EXOTIC (VII): The Family They Never Had

His words echoed throughout the room. For a minute, there was pin drop silence as KJ tried to digest those words.

"What did you just say?" he asked. 

"It's time to honor our vows, KJ," Jinhyun whispered. "Disband EXOTIC and-"

But KJ stood up abruptly. "I can't believe you just said that." His voice was trembling. Not out of anger but out of fear. Disband EXOTIC? That was a preposterous thought for him. The group he had nurtured for ten years, the music they created together. They laughed together, faced so many hardships with each other. They were a family. How can Jinhyun just casually mention that it was time to disband?

Jinhyun too, stood up. "KJ, I know you're angry," he reasoned. "But we can't go on like this! What Ash did was wrong but you can't deny that he was an important part of EXOTIC. Even if we can go on without him, the hole he left behind is too big!"

"Would you have said the same thing if Dasom or I had left?" KJ asked furiously.