The Conditions for Becoming a Gentle Idol Leader - Episode 88

88

Baek Geon, his face gone blank with confusion, asked back, "Jae-ho. What?"

"I don't want to."

"What don't you want to?"

"I don't want to work with that person."

"You can't just throw a tantrum and make it go away."

"Then I won't participate."

He'd been doing fine, so why was he suddenly like this? No, wait—Pyo Jae-ho hadn't actually said anything he wasn't entitled to say. It was a Zero One album; if one of the Zero One members said he didn't want to do it, what else could they do?

They still didn't know the reason. If they heard him out, maybe it would make sense. If it was a valid reason, all the better. Then they could use that to push back and somehow persuade Kwon Dae-do and Baek Geon.

Right. If this is going to happen anyway, at least let it be for a proper reason. Please.

"Hey, you little punk."

Baek Geon let out a groan like a man who had just run headfirst into an unexpected wall. Go Young-in, in his own head, silently joined him: Please let there be a valid reason, man.

"What's the reason? It can't just be because you don't like him."

"Just because."

Fuck, Jae-ho...

Go Young-in squeezed his eyes shut.

"Hey! You call that a reason?"

"The song's not even that good, either."

"Hah. Do I know your taste or do I know your taste? No matter how I look at it, the song and the composing style are a perfect fit for you, Jae-ho. I didn't recommend it for nothing. It's only a partial contribution anyway, so you wouldn't be involved all that much."

"... "

Seeing Pyo Jae-ho sit there without a word, Baek Geon scratched the back of his head.

"If you didn't like the song, you wouldn't have just let it go. You would've torn into it on the spot and picked at every little thing that seemed off, right?"

So isn't this picking a fight right now? It seemed less like Pyo Jae-ho disliked the song than the composer. Considering he had stayed quiet even when the other members were tearing the place apart, it was unsettling to see him openly dislike someone.

Still, Baek Geon's logic itself wasn't wrong. That brat had always liked this sort of style. The way he worked, too—there really wasn't much there for him to hate. If anything, he should've liked it.

Baek Geon kept trying to convince him, but it didn't go anywhere. Pyo Jae-ho just sat there without answering, as if he wasn't even listening.

"So think about it, okay?"

"Is that your answer?"

"Yeah, you punk! Da-da, what do you say?"

"If you don't have anything else to say, I'm leaving."

With a dry answer to Baek Geon's pleading, Pyo Jae-ho stood up and walked straight out of the room.

"Hah... hahahaha..."

Baek Geon gave a hollow laugh, staring at the door Pyo Jae-ho had just closed behind him, then thumped his own chest in frustration.

"Seriously! What a ridiculous kid. What's there not to like? If anything, it seems like a perfect fit. Young-in! You heard it too—tell me you felt it the second you listened."

Go Young-in forced an awkward smile and nodded along as best he could.

"It did feel familiar."

"Exactly, right? Don't try to fool me. Honestly, Jae-ho's getting more and more prickly by the day. Good grief—he wasn't like this when he was little. His head's only grown bigger, that's all. He thinks he's all grown up now, huh? Isn't that right, Young-in?"

Pyo Jae-ho as a child...

Sure enough, he really had changed a lot. The first time they met, that brat had been in elementary school; it was startling to think how much he'd grown since then.

"But couldn't you just tell the company that it's hard to work together because of company circumstances? Like you said, since I'm the leader... well, the members' wishes are something I have to take into account first."

If the person who was supposed to sing on that track said he hated it, they couldn't exactly force it through. If they wanted Pyo Jae-ho to participate in the album, that meant they had to cut this composer loose.

Just from Baek Geon's attitude now, it didn't seem like the reason was as simple as what he'd said before.

"Young-in, you've been out in the real world long enough to know how these things go. Interests get tangled up, and some requests are hard to refuse. The quality's not bad anyway, and if it's someone we know, it makes the work smoother, doesn't it? Everybody benefits."

So there really wasn't any reason beyond that cursed school-network favoritism. Fuck. He had never once had a good experience with connections like that.

"Just pass the message on again, even if it's only lip service. Young-in, I'm begging you. I don't have the confidence to persuade the chairman, and I definitely don't have it with that Jae-ho kid. You know how stubborn he is."

The chairman was one thing, but Baek Geon probably couldn't bear to shove away his own junior that easily, either. And he likely knew the singer side wouldn't be able to refuse, which was probably why he was pushing this so hard.

"All right. I'll at least tell him."

"Good, good."

Baek Geon looked relieved and gave Go Young-in a light pat on the shoulder.

"Man, if everyone in the world listened as well as you do, Young-in, wouldn't that be nice?"

He was joking, but if everyone in the world were like him, the world would be in serious trouble.

"By the way, I saw your variety show the other day too. You made a real impression, didn't you?"

Baek Geon, who had been chuckling as if thankful for the understanding, changed the subject.

"Oh, you saw that?"

"The teaser was all over NewTube's algorithm, too. The views were huge. If it keeps going, it might even hit two million. Congratulations in advance. Once the full clip goes up, it'll be wild, won't it?"

Come to think of it, the full broadcast that aired last night had gotten even better reactions than the teaser.

Aside from a few meaningless hate comments, even the fans seemed delighted by the mix of Zero One and the cute kids. There had been a lot of talk about how adorable it all was.

There had been just as many people picking fights over it, of course.

"Especially that kid who was always trailing after you."

"Dam-yul, you mean."

"Yeah, that one. Isn't he basically a carbon copy of Jae-ho?"

"...Pardon?"

How could he say something so cruel?

"When Jae-ho was little, he acted exactly like that."

Did he? Pyo Jae-ho as a child didn't strike him as the type to answer back that sharply.

"That brat was bold even when he was young, wasn't he?"

Was he different when he was with Baek Geon? For some reason, the young Pyo Jae-ho Baek Geon kept talking about felt different from the one Go Young-in remembered. Bold, sure, but...

Baek Geon went on and on, happily rummaging through old memories—how much he had cherished Pyo Jae-ho despite all the trouble he caused back then, how tiny he had been, and how disgustingly big he'd grown in just a year.

Go Young-in had been listening quietly, but when one part of it bothered him, he couldn't help pushing back.

"It wasn't to the point where he was giving you that much trouble."

He had always been quiet, both then and now, but if anything, he had been a good kid, at least by comparison.

Once they'd gotten close, his expressions had become much more varied, and Go Young-in had thought it was a good thing he hadn't just ignored him and moved on...

Wait... am I the one who's been acting weird since earlier?

"Oh? You're defending him because he's a member?"

"...No."

What had he just said?

"No, I guess that's fair enough. But puberty really hit him properly, huh... Young-in, has Jae-ho been having trouble at school lately or something?"

Since he was a minor, unless there was some special circumstance, school was where he was supposed to be. How had Pyo Jae-ho ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠been attending? Go Young-in couldn't remember ever hearing him talk about school or friends.

Pyo Jae-ho had always only cared about things he was interested in, which made it even more likely.

And yet there hadn't been any sign lately that he was struggling with classmates. Not on the way to or from school, either...

Even if he'd hidden it, there was no way Go Young-in wouldn't have noticed. They said people who had been through it themselves could tell better than anyone.

Even if that wasn't the reason...

Suddenly, he felt a gaze on one side of his face. When he looked up, Baek Geon was watching him cautiously with an awkward expression.

Ah. He had taken too long to answer.

Go Young-in cleared his throat lightly.

"I haven't heard anything specific about his relationships with classmates."

"Ahem. Really?"

"Yes... Why do you ask?"

"Nothing. I guess I overreacted."

Fuck, if it wants me to know the reason, it should at least give me something to say.

Go Young-in answered politely that he understood for now, bowed to Baek Geon, and closed the door. Baek Geon waved him off generously, saying he'd probably kept him too long.

He didn't think persuasion would work, but since he'd said he'd look into it, he intended to at least make the appearance of trying.

The Status Window kept telling him to help, and besides, music was the only thing Pyo Jae-ho was even interested in. If he said no to that too, it was practically the same as saying he didn't want to do anything at all.

In any case, there was nowhere in the company Pyo Jae-ho liked spending time except his private ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠studio.

The walk there wasn't far.

As soon as he reached the door, Go Young-in pressed the bell beside it. Pyo Jae-ho had practically covered his studio walls in absurdly expensive soundproofing, so without it, sound didn't carry in or out very well.

What would ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠work best to talk him into it? Trying to provoke his competitiveness like Kyeon In-woo probably wouldn't help.

He stood there thinking about how to coax Pyo Jae-ho and waited, but even after a while, there was no response.

The door stayed silent. Pyo Jae-ho, that damned bastard, had shut his studio door tight and wasn't opening it.

It was the same even when he called.

He even tried calling again, but the result was the same. He probably wasn't ignoring it on purpose; he was almost certainly wearing his headset and sinking deep into work. Whenever he was in a bad mood, he shut himself in his studio and acted exactly like this...

...Why do I know that?

It was strange. It had been the same while he was talking to Baek Geon earlier. Hadn't words about past things he didn't consciously remember just slipped out of his mouth?

What had he said just now? Since when had this been happening?

Because it had all slipped by unnoticed, naturally, he hadn't even realized what was wrong. It wasn't a pleasant feeling. He didn't want to dredge it up if he could help it.

My own memory, and I can't even control it...

Should he go back to the hospital? Was he going to end up like last time if this kept up?

Either let him remember everything, or leave him in the dark entirely. Instead, it kept giving him scraps—pieces just enough to confuse him, then yanking them away again. It was like it was playing with him.

It looked like talking to Pyo Jae-ho wasn't happening today, no matter what. Go Young-in gave up quickly. It wasn't as if today was the only day in his life. At least he'd made an effort.

Just as he was turning to leave, someone was approaching with a box so huge it completely hid their torso.

"Should I help you with that?"

The moment he spoke, the other person jumped so hard they ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠staggered backward. As a result, one of the items stacked precariously on top of the box slipped and fell to the floor.

Roll—A clear tumbler engraved with GN rolled all the way to Go Young-in's feet.

Oops. He must have startled them by speaking out of nowhere. Feeling awkward, he bent to pick up the tumbler from the floor and stepped closer. That let him finally see the face hidden behind the box, and it was one he had, strangely enough, become familiar with.

"Bae So-jin?"

It was Bae So-jin, who he'd thought had disappeared for good after not seeing her around for a while.