Chapter 137
Chapter 137
Translator: Penny
Chapter 137
It felt wrong to directly ask Lee Jiwon, who was already overwhelmed, so I subtly nudged Kim Junbeom, our resident gossipmonger. As expected, the story came pouring out.
"Hey, hey, I was there again! G1 Hyungnim invited me, you know? I was actually there for that historic moment!"
"Wow, I'm so jealous," I replied sincerely, refilling Kim Junbeom's empty soju glass.
If I'd known this would happen, I would've just thrown Seo Yehyeon or Kim Dobin into that damn 'Come to My Universe' thing and gone to the birthday party instead.
Trading the Ranger King title and an Assistant Instructor's hat for this epic, thrilling, blockbuster-level content? What a rip-off!
Encouraged by my enthusiastic reactions, Kim Junbeom began his tale with the swagger of a hero recounting his legendary exploits.
"Right before the party started, G1 Hyungnim suddenly grabbed the mic and announced he knew everything. He demanded the jerk who brought the weed to confess."
Wow, could this be because of the warning I gave him? The story was already gripping from the start, and my regret over making the wrong choice deepened with each detail.
"So, the mood was already ruined, but then, in the middle of the party, G1 Hyungnim suddenly started looking for Riberne. He found him smoking weed in a room and punched him right in the face!"
Kim Junbeom swung his fist in the air to demonstrate, but Sangeol Hyung, standing next to him, cursed him out, and Junbeom quietly withdrew his hand.
"G1 Hyungnim called the cops right then and there. Riberne smashed a bottle, kicked the table, and started yelling and cursing—it was absolute chaos, man, seriously."
"Seriously, judging by your reaction, you'd think he was on LSD, not just weed."
"Were Riberne and G1 Hyungnim close? They both had reason to feel betrayed. Though one of them definitely crossed the line."
As I listened to Sangeol Hyung and Kim Junbeom's conversation, I diligently grilled the pork. At least today it was pork, not beef, so my wallet was safe.
"Thanks to him, the cops showed up, everyone there got questioned, ugh. They even made me take a drug test just for being there and ripped out a chunk of my hair."
Kim Junbeom shook his head, tilting his shot glass.
"It was already rumored that Riberne was smoking weed. There were even whispers about him being a broker."
"Ah, so that rumor was actually going around?"
"Everyone was keeping it quiet. Riberne's influence in the hip-hop scene is immense."
Sangeol Hyung shrugged and answered my question in place of Kim Junbeom.
I already knew about Riberne's prison sentence for marijuana use before the regression, but I never realized it was such an open secret.
He swore none of his connections would do something like that.
G1 must have suspected something too. That's why he grabbed the mic and issued a warning before the party even started.
"Seriously, how could anyone smoke weed at a friend's birthday party? This was clearly meant to screw over the host. If he hadn't reported it himself, G1 Hyungnim would have been in serious trouble."
Before the regression, I knew that someone other than Lee Jiwon had reported him, nearly ruining his career as Producer G1. I nodded in agreement.
Though I'd heard everything I wanted to know, Kim Junbeom kept talking, as usual, bragging about his connections.
I wondered how he maintained his network acting like this, but then I remembered I'd called him myself to get information and understood.
I glanced at Sangeol Hyung, who gave me a reassuring thumbs-up and nod, as if to say, "Trust me on this." He then cut Kim Junbeom off.
"Fuck, do you get thorns in your mouth if you don't brag about your connections for a day?"
"Yeah, I do! What about it?!"
Nice one, Sangeol Hyung!
Using the excuse of working on music, it wasn't difficult to set foot in Lee Jiwon's studio. Of course, this privilege was limited to a select few, including myself.
The 40-inch monitor I'd sent as a birthday gift was prominently displayed in Lee Jiwon's studio.
Though it cost well over 500,000 won, I shamelessly insisted I'd bought it on sale, leaving Lee Jiwon with no room to object. After all, what could he say when I claimed to have spent 500,000 won?
"How was your military service?"
"Come on, five nights and six days isn't exactly military service."
"What did you even do there?"
"Ranger Training."
Lee Jiwon burst into laughter the moment he heard my answer, slapping me hard on the back and calling me the unluckiest jerk he knew.
As I finished telling the story of how I won the Ranger King title, Lee Jiwon's hand landed on my back again.
Squirming from the lingering sting on my back, I noticed Lee Jiwon subtly withdraw his hand.
"You did the right thing not coming to my birthday party," he grumbled, showing me the top of his head. "They pulled out a ton of my hair for a drug test because of that fucking bastard."
"How many strands did they take?" I asked.
"I don't know, maybe a hundred?"
At that, I instinctively placed my hand on the crown of my head. Holy shit, a hundred strands? Won't that leave a bald spot? Come to think of it, Lee Jiwon's scalp did look a bit sparse...
It seemed skipping his birthday party was the right choice after all. Once your hair starts thinning, there's no going back.
"Ah, you little bastard. Look at you, relieved it's not your own hair."
Lee Jiwon chuckled, ruffling my hair lightly. He sat me down beside him and began working on the arrangement.
The arrangements for the title track candidates for our third mini-album were nearing completion. While it wasn't a full collaboration, I had entrusted Jiwon with the arrangement this time, unlike the previous project. I had also participated in the process to some extent.
As we worked, I casually brought up the topic.
"Hyung, didn't you know about Senior Riberne's situation? I heard everyone was aware of it, at least unofficially."
Lee Jiwon, who had been staring intently at the monitor, took his hand off the mouse.
"I'd heard rumors... but I just brushed them off until now. Ugh, what a damn fool."
Lee Jiwon glanced up at the ceiling, let out a self-deprecating chuckle, took off his sunglasses, and roughly washed his face with his hands.
"We were in the same crew," he said. "The crew fell apart, but most of the guys from there ended up doing well."
The names Lee Jiwon rattled off were impossible to miss if you were involved in this scene. There was the head of a major label, and a rapper widely considered to be among the top tier in the mainstream.
"Wait, how could a lineup like that possibly fail?" I asked, my jaw dropping. Even my old crew—a bunch of nobodies from the fringes—was still somehow managing to stay afloat.
Lee Jiwon smirked at my reaction. "What else would you call a group where we're better off dead together and thriving apart?"
After hearing that 100 strands of hair had been pulled out, Lee Jiwon sighed softly, running his hand through his unusually sparse-looking hair.
"Anyway, the Park Jongseok, that Riberne bastard, I knew was a real passionate guy. He fucking shone on stage, he enjoyed the stage itself. Maybe that's why I subconsciously thought he'd never change..."
Everyone has their passionate days. But while some continue to burn brightly, others inevitably see their passion fade.
Having once experienced that passion turning to ashes myself, I couldn't easily offer any words of comfort. Of course, that doesn't mean I'd ever resort to drugs like Riberne.
What a healthy way to de-escalate. All he lost was the spark in his eyes and his practiced fan signing lines.
Right, System?
[N]
Now it won't even give me full-sentence responses, that damn System.
"I guess I've been dwelling too much on the past," he said with a bitter smile, lightly patting my back. "Thanks for telling me in advance."
All I'd warned him about was the recent increase in drug use at clubs, but if he wanted to interpret it as a premonition of something bigger, that was his business.
Tossing the USB containing the finished arrangements lightly into the air and catching it, I called Yongcheol Hyung.
Even though it might not seem like it, my relationship with Yongcheol Hyung was no different from the one between Riberne and G1.
"Hyung, I know it's unlikely, but if you ever hear rumors that I've lost my mind and started doing drugs, don't just dismiss it as impossible. You have to stop me, even if it means punching me! Got it?"
Eden, have you been drinking since noon?
Yongcheol Hyung's voice, sounding utterly confused, came through the phone.
"Don't just remember the me who used to shine with passion on stage. Got it?"
There was a time when your attitude shone, but when did you ever shine on stage during your underground days? You were just a jerk who tagged along behind us, spitting out three lines of verse.
The barrage of harsh truths left me reeling.
My idol days had been so grueling that my memories of my underground days had been subconsciously romanticized. Now, those unfiltered memories were flooding back into my mind.
Yeah, that's how it was back then... Secondhand smoke was just part of daily life...
When I didn't respond, lost in my memories, Yongcheol Hyung blurted out, "You shine so much brighter now than you ever did back then. Stop day-drinking, go wash your feet, and get some sleep."
Clearly embarrassed by his own outburst, he held the phone away from his ear and muttered something unintelligible. I replied in a voice thick with emotion, "Hyung, I haven't been day-drinking."
"Eden, are you having a really hard time...?"
Aish, even at the end, this Hyung can't resist tugging at my heartstrings!
A meeting regarding the third mini-album was held at the agency.
Until now, I'd always been on edge, wondering what kind of garbage song the CEO would bring next. But since I already knew what kind of track he had this time, I wasn't particularly excited.
After all, the composer he'd been consistently receiving songs from was the same one who wrote "Come to My Universe."
It was a case of someone digging the same well until they accidentally struck oil.
We played the first verse of each of the three title track candidates in succession before passing the turn to the CEO.
I rested my chin in my hand, closed my eyes, and thought I'd enjoy listening to "Come to My Universe" again after so long.
But what reached my ears was an unfamiliar melody—a melody and style completely unlike anything the composer had ever produced before.
The question of why we had received a perfectly normal song was overshadowed by the even greater mystery of who had composed it.
No matter how drastically someone changes their work style, they couldn't possibly transform into an entirely different person.
"CEO, did you outsource this song to a different composer instead of the one we usually work with?" I asked, opening my eyes.
The CEO nodded, his face showing surprise. Then he launched into a tirade:
"Can you believe it? That kid said he couldn't give us the song because he's working with someone else now. After everything I've done for him! Unbelievable. He just completely switched sides like that. No business ethics whatsoever. None!"
There were two possibilities:
1. The song Come to My Universe didn't exist in this timeline.2. Someone had stolen Come to My Universe.
📝 Translator’s Note:
You may notice that certain lines or phrases in this novel appear both in their original Korean (or Hanja) form and in English translation.
This is intentional — these phrases are classical idioms, divine titles, or poetic expressions that carry layered meanings.
To preserve their original tone and authenticity, the raw text has been kept for reference, while the English interpretation is provided right before or after it. This helps convey both the literal and cultural nuance of the original work.
but if you guys dont want tha raw for future chapters or my future other novels u can just text me on discord and say so discord name Mr.Penny