Chapter 153
Chapter 153
Translator: Penny
Chapter 153
"Come to think of it, the composer who co-wrote our title track with KJ also worked on the songs for Reve's album," Cha Yeonho said with a bright smile, turning to us.
"You must have wanted to keep working with the same person. I feel a bit bad about that."
No, not really. We're just grateful you took that landmine off our hands. Use it well. Though I doubt you'll be able to release a song that pleases you after this.
Still, isn't he being a bit too blatant? I get what kind of reaction he's fishing for, though.
"I heard that composer is the nephew of our CEO's close Hyung. I don't know how they're connected, but Korea's a small world, huh? Haha."
It's truly impressive how you managed to find a composer with no hit songs and no recognition for their musical talent.
I smiled leisurely at Cha Yeonho, who was staring intently at me as if trying to gauge something.
"Anyway, this song is really good. The chorus is ridiculously catchy."
"Don't mention it. Your juniors' songs are great too."
We exchanged compliments with warm smiles. Even as we left the waiting room after our conversation, Cha Yeonho's expression remained fixed in a smile.
But now his gaze had shifted from me to Gyeon Hajun and Ryu Jaehee.
After finishing his music show schedule, Cha Yeonho leaned back in the van seat, shielding his eyes with his hand.
He had thought stealing "Come to My Universe," Reve's greatest hit before the regression—the song that had propelled them to the Second Tier—was his masterstroke.
Damn it! Who could have predicted such a lukewarm reaction?!
There were clearly regressors within Reve. Otherwise, their consistently stagnant trajectory would never have shifted so drastically.
At first, Yeonho had suspected Yoon Eden, who had completely reversed his pre-regression strategy of selling songs and producing for other groups.
Trying to probe him nearly drove me insane.
That genuinely clueless expression that drove people mad! That awkward way he looked at others!
If that was acting, that bastard was a talent stolen from the acting world by the idol scene. He was a shoo-in for Best Actor at the Blue Dragon Film Awards.
Moreover, rumors had surfaced that Yoon Eden had sold a song to a rookie group at the same agency he'd been with before the regression. After seeing today's reactions, it was clear Yoon Eden wasn't a regressor.
Then who is the regressor? Gyeon Hajun? Or Ryu Jaehee?
Cha Yeonho's suspicions were leaning toward Gyeon Hajun, who had successfully transitioned to acting before the regression.
The Reve members showed no signs of agitation. One of them must be putting on an act.
"This is tough..."
Cha Yeonho muttered, covering his eyes with his arm. The world remained stubbornly red.
It was now certain: Cha Yeonho was a regressor.
Stealing "One Chance" wasn't a coincidence; it was a calculated move.
The song that won the Grand Prize this year wasn't the group's current single but a track released in the fourth quarter. He probably had no qualms about changing it, even if it meant stealing the song.
He seemed to think he could test me by doing this, but unfortunately for him, "One Chance" was a song I both loved and hated—not something I would fight tooth and nail to protect.
If Seo Yehyeon had been the regressor, she would have given Cha Yeonho exactly the reaction he wanted.
Instead, Cha Yeonho had revealed his hand to me. His regression was now 100% confirmed.
"After all that deliberation, you made a terrible move."
Chuckling softly, I muttered leisurely before turning to Kim Dobin beside me.
"Do you know what this means?"
"Yes, it's a Go term. It refers to wasting a lot of time thinking only to make a disastrous move."
I'd assumed he wouldn't know, given his ignorance of Aesop's fables. But Dobin's correct answer startled me, and I whipped around to stare at him.
"How do you know that?"
"When I was little, Mom sent me to Go academy to improve my focus."
"You too...?"
The mandatory three-course curriculum for hyperactive kids: Go academy, calligraphy academy, and abacus academy.
Back home, I'd broken a single ceramic piece and been forced by my damned grandfather to choose between calligraphy academy and Go academy. I had to quit taekwondo, which I loved, and was dragged to Go academy instead.
"What rank did you get up to? I got to 20th rank."
Even though I wanted to quit because it was boring, my grandfather insisted I earn a rank before quitting. So I gritted my teeth, crammed for a short period, reached 20th rank, and quit without a second thought.
Thanks to that, my grandfather thought I was smart—until I started messing up my grades in middle school.
"Rank? I just played Go all the time," Kim Dobin replied awkwardly.
"Yeah, Go's the most fun at that age," I said with a deflated laugh, ruffling Dobin's hair lightly as I stood up. Heading for the entrance, I remembered to tell him where I was going.
"Hyung's got a promise with the Crew Hyungs. I'll be back later."
"You don't have to report to me anymore..." Kim Dobin replied timidly.
For the first time in ages, the Crew Hyungs and Underground connections gathered to celebrate Yongcheol Hyung and two others passing the second preliminary round of Drop The Beat, and to commemorate Juseong Hyung's hair donation.
I arrived late after finishing my schedule.
"Whoa, who are you? I almost didn't recognize you!"
When I finally spotted Juseong Hyung, who had donated his hair and returned to his signature buzz cut, I burst out laughing, drawing scolding from all sides.
"Hey, you can't even recognize your own girlfriend?"
"Didn't Juseong cut his hair after getting dumped by Yoon Eden?"
Juseong Hyung slammed his glass roughly on the table, grinding his teeth.
"Fuck off, Taehoon. Stop talking bullshit."
"Exactly! What kind of gossip would make Dispatch chase after us with their mouths watering? I'm still an idol, you know."
Yongcheol Hyung grumbled as he sat down next to me.
"Aren't you guys wearing your couple rings today?"
"We knew you'd say that, Hyung, so we left them at home."
He grinned crookedly, spreading his palms to show his clean, ringless hands.
"Aww, Juseong is still wearing his! Eden, you're lacking in romance!"
"Romance? Screw that..."
He shook his head and accepted a drink. When I didn't react, the Hyungs, bored, quickly shifted the conversation back to Drop The Beat.
"The timing is insane! A month before DTB, a massive double-sided exposé and diss war erupts between the big shots!"
"Exactly! Has hip-hop ever gotten this much attention before?"
The success of Drop The Beat Season 3, unlike the previous season, was largely due to the explosive diss battles between heavyweight rappers.
The public, previously uninterested in hip-hop, became captivated by the raw exposure of scandalous stories: unfair contracts, unilateral betrayals, and drug use.
"But who's telling the truth? Their diss tracks contradict each other."
"I have no idea. Why don't you ask G1? You're close to him, right?"
I was chuckling along with the Hyungs as they dissected the events of the DTB preliminaries when...
"Hey, Eden! Did you happen to run into Park Gyuhyeok and his goons?"
When they nudged me and asked, "Did you meet Park Gyuhyuk and his cronies?" I knew the moment had come. I scratched my head and answered as casually as possible, "Well, they kept bugging me to grab a drink, so I went out with them once..."
Before the regression, these were the guys who drove a wedge between me, Yongcheol Hyung, and the rest of the crew.
Hey, D.I asked you to feature on his semi-final stage, right? Don't you think he only did it out of pity, because he felt sorry for you?
He told us himself! He said he felt awkward putting an idol rapper on stage, but since you're in a flop idol group, no one would accuse him of riding your coattails. Lucky for him, huh?
And Park Gijeong was right there, laughing his ass off, saying your performance would bomb.
"Hey, your Crew Hyungs always call you a pathetic loser. As if being an idol rapper wasn't bad enough, they say you're a pathetic loser who can't even make it big."
At the time, I was exhausted from years of being in a flop idol group, filled with regret for leaving the Underground scene, and plagued by feelings of inferiority. Hearing those words when I was already at my breaking point was like lighting a fuse.
And then, I made a stupid choice that I would regret for years to come.
I later learned that those jerks hated Yongcheol Hyung, who had gained fame through Drop The Beat. So they tried to drive a wedge between me and Yongcheol Hyung, watching our friendship crumble to satisfy their twisted amusement.
That's why, during our recent meeting, I unloaded everything I'd been holding back, telling them to stop living with such petty malice. I left feeling completely drained but also strangely liberated.
"I was a bit harsh with them and cut off contact. Did those guys talk shit about me behind my back?"
"No, those crazy bastards are acting like you're disrespecting underground hip-hop just because you're getting popular as an idol."
Even though the timeline had shifted, their divisive tactics remained eerily similar to before, making me chuckle wryly. Back then, Yongcheol Hyung was the target, but now it seemed I was the one in their sights.
"I noticed they kept steering the conversation toward that kind of response," I muttered loud enough for everyone to hear, smirking. Then I asked Yongcheol Hyung, "So, what did you say?"
"I told them to cut the bullshit. Said you'd never do something like that."
I had foolishly believed them. Foolishly trusted their words and hurled every insult at Yongcheol Hyung, telling him I didn't need his pity and asking if he really thought so little of me. I ignored all his calls and messages, severing ties first.
I pressed my palm firmly against my stinging eyes.
"Hey, the youngest member's crying from emotion!"
Before I could even soak in the emotion, the shout made me jerk my head up and immediately deny it.
"I'm not crying!"
"What? The youngest member's crying?"
"Hey, Eden's crying!"
As hot attention poured in from all sides, I gritted my teeth. Yongcheol Hyung waved his hand dismissively, saying, "He's not crying, guys."
Once the Hyungs confirmed there wasn't a trace of moisture on my face, their attention quickly shifted elsewhere.
Yongcheol Hyung patted my back lightly. Whether he'd taken my advice to heart or not, his mop-like hairstyle had been neatly trimmed into a clean cut.
"Hey, Eden."
"What?"
"If I make it to the finals, will you feature on my stage?"
Lost in thought, I rested my chin in my hand, swirling the wine in my glass. Yongcheol Hyung's sudden request made my hand freeze mid-swirl.
"We have to do an ED.I Duo stage at least once," he said, grinning at me. I forced a bitter smile and replied, "What if I ruin your performance? It's the main stage, Hyung. What if you get mocked for having an idol rapper on your stage?"
"Hey, don't take it so seriously, man! I barely made it through the preliminaries myself!" Yongcheol Hyung shuddered and slapped me hard on the back. Wincing at the sting, I twisted around and muttered, "I have to take it seriously. You're going all the way to the finals, Hyung."
"Ha, you little brat. So cheesy..."
It wasn't even encouragement, just a spoiler about the future. Why is this Hyung acting so proud and making such a fuss?
📝 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