Capítulo 110: Baek Du-Ho (2)
Kim Soyeon would have widened her eyes at the Reggie and Joon-woo unit magazine shoot, if it wasn't the tenth one that month. Taking a wild west theme, Joon-woo sat on a large wooden box. Reggie sat butt on the ground below Joon-woo, one leg straight, and the other bent up. They both wore blank modal-like expressions.
Of course, Kim Soyeon sighed, the Flights all across Witter ate the magazine up.
@bigirl_roon
My husbands look so cute!
@winners4yong replying to @bigirl_roon
I think your husbands want each other…
@ROON_PROOF
Ty for all your dms guys 🫶 We've added the magazine shoot to our Roon proof thread!!
15.7k likes 1.5 quotes 2 reposts
@joon4lifers
Imagine how many takes it took because they were too busy looking at each other 😂
Kim Soyeon missed Mi Yong. She felt even worse for the Baek Du-Ho biased Flights! There was little to no content of any of the other members, no solo ones anyway. She, at first, enjoyed the little shipping. On Producer10, it felt so much less forced.
She peered to her shelf of photocard binders and sighed. She wanted another Mi Yong photocard to add to her collection! She had every Mi Yong photocard to exist, and almost all of Joon-woo. Though she was slightly well-off, collecting Joon-woo was like trying to collect photocards with gold bars. All of his photocards were overpriced. And don't even get her started on the unit "ROON" photocards.
Only like a hundred would be made from the product of the magazines and they would be priced up in the hundreds! It was ridiculous and Kim Soyeon was frankly bored of all the Joon-woo and Reggie content. She wasn't bored of them perse, but the content surrounding them was all the same.
Her phone buzzed with a slight ring to it. She had a special ringtone for ASCEND Meverse post notifications. She turned her phone to see something from Ryeo Hyun.
It was a selfie. Of course, Reggie nor Joon-woo were in it because they were spotted earlier in the morning at some "couple" variety show. The selfie was from after an ad shoot, based on the products they held up.
Thank you so much for having us @Fanta !!
The photo was of Mi Yong, Jung Hyun-Ok, Ryeo Hyun, and Baek Du-Ho holding up Fanta bottles in a selfie. They wore smiles and heavier make-up than usual. And gosh, Mi Yong looked so good.
Kim Soyeon went to screenshot the post, refreshing to get the best quality picture, only to be led to a loading screen.
She frowned, and reloaded the app.
The photo was gone.
She melted into her bed sheets. All she wanted was Mi Yong content!
–+–
Baek Du-Ho lied in his bed, expectedly sick. His face was pale and hot to the touch. His whole body felt double fatigued and whenever he even opened his mouth he went to cough. It made sense to Baek Du-Ho. He was a sickly child. He had no hospitalized care because it was never that serious, but he often was sick multiple times a month with a low fever.
His missed his parents in cases like this, but the soup Reggie had apparently prepared for him late into the night helped. That was the case usually, Joon-woo and Reggie getting back from their duo work late into the night. But Baek Du-Ho appreciated the gesture.
Mi Yong had claimed himself on speed dial for whenever Baek Du-Ho needed him, as ASCEND still had schedules lined up. Mr. Jeong hadn't really said much. He remembered the loud colding at the Fanta advertisement from Mr. Jeong. Baek Du-Ho could barely recall the previous day at all, but he knew it probably wasn't a good day. Everyone looked worn out by the end of it.
A shudder of pain struck Baek Du-Ho in the head and he wanted to curl in on himself.
His mother would often make his favorite kimchi soup with little to spice and his dad would return from work with another music book or CD to add to his collection. Baek Du-Ho missed his parents the most when he was sick. The workload ASCEND often had made it a back thought of him, he was too busy to be thinking about anything other than being an idol. But in moments of suffering and boredom those thoughts took the forefront.
They had been allocated their phones back, but under heavy restrictions. Baek Du-Ho could message his parents no problem, so he did.
Baek Du-Ho: Mom, I'm sick 🙁
His mother read the message so fast that Baek Du-Ho couldn't help but wonder if she was waiting for him.
Mom 💗: are you eating enough?
Baek Du-Ho: I am
Baek Du-Ho: Reggie made me soup.
Mom 💗: Do you need money for medicine?
Baek Du-Ho: No, it's just a low fever
He lied and his stomach twisted at the thought. They hadn't gotten their first paycheck yet, so money and goods were only from fans at fansigns and parents.
Mom 💗: Sleep well and eat more
Mom 💗: I saw you on tv
Mom 💗: Too skinny
Baek Du-Ho chuckled at the message. If she thought he was too skinny then she hadn't seen Joon-woo or Jung Hyun-Ok up close then. He wondered how their parents would feel. He barely even knew the basic facts of his bandmates. He knew Reggie has a mom he holds dear, Mi Yong redebuted with ASCEND. He couldn't name you a favorite color.
–+–
@EasyEntOffical
Updates on ASCEND Du-Ho's health…
55k likes 4.3k quotes 10.4k reposts
@miyongsleft_ball replying to @EasyEntOffical
du-ho my bby :(
@winners4miyong replying to @EasyEntOffical
🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶
@roon_lifer replying to @EasyEntOffical
feel better duho!!
@kookiearchives replying to @EasyEntOffical
Shame on you, Easy Entertainment, take better care of your artists!
#justiceforduho
Joon-woo monitored the media with a small expression. Baek Du-Ho always seemed one minute away from passing out. Not that the other ever vocalized his hurt to anyone. Baek Du-Ho was very distant outside of activities. Reggie had insisted on staying up even later to make Baek Du-Ho some chicken soup, though, with Joon-woo's help to make the process quicker.
The reality show had made the whole day awkward for them. It was a "couples" one, focused on industries best duos. They had to play various games to prove how much they knew each other. Of course thanks to Korea's conservative nature, nothing explicit was asked, but it was still odd.
He hugged his knees to his chest, his body slightly aching from that morning's practice.
ASCEND was scheduled to release another mini album in a month's time. Joon-woo didn't think ASCEND had made enough money for such a quick comeback, but sure enough they had.
Nothing had yet been leaked about their comeback, and that almost surprised Joon-woo. Out of their generation of K-Pop, the one they had debuted into, they were probably in the top three for most well-known. They were popular enough for the average Korean to recognize their group name, but not enough for the average Korean to know their name or faces. If member popularity and pricing was a group, ASCEND would be the winner, no competition.
On sites like Mecari, Poca Market, Ebay, Buyee, Baek Du-Ho's photocards can be seen priced 50% less than Reggie or Joon-woo's. On social media, an announcement about Reggie's health would get more outrage than Ryeo Hyun. Not to mention ASCEND solo stans were a large population of Flights. At fansigns, they had grown to getting ignored by a solo stan of another member, in different multitudes of course.
Joon-woo felt a little too lucky in that aspect. Even in Cheerleader he was the most biased, it was a blessing packed with a punch. He really didn't enjoy seeing his bandmates ignored just for the person of context to come up to him and want a hug and an autograph.
His knees were glued to his chest as the van moved across a half-filled road. All of ASCEND but Baek Du-Ho were there, and the ever-changing Mr. Jeong.
Joon-woo felt a sudden weight on his shoulder.
If it was Mi Yong, he would knock it off harshly. If it was Jung Hyun-Ok, he would politely ask. If it was Ryeo Hyun, he would probably ask a little harsher, the man was growing more stubborn with his seniority.
But it was Reggie, tired eyed and quietly snoring.
Joon-woo knew he shouldn't've stayed up late making that soup. He stared at Reggie's sharp features with a blank gaze. At the moment, perhaps he should have known better, but Reggie looked nice even for an idol. Eye candy, one would say.
A shudder sound shook him from his gaze.
Ryeo Hyun smiled at Joon-woo with a phone in his hand, camera bearing Joon-woo and Reggie square.
"Got you." He said, showing the photo around the van with an evil grin small enough to be sinister.
"Hyunnie-ah, send that to me so I can post it on Meverse!" Mi Yong insisted.
Jung Hyun-Ok placed a hand over Mi Yong's mouth with his thin fingers.
"I think it'll get some good traction if I post it…" Jung Hyun-Ok argued.
Ryeo Hyun shook his head, "Already posted on mine." He said as he was holding up the phone to press the post.
Joon-woo only rolled his eyes. Fights for "ROON" proof were something fought over often. It got a lot of traction, too much for Joon-woo's liking but he was getting used to it slowly but surely. Slowly but surely.
–+–
Baek Du-Ho hunched over the bathroom sink, legs weak, brain a fog, and his world swirling green and browns in the toilet. He had thrown up again. He still tasted it on his tongue and he felt as if he would fall if he stood up straight.
He hadn't been this sick in a hot second.
He had long forgotten where his phone was, who to message, where his bandmates were. He just felt there. He felt as if he was floating to a harsh and early death. He swore he was hallucinating birds and cats with the way his vision was going in every direction but straight. The time he wished was painted on his wrist. He wished he wasn't real at that moment, that he was speck of dust.
It was probably exhaustion. Their schedules hadn't been easy and it always seemed Baek Du-Ho always struggled the most with it. It was him who needed breathalyzers after performances and snacks in between breaks. It was him who couldn't walk properly after rehearsals. He was the weak link despite having a lesser schedule than Joon-woo's and Reggie's. Joon-woo wasn't even physically strong, and often needed support after a hard day of work. But at least Joon-woo could push through it. Baek Du-Ho just… couldn't.
–+–
Exhaustion faded to panic as soon as ASCEND traversed back to the dorm. After two variety show filmings and an extra Meverse live for Joon-woo and Reggie, they all just wanted some rest. They practically collapsed upon the dorm floor when they entered it. Mr. Jeong only watched yards away and checking his watch like an impatient man.
He had become like that recently, more snappy and more… impatient. Joon-woo figured ASCEND's rapid growth to the top inflated the manager's ego a bit. He shrugged, the exhaustion leaving him to care for nothing but a night routine and bed. However, when Jung Hyun-Ok stalked into the bathroom, the dorm was engulfed in a fiery chaos.
"Yong-ah!" Jung Hyun-Ok screamed, uncharacteristic of himself.
Baek Du-Ho was collapsed onto the bathroom floor with his face as pale as a ghost. His hands clutched at his chest and his breathing was too shallow. The pale skin he was praised for seemed too white in contrast to the floor. His fingers seemed too purple. Baek Du-Ho seemed too purple.
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