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墨書 Inktalez
As noon approached, Anna felt a slight hunger in her stomach, but first, she needed to feed Peter before thinking about how to satisfy her own hunger. The water on the stove was still heating up when her phone suddenly rang. She picked it up to see it was a call from Park Chan-yeol; this was the first time he had called since their confrontation that day.
"Hello."
"Hello, Anna." It wasn't Park Chan-yeol's voice; it was Wu Shixun, and he sounded noticeably anxious.
"Sehun? What happened?" Anna asked, puzzled.
"Chan-yeol fell off the stage during rehearsal today for some reason."
"And then? Where is he now?" Anna nearly dropped the soup spoon in her hand.
"He's at Renai Hospital, on the third floor. I'm here with Sohu and the manager. He doesn't want me to tell you, but I thought about it and secretly took his phone to call you," Wu Shixun explained.
"Okay, got it. I'll be there right away."
Anna hung up, turned off the gas that was still burning, quickly changed out of her loungewear, and rushed out the door.
She hurried through the hospital corridors and lobby, attracting curious glances from many people. In the hospital room, Park Chan-yeol lay quietly, his face pale and looking exhausted. A humidifier beside him silently moistened the air. Anna stood at the doorway, feeling frantic and drained from her rush to get there, yet she found herself unable to take another step closer. It was an awkward situation. Wu Shixun turned around and saw Anna sweating profusely; realizing that Park Chan-yeol needed quiet, he silently pulled Anna out of the room.
"What happened?" Anna asked.
"The doctor said he just has some superficial injuries from falling off the stage; it's nothing serious."
"Then why hasn't he woken up?" Anna questioned anxiously.
"The doctor said it was due to extreme fatigue, which caused his blood sugar to drop too low. Recently, he has been burdened with thoughts, always frowning and not speaking. Aside from movie promotions and stage training, he doesn't sleep when he should. When I returned home in the early morning after separate activities, I found him still awake alone, lost in thought," Wu Shixun said.
Anna didn't know what to say.
"Anna, what exactly happened between you? How did you suddenly become Chan-yeol's sister? And there are so many strange things; you all are really odd."
"I think so too. We are quite strange," Anna replied helplessly.
"I really think you should have a good talk. Even if there are misunderstandings, wouldn't it be better to resolve them? Why torture yourselves like this?" Wu Shixun suggested.
"Sehun, there are many things you don't know and won't understand. What we have between us is no longer something that can be discussed openly. On the contrary, because I told him everything, he is suffering like this. It proves that the matter is also an insurmountable hurdle for him," Anna explained.
"What could be so serious?"
Anna shook her head. She looked at Sehun and asked, "Sehun, if one day you discover that the angel you've always loved is actually a cruel devil, what would you do?"
"If that girl is really that bad, then I would just stop loving her. If it's impossible not to love her, then even if she is a devil, there's nothing I can do about it, right?"
"You are right, Park Chan-yeol is currently trying hard to make a final choice. I can't help him; no one can help him. Actually, these days, I've probably already figured out the answer," Anna turned around and looked at the still sleeping Park Chan-yeol and said, "The more one has lost in the past, the more disappointed one will be when the truth comes to light. I... really don't want to see that look of disappointment in his eyes when he looks at me anymore. I also don't want to see fear."
"Anna, why do you say such terrifying things? Did you do something terrible?" Wu Shixun frowned.
Anna lowered her head and looked at her hands—those hands stained with her mother's blood—trembling and unable to stop. No matter how many times she washed them, every time she looked at them like this, it felt as if she could see some crimson color; it was horrifying.
Between them, there was already too much of a chasm, just like when Park Chan-yeol saw Anna; he would think of the lives lost because of her. Similarly, every time Anna gazed into Park Chan-yeol's eyes, the tragic fate of Hogga would surface in her mind.
Their eyes were both so dark and bright that they reflected memories and impressions even more clearly—impossible to erase.
“Anna, what is it? What terrible thing happened?” Sehun asked when Anna remained silent.
“Miss Anna, what brings you here?” At that moment, Li Agent walked over with a worried expression after finishing a call.
“I heard about Park Chan-yeol and came to check on him. Don’t worry, even if we are photographed now, there won’t be any bad rumors about Chan-yeol,” Anna said.
Li Agent understood her meaning, nodded, and said, “Then, if you have time, could you please keep an eye on Chan-yeol here? I need to take Sehun and the others back to the company to handle some matters; after all, there’s a performance tonight.”
“Sure, go ahead,” Anna replied.
Li Agent went to the hospital room to call Sohu. Wu Shixun looked at Anna and said, “Anna, although I don’t know what happened between you two, no matter the outcome, I hope you can make a decision soon. I’m afraid if this drags on, both of you will only get hurt deeper.”
“Don’t worry, I understand,” Anna said.
Li Agent and Sehun left the hospital. Anna entered the room and stood by Park Chan-yeol's bed. The IV drip flowed slowly into his veins. Their relationship had turned into a deep torment through countless misunderstandings and accidents.
What brought them together was suffering.
What separated them were the means used to endure that suffering.
Never think too highly of the person you love, nor let the person you love think too highly of you; otherwise, such an ending could easily turn the beauty in your heart into ashes, leaving unbearable pain.
As noon passed, sunlight began to slowly pour onto the hospital bed. Park Chan-yeol was sleeping soundly, occasionally letting out a soft snore. Anna got up to pull the curtains closed, fearing that sunlight would disturb his hard-won slumber.
However, after closing the curtains and turning around, she found that Park Chan-yeol had woken up at some point. He looked at Anna with a blank expression. They locked eyes, but Anna could no longer see the previous emotions reflected in his gaze.
He had already made his choice.
"You’re awake." Anna finally broke the suffocating silence in the room and sat down on the chair by the bed.
"How did you get here?" His voice was hoarse, lacking any trace of joy.
"Sehun called me, so I came." Anna said. "Do you want some water?"
Park Chan-yeol closed his eyes, sighed, then opened them again, trying to sit up. "I can do it myself."
Anna wanted to help him but ended up just placing the cup of water within reach and did nothing more.
Park Chan-yeol took a couple of sips before putting the cup down, leaning back against the headboard in silence.
"Why did you fall off the stage? You're not usually this careless," Anna said.
"I was a bit careless," Park Chan-yeol replied. "Who is ever completely error-free? Don’t you think?"
"Yes, but some things, once done, are hard to take back. Like falling off the stage; this time you were lucky and nothing serious happened. If something had really happened, wouldn’t it be a lifelong regret?" Anna said.
"Yeah," Park Chan-yeol said, turning his face to look at Anna, staring intently as if searching for an answer. "Anna, do you know? I've been thinking these days that I really wish you wouldn’t tell me these things. Can’t you just lie to me for a lifetime?"
"You’re not just anyone. I don’t want to lie to you, and I won’t," Anna said. "I can already imagine that you can’t accept this side of me. But to be honest, I still had a glimmer of hope back then, a hope that maybe you wouldn’t mind... Heh, but how could that be... Even I find it hard to accept what I’ve done over these years."
Park Chan-yeol took out the ruby necklace from around his neck, holding it in his palm with a bitter smile. "You know, I originally planned to give this ruby necklace back to you after finishing filming in China. I thought everything was behind us; I would make a statement telling everyone we have no blood relation and that our parents have divorced, letting them know we are not siblings but a couple. However, when I excitedly went to find you, what I got was such an outcome."
"Things have already happened. Even if I didn’t tell you then, one day I would have told you," Anna said.
Park Chan-yeol shook his head with a cold smile and said, "Anna, you're wrong."
"What?"
"I am disappointed, I am desperate, not because you told me that thing, nor because of your cruelty and determination. Who hasn't been cruel at some point? Moreover, I understand the reasons behind your actions. I am disappointed because I saw in your eyes the certainty that I would leave you. You didn't mention this to make me choose; rather, you wanted to push me away fundamentally. I wonder what the reason is—perhaps it has to do with Han Yoon-soo's mother, or maybe Hogga, or perhaps..."
"Chan-yeol, I don't want to deny it. Mother and Hogga are problems between us that we cannot ignore. Every time I feel happy being with you, I think about how painful it was for my mother to die. Whenever I look into your eyes, I can see Hogga struggling in the depths of darkness for a lifetime. We are both deceiving ourselves; you can't see the fear in your eyes towards me, and I can't see my own subconscious resistance. This is why we have come to this point," Anna said.
"Maybe that's true... After all, when looking at others, one cannot see their own expressions," Park Chan-yeol said. "Just now, while I was asleep, I had a dream... In the dream, I couldn't tell if it was you or Sister Yura smiling at me, and then you both drifted further away until you became blurry and disappeared."
"They say that what one thinks during the day will appear in dreams at night. Because in your heart, both I and Sister Yura have gradually been let go by you," Anna lowered her head and lightly raised the corner of her mouth. "I saw some news recently; it seemed like they caught you having a late-night snack with a girl who looked very beautiful."
"She is a trainee from our company. Do you believe me when I say there's nothing between us?" Park Chan-yeol said with a helpless smile. "I guess not only you won't believe it; others won't either. The entertainment industry is always like this. It can't be changed."
"Whether I believe it or not, or whether others believe it or not doesn't matter; what's important is that you believe it," Anna said. "I have no relatives left in this world; just be my brother, so we both still have family."
"Looking at it now, it seems like that's the only way; it's also the best choice," Park Chan-yeol said.
"In the end, we were pushed into our current situation by fate. If I had known earlier, I wouldn't have struggled so much," Anna said self-deprecatingly.
Before she could finish speaking, footsteps approached, and a girl appeared in the ward wearing a light purple dress, with shoulder-length black hair, lively eyes, delicate features, and a slender figure. Anna exchanged glances with her and recognized her as the girl from the news photo who was smiling at Park Chan-yeol while eating fish cakes.
"Hello," Anna stood up.
The girl seemed a bit awkward; her face flushed slightly as she said, "Hello. You must be Anna sister? I'm Bai Baoying, a friend of Brother Canlie."
"Hello, Baoying," Anna smiled politely as she picked up her bag from behind her and said to Chan-yeol, "I have some things to attend to, so I'll leave first. I've asked the doctor; after this IV drip is done, there shouldn't be any issues. Well then, goodbye."
"Anna..." Park Chan-yeol hesitated to speak.
Anna did not respond to him but instead bowed to Bai Baoying and said, "I will take my leave now. Thank you for your help, Miss Baoying."
"Alright," Baoying replied politely.
As Anna left the hospital room, perhaps no one knew why she had fled in such a disheveled manner. In truth, it was because she understood that it was precisely because she had once loved Park Chan-yeol so deeply that she could instantly see how naturally and freely he smiled in that photo. It had been so long since Anna had seen Park Chan-yeol look at her with such a smile.
Their relationship had borne too much weight; there was no way to move forward. Until today, seeing this girl and noticing the blush on her face, reminiscent of when she first saw Park Chan-yeol, Anna finally realized that her feelings for Park Chan-yeol had been completely washed away by the torrents of these years. They would never speak of love again. That red moonstone had indeed once belonged to her, but from now on, it would find its home with another girl.
Anna started the car, tears falling onto her skirt. However, she clearly understood that this was not due to sadness; it was merely the result of a stubborn adherence that ultimately transformed into an inexplicable void.
She turned on the music in the car, and it happened to be Jaejoong's song "For You."
I know that to live without regrets, I should hold onto you.
But whose life can truly be lived without regrets?
Bringing Peter to Han River Park, there were very few people by the riverside at this time. Occasionally, cyclists hurried past her; their faces were covered tightly, making it impossible to discern their features or ages before they quickly disappeared.
Anna did not know what kind of emotions she was feeling at that moment. Although she had long thought that she and Park Chan-yeol would not have any future together, when that day finally came and settled down, she realized that her heart, which she thought had already seen through everything and grown numb, still ached.
Yet at the same time, there was a sense of relief because facing him required too much courage and effort. This time, they could truly exist in each other's lives forever in another inseparable identity. Wasn't this also a kind of luck and a small favor from fate?
Even though they understood each other well, Anna could not fathom the impact on Chan-yeol when he saw the words left for her by Hogga before his death. As a man, he lacked the confidence to protect Anna like Hogga did. Perhaps from that moment on, their relationship became difficult to scrutinize further; everything that followed only served to reinforce the foreshadowing laid down at that time.
The parts they did not understand became a barrier.
The parts they understood too well became an insurmountable chasm.
You just need to be happy.
Anna sat on the bench, not knowing when the weather had turned gloomy. Dark clouds floated in from the distance, and the wind picked up strongly. It was uncertain when this summer downpour would suddenly arrive.
“Park Chan-yeol, brother,” Anna murmured, “goodbye.”
A pair of white sneakers appeared in her line of sight. Anna looked up and met the gaze of Lee Kwang-soo, who was smiling brightly. The wind blew fiercely again, tousling both of their hair.
“Brother Kwang-soo... what are you doing here?”
“Your phone wasn’t answered, so I went to your house to look for you. Your neighbor said they saw you take your dog out, so I came here to check. I didn’t expect to actually find you,” Kwang-soo said as Peter stood up, wagging his tail and licking Kwang-soo’s hand. Kwang-soo patted his head. “What are you doing here all alone? Let’s go; it’s going to rain soon.”
Anna looked up at the sky, smiled slightly, and stood up. “Let’s go.”
They walked in silence, only the sound of the wind could be heard. Anna kept her head down, only seeing the path beneath her feet. “Brother Kwang-soo.”
“Hmm?”
“Thank you for coming to find me.”
“There’s no need to thank me,” Kwang-soo replied with a slight smile. “We’ve been apart for so long, and we can still meet like this. With just this little distance, finding you isn’t a difficult thing... But what were you thinking? You didn’t even realize it was about to rain.”
“I... was just thinking about some things.”
“You rarely tell me about what’s been happening with you,” Kwang-soo said.
“Sometimes, not knowing is much better than knowing. If you really knew, perhaps you wouldn’t have come to find me today.”
"That may not be the case. How do you know?"
"I know," Anna said calmly.
Just as they entered the house, a heavy rain suddenly poured down, accompanied by thunder and lightning. The dark clouds made it nearly impossible to tell whether it was day or night. Although it was only four in the afternoon, the gloominess felt particularly oppressive.
"The rain came at a perfect time," Lee Kwang-soo said as he closed the window.
"What brings you here?" Anna asked.
"I was just passing by and thought I'd check in," Kwang-soo replied, pretending to be indifferent.
"Oh," Anna nodded.
"There’s a meeting about Running Man tonight. I wonder how it will turn out," Kwang-soo said as he sat down on the sofa and sighed. "This morning, Jung Kook called me, sounding particularly dejected. I'm really worried."
"Having come this far, Running Man has overcome so many challenges. I hope this time, we can get through it safely as well," Anna said. "Summer storms may be frequent and dark when they arrive, but they pass quickly. Once they're gone, there will be sunshine and rainbows again."
After leaving Anna's house, Kwang-soo drove straight towards SBS. In the meeting room, Yoo Jae-suk and Dongwan sat with worried expressions, silent and tense. Jung Kook and Ji-hyo arrived together, perhaps already sensing that there was little they could do but wait for the outcome.
Before six o'clock, everyone had gathered. Minister Kwon glanced at everyone and cleared his throat before speaking: "Regarding the discussion from yesterday about Ms. Song Ji-hyo and Mr. Kim Jong Kook leaving Running Man, after a day of consideration, I believe everyone has had a chance to think more calmly about it. I hope everyone can express their thoughts objectively." After he spoke, no one responded. Minister Kwon looked at Kim PD, who understood the cue and began to speak: "I'll go first... Personally, I believe that as long as it's beneficial for the show's development, individuals must conform to the collective. After all, SBS is a profit-driven enterprise. Over the past year, Ms. Song Ji-hyo and Mr. Kim Jong Kook have maintained a very fixed image without any breakthroughs. Additionally, since Ms. Ji-hyo got married and Gary left the show, the original Monday Couple dynamic has essentially disappeared. Moreover, Ms. Ji-hyo has been extremely busy with her schedule; it's evident that her performance on Running Man has suffered, and the ACE concept is starting to fade away. As for Mr. Kim Jong Kook, he still presents the same image as when the show started. It's only a matter of time before viewers experience fatigue with that." He gestured towards Choi Min-ho, who had recently joined: "Just look at him; he has brought so much fresh energy and elements to Running Man—doesn't that prove my point?"
"Kim PD, don't get it wrong," Dongwan interrupted him. "After Gary left, Yunhao joined and indeed brought many new elements to the show; however, the original members have not shown any signs of slackening as you suggested."
Meanwhile, Ji-hyo listened to Kim PD's words and tears welled up in her eyes as Kim Jong Kook silently patted her shoulder.
"If our presence truly hinders Running Man's progress, then we will voluntarily leave. This is a consensus between Ji-hyo and me," Kim Jong Kook stated firmly.
"Brother!" Kwang-soo and Haha interrupted Kim Jong Kook, "What are you talking about?"
"Everyone is leaving. Can we still call it Running Man?!" Haha said.
"I absolutely disagree with your departure. Who says you are dragging your feet? If that's the case, am I not dragging my feet even more?" Chi Seok-jun said.
"Alright, alright! Stop saying useless things. In this meeting, I want to make it clear that even if you disagree, tomorrow morning, the news of Mr. Kim Jong Kook and Miss Song Ji-hyo getting off the show will be announced. I will prove with facts whether you are right or I am," Minister Kwon said, sensing the situation was turning unfavorable and decided to be firm.
"I don't know what the right approach is right now. But I do know that if you, Minister Kwon, insist on going ahead with this and announce Ji-hyo and Jung Kook's departure tomorrow, then I will clearly state that I will also leave Running Man." Yoo Jae-suk, who had been silent until now, spoke up, directly hitting Minister Kwon's bottom line.
"Yes, if that happens, I will leave with Brother Jae-seok," Haha said.
"So will I," the other members chimed in.
"We will too," the staff added.
"Alright, alright," Minister Kwon sneered, glancing at Yoo Jae-suk. "You are threatening me. Yoo Jae-suk, don't really think that without you and your team, Running Man can't continue. SBS has plenty of new programs waiting. Even if we completely replace you all, I still have my ways."
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