Chapter 30 – The One Thing He Fears
"Behind the Gold: AUREUS Unfiltered" – Episode 2 (Ongoing)
Dare 7 of 13 – "Confess a fear no one knows."
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[STUDIO – POST-LYRICS REVERBERATION]
There's still a strange hush in the air, like the aftermath of a lightning strike.
Jeon Mira, softly: "That was… devastating. I don't even know what to say."
Rin, quietly:
"I thought music was supposed to heal."
Hyunjae: "That didn't sound like healing. That sounded like... bleeding."
The Dare Wheel is spun again.
It lands.
Another glittering gold card flashes onscreen.
❗Dare 7: "Confess a fear no one knows."
The members go still.
Rin:
"Oh no. This might be worse than lyrics."
Minjae (half-joking):
"I bet he says something creepy like 'I fear nothing but God'—"
Yeonwoo:
"Or 'her silence.'"
[JAEHEON – SILENT]
He doesn't speak right away.
He sits there, expression unreadable, eyes cast down like he's weighing the entire world.
Then he raises his head.
Jaeheon (softly):
"I'm afraid… that I'll never forget her."
The room goes silent. Again.
Jeon Mira blinks.
"…That's it?"
Jaeheon: "Yes."
Minjae, trying to laugh it off: "You're seriously scared of remembering her?"
Jaeheon (calm, cold, almost too calm):
"Not remembering. Never forgetting. Even if she disappears. Even if she forgets me.
Even if I die—I think I'd still remember her."
[STUDIO – STUNNED]
Rin: "…That's not love."
Yeonwoo: "It's something else."
Eunjae (low):
"That's eternal."
Hyunjae (genuine): "Hyung. Is that really your biggest fear?"
Jaeheon doesn't blink.
"Yes."
[JAEHEON – POV]
He doesn't fear failure.
He doesn't fear pain.
He doesn't even fear dying.
But he fears this:
Waking up ten years from now.
Surrounded by silence. Success. Applause. Money.
Still dreaming of her face. Still writing songs no one hears.
Still chasing a ghost no one else remembers.
[LIVE CHAT – GLOBAL CHAOS]
@fearofher:
This is… what do you even call this kind of love???
@hauntedbyyou:
"Even if I die—I think I'd still remember her."
Put this on my gravestone please.
@obsessednotsorry:
Someone needs to stop this man from loving any harder. It's lethal.
@heretoforget:
So what happens if she comes back?
[JEON MIRA – CAREFULLY]
"…Do you think she ever thinks of you?"
Jaeheon: "No."
Mira: "But you still love her?"
Jaeheon: "Yes."
Mira: "…You're not trying to forget?"
Jaeheon: "I gave up trying a long time ago."