As the ward door closed and the sound of footsteps in the hallway completely disappeared,
The air suddenly felt empty.
Flea lay in bed for a while, unable to move.
Until just now, they were clearly laughing and the sound of people's voices was loud.
It was so quiet now that even the ticking of the clock could be heard clearly.
‘Everyone… thank you so much.’
That thought wasn't false.
Bambi's playful confidence, and Peppermint's cautious apology,
And even Eunho's short but strong words.
Everyone believed in him.
And yet
A heavy weight continued to sink somewhere in my chest.
Flea slowly turned his head.
A wheelchair at the end of the bed, a neatly folded blanket next to it.
And his own leg—the cast was wrapped tightly around it.
‘…because of me.’
The word slowly but persistently emerged in my mind.
Stage layout, route, and direction.
Everything changed because of me.
Someone must have been in meetings late into the night,
While some people say, “It’s okay, you can do it,”
I might have been tapping away at the calculator inside.
“It’s not a nuisance… right?”
Flea muttered in a voice so small it was almost inaudible.
The words scattered like air in the hospital room,
The question remained vivid in Flea's mind.
The night deepened.
Even though I turned off the lights and closed my eyes
Sleep didn't come easily.
The more I closed my eyes, the clearer my thoughts became.
stage lighting,
The audience's gaze,
and-
A picture of himself coming out on stage in a wheelchair.
‘What will people think…?
What if I see the situation before the song?
.
.
.
‘If you look at it with sympathetic eyes…?’
Flee clutched the blanket tightly.
I put so much strength into my hands that the blanket was crumpled.
‘I… am standing here to sing.’
But gradually
More than wanting to sing well
The thought that ‘I might be harming someone’
It started to settle in bigger.
Eventually, Flea gave up on falling asleep.
I carefully took out my phone and put in the earphones.
I played the MR file and turned the volume down to the lowest level.
In case the sound leaks into the hallway
I was holding my breath.
“…Way… for love…”
The song came out well.
The condition was also good.
Neither breathing nor pitch fluctuated much.
But when the song ended
The inside of my chest felt strangely tight.
"…ha."
Flee took off his earphones and lowered his head.
Even breathing was difficult for a moment.
‘Is this enough?’
Everyone goes this far…’
I put my earphones back in and started singing.
This time I put a little more force into it.
To be a little more precise,
A little more perfect.
My throat started to hurt a little.
But it didn't stop.
'are you okay.
‘This much… I have to handle it.’
Suddenly,
The scene from last night came to mind.
Eunho was sleeping with his head on his leg.
Words muttered in a voice half-drunk.
“I’m worried… I’ll take care of it…”
As that face came to mind
Flea suddenly stopped singing.
‘Senior…
Because of me...’
As that thought occurred to me
I felt like I couldn't breathe.
Flee closed his eyes tightly.
‘If this continues… what if everyone gets tired?
.
.
‘Because of me alone.’
Flee picked up his phone, then put it down again.
I wanted to confide in someone
At the same time, I didn't want to do that.
‘If I say it for nothing…
I feel like it'll just ruin the mood.'
All I had to do was do better.
Prepare perfectly
If you make it so no one worries—
That seemed like the best choice.
Flea started singing again.
This time, it was as if whispering,
But more intensely.
My throat was sore
I ignored that feeling.
Outside the hospital room,
Eunho stopped walking as he was passing through the hallway.
A very small singing sound could be heard from beyond the door.
“…?”
It was such a subtle sound that I might miss it if I didn't listen closely.
But Eunho's footsteps stopped in their tracks.
The song was stable though
He was strangely cautious.
As if they wouldn't even allow mistakes.
Eunho didn't say anything
I stood there for a moment.
And I thought to myself.
‘… This is a bit strange.’
Flea finished singing and muttered under his breath.
“I… can do it.”
But that means
Rather than being certain
It was more like a self-soothing remark.
Without anyone knowing,
This heart that started very quietly
Little by little, it's eating away at the flea—
That night,
Fleeman didn't know yet.
.
.
.
.
.
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Continued in the next episode >>>>