Conditions for Becoming a Perfect Idol Leader - Chapter 73
As soon as filming wrapped, the manager handed the members off to the road manager and sent them back to the dorm, then came straight to Go Young-in.
The moment he changed clothes, they dragged him off to the company before he could even properly wipe away his stage makeup.
Go Young-in had to face CEO Kwon Dae-do and a handful of executives, and that meant explaining everything: whether what Jeong Hae had said was true, whether he needed separate counseling or treatment, whether he was all right now, whether there was anything else he hadn't said yet, and why he hadn't brought it up sooner.
Luckily, filming had ended at night, so they didn't keep him there for long, and he was finally let go sometime before dawn.
Besides, even if the person involved couldn't remember it properly, a very small number of executives had already been briefed on the old school violence incident and at least knew the rough outline.
That was what kept the whole thing from dragging on forever.
Ha...
Go Young-in stood motionless with his hand on the dorm's smart-lock handle.
The sensor light in the hallway ceiling had gone out long ago; by now it was little more than a dead bulb.
Something had felt off ever since Cheon Sa-yoon was talking with Jeong Hae, who was supposed to be going on stage in just a moment.
He'd only been walking over to pull Cheon Sa-yoon away, in case the idiot started a pointless fight.
But for whatever reason, it looked like Cheon Sa-yoon had pulled something.
If that bastard was the one behind the controversy, Go Young-in had assumed the first headline would be some sordid scandal.
Even that, though, had somehow refused to go according to plan, which was exactly the kind of thing that made Cheon Sa-yoon feel like Cheon Sa-yoon.
Jeong Hae hadn't said anything that didn't happen, and it wasn't something he'd be ashamed of if it got out.
It should have been fine.
Still, when he thought about how much damage this might cause and how much cleanup would follow, it was a little troublesome.
He had never expected his past to be exposed like this, and certainly not in this way, live.
Come to think of it, I still haven't even checked the reaction.
Whether he liked it or not, there was no way people weren't already saying all kinds of things. It had been broadcast live; there was no chance it would just be brushed aside.
When Kyeon In-woo had sent Yoo In-hyeok away, they'd talked about it then too: controversies like that livestream and this one were fatal to the other party, but they also cut into the flesh of the one at the center.
One or two times, people might let it go, but if the same person kept getting dragged into the same kind of mess, it was impossible not to think, Isn't it always them?
Kyeon In-woo had probably called him reckless for this exact reason.
So this had been a gamble.
But in the end, it was all hindsight anyway.
It was already done; regretting it now would change nothing.
He had no excuse if this was just karma, the price of acting on impulse.
Maybe that was why the future Go Young-in had always tried not to change anything.
In fiction, protagonists who know the future or go back to the past always seem to profit from it.
But he couldn't even make proper use of the information he had.
It felt like he was collecting nothing but trouble, without so much as a single benefit.
I guess I'll never be the protagonist, no matter how hard I try.
That realization only drove home, once again, how careless he'd been.
After putting the confusion behind him, Go Young-in checked the hallway once and entered the password.
For once, the living room lights were on.
Why are the living room lights on in the middle of the night? What, do they think electricity pays for itself?
Why leave every light in the house blazing?
He wanted to scream. He closed his eyes, swallowed the sigh that wanted to crawl out of him, and took off his shoes.
Just as he bent to hook a finger under the heel of one shoe and lift his head again, a chill crawled down the back of his neck.
...
Article 11 | A kind idol leader treats members with broad understanding.
Suddenly? Go Young-in jerked his head up.
...
Ah.
In the living room, every member except Cheon Sa-yoon was gathered together.
Holy shit.
It wasn't strange for the members to be in the dorm. But had they ever all been gathered like this before?
What was more surprising than the fact that they were staring at him was that they had all, apparently of their own volition, decided to sit around like this.
They were scattered in different spots, sure, but still.
Or was something wrong with his visual perception? Not likely, since the status window was registering everything just fine.
...Understanding?
Before he could even finish wondering what kind of understanding that was supposed to be, someone moved.
He'd expected Kyeon In-woo to make the first move, as usual.
But it was a different person.
It was Lim Se-bin, who had been leaning against the wall until a moment ago.
By the time Go Young-in realized they had made eye contact, Lim Se-bin was already right in front of him.
Cold and expressionless, Lim Se-bin seized the front of his shirt without warning. He tried to pull back, but his body locked up with a dull snap and refused to move.
Article 11 | A kind idol leader treats members with broad understanding.
Ah. That kind of understanding.
Go Young-in thought dazedly.
“That pushover didn't even dodge it. I'm losing my mind...”
From somewhere far off, Kyeon In-woo's exasperated sigh drifted over.
If they wanted to be precise, he hadn't dodged it so much as been unable to.
He wished someone would correct the wording.
Lim Se-bin yanked at his collar with a look sharp enough to cut.
Go Young-in, still a little dazed, shrank back on instinct and let his eyes slide sideways at Lim Se-bin's ominous posture.
I thought I was about to get hit.
The bastard who flinched at even the slightest skin contact as if it were filthy had no trouble grabbing other people's hair or collars.
He couldn't just let this pass in silence like usual.
He already had a bad image with the members, but if this kept up, he was going to make things worse not with outsiders, but with the members themselves.
Article 33 | A kind idol leader knows how to express sincere gratitude and apology to members.
He didn't want to pile up any more misunderstandings.
He at least needed to look like he was making an effort.
It was hard to tell whether that thought was his own will or the status window forcing it into place, because the timing was so suspicious, but either way...
So this means I really have to apologize, right?
His shoulders tightened of their own accord.
“Ha-ha... Sorry. I caused a scene because of me.”
Go Young-in's habitual apology came out automatically, and at the same instant a shadow fell across Lim Se-bin's face.
More than anything, he should probably stop trying to decide between two options and just leave it to luck.
Every time a choice appeared and he had to pick one of two options, he kept stepping on landmines. He had long since sworn not to trust his luck anymore.
So then, thanks... But what am I even supposed to be thanking them for?
That felt even more wrong.
The longer he stayed silent, unable to find his footing, the darker Lim Se-bin's mood became.
What should he do?
Just then, over Lim Se-bin's shoulder, he caught sight of Kyeon In-woo glaring this way.
Why the hell is that guy acting like this?
Go Young-in shot Kyeon In-woo a frantic look, but...
“Fuck, Go Young-in, seriously.”
That was the only answer he got.
This wasn't right either?
Kyeon In-woo growled with a fierceness even more frightening than Lim Se-bin's, then suddenly disappeared into the room.
Had his message failed to get across?
Still, why was he just going in like that?
He wasn't even going into his own room.
Why is he going into my room?
He was fairly stunned by Kyeon In-woo's bizarre behavior.
Lim Se-bin, who had instantly noticed that his attention had drifted elsewhere, didn't call him over directly. Instead, he hooked two fingers into the collar of his shirt and tugged.
Go Young-in looked back at him.
He lowered the hand he had instinctively lifted to pry Lim Se-bin's grip off his shirt, pretending he hadn't meant to.
It seemed wiser to go along quietly than to make him angrier.
He'd been thinking it for a while now, but this side of him had a disgustingly bad habit of using his hands.
Personality alone clearly wasn't enough to explain it.
What exactly was there to be angry about?
Come to think of it, he'd told him not to make a scene.
So this was because of that?
The kind of person who hated noise more than anyone else might indeed have been displeased by this mess.
“I'll make sure it doesn't cause the team as much damage as possible. So you don't need to worry about it.”
At this point, it sounded more like he was making excuses.
Would he not believe him because of his record of making noise?
Rather than the taciturn Lim Se-bin who rarely opened his mouth, the silence was broken by Pyo Jae-ho, who had been watching the whole thing without a word.
“So? Did you do it on purpose?”
Pyo Jae-ho's flat voice made Go Young-in turn his head and look at him. Pyo Jae-ho was staring at him, not Lim Se-bin.
On purpose?
He didn't understand what he meant, so he looked back at Lim Se-bin.
But Lim Se-bin had already sunk into his own thoughts, eyes lowered and face dark.
Looking closer, his focus was slightly off, angled downward.
Go Young-in tucked his chin and lowered his head.
There was a dark reddish bruise on the skin of his neck.
Ah. This.
Right, that was there too... It was intentional, technically.
Did people usually ask if you got hurt on purpose at a time like this? Or was he being seen as the sort of person who'd do that?
Article 35 | A kind idol leader does not make baseless suspicions about members.
Mm. So that wasn't what he meant.
Go Young-in briefly imagined an explanation.
Well, technically, I was aiming for it.
You crazy bastard.
The look of contempt Lim Se-bin would give him was painfully easy to picture.
Forget it. I'd better just stay quiet.
He suddenly felt awkward.
While he hesitated for a decent excuse, Lim Se-bin let out a cold sneer.
“Being an idiot should have limits. One day is enough.”
Despite the gloom on his face, his voice had teeth. So that wasn't it either.
Then Lim Se-bin let go of the collar as if tossing it away.
Go Young-in had been wondering what he'd do if he got found out, but it seemed he wouldn't need to worry.
It looked as though Lim Se-bin had no interest in hearing any excuses.
As Go Young-in straightened the crumpled collar, Lim Se-bin had already moved farther away.
Just then, Kyeon In-woo came out holding something in his hand and ran smack into Lim Se-bin.
“Fuck... gross.”
“You're so damn extra.”
Lim Se-bin, looking repulsed, roughly brushed at the part of his arm that had brushed Kyeon In-woo. Kyeon In-woo seemed used to that reaction and didn't think much of it.
“So, you're already heading back in? You looked like you were gearing up to kill him.”
“Shut up.”
Kyeon In-woo had asked it while watching Lim Se-bin head inside, but Lim Se-bin only snapped back coldly as always and slammed the bedroom door shut.
“Like that'd even break a door.”
Kyeon In-woo clicked his tongue and tossed the thing he was holding onto the sofa table without much care.
Sinking back onto the sofa, he said lazily, “Go Young, take it.”
When Go Young-in went over to look, it was the bruise ointment they'd bought before.
That was pretty unlike him. How had he even found it?
Considering he'd gone into someone else's room to retrieve it, there probably wasn't even a basic first-aid kit in that room.
In any case, Go Young-in picked it up as requested.
“Damn Jeong Hae... Forget it. What's there to say now? Honestly, Go Young has a talent for attracting the weirdest bastards.”
“If that's the metric, you guys are the weirdest people here.”
“Fuck, the maknae's got a point.”
Kyeon In-woo couldn't even argue with that.
What was the point of ranking who was weirder among themselves? You were all the same.
Kyeon In-woo lifted his foot on impulse and shoved the back of Pyo Jae-ho, who was sitting on the floor with the sofa as his backrest.
“Hey, enough already. Get in there and go to sleep. Are you blind or what?”
Pyo Jae-ho didn't so much as change expression under Kyeon In-woo's kick.
“So. Is it true?”