Fifty-Nine

"S.T.A.Y!" Kim PD-nim held out his arms and called out, bringing all the eyes in the huge convention hall to our five members as we entered. "You made it!"

"Yes, Kim PD-nim." Mingyu bowed, then addressed the whole gathering as he led us in the team greeting. "One, two, three." We joined in. "Always yours. We're S.T.A.Y!"

Claps and cheers went up from all around. We bowed and smiled to everyone. Most of them were faces we had seen around DayBreak but there were also quite a few people whom we could not recognise.

"Looks like 04:00 am's not here yet." Jaehyeon commented from beside me.

"They're on their way." I knew because I had been texting Changmin and Baekjae Sunbae on the way to the venue. I would have looked for him in the crowd first otherwise.

"Come over here." Kim PD-nim waved us over to where he was standing with a few important-looking people.

Straight to work, I suppose.

Our Managers had taken all of this into consideration when planning our tours. They were able to rearrange a few things to allow us a day or two in South Korea before we had to return to our next venues. While we had to fly only after one more day, 04:00 am had gotten only this one night. They were to go back to America the very next morning. Besides, while they still had a couple of months left, we had just about a month and a half before we made it back to Seoul for our final performance on this tour.

I was still going to have to wait for Changmin.

We went around greeting all the important people with Kim PD-nim. There was soft music playing in the background and there was food set up on tables all around the hall. People were randomly mingling with each other and either standing or sitting somewhere to talk or eat.

This was the first party that we were attending without needing to go up and perform to entertain anyone. It felt good. We were some of the important people in the room.

"Oh. Freefall is also here." Yeojun said on noticing the nine-member junior group.

"Of course, they're here. They're as much a part of DayBreak as we are." Mingyu reminded him.

"They've been steeped in controversy off-late…" Yeojun said. "I wouldn't have been surprised if DayBreak decided to be a little cautious."

I pitched in. "Maybe that's exactly why Kim PD-nim wanted them here- to showcase them for their real selves and not just the issues."

"It's kind of sad." Jaehyeon watched them as they went around together and did their best to greet people. "It's not entirely their fault. True, they have some short-tempered members who don't know what to say and when, but they were merely standing up for themselves most of the time." He paused. "MOST of the time. They still have a lot to learn though."

"Let's drop in on them after our tour. Try and give them some advice or encouragement." I said. Regardless of everything else, they were still our Hoobae group under the same banner. They were our Dongsaengs.

"We should." Mingyu agreed and patted Hanseol's shoulder. "We'll have Hyung talk to them."

Hanseol raised an eyebrow but said nothing to that. We were approached by another guest soon after that and so our attention got diverted again.

04:00 am arrived about half an hour later. Just as had been the case when we had entered too, everyone clapped and cheered for them when Kim PD-nim called the hall's attention to them. With big smiles and the fatigue barely visible on their faces, they greeted everyone as a group, bowed and walked in.

We were somewhere to the right of the hall, talking to members of a three-member girl group. 04:00 am had all of our attention the moment they walked in. While I did glance at all of them, my eyes had found Changmin almost immediately. The grey two-piece suit that he was wearing with the black Shirt was perfectly tailored to fit his body. His navy blue hair had been parted on the right and blown up a bit such that the bangs fell in a perfect fold over his left eyebrow. He had that usual onstage charm in his demeanour and black eyes.

Hyung-ah, I'm here.

Look here.

Here.

He was looking around, just as the others were in greeting, but it was difficult to see us from where they were. That realisation irked me. The fact that I couldn't just run up to him and hug him irked me.

We had to go greet them too though- as Hoobaes.

"Let's go." Mingyu said and began walking towards them after excusing us from the girls.

Finally.

"Ah!" Youngjae Sunbae exclaimed on taking notice of us. "S.T.A.Y!"

"It's been a while!" Jaemin Sunbae grinned.

"Yes." Mingyu smiled.

"Really." Changmin's eyes met mine. "It's been a while."

Not enough.

A smile was not enough. But with the cameras all around and how formal the whole event was, even he did not just jump at me like he usually would have.

"Hanseol-ah, you doing good?" Hyeonwoo Sunbae asked. "You look fine."

"Yeah, man. That was a nasty fall." Jaemin Sunbae winced.

"I'm almost as good as back to normal." Hanseol replied. "I'll be joining everyone onstage from our next performance onwards. Not on a chair."

"That's good to hear." Baekjae Sunbae said. "Everyone could tell that you hated every bit of it."

"All of us hated every bit of it." Mingyu scoffed. "We had to deal with his cribbing after every performance."

"Who else would he have cribbed to if not to you, eh?" Hyeonwoo Sunbae chuckled.

"Mm. We're family." Jaehyeon threw an arm over my shoulders. "It's just rare to see our Hanseol cribbing."

"Aish…" Hanseol rolled his eyes. "No comment."

"I heard that you're going back to America tomorrow itself." Jaehyeon said. "Isn't that a bit too harsh?"

"It feels like we came down here to party, sleep and then go back." Minho narrowed his eyes in sourness.

"It couldn't be helped." Baekjae Sunbae said. "Given that it's such an important function, there was no way we could have missed it."

"But you've been traveling so much…" I spoke, looking at him.

How did he manage to look so radiant even after all that?

"It's just a matter of a couple more months." He smiled. "We're all doing our bests, aren't we?"

"Hate to break it up but I need 04:00 am for a bit now." Kim PD-nim cut in. "I gather you've been mingling in as well, S.T.A.Y?"

"Yes." We nodded.

"Good. Good. You can just enjoy the rest of the party. Thank you for your hard work, as always."

"Ah. Yes. Thank you." We bowed and saw them off. Passing us by, Changmin dropped a hand on my head, smiled again and walked away.

I wanted to grab his hand and stop him but I couldn't.

That was mean, Hyung.

Eventually, we got our food and settled to eat at one of the tables. We were planning on staying for two more hours because Kim PD-nim had said that there were a few more people to meet. That meant that 04:00 am would also have to stay that long. It was relieving to know that Changmin would not have to leave anytime soon but the fact that we were with everyone else and that we couldn't quite talk like we wanted to was rather suffocating. Even just then, while eating, he was sitting with 04:00 am at the table just behind me- so close- and yet, we couldn't talk properly.

It was starting to get to me.

"Ah. But that boy, Nao, of Freefall." Mingyu brought up a name that caught my attention. "You really don't remember talking to him, Jeongwoo Hyung?"

"We were trainees. I used to try and encourage a lot of trainees who were younger than me. I had never thought that it would influence anyone so much."

"Dude. You managed to make a rapper the main vocalist." Hanseol stated.

"I had merely pointed out that his voice might suit singing too. How was I supposed to know that this would happen?" I had been dumbfounded when I heard about it from the Japanese member of Freefall, Naoto, himself earlier when we were talking to Freefall. "Although it worked out this well, I wasn't expecting this at all!"

"So, now you have an admirer just like Baekjae Sunbae has you." Yeojun added.

"It feels strange to think of it that way." I ducked my head, all that attention making me feel a little shy.

"Just accept it. You're just likeable that way." Jaehyeon said and continued eating. "Now, eat. Don't stop."

"Okay…" I resumed eating.

"I can't believe that we have to leave the day after tomorrow." Hanseol commented in exasperation.

"At least two nights in my own bed sounds perfect to me though." Mingyu mused. "At least we're better off than 04:00 am."

I began eating a little faster.

"I don't think I'll sleep tonight though." Jaehyeon mentioned. "I'm feeling tired but I'm not sleepy. It's not time for bed yet. And by the time we get used to Korean time again, we'll have to leave. Why couldn't the whole world have followed a single work schedule?"

Tell me about it! I wouldn't have had to stay up so late then.

"If only it was that easy!" Yeojun chuckled. "But then some people would be working at night."

"That's why we have this thing called electricity." Jaehyeon said.

I perked up when I heard the voices of the girl group members from behind me. Their leader, Park Eunsoo, was the first to speak. "We're so glad that you were able to make it today, Sunbaenim."

"You bring so much life with you that everyone seems to have woken up ever since you walked in." Their Maknae, Kim Hyerin, said.

I had nothing against them. In fact, they were quite the likeable group. In that moment, however, I wanted them to stop talking and walk away. The fact that I couldn't talk to Changmin had put me so much on edge that I didn't want the girls to talk to him either.

"We're glad we could make it too." Baekjae Sunbae responded.

Changmin spoke next. "It's good to see everyone here like this. Even you were touring South Korea, right?"

"Mm. But if you were all coming, how could we not?" Their third member, Eunjeong said.

Ah. Pathetic.

Two more minutes were all I needed to finish eating everything I had taken. It was hardly the amount that I usually ate but I did not want to eat anymore. I was at the end of my patience.

"Excuse me." I slowly stood up. "Mingyu-ya, I can step out for a bit, right?"

"Sure. Why though?" He looked confused.

"Just going for a walk. I'll be back in a bit."

"That's fine but… is everything okay?" He asked in concern.

"It's all good. I just want to take a walk." I smiled reassuringly. "I'll be back soon."

"Okay…" He nodded, not seeming convinced by that statement.

"Then, I'll-" Jaehyeon began standing up but I knew exactly what he was going to say and so, I just spoke before he could.

"Don't you have that director to talk to about your modelling? It's okay. I'll be fine on my own."

"Mm." Although he looked unsure about what was going on, he knew a flat-out rejection for what it was. I felt bad for it but I really couldn't have him tag along.

I glanced towards 04:00 am's table as I turned away from our table and found Changmin watching. I held his gaze for a moment and then left the hall.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What was that supposed to mean?

Changmin turned back to the girls with the best smile that he could offer. They were still talking to him and the other members of 04:00am. He couldn't concentrate though. The look that Jeongwoo had given him before leaving the hall was troubling him. He couldn't quite tell what Jeongwoo had wanted to convey or whether he had wanted to convey anything at all.

Was he pissed? Why had he left the hall like that? Was he okay? Was he feeling unwell? He left by himself though… And that look- Was Changmin supposed to follow him? But he couldn't just get up and leave in between the conversation, right? It would come across as rude. But Jeongwoo- Ugh. What was he supposed to do?

Eunsoo was directly talking to him just then. If he had not been in such a situation, he would have followed Jeongwoo. With all the cameras though…

'Jeongwoo-ya, what was all that about?'

He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. Half-expecting it, he took the phone out of his suit's inner pocket to see that the call was indeed from Jeongwoo. It got cut immediately though. And even before he could conclude anything from that, he received a message.

'203'

203?

Another message followed it immediately.

'Room number'

Changmin looked up at Eunsoo from his phone while still keeping a straight face and responding to her previous question. Before she could ask another one, however, he stood up and motioned to his phone. "Sorry. I need to go take care of something. Family."

"Ah. I see." Eunsoo responded and moved out of his way. "It was nice talking to you, Minsu Sunbae."

"Where are you going?" Jaemin asked.

"Just… out for a bit. Phone. I'll be back." He replied and nodded to the rest of his members before walking away from the table and making his way out of the hall without catching the cameras' attention. Once he was certain that he was not being watched or followed, he turned towards the part of the hotel where the rooms were and headed to the second floor.