Alternatives

Ho-jin was trying to think of some way to make Ji-hun's thoughts clearer in his own head; or maybe even help him to dismiss the confusion and clutter, and to get a clear idea about what he really wanted and what he was trying to achieve. Ho-jin knew that even after accepting his feelings for Noona, he was just trying to push her away, thinking that it might affect the band. 'But this is a game two can play at, brother'- he thought as an idea struck him.

"So hyung, you really mean to tell us that you are not going to date her? Am I right about this? And if this is the case, then she might be a good candidate for Dae Jung hyung to date: as you just mentioned, she is one of the most precious girls in this world, someone who seems to belong to you. So I am sure that Dae Jung hyung will also like her, isn't it, hyung?" He raised the question while looking directly into Ji-hun's eyes with a deadpan expression, to notice how he reacted. He then turned towards Dae Jung and winking discreetly at him, he prompted him once again. "What do you think, DJ hyung?"

Dae Jung was flustered initially, his immediate reflex was to ask him why he was talking such gibberish; and why would he mess with the girl his best friend liked?! But as soon as Ho-jin winked at him, he understood his plan and got into his role for the act. He pretended to think for a moment and then said "Hmm, I think you are right, Ho-jin! Maybe she will like me back as well! And as you know, the only criteria for my ideal type is that she has to be a kind-hearted person and the rest is fine with me- unlike this person who has a kilometer-long list of requirements! Just tell me what her height is, so that I can imagine her being by my side, as I am already not blessed enough to see her in my dreams!" Dae Jung concluded the statement with a dramatic sigh.

Ho-jin was thrilled at the smooth progress of his plan. Almost instantaneously, he proclaimed "She must be near 5'5", and she will look good enough standing by you! Or scratch that, you two will look like the next power couple of Korea-" Before he could finish his declaration, he heard protests that seemed to come from Ji-hun's direction.

"No no! She will not look good by your side, Dae Jung! She is much taller, and she is definitely not your type- in fact, she is nobody's type in our band! Just forget this topic, what is this nuisance we are talking about?! Rather, we should spend this time planning a beach party as the birthday surprise for Chang Min hyung!"

Ho-jin smiled, looking at the jealous red face of his hyung. He had gotten the desired reaction and was ecstatic, knowing that their idea seemed to be working.

He felt a bit of pity for Ji-hun, but he knew it was necessary to prove his point. He paid no heed to Ji-hun's attempt at changing the topic and addressed Dae Jung once again. "No hyung, I think Ji-hun hyung is not able to describe her properly: she is only 5'5" tall and she is skinny as well. Or we can say she has the perfect body figure, you will definitely like her. And most importantly, she is one of the most caring persons we can ever meet. I wish I could have been able to share my dreams with you, so that I can let you meet her in my dreams! Alas! I can't, but I can draw her picture to show you, would that be a good idea?"

"Yes, of course! And we can even post that picture as your artwork on social media; who knows, there might be a chance that the person is one of our fans, and she might notice the picture and try to contact us!"

Now Ji-hun could really not keep himself on the back seat any longer, pretending like he did not care. There was a part of him that was jumping out, wanting to yell at them like 'Hello! Are you guys for real, how can you talk about liking the girl your brother is in love with!' Yes, he did love this girl; he loved this girl insanely, but he had decided that he wouldn't go and find her, so that he could hold himself back. But if she showed up in front of him, how was he supposed to exert what could only be superhuman levels of control, and stop himself from approaching her? He needed to insert some brain cells in those mole rats- they were seriously in need of it! Due to a lack of their own brain, they were willing to put her life at stake by uploading a self-made portrait of the girl on social media! Had they gone crazy, or had they forgotten about the existence of some truly crazy people out there, or perhaps they had forgotten about the rules they had to follow and scandals that would arise if they didn't! Because he couldn't think of any other option apart from these three, for why someone who remembered all these things would still make that stupid plan! He decided to speak up after compiling all the points in his mind because he didn't want to hurt anybody- when he said that somebody was crazy, he didn't mean it in a bad way- but there were a variety of people with a diverse mindset, from which some of them thought of the idols and artists as their private property. Such people fail to consider that they might have a personal aspect to their lives, and that the fans didn't have permission to encroach upon that part of their life and demand for every single detail about them to be made public.

Weighing his words thoroughly in his mind, he started. "Ho-jin, stop saying gibberish! Have you forgotten about the contract that clearly states that we are not allowed to date? And how can you come up with a silly plan like uploading a picture of hers on social media; are you out of your mind? Can you imagine how this can affect her life; and if you know her, then you must know that she is not one of our fans! And how can you guys consider and discuss whose type she can be? She is a human, not a brand of clothing which we can prefer over some other brands; or discuss about on whom it will look better and-"

"And JUST ACCEPT THE FACT THAT YOU LOVE HER!" Dae Jung shouted in-between his monologue, interrupting his one-sided conversation. After there was a pin-drop silence in the room, he continued in a gentle tone. "You know this fact very clearly, that if you will be in love with somebody and the person genuinely loves you back, then we will do anything to keep the both of you together. And as for the contract, you know this equally well that Yeoubi hyung will be the first one to discard the contract and make a new one, where he might even rule dating as compulsory for all the members! So stop worrying that you have to sacrifice something for us, the only thing you can sacrifice is your worrying sessions- there is no room for them here! And now if you are done thinking and over-thinking, then tell me, do you have any idea about how to find this girl?"

Ji-hun spoke again, with a poker face. "I know I love her, but I also know that I love my band mates more than that. So I have said before and I am going to say it again- I am not going to search for the girl, as I don't want to meet her at all!"

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