his volume or intensity too much. "Ji-hun, you know that I am really blessed to have you as my brother. But you know what makes me the luckiest person alive?"
"No hyung," Ji-hun shook his head softly; he really didn't know what was going on in his elder brother's mind.
"It's the fact that I am the leader of this group, where everybody thinks about others first! But you know what, we all complete the jigsaw puzzle together and if any one of us is missing, then that puzzle wouldn't be whole and would have to be deemed unsolvable. So never let this thought enter your mind that this band can ever survive without you; and I am not saying this to you as your brother, but I am speaking as the leader of this group- your leader. Do you understand? And as far as choreography is concerned, you never have made mistakes, nor will you mess up with that in the future as well, because you are an excellent dancer as well as singer. So just relax, and take rest for some days; after that, we will work on your song as well, understood!?"
Kaoru then patted his brother's cheeks affectionately, wishing he had something that could make him understand his love for him! A tear fell down from Ji-hun's eyes onto his cheeks, feeling overwhelmed at how he was the reason for their struggle, but they still loved him regardless.
Chang Min noticed that and came forward to wipe that tear with his thumb, saying "Ji-hun, don't cry kiddo. I can confirm that Kaoru was stating facts, and not flattering you even one bit! You, Dae Jung and Ho-jin are the kids of this group; and the three of us are here to take care of you guys, as your guardians. God, I sound old as a bat, don't I? But one thing is certain: without us, this group can't be the same- and when I say 'us', you are part of it. And don't cry again now, you need to take lots of rest. I will send you something delicious to eat, okay? Till then, you can rest here and don't use that big head of yours to overthink so much! At night, I'm thinking we all could take a break today and watch a movie or do some activity in your room, sounds fun?"
Ji-hun smiled at how Chang Min Hyung actually treated the three of them as his kids, as if they really were a bunch of 5-year-olds! He then nodded to say yes with a toothy grin. Seeing that he was feeling alright now, Chang Min tapped on Kaoru's shoulder, signaling for him to come to kitchen with him; and Hyeon and Ho-jin also left the scene, taking advantage of the diversion. Ji-hun was left with only Dae Jung in the room. Dae Jung, who had been silent ever since he had come back, now stepped forward and stood in front of him. All of a sudden, Ji-hun pulled him in hug and spoke what he had been suppressing inside him all this while.
"It hurts Dae Jung; it is hurting me too much!"
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Nitya broke out of the hug and the wiped off the tears from her Dada's face. She then complained affectionately, like she had been given a toddler to take care of, who had somehow ended up stumbling on something and crying.
"You know that crying doesn't suit you, right? And you are older than me, but every time, I am inevitably the one who has to console her Dada!" Nitya said, pouting.
Mehul smiled at her adorable attempt at initiating a banter, but he felt the urge to find out what was going on in her mind as soon as possible, before she did something rash to put herself in further danger. He was piecing together a taciturn way to approach the topic, when Nitya spoke again.
"Dada, I am fine, really! You don't have to be worried that way, this is a normal temperature for me in the morning; you have panicked for nothing. Please take me back home, I need to go to college and you know I don't like staying in bed all day."
A bell rang in Mehul's head, 'normal temperature in the morning' - what was his sister saying, and how was she acting so normal about it! He tried to calm himself down, but something inside him made him bypass the sensible route and he screamed, "What do you mean?! Does your body temperature in the morning remain so high on regular days also? And for how long have you been noticing this? Nikku, what all things have you been hiding from everyone! And does Surbhi know about this, I bet you have kept her in the dark as well. So tell me everything in detail, right now!"
Just as Nitya had heard Mehul screaming, she knew she had messed up. And now, she had to clean up all the mess as quickly as she could; she had become really good at hiding her pain by that time.
She quickly replied, touching her arms and showing it to Mehul, "This high, Dada! I don't know why are you panicking; isn't it normal to wake up with your body temperature a little bit higher?"
Mehul let out a deep breath, patting his sister's head. "Silly, this temperature is nothing. When I found you this morning, your body was burning hot; and now it's totally low due to the injection! As-"
He hadn't completed his sentence yet, when his sister yelled "You let the doctor give me the injection, even though you know that I am afraid of that! Why Dada, don't you love me anymore?" She completed the sentence, almost breaking out in tears, fearing that she would have to take the injection again.
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