NOVEL NEXT Chapter 38: Decision
Chang Min sat in front of Ji-hun on his bed, still holding the tray in his hands while Ho-jin looked for a bed table to place the food on.
Chang Min looked at the boy with affection, asking "What would you like to eat first, Ji-hun? Should I feed you, if you don't want to eat by yourself?"
Ji-hun immediately looked at his hands, saying, "Hyung stop! You are embarrassing me, I am not a kid anymore." Meanwhile, he was thanking his stars at how lucky he really was to have gotten a family like them.
Chang Min snapped at him, saying "Hey! Don't you dare say that to me again, all three of you will be babies to me-" That was when Ho-jin and Dae Jung interrupted him at the same time, saying "Hyung, if he doesn't want to eat, then feed us please!" Their puppy eyes and uncanny timing made Chang Min and Ji-hun burst out in laughter.
Chang Min picked up the chopsticks and rolled the noodles in them, proceeding to feed the three of them one-by-one while the other two sat in wait with their mouths wide open. He was going to start the next round, when Kaoru came back to find him. He sighed as he realized what must have happened, and made Chang Min leave the room, saying that they needed to discuss something really important and that the three brats could eat by themselves very well, he was being worried for nothing!
As soon as Chang Min left, Dae Jung grabbed Ho-jin's hand and pulled him aside, asking "Now spill! What is the thing you both are trying to hide from me? Speak fast, otherwise I have different options as well!"
Ho-jin gulped in an attempt to stall the moment he would have to start his narration, as he really didn't know how or where to start! He looked in Ji-hun's direction, as if begging to be rescued by him. When he noticed that his brother was really going to say something, he panicked, thinking what and how exactly was he going to explain things to Dae Jung! He was stuck in the middle of his confusion, when Ji-hun's voice finally encountered his ear drums.
"Dae Jung, I don't know if you are going to believe me or not, or if you are going to make fun of me after what I am going to say. But I haven't kept any secret from you, and I am not going to start now. But please listen carefully, and please promise me that you won't force me to do anything I don't want to, after that; and you are not even going to tell hyungs about this!"
Ho-jin let out a deep breath; he wasn't confused anymore, he was totally clear about what was going to happen just after his brother was finished with his narration. So the best option for him was to wait for the death God's messengers, or Grim Reaper himself to come and free him from his misery. Because no matter what he did at this point, he knew that he couldn't stop his brother from his honest confession. And after that, Dae Jung would definitely drag Ji-hun to a mental hospital for being delusional, and push Ho-jin off the roof of that same hospital, for making his best friend believe in crap and confusing him further. He was looking between his elder brother and Dae Jung simultaneously, thinking of a plan to escape- one that didn't require divine intervention, when Ji-hun finally started his narration.
"Dae Jung, I really cannot pinpoint the time when I started getting these weird dreams, but I often see a girl in my dreams. I mean, I have seen her in almost all my dreams so far. Before you ask anything, let me clarify that no, she is not Korean and yes, I haven't met any girl like her before, not even someone who resembles her in the least. But she is fluent in Korean somehow, and almost all my dreams have been about how she saved me from the broken glass of a window which was supposed to fall on me. She pushed me aside and ended up hurting herself for me, I don't know why she does this every time, when she doesn't even know me, when she doesn't even get to see my face. I don't know anything about what exactly is going on and when and where all of this is supposed to happen, as I have never visited that place before. But there is one thing I am sure of- guys, whatever I am going to say, I beg you to not freak out- promise me!"
Ji-hun paused for a second to take a breath and get them to acknowledge that promise at the same time, but before they could get over their shock and say anything, he started again. "The one thing I was sure of, was that I love this girl somehow. That girl is the most beautiful girl for me in this entire world; it doesn't mean that I haven't seen more beautiful girls before meeting her, or that I won't see them after meeting her, but the thing which is making her the most lovable girl in my eyes, is that whenever I look at her, I feel like that girl belongs to me- that she is mine and I am hers! Sounds funny, doesn't it? I know it's very dorky, but the part which I wanted to share with you was that after whatever happened today, I have decided to change my destiny for the sake of the band. For the band members who are not just my fellow members to me, but they are also my family, I have to do so! And I will be writing my destiny again, in such a way that I won't come across this girl. And even if I do, I will just ignore her and continue walking."
Ji-hun completed his sentence and tried to smile, and this gesture thrust the dagger further through their hearts, at the same place where he had first poked it by saying that he would change his destiny for his band members! Dae Jung was shocked after being told that his best friend was willing to sacrifice his love for his band; for their sake, he was willing to sacrifice the love which had started to blossom in his heart without even meeting the other person. 'It would surely give birth to a pile of questions filled with curiosity, but this was the most chaotic way to deal with it! Love was something people were willing to do anything and everything for; and he was willing to walk away from her even after meeting her, to walk away from love itself.' He hugged Ji-hun abruptly, fearing that he might break out into tears and cry hard otherwise; and at this moment, he couldn't afford to be weak, as his best friend needed him and his advice.
Meanwhile, Ho-jin was smiling at how similar they were even after an eternity had passed! They were proper mirror images to each other, as they would never stop trying to change their Fate, and their Fate will never stop ripping them apart and torturing them. He let out a heavy breath as his heart was getting heavier due the pain he knew they all would have to carry in their future. 'Only God knows what was the fault in their stars, that after all the efforts, they always inevitably had the same ending. But not this time; this time, he wouldn't let anyone down. He just needed to calm Ji-hun down for now, hoping that he could make him understand that what he was trying to do was next to impossible, and so he should stop torturing himself from the very beginning, but how? Think, Ho-jin, think!'