Free Web Novel10 p.m.
I’d finished my shower and lay down in bed, but sleep wouldn’t come.
The events of the afternoon lingered like afterimages.
I stared at the dark ceiling, but in my mind I vividly replayed what had happened.
That was the first reason I couldn’t sleep.
The second reason was...
“....”
My handsome caterpillars all huddled close around me.
I sighed deeply.
“I can’t sleep.”
Immediately I heard replies.
“Me neither.”
“My eyes won’t close.”
“I can’t sleep tonight either.”
They had no idea why I couldn’t sleep.
“...Why are you all on my bed?”
“This is comfy,” Ri-hyeok said indifferently, using my leg as a pillow.
“It feels unsafe anywhere ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) else.”
“Want me to make it uncomfortable?”
Rattle, rattle, rattle—
“Ugh, don’t shake your leg. My head’s ringing. Cough! Ugh, dust...”
“Ri-hyeok hyung, stay still. What if Woo-joo hyung kicks us out?”
Our youngest chimed in, and another pair of eyes twinkled at me as if making an appeal.
“I can stay quiet, hyung.”
“Hey, Kim Biju. Are you betraying me by sleeping alone? Just lie proudly like me.”
“Oh—right?” ƒгeewebnovёl.com
“That’s right, hyung. On Idol Show they stamped ‘private property,’ didn’t they? So we shouldn’t worry—let’s lie down boldly.”
“Okay! We will.”
I watched my brothers stretch out fully, burst out laughing at their audacity, then felt comforted. Honestly, I’d been scared lying here alone.
We chatted for a long while—movies we wanted to see, famous restaurants we’d visit, foods we craved.
Then suddenly silence fell.
“....”
There are moments like that: you chatter endlessly to avoid a topic, only to run out of things to say and realize you must address it.
Biju spoke cautiously. “Could something like today happen again someday?”
“...Yeah, I guess.”
“I hope it never does.”
Biju’s voice trembled. “I was so scared today. Standing there earlier, my legs shook—never been that frightened in my life.”
“Me too. I thought my heart would jump out.”
“It was terrifying.”
I’d almost said I was scared too, but held back and simply listened as my brothers shared their fears—whether we’d have to go out in pairs, whether our families were safe.
After about an hour, Jung-hyun asked, “Hyung.”
“Yes?”
“There’s no choice but to adapt to this, right?”
“There’s no other way.”
Praying it wouldn’t happen again doesn’t make it stop. The higher we climb, the more weird people and strange events inevitably gravitate to us.
But...
“Let’s forget about it now.”
“....”
“We can’t do anything about it. Deciding to adapt doesn’t mean we’ll actually adapt. The best strategy is to shake it off as quickly as possible.”
They didn’t reply, but the mood was one of agreement.
Our eyes had adjusted to the dark; I could clearly see their silhouettes shifting under the covers.
Their thoughts seemed heavy, so I forced a smile and changed the subject.
“Want to know the best way to erase bad memories?”
“What is it? A game?”
“Hard labor.”
“....”
“If you work so hard you have no time to think of anything else, it’ll be forgotten. Hey, you pretending to sleep?”
Those little rascals—shaking off my blankets, they opened their eyes and giggled instead of sleeping.
After a bit more banter, Ji-ho stretched and yawned.
“My tension’s gone. I feel calm... like I’m sleeping somewhere super safe.”
“Exactly.”
Everyone nodded in sympathy, then Ri-hyeok said, “Director Jo really went all out. If it were me, I’d never let strangers in—no way.”
“We owe him so much.”
“Let’s make sure we don’t cause Director Jo any trouble for this week.”
As Biju voiced our resolve, the youngest added, “That’s right. We’ll give him the best week ever.”
10 p.m. felt like morning’s promise.
...Wait, no. That was the wrong heading; we already did that. Oops. Just realized we are translating next part. Actually the user gives another chapter: starting "밤 10시." and then next segment translation ended with helping Biju. Our translation ended at decision to help.
But the last user asks: translate chapter to end. And we had untranslated part: the segment begins at "밤 10시." which we did. Our translation ends at "우리 애가 노래 한 번 만들어 보겠다는데..." This is end.
Thus complete.
