Chapter 92
Chapter 92
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 92
Chapter Title: Is Jung Ji-seok Crazy?
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In that instant, my mind went blank.
‘What the hell is he talking about!'
Has Jung Ji-seok eaten something bad? No, he was discharged from the hospital—did he lose his mind? Should I drag him back there? This time it feels like a brain issue.
Whether he knew what I was thinking or not, Jung Ji-seok continued.
"That time... you spoke up for me like I was your son."
Yeah, I had.
"It was to find your son. Calming you down was the priority."
"I knew in the ER that you weren't really my son."
Huh? Then why did he say that?
"Because you said it like that..."
Jung Ji-seok suddenly grabbed my hand tightly.
"I felt saved."
The sudden warmth of his body heat made me step back a foot.
'This is driving me insane. How did things end up like this?'
How do I fix this mess? Damn it. What the hell!
'Maybe it's a hidden camera?'
I quickly looked around. There wasn't a single thing that looked like a camera nearby.
'So this is real.'
Wow. God. Jung Ji-seok has lost it.
I took a quiet deep breath. I had no idea how to handle this situation.
"I want to meet your parents."
No, suddenly? Why?
"I want to tell them I'm treating you like my son. Can we set a time? When's good?"
Leaving him be only made it worse. What does he plan to do by meeting them? No, how do you even schedule time with dead people in the first place.
"First off, Mr. Jung Ji-seok?"
"What's with the 'mister' between us? I told you to call me Uncle."
Damn it. What kind of relationship do we even have?
I pressed my hand to my forehead. Where am I? Who am I? For the first time in a while, the vastness of the universe hit me.
"We'll sort out how to address each other later. For now, you can't meet my parents."
"Why? Do they live far? Video call's fine."
"They're gone."
Jung Ji-seok blinked slowly.
"What?"
"My mom passed away, and my dad was never around from the start. But I do have family. My sister and my aunt and uncle. They're the ones who do everything for me without any reason."
So stop with the uncle talk. If my aunt heard this, she'd land a high kick right away. At least your front teeth would fly out, and I'd bet a million won on it.
"So you're an orphan now?"
But brushing off my concerns, Jung Ji-seok's eyes sparkled like a cow's again.
"I told you I have a sister."
"A sister is still a kid."
"She's an adult."
"20?"
"Yeah."
"Then how about both of you come under my family register?"
Ah, damn it!
"Yeah! A son is better than an uncle! Let's be father and son! Yeah, that'll be great!"
"No, I said we're not changing registers! Why mess with surnames like that!"
"Why? I'll treat you well."
Damn it. Save me. I looked around desperately. I wanted to bolt from this situation.
I took desperate deep breaths.
"Mr. Jung Ji-seok."
"Yeah, yeah!"
"I can't change my family register. Inheritance is tied to it."
"Ah, that'd be tough."
"Before that, how do I even become your son? And I'm currently the highest-earning third-year middle schooler in Korea. If I really became your son by some chance, your image would be ruined. Every news outlet would plaster it."
"I'm fine with that!"
I'm not!
"Anyway, no son business. Let's stay as close senior and junior."
Please. Mister.
Jung Ji-seok lowered his eyes slightly.
"I could really take care of you like a son..."
"You can treat me like a son without needing the family register."
The middle-aged actor nodded faintly. Wow, he finally gets it.
"You're right. The register isn't important between us."
I was too tired to even ask what 'between us' meant.
"Yeah. Dowon."
Jung Ji-seok grinned brightly. Then he suddenly pulled me into a hug.
"From now on, I'll take good care of you."
This is insane.
'What sin did I commit in a past life to end up in a middle-aged man's arms?'
If it were a woman hugging me, maybe.
My arms trembled. It was humiliating enough to drive me mad.
"Ah, yeah."
Jung Ji-seok kneaded my back vigorously.
"Goodness, why are you so skinny."
"Idols get in trouble for gaining weight."
"Teenagers need to eat well. Ah, right, you're an idol. Our Dowon. Good at singing, good at dancing, good at acting too!"
Weren't you the one who ragged on me for acting like an idol?
"It's hard to master even one, but you nailed all three! I'm so proud."
Don't. Just go back to how it was. Damn it. What the hell is this.
I sighed and slipped out of his embrace.
"Mr. Jung Ji-seok, let's get to filming."
"Ah, right we should. Aigo, our Dowon."
Our Dowon.
Haha. Hahaha. Save me.
The manager approached from afar. I shot him a desperate look and finally escaped.
"Uh, I have something to talk about with the manager real quick."
"You can talk in front of me! Keeping secrets from Dad already? That hurts!"
Whatever.
"It's about the company. See you in a bit."
I hurried away from there. Then I grabbed the manager and dragged him somewhere out of Jung Ji-seok's sight.
"Do, Dowon. Why drag me somewhere so secluded? Gonna fool around?"
Ah, seriously. Should I just punch him.
"Hold on."
I forcibly dragged the resisting manager over and looked around.
"Wh-what?"
"Is Jung Ji-seok crazy?"
"What are you talking about? You're the crazy one. Why would he be?"
"He suddenly wants to make me his son?"
The manager's eyes went wide.
"Wow, must be because you're his lifesaver!"
"By that logic, you're a lifesaver too. Should he adopt you as a son then?"
"Huh? No way. My dad's still alive. Plus, Jung Ji-seok's only a few years older than me? Not much difference."
"That's not the point. Isn't Jung Ji-seok really crazy? The change is too drastic."
The manager cleared his throat awkwardly.
"It's just with you. He's known for being affectionate."
"This is driving me nuts."
"Plus... well..."
The manager scratched his nose bridge and said.
"You might not like it, but he did stare at you oddly. He probably didn't hate you that much. If there's affection, they bicker. No interest, no response."
Ah, seriously.
'I gotta make sure I don't age like that.'
So damn annoying.
"Ah, I'm dying. What do I do."
"Just play along moderately."
"He's dead serious! How do I play along moderately!"
"Do what you always do. You're popular with older folks anyway."
"That's with women."
Who cares about some middle-aged guy.
A sigh escaped me naturally.
"Just treat him like a dad."
"I wouldn't know. No dad."
The manager blinked. Ah, I never mentioned it.
"Around when I was 6. Before elementary school. They divorced. He's alive somewhere, but not my business."
"Wh-what was the reason?"
"Two households."
"Gasp!"
"After the divorce, the register went with Mom, so paternal family was completely out. But those bloodsuckers who love freebies came crawling after Mom died for the inheritance."
I shaved them all bald, but it still grinds my teeth.
"Eldest grandson my ass. Damn."
They chipped away bit by bit with that excuse. Thinking about how they stole everything before regression makes me want to burn it all.
"Uh, complicated family situation."
"Not really. I already cleaned it all up."
The assets were settled with taxes ages ago.
"Uh, can I ask one thing? After the divorce, what did your mom do?"
"Shaman."
"Gasp!"
The manager kept gasping.
"She was famous."
"Was she good?"
"Yeah."
"That's why you're so quick on the uptake!"
What does that have to do with my perceptiveness?
Anyway, Jung Ji-seok was a real problem.
"Ah, this is insane."
No solution in sight. How do I fix this?
'Ah, right, the cheat.'
I pulled out my smartphone right away. Never needed the cheat this badly.
Just as I was about to switch to cheat mode.
"Cha Dowon, get ready!"
Ah, gotta work.
"Yeah! Coming! Dowon, go!"
"Ah, yeah."
I quickly handed my smartphone to the manager. As I ran, I spotted Jung Ji-seok in the distance.
'Damn.'
His goofy grin was utterly terrifying.
***
[cheat mode 1/3]
[Erased Cha Dowon from Jung Ji-seok's memory.]
[Impossible in current body state.]
[cheat mode 1/3]
[Erased Jung Ji-seok's fondness for Cha Dowon.]
[Impossible in current body state.]
[cheat mode 1/3]
[Adjusted Jung Ji-seok to perceive no Cha Dowon.]
[Impossible in current body state.]
"Argh!"
I threw my smartphone onto the bed. The cheat's success was always up to its whim, but I didn't expect this level.
'Can't cheat human emotions, huh.'
What are your damn criteria?
My chest felt tight. No matter how much I racked my brain, Jung Ji-seok wouldn't budge.
'It was horrifying.'
Since that day, Jung Ji-seok had been overly attentive to me. Bringing food during shoots, even lending me his chair during breaks.
"Ugh!"
Can't we go back to when he got on my nerves?
I punched the pillow repeatedly, and Lee Seung-jun in the same room asked.
"Something wrong?"
"Yeah. Something horrifying happened."
"What?"
"Jung Ji-seok's being too nice. Wants to make me his son, even."
"That's horrifying?"
I let out a deep sigh.
"Try getting treated like you took medicine for something minor. You'd go mad too."
"Hmm, that's why you have this."
Lee Seung-jun tapped the paper box under his bed.
"Ah, tonic."
"He gave you this too? Must be the lifesaver thing. Super attentive."
If I could turn back time, I'd threaten Jung Ji-seok's manager to send him to the ER and end it. Then this wouldn't have happened.
"Doesn't this need refrigeration?"
"Damn, can't just toss it."
"It's good stuff. Just take it. You've been overworking."
I sighed and lay on the bed.
Truth is, Lee Seung-jun was right.
'I recovered stamina with cheat, but the schedule's been packed.'
Events and ads kept pouring in nonstop. Scripts for appearances piled up too.
"Eh, busy is fine."
Jung Ji-seok's the issue.
Lee Seung-jun sat on my bed and said.
"Him wanting you as a son is kinda weird."
"Yeah, it'll pass. Probably reminded of his dead son."
So I couldn't brush him off coldly.
"Maybe. What even is family."
I looked at the bear-like guy. His face was full of bitterness.
"Brother-in-law asking for money again?"
"Something like that."
"Should drown that bastard in sewage."
"Guess we're doing well."
"Of course we are."
Zenith was definitely charging toward the top.
'If the next album with Chunhyang succeeds, we'll solidly be top in Korea.'
Then what after?
'In the old days, it'd be Asia expansion, but now it's iffy.'
Maybe because Kang Min-je is eyeing North America. Asia feels less appealing than the US market to me too.
'Guess I should prepare too.'
English at this stage, I suppose.
"Dowon? What're you thinking?"
"Hm? Oh, learning English? Yeah. Might as well. You learn too."
"English out of nowhere."
"It'll help."
We were chatting when suddenly the door burst open, and Ki Jae-yoon rushed in.
"Scoop! Scoop!"
"What?"
"Internet's blowing up. Check entertainment—no, social section."
Ki Jae-yoon looked thrilled.
'Not about us, then.'
What is it?
I quietly switched my smartphone to normal mode. Clicking my usual portal site, I finally got what he meant.
-Sa-hyuk Indicted for Assaulting Manager
Aha.
"About time it blew up."
I could feel Sa-hyuk's stock plummeting. Lying on the bed, I pictured his manager with a face swollen black and blue.
'Yeah, he endured a lot. That guy.'
I gave him my aunt's number, but honestly doubted it'd go anywhere after.
'But he pulled it off.'
I scrolled quietly. Breaking news, but tons of articles flooded in.
"This is getting big."