Chapter 38
Chapter 38
Chapter 38
Bodyguard (1)
In the end, I joined Fairy's Japan tour.
'I'm making too many enemies.'
Baria, Rena, Hunter Hall.
Enemies whose roots I haven't completely pulled out.
'I should have finished things with Baria.'
At that time, rescuing Jimun Seo-saeng was the priority, so I didn't proceed further.
—Currently, Baria is refraining from activity and focusing on cooperation with other terrorist organizations.
Jimun Seo-saeng continued to organize information about Baria.
'That bastard called Baria's leader is more tenacious than I thought.'
He's someone who discovered So Iryeon's identity and could even take civilians hostage.
'I need to deal with him before I go.'
When enemies multiply, variables occur. It's time to deal with them one by one.
For now, since Fairy's concert schedule couldn't be canceled, I joined them in Japan.
"Hmm."
The members were in the midst of concert practice.
It was a place not far from the lodging that had been used as a yoga academy. They had paid a lot of money to rent it to maintain security.
'How delightful.'
I can officially watch beautiful women dancing while sweating.
Fifteen is truly a good age.
No one suspects my inner thoughts. Even if they do suspect, they laugh it off lightly.
—Who's the prettiest among us?
They ask questions like this.
Every time they bend over asking questions while wearing small, light clothes, I get to see delightful sights. That's the main reason I usually sit and watch.
The Fairy members were unexpectedly hard workers.
Even while already enjoying peak popularity, they had both an obsession with and attachment to the stage.
Perfectionism had spread throughout all the members, so they meticulously checked and prepared for the stage.
The leader was Jang So-yeon.
Twenty-six years old, she was the oldest. Her figure was outstanding enough to be called a sexy icon, and she had refreshing features with sensual eye smiles as her characteristic. She was a member recognized for her dancing to the extent that she directly created choreography.
The next oldest member was twenty-four-year-old So Iryeon.
There were two twenty-three-year-old members: Han Seol and Ju-hee.
Han Seol had a pure and kind image, similar to her actual personality. She was quiet and silently followed whatever happened. She was the member most liked by staff because she always smiled and had a kind manner of speaking.
Although Han Seol was modest and had no great greed, she did have a complex.
She always envied leader Jang So-yeon's figure. Because she had a small body.
Juhee had the opposite personality from Han Seol—a prankster who talked a lot and was clumsy. Thanks to that, she appeared on variety shows the most and handled a busy schedule.
The youngest, Jeong A-reum, was twenty-two years old, with an innocent and timid personality. Because of this, she had a habit of making resolutions to do well on her own.
The older sisters' personalities were so strong that even after turning twenty-two, she still retained habits of whining or throwing tantrums.
'Overall, they're excellent.'
When comparing them among themselves, there were strengths and weaknesses, but objectively speaking, there was nothing to criticize about their appearances.
'Except for Soiryeon.'
So Iryeon was excluded. That guy is a man, after all.
When practice ended briefly and break time came, the members groaned and slumped down.
"Our youngest, your butt seems to have gotten bigger?"
So Iryeon said while lightly slapping youngest Jeong A-reum's butt. Jeong A-reum just smiled.
'That guy.'
So Iryeon suddenly looks like a playboy.
Even if So Iryeon didn't do it first, women among themselves inevitably have a lot of touching.
Since they were such close friends, when So Iryeon sat down, members would even lie down using her legs as pillows.
So Iryeon was actually playing a man-like role among the members. She was the first to step forward for difficult tasks and even handled other members' work for them.
When members were tired or exhausted, they looked for So Iryeon first.
'It's interesting that there's no jealousy.'
So Iryeon's role was significant. Since she had no greed for her own things, that culture naturally spread.
"Uram, do you want to learn dance too?"
After the sweat cooled a bit, Jeong A-reum came to me.
"No."
"Your noona wants to teach you."
All youngest members are like that.
"Be my younger brother, okay?"
Dreaming of a younger sibling is characteristic of youngest members.
"Noona will buy you delicious things every day."
"I'm fifteen years old. I'm past the age of being lured with food."
"Then should noona give you a kiss?"
Before I could answer, Jeong A-reum kissed my cheek.
Naturally, I could have avoided it. But there was no reason to.
Thinking about it again, fifteen is a good age.
Not only Jeong A-reum but other members would also approach and talk to me during break times.
Among them, the one whose actions I liked most was leader Jang So-yeon.
"Noona is tired. Give me a piggyback ride."
The age difference between her and me was officially eleven years.
She would hug me from behind or touch my body. She didn't see me as a man at all.
"Ah, boring. React a little."
Expression management is a martial artist's basic. As a result, even when my body touched theirs, my expression didn't change.
If I had made a lecherous expression or been embarrassed, they wouldn't play around like this now.
'Will this also end in two weeks?'
One week since I joined.
The Osaka performance ended safely.
Two performances remained.
'It won't just pass by.'
Although I was playing along with the jokes, my nerves were always on edge.
One week later, Nagoya, Japan.
Five hours before the performance start, rehearsal was in progress.
Stage equipment extending to the ceiling had been set up, and lighting and sound checks were in full swing.
Since it was a two-hour performance, they checked all stages in order. With nearly 100 staff members inside, I watched from far away.
—Cheong Ak-sal.
I called Cheong Ak-sal through sound transmission.
—Check if there are any unauthorized personnel.
Cheong Ak-sal, who had been near the stage, began to move.
While he disappeared near the stage, a call came from Jimun Seo-saeng.
—Cult Leader, Baria has started activity.
"I see. As soon as So Iryeon's performance ends, I'll go deal with them right away, so just set up the plan."
—Understood.
Terrorist organizations are maintained through donations and plunder. If there's no activity that becomes an issue, it means their funding sources get cut off.
For Baria, whose power had already weakened, there would have been no other choice.
'There will definitely be terrorism.'
Terrorism against So Iryeon is a perfect stage for them in terms of issues and meaning.
Resuming activity in Nigeria is also likely preliminary work to attract attention.
—Terrorism occurs during a Korean girl group concert in Japan, a terrorism-safe zone.
They'll want this title.
—So Iryeon mocked our believers while conducting Christian missionary activities in Nigeria.
This kind of reason will follow, intending to magnify the issue.
It's their typical method.
'The question is how.'
Ultimately, the problem is their terrorist method.
The person who initially became a problem is currently confined in a hospital. He completely denied his actions and consistently answered that he didn't remember.
'Is it mental domination?'
It's a method Witches use, too.
As long as Baria's leader is a magician, it's entirely possible.
'Internal figures are more dangerous.'
Cheong Ak-sal searched for intruders, and I focused on internal figures.
The staff knew me as So Iryeon's cousin. Therefore, there were no restrictions on movement.
From lighting technicians to ushers, sound directors,and production staff for DVD sales, there were many people to examine.
On stage, rehearsal was reaching its final stages, and lighting and sound were also in the midst of final program settings.
And so, until the last song ended, there were no incidents.
"We'll proceed with the special effects rehearsal for Jang So-yeon's solo stage."
Jang So-yeon's solo dance stage had many special effects and stage equipment, so rehearsal was conducted separately.
When rehearsal started, she performed a sensual stage with dancers to music with a racy feel.
And so, when the stage reached its climax, suddenly one light fell.
The light headed precisely toward leader Jang So-yeon's head.
'Damn.'
With many eyes watching, I couldn't use Extreme Lightness Skill. In the end, I climbed onto the stage and tackled Jang So-yeon, covering her.
Kwang!
The lighting equipment hit my back.
"Ahhh!"
Starting with a dancer's scream, the surroundings turned into chaos.
"A-are you okay?"
The dancers first removed the lighting equipment from my back.
Noisy conversations went back and forth, and staff members came up onto the stage.
'What should I do?'
I was thinking two things.
'If I'm too fine, they'll find it strange.'
There was nothing wrong with my body. And another thing.
'Not bad.'
Having saved her in an unavoidable situation, Jang So-yeon was pinned beneath me. Precisely, my face was buried in Jang So-yeon's chest.
I wanted to enjoy it a bit more, but since the lighting equipment on my back had been removed, I couldn't.
I deliberately let out a groan and laid my body down properly. It was to hide my unharmed back.
"Uram, are you okay?"
Jang So-yeon looked down at me collapsed and asked like someone almost out of their mind.
—So Iryeon, come quickly and take me.
I called So Iryeon through sound transmission. At this, So Iryeon quickly ran over and picked me up.
I was moved to the waiting room, and at So Iryeon's request, no one could enter.
Only then did I change my expression and get up from where I had been lying.
"Should this performance continue?"
"The agencies are so complicatedly intertwined..."
As always with overseas performances, it doesn't end with just the performance. Moreover, since it was a Japan nationwide tour, it was even more complicated.
Three agencies alone were involved, and adding sound, lighting, video, and stage production, seven companies were cooperating.
"The president said cancellation is absolutely not possible..."
"They don't even know their singer is dying."
The agency president didn't even come along on this tour.
"Could it be a simple accident?"
"No. The falling direction changed."
When the light fell, at first it headed toward a dancer, not Jang So-yeon's head. But in the middle, it moved as if pushed by wind and aimed at Jang So-yeon.
"It's among the staff."
"What now? It would look strange for the Cult Leader to go out again."
"Bring some staff clothes. I'll pretend I went to the hospital."
Tok. Tok.
In the midst of talking, there was a knocking sound.
"Iryeon, it's me. Can I come in?"
It was Jang So-yeon. Her voice was trembling severely.
"Gyoju-nim, pretend you're hurt."
"Damn."
I lay down again on the floor covered with a blanket.
"Act well."
"I've never done it, how would that work?"
"Then shall I make you actually hurt?"
So Iryeon clenched her fist. I had no choice but to make groaning sounds.
When So Iryeon opened the door, the Fairy members came in. Among them, Jang So-yeon came to my side almost running and shed tears.
"I'm sorry, because of me."
Her tears fell on my face.
Tuk.
A water droplet shattered and wet my face.
Those tears stirred my heart for a moment. Because a memory from a past life came to mind.
The woman who waited for me until the moment of death.
Whenever I fell asleep on her lap, the tears she secretly shed would fall on my face.
Those tears woke me, but I pretended not to know for her sake.
'She wouldn't have reincarnated.'
She wouldn't have been able to reincarnate. She was just an ordinary woman.
—So Iryeon, move me to the hospital. Pack clothes.
So Iryeon moved quickly and left that place.
Since an ambulance was already waiting, I appropriately got inside. And before the ambulance entered the road, I returned to the concert venue again.
I changed into staff clothes and covered my face with a hat. Since Cheong Ak-sal was waiting in advance, there was no one to stop me.
"Cheong Ak-sal, protect the Fairy members."
Certain there was an assailant inside, I changed the order I had given to Cheong Ak-sal.
I hid in the darkness of a corner of the concert hall and carefully observed the staff's movements.
'Damn.'
Even amid all the chaos, everyone was busy preparing for the performance. There was no one suspicious.
'How can this be?'
I believed I would definitely find them.
I mobilized all the methods I thought of, but the results weren't good.
—The audience is entering.
And so, the concert began.