Chapter 512
Chapter 512
“…….”
Silence settled over Park Moon-dae and Kim Rae-bin’s room.
Through the mouth of Ryu Gun-woo, who stood tall before them, the former member of Steer spoke.
Which meant Steer was not a "drug group."
“…….”
A silent shock vibrated through the air.
Steer’s Ryu Cheong-woo muttered like he was talking to himself.
“You won.”
“Yeah.”
Beyond Ryu Gun-woo as he answered, it felt as if the image of the member who had already left the group was flickering into view.
The former actor, Lee Se-jin A.
Ryu Cheong-woo spoke without thinking.
“How?”
He knew how that trial had unfolded.
He remembered exactly what Steer’s Bae Se-jin had looked like when he was arrested on charges of drug distribution. He remembered the words he had spat out, his face pale with resentment, injustice, and fear.
Cheong-woo had believed those words were the truth.
He believed that wasn't the sharp reaction of someone caught off guard, but the desperation of someone being wronged.
‘It’s a misunderstanding, or he’s being framed.’
And so, he had spent every dawn agonizing over how the group could hold out until the charges were cleared.
Looking back now, those times were almost better.
Because, contrary to his plans, Lee Se-jin A’s charges were never cleared. Fueled by a burning public outcry, the verdict came down with terrifying speed. And then...
[<Idol Inc.> Debut Group Steer’s Lee Se-jin Sentenced to Prison in First Trial... “Nature of Crime is Malicious”]
He was sentenced to prison.
But Lee Se-jin A didn't give up.
And the more he appealed, the worse the public opinion became. It was almost impressive that there was still room for it to get worse.
Days like that continued.
Whenever an article was posted, excited crowds swarmed in and then vanished like the ebbing tide.
A long time passed.
When he was finally sentenced to prison again in the second trial, the topic wasn't even a "hot potato" anymore.
The controversy had cooled into a frozen chill because there was no longer any room for doubt.
“…….”
And Ryu Cheong-woo couldn't help but know that the probability of this result suddenly being overturned to "not guilty" at the Supreme Court—the final third trial—was almost zero.
The news articles were already saying as much.
In fact, even without considering the complex procedural issues of legal and factual trials mentioned in the articles, it was common sense that could be explained by a single comment.
The bank accounts where money was exchanged, the testimonies, even the accomplices.
“…….”
Only then did Ryu Cheong-woo give up on looking for the trial results.
He was already exhausted enough.
‘I can’t do this.’
While he was barely holding the crumbling group together by shouting and coaxing them, he had no energy left to waste on such false hope.
He resolved to make a realistic judgment.
But here, the explanation that everything had been overturned like a lie... and that he had finally been found innocent at the very end...
The person involved was saying it now, through the mouth of another, using a consciousness from who-knows-where.
‘Lee Se-jin A of Steer did not distribute drugs.’
The overwhelming weight of that single sentence.
“…….”
Ryu Gun-woo opened his mouth again. Lee Se-jin A’s words came out.
“I understand if you find it hard to believe.”
Since it was almost unheard of to be found innocent only at the third trial.
Lee Se-jin A had found a contradiction in the testimony of his biological father—who had dragged him down to get a lighter sentence for himself—and overturned it.
It was a result born of obsession, relentless persistence, meticulousness, and a bit of bad luck.
“It took a long time, but eventually, the original sentence was quashed and remanded, and I was able to stand trial again.”
Ryu Gun-woo read the message calmly.
The end of countless agonies, years of trials, and then more trials.
“I won.”
“…….”
Not guilty.
“I wouldn't lie about something like this. There’s no need to.”
Ryu Gun-woo remained composed.
And that composure seemed to guarantee that Lee Se-jin A was indeed telling the truth without hesitation.
Everyone in the room felt it.
“…….”
Then, breaking the silence, one person burst out.
“You fXXking did it!”
It was Cha Yu-jin.
Noise and heat suddenly filled the room.
He hugged Ryu Gun-woo roughly, reacting with the passion of a coach rushing toward a boxing champion who had just won a match.
Of course, Ryu Gun-woo pushed him away.
“It wasn't me.”
“I know. Please tell him!”
Cha Yu-jin spoke with a voice trembling slightly with emotion.
[Tell him I’m sorry I didn't keep looking until the end.]
“…….”
Ryu Gun-woo nodded with a faint smile.
“He says thank you.”
“Oh….”
The stiff atmosphere melted away in an instant.
However, the remaining two sat as still as stone statues, not moving an inch.
It was a difference in the level of shock.
Unlike Cha Yu-jin, who had already resolved his internal conflict regarding Steer, for these two, all these events were still very much in the present tense.
‘I see.’
So, after roughly peeling Cha Yu-jin off him, Ryu Gun-woo spoke again.
To deliver the next words.
“To you guys, hearing this now doesn't change what you’ve already gone through.”
Steer had taken a massive hit due to a member’s drug charges early in their debut, and that had been the starting point for their total collapse and disbandment.
That was an unchangeable fact.
Even if it was revealed now that it wasn't true, the public wouldn't care. Vainly so.
“…And I have no intention of denying that the injustice I suffered caused you guys great harm. I couldn't even if I wanted to.”
But.
Steer didn't fail because they deserved to fail.
They could now think of a reason to refute that themselves.
“…So I really wanted to let you know that it was legally proven and recognized.”
“…….”
With those words, Ryu Gun-woo fell silent.
No more message pop-ups appeared. As if he had said everything he truly wanted to say and had no lingering regrets.
It was then.
“Um.”
A hand went up from one side of the bed.
It was Kim Rae-bin, his eyes slightly red.
“Could you… tell him that he must have suffered so much, and that I am sorry I couldn't be of any help…?”
Ryu Gun-woo nodded readily.
Steer’s Kim Rae-bin seemed somewhat confused, but he continued slowly and seriously, weighing each word as if organizing his thoughts.
“And… though it is late, congratulations. However, what specifically do you mean by ‘changing how you feel when you look back at the past’?”
Lee Se-jin A thought about it, but eventually replied like this:
“I see.”
Kim Rae-bin fell back into thought, and thus, only one member of Steer remained. He knew it himself.
Steer’s Ryu Cheong-woo.
‘…….’
He also knew the appropriate response.
‘I see, you really went through a lot,’ ‘I’m glad your innocence was proven,’ ‘I’m sorry I didn't look into the news sooner’…….
But the words wouldn't easily leave his mouth.
It was because of a sense of lethargy.
His original nature—the kind of person who always spoke with sincerity—was reviving in his mind, which had been blown blank by the shock.
It wasn't that he wanted to resent Lee Se-jin A now. It was just… somehow, it felt like his mind had been completely swept away by an overwhelming fact.
“…I see.”
That was the only fragmentary thing he could say. He lifted his head, trying hard not to let his expression return to one of dryness and fatigue.
It was then.
“Ryu Cheong-woo.”
“…….”
Ryu Gun-woo delivered the message without taking his eyes off the air.
“If you want to do well here, I’ll root for you. …You’ve worked hard all this time. Thank you for believing in me, and I’m sorry.”
Ryu Gun-woo delivered those words without censorship.
Even though, from his own position as TeSTAR’s Park Moon-dae, they were surely awkward words to say.
“…….”
“Even though it took a long time….”
Ryu Cheong-woo didn't answer.
But he didn't deny it, change the subject, or give a half-hearted affirmation either.
He just held his head up in silence, and then, eventually, lowered it slightly.
As if nodding.
With that, the conversation with Lee Se-jin A ended.
Cha Yu-jin seemed to want to say a few more words to him, but the situation had to end when Keun Se-jin intervened.
“Hyung! You’re going to collapse at this rate…!”
“No, I’m….”
And with a brief indirect briefing that Ryu Gun-woo was overexerting himself, the gathering was brought to a close.
Thanks to that, the former Steer members scattered back to their own beds, each lost in their own different thoughts.
“…….”
Actually, during their Steer days, Lee Se-jin A had been under an implicit "no-mention" status within the group.
It had happened naturally. There was no pushback.
It was because the majority of the members had only spent about half a year sharing professional conversations with him. At the time, Steer’s Lee Se-jin A had been very defensive and sensitive toward people his own age.
Still, no one thought that what had just happened was a meaningless event.
Take Kim Rae-bin, for example.
“Goodnight.”
“Yes….”
He lay down quietly in bed at the suggestion of another member, but he didn't fall asleep immediately.
Steer’s Kim Rae-bin continued to ponder.
True to his diligent personality, built on his innate nature and childhood, he stubbornly continued to think as Lee Se-jin A had suggested.
‘Having a different mindset when looking back at the past… I see.’
He recalled his time in Steer and tried changing the underlying facts. Like modifying a beat during an arrangement.
~~- Steer has a member who was arrested on drug charges.~~
‘Then… my own shortcomings, too.’
Could it be that it wasn't a matter of talent and effort, but that another reason existed?
The former idol Kim Rae-bin, who had given up on the stage, thought this without realizing it.
But soon, his consciousness scattered into a deep sleep.
It was a quiet slumber.
At the same time.
Bae Se-jin, who had been asleep in his comfortable private room, realized that he had regained consciousness.
But he wasn't awake.
‘……?’
In front of him stood a black-haired man with a calm expression.
It was a familiar face.
Because it was Bae Se-jin himself.
Of course, the sleeping Bae Se-jin had no way of knowing that "Lee Se-jin A," who was returning after his agreement with Ryu Gun-woo, had used the system to find him here, and he reacted like this:
“…??”
What kind of crazy dream is this?
“What? Who the hell are you?”
It was a non-sequitur. But Bae Se-jin also frowned and gave a non-sequitur in return, so he couldn't really complain.
A lightning-bolt realization had struck him.
“You, are you me from the past? From that, uh, Steer? That group.”
Bae Se-jin saw the other’s reaction and realized he had guessed correctly.
‘Oh my god.’
He swallowed hard with his non-existent physical body.
But for someone who was supposed to have been a huge nuisance to the team… the version of himself before his eyes looked incredibly solid and mature.
‘What is this?’
Anyway, he had something urgent to ask right away.
“Are… are you going to become me now, like the other kids? And I’ll lose my memories?”
Fortunately, Lee Se-jin A shook his head.
“…I see.”
Bae Se-jin’s expression stiffened for a moment, but he soon finished his thoughts and nodded.
“Fine. That’s okay.”
In fact, he might even need them.
From Cha Yu-jin to Ryu Cheong-woo, and even Kim Rae-bin.
He wanted to confirm why the members who had regained their memories of debuting in a group called "Steer" had all been acting so strange toward him.
He clenched his fists and said calmly,
“I’m ready to receive the memories.”
Lee Se-jin A refused immediately.
“…What?”
Bae Se-jin was momentarily speechless.
"Former Steer Lee Se-jin A" was essentially the consciousness of the sleeping Bae Se-jin himself, just with different memories.
In other words, he planned to return the memories without regret once he had taken an objective look at himself.
Pain wasn't the only thing that made a person grow.
And the "me" of now, TeSTAR’s Bae Se-jin, seemed to be growing just fine.
Lee Se-jin A nodded as if in acknowledgment.
However, Bae Se-jin turned serious.
“Why do you get to decide that on your own?”
“I know my own condition better than you do.”
Give me the memories.
…And so, the two versions of the same person with the same name began a fierce internal debate in the middle of the night.