peninsula asteroid.

Chapter 1402 The Final Group Photo

Chapter 1402 The Final Group Photo

"What are you talking about?"

Having just finished his scenes, Ji Kyung-won arrived at the rest area and saw Kim Ji-won and Lee Sung-kyung chatting animatedly on their phones. Curious, he found a seat and joined in.

"Didn't you see the news just now... Oh, you were filming at the time, so you probably didn't see it? Big Bang's Taeyang just announced on social media that he's getting married soon."

Kim Ji-won glanced at Ji Kyung-won, then waved her phone: "I was asking about the Bible Sun-xi... Isn't she from YG?"

"He's getting married? I haven't seen it."

Chi Jingyuan was quite surprised to hear this, and he also took out his phone and started scrolling: "You know Big Bang?"

"Who doesn't know Big Bang? I think their songs are even better than yours."

"We can't be friends anymore."

Ji Jingyuan pursed his lips as he looked at the news, and sure enough, he soon came across the news that 'Taeyang announced his upcoming marriage to Min Hyo-rin'.

"Tsk, I didn't expect that."

Chi Jingyuan was genuinely surprised to see this news.

He wasn't particularly familiar with the members of Big Bang, only vaguely aware of them. Taeyang and Dong Youngbae's appearance and stage presence suggested they were very outgoing people, so he was surprised that they were the first to get married.

At the same time, seeing that members of Big Bang, who were originally rivals, had announced their marriage so early, Ji Kyung-won was somewhat moved.

Marriage, in his view, is something very far removed from his life.

"but……"

Just as Chi Jingyuan finished reading the news and was about to comment, his phone suddenly rang in his pocket.

That was his personal cell phone.

When I took it out, I saw that it was Park Jae-hyun calling.

"What's wrong, brother?"

Chi Jingyuan picked up the phone, took a few steps to the side, and asked casually after the call connected.

"Hmm... Jingyuan."

Park Jae-hyun's voice on the phone sounded somewhat heavy, as if he was hesitating about something and seemed to want to say something but couldn't.

Ji Kyung-won sensed something was wrong. Just then, after a brief pause, Park Jae-hyun continued through the receiver, "Your friend Jonghyun... the one from SHINee, Kim Jonghyun-ssi, is in trouble."

"what?"

Kim Jong-hyun was one of Ji Kyung-won's closest male friends in the music industry. Ji Kyung-won was slightly taken aback when he heard this, and his heart tightened a little, but his reaction was not very intense, and he was still able to remain calm: "What happened? It's not another traffic accident, is it?"

Because of Kim Tae-yeon a few days ago, he even tried to make a small joke.

"Jong-hyun-ssi..."

Park Jae-hyun's tone became a little more somber, his speech slow and even somewhat hesitant, but the words that came out were like a thunderclap: "He...he committed suicide."

he……

He committed suicide.

The two words echoed in Chi Jingyuan's ears, but he couldn't react for a moment, as if he couldn't put the two words together at all.

"mo?"

Chi Jingyuan thought he had misheard, and even laughed, asking again to confirm, "Suicide? Bro, are you kidding me?"

However, his voice and speaking speed were noticeably trembling and faster.

"it is true."

After revealing the most difficult information, Park Jae-hyun no longer hesitated as before, but instead became rational and mechanical: "I just received the information, and I even contacted the police to confirm it is true."

When Park Jae-hyun's deep yet resolute voice reached his ears again, Ji Kyung-won felt as if he had been violently struck by something, and his mind went completely blank.

suicide?

suicide?

"Jingyuan, Jingyuan..."

Park Jae-hyun hadn't received any feedback from Ji Kyung-won for a long time. He knew the news was shocking, so after waiting a few seconds, he called out several times to bring Ji Kyung-won back to his senses.

"Um, brother... go on." He didn't even realize that his voice had suddenly become hoarse, as if his vocal cords had been squeezed.

“They were just found in the apartment. The police have intervened and the patient has been taken to the hospital,” Park Jae-hyun continued.

"Sent to the hospital?" Chi Jingyuan's expression changed upon hearing this. "So there's still hope?"

"Um……"

The agent paused briefly: "Maybe."

But as soon as he said that, Chi Jingyuan's newly ignited hope vanished... He knew his manager too well; the tone of his voice clearly indicated that he was trying to comfort him.

"The police have already intervened, and SM Entertainment has been notified. As far as I know, the company is in complete chaos right now. This news can't be kept secret any longer, and it will probably spread very quickly..."

"That's probably what happened."

Park Jae-hyun calmly explained the current situation, then asked with concern, "Kyung-won, is there anything you need to say? Do you want to go back to Seoul?"

"Um……"

Chi Jingyuan remained silent for a long time before slowly speaking: "I'll ask for leave later. After something like this happened... I need to keep in touch with you, brother, so I can get the latest information."

"Ok."

The call ended, but even after the screen had automatically turned off, Chi Jingyuan was still somewhat dazed, as if he hadn't recovered from the astonishing news conveyed by the call.

"Jingyuan, what's wrong?"

When they saw Ji Kyung-won walk back as if in a daze, Kim Ji-won and Lee Sung-kyung both felt something was wrong.

Chi Jingyuan shook his head and didn't say anything.

Even after he had asked the director for leave and was in the van returning to Seoul, Ji Kyung-won's mind was still a little dazed and blank. He just kept mechanically repeating the few words that Park Jae-hyun had just said.

Suicide? Kim Jong-hyun?

Wasn't this guy drinking and soaking in hot springs with him just a few days ago?

How could he commit suicide?

How could this be, so suddenly?

Is this a joke?

Looking out the window, the low hills and trees rushing past and the highway guardrails flashing by, making it difficult to see clearly and giving Chi Jingyuan a strong sense of unreality.

This sense of unreality is like being trapped in a huge joke and script, making you doubt the reality of your surroundings. While feeling anxious and angry, you desperately want someone to suddenly jump out and tell you, laughing, "You've been tricked! Hahaha, isn't that funny?"

However, the low growl of the van's engine and the occasional screeching of the tires seemed to prove that this was a true story.

"shock……"

The phone suddenly vibrated, and before it even rang, Chi Jingyuan picked it up and answered.

It was Park Jae-hyun who called.

"Brother, how is it?" Chi Jingyuan asked quickly, his eyes filled with anticipation, as if he wanted to hear news that met his expectations.

"Jingyuan, I just received a message."

Park Jae-hyun's voice sounded muffled, but his narration was straightforward: "Jong-hyun-ssi... has been confirmed dead."

These few words brought a huge shock to Chi Jingyuan, as if he had been hit head-on by a speeding heavy truck. He suddenly felt a strong sense of suffocation, a feeling of dizziness and a tight grip on his chest.

It was even more intense than when I first heard the news.

What followed was an uncontrollable anger, or rather, displaced anger: "How could this happen? Didn't West Eighth Hospital manage to save him? Which West Eighth Hospital?"

"no."

Compared to Ji Kyung-won, Park Jae-hyun, who had no connection with Kim Jonghyun, appeared much calmer: "According to the information I confirmed with Chief Choi, the truth is... Jonghyun-ssi's heart had already stopped when he was found, and being taken to the hospital was only..."

He didn't finish speaking, but his meaning was clear.

"..."

silence.

After a while, Chi Jingyuan recovered somewhat. He tried his best to exhale, but it seemed that he was using the wrong force and choked violently, coughing twice.

"Jingyuan, how are you?" Park Jae-hyun's voice came immediately from the other end of the phone.

"fine……"

Chi Jingyuan suppressed the burning sensation in his throat and casually responded. After calming down, he took a few deep breaths to force himself to calm down.

He was silent for a moment, then held up his phone and asked in a low voice, "Brother, is it really suicide, or..."

There are dark places in this world, and the entertainment industry is even darker. Ji Jingyuan is certainly aware of this, because from a certain perspective, his family is also part of the darkness.

After regaining his composure following the shock, Ji Kyung-won immediately questioned the authenticity of the 'suicide' claim. In his view, Kim Jong-hyun had no need to, or rather, could not possibly, commit suicide.

Although SHINE is not as popular as EXO, it is still a very successful boy group. Kim Jong-hyun is also quite popular. After starting his solo activities, he has not become a sensation, but he has been very stable and earns a lot of money.

At least in terms of his career, Chi Kyung-won could find no reason to commit suicide.

As for relationships, although he knew that this guy had suffered a great blow because of his breakup with actress Shin Se-kyung, Ji Kyung-won thought that he would be depressed for a couple of days and then start over. How could a male celebrity lack women? It was not enough to warrant suicide or anything like that.

More importantly, Ji Kyung-won had just met with Kim Jong-hyun a few days ago and didn't notice anything unusual about him.

How could it have suddenly turned out like this?

However, Park Jae-hyun quickly responded:

"Based on the available information, it has been confirmed as suicide. Jonghyun's sister received a text message beforehand and reportedly even left a will... However, I will investigate if you require it."

Although the sentence structure was ambiguous, Chi Jingyuan understood his meaning once again.

It's still a kind of comfort.

After a moment of silence, Chi Jingyuan said in a low voice, "I understand."

"SM Entertainment has held an emergency meeting, and the news will probably be reported soon..."

After a few seconds to allow Ji Jingyuan to calm down, Park Jae-hyun finally asked, "Jingyuan, after you return to Seoul, will you go to the company first? Or..."

"call……"

Chi Jingyuan let out a soft breath: "We'll talk about it later."

He hasn't thought it through.

Upon receiving the news, he took leave and returned to Seoul.

He had no idea what to do after returning to Seoul.

And soon he realized that he was no different from the fans and passersby who were about to see this sensational news online, except that he knew about it a little earlier.

Both are unable to do anything.

He didn't want to go to any company meetings either.

what's the point?

After the call ended, the van fell silent. Both the driver, Choi Ji-chang, and the assistant in the passenger seat seemed to know that Chi Kyung-won was in a bad mood and needed quiet, so they remained silent throughout.

Chi Jingyuan stared blankly at his blacked-out phone.

Even now, after confirming with Park Jae-hyun multiple times, he has rationally accepted the news.

But emotionally and psychologically, I still can't accept it.

Kim Jonghyun, Kim Jonghyun of SHINE, a top male idol from a big company like SM Entertainment. He's known Jonghyun since he joined the company in 12, and he's one of the closest gay friends in the industry.

Suddenly he received a phone call telling him that he had committed suicide?

And just two days ago they were drinking, eating, soaking in hot springs, chatting, joking, and playing cards together.

I remember listening to this guy talk for a while about his new album that he was preparing and his solo concert.

How could someone just suddenly disappear like that?

Who would believe that?

Chi Jingyuan prides himself on being mature enough and feels that he has experienced a lot and can remain calm in most situations.

But today's situation was still unexpected and hard to adapt to.

A close friend, someone I was hanging out with just a few days ago, a friend I've known for years and see often—such a grown person, suddenly, just vanished from the world.

He disappeared from your life.

It felt as if he had been abruptly and abruptly erased by some mischievous hand; he... had never encountered anything like it before.

After staring blankly for a while, not knowing how much time had passed, Chi Jingyuan picked up his phone, unlocked it, and unconsciously started scrolling through the news.

Sure enough, as soon as I clicked on it, I saw the news of 'Kim Jong-hyun's suicide'. The bright red headline was trending on the hot search list, making it impossible not to see it.

But Chi Jingyuan didn't click on it, and continued to casually browse today's news.

11 AM: "SM Entertainment announced that SHINee will hold concerts in Osaka and Tokyo next February as a complete five-member group."

7 PM: "Kim Jong-hyun confirmed dead."

Seeing the news headlines published on the same day, one after the other, Chi Jingyuan was suddenly stunned, feeling only immense irony and sadness.

Lost in thought, he opened the photo album on his phone and quickly found a recently taken photo.

The photo is composed primarily from Yoona's perspective. She's holding her phone, taking a selfie, laughing at the camera while reaching back to guide the view.

Behind her, a group of people were making funny faces. Kim Tae-yeon was baring her teeth, Lee Soon-kyu was rolling her eyes and trying not to laugh, Kim Ki-bum was making a face, and Ji Kyung-won was laughing loudly.

And then there's Kim Jong-hyun, who looks a little shy, making a peace sign.

This is a photo we took together in the game room after soaking in the hot spring at our last gathering with friends.

It wasn't a specially taken, ceremonial group photo. It was just that when Yoona was taking a selfie, Ji Kyung-won wanted to be in the picture too. When Kim Heechul and Kim Tae-yeon heard this, they started teasing each other, and before long, everyone ended up in the same photo.

Everyone seemed to have a relaxed smile on their face, as if instantly taking you back to the time when they were vying for the spotlight, that laughing and joking atmosphere.

Ji Kyung-won hadn't paid much attention to this photo before.

But looking at it now, one suddenly realizes it.

This is their last photo together.