Chapter 71 - The Conditions for Becoming a Gentle Idol Leader
He had no idea what kind of state of mind had carried him all the way to backstage.
Back here, the staff were sprinting in every direction, all of them taut with the kind of sharp, brittle energy that came right before a live broadcast. Everyone was trying to make sure the show went off without a single mistake. When one of the staff came over to fit him with a pin mic, he politely declined and connected it himself. It had to be tucked under his clothes, and if they noticed anything wrong with his throat while doing that, chaos would break out for sure.
Besides, Kyeon In-woo had only just realized the condition of his voice, and even from the side, Young-in could see him grinding his teeth and holding back the urge to blow up on the spot. That alone made it hard to relax.
And just how much had In-woo heard, anyway? There was no telling from his face. He had thought the guy was the easiest to read, but now he wasn’t so sure.
After checking the mic signal with the staff, he led Kyeon In-woo back to where the other members were gathered. Cheon Sa-yoon swept his gaze over both of them from head to toe. Maybe because there was something to hide, his eyes lingered a little too long around Young-in’s neck. Pretend that was my imagination.
Cheon Sa-yoon’s mouth curved faintly. “You’re late.”
Kyeon In-woo naturally ignored him. Hm. Go Young-in cleared his throat.
“I had something to discuss for a moment.”
His voice was just a little rough, but not enough to stand out. The other members gave no reaction, which meant it was fine. If he got self-conscious, it would only make things more obvious, so he decided to act shameless instead.
Cheon Sa-yoon smiled without saying a word. Young-in met his eyes and gave a small nod before looking over the others.
Lim Se-bin, who had apparently been staring this way for who-knew-how-long, immediately furrowed his brow and looked away the second Young-in glanced at him.
Still as rude as ever. Good. No problem.
Pyo Jae-ho was sitting quietly too. Good. Checking the time, it looked like they’d have time for at least one run-through.
Clause 8 | Perfect idols do not treat broadcasts carelessly.
Right. So he was being told to rehearse more. Young-in gave a light cough to draw everyone’s attention.
“We still have time before our turn, so let’s go over it once more.”
Pyo Jae-ho, who had been quiet up until now, shot to his feet first.
“Let’s go.”
He had always been the type to work hard on stage, but why was he suddenly being this proactive…? Young-in stood there blinking, bewildered, only for Pyo Jae-ho’s flat, dry eyes to land on him.
“Don’t go into the stage without warming up your voice properly and mess it up. If you’re a pro, act like one and do it right.”
Honestly, this misunderstanding was better. Young-in’s conscience pricked painfully anyway.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
“—And that’s the end of our interview with Zero One! Now, let’s see who’s up next through the video!”
Zero One’s stage and interview had just ended. The group had gone down to backstage, and on the stage above them, a short promotional video was playing to introduce the next act.
“Careful over there! If that breaks, we’re screwed!”
“There are about five minutes left until the video ends! Next team, please be careful—your mics will turn on a few seconds before the clip ends, so listen closely! I’ll count you in!”
“Who’s next? Triple Shot? Hurry up and get ready!”
The staff’s frantic voices bounced everywhere.
Triple Shot, who had been lounging around without preparing for anything until now, were suddenly scrambling through backstage in a frenzy.
Jeong Hae had already finished everything ahead of them and was sitting in place, waiting. The staff’s voices didn’t even seem to reach him properly anymore.
He gnawed at his thumbnail until it was ragged and bloody, but the sting was nothing compared to the blow he’d taken to the stomach from Kyeon In-woo earlier. The punched spot still throbbed.
No matter how he looked at it, it was strange that Kyeon In-woo had come back so quickly. He’d sent him a text saying he had something important to tell him about Go Young-in from their school days, specifically to keep the two of them apart, so how the hell had this happened?
Those bastard freaks. They must have been working together, cornering him on purpose. They must have already seen through everything and pretended to be fooled, only to sneak off and wait for the right moment.
Sitting in his chair, Jeong Hae kept jiggling his leg with growing anxiety.
Then does that mean Kyeon In-woo knows I was the one who bullied Go Young-in?
No, no… probably not. Not until recently, Kyeon In-woo had believed that Jeong Hae had helped Go Young-in while he was away from school so often.
That was how he’d been telling the story all along, so unless he’d seen it with his own eyes, there was no reason to doubt it.
But whether he knew or not didn’t matter anymore. In the end, Kyeon In-woo had found out and beaten him anyway. The Kyeon In-woo Jeong Hae knew would never let something like that slide.
For now he had only let it go because of the live broadcast, but Jeong Hae had no idea what he’d do after the show ended.
Fine. First I just need to get through the stage safely. What’s he got over me, anyway? I just need to do better than those Zero One bastards. Better than their stage.
As long as he didn’t screw up, Triple Shot’s score would naturally come out higher. That was how the program was designed from the start.
Just then, one of the staff hurried over toward Jeong Hae.
But before the staff could get there, someone else raised a hand to stop them, then held up one finger with an apologetic look. One minute. The staff caught on and backed away again.
Jeong Hae lifted his head at the commotion. By then the staff was long gone, and someone else was standing in front of him instead.
It was a familiar face. Fresh off the stage, he didn’t even look tired, which made him infuriatingly polished.
Jeong Hae swallowed his unease and forced his expression into a strained smile. He’d often greeted him whenever he approached Go Young-in or Kyeon In-woo, but for some reason they’d never really gotten close.
And of all people, why did it have to be a Zero One member? Hell.
“Hello.”
Cheon Sa-yoon smiled courteously. “Mr. Sa-yoon. What can I do for you?”
“I was curious about something.”
“...Huh? Me?”
A cold knot of unease dropped into Jeong Hae’s stomach. Had Go Young-in already snitched to another member? There was no other reason for Cheon Sa-yoon, who wasn’t even close to him, to walk over like this.
“How are you feeling right now?”
“...What?”
“I’m just curious. Are you angry? Annoyed? Or maybe you feel wronged? Or else, hmm, what else was there…”
As he asked about Jeong Hae’s feelings, Cheon Sa-yoon looked genuinely curious, like a child asking because he truly wanted to know.
“Ah. Are you pissed off?”
“Hey. You’re really catching me off guard here…”
“So you’re caught off guard. Then can I ask something else?”
Before Jeong Hae could answer, Cheon Sa-yoon went on by himself.
“How does it feel to live with that half-baked skill that doesn’t even get you anywhere?”
There was no malice on the smiling face in front of him. Jeong Hae, who had not even fully processed what he’d just heard, snapped back too late in outrage.
“You— you fucking psycho.”
“Yes? You called for a psycho?”
“Ha…”
“Oh, so you get it now. That’s unfortunate.”
Cheon Sa-yoon let out a truly regretful sigh.
What the hell was going on? Jeong Hae was more confused than anything else by the abrupt turn this had taken. Why was he suddenly doing this? And why was he saying such vile shit while doing it?
“You want to get fucked up too?”
“How?”
“What?”
“What have I done? Did I order school violence the way someone else would order takeout? I don’t have anything to be guilty about.”
“...Hah… ha… Did Go Young-in snitch on you? Fuck. I thought you were quiet, but you’re just a mouthy little bastard, huh?”
Jeong Hae had already abandoned honorifics. Trembling with rage, he barely managed to steady his body.
“Well.”
“There’s no other way to explain why you’re being this rude right now.”
“You’re even dumber than I thought. Looks like I’m not the only one whose head doesn’t work.”
“If you talk like that, you’ll get blacklisted immediately. You know that?”
“Are you seriously calling that a threat?”
“......”
“Ahaha. Wow, that’s honestly pathetic. That’s not how you threaten someone.”
Cheon Sa-yoon rubbed at the corner of his mouth as if thinking, then stared into the air for a moment. A small sound of admiration slipped out of him, and he smiled with his eyes closed.
“Want me to give you an example?”
Now, watch closely. Cheon Sa-yoon went on in a gentle voice, as if he were doing Jeong Hae a favor.
“First. Who was it that went to Bae So-jin and told her to say everything honestly?”
“...How did you—”
“Oh dear. You shouldn’t interrupt people. Did you really want to advertise how poorly raised you are?”
“Is that the issue right now?”
“Second. How do you think the producer found out that your school violence was real?”
Jeong Hae had no idea what was happening. So the one who told the producer was…? What the hell was this lunatic even saying? His head wouldn’t work properly through the surge of rage.
“The next performance is a team that drew attention for their precise group choreography and stage presence!”
“Do you even understand what you’re saying right now? Because of you, I—”
“If you can’t stop blaming other people, maybe you should go back and relearn basic language.”
“Thirty seconds left!”
“You were able to delude yourself into feeling superior just because you were an idol trainee with connections, but you had no real skill at all. The only thing you had was the fact that your uncle ran the company. That’s not exactly easy to pull off, though. I’ll give you that.”
“Please welcome them with applause!”
“No matter how you look at it, you just couldn’t compete with other people’s skill, so you probably spent your whole life envying them and telling yourself they were beneath you. All you can do is wag your tongue at idiots like a clown.”
“......”
“Amazing.”
“Waaah!”
Applause and cheers filled the studio, but to Jeong Hae, the soundless noise meant less than the words coming out of Cheon Sa-yoon’s mouth.
His face, which he had been forcing to remain calm until now, started to twist red and blue with humiliation.
“How unfortunate.”
Looking every inch like he was genuinely pitying someone, Cheon Sa-yoon let his neatly arched brows droop in sorrow and lightly patted Jeong Hae’s shoulder.
Jeong Hae almost shrugged him off then and there, but forced himself to remember that this was backstage. Still, he was quickly losing the thread of reason.
“Just because your mouth’s open doesn’t mean you can say whatever you—”
“Third. How do I know you bullied Young-in hyung?”
Something inside his skull snapped.
“What do you think?”
“Next contestant is—”
That was the limit.
A high, piercing ring filled his ears from somewhere far away.
“Ha… haha. Fine. Yeah, fuck it… I did it.”
Jeong Hae laughed through clenched teeth. There was nothing left to hide anymore.
“Go Young-in getting bullied? Yeah, fuck. I ordered it. Happy now? That’s what you wanted to hear, right? What else do you want to know? That bastard’s so tough he didn’t even blink when he got hit. He doesn’t scream easily either. Pretty boring, right?”
Cheon Sa-yoon widened his eyes, a look of surprise spreading over his face.
“You’d know if you were on the same team. He brought it on himself. What, did he even try to get out of it? Did he do anything at all?”
Seeing that expression made him feel, in a strangely satisfying way, as if he’d landed a blow of his own.
“Hahahaha.”
Now that the words were out, he actually felt lighter. He wanted to threaten that arrogant bastard in front of him and show off a little superiority by telling him he’d even trampled that one too. It was nothing, really.
“Right? It’s disgusting. Some people are born with everything and debut way more easily, and even when they train the same as everyone else, they’re just different! And those eyes of his are fucking awful too. He looks at people like he’s looking down on them.”
Jeong Hae bit down hard, trying to bury his rage as he breathed rough and heavy.
“Go out somewhere and scream that all you want. With no evidence, who’s going to listen to you seriously? Or what about Go Young-in? Do you think he’d admit it himself? If it were me, I’d be too embarrassed to even say it. I’d rather bite my tongue and die.”
“......”
Maybe because he’d finally said everything he’d wanted to say all this time, he felt strangely relieved. Only then did the situation around him begin to register.
Something about the silence nearby felt wrong.
...Something was off.
A chill crept over him too late.
“...What.”
Jeong Hae swallowed dryly and looked around.
Everyone who had been moving busily just moments ago was now staring at him. Cold sweat broke out over his skin.
“......Why.”
When he darted a glance toward the stage, even the MC standing there was looking at him with a stunned expression.
Jeong Hae stiffly turned his head. Cheon Sa-yoon was already standing a comfortable distance away, calm and collected.
After a moment’s hesitation, Jeong Hae pulled out the pin mic transmitter he had tucked into his pocket.
Blink. Blink. The transmitter light was red.
His face collapsed in an instant.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Usually, if the audio cut out before and after a live video segment, it felt unnatural. That was why they often turned the microphones on a few seconds before the video ended, so the transition would sound seamless.
If someone said the wrong thing then, the sound could go out over the broadcast, so they always had to be careful. That was also why the staff would signal, a few seconds before the clip ended, that the mic was about to go live.
This was one of those ordinary broadcasting accidents, but the problem was the content.
What Jeong Hae had said was absolutely not the kind of thing that could be brushed off as commonplace.
And it had happened during a live broadcast, of all things.
The audience gathered on site began to murmur. The silence shattered, and in an instant the whole place erupted into noise.
Only the space around Cheon Sa-yoon and Jeong Hae remained quiet. Cheon Sa-yoon simply stared at the red light on the transmitter in Jeong Hae’s hand.
Jeong Hae’s fingers were shaking uncontrollably. This couldn’t be happening. Since when? Did he plan this from the start…?
“You… you, you. Why the hell are you doing this to me?”
The despair in his voice was aimed at Cheon Sa-yoon.
Cheon Sa-yoon tore his eyes away from the darkened transmitter and answered with cheerful ease.
“You spilled coffee on my clothes.”
“W-what?”
“If your intelligence has a defect, I guess you can’t understand simple things in one go.”
Cheon Sa-yoon smiled brightly.
“You spilled coffee on my clothes, you fucking asshole.”