Chapter 180: Forbidden
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 180: Forbidden
[So, did you have fun eating with Leah?!]
Late at night.
Luka had a stream scheduled for today, so we had to talk on the phone.
[No. What’s there to have fun about? You know I was planning to have dinner with you today.]
[Ugh… But isn’t Esh Block-nim a bit much? I’m going to complain next time I see him.]
[I wonder if we’ll have another offline recording session, though.]
[I don’t know. But I don’t think I could handle a second one, it’s too exhausting. Oppa, go tell the teacher that Luka is sulking.]
[Alright.]
Talking with Doah always seemed to put my mind at ease the most.
If I had it my way, I would have asked her to sleep over, but today wasn’t the day for that.
Tomorrow was packed with schedules for both of us.
Then again, if we were going to talk on the phone like this, we might as well have seen each other.
It was the kind of night where I just wanted to fall asleep hugging her soft belly.
[What was Leah like in person?]
[Hmm… Exactly like you described her?]
[What about her looks?]
[Her looks?]
She looked just like she did in her photos.
And honestly, when it comes to 3D humans, besides Doah, I don’t really…
[Just… like a person, I guess.]
[No, I’m asking because I haven’t seen her either. We barely meet offline. And Leah doesn’t seem to have any intention of showing her face.]
Since she put it that way, I dredged up my memories of dinner and described what I could remember.
[First, she had a bob cut, black hair. I think she was on the taller side.]
[Really?]
[Yeah. The teacher was so excited today, he was talking nonstop… Ugh, it was so draining. I almost fell asleep watching your stream when I got home.]
[If you were tired, you should’ve just slept. Why bother watching my stream?]
[Still, I have to do what I have to do.]
I made sure to watch every single stream even during my exams; a little fatigue wasn’t going to stop me from watching Luka’s broadcast.
Even now, the memory of missing her streams because I was preparing for the drama made my hands tremble.
I should have just relaxed and watched the streams back then.
[Hmph. You better keep it that way.]
[Of course, of course.]
[So we can have dinner together tomorrow, right?]
[If the teacher doesn’t say anything, then probably?]
[Okay. Sleep well, then.]
[…I love you.]
I just felt like saying it, so I whispered in a small voice.
[…I love you, too.]
I must have been really tired, because as soon as I hung up, I passed out as if a switch had been flipped.
[Thumbs up if you’ve had to re-record a double-digit number of times~]
It was a message from Murin in the group chat.
I stealthily added a thumbs-up.
The count went up by one more.
What? Who is it?
There was another villain besides us?
An increase in comrades was always a joyous occasion, so I quickly moved my thumb.
The person who unexpectedly joined our ranks was a surprising figure.
It was Clover unnie.
[What? Unnie, what are you doing here?]
[lololololololol]
Instead of words, a flood of consonants filled the chat.
[No. They keep saying this isn’t it. I’m just doing what they tell me to, but they keep saying this isn’t it… T_T]
I had secretly thought Jennifer unnie would be the one struggling.
Seeing such an unexpected name pop up, Murin and I started a celebration.
[Welcome~ First time re-recording?]
[Unnie~ Ah, we were waiting for you~ We were wondering when you’d show up~]
[No! You brats! I’m not going to become a demon like you guys!]
It’s not like we wanted to become demons.
We didn’t want to, either.
Jennifer unnie, who had been watching this unfold, shared her own recording story.
[No, but Eshblock-nim is seriously sooooo~ meticulous. Ugh. I can’t do that twice. For real.]
[How was Leah?]
The read receipt showed she’d seen the message, but she remained silent.
[I… I… finished in one go…]
I had only asked Taemin oppa what it was like eating with Leah; I hadn’t asked about the recording session.
We were both dead tired, and the night had been too short to talk about other people.
Anyway, she finished in one go…?
Don’t tell me she passed in one take…?
[Leah, you. Did you finish recording in one try?]
[Ah, not exactly. I just finished it on the spot that day. How could I do it in one try?]
For a moment, I thought she had finished in a single take and almost slammed the floor and burst into tears. I barely managed to suppress the emotion.
I’d heard Eshblock-nim was a composer full of personal bias, but you can’t let that bias affect the recording session!
[He pointed out a few things for me, too. So I did it again.]
[So how many hours did it take? For you, Leah unnie?]
Considering she even had a meal, it seemed like she must have finished quickly.
[1 hour? I think it was under an hour and a half?]
…Haaa.
This is making me want to cuss.
[I heard you got treated to a meal, too.]
[Yeah. I ate with Eshblock-nim and RKRO-nim, the three of us.]
Wait a minute.
Leah knows that Oppa is RKRO?
Murin knew because I told her beforehand, but how did Leah know?
Did Oppa just tell her himself?
[Huh. Isn’t RKRO-nim that person? The one who made our Summer Records?]
[That’s right. He said he’s working with Esh Block-nim.]
[Wow. I see. Is this the power of CLOSER?]
Clover unnie gushed.
I debated several times whether to send a private message saying, [That’s actually my boyfriend].
[How did you know he was RKRO-nim?]
I tried to sound surprised, but not too surprised.
[Ah. Eshblock-nim told me while we were eating. He said he was a promising talent from Bitdam.]
That’s right. My oppa is a promising talent.
Hearing my boyfriend being praised made my own shoulders straighten with pride.
[And he was. Super handsome.]
[…Was he?]
I’d heard that my oppa was handsome so many times at school that my ears were worn out.
He’d actually been scouted by YM’s casting team and even had a minor role in a drama for a short while, so it wasn’t strange.
But… but…
This unsettling feeling.
[Didn’t you guys see him that day?]
Murin seemed hesitant to answer. After a moment of thought, I replied as naturally as possible.
[Ah. Then the assistant who was there that day must have been RKRO-nim. Yeah. He just introduced himself to us by his real name.]
[That makes sense. He only told me his real name at first, too.]
Would it be obvious if I asked a few more questions here?
Reacting too sensitively would just make me look guilty.
Or should I just come clean right now?
I thought that instead of agonizing over it, just revealing who the man I love is to everyone was one way to go.
But it wasn’t without its risks.
First, it would be like handing bait to Jennifer unnie, who was a solo artist and the most serious about CLOSER.
Second, I hadn’t asked for his permission to reveal his personal information.
Just as Oppa didn’t go around telling everyone that I was a VTuber, I wanted to respect his identity.
Of course, if I asked for his permission, he’d probably grant it.
For now, I decided to observe the situation a little longer and casually posed a question to Leah.
[Then maybe RKRO-nim could direct us for Summer Records next time.]
[You think so?]
[If we do it at the Bitdam studio, they might call him again.]
[It would be nice to go again.]
I knew it. This is 100% it.
Leah. She’s definitely fallen head over heels for my oppa!
Ugh… what do I do…
What should I do…
[When else would I get to visit a big company building like that, other than YM?]
The message that followed made me feel awkward, and I scratched my nose.
…Was I wrong?
[Right, right. If they call us again, that’s a win for us. Ugh~ I’m so jealous! Let’s get them to treat us to something even better next time! Right, Murin!]
Murin. Please soothe your poor unnie’s heart.
[Ah~ Then how about a strategic dinner time? Unnie? Wouldn’t the dinner menu be more luxurious?]
Esh Block-nim hadn’t said a single word about buying us food, but we were busy discussing what we would get him to treat us to.
Come to think of it, if Oppa directs, he might be the one paying, right?
This was something I would have to give him a stern warning about later.
Forbidden.
From now on, whether it’s for CLOSER or not, treating other female artists to a meal is forbidden.
With that handsome face, flaunting that incredible talent all over the place, it would be weirder if women didn’t flock to him.
For now, he was just Esh Block-nim’s assistant, but if he successfully debuted as a producer there, it was only a matter of time before he became famous.
Mhmm, mhmm. That’s it. That settles it.
Having organized my thoughts, I left the CLOSER group chat and called Oppa.
It’s 12:30, so he’s probably having lunch right now, right?
[Hello.]
[Yeah. Oppa, it’s me. Can you talk right now?]
[Yeah, I can. I just finished eating.]
Perfect timing.
[Oppa.]
[Yeah?]
[I’m going to text you something, so make sure you read it carefully three times and text me back, okay? Got it?]
[Why? Did something urgent happen?]
[No, not that, just read it when I tell you to read it!]
I abruptly hung up the phone and moved my thumbs furiously.
[Forbidden to exchange personal contact info with other female artists (age doesn’t matter).]
[Forbidden to eat with them in a private setting. (If it’s unavoidable, you must eat with other people).]
[Forbidden to smile so charmingly and joke around during work.]
[Read this 3 times, engrave it in your heart, and reply to me~]
…This should be good enough.
I nodded to myself.