CHAPTER SIX:Radio

 

 

Yes, they were mad. They were sad and obviously hurt.

 

As SungGyu continued to explain them in the calmest way what had happened that disastrous night, the members couldn’t control the feelings that bursted in their stressed minds.  The group was mainly irritated; it obviously wasn’t SungYeol’s fault.  Their member did nothing but protect himself from receiving another injury. He was protecting himself. And still, they all dared to attach him that disgusting sin.

 

“It wasn’t his fault.”

 

That was the main phrase they kept saying, over and over again. They felt that if they kept repeating it people were going to start to believe in it. Yet it was as useful as the ‘I do believe in fairies’, phrase. It was a hopeless thought but it helped, it helped them feel better. At least that was what they unconsciously thought.

 

“You know SungYeol, even if he knows he did nothing wrong his mind won’t let him think otherwise,” SungGyu reminded them catching a sour look on MyungSoo’s face. He couldn’t contradict that fact.

 

Not only did they want people to believe in their mantra, they wanted SungYeol to believe in it too. To believe in himself. To believe his actions weren’t wrong, that it was something that just happened. Unfortunate yes. But that was part of life. Life wasn’t fair. He needed to believe that he ended up being in the wrong place at the wrong time. SungYeol was known for being the unlucky guy of the group but he had six people that always took care of him.  This scandal wasn’t going to be the exception, yet unlike the other unlucky events, this one seemed impossible.  Not only the law and the media were involved in the case, but a life too.

 

The six of them felt so insignificant and young. They were just kids in a world of adults.

 

“The media isn’t helping at all. They are just making up stupid speculations!” WooHyun was stressed with the exaggerated scandal the media kept creating and saying. He just wanted to shut them all up but he had no power over it.

 

WooHyun felt so useless.

 

“Why won’t you explain this to everyone, Hyung? They should know the truth.”

 

It was difficult for DongWoo to understand why the problem hadn’t been fixed yet. Why no one in the company proved it? SungYeol was innocent. Why hurt him this way? It was so simple in his mind. But things weren’t that easy.

 

DongWoo felt completely impotent.

 

“Even if I do, I wasn’t a witness, I just heard it from SungYeol. His words can’t be accepted unless there’s something that backs them up but they haven’t found proofs yet.”

 

SungGyu was trying to explain himself in a calm way but it was pretty difficult for him since his blood was boiling with rage. SungYeol was unfortunately at disadvantage.

 

"You should try," DongWoo murmured lowly.

 

“As far as I know this thing can’t be solved cuz there are no real witnesses except for few drunk people that doesn’t count to the law,” SungGyu could see a frown forming on the second oldest’ forehead. “There’s only one witness that actually passed the Breathalyzer. The only problem is that he’s the other man that was chasing SungYeol. He says the victim was pushed.”

 

“ing liar…” L hissed.

 

“MyungSoo, watch your mouth.” SungGyu said matching his fierce eyes with L’s.

 

Although there was no camera to record his curse, SungGyu still corrected the younger feeling the need to have some control and power over something, anything.  Is there anybody willing to listen to him?

 

“But L-hyung is right. That man’s lying, he should tell them the truth!” SungJong said desperately. “Hyung is hurting!”

 

Even if MyungSoo was hugging SungJong firmly to give him strength the maknae kept trembling unable to stop feeling SungYeol’s pain.  He had been the closest to him when SungYeol rested at the dorms. He had seen his tears. He had seen how red SungYeol’s eyes ended up from all those shed tears. He had seen the weakest side of SungYeol.

 

SungJong felt a painful empathy.

 

From the five of them, it was HoWon the one that spoke the most. He didn’t want to give up on SungYeol yet. He was trying hard to find something that could prove the older man was wrong. Question after question, he looked for a solution or a slight traced road, but every answer he got from their leader made him feel hopeless. It seemed everything he had said had been already tried by the people working on the case. As he kept asking, the possibilities to help SungYeol started to seem almost nonexistent.

 

Hoya felt so insecure.

 

It was obvious – none of them dared to say it out loud – if SungYeol ended up without proofs his life was going to be branded forever.

 

It could be the end for SungYeol.

 

Between all those feelings and tangled words, there was someone that kept silent. His sharp eyes reflecting the confusion on them. SungGyu had noticed it, still, he said nothing. After SungYeol ended up in all that trouble, the leader had paid close attention to their unconnected MyungSoo.  He had seen how the younger member reacted, little by little, to the situation they were entering. The situation SungYeol was confronting.  A slight frown decorated the smooth forehead.

 

“SungGyu-hyung.”

 

L’s voice was deeper than usual calling everyone’s attention.

 

“Why was SungYeol being chased by those men?”

 

It was true he had hoped to not receive that kind of question. None of the members had asked themselves how it all began. Leave it to MyungSoo to find the most unexpected things but not see what was right in front of his nose. At least when it involved SungYeol. When it came to the taller man, MyungSoo ended up checking every single detail just because it was important for him. MyungSoo, who had always been clueless person, was fighting against his nature to help  the person he cared the most, to find his way out and more importantly to understand him.

 

No one acts without a reason.

 

Yet once again SungYeol ended up building an invisible wall in front of L’s nose.

 

“I don’t know.”

 

Of all the good intentions SungYeol had about sharing, there was something he had wanted to hide. Yes, he had asked their leader to tell them what actually happened that unfortunate night but there was one thing SungGyu had banned to say. There was no way the young man could tell the reason why it all started. He wasn’t the right person to say it. SungYeol wasn’t really willing to share it. So it was kept unknown for the members. SungGyu on the other side, even if he had the idea, he found himself between shadows. He had a slight hunch about the real reason behind but he wasn’t so sure. SungGyu knew the disrespectful words SungYeol had used. He knew how low the other idol had gone to get into trouble. He knew how mean he had been and how hurt he actually was. After all, his words had been backfired in more ways one could believe.  SungGyu couldn’t pressure SungYeol to enlighten him, the only thing he could do was wait for him until he found the confidence to share that burden. He was sure the young idol, sooner or later, was going to look for some air.

 

 

 

♫

 

 

 

“I bet you’re under lots of pressure. Not only with Infinite’s comeback but the drama you’re in, right WooHyun-ah?” The host of SBS Fm Power’s morning program asked in a considerate and peaceful tone, his gaze setting on the young idol seating next to him.

 

It had been about twenty minutes since they went on air.  Infinite was pretty  happy thanks to the warm welcome they got at the entrance of SBS Radio Station  all thanks to their fans.  It was a chilly morning, since that night the skies had fallen on Seoul, and still, they had lots of fangirls and fanboys outside the building waiting for them. To see their faces for a few seconds. Infinite never failed to be touched by their actions. After all those years they were still grateful.

 

“I can’t say no to that,” WooHyun fixed the headphones as he shifted on the chair. “But I’m really enjoying it! I mean, it’s my first time in a really big production. I felt like a rookie going suddenly world tour.”

 

“I can somehow relate, although not in the world tour experience.  And I guess you had all your feelings getting mixed knowing the project you were in was a really awaited drama.”

 

WooHyun nodded with a worried look. “But it’s a nice experience.”

 

“It is, although I must say that the first drama does leave a bigger impression inside, “ the host smiled gently at the memories. “Well, at least in my case. When I had the role in  Secret Garden  I got so nervous I couldn’t sleep for the first weeks.”

 

“Something similar happened to me too,”  Hoya commented as he leaned a bit to the microphone. “Not only was it my first drama but I had to act as a teenager in love with his male best friend.”

 

“Ah, JongSuk-hyung, your first role was like that too, right?” SungJong  pointed out. Getting nice responses from some members.

 

“Well, yes. But my character wasn’t in love with his best friend,” Lee JongSuk, the host, grinned. “Those type of characters are quite a challenge. Aren’t they, Hoya?”

 

“Yes, they are. But they make you learn a lot.”

 

“I believe you’re learning a lot from your character, right, WooHyun-ah?”

 

“Not really, I’m a natural,” this was followed by a hand aegyo to the  VJ that was recording him for the reality.

 

“Weren’t you always asking advice from Hoya, SungYeol and L?” DongWoo asked with a sincere  look. Too innocent it seemed fake.

 

“That’s not true, DongWoo!” WooHyun repeated in between everyone’s laughs.

 

“JongSuk-hyung, he was always asking for our help twenty-four seven,” Hoya confirmed DongWoo’s words making SungGyu laugh louder.

 

MyungSoo grinned. “When he got the results from the auditions he was so happy  that he actually invited all six of us for dinner at a fancy restaurant in Gangnam.”

 

“Gangnam?”

 

Half of the members confirmed the host’s words.

 

“But SungGyu-hyung ended up paying for it,” SungJong added getting more laughs.

 

“Is that true, Hyung?” JongSuk managed to say after he caught his breath.

 

“I had the feeling something bad was going to happen to me when he invited us and still I went there,” SungGyu shook his head with a scowl marking his features. “From then on I started to trust more my instincts.”

 

“Unbelievable,” JongSuk said with a smooth smile before turning to WooHyun again. “Can you tell us a bit about your character?”

 

“Sure!” WooHyun was happy to talk about his role. “He’s the younger brother of Yoo InNa-sshi’s character. The guy’s a college student and is in love with his sister’s best friend. And well, he’s pretty mature for his age and really insecure about himself.”

 

“In other words, they are completely opposites,” SungGyu concluded gaining another round of laughter, featuring DongWoo’s excitement.

 

Everyone was having a pretty comfortable time at the radio station. Lee JongSuk had a generous and relaxed personality that was contagious. Apart from that, the young actor was deeply pleased with Infinite’s presence. Having a morning shift had always been a difficult task but  the members managed to create a nice atmosphere. There was no way people could suspect the boys had slept for barely five hours or that SungGyu had no sleep at all. No one could even guess Infinite had just received the news about SungYeol’s actual accident.

 

After the early meeting directed by their leader, the group decided to keep strong in front  of the media and people. They wanted to prove, maybe not with their sealed voice, but with their actions, that they trusted SungYeol. To demonstrate they believed he did nothing wrong. If they acted as they used to, they were sure SungYeol was going to feel better. Somehow SungGyu had told them what little he knew about their member’s actual health.

 

Now, Infinite wasn’t scared to mention SungYeol’s name. Not even when the directors eyed them harshly whenever the name popped out.

 

Sure they couldn’t talk about the scandal but they certainly not banned to say out loud SungYeol’s name. After all, he was still a member of Infinite.

 

 

 

The program kept on going in such a smoothly way, no one noticed half an hour had already passed. They had twenty minutes more to go.  

 

“Ever since the program started we’ve been receiving lots of phone calls,” JongSuk smiles as he reads the paper someone from the staff just gave him. “So, we’re going to accept some of them. Sounds good, guys?”

 

“Bring them on!” The members cheered merrily for the news. They knew the reaction the audience wanted to get from them. No rookies in town.

 

Getting a signal from an older man behind the glass, JongSuk nodded. “Here’s the first one. Hello there!”

 

Like that some phone calls went, filled with cooings and aegyo. Nervous laughs from the fans and grinning faces from the members. The guys were having a pretty great time answering and even doing some request their fans made. SungGyu even did his famous personification of a rice cooker.

 

They were almost done, one more phone call and they would leave for their next schedule. The humorous grins painted on their faces cracked a bit when the last call entered.

 

There was a pretty disturbing sound coming from the other end of the call. Some voices that  sounded like murmures resounded.

 

“Hello there?” JongSuk said with a clear voice but the murmurs kept going, soon a weird roug noise accompanied them.

 

Abruptly, the noise stopped.

 

“Hello?” JongSukk tried one last time, this time he sounded a tad cautious.

 

“I-I just…”

 

It was a girl’s voice, she sounded nervous, like all the other voices. But there was something off with it.

 

“I’m sorry, could you speak a bit louder?”

 

“I-I just… have a question for Infinite—”

 

Before the soft and feeble voice could continue another harsh noise was heard followed by a strong and less feminine voice.

 

“SungYeol killed that man, right?”