Chapter 137: A Small Catalyst (9)
137. A Small Catalyst (9)
When Hajin slowly turned his head, he was met with Siwoo's gaze—thankfully(?)—staring at him with a look that seemed to say, What the hell is up with this guy?
"Hah, damn... Thank you..."
"Honestly, you always catch me off guard like this."
First, he startles like he's seen a ghost when woken up by a tap. Then he grabs my hands out of nowhere, thanking me profusely.
Siwoo chuckled faintly at Hajin's unpredictable behavior, slipping his hands free. After checking his watch and glancing at Ha-ru and Gong Seok—who still showed no signs of waking—he tilted his head toward Hajin as if to say, Let's go.
"I'm heading to the convenience store for coffee. Wanna come?"
"Convenience store? Uh, sure..."
Hajin massaged his stiff neck, considering the sudden invitation.
Ah, a convenience store run at this hour... Dangerous.
Not physically dangerous—psychologically dangerous.
The crisp night air, the quiet streets, the leisurely stroll—these three elements combined were the perfect recipe for Hajin's mouth to run wild. (A 51% F-type is still an F-type, after all.)
"I'm the kind of guy who, just to fill an awkward silence, will blab about anything—even how many chopsticks we have at home."
Once he got going, it was a slippery slope: secrets the other person would regret hearing, juicy gossip about mutual acquaintances, and eventually, infuriating behind-the-back stories about himself.
Wait... Isn't that a good thing?
If played right, he might even get a peek into this iron-walled hyung's hidden thoughts.
Dan Ha-ru had surged as a potential candidate for the "first to open up" position, but Hajin still needed to learn more about Siwoo. He wanted to minimize variables like with Yu-geon, and he couldn't keep tiptoeing around Siwoo—someone almost guaranteed to debut.
And...
If we talk long enough, I might even get to ask about Seok-i hyung.
Even without Sipsam's input, Hajin was already concerned about the tension between the two. After all, he was the one who'd dragged them into this endless idol survival show in the first place.
Their stress might not be solely because of this Miro Maze, but he couldn't shake the guilt of piling unnecessary pressure on them.
[System Alert: Sudden Quest!]
Objective: Teamwork is the foundation of idol groups!
Clear the air with your teammates and share honest feelings.
Who knows? It might help you reflect on your own emotions too.
Rewards:
- Beautiful harmony from perfect teamwork ♬
- Unexpected luck ^♡^
- 1x cancellation of side effects when entering the Unconscious Space
Penalty for Failure:
- Team discord leading to morale drop ㅠㅁㅠ
As if sensing Hajin's internal conflict, Sipsam—who'd been lurking—popped up with a carrot in hand.
Seriously, no matter how I look at it, this guy's running some idol-raising simulation with me.
Still, the rewards were too good to pass up. Hajin quickly accepted Siwoo's offer.
"Sure. Let's go."
"...Why do you sound so determined?"
Siwoo looked baffled, but Hajin's eyes burned with ambition.
Tonight, under the cover of dawn's sentimentality, I'll strip this hyung bare!
But as always, I was the one who got stripped bare.
Damn this sentimental bullshit.
Slumped on a white plastic chair outside the convenience store, Hajin clutched his head in despair.
From the dorm to the store, Hajin had spilled everything—from childhood anecdotes to the last movie he'd enjoyed.
Stripped! Cleaned! Out!
And voluntarily!
"Here."
"Ah, thanks."
Siwoo returned with two cup noodles, each topped with a hot bar. Hajin took one, snapped the chopsticks apart, and immediately pried open the lid to stir the noodles.
"...You just poured the water in."
"Yeah, I can't stand waiting for the noodles to soften."
"That's... an extreme preference."
Hajin slurped up the half-raw, crunchy noodles floating in the hot broth. Siwoo watched, amused and slightly horrified, as Hajin ate with gusto.
Then Siwoo pulled out his phone and showed Hajin a photo—the real reason he'd dragged him out under the pretense of buying coffee (and then coaxed him into eating noodles at dawn).
Between bites, Hajin glanced at the screen. It was a scanned image of a weathered sheet of music.
"What's this?"
"A song I'm considering for our mashup. I'm torn about it."
"Whoa. This looks handwritten. Did you compose it?"
"No. My father did."
"Pfft—! Cough! Hack!"
"You always get surprised at the most unexpected things."
You're the one who keeps catching me off guard!
Hajin, who'd been chugging the sports drink they'd bought, spat it out mid-sip. Siwoo handed him a handkerchief.
"...You carry a handkerchief?"
"Force of habit."
Siwoo tapped his phone screen again, where the scanned sheet music was displayed.
"My father was an unknown singer. This is one of his old compositions. I think it'd fit well with our theme."
"I... see."
Hajin already knew Siwoo's father had passed away from illness four years ago. For some reason, he couldn't lift his head, keeping his eyes fixed on the phone.
He hadn't played the song properly, but as he hummed the melody in his head while skimming the sheet music... it did seem to match their theme.
"The lyrics are nice. Warm."
"I like them too. They're like a letter to me. He told me to read them whenever life got hard. That's why I thought it'd fit our theme. What do you think?"
"I'm fine with it. But... are you okay with it?"
"Since you said you like it, I'm even more conflicted now."
Siwoo smiled faintly, but his eyes held a quiet loneliness as he gazed into the distance. The night breeze ruffled his hair, making it easy to forget it was early summer.
Hajin set down his chopsticks and cautiously asked:
"...Can I ask why you don't want to reveal it's your father's song?"
Siwoo stayed silent for a moment, as if savoring the cool breeze. Then, as if worried someone might see, he removed his snapback and placed it on the table.
"Well, you can probably guess—it's not a happy story."
"You don't have to tell me if it's hard."
"No, it's not that secretive or complicated. Just... borrowing the mood to talk about it, I guess."
Maybe he'd wanted to borrow the mood to talk.
Hajin pretended not to hear Siwoo's muttering and waited for him to continue.
Damn this sentimental bullshit.
"You know my mother's a pianist, right?"
"Of course."
"Typical story. Famous pianist wife, unknown singer husband. She was too brilliant; he was too worn down. He hated feeling small in front of her; she hated seeing the man she love shrink because of her."
"......"
"A marriage that began as a blessing ended in divorce after twelve years. The son followed the mother for financial reasons... but in the end, he chose his father's acoustic guitar over her piano."
Siwoo recounted his story as if it were someone else's, his tone detached.
Much was left unsaid, but Hajin understood why Siwoo didn't want to talk about his father on broadcast.
Reporters would have a field day.
The mere fact that his father was an "unknown singer" would give people endless material to gossip about.
Hajin fully grasped Siwoo's dilemma.
And why he'd brought it up now, to him.
Tapping his fingers on the table, Hajin carefully chose his words.
Siwoo shrugged, brushing the brim of his snapback.
"So, I'm conflicted."
"...What if you say you wrote it? It looks like an unpublished song."
"I thought about that too, but... it feels off. This is the only unpublished song my father left behind. His other songs weren't hits, but..."
This might be the only chance for his music to reach people.
Hajin exhaled deeply at the unspoken thought.
He could've suggested looking for another song, but Siwoo seemed set on using this one.
"Then how about waking the others up in the morning and asking them? Before filming starts."
"The others?"
"I like this song, but Ha-ru or Seok-i might've picked something else. I'll think about it tonight too—how we can use it without tarnishing your father's name."
At Hajin's offer to brainstorm together, Siwoo nodded, his expression softening slightly.
"Hyung, can you sing the chorus for me? The sheet music looks good, but..."
"I'll play it properly on guitar tomorrow. It's been a while, so I'm rusty."
"Did your father teach you guitar?"
"Yeah. How'd you learn piano?"
"Church praise team. You end up learning basic instruments."
The conversation flowed easily in the relaxed atmosphere.
After sharing more about themselves, as Siwoo leaned back in his chair, fully immersed in the dawn's mood, Hajin cautiously broached another topic.
"...Hyung. Can I ask one more thing?"
"Sure. Go ahead."
"Seok-i hyung... Does he bother you a lot?"
A question that would stretch this dawn a little longer.