Chapter 384: Past Meets Present

Year 2021

It was dark.

The skies were void of any stars.

It was as if the day was meant to be gruesome.

Joon-ho stood at the rooftop and started looking back on the friends he made along the way after he was kicked out of Phoenix.

Kim Jeong was one of them.

Lee Mansik and Do Bonggi also came to his life like a flicker of a flame.

They were the people who he confided with when he was mercilessly removed from the debut group—the people who made him feel like he belonged.

However, Joon-ho was blinded.

They didn't turn out to be good people.

In the end, the friendship he cherished turned into the friendship that bit him back in the ass.

And it made him forget the real friendship that he should have cherished more.

In front of him was a tall figure standing on the railings of the balcony, the wind blowing through his unkempt hair.

"No," Joon-ho said, taking a step forward.

"Don't," the man, whose face was unrecognizable, said. "I've decided."

"Please, don't do this," Joon-ho pleaded, going on his knees. "I'm here for you. You're not alone."

"I don't care," the man hopelessly said. "At the end of the day, I will just be...forgotten."

With that, the man fell from the balcony, almost ten floors down. Joon-ho scrambled to get to him, trying to hold onto something...anything...but it was too late.

The body lurched forward and landed on the cold, hard concrete.

"You killed him."

"This is your fault."

"Murderer."

"There's no one to blame but you, puppy June."

"Puppy June!"

June snapped out of his trance when he felt a stinging pain on his right cheek.

"Bro!" Minjun exclaimed, looking at him with concern before glaring at Kim Jeong.

Kim Jeong manically chuckled while Mansik and Bonggi doubled over in laughter.

"What are you going to do, kid? Report us to your teacher?" he asked.

Duri tugged on his brother's sleeve, and softly said, "He always gets away with what he wants because his parents are rich."

"Oh," Kim Jeong said with raised eyebrows. "It seems like we landed on a gold mine. Why don't you cough up some money, kid? Our family's a bit tight on funds these days."

June covered Minjun once more and spat out, his saliva tainted with blood. He chuckled coldly before touching his sore cheek. He was sure it was going to bruise by tomorrow.

"You know when they say that an idol's asset is his looks," June cryptically said.

"What are you spouting?" Mansik asked.

"Well, you should never hurt someone's asset," June said, glaring at the two before landing a punch on Kim Jeong's face.

Their eyes widened in shock as they looked at June's determined expression. Kim Jeong held onto his jaw as he felt the pain radiate to his head.

"Shit," he cursed, also spitting out some blood.

'This guy packs a punch,' he thought.

"Are you insane?" Bonggi exclaimed. "Your career is over once this gets out!" he threatened.

June smirked and nonchalantly looked at his fist. "That is—if you manage to get out of here."

Bonggi felt a chill run down his spine as June gazed into his eyes.

This didn't feel like the timid Choi Joon-ho they once knew.

"Bro," Minjun said, holding onto his wrist. "Let's just go, huh?"

"Not so fast," Kim Jeong said. "There's no way in hell you're leaving this place after what you just did."

June glanced at Minjun and decided it wasn't the best idea to fight his past demons while he was around.

"Alright," June softly said, ignoring the idiots in front of him. "Let's go."

June held onto Minjun's hand and was about to pull him away, when Kim Jeong went in front of him.

"Duri, take this," he said, handing his little brother some money. "Take the bus and go home."

Duri smirked as he took the money from his brother. Then, he gazed at Minjun with a victorious look before walking away from the scene, even managing to hum a tune under his breath.

June cursed as he looked at the teen, disgusted at his actions. It seemed like cruelty ran in their family.

"Now, let's get this party started," Jeong said, circling around the two like a predator would do to its prey.

June stayed still, while Minjun clung to him for dear life.

"Let us go," June said. "If you want, we can talk about this among ourselves. Leave Minjun out of it."

"Well, then where's the fun in that?" Jeong exclaimed.

"Since the little one is here, why don't we tell him an interesting story," he started off.

"Shut up—," June said, but was quickly cut off by Jeong.

"Once upon a time, there lived an aspiring idol who always did his best. According to him, he was supposed to debut in a group, but honestly, he didn't really have what it takes," Jeong chuckled.

It was obvious they were talking about Joon-ho.

"And then, like the world had turned its back on him, his parents died, he got kicked out of the company, and he started seeking friends. Three little guys were kind enough to take him under their belt, but he was ungrateful and didn't want to do the things the three kind guys wanted him to do," he continued.

June guessed that Joon-ho still upheld his morals even though he was forced to do immoral acts by these guys.

"But, of course, the three guys always had a back-up plan. If the little puppy didn't have what it takes, then they decided to deflower his little friend instead."

June froze. Now, this was new information for him. There were still a lot of gray areas in Choi Joon-ho's past, but everything was becoming clear one-by-one.

...why he was so timid.

...why a poem was in his phone entitled—'I Shouldn't Have Seen What I Saw.'

...and why these guys are still pestering him up until now.

"His little friend couldn't take the pressure, though," Mansik chuckled.

"Yeah, if only the little puppy would have obeyed the three kind guys in the first place, then his little friend wouldn't have suffered in the end," Bonggi added.

Minjun frowned, already guessing they were talking about June's past. He was a smart kid so he pieced it all together.

"So, in the end," Jeong said, his eyes holding a dark glint, "it was the little puppy's fault why his little friend suffered, but now—here he is, now living his life as an idol without any regard to the sins he has committed."

Jeong was sure June was going to be shaken up by his recollection of the past, but June's eyes continued to hold nonchalance, making him frown.

"Are you done?" June asked, taking even Minjun by surprise.

"W—what?" Jeong stammered.

"The only thing I'm getting here is that it's all your fault," June started off, "don't blame other men for your sins."

"And besides," June smirked, leaning closer to Jeong.

"I'm a kitty, idiot."