Chapter 188
Chapter 188
"You drink too much."
I looked at Bae Se-jin with an absurd expression.
"I only had one can."
I’ve never drunk enough to get excessively intoxicated when drinking alone.
I’m not an idiot; I have a schedule every day, so there’s no way I’d overdo it. Especially since tomorrow is the final day of the Seoul concert.
However, Bae Se-jin replied with a tense face.
"...It’s dangerous to drink while taking a bath. And I’m not just talking about today; you drink too often."
"I just had one today to set the mood. I don't usually drink like this. And it’s not like I drink that often..."
"No, I’m telling you, you drink often!"
Bae Se-jin suddenly shouted. Then, startled by his own outburst, he glanced toward the other rooms.
What is he doing?
As I watched him with a skeptical look, Bae Se-jin continued in a slightly lowered voice.
"You drank a few days ago, too. And last week."
"I only had one can then, too."
"The amount isn't what's important. ...Why did you drink back then?"
"Well, to relieve stress..."
Bae Se-jin clenched his fists.
"Exactly... It’s like you’re drinking once every three or four days lately under the pretext of relieving stress!"
"...!"
"You’ve been doing that constantly lately."
Bae Se-jin lowered his gaze.
"...Ever since, uh, we came back from the US."
"..."
I felt like I’d been hit in the back of the head.
"I saw it too often while we were sharing a room."
As I listened to Bae Se-jin’s testimony, I ran the numbers in my head.
I... drink once every three or four days.
He was right.
Bae Se-jin was right. Twice a week. Almost once every three days.
There were more days I didn't drink than days I did, and since I usually finished a can quickly without thinking, I hadn't really noticed.
In other words, I was drinking out of habit every time for 'stress relief.'
"I-I did some math, and it seemed like the frequency decreased when you were getting counseling. But... after you got hurt during the break, you started drinking frequently again."
"..."
"And you seem to get in a bad mood if someone touches your alcohol, but you look happy when someone gives you a drink... To me, it looks like you're becoming too dependent on it."
Dependency.
Come to think of it, hadn't I been accepting the act of drinking beer during my breaks as something completely natural whenever something stressful happened?
It’s worse than before I entered Park Moon-dae’s body.
It couldn't be helped.
It’s cost-effective.
Even considering time, effort, and money, I instinctively knew there was no method as convenient as this.
"You could, you know, try to relieve stress in other ways. Like, Seon A-hyun does embroidery and stuff..."
I looked down at the empty can in my hand and replied.
"...You're right."
"...!"
"I'll be careful."
"R-Right!"
Bae Se-jin seemed a bit surprised, then quickly gave an energetic response.
...I’ve been helped.
I looked at Bae Se-jin anew.
"Thank you for looking out for me."
"It’s nothing, ahem. I just... noticed this kind of thing quickly..."
His family circumstances probably influenced his perceptiveness. I nodded.
"Then I'll throw this away and go to bed. Don't worry, I won't drink anymore."
"Okay. Go to sleep quickly. It's late anyway. Um, uh, you have to do well at the concert tomorrow."
"Of course."
I threw the can into the kitchen trash.
Then I went back to my room and lay down on the bed.
Next to me, Cha Yu-jin was already fast asleep, lying upside down on his bed. It looked like he’d fallen asleep while eating popcorn.
A new hobby...
To think I have to develop a hobby specifically for stress relief.
Still, I felt like I could choose anything now without worrying about money. My savings were substantial.
Should I just buy and eat expensive food?
Seeing the empty popcorn bag on Cha Yu-jin’s bed made me think of that instinctively.
As long as I control the portions, that might actually be better...
I fell asleep while briefly wondering if I should start eating Korean beef or something.
And the next day.
Before heading out early in the morning to prepare for the concert, I noticed a change when I reflexively opened the fridge.
The beer had completely vanished.
There was obviously only one person I could suspect as the culprit.
"..."
Bae Se-jin, who had been peeking into the kitchen, avoided my gaze before shouting quite shamelessly.
"W-What! You said you wouldn't drink!"
I did say that.
I guess I really did have some symptoms of dependency.
I felt a bit annoyed for a moment.
I shrugged, grabbed a sparkling water as planned, and closed the fridge.
"That tastes bad!"
I drank the sparkling water while ignoring Cha Yu-jin, who was strongly recommending I drink Coke instead.
I recalled my thoughts from last night.
A hobby, huh...
It wasn't like I’d ever gone out of my way to create one before.
Whatever. Let's just finish the concert properly first.
*
"Thank you!"
"I love you! We love you!"
"Get home safely! See you again!"
Since it was the final Seoul concert, everyone seemed to be getting sentimental, and the closing comments dragged on.
"SEE YA~"
Except for the part where Cha Yu-jin almost got his hand caught while waving it outside the closing screen, it was a satisfying ending.
"You dummy! You're going to get hurt acting like that!"
"I'm not a dummy! I have Passion!"
His stamina is truly overflowing. He’ll probably get a lecture from Ryu Cheong-woo, who has equally overflowing stamina, in a moment.
I drank some water and wiped my face and neck with a towel. I could hear the sounds of the others catching their breath or chatting nearby, still immersed in the lingering emotions.
"Moon-dae, your phone too!"
"Oh."
I could have just picked it up in the waiting room, but they were being extra diligent about handing them out today.
I nodded to Keun Se-jin, who was taking the smartphones from the staff and distributing them.
Soon, as the cheers from above faded and the announcement for the audience to exit began, the members started moving from the backstage.
"Ah, didn't it feel like we were even more in sync today? I mean, of course, all the concerts were great, but~ maybe because it was the last one?"
"Haha. Could be. I liked it too."
"It was... really great!"
"I felt like I wanted to sing one more song, if not for the overtime work of the staff and the night noise issues."
I didn't feel like contradicting the words I heard as we walked down the hallway.
It was fun.
It was a performance where everything clicked perfectly into place without a single accident or troublesome unexpected situation.
You could say the best-case scenario played out exactly as imagined.
Even the impromptu performance during the talk segment was like that. A bit of luck and coincidence combined to create a funny situation.
To think everyone would get caught in the penalty.
Thanks to that, there was no stage for the winners, so we did one more encore.
From what I saw, it looked like the fans were conspiring to make us get the penalty on purpose; they must be feeling very proud of themselves.
"How was it for Moon-dae-Moon-dae?"
"It was good."
"Oh~ Well, you were crying your eyes out again today... Gack!"
He cried his eyes out too, yet he’s always so slick with his words.
As I walked past Keun Se-jin, who had a towel draped over his face, a manager approached from the other end of the hallway.
"Uh, ahem, Moon-dae!"
"...? Yes."
"Can we, can we talk for a second? Not for long!"
"Ah, yes."
Well, ten to one it’s about the company.
I’d forgotten for a moment because I was busy thinking about drinking and the concert, but the company must be in a state of emergency right now because of the 'TeSTAR Concert Appearance on Aju-sa Season 4' situation.
It might already be getting added to the 'Controversies and Incidents' section on the wiki.
I don't know why he picked me specifically, though.
Well, because of the industrial spy incident, he might have the misconception that I’m the type who hears things well.
I shrugged and gave a small nod to the other guys before following the manager.
The manager led me to the staff parking lot, where access was restricted, and handed me an iced Americano.
"Um, why don't you drink this for a bit?"
"Sure."
I waited for the manager to get to the point while contemplating the utility of drinking as a hobby.
However, this guy didn't open his mouth until the entire Americano was gone and only ice remained.
"...?"
Looking at the manager who was just standing there awkwardly, pretending to look at his smartphone, I finally spoke first.
"What is it, Hyung?"
"...Ah~ Um. Moon-dae. Do you have any worries lately?"
Where is this coming from all of a sudden?
Since when did the company care about that?
I replied skeptically.
"Well, nothing in particular. Why?"
"No~ Um, ah, counseling! Don't you have any thoughts about trying counseling again?"
"..."
I frowned, then let out a short laugh.
"Why? Did the members say I need counseling?"
"...! Oh, it's not that~ It's just that you've looked tired lately!"
Like hell it isn't.
Judging by his attitude, someone definitely tipped him off. And if they wanted to use that as an excuse, they should have done it when I was hospitalized.
I shook my head.
"I'm fine. It'll be hard to get counseling once the tour starts anyway."
"Well, that's true. That... um, right. But if you need it, make sure to tell me!"
"Yes."
"..."
"..."
Is this really the end?
"Is there anything else you wanted to say?"
"Um... right, right! Shall we head back in now? Keep up the good work, Moon-dae!"
"Okay."
What a strange turn of events.
I scanned him with a bit of suspicion but soon dropped it.
It's not like the company doing useless things is anything new.
I figured they were just going through the motions to save face after hearing something from somewhere.
I returned to the waiting room accompanied by the now-silent manager, fiddling with my smartphone.
I should probably post my thoughts on the concert.
I opened the camera app on the screen while walking. Then I switched to selfie mode.
I can take decent photos even like this now.
Of course, I wasn't so unskilled that the focus would blur just from walking.
Alright, level it out.
Click. A decent photo was saved with a small sound.
Not bad.
Let's post this. I nodded inwardly and started writing the post.
=========================
Hello, Loviewers.
The concert was really fun. I don't even know how these three days passed—
=========================
Ah, I forgot the introduction.
As I was adding 'This is Moon-dae' to the beginning, something caught my mind.
Hmm, it might be better to have a group shot rather than just posting alone.
Since it was a concert, that would feel more meaningful. It could also prevent any nonsense like people unnecessarily comparing members or making snide remarks.
Let's take a shot as soon as I enter the waiting room.
Coincidentally, I was right in front of the waiting room door.
Out of habit, I knocked and opened the door.
...But suddenly, glitter soared before my eyes, blocking my vision.
Pop! Pop-pop!!
It was event crackers... similar to the confetti I’d just seen on stage.
"...??"
By the time I came to my senses, I was covered in some kind of shiny tinsel.
In the moment I was struck dumb with bewilderment, guys wearing all sorts of colored party hats suddenly appeared before me.
And in the hands of the two standing at the very front... was a cake.
Whether it was chocolate or not, messy decorations of dark brown puppies were piled on top.
The message was... 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY'.
"Happy birthday!"
"Happy birthday to you!"
"...!!"
Birthday?
I suddenly calculated the date in my head... and was startled.
December 8th.
It was my birthday.
I mean... not Park Moon-dae's birthday, but my birthday.
The day Ryu Gun-woo was born.
"How did you know..."
I didn't even know what I was saying. I was about to say something useless, but I quickly stopped myself.
However, my brain still wasn't working.
What on earth is going on?
"Haha!"
Keun Se-jin, finding my state hilarious, burst out laughing and slapped my shoulder.
"Hey, did you seriously forget? Your birthday is next week!"
"T-They said we'd be on a plane then... so we thought it would be good to celebrate on the same day of the week...!"
"..."
Ah, I see.
Right. There's no way they could know.
I broke into a cold sweat. Now I finally understood.
...Still, I don't know how they managed to pick this exact day.
Was it just a coincidence and a stroke of luck... like the impromptu stage where everyone got the penalty?
"Yeah. And it's the last day of the concert, too!"
Ryu Cheong-woo added with a smile.
"Moon-dae loves concerts so much, after all."
"..."
"We prepared hard! The birthday cake! Kim Rae-bin and I made it!"
"Cha Yu-jin has no skill. Strictly speaking, it is as if I made it myself."
"No! I'm good at drawing!"
The two youngest members were busily asserting their claims to the cake decoration credit.
Keun Se-jin grinned.
"Anyway, he looks really surprised, doesn't he? Surprise mission: huge success!"
"S-Success...!"
Good grief.
When I spotted the manager, who had stepped aside and was watching with a satisfied face, I immediately understood his actions.
"Then all that nonsense you were saying..."
"Hey, these rascals asked me to stall for time~ What could I do! I just said what I was told, Moon-dae!"
"..."
The manager showed me his smartphone.
On the screen, I could see a group message room filled with messages like 'Try talking about counseling' and 'You need to stall a bit longer.'
For the record, the room name was <Tibetan Moon-dae Surprise Birthday Party>.
I didn't even have to look to know whose naming sense that was.
As I looked at the snickering Keun Se-jin, he toned down his laughter and spoke seriously.
"Anyway, happy birthday for real!"
"Happy birthday, bro~"
And then, a messy birthday song mixed with English and Korean filled the waiting room.
The staff members who were there were also grinning and singing along.
"..."
It felt really strange.
...No.
It was good.
Yes. This was a good thing.