EPISODE 32: The Grandparents' Love
**SCENE START]
INT. STARLIGHT ENTERTAINMENT - DANCE PRACTICE ROOM - DAY
The morning after the scandal. The air in the practice room is heavy with a new kind of silence. The nervous excitement is gone, replaced by a grim, focused determination. HYUN-WOO, MIN-SU, SEUNG-HO, JAEHYUN, and TAEYANG are working on their choreography. They are not talking, just moving.
Hyun-woo, now the clear leader, isn't just correcting them; he's pushing them. He runs the routine, his movements sharper and more precise than ever. He pushes them through it three, four, five times.
Finally, he stops, out of breath. The other four are panting, sweat dripping from their foreheads.
MIN-SU (Breathing heavily) Okay, okay, I get it. We need to be perfect. But are we going to talk about it?
HYUN-WOO (He looks at all of them) Talk about what? The fact that we have a rival who wants to destroy us? The fact that someone knows something about me that they shouldn't? What good is talking going to do?
JAEHYUN (Quietly) It helps. Just knowing we're in this together.
Hyun-woo nods, his face softening. He looks at each of them. He sees the trust in their eyes, a trust he is now responsible for.
HYUN-WOO Let's talk with our dancing. Let's show them we are more than just five boys trying to debut. Let's show them that we are a team, and nothing can break us.
Min-su looks at him, then nods slowly. He walks to the stereo and starts the song over. This time, they don't just dance the choreography. They pour their hearts into it. Their movements are in sync, telling a story of defiance and unity.
[SCENE END]
INT. HYUN-WOO'S GRANDPARENTS' HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - EVENING
The house is quiet and warm. GRANDPA is sitting on the couch, watching the news. GRANDMA is knitting a scarf. Hyun-woo is curled up in a chair, a book in his lap, but his eyes are fixed on the flickering TV screen.
The news segment ends, and Grandpa puts down the remote. He looks over at Hyun-woo, his expression unreadable.
GRANDPA You know, son, your grandmother and I saw that story on the internet today. The one about the boy with a curse.
Hyun-woo's breath catches in his throat. He keeps his eyes on his book, but his heart pounds in his chest.
HYUN-WOO Grandpa, it's just a silly rumor. The company is handling it.
GRANDMA (Her voice is soft but firm) It's not about the company. It's about you. We've seen how quiet you've become. How you flinch when the phone rings. This isn't just a rumor to you, is it?
Hyun-woo looks at their kind, worried faces. He remembers the cold loneliness of his past life, the feeling of being completely alone after the scandal. He looks at the people who took him in, who gave him a home and a family he had never known.
HYUN-WOO (His voice is low, strained) It's... it's just complicated. There are things I did in my past that I'm not proud of. Mistakes I made. And people I hurt. And… I guess I'm just trying to make sure I don't hurt anyone else.
Grandma puts down her knitting and walks over to him, kneeling in front of his chair.
GRANDMA (Tenderly) Hyun-woo. You're just a boy. You haven't done anything. But whatever it is you're carrying on your shoulders… you don't have to carry it alone. We are here for you. We love you.
Grandpa comes over and puts a hand on his shoulder. Hyun-woo looks at them, and for the first time in a long time, the walls he has built around his heart begin to crumble. He lets out a single, shaky sob. His grandparents embrace him, a quiet, loving hug that tells him everything will be okay.
[SCENE END]
INT. STARLIGHT ENTERTAINMENT - DANCE PRACTICE ROOM - NIGHT
Hours later. The five boys are still at the studio. They've been practicing for ten hours straight. They are exhausted, sprawled out on the floor, their breathing ragged.
MIN-SU (Quietly) I'm sorry, Hyun-woo. For not listening to you. I was so arrogant. I almost ruined everything.
Hyun-woo looks at him, a genuine smile on his face.
HYUN-WOO You didn't ruin anything. You believed in me. That's all I needed.
SEUNG-HO (Looking at the others) He's right. We all messed up. But he got us back on track.
JAEHYUN (Nodding) He always knows what we need to hear. He's our real leader.
Hyun-woo feels a lump in his throat. In his past life, he was the leader of A-Star, but it was a title he carried with a crippling weight. Now, it feels different. It feels like it's born out of trust and respect.
He looks at each of them—Min-su, who's not so arrogant anymore; Seung-ho, who's becoming more confident; Jaehyun, whose voice is a gift; and Taeyang, whose guarded heart is slowly opening up. He realizes that this time, he is not just the leader of a group. He is building a family.
HYUN-WOO (He looks at all of them, his voice filled with emotion) We're in this together. No matter what.
The four boys nod, a unified silence between them. The promise is made. They are ready for what comes next.
FADE OUT.
[SCENE END]