Idol of the Heavenly One - vanish into fiction

“……”

I moved my lips a few times, but no sound came out. My throat was dry, my mouth stuck and parched. Is this normal after surgery? Or was it because I hadn’t spoken for days? My body had no strength at all. It felt unfamiliar, as if it were not my body. Eventually, I tapped lightly on Baek Jae-heon’s hand as he lay face down asleep.

After a moment, he slowly lifted his head. He was not fully awake. The moment he realized my eyes were open, his eyes widened slightly, and he grasped my hand that had touched his.

“…Are you okay?”

He asked if I was alright, and I noticed his eyes beginning to redden. His face looked like it was about to break into tears. I nodded and squeezed his hand in return. Baek Jae-heon buried his face in my hand and began shaking his shoulders. Wait, is he crying? I blinked in surprise.

“What’s going on?”

“You’re awake?”

At that moment, the members all turned toward us. Once they saw I was awake, they rushed over in a crowd.

“How many days has it been?”

“Shouldn’t we give water first?”

“Press the bell first.”

“Jae-heon hyung is crying again.”

The area quickly became chaotic. Joo I-rip held up four fingers, waving them, counting how many days I had been unconscious even though I hadn’t injured my head. Go Hee-min hurried to the refrigerator to fetch water. Lee Soonbok, ISUNE stayed calm and pressed the medical call button. Kwon Ji-hak looked shocked, staring at Baek Jae-heon as if asking why he was crying again.

“Everyone, step aside for a moment.”

Eventually, the manager intervened, organizing the chaotic group to one side. Everyone except Baek Jae-heon moved. He clung to my hand as if his life depended on it, refusing to leave my side. It was as if that spot was his rightful place. Surprisingly, no one said anything to him about it. Had he been crying the whole time I was unconscious? But it had only been about a day. Baek Jae-heon was definitely overreacting. He could have just advertised being my lover, I thought. But then again, since he was protecting me from the knife, it made sense.

“…Four days?”

A hoarse voice escaped my lips. The doctor said I had been unconscious for four days. At first, I thought I had misheard. Four days? No wonder my body felt so weak and heavy. The doctor said it was probably due to accumulated fatigue. The knife wound had an effect, but my body had already reached its limit before that. That’s why I had spent four consecutive days just sleeping. Hearing that, I understood why Baek Jae-heon had cried so much.

I would have felt the same. If my lover had been stabbed in my place and unconscious for four days, every day would have felt endless. Thinking of how much he must have blamed himself and broken down during that time made my heart ache.

I wanted to be alone with him and give him all the comfort he needed. But people kept coming, especially company staff.

I realized that being a celebrity was cruel in moments like this. Staff constantly entered and exited the hospital room, checking health, calculating recovery, adjusting schedules, and planning comebacks. They seemed genuinely concerned, yet their actions were ultimately driven by company calculations. My warmth toward them cooled slightly, but I understood it was part of the job.

After that, the company quickly posted that Ji Myeong-hyeon had regained consciousness. Fans who had been waiting outside the hospital finally left. I wanted to show my face, but the surgical area still hurt a lot. Sitting up was difficult. I felt a bit frustrated that I couldn’t show my face.

As soon as the accident happened, my family was contacted immediately. My mom and dad had stayed by my side with Baek Jae-heon until yesterday. But they couldn’t leave their work or their offices anymore, so they entrusted me to Baek Jae-heon and the members and went back.