Chapter 233: The Troublemaker (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 233: The Troublemaker (1)
Jeong Seong-jun pulled out a chair at the dining table, telling me to take a seat for now.
“What can I get you? We’ve got water from the purifier, coffee, some mysterious floral tea, and anchovy fish sauce that looks suspiciously like barley tea.”
“Hyung doesn’t drink coffee. I’ll handle it, so just go sit down.”
Jeong Seong-bin roughly shoved Seong-jun aside, who had been looming in front of the refrigerator. He then started boiling water in the electric kettle and pulled a couple of tea bags from the cupboard.
Having been pushed away by Seong-bin, Seong-jun nonchalantly came over and sat in the seat next to me. His sociability was on another level.
“Do you dislike coffee? You look like the type who’d enjoy a good espresso.”
“It’s not that I dislike it; I just can’t drink it. Caffeine doesn’t sit well with me.”
Thanks to that, I’d never even tried an Americano, the so-called lifeblood of office workers. Even eating chocolate made me feel unwell, so I made a point to avoid caffeine entirely. Seong-bin added from the kitchen:
“That’s why Hyung only drinks things like yogurt smoothies.”
“So you can’t have it at all. Then, are you okay with the smell of coffee nearby? Should I drink something else?”
“That doesn’t matter. As long as I’m not the one consuming it, I’m fine.”
“Then Seong-bin, give me a coffee!”
“Strong?”
“That’s my brother! You know me so well, don’t you?”
Seong-jun shot a wink at Seong-bin. He truly had a remarkable personality in many ways.
“I-wol Hyung, would you like tea? Or is water better?”
“Water is fine for me.”
Seong-bin habitually reached for a mug. At that, Seong-jun sprang up from the table.
“Oh, Mom brought over some magnolia tea the other day—try that. She gave me strict instructions this morning to treat our guest properly before she left for work. Magnolia tea shouldn’t have caffeine, right?”
Before he even finished his sentence, Seong-jun dashed back to the kitchen. He even checked his phone to confirm the caffeine content of magnolia tea.
“You could have mentioned that sooner.”
“I only just remembered! But hey, I remembered before the water was even poured. Isn’t that impressive? Please, give your wonderful younger brother some unconditional praise.”
The two bickered in the kitchen until the water boiled. Exactly five minutes later, three steaming mugs were placed on the table.
“I even sliced some fruit in advance since we had a guest coming.”
Seong-jun forced Seong-bin into a seat and opened the refrigerator.
I truly appreciated the sentiment, but do people usually slice fruit in advance? Had his mother really been that insistent?
At this point, it felt less like I had come to express my gratitude and more like I was being a nuisance.
Just as guilt began to weigh on me, I saw Seong-jun pull something incredible out of the fridge. It was a whole melon carved into the shape of a cute cat’s face.
I was stunned. Was this that… ‘food art’ thing? But did stuff like this usually come out of a normal household refrigerator?
Inside the cat’s head, the melon flesh had been scooped into perfect little spheres like marbles. It felt like eating melon out of a cat-shaped bowl.
“My goodness… do they actually sell fruit like this?”
“No, I carved it myself.”
“Pardon?”
Shocked by the truth, my gaze naturally drifted toward Seong-jun.
“I heard fans compare you to a panda, an eagle, or a cat. I thought smearing ink on a melon to make a panda would be insulting, and an eagle seemed too difficult, so I went with a cat.”
Seong-jun even offered a kind explanation.
So, this was a snack customized specifically for me.
These brothers certainly had a talent for making a person feel overwhelmed. Seong-bin pressed a hand to his forehead as if he were developing a migraine.
“What? Are you disappointed because I didn’t get you anything?”
“Not at all.”
Seong-bin’s voice was saturated with exhaustion.
However, Seong-bin’s sincerity failed to reach Seong-jun, who alternated between calling him ‘brother’ and ‘hey, you.’
“I knew you’d feel that way, so I prepared something for you too.”
“I said I’m not disappointed!”
Seong-bin shouted in a voice thick with exasperation. Regardless of his brother’s protest, Seong-jun opened the fridge again.
This time, with a “Ta-da!” he produced a tiny puppy made out of grapes.
“I used toothpicks to put it together. Pretty good, right?”
With that, Seong-jun perched the grape puppy right between the melon cat’s ears.
“Welcome to our home! Please, enjoy!”
Lee Cheong-hyeon’s words about Seong-jun Hyung being ‘really unique’ rang loudly in my head.
To think brothers could be this different. I was certainly learning something new today.
Seong-bin and I returned home completely drained. If the introverts of Spark had gone to that joy-filled twin house, they wouldn’t have made it back alive.
Only Park Ju-woo and Kang Gi-yeon were in the practice room. It made sense, as they only had to come to the company to deliver the lunch boxes to the trainers.
But two people were missing.
“Where are Choi Je-ho and Cheong-hyeon? Are they not back yet?”
The Action School should have been closer than Seong-bin’s house, yet there was no sign of them.
“Yeah. Maybe they’re stuck in traffic…?”
“It’s not even rush hour yet. That shouldn’t be the case.”
I glanced back and forth between the clock and the entrance of the practice room.
Maybe they’re doing some kind of extra experience at the Action School.
If it were just Choi Je-ho, I might have doubted it, but with Lee Cheong-hyeon there, it was a plausible theory. I decided they’d show up eventually and started warming up.
The two, who I thought would arrive shortly, didn’t show up until much later. They arrived with haggard faces, a full two hours behind schedule.
“Did something happen?”
If they had been only slightly late, I would have asked what took them so long.
But given the time and the terrible expressions on their faces, I had to ask if they were okay first.
Their complexions weren't just bad; they were alarming. Choi Je-ho’s face was flushed with rage, while Lee Cheong-hyeon’s expression was dark and grim.
“Sigh…”
Choi Je-ho let out a deep sigh without answering. Irritation practically dripped from the sound.
“What is it? Did the Action School say Cheong-hyeon is a once-in-a-century talent? Did they tell him to start coming every day?”
“I wish it were something like that.”
There wasn't a hint of a smile on Lee Cheong-hyeon’s face as he replied. Sensing the gravity of the situation, the members sat down on the practice room floor one by one. Lee Cheong-hyeon looked at the floor and called my name.
“Hyung.”
“Yeah.”
“You said it’s hard for the company to fire someone, right?”
Silence fell. Everyone watched Choi Je-ho and Lee Cheong-hyeon warily.
“Why? Did you have trouble with Manager Un-seop?”
Lee Cheong-hyeon’s eyes widened. He seemed surprised that I had singled someone out.
It was understandable. I was the one who always told them not to badmouth others.
Conversely, the fact that they were bringing this up despite knowing I’d react defensively meant they had a damn good reason. If that was the case, I had to listen.
“It wasn’t just ‘trouble.’ We had a massive blowout.”
“With whom? You and Manager Un-seop?”
“Do you think it was me?”
At Lee Cheong-hyeon’s words, everyone’s eyes turned to Choi Je-ho.
“Why did you fight? Let’s hear it.”
Back when Choi Je-ho almost caused a scene over a self-produced content segment touching on family affairs, I had told him clearly: the listener’s stance changes depending on the speaker’s attitude.
Since then, I hadn’t seen Choi Je-ho lose his temper recklessly. Aside from the time he yelled a bit when I had my head injury, he had been relatively mild-mannered lately.
For someone who had been controlling himself like that to finally snap, something must have happened.
While it was problematic to think people could be easily fired, I felt I needed to listen to this properly.
At my question, Choi Je-ho ran his hands through his hair aggressively. His face was full of annoyance, and the veins on the back of his hands bulged as he swept his hair back.
“There were a lot of annoying things, but forget all that.”
“Okay.”
“The fucker kept looking at his phone while he was driving.”
…What?
‘Hyung, where are you sitting?’
Lee Cheong-hyeon had asked. Following Kim I-wol’s advice that leaving the passenger seat empty was disrespectful to the driver, Spark had made it a point to always fill that seat, even if only two people were in the car.
And as a relatively older member, a higher level of etiquette was expected from Choi Je-ho.
‘Make sure you handle it so the younger ones don’t have to walk on eggshells. Got it?’
‘If I can.’
Je-ho didn't have the knack for deciphering all the ‘universal social graces’ Kim I-wol talked about. But he had promised to do his best in situations he could actually identify.
‘I’ll sit in front.’
And so, Choi Je-ho became the driver’s companion for the day. Whether that was a good choice or a bad one was still up for debate.
‘You need to take a right here.’
‘This way is faster.’
It was already the fourth time. The manager was taking a different route than the one Choi Je-ho suggested.
When traveling with Chan-yeong, there was no need to act as a human GPS. But for Un-seop, who had only recently become a manager, these roads were unfamiliar. Choi Je-ho was simply trying to help with directions as Chan-yeong had requested.
‘I told you, there’s construction there…’
‘I’m sure it’s finished by now.’
Un-seop simply wouldn't listen. Choi Je-ho briefly wondered if his tone was unfriendly or if he sounded like he was interfering with the driving.
But Choi Je-ho was right; the road was still under construction. As Un-seop clicked his tongue and tried to make a sudden turn in the middle of heavy traffic, Je-ho’s temper began to flare.
If you’d just listened to me earlier, we’d be fine.
He barely managed to suppress his rising anger. Kim I-wol’s words—that while he didn't have to be overly friendly, he shouldn't be rude—echoed in his mind.
In the end, the two arrived at the Action School later than scheduled. Having it drilled into their bones that being late was a cardinal sin, the two handed over the lunch boxes while bowing ninety degrees and shouting their apologies. It almost made the Action School staff look like bad people who took food while demanding strict discipline.
While Choi Je-ho and Lee Cheong-hyeon expressed their gratitude and recorded footage for their self-produced content, Un-seop was nowhere to be seen.
Some managers watched the filming on-site, but Je-ho figured it wasn't a major shoot, so it was fine. He just assumed he was being overly critical of the man.
After saying their goodbyes to the Action School staff and heading back to the car, they saw the window roll down quickly. A faint wisp of smoke seemed to drift out.
As Choi Je-ho opened the passenger door, the smell of cigarettes hit him full in the face. Je-ho wasn't the type to beat around the bush.
‘Were you smoking in the car?’
The response he got was absurd.
‘Oh, it’s just a vape.’
Is an electronic cigarette not a cigarette? Choi Je-ho couldn't wrap his head around the logic.
Leaving Je-ho stunned, the manager added nonchalantly:
‘The whole area around here is a no-smoking zone.’
That means don’t smoke at all, you son of a bitch. Not that you should smoke in the car.
Lee Cheong-hyeon, sitting in the back, began to cough. Choi Je-ho thought of Kim I-wol, who would fussily run over with a mask whenever the younger members stood in front of the stove, worried they might inhale toxic fumes.