Ren's POV

 

I held on tightly to the bars of the stretcher along with the other members of DREAM and hospital staff as we ran down the long white halls as the unconscious and severely bleeding singer was rushed into emergency surgery. With each step I took, it felt like my legs would give out, but something within me kept me going for his sake. The three of us were held back after the hospital staff pushed the stretcher through the emergency room doors, Baekho disappearing from our sight of vision. Once he was gone I collapsed to my knees; Minhyun and Aron both grabbed an arm and held on tightly to me. My entire body was shaking; I was in so much disbelief. One moment the four of us were backstage, talking amongst ourselves and observing After School in front of the curtain, and the next, Baekho was being crushed by one of the large stage sign props, blood splattered everywhere. And now here we were, without any word regarding Baekho's possible condition.

 

The doctor exited the emergency room in a hurry, glancing around. Once he spotted DREAM's manager, he walked over to him and pulled him to the side. The two exchanged a hushed conversation before their manager nodded in understanding and pulled out his phone as the doctor ran back through the double doors. He walked down the hallway, phone in hand, I assumed talking to the bossman of Pledis. After what seemed like an eternity of keeping us in the dark, he returned.

 

“He's going to be alright.” As soon as he said this the three of us sighed heavily with relief.

 

“Thank god...” My voice trailed off.

 

“They're going to go inside and stop the bleeding. He'll be kept in the hospital for a while to recover from the surgery.” He replied, shifting his gaze over towards Minhyun. “I need to speak to you. Come with me.” The three of us exchanged worried glances before Minhyun slowly stood back up and shakily followed him down the hall. Once they were gone, I turned to Aron.

 

“What do you think that's about...?” I asked him.

 

A dark expression washed over Aron's face. “I wonder that too. It can't possibly be anything good...”

 

“But... Baekho, he's going to be okay. Isn't that good enough news?”

 

Aron shook his head. “Ren, this is the entertainment industry. If you don't keep up, you'll fall far, far behind.”

 

“What do you mean?” I asked, not liking where this conversation was going.

 

“There's no time for rest; that's what I mean.” As he said this, a distraught Minhyun finally returned and sat down in the benches lined up against the side of the hall. He leaned forward with his elbows on his lap and sighed heavily. Aron glanced up at him from the floor and grabbed his knee. The two shared a quiet moment of understanding together; only I was kept out of the loop.

 

“Where is he?!” A familiar voice could be heard from behind the corner. As soon as the two of them heard it, they both jumped up to their feet and stood side by side in the hall, waiting. The fast, heavy clicks of high heels could be heard approaching us until finally U-ie stepped out, revealing herself. She continued to march forward, not stopping until she reached the two of them who outstretched their arms, blocking her off from going any further. She stared at them with wide eyes full of disbelief. “What do you think you're doing?” She asked in shock.

 

“Protecting him.” Minhyun boldly replied.

 

“Protecting him? From what?”

 

“You.” Aron said.

 

U-ie paused; a look of hurt flashed across her face. Ignoring Aron, she glanced back over at Minhyun who had spoken out of place first. She paused for a moment and pursed her lips together, silently glaring at him. “You dare disrespect your sunbae like this?”

 

“Baekho isn't even conscious, but if he were, you would be the absolute last person he'd want to see right now.” He replied.

 

Her eyes widened. She shook her head. “No; he wouldn't have done that then if that were indeed the case. Baekho... he wouldn't have tried to save me if-”

 

“Baekho does a lot of things on a whim; that's just the kind of guy he is. He's never one to think before he acts. I'm sure the reason why he did what he did was because he saw imminent danger coming and he wanted to prevent a disaster; you weren't the only one he saved.”

 

“Hwang Minhyun! Who do you think you are, speaking to me like that?”

 

“He's the leader.” Aron spoke up from beside him. I stared up at him from the ground with wide eyes. My heart shook; Minhyun was what...? That couldn't be... Baekho; he was the leader... Baekho was still alive; he was just in the other room... how... How could they think of replacing him just so easily, as if he were nothing? Was Baekho nothing? Just another product on the shelf? I gripped my fist; Pledis couldn't do this! I stood up and marched straight to their manager.

 

“Is this true?” I asked, heartbroken. He solemnly nodded.

 

“It's orders from the top.”

 

I glanced back at Aron and Minhyun, “Take care of him.” I replied before taking off running down the hall, making my way out of the hospital and towards Pledis headquarters which wasn't too far. I ran through the doors and approached the receptionist, requesting an audience with the boss.

 

“He's not in at the momen-”

 

“I demand to see him this instant, now!” I screamed at the top of my lungs, not caring who overheard me. The poor girl trembled behind her desk, about to reach for the phone when suddenly the door to the office behind her opened and out stepped the boss. He reached his hand out.

 

“It's not necessary;” He replied then looked my way. “Come in.” He stepped to the side as I wordlessly hurried in past him. He shut the door behind him and faced me with an emotionless expression. “I know why you're here.”

 

I scoffed, still in disbelief over everything that had happened in the course of a couple of hours. “Do you?”

 

“You're concerned about the status of your internship, am I correct?”

 

My heart stopped. “W..what?”

 

“With Baekho out, you're probably questioning the status of both DREAM and your internship, yes?” He asked, returning to his chair behind his large desk. I stared at him with eyes flashing with hurt. The status of my internship...? Was this man that heartless...? And what did he mean by 'Baekho out'? The reason why I was here had nothing to do with either of those topics in which he brought up. My internship? I could give a damn; a person I cared a lot for was hurt! How could I possibly be so selfish to think of myself at a time like this? This man... he was terrible. “You're awfully quiet for a person that created such a scene back there.” He replied, trying to urge me along.

 

“I think you're mistaken; I don't know what news you heard, but Baekho is going to be fine-”

 

“Fine?” He cut me off and laughed. “He'll never sing again.”

 

I stared at him with wide eyes. “You don't know that!”

 

He gave me a confused look and paused for a moment. “I question the validity of the news you've heard then. Kang Baekho will never be able to sing again; there, you heard it from the top man himself.” I practically collapsed back in one of the chairs inside of his office. My entire body was shaking as this news hit home. Did DREAM's manager lie to us? Just what in the world was going on? The boss leaned forward in his desk. “From this moment on, DREAM will be on permanent hiatus.”

 

I shook my head. This couldn't be... they were supposed to debut with a new song today! How could everything have changed so quickly? No, DREAM wasn't going to end. It couldn't. Those guys, they were perfect together. They needed each other. I needed them together...

 

“Rest assured, your internship contract won't be terminated; Aron and Minhyun will form a sub-unit.”

 

“Sub-unit?” I asked, refusing to believe it. “There's only three of them to begin with!”

 

“Mr. Choi-”

 

“How could you just throw a member away so heartlessly?” I asked.

 

“They signed a contract; they knew what they were getting themselves into. Heartless? I'm merely doing my job; the entertainment industry isn't in the business of making dreams come true. It's in the business of making money. Each artist that walks through those front doors is nothing but an investment to us; they provide us with a product, for instance, their talent, and we market it. If that product should break, however, then there is no worthwhile profit. It's a basic marketing lesson: if no profit is being made, you discard the defective unit.”

 

“How could you talk about him as if he weren't even a person...?” I asked, my voice trailing off. “He was your biggest star...”

 

“The music industry is one that never sleeps; popularity comes as easily as it fades. Since Kang Baekho will be of no more use, it's time you stop wasting your time worrying about him and focus on the two members that you do have left. You will use Aron and Minhyun to continue the process of your internship. Is that clear?” He asked.

 

I remained silent.

 

“Mr. Choi,” He called out to me, the dissatisfaction written on my face all too noticeable. “Be grateful that you still even have an internship left to go back to. Maybe I was too nice in the beginning, but I will not tolerate such bold declarations in the future; know your place within this building, understand?”

 

“I apologize, sir.” I replied as I slowly stood and made my way to the door. I paused after reaching for the knob. “I understand; but it doesn't make it any less right. Good day.” I exited then stepped out from the Pledis main building, heading back to the hospital.

 

 

 

Minhyun's POV

 

“I need to speak to you. Come with me.” I silently stared my manager straight in the eyes as he said this. A deep knot began to form in the bottom of my stomach; I had a feeling I knew what this was about. With as much as I wanted prolong evading this possible conversation with him, I knew I was in no place to do so. He was my manager; his word was law, as it was dictated exclusively from the top of the chain in Pledis. I shakily stood to my feet and followed him quietly down the hall until the others were out of sight. Once we were alone, he turned to me with a serious expression written across his face. Before he could speak I spoke out before him.

 

“He's not okay, is he?” I asked. A long pause followed my question before he responded by shaking his head. I shifted my gaze down to the white tiled floor. “What's wrong with him?”

 

“There was blunt trauma around his ear.”

 

I paused. “And what does that mean?”

 

“Baekho... he won't be able to sing again.”

 

I shifted my gaze immediately back up to meet with him. “What do you mean-”

 

“When he wakes up, he won't open his eyes to the same world again.”

 

“And what does that mean?!” I exclaimed angrily. “Stop playing riddles with me and tell me something!”

 

My manager glanced down. “His hearing won't be the same.”

 

I stared at him with wide eyes; his words struck me like an iceberg. My entire body went numb. Baekho... wouldn't be able to hear? “How do you know that? Did Baekho tell you this himself? Is he awake to speak for himself right now? Huh?!” I screamed at my manager.

 

“I'm just repeating what the doctor said.”

 

I shook my head, refusing to believe it. “No.”

 

“Minhyun-”

 

“No!” Baekho was our leader; we needed him. With as much as we had our differences, he was the glue that held DREAM together. I stared at my manager. “What does that mean for DREAM?” How could we go on without our main vocalist? Without our leader?

 

He went silent for a moment. “Hiatus.”

 

My heart broke. Hiatus...? That was just another fancy word for disbandment, or a nice way of saying that DREAM was no more. How could this be...? We were on top of the world just moments ago and now we were facing the nightmare that no idol wanted to encounter. I slammed my palm against the wall and stared down at the ground. This couldn't be happening...

 

“Pledis is pulling you and Aron into a sub-unit; they're asking that you step up as the leader.”

 

I quickly glanced back up at him like he was crazy. “Me? Why not Aron?” Why not Baekho? Why not keep DREAM together? Pledis seemed about ready to throw him to the curb without even waiting for Baekho to prove himself. I couldn't believe how quickly the orders came from the top to kick Baekho out and replace him. Baekho was still in surgery, for heaven's sake!

 

“Aron is a foreigner with limited knowledge of Korea and our customs. He is in no position to be the leader.”

 

“I can't do this.” I declined. There was just no way I could become a leader. I had so many flaws, so many imperfections. I wasn't the least bit confident in myself or my abilities. I simply wasn't leader material. A leader was someone who was perfect all around; me? I was far from it. But I didn't want to do it just because I was insecure; I didn't want to take the position away from Baekho, who honest to god deserved it, rotten attitude or not. To take it away from him... by no doubt it would absolutely crush him. The last thing I wanted was for him to hate me when finally it seemed like the three of us were starting to get along more.

 

“You signed a contract.”

 

I did, didn't I? I was legally bound to fulfill my duties listed out on that horrid piece of paper. If they asked me to jump, I'd have to ask them 'how high'? I had no rights of my own until that contract expired; I was Pledis' dog basically for the meantime. “I don't want to do this.”

 

“He's not giving you a choice. I'm sorry, Minhyun...” He replied, apologetic.

 

“He's going to hate me if I do this to him...”

 

“There are worse things in this world than being hated.”

 

“Are there?” I asked, shaking my head in disappointment. I pulled away from the wall and started making my way back to Ren and Aron, who were still sitting in the middle of the hall. I sat down on one of the benches on the side and leaned forward. A big burden had just been placed on my shoulders. How in the world could I be expected to do this? I wasn't a leader nor a main vocal; I was a visual! I didn't want to do this. Every fiber in my being wanted to just pack up and run away; screw the consequences that might follow. Where could I find the courage to do this? I sighed heavily. It was at this moment Aron glanced up at me and placed his hand on my knee, making eye contact. We shared a moment of clarity together; it was almost scary how Aron and I had always had this type of mental connection in which we could read each others minds. Just by one look at my face I knew Aron could tell what had just happened.

 

“Where is he?!” Our heads shot up upon hearing U-ie's voice from around the corner. I glanced at Aron and he nodded; we both stood up and stood side by side in the middle of the hall, awaiting impact. U-ie turned the corner and quickly marched up to us, stopping in front of us when we held our arms out, blocking her passage. She gave us a wild look of shock.“What do you think you're doing?”

 

I need to be brave. I need to start taking my duties seriously. There was no running away from Pledis or my problems. I had to face them head on. “Protecting him.”

 

“Protecting him? From what?” She asked.

 

“You.” Aron said, supporting me at my side.

 

I could tell U-ie had been genuinely hurt by his remark, however, she seemed to disregard Aron and turned back over to me, an angry look spread across her face. “You dare disrespect your sunbae like this?”

 

“Baekho isn't even conscious, but if he were, you would be the absolute last person he'd want to see right now.”

 

“No; he wouldn't have done that then if that were indeed the case. Baekho... he wouldn't have tried to save me if-” I cut her off before she could try to rationalize things from her perspective. She might have dated Baekho for a brief moment in time, but she didn't know him like we did. We had spent years at this guy's side. I think we knew him a bit more than she thought she did. And knowing Baekho, he wouldn't want her here, regardless if he really hated her guts or not.

 

“Baekho does a lot of things on a whim; that's just the kind of guy he is. He's never one to think before he acts. I'm sure the reason why he did what he did was because he saw imminent danger coming and he wanted to prevent a disaster; you weren't the only one he saved.”

 

“Hwang Minhyun! Who do you think you are, speaking to me like that?” She replied, taken aback.

 

“He's the leader.” Aron spoke up from beside me. I could feel all eyes on me in the middle of the hallway. U-ie seemed genuinely shocked. I wasn't surprised that even without having said it, Aron knew this truth. He had signed the same contract as I had and was well aware of the clause that stated that if something were to happen to the leader of the group, a new one would be selected. As U-ie was about to say something, a distraught looking Ren cut her off before she could get the chance. He jumped up and ran over to our manager who had rejoined us.

 

“Is this true?” He asked, his voice shaking. He looked almost ready to cry at any given moment. Ren's response hurt me; I could understand that he felt the same way as I did, being that he didn't want Baekho to be forced out either, but he hadn't stopped to think about me as well. This was a step forward in my career, granted, an unwanted one, but a step forward nonetheless. With Ren being my best friend, I had kind of hoped that he would congratulate me... but that was just me being selfish. I shouldn't think about myself in this situation; we were all here because of Baekho. Right now, Baekho was the one we needed to be focused on. From this moment on, his life would be changed forever and nothing would ever be the same again.

 

“It's orders from the top.”

 

Ren glanced back at us with a wild expression written on his face. “Take care of him.” He replied then took off running. Once he was gone U-ie spoke up.

 

“Let me through.” She said, trying to push her way through.

 

“He's in surgery.” I replied, not budging.

 

“Let me see him!!!”

 

“I said no!” I screamed back at her, surprising her to the point where she froze and took a step back. Her eyes were filled with tears that threatened to fall. She placed both hands over and took a moment to collect herself.

 

“Hwang Minhyun, you'll regret this.” She said as she lowered her hands and spun around, turning her back to me and walking away, the sound of her high heels clicking against the tile as she went. I watched her with wide eyes; what could she have possibly meant be that? With a thousand thoughts racing across my mind, Aron quietly placed his hand on my shoulder to comfort me.

 

“You did the right thing.”

 

“Did I...?”

 

Aron nodded.

 

I shifted my gaze down to the floor. “Then why do I feel like the bad guy here?” My voice trembled as I spoke.

 

“Min...”

 

“From this point on, everything changes.”

 

“It's the circle of life; all things must change eventually...” Aron's voice trailed off as he glanced back over at the emergency room doors with a worried expression written over his face. Although Aron and Baekho had often bickered and fought like a couple of stubborn elderly men, I could tell Aron still cared for him in his own special way. “Whatever is wrong with him, I don't want to know.”

 

“Aron-”

 

“If he's really serious about singing, he'll find a way back in, regardless of what's wrong with him.” He replied, removing his hand from my shoulder and starting to walk off down the hall. “I refuse to feel sorry for him though.”

 

“Aron!” I scolded, running after him.

 

“Do you think that's what he wants? For people to pity him?” Aron asked. I paused then shook my head. “Baekho's career might have been put on hold, but what about us? We can still sing.”

 

“How can you be so insensitive?” I asked, taken aback. Aron stopped dead in his tracks.

 

“Insensitive?” He asked, glaring me in the eyes. “I still have a message to send out!” He exclaimed. I jumped backwards, almost falling against the wall. He stared at me with startled eyes, a look of regret flashed over him. “I can't... I can't disappear from the spotlight... not yet... not before she gets to see me...”

 

My heart ached as he brought up his ex-girlfriend again. “I'm sorry I brought it up.” I didn't know what else to do but to apologize, whether I was in the wrong or not. Aron shook his head.

 

“I will always be Baekho's friend and teammate... but I need to have some sort of closure for myself too. Minhyun,” He called out to me. I glanced at him. “Let's make another promise.”

 

“Another promise?”

 

Aron nodded. “For him.”

 

I stared at him with wide eyes. What could this promise possibly be?

 

 

 

Baekho's POV

 

I sat up in my bed inside of my room in the hospital, awoken by the morning sunlight streaming in through the blinds from the windows. I winced and tried to focus my hazy daze. A sudden pain shot through the base of my skull and traveled and wrapped around the left side, reaching my forehead. I jumped and brought my hands to my face then paused; were these bandages...? I carefully touched them and winced in pain once again. That's right; I had been in an accident back at Music Core. That was when I had managed to save U-ie from possibly being crushed to death by that sign... had I been hit? Was that why I was here? Was this why my head hurt so much?

 

I glanced around the room in confusion. For a hospital room, it was awfully quiet, wasn't it? My room was empty, however, I was well aware of the usual hums that radiated off from all the technical equipment I was connected to through the IV cords in my arms. I blinked then brought my hand to my left ear which felt clogged, as if there had been water trapped inside. I dug and wiggled my finger inside of it to see if it would do the trick; nothing. I let my hand drop down to my side in the hospital bed and shifted in my seat uncomfortably. I tilted my head to the side and even tried yawning to try to 'pop' my eardrum to relieve some of the pressure built up on the inside of my ear canal. When neither method worked, frustrated, I sat back in the bed and stared up at the ceiling, waiting for the doctor or nurse to pass by. It felt like an eternity had passed until someone had finally dropped by, however, it wasn't the person I wanted to see.

 

U-ie cautiously approached the outside of my room and peered in as if she were looking for someone. When she realized it was just me, she stepped inside and slid the door closed. She paused for a moment and stared at me with a sorrowful, worried expression written on her face before she forced a painful smile on her lips and walked to the left side of my bed. I immediately turned my head the opposite way, not wanting to see her. About a minute of awkward silence passed before I curiously glanced her way; if she had the nerve to show up here, shouldn't she be the first to speak? As I looked up at her standing beside my bed, I paused as I noticed her lips were moving. U-ie was indeed talking, however, it was as if she were speaking from far away, despite the close proximity. My heart stopped. What in the... I turned my head away from her and stared at the foot of my bed in shock.

 

U-ie glared down at me for not paying attention and stomped her foot, startling me as I felt the vibrations travel up to the bed. I immediately glanced back at her; she appeared to be yelling at me. I felt my body go numb. If she was yelling at me... then why couldn't I hear it? No... I could hear something... a whisper, almost... but how could that be? She wasn't whispering at me; she was screaming.

 

I stared at her with wide eyes. “U-ie...” My voice trailed off, horrified. She paused in the midst of her yelling match and gave me an irritated, pissed off look. “I can't hear you.”

 

U-ie looked at me strangely then spoke, but once again I heard nothing. It seemed to be as if she were asking me a question, but whatever that question was, I couldn't know. She had lowered the register of her voice. The whisper I had heard previously was gone and replaced by nothingness. By now my heart was racing inside of my chest. Why... why couldn't I hear her? She was right there... she was just right there...

 

“I can't hear you...” I paused as I realized that my own voice sounded extremely muffled.

 

She spoke again, but it was like watching a movie without the sound on. This wasn't one of those moments where I didn't catch what she was saying. She had now spoken to me several times and each time I caught nothing. This seemed to be a continuous occurrence. Did I lose my hearing when that sign struck me on the head? I started to hyperventilate. This couldn't be. No, I wasn't deaf. I might have not heard what U-ie had said to me, but I could still hear the sound of my own voice, granted, it sounded like someone was speaking from several yards away, but it was there nonetheless. I couldn't have been imagining it... I still heard myself... but even still...

 

U-ie continued to talk to me. Tears fell down my cheeks. Frustrated, scared, panicked, I pounded my fists into the bed and screamed at her. “I can't hear you! Dammit, I can't hear you!!!” I grew hysterical. “I can't hear you!” U-ie stared at me with wide, frightened eyes before spinning around and running out from the room. Minutes later the doctor and then one other person I hadn't expected to see entered my room while she remained standing in the hallway dejectedly.

 

Minhyun approached my side. I stared at him with wide eyes. Why was he... what was he doing here? The doctor tapped me on the arm and I glanced back at him. He spoke. I paused, trying my best to listen intently, the entire time wishing, no, hoping that I could hear even the faintest sound.

 

“Can you hear me now?”

 

My heart leaped. “Yes! Yes, I can hear you!” I exclaimed. The doctor looked as if he were screaming, but his voice sounded faint, barely a register above the whisper I had heard coming from U-ie.

 

“Kang Baekho, you sustained a major head injury the other day; did you know that?”

 

Tears rolled down my face in frustration. His voice was extremely muffled, and I was certain he was yelling at me, but at least it was something. Something was better than nothing. “Head injuries are sustained by 5% of the population annually, however, you are indeed experiencing a form of post-traumatic hearing loss. This is common when there are, say, slaps to the ear or blunt objects hitting the bone around it.”

 

“Post-traumatic hearing loss...?” I paused, terrified. “Doctor... am I deaf?” I had to ask the burning question that I feared the answer to.

 

He shook his head. “Deaf? No; deafness and hearing impairments are completely different.”

 

“How are they different?” It was all the same to me. Barely being able to hear was like not being able to hear at all. Either way, my life... it was over, wasn't it? Nothing would ever be the same again.

 

“The fact that you can hear something. Deaf people hear nothing.”

 

“Is it... permanent?”

 

The doctor gave me an uneasy look. “After a head injury, if there is damage to the ossicular chain within the ear, disruptions of the intralabyrinth fluid, damage to the cochlea or the 8^th cranial nerve, it results in hearing loss. The damage you sustained was to the temporal bone, or, rather, the bone above the ear drum. You have what we call 'conductive hearing loss,' which means sound is not being sent to the inner ear.”

 

“What the hell does that even mean?”

 

“You fractured your temporal bone, which means your hearing has been reduced by about 12 decibels. Granted, your hearing is already below average due to your profession... We have done the necessary surgery to fix this fracture. Time will tell if your hearing will improve or remain the same; it depends on how well your body heals itself. If it is the case in which it remains the same, there are several available options to choose from in the form of assisting technology.”

 

“Are you telling me to get a hearing aid? I'm 25!”

 

“Mr. Kang, I've placed cochlear implants inside of infants. I assure you, there is no correct age in which one loses their hearing.”

 

“Like hell I'll get one!” What was I, 60 years old? It wasn't going to happen. No way in hell would I ever resort to getting a hearing aid, or whatever fancy term he threw at me to make me feel better. He placed hearing aids in infants? I didn't care. There was a difference between them and I; I was born hearing, without the aid of technology while they weren't. They would grow up their entire lives being used to the weird glances, stares and questions. Me, on the other hand, I was an idol. Idols were perfect. Idols didn't have flaws. And they certainly didn't lose their hearing at 25! My image would be forever ruined if I wore one of those.

 

“In due time, maybe your perspective will change.”

 

“Get out.” I demanded then turned to Minhyun. Whether he had been silent the entire time he was in here or not, I didn't know. “Both of you. Get out. Leave!”

 

“I'll be back to check on you later.” The doctor replied then took his leave. Minhyun remained standing by my side. He began to speak to me but his voice was barely audible.

 

“Were you not listening when the doctor was in the room? I'm deaf, dammit! I can't hear you!”

 

“You're not deaf!” Minhyun raised his voice. I finally heard him.

 

“I can't hear... what's the goddamn difference?” I scoffed. Hearing impaired my . My entire world was unraveling before my eyes. All because of that split decision I made to save the woman who had already ruined my life not once, but twice now. And she dared have the nerve to show up here again? No... deep down, I knew I was wrong. This situation, I knew it wasn't U-ie's fault, however, it felt better to put the blame on someone else than to think it was all mine. “Why are you still here? What do you want?!!!” I screamed at him, growing impatient.

 

“It's about DREAM.”

 

I paused. That's right. DREAM! I immediately glanced up at him. “What about it?” I stared at him with wide eyes. Please don't tell me bad news. Please don't...

 

“Hiatus.” Minhyun replied.

 

“No...” I said in disbelief.

 

“In the meantime, Pledis has Aron and I still performing.”

 

“...without me?” My lips trembled. Pledis... threw me out? Me? But I was... Kang Baekho... I continued to stare at him intently. He seemed to have more to say, however, he looked hesitant. What, was he afraid of hurting my feelings? What was there that could possibly be left that he'd be so afraid to tell me? My worst nightmare had already come true. Unless... I narrowed my eyes at him. “Who did they replace me with?”

 

Minhyun froze then shifted his gaze down towards his feet. He didn't answer me.

 

“Hwang Minhyun,” I called out to him. “Your ears are just fine; answer me!”

 

Minhyun jumped. “Me.”

 

My eyes grew wide with shock. Pledis... replaced me with him? Was this some sort of joke? Minhyun wasn't anywhere close to leader material! How could this have happened? No, this wasn't. It wasn't happening. This was all just a dream. Wake up, wake up, wake up, dammit! I gripped the sheets with my shaking fists. I scoffed. “I should have known better...”

 

“Baekho-”

 

“You were always after my spot, weren't you?”

 

“No! I-”

 

“You were always jealous of me!” I screamed.

 

“Baekho!” Minhyun replied with a flash of hurt across his face. The nerve! Hwang Minhyun, you think you're hurting? You think you're in pain? How dare you. How dare you even look upset in front of me! “I've never been jealous of you! I've never wanted your spot-”

 

“Lies. Is that your hobby, Minhyun? Deceiving people?” I laughed. “You face the audience with a smile on your face but on the inside, you're nothing more than a train wreck. You think you have what it takes to be a leader? You don't, and you never will. You'll fail; you'll lead whatever spinoff Pledis created to replace DREAM into disaster.”

 

Minhyun stared wide eyed at me. “Have you forgotten who I am? I'm your teammate and your friend and I've always had your back! Listen to yourself; this isn't you!”

 

I chuckled. “Speak up, Minhyun, I can't hear you.”

 

“You're an .”

 

I looked darkly at him. “And what are you? Dream stealer.”

 

“I didn't steal your spot!”

 

“Dream crusher.”

 

“Pledis put it on my shoulders-”

 

“Plastic-faced fake.”

 

“BAEKHO!” Minhyun screamed, slamming his foot on the ground. I stared at him in disgust. “What did you think would happen when you took her place? Did you really think you'd walk away from that impact and be okay? Did you really think nothing would happen?!”

 

“I don't know what I thought!”

 

Minhyun leaned closer to me and grabbed me by my hospital gown. “I took what was thrown away and given to me.” He replied. “The moment you took off running on that stage, you abandoned your own spot. I'm proud of you, Baekho, that you would selflessly do such a noble act, but at the same time, I am not sympathetic to your situation when you behave like this!”

 

“Then don't! I don't want your sympathy!” I angrily flung my limbs around in my bed, rattling it.

 

“Good, because you certainly don't have it!” He screamed back at me. I leaned forward and reached behind me for my pillow, angrily throwing it in his face. Minhyun took a step back, looking back at me with hurt eyes. He seemed to be in disbelief.

 

“Get out of here.” I muttered. “Get out of my face.”

 

“Baekho-”

 

“If you show up around me again, I swear to god I'll kill you.” I glared at him as he covered his mouth with his hands. “GET OUT!” I screamed once again. Minhyun froze for a moment before finally making the decision to go. As he reached the door frame he stopped and turned back at me.

 

“I'll keep your secret, Baekho.” He replied then spun around and quickly left. Once he was gone and I was all alone I brought my hands to my eyes and began to scream. Why me? Why did this happen to me?! My dreams, my career... it was all nothing now. I couldn't do anything without my sense of hearing. What good was I for? Practically everything these days required the use of the ears. This world was simply a hearing peoples world. I didn't trust in the doctor; I might get my hearing back? He even admitted that he seriously doubted it. From the years of training and then performing on stage, I had exposed my ears to large intensities and loud frequencies. The damage I had brought upon myself was irreversible. And now I had made it worse. I let myself take the blow. I allowed myself to get hit. And now everything... it was all over, wasn't it?

 

My heart ached. What am I supposed to do now...? I have nothing and no one left anymore... my teammates were gone... DREAM was gone...

 

More tears began to fall. Ren, you stupid idiot, where are you? I'm sorry I messed everything up between us. I don't know what I was thinking when I made that move on you. My body, my stupid, stupid body has a mind of its own and look at where it's gotten me... But right now, I need you. I need someone who cares, even if it's not in the way that I want. I need a friend. But where are you? Are you mad at me? Are you tired of me? Is that why you're not here? Why was it that the people I didn't want to see were the ones that were by my side when I woke up? You were supposed to be here, Ren! We were still friends at least, right? I know I was foolish... I pushed you away because I was unable to deal with the rejection, but please, just come to my side, even as just a friend. For once in my life, I, Kang Baekho, doesn't know what to do. I have no answers, just a ton of fears and regrets.

 

Ren, I'm scared... what's going to happen to me? Is everyone going to forget about me? My chest ached with pain. It hurt so much I could barely even breathe. Being forgotten was one of the most painful feelings in the world. I had felt that feeling once; my parents were out so much as I was growing up I'm almost certain they forgot they even had a child. Was this what it would be like too? Would my fans abandon me as well? Would the name Kang Baekho forever be lost to time? My entire body began to tremble.

 

Ren, tell me what to do...

 

 

 

Ren's POV

 

I sat at my desk inside of my empty classroom, staring outside of the window up at the blue sky. It had been a week since Baekho had been inside of the hospital. Each day after class let out, I went to go see him, however, he was still sleeping. He hadn't been in a coma, but in a deep rest after recovering from his surgery that I had been kept in the dark about. I had tons of questions regarding the status of Baekho's health and recovery, but none of those around me seemed to have any answers. Everyone only told me that he was okay, that he was doing fine and should be out of the hospital soon. But if that was the case, then why had Pledis kicked him out? The past week, the house had been in turmoil. Literally the day that Baekho was hospitalized, movers arrived with a big truck and packed up all of Baekho's belongings and shipped them away to a location I'm sure only Pledis knew about. Every trace of Baekho ever having been inside of the house was gone.

 

I sighed heavily. I couldn't believe the measures Pledis had gone through just because of money. They treated Baekho as if he were nothing to them, despite having been one of their most successful artists. This wasn't right; there had to be some law against this sort of treatment, wasn't there? The way they were treating him, it was as if he were livestock. This was wrong. I didn't like any of it. But what could I do? I didn't hold any sort of power at Pledis; I was simply an intern. I felt so helpless...

 

I glanced down at my cellphone that had begun to vibrate. I picked it up off my desk and glanced at the screen. My eyes suddenly lit up as I read that it was JR calling me from America. I took a couple of seconds to collect myself before finally answering as if nothing was wrong.

 

“JR!” I smiled, even though I didn't really feel like smiling. “Oh my god, you're actually calling me. Isn't this call going to cost you a fortune?”

 

JR chuckled on the other end of the line. “I won't have to worry about money for long. I've missed you.”

 

I pouted. “Stupid, it's only been two weeks since you've been gone.”

 

“Really?” He asked, sounding astonished. “It feels like it's been longer. It must be the distance between us.”

 

“I've missed you too...” My voice trailed off. JR, so much has happened since you've been gone... “How is life in America? Is it difficult?” I asked, covering up my own worries about Baekho.

 

“You have no idea. I don't know how Aron lived here for so long. Americans are so rude!”

 

“Are they?”

 

“I dunno. Maybe it's just New Yorkers. But I'm pretty sure the rest of them are like this too. Did you know they like to drink milkshakes with their burgers?” He asked, amazed. “And then I saw a woman at the store that was bigger than the size of an elephant riding on an electric scooter... woah, is this real?”

 

I chuckled. “JR, don't be too quick to assume things. And wow, really?”

 

“Ren, we need to make a promise.”

 

I blinked. “Huh? What's that?”

 

“If I come back fat, you have to promise to still love me.”

 

I laughed. “No.”

 

JR made a playful, hurt sound. “Ouch. No, you have to love me. Even if that means you have to roll me down the sidewalk whenever we go for a walk in the park. Well, it'd be more like a 'roll in the park' for me...”

 

“JR!” I scolded playfully. “Don't get fat! Remember, you're there to dance. If anything you should come back skinnier and more toned.”

 

“Ohhh, would you like that?” He sounded intrigued.

 

“Duh.”

 

“Okay; when I come back you'll mistake me for Rain. Promise!”

 

“Don't disappoint me! I'm expecting it!”

 

“Promise!” JR replied, chuckling for a moment before changing the subject. “So, Ren, I wanted to ask you something.”

 

“Hmm?”

 

“I heard they found a replacement for me already?” He asked, referring to his old job back at the studio.

 

“Do they? I haven't been down to Pledis since-” I cut myself off when I realized I was about to let Baekho's name slip from my mouth. I knew how JR felt about Baekho. I also knew he had been extremely uncomfortable leaving me behind with Baekho nearby while he was away in New York. JR must have picked up on my hesitation because his end of the line grew to a deafening silence.

 

JR finally spoke up. “You don't have to say it, Ren. I heard about what happened.” He replied.

 

“You did?” I asked, shocked that news of Baekho's accident on Music Core had spread across seas so quickly.

 

“How's he doing...?” He seemed hesitant to ask.

 

I shifted my gaze down to the floor rather sadly. “I'm not allowed to say much because you're no longer with Pledis, but what I can say is that I know about as much as you do.”

 

JR paused. “Did you go visit him?”

 

Now it was my turn to pause. I couldn't lie to him. I'd have to answer this question carefully. “I did, but each time I saw him he was still unconscious from surgery.”

 

“Does it make me sound like a bad person if I say I'm a bit relieved to hear that?”

 

My eyes widened with shock. “JR,” I scolded. “It's never okay whenever someone is in the hospital-”

 

“Ren, he likes you.”

 

I scoffed. “You're still on that? Don't be ridiculous.”

 

“Then why did he try to kiss you?”

 

“He didn't-”

 

“I saw it with my own two eyes, Ren. Why are you trying so hard to ignore it? You saw it too; you were right there at the receiving end of it. Are you going to keep on pretending like it didn't happen?”

 

“Yes.” I replied, narrowing my eyes. “Yes I am.”

 

JR paused. “And why is that?”

 

“Because my heart belongs to you.” I replied. My heart belonged to JR. But I was afraid. I was afraid that if I had given that moment any more thought, my heart might start to drift away from him and towards Baekho. I couldn't let that happen; I'd be the most awful person if I let it happen. When JR left, he left believing that he could trust me. I didn't want to break that trust. All of JR's paranoia, it wasn't because he didn't trust me; it was because he couldn't trust Baekho. But all of his worries were pointless; Baekho had distanced himself from me after that incident, giving me my space, something which I appreciated yet was hurt by at the same time. After all, we were friends, weren't we?

 

“I'm sorry,” JR apologized. “I'm just worried.”

 

“Don't be. I'll never leave you.”

 

JR nervously laughed. “Yeah.”

 

“JR,” I called out to him.

 

“Yeah?”

 

“I love you.” I replied with all of my heart. JR paused for a moment.

 

“I love you too, Ren.”

 

“Goodnight, JR.” I said, knowing that although it was barely 2 PM in Korea time, it was already well into the night in America.

 

“I'll call you again.”

 

“I look forward to it.” I replied then we both said our goodbyes and hung up. I sighed then dug my cellphone back into my pocket and stood up, grabbing my briefcase and exiting the empty classroom. I left the school building and made my way over towards the bus stop nearby and waited. As I did so, I received another call, this time from Minhyun.

 

“Yeah, Minhyun?” I asked into the receiver.

 

“Are you on your way to see Baekho?”

 

I blinked. “Actually, yeah. Why, what's up?”

 

Minhyun paused hesitantly. “He woke up.”

 

My eyes widened in shock. “Really...?”

 

“Yeah, but...” Minhyun's voice trailed off. “You shouldn't go see him, Ren.”

 

I tilted my head to the side. “Why ever not?”

 

“Ren, he's... not the same....”

 

I felt my heart come to a halt. “What do you mean?”

 

“If you don't want to get hurt, don't go see him.”

 

“Minhyun,” I snapped. “You're being very rude right now. Do you know that?”

 

“I'm sorry, Ren. I just... I don't want you to get hurt.”

 

“Thanks for looking out for me, but I'll be just fine.” I replied, almost offended by the way Minhyun was acting towards me just now. Minhyun was supposed to be my friend, but yet, he was trying to prevent me from going to see his ex-band member, whom I thought he was friends with too.

 

Minhyun paused. “I warned you, Ren.” He replied then hung up. I pulled the phone away from my ear and stared at it. Just as I did so, the bus pulled up. What the hell was that about just now...? Regardless, I had to find out for myself. What was wrong with Baekho? Why didn't Minhyun want me to see him? I quickly hopped on the bus and rode it all the way down to the hospital in downtown Seoul. When the bus came to a stop I tore out from the doors and made a mad dash inside of the hospital, making my way up to Baekho's room that I had visited numerous times during the past week. I froze when I came across the empty room. Inside was a nurse changing out the bedding. I stepped inside and approached her.

 

“Where did he go...?” I asked, my heart pounding inside of my chest.

 

She gave me a confused look. “Oh, you mean the previous patient? He checked out as soon as he was given the clearance to go home.”

 

It felt as if I had been slapped in the face by a brick. Home? Where was 'home'? If I went back to the mansion, Baekho wouldn't be there. He just couldn't be; all of his belongings were gone. If that was the case, just where did he go? My body went numb as the possibility of never getting to see him again ran across my mind. No... I couldn't just abandon him like this. I couldn't just leave him alone. Pledis and everyone else might have thrown him away, but I couldn't. Although Baekho had a rotten personality at times, he wasn't a bad guy and I knew it. He didn't deserve everything that had happened to him; he had saved three other lives, for crying out loud, and he was rewarded with this sort of treatment? I couldn't let things be like this. I had to do something.

 

I ran out of the hospital and grabbed a taxi, making my way back to the mansion. When I arrived I tore into the house and looked around, startling Aron who had been sitting at the kitchen table, eating by himself with a distraught look on his face. He glanced up at me with a questioning gaze. Before he could speak I interrupted him.

 

“Where's your manager?”

 

“Manager-nim? Why are you looking for him?”

 

“Does it matter?” I gave Aron a cold look. Aron hadn't visited Baekho in the hospital since the day he had been admitted. Needless to say, I was quite bitter with him. How could he have not been there for support when his friend needed him the most? Had he abandoned Baekho just like Pledis did too?

 

Aron looked taken aback by my response. He slowly stood up from the table and approached me, sticking his hand out in front of me. I glanced down at his open palm and then back up at him. He glared at me through narrowed eyes. “Phone. Give it to me.” He replied. I silently took my phone out and gave it to him, where he took it and tapped in a number then pressed call, handing it back to me. I gave him a strange look. “He's out. That's his cell.” He replied, turning his back to me and returning back to his seat at the table. I held the ringing phone up to my ear. After several rings there was finally a response.

 

“Hello?”

 

“Hi, this is Choi Ren, DREAM's stylist calling you.” I replied into the speaker.

 

“Ah, yes, yes. I know you. Is there something I can help you with?” He asked.

 

“Could you?”

 

“Huh?”

 

I hesitated for a brief moment before finally gathering the courage to ask the question that had been burning in my mind since the hospital. “Where can I find Kang Baekho?”

 

Their manager paused. “Why do you need to find him?” He asked defensively.

 

“Kang Baekho and I have unfinished business to attend to.” I curtly replied. It wasn't necessarily a lie. The question that JR had brought back up earlier couldn't seem to escape my mind. I wanted to ignore it, yet at the same time I wanted to know why Baekho had done that and why he had gone so much out of his way to avoid me and treat me like the plague after we had already established our friendship.

 

“If that's the case, then I'll tell you...”

 

 

 

Minhyun's POV

 

I stepped inside of the kitchen after getting off the phone with Ren. I was visibly upset. I had only tried to warn Ren about what he'd be dealing with, but I had come across as a big jerk, which wasn't my intention at all. I could tell Ren was disappointed in me. Everyone... everyone was disappointed in me, weren't they? Baekho hated me, Ren hated me... I couldn't do anything right lately, could I? No... I couldn't let it get to me. I had a a job to do. I had to be the new leader and hold this group together. I glanced down at Aron, who was sitting at the table, eating a salad. I approached his side and gave him a strange look. “I'm surprised you're eating when we have to leave for practice soon.”

 

Aron smirked at me. “Why is that, Min?”

 

I pointed down at his food. “All of that is going to end up on the dance floor in the practice room.”

 

Aron scoffed. “No it's not.” He replied rather childishly.

 

“Then stop eating.”

 

“No; there's nothing wrong with eating when you're hungry, Min.”

 

I paused. I knew he had a point. And it's not like what he was eating was bad for him either. I sighed. “I guess you're right-” I was interrupted by my vibrating cellphone in my pocket. It was a text message. I shrugged it off and took a seat next to Aron at the table. The phone vibrated again, indicating that I had another text message. Within a matter of seconds another text message arrived. I raised a brow. “What in the world...?” I said, digging my phone out and placing it on the table where it only continuously vibrated with a slew of new texts.

 

Aron curiously glanced over the table at my phone. “Who's texting you?”

 

I opened my messages. My heart dropped. They were all from the same person. “...Baekho.”

 

Aron paused then darkly glanced down at his salad. “Does he know...?”

 

I nodded. “I went to see him today... he found out...” I replied, hesitating to open some of his messages.

 

“How did he take it?”

 

I glanced up at him darkly. “How do you think he took it?” I took a deep breath and tapped a message open. My eyes widened in shock and disbelief as I read some of it's contents. Baekho had sent me a massive amount of threatening text messages. The worst part was that they were still coming in. Some of them were threatening, some of them insulting. Others he was accusing me of being a fake or a dream crusher/stealer once again. I scooted back in my chair, the wooden chair legs scraping loudly against the floor. I placed my hands over my mouth, my entire body beginning to tremble.

 

“Min,” Aron looked at me with worried eyes. “What's wrong? What did he say?”

 

I was speechless. I couldn't answer him; I was in far too much shock. I continued staring down at my phone as more and more messages arrived. Aron stood up from his chair and ran to my side, glancing down at the text messages on my phone. He scrolled through them and gasped.

 

“Min, lets go to the police-”

 

“No!”

 

“This is clearly harassment! Min, he threatened you, not once, but several times here!”

 

“We made a promise!” I exclaimed, referring to the promise that we had made regarding Baekho's status. Aron froze and looked at me in disbelief.

 

“Yeah, but-”

 

“Aron, Baekho has nobody and nothing left...” My voice trailed off.

 

“And it's alright for him to vent his anger out on you?!” Aron screamed at me.

 

“If this is his way of coping, it's the least I can do!”

 

“Yeah, but there's a line, Min, and he's clearly crossed it!”

 

“I took his position away from him!”

 

“You didn't steal it, Min, Pledis gave it to you! Dammit!!!” Aron slammed his fist on the table. As he did so, the phone vibrated again. He darkly glanced down at it and grabbed it, raising his arm and slamming it down hard against the floor. The phone broke into millions of tiny little pieces. I stared at him with wide eyes, tears threatening to fall. I immediately knelt down in my chair, grabbing my memory card from amongst the clutter of broken pieces before standing up and giving him a hurt look.

 

“You didn't have to go that far, Aron...”

 

Aron ran his fingers through his bangs after realizing what he had just done. “Oh my god, Min... I'm sorry...”

 

“We made a promise for him... I'm going to follow through with it. I'm sure... I'm sure this is nothing compared to what he's going through. Try to understand him, Aron. I'm... I'm trying to. I'll see you at practice.” I replied then ran off down the hall and to my room in tears. Aron, you big jerk.

 

 

About an hour later I finally came out from my room, about to leave for practice when I realized that Aron's shoes were missing by the door. Earlier I had heard Ren come home and then leave just about as abruptly as he came. But Aron, had he already left without me? Whatever... it was for the best. I couldn't deal with him right now. I couldn't believe he had the nerve to break my phone. Yes, I was frustrated, shocked and hurt by Baekho's never ending, threatening texts, but Aron didn't need to go that far... He even wanted to send Baekho to the police! Aron... I knew what Baekho was doing was wrong, I'm not an idiot, but he's in mourning... And I'm sure Baekho will be in mourning for quite a while. Right now, wasn't the best thing to do was to just let him be?

 

I slid my shoes on and drew my hoodie over my face and stepped outside of the door, walking my way to the bus station further down into town. I silently slid inside and took a seat in the back corner of the bus, doing my best not to stick out and draw attention. Luckily during the short ride to the Pledis main building no one had spotted or recognized me. Once I arrived I hopped off the bus and made my way inside of the double doors at the main entrance. I bowed and greeted the receptionist at the front desk, making my way deep into the building and downstairs where the practice room was. I paused before I came to the sliding door as I already heard music pouring out from the speakers. I raised a brow then stepped through the door frame to see Aron and someone else I didn't recognize. Aron had been standing still, allowing some guy about his age, if not older, with vibrant red and black hair pose his arms and legs. I let my gym bag fall from my arm and hit the wooden practice floor, grabbing their attention. Who in the world was this...?

 

Both Aron and the man with the strange hair glanced my way. I kept my gaze focused intently on the stranger's hands which were on Aron's arms, not at all liking the fact that he was touching my boyfriend. It didn't matter if I was mad at him at the time or not; I had gone through hell to get Aron to confess to me and finally he was mine. I should be the only one allowed to touch him, shouldn't I? At the moment I forgot all about my bitterness towards Aron and my depression towards Baekho. Right now a strong wave of jealousy washed over me, one which I couldn't control. It wasn't just the fact that he was touching Aron, but the fact that he was good looking as well was bothering me.

 

Aron's face remained expressionless as always (couldn't he take a hint?) while a big, bright smile spread across the gorgeous red headed man's lips. He released his hold on Aron's arms and started making his way towards me. I prepared myself for our encounter and pursed my lips together, almost glaring at him at the same time. He outstretched his hand to me.

 

“My name is Jason; I'm your new dance choreographer.”