Your hands start shaking as your eyes scan the message again and again. ‘I was supposed to…but now I…’

After meeting Rindou by chance and sharing an intimate and emotional moment with him, you had completely forgotten about the promise you made to them – the promise to make Rindou pay for what he did. You turned your back and leaned against the rail for support, hanging your head down.

Due to Rindou’s scandal, everyone associated with him suffered and had to go into hiding. While dating him, you were training to become an idol, but his scandal had destroyed your dreams. The more time passed, the further your dreams of being a singer got from you and the more impossible it seemed to achieve them. Then, the adult responsibilities came knocking on your doorstep, and the need to eat and pay rent forced all of you to find jobs that none of you wanted to do.

You had kept in touch with Rindou’s ex-manager, ex-hairstylist, and ex-makeup artist, as all of you were floating on the same boat. They would invite you for drinks once every few weeks. But Rindou’s ex-manager poured out his pent-up feelings during the previous night out drinking.

Takahito slammed the can of beer on the table, startling all of you. “Why? Why is this happening? What did we do to deserve this?

None of you responded, even though you knew exactly what he was talking about. His grip on the can got tighter, forcing the content to spill onto the wood table. “We are stuck doing jobs that we dislike while he gets to continue being a singer and performer. What right does he have to crush our dream!?” 

A long silence followed, and while you knew Rindou wasn’t the type to crush someone else’s dream, you couldn’t deny the truth. His success and fame had caused him to become arrogant and careless. No matter how many times you, the people around him, and his manager tried to talk some sense into him, he refused to listen. Even when his scandal began to come to light, you warned him to tread carefully, but his haughtiness got the better of him. Moreover, he broke up with you, thinking you were trying to stop him from achieving his dream by holding him back.

“Let’s find him and make him pay.” 

All of you snapped your head in Takahito’s direction and watched him slam his fist onto the can, crushing it instantly. You stared at the beer foam pooling around the can as countless thoughts raced through your mind. He left you due to his arrogance, even though you did everything in your power to support him; moreover, he hasn’t contacted you once in all these years. Even though you continued to pine for him, he had forgotten about you. It almost felt like you were never important to him, not then and definitely not now. He moved on and left you in the dust to pick up all the broken pieces – the pieces he had broken. 

Rapidly blinking your burning eyes, you forced your tears from spilling onto your cheeks. In the heat of the moment, you gave in and made a promise with them to find Rindou and make him pay for destroying all of your lives with his decisions.

‘It was easy to make the promise at that time, but now, after meeting him…’

You regretted your decision dearly. Why didn’t you ask them to let him be? You were in pain, but none of you considered Rindou’s pain. He was one of the most successful idols at that time, but one scandal brought him crashing from the heavens straight onto the cold, hard concrete. There were even rumors that Rindou was never involved in the scandal, and his enemies were the ones who paid a reporter to destroy his reputation. To make it worse, you had learned that Rindou never forgot you or the people who supported him wholeheartedly during his idol years. You understood all this, but how were you supposed to convince the others? What if you told Rindou? Would he understand? 

“(Y/n)? Did something happen?” 

Lifting your head, you looked at Rindou kneeling in front of you, his face painted in panic. You were so lost in thoughts that you didn’t realize you were on your knees with your face buried in your hands. 

“I am f-fine…just got a little dizzy.” 

Rindou studied your face for a bit, not believing you, but he helped you up and led you into the living room. Bringing you on the sofa, he grabbed a glass of water and handed it to you before sitting beside you. 

“Are you sure it was only dizziness?” 

You contemplated telling him but decided against his since you didn’t know what his reaction would be. 

Lately, you couldn’t focus on your work due to an overload of stress, guilt, and burden. Stress from work, the guilt of hiding the truth from Rindou, and the burden of your promise. As you left the grocery store, you received a text message. 

Those three words sent a jolt of panic through your veins, and for a second, all you could do was stand paralyzed in the middle of the street. A string of ‘no no no’ escaped your lips as you began stepping forward, and in the next moment, you were running through the streets. You ignored everything: the yells of the people you bumped into, the honking of the cars, the stares of the pedestrians, the cramps in your legs, the aching in your heels, and the burning in your lungs. All you could think about was stopping them from hurting Rindou. 

By the time you reached the address, the light in the sky was dimmer, and the last glimpse of the sun hung on the horizon. Leaning against a broken wall, you gasped for oxygen as your eyes frantically searched the place for the man you loved. You forced yourself off the wall and jogged further into the abandoned parking lot. 

The place was dead silent, and for a second, you considered that Rindou managed to escape or the ex-manager pranked you. But then, you heard the sound of running close by, followed by a familiar voice yelling, “You will not escape this time!” 

On cue, you saw Takahito punching Rindou, sending him skidding across the dilapidated concrete ground. The blow of the punch in his abdomen and his back slamming onto the concrete was a bit too much for him to handle, and he lay motionless. Seeing the ex-manager about to land another punch on him, you rushed towards them, tears clouding your vision. 

“Stop!” You gathered your strength and yelled at the top of your lungs before throwing yourself on top of Rindou. Luckily for you, Rindou’s ex-hairstylist, Ren, managed to grab Takahito’s arm in time to stop the punch from landing on the back of your head. 

“What the hell are you doing?” Takahito yelled.

“Please…just stop!” You lifted your head, still shielding your ex’s body, fearing that if you moved, they would beat him. “Stop it.” 

“(Y/n).” Rindou’s weakened voice called out, followed by coughing. You shifted your attention to him and saw a trail of blood rolling out of the corner of his mouth. 

“I am sorry, Rin. I am really sorry…,” you croaked. “I should have told you earlier.” 

The singer narrowed his eyes slightly but waited for you to continue. However, instead of talking to him, you directed your attention to the Takahito, Ren, and Akio. 

“Listen, we all have been through a lot, and none of us deserved it. But…Rindou has suffered the most.” You whispered.

“Are you taking his side?” The ex-manager yelled.

“Will you shut up and listen for once?” You matched his tone. He avoided your gaze, but you took the liberty to continue. “We were hurt by Rindou’s scandal, arrogance, and disregard for our warnings. We even had to go into hiding because of him. But he has already paid for it dearly. He went from being a top idol to working in an underground restaurant, his reputation was destroyed, and his sister is still in a coma. Rindou can’t even afford to pay her bills, and the owner of the theater restaurant is paying them; in turn, Rindou has to work there. Trust me when I say our lives are far less hellish than his.”

The three men glanced at you with wide eyes, unable to reply to your revelation. Shifting your eyes to your ex-boyfriend, you bit your lower lip as you studied his pale face and dull eyes. “We were drunk that night when we made a promise to find him and make him pay for ruining our lives.” 

A flash of newfound pain flashed across his face as he stared at you in disbelief. Not being able to see his pain-filled expression, you tore your eyes away from him. “He found a way to push past everything so that he could support his sister in the hospital. We, on the other hand, held him responsible for the misery in our lives.” 

You lifted your head and forced a small smile. “After the scandal quieted down, we could have continued with our lives…the way we wanted to, but we chose to live in the past and continued to blame Rindou. It was more our fault than his, but we chose to hold him responsible for our decisions.” 

Sitting up straight, you looked down at your hands and examined small chunks of concrete stuck in your skin, surrounded by a bit of blood. “I lied to all of you. I found Rindou a while back when I went out with a few of my friends. At first, I was angry at him but soon realized that he never forgot me. This whole time, I hated him for breaking up with and forgetting me…only to learn that he regretted his decision and still loves me.” 

A small laugh escaped your lips as you brushed off the debris and clenched your hands into fists. “I can’t deny it anymore. Look, there is no way I will let you guys hurt him. We are all grown-ups here, so why not start acting like it?” 

“I am sorry,” Rindou meekly whispered, “for everything…”

“Dammit…way to make us feel like the villains.” Aoki sighed and made his way to the singer’s side. 

“In all fairness, three men were ganging up on one, so we are the villains,” Ren chuckled and aided in helping Rindou stand up. 

Takahito rested his hands on your shoulder and helped you up. “Your hands and knees are injured…that was dumb of you to throw yourself over him. Do you have any idea what would have happened if those two hadn’t stopped me?” 

“I know, but I still couldn’t let you hurt Rindou.” 

Leaning against the bed frame, you stared out the window, waiting for Rindou to wake up. By the time you four had brought him back to his apartment, he had passed out. The three men helped bandage you and Rindou, but before they left, they promised not to hurt him.

“How are your hands?” 

You were startled to hear his voice but gave him a small smile. “They’re fine. How are you feeling?” 

“I am alright.” He smiled but immediately sighed. “Maica will not be happy to see my state and will give me an earful. He will lecture me about being an irresponsible leader.” 

Without saying anything, you sat on his bed and buried your face in his neck as tears stung your eyes. “I am sorry…” 

“Don’t be. I deserved it.” He laughed softly but regretted it immediately as it agitated the punch wound on his stomach. “Takahito can land quite a punch.” 

“You knew, didn’t you?” You lifted your head to meet his eyes.

“Of course I did. That day, I knew you were not just dizzy.” Rindou gave a small smile. “Not to mention, Sinju warned me about three men talking about beating me. When I asked him what they looked like…it didn’t take me long to figure out who Sinju saw.” 

You gasped at his revelation. “Then, Rindou, why did you go to that address if you knew what they would do to you?”

“To find out if you loved me or not…” He whispered, his eyes softening.

“What? Rindou! All you needed to do was ask!” 

“Would you have admitted the truth?”

You couldn’t believe your ears, but Rindou was right – you would have hesitated to speak the truth. To think he would go as far as to get beaten up to learn if you loved him. You didn’t know whether to hug or yell at him for being stupid, so you surprised him with a kiss. Your lips met in a gentle kiss, but you pulled away to meet his eyes again. 

“Yes, Rindou,” you smiled, cupping his cheeks and resting your forehead against his. “I love you. Always have and always will…”