Chapter 165
Chapter 165
Translator: Penny
Chapter 165
"I wanted to talk to you for a moment. Do you have time? As you know, we're performing later in the lineup."
Ryu Jaehee, his face stiff as stone, delivered a perfect counterpunch to the red-haired jerk who was subtly flaunting his TK pride.
"We're last on the list, so we have plenty of time."
Does he think being a nominee for 1st Place is a joke?
Everyone, including the camera crew, filed into the waiting room, leaving only Ryu Jaehee, the red-haired jerk, and a brown-haired trainee in the hallway with me.
As soon as we moved to a more secluded spot, the red-haired jerk spoke first.
"I'm sorry about what happened back then, Jaehee. We were young and immature."
Though their apology didn't sound sincere at all, it was still astonishing to me, especially considering how they had openly mocked Ryu Jaehee to his face before the regression.
However, after calming down and thinking rationally, it became clear that they had no choice but to apologize.
First, they were still trainees, not yet debuted. If they were eliminated from the survival show, their debut plans would be scrapped. Moreover, the current Ryu Jaehee wasn't just a flop idol group barely climbing to Rising status; he had never been a flop idol group at all, except for the first two weeks after their debut as a Second Tier group.
The situation had completely reversed from before the regression.
If Ryu Jaehee even hinted at their past actions, it would undoubtedly deal a devastating blow to their debut plans.
In essence, they were like a candle flickering in the wind.
"Didn't you guys always say you wouldn't tolerate disrespectful punks because you're '꼰대'?" Ryu Jaehee asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm after receiving the half-hearted apology. "I guess being a '꼰대' and being immature can coexist after all?"
He paused briefly before continuing, his tone dripping with disdain. "Experiencing a real '꼰대' with clear standards made me realize something. You guys weren't '꼰대' at all. You were just pathetic jerks who enjoyed bullying anyone who didn't fit your narrow-minded views."
Yeah, but why are you looking at me while talking about experiencing a real '꼰대', Kid? Seo Yehyeon's waiting room is way over there.
"You've grown up a lot, Ryu Jaehee?"
Ryu Jaehee chuckled, looking down at the red-haired jerk who was forcing a smile while his brow twitched and his teeth clenched.
"You bet I have. As you can see."
Ryu Jaehee, being the tallest of the four present, was the only one who could say such things.
Unlike the Red-Haired Jerk, who still clung to his pride even in this dire situation, Brown Hair, who seemed to grasp the gravity of their predicament, bowed his head deeply and offered a heavy apology.
"I'm truly sorry for framing you back then. We never imagined things would escalate this far."
"No, Hyung, you knew exactly what you were doing. Trainee violence meant automatic expulsion. Isn't that why you guys fought so brutally the night before the monthly evaluation and then pinned it on me when I tried to stop you? Or should I correct the record and say Jiun Hyung was the one who got beaten up?"
Ryu Jaehee countered each point, his jaw clenched tight, finally releasing the resentment he had kept buried deep within his heart for so long.
"And then you threatened the other trainees to lie and say they saw me commit the assault. Even though only the three of us were there. Honestly, you guys knew better than anyone how much influence you had."
"I'm sorry, really."
"Yeah, I'm sorry, Jaehee. I even pleaded with the Director to show you leniency, but he was too adamant."
Ryu Jaehee let out a hollow laugh at the two trainees who kept repeating "I'm sorry" like parrots.
"Just one question," he asked. "If you guys had already debuted instead of being on a survival show, and if I were still a flop idol group instead of being where I am now, would you still be apologizing to me?"
Brown Hair nodded frantically, answering immediately.
"Of course," Red Hair nodded desperately.
Watching them, Ryu Jaehee whispered loudly enough for everyone to hear, "That's all bullshit, Kid. They never apologized. They're probably laughing at you right now."
Having witnessed everything firsthand before the regression, I could say this with absolute certainty. Hearing this, Red Hair glared fiercely and demanded, "Who are you to butt in when you don't even know what's going on?"
"Oh, our little friend. Did you sell your 'Senior' title somewhere, knowing you'll never debut anyway? Well, we won't be seeing each other in the industry again, so I guess it's a bit awkward for me to be called 'Senior' by a civilian."
With his hands shoved into the pockets of his stage costume, Ryu Jaehee leaned casually against the wall, letting out a sarcastic sigh of admiration. The Red-Haired Jerk immediately backed down.
"I have no intention of accepting your apologies, Hyungs. When I begged you to stop, when I pleaded for you to give me just one chance despite it not being my fault, did you listen to me? No, you didn't."
Ryu Jaehee poured out all the words he had kept bottled up inside, as if emptying a dam.
"If you're apologizing just to ease your conscience, that's the worst kind of apology. And if you're only apologizing because you're afraid of a scandal breaking before the survival show ends, then you're not even human."
And those bastards aren't even human.
"I'll head back now. Good luck finishing the survival show, Hyungs. I won't be cheering for you."
I clicked my tongue, watching Ryu Jaehee's retreating figure as he refused to accept my apology to the end and walked toward our waiting room. Red Hair glared fiercely at his back, while Brown Hair sighed heavily. See? These bastards are beyond redemption.
Once Ryu Jaehee had completely disappeared from sight, I turned to Red Hair and said, "Hey, buddy, people don't put themselves through the agony of creation just because they enjoy the pain or are idiots. They don't rack their brains like that for nothing."
At my friendly advice, Red Hair's eyes narrowed again.
"What are you talking about? Are you accusing me of plagiarism?"
"Ah, right. Come to think of it, you're on the same team as this guy, aren't you? Come here, I'll show you something interesting."
Brown Hair hesitated, still rooted to the spot. I strode over, draped an arm casually over his shoulder, and dragged him over next to Red Hair.
I opened YouTube and tapped on a video, immediately skipping to the chorus.
As the familiar melody filled the air, Brown Hair's eyes widened.
"Doesn't the chorus sound suspiciously similar to your original battle track? And guess what? This is an 80s German song! Pretty interesting, huh?"
Brown Hair whipped around to glare at Red Hair, who frantically shouted in defense, "It's not plagiarism—it's sampling...!"
"Do you think 'sampling' is some magic spell to dodge plagiarism? The moment you uploaded that unauthorized, uncredited sampling as your 'original' song, you lost the game."
I glanced between Red Hair's ashen face and Brown Hair's, then smirked and snapped my fingers.
"I'm an expert at this kind of thing. I specialize in sending music industry wannabes who aren't truly passionate about music straight to hell."
Vulgar language detected.
Original Intent Score: -2
"Yeah, I still have six more vulgarities left, right? You can handle this much pain without flinching now, can't you?"
"Congratulations on your 미리 탈락. Judging by your pathetic performance, you won't make it as a composer in this industry. Better get your computer skills certification 미리미리. You're still young, so you'll be fine."
As I offered this warm advice, Red Hair desperately grabbed onto me, clinging to me.
"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! Just give me one more chance...!"
"Sorry? What do you have to apologize to me for? You should be apologizing to your own life for throwing away your conscience and ending up like this."
I shook him off, glared straight at him, and snarled.
"And you fucking assholes should be apologizing for nearly ruining Ryu Jaehee's life. Is that what you call an apology? Get the fuck out of here."
Vulgar language detected.
Original Intent Score -2
"Then I'll apologize to Jaehee with all my sincerity. Just let me see him once more..."
"Our youngest member has already said he won't accept your apology."
He spat out each word with deliberate force, leaving a sneer hanging in the air before turning sharply away. The ice-melted Americano was now bland and watery, but the cool satisfaction in his gut made it worthwhile.
Back in Reve's waiting room, he plopped down on the sofa next to Ryu Jaehee, who murmured, "I thought I wouldn't be able to say a word if I ever faced them again. They seemed so big and scary back in TK, like real Hyungs. But now that I've actually met them... they're nothing at all."
That's right. As people grow up, things that once seemed so big and scary start to look small and insignificant.
My pride in the youngest member's growth was fleeting.
"Compared to Reve," Ryu Jaehee added, prompting me to raise an eyebrow.
"Why are you suddenly bringing up Reve?"
"Living as Reve's youngest member definitely made me stronger. Those guys should have experienced Eden Hyung's therapy, witnessed Eden Hyung and Yehyeon Hyung's constant, brutal fights, and seen Eden Hyung take down Dobin Hyung firsthand."
Ryu Jaehee nodded with an unnecessarily wistful expression, muttering, "No, what did we even do? I keep saying, no group dotes on their youngest member as much as we do!"
"Dotes? Please. I've seen and heard plenty while working on the youngest members' projects."
"When did we ever fight like that? We've always been peaceful."
"Before our debut, Yehyeon Hyung and Eden Hyung used to fight like crazy. Now that I feel like you'll actually listen to me, I'll be honest: Eden Hyung was a god of trash talk back then. I just wasn't his target."
I scratched my head blankly. I couldn't even remember doing anything that would earn me the title "god of trash talk." Beside me, Seo Yehyeon clapped enthusiastically, agreeing with every word.
"So, what are you going to do about it? Just say you won't forgive him and leave it at that?"
Our kind-hearted youngest member might settle for that, but I won't. I'm going to show him what rock bottom looks like.
"I'm writing a statement. After what he did to me, I won't let him debut peacefully."
Ryu Jaehee declared in a firm voice.
Suddenly, I remembered the answer Ryu Jaehee had given me before the regression when I asked why he hadn't revealed his past with TK during the survival show, or even now.
"Back then, Reve was just a flop idol group. There was no evidence, and the rumor that I'd been kicked out of TK for assault had already spread widely. If I'd tried to speak up, I probably wouldn't have even been eliminated from the survival show—it would have just been buried without making any headlines. Worse, I might have been accused of clinging to the story to gain attention. And even if I tried now... I don't want to tarnish the team's name because of me. It's not a pleasant story, after all. TK's agency has such a strong fanbase that we'd likely be the ones getting attacked..."
But the Ryu Jaehee before me had chosen to reveal his past, to make those who had hurt him pay the price.
It felt like I had finally lifted one of the heavy burdens from my heart that I had carried before the regression.
"Just in case, I recorded everything. If they try to bury my statement by claiming there's no evidence, I'll release the recording."
Ryu Jaehee shook his phone, which displayed the recording, and smirked.
"Alright, kid. Hyung will give you my full support."
If we expose the plagiarism controversy surrounding his original song as well, we can completely take down that Red-Haired Jerk.
It feels like I'm just riding Ryu Jaehee's coattails rather than solving this myself, but hey, at least we're getting rid of one idiot who takes music too lightly. Let's count this as a win.
📝 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