the name unknown: a 'k' short story

k through the years

"it all started after the show ended. i returned to my agency. bang pd-nim contacted me right away. he offered me to debut as a solo. rain hyung also offered me to join his agency. he was planning to make his agency filled by multinational artists."

"ah, right. rain hyung has been interested in you since the show started." jay comments. "he talked about you a lot when we were still at the ground."

k's heart fluttered. "really?"

"yes! ask ni-ki and jake." jay points to the boys.

heeseung nods. "ok. now, let him finishes his story first."

"ah, sorry." jay keeps his mouth locked again.

k smiles. "it's okay, i never had someone replying to my story."

"so, which one did you choose?" asked jungwon.

"rain hyung's company."

"aaa... that's why we never saw you at the building." jake replies.

"he planned to make me debut as a solo at the beginning of 2021."

the members nod.

"but i quitted after weeks of training."

the members shocked. "why? what happened?" asked sunghoon

k's smile fades. "there were rumors about me." said k with a lower voice. "i don't want my bad reputation defames the company... and you."

once again, the room is filled up by silence. nobody is brave enough to say something. yes, they heard the rumors. they later found out that the rumors were already there since they were still in the middle of the show. sunoo was the first one who tells the other about it. at that time, they were so worried about k. they knew k is a good person. he wouldn't do such thing. they tried to contact him. but failed miserably.

"that's why i decided to fly back to japan. without telling anyone. including my parents." k looks up to the ceiling, trying to expel his tears.

as k starts to cry, jay hugs him and caresses his back. "it must be hard for you. i'm glad you survive until now."

k pushes jay away after a while. "i lost my phone at the airport. i didn't know what to do. so, i decided to ask for help from my marathon friend." k suddenly laughs. "he's the one you met at the supermarket." he taps jay's thigh.

jay covers his mouth once he remembered what happened this afternoon. "omg." he feels so embarrassed. "i called out a wrong person? but he really looked like you."

k nods. "you're not the only one. all of my marathon friends also said the same thing." he laughs.

"so, what do you do now for a living?" asked sunoo.

"my friend offered me to continue my career as a marathon runner. so... that's what i am today." k shrugs his shoulders.

"you're a marathon runner now??" sunghoon smiles with pride.

k nods proudly. "uh-huh."

"i bet you'll look so cool when you run! i wish we can watch you." ni-ki frowns.

k pats ni-ki's shoulder. "next year i'll run at the tokyo marathon event."

the boys squeal in excitement. "omg! we'll definitely come to watch!"

k smiles happily. "thank you! i'm happy you support me with my decision." the boys make a group hug for k, and stay for a while. k feels so happy. it's been so long since he had a group hug like this. all this time, he always does a butterfly hug, since he has nobody to hug.

martha graham once said:
'a dancer dies twice — once when they stop dancing, and this first death is the more painful.'

k totally agrees.

when he quitted his agency, it felt like death. he's been so used in dancing and singing. at first, it was so hard to adapt to his decision. sometimes, he still regrets it. but he realizes, regretting wouldn't change a thing. life isn't always go as what he wants. he couldn't do anything but to accept and move on. that's a part of growing.

it starts getting late. the boys forbid k from going home. they force k to stay with them until their last day in japan. so, k grants their wish. the 8 boys decided to sleep together in heeseung's and jungwon's room. they haven't planned what to do if they get caught. for now, let's just enjoy this moment without thinking about the future. cause they won't know when will this togetherness disappear.