Chapter 353
Chapter 353
“Come in.”
“…….”
Park Moon-dae, his black hood pulled low, stumbled slightly as he stepped into the entryway. Kong-i whined, circling around his feet.
The only sound in the vast, quiet dorm was the dog’s whimpering.
“Kong-i, paw.”
Cheong-ryeo was about to pick up his dog, who was already preparing for the ‘end of the walk’ routine…
Hmm.
He intentionally made the request to his companion.
“Could you help me out a bit?”
“…”
Moon-dae silently wiped Kong-i’s four paws, fed him, and eventually even accepted the dog resting its head on his leg.
He’s completely out of it.
Moon-dae didn’t show any of his usual reactions when a line was crossed.
Cheong-ryeo placed a hot drink across from him and spoke casually.
“Did you fail?”
“…….”
The hooded head looked up. There was no particular pushback.
I thought so.
Depending on the type of failure, it likely wasn’t work-related.
If it were, there’s no way I wouldn’t know.
He never missed a beat when it came to his competitor’s movements.
In fact, he might receive information faster than Moon-dae’s lackluster agency could even realize there was a problem…
Cheong-ryeo watched his competitor, who was still wearing a mask, and continued.
“You said you had something to say. Go ahead. I’m listening.”
“…….”
Moon-dae looked down at the dog and spoke in a low, flat voice.
“You said you’ve explained your situation to someone else before.”
“That’s right.”
Ah, so that’s what he failed at.
It seemed Moon-dae had tried to tell someone else about his circumstances.
Since Moon-dae had confided in one person who was ostensibly the same age as him, it was highly probable it was the other same-age member. That’s usually how the pressure of a relationship works.
Cheong-ryeo could have said something like, ‘I told you I wouldn’t recommend it,’ but… he skipped it.
Moon-dae seemed to know that well enough himself without being told.
“The excuse… You said you have an excuse you use.”
“I do.”
Cheong-ryeo looked at him, wondering if he was just asking for it without any offer of a trade or threat, but his junior didn’t seem to be in a state to make such calculations right now.
Quite unlike his usual self.
Cheong-ryeo noticed that the reason Moon-dae wasn’t picking up the cup in front of him was that his hands were shaking.
The fabric of his sleeves trembled.
“…….”
He looked like he was in a state of crisis—a hollow shell barely holding together against a massive impact, riddled with cracks.
In that appearance, Cheong-ryeo found a strangely familiar trace of his own distant past.
Just as he had seen in Park Moon-dae a few times before.
So, he spoke up readily.
“First, create a storyline similar to mine. Find a reference in a well-regarded bestseller or a movie.”
Cheong-ryeo had even organized suitable examples by year.
He couldn’t risk accidentally mentioning a work that would be released in the future.
“Then, you mention it in an interview first. Focus on the keywords.”
“…….”
“Act as if you’re attracted to it as a concept, like a foreshadowing.”
That way, no matter what the member who heard the secret says later, it will be dismissed as a joke or just being too immersed in the concept.
It was a method of choosing the public and discarding the relationship.
“It’s a way to neutralize the other person’s words. It’s effective. You could call it the principle of a vaccine.”
However, no words came from behind the mask.
Cheong-ryeo made a somewhat disgruntled guess.
He doesn’t like it.
Moon-dae was occasionally soft and sentimental. Well, since he’d only come back once, it was to be expected.
Though he didn't find it ideal, Cheong-ryeo offered another alternative.
“You don’t like that? Then just tell the person directly that you made a mistake because work has been so difficult.”
“…!”
“Say it was a fantasy you started as a joke, but at some point, you started believing it yourself… something like that?”
Moon-dae lifted his head.
This method focused entirely on putting the other person at ease, so Cheong-ryeo himself had rarely used it after the first few times.
Because of variables and efficiency issues.
It was annoying because people would act unpredictably if he showed even a slight lack of sincerity.
But for Moon-dae, it seemed like a suitable method.
Well, if he cared this much, it was unlikely he’d speak without sincerity. Cheong-ryeo added a fairly kind explanation.
“Then they’ll believe you even if there are some gaps. It’s not that different from the answer they’ve already come up with, and it’s positive.”
Watching Kong-i, who was offering his paw to Moon-dae even though he hadn't been asked, Cheong-ryeo slowly finished.
“People of that sort don’t easily change a conclusion they’ve already reached.”
Then he smiled.
“They don’t want to be the one who’s wrong, do they?”
“…….”
“Give them the answer they want to hear. Then it’ll be settled.”
Steam was still rising from the drink Moon-dae hadn't touched.
And Moon-dae, who finally met his eyes…
Was certain.
“No.”
Oh dear.
*
My head feels like it’s full of mud.
Thanks to that, I’ve ended up sitting in someone else’s dorm—one with the exact same layout as TeSTAR’s—in the middle of the night. I know how ridiculous this situation is.
But even in this maddeningly complex nest of insects where I don't know what to do, one thing is still functioning.
Denial.
“No.”
Cheong-ryeo, sitting across from me, tilted his head.
It felt like cold water had been poured into the mud in my head, clearing my mind.
“Hmm?”
“He’s… he’s not that kind of guy.”
That was one thing I could definitely refute.
Seon A-hyun is someone who admits when he is wrong.
To a harsh degree, even.
That’s how he’s lived his life until now. Constantly conscious of his own traumas and flaws.
[!Status Effect: Lack of Self-Esteem]
With that status effect hanging over him, he constantly searches for his own shortcomings and things to fix, and he accepts them.
To an excessive degree.
And then he tries to overcome them.
[Trait: Perseverance]
It felt like his trait reflected that mindset.
The determination to win. And the effort to reach… the right judgment.
He’s not the type to be comfortably convinced just because he heard what he wanted to hear.
That’s why the problem arose in the first place.
I… remember what Seon A-hyun shouted.
—I-I’m sorry…. F-for not believing you… and b-being no help….
“…He wanted to believe me.”
“I’m sure he did.”
“But even so, he thought it was right not to believe.”
“…….”
“He didn’t reach a conclusion that was comfortable for him; he was trying to find the uncomfortable truth, and that’s how this happened.”
Because I… couldn’t explain it properly, he mistook the mental illness angle for the truth.
…Actually, my track record was pretty spectacular.
I smiled bitterly, recalling how I’d done everything from having seizures to alcohol poisoning.
…I don’t know why I thought Seon A-hyun would just believe me.
“So… I have no intention of using that method. It won’t work. The situation is the exact opposite.”
If it were Seon A-hyun, he might ruminate on those words again and realize it was just a convenient excuse.
Then there really would be no turning back.
“Is that so? All right.”
Cheong-ryeo nodded as if he had nothing to lose.
“But… didn’t you think that’s a very presumptuous judgment?”
What?
“That I….”
“No, not you, Junior… that person.”
“…!”
“Isn’t it because he was so sure his wrong answer was right that you’re in this mess? I don’t know why you’re being so considerate of him….”
“…….”
“Don’t you feel it’s unfair?”
I clenched my fists.
But soon, I let out a sigh and relaxed.
“I’m the one who spoke, and in the end, I’m the one who has to accept the reaction.”
The words came out more calmly than expected.
“No one tortured me into it. If I spilled it, it’s only right that I deal with the consequences.”
“Hmm.”
The guy across from me didn’t seem to particularly agree, but he didn’t argue this time either.
“Fine. Chin up. You can give up whenever you want if you don’t like it.”
“It’s not like your life will end even if you leave TeSTAR, right?”
This bastard, he seems to be having healthier thoughts than before, but…
Why does he sound so infuriating?
It’s low-key pissing me off.
Besides, my situation isn’t just about that.
Someone other than me is going to turn into a status window, you prick.
I grit my teeth.
But even if I told him, he’d probably just say something heart-stoppingly annoying like, ‘Well, it’s not like you’re the one dying… hmm, okay. I see.’ So I just kept my mouth shut.
And I looked at him anew.
This guy with zero empathy is actually giving me advice.
I’d been sitting on that bench just to clear my head, but I never expected to end up in his dorm being served tea.
…Is this a bit of a contrast?
I fell silent for a moment, remembering how I’d shut the door on Cheong-ryeo when he came to me about his dog being hospitalized.
No, even so, there’s a difference between that and showing up at someone’s house unannounced. Still, I should say what needs to be said.
“Anyway… thanks for the advice.”
“Even though you won’t follow it? Haha.”
That’s my business, you jerk.
Regardless, I started thinking again with a clearer head than last night.
First, the restrictions on TeSTAR’s activities….
…I must never let this guy catch a whiff of that. He’d love it way too much.
“Kong-i, want a snack?”
“Woof!”
I watched the guy skillfully handle his dog and quietly shut my mouth.
In the end, even after coming here, there’s only one way.
I have to reactivate Seon A-hyun’s trait.
Perseverance.
Reactivating that to offset the status effect is the most certain move.
But… thinking about it again, I don’t think my words will get through.
…I wonder if he’ll even want to talk.
Who knows, he might have already made a list of recommended hospitals.
Stop.
I cut off the thought that was heading in a useless direction.
Think productively.
So, it shouldn’t be me, but someone else.
It means the members have to perform a role similar to what I did with my traits back in Idol Inc.
“…….”
Mobilizing helpers, huh.
I stood up, several ideas coming to mind.
Or rather, I tried to stand up.
“Whimper.”
If only a certain dog hadn't caught hold of me.
Cheong-ryeo’s eyes narrowed.
“Kong-i seems sad to see you go. Since you’re already here, you can stay a bit longer.”
In this dorm?
“What about your members?”
I heard they were releasing an album before enlisting, but I haven't seen a single one of them.
“Individual schedules. Or they’re on vacation.”
I see.
No wonder the dog was clinging to me.
I took another look around the place.
Well, I don’t want to observe someone else’s living space in detail… but some things caught my eye.
Like how photo frames and souvenirs they probably received early in their debut were still displayed in the living room.
“…….”
Wait, that one looks like a photo I took and sold… never mind. Surely not.
I turned my gaze back to the guy and the dog across from me.
And on an impulse, I asked.
“Do you have no intention at all of telling your members now?”
“Yes.”
He didn't even hesitate.
“I’m more curious about why you told yours, Junior. There was no need to let them know, was there?”
“…….”
I wonder about that too.
Damn it, the fact that I don’t know why the hell I said it….
“I don’t know. I just… wanted to say it.”
“…….”
Whether he mocked me or not, I answered with a half-resigned air.
But Cheong-ryeo just stroked the dog’s head and replied like this.
“That can happen.”
“……!”
“Because it must be suffocating.”
Surprisingly, a faint sense of understanding came through his tone.
“Aren’t you suffocating?”
“Not particularly. Hmm… no, I think I might have been before, but people get used to things.”
Cheong-ryeo took his hand off the dog and gave a small laugh.
“They say humans are creatures of habit, right? You’ll be fine soon too, Junior.”
“…….”
My head thinks it’s bullshit. But it’s funny how it provides a strange… emotional comfort.
I finally answered with a sigh.
“…Thanks.”
“Sure.”
Since he was holding his dog, I should take this chance to get going.
I downed the cold tea and stood up.
I didn’t even suspect he might have put something in it.
I guess I’m still not quite in my right mind.
As I shook my head and stepped away from the table.
Ding-dong.
The doorbell rang.
I instinctively looked at the intercom, thinking I should hide if it was someone from his agency.
But the tall guy in casual clothes wearing a mask on the screen was….
Seon A-hyun.
“…!!”
I reflexively backed away. Why… is he here?
Did he come looking for me….
No, that can’t be it. How could he possibly know I’m here?
And there’s no reason for him to come looking for me himself.
I haven't received any contact from the agency or the members.
It’s not like I have it on silent, and it never vibrated…
“…….”
Wait.
After checking my strangely light pocket, I looked up at the intercom screen again.
One of the two smartphones in Seon A-hyun’s hand.
That apple case.
It’s my smartphone.
“Ah.”
And then I realized the situation. Right now, after making that mess last night, I’d crawled out in the early morning and been out of contact….
“We have a visitor early in the morning.”
…It’s been about three hours.
Oh, for fuck’s sake.