Chapter 185: A Token
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 185: A Token
'Crap.'
My Pink Army instincts screamed that this was the moment to send that message.
It had been a few days, and I’d only wanted to share a funny story about my teacher, but I suddenly had a feeling that something had gone terribly wrong.
[Ah... Did I not tell you?]
I hadn't mentioned it because I thought it was better to just let it slide.
I tried my best to play dumb.
[No. You didn't.]
A cold response.
There was no way out.
[Ah... uh... it was nothing, like I said. She just wrote her number on a note and left.]
[So why didn't you tell me!]
Because I knew you'd get worked up like this.
[Aish... Before you go home today, come by my place.]
[...Okay.]
Doah hung up abruptly without even a goodbye.
I scratched my head furiously at my own stupidity.
“Ah… why did I have to say something so unnecessary.”
Still, I figured I wouldn't be in for too harsh a punishment.
After all, I had already explained what I did with the note when I told the story, and I hadn't actually saved her number on my phone.
After enduring the hellish rush-hour train, I finally arrived near her place.
I started getting nervous as I walked up the hill to her building.
I trust my Doah. Of course. I trust her completely. She's so cute and kind.
As if hypnotizing myself, I dredged up good memories and placed my finger on the doorbell.
Footsteps followed.
Doah swung the door open and glared at me.
“Uh… hi?”
My usual casualness had evaporated, and I greeted her as awkwardly as a friend reaching out after three years of silence.
“Hi?”
The inflection at the end was ominous.
She had an expression that screamed, 'Are you seriously greeting me right now?'
“Ah… I'm sorry for not telling you sooner.”
It was better to just bow my head when I was in the wrong.
Since I wasn't going to try and weasel my way out of an apology, I quickly bowed, folding my body like a flip phone.
“But seriously, nothing weird happened at all. Leah just gave me her number, so I wrote it on a notepad and made a paper airplane out of it. I was going to throw it away, but then I thought my teacher might need it, so I gave it to him.”
I rattled off the words like a rapper, still in my deep bow.
“Han Taemin-ssi.”
“…Yes?”
When I cautiously raised my head, Doah beckoned me over with her index finger.
Doah grabbed my wrist and led me to the bed.
“What should I do for your punishment?”
“But… it's not like I did anything wrong, honestly. And it was a work-related situation, so it would have been awkward to refuse.”
“When did I ever say anything about you getting Leah's number?”
“…You're not?”
“Of course not! The problem is that you hid it from me! Why would I be mad at you when she's the one who gave it to you!”
Frustrated, Doah pounded her cute little fists against her chest.
“If you had just told me ‘this and that happened’ on the same day, I would have let it go!”
“You really would have?”
Aren't you just saying that because it's already happened?
“Of course, I wouldn't have let it go for nothing! But it would have been better than this! Much better!”
So I was destined to get an earful either way.
“Ugh…”
Doah threw her hands up and pinched my cheeks, stretching them out.
“This won't do, Oppa. You need to become ugly.”
“I don't fink this is gonna make me ugly.”
This just hurts.
This wasn't the kind of loving gesture I usually made toward Doah.
Any more of this and I felt like the skin on my face would lose its elasticity forever.
“Awww! You're just uselessly handsome!”
That's not true… I'm good at making songs now… I might have been a bit useless before, but not anymore…
Doah didn't let go of my cheeks until her anger subsided, and I was only freed after she confirmed that Leah's number wasn't in my contacts.
Peace was restored.
Doah leaned against my chest, fiddling with her phone.
“Doah.”
“Hm?”
“By the way, are we going to keep it a secret from Leah that we're a couple?”
When you thought about it, it was a valid question. If she was that worried, couldn't we just tell Leah? After all, Fumurin and Clover already knew.
“Mmm… I just think it'd be weird for me to bring it up first.”
“Really?”
“You know? It's weird to just announce, 'This is my boyfriend!' when no one asked. With Murin and Clover unnie, they specifically mentioned you, Oppa, so I brought you along.”
“That's true.”
Both times, I had been called out for a double date. Though one of them fell through for a bitter reason.
“And besides, if I tell Leah, then I have to tell Jennifer unnie, too. Why? Because if Jennifer unnie is the only one who doesn't know, it'll feel like we're ostracizing her.”
I wondered if I'd been shortsighted, but I also realized that this is just how girls are—creatures who consider all these things.
“So you're just going to keep it a secret?”
“Oppa. You just got your number taken by Leah. Do you really think she'd be thrilled if I went, 'Haha~ Actually, Lucario-tan is my man~'?”
Doah shook her head as if she didn't even want to imagine it.
“Mmm… right. Then it's probably best to do what you think is right.”
It was right for her, a fellow member, to decide on matters within the group.
“That Leah… she's got good taste in men, at least…”
“A second ago, you said I was just handsome and useless.”
“No! Just stay still! Still! Okay?”
Doah raised her arm and lightly slapped my thigh.
“This is why you get scolded! For not reading the room and saying nonsense!”
“Sorry.”
“Ugh… you're so annoying. Come here.”
Doah turned and grabbed my cheeks again.
Aah… they're still tingling, and you're pulling them again?
I squeezed my eyes shut, expecting pain, but a different sensation made me flinch.
Doah's soft lips began to explore mine, deep and lingering.
As if refusing to let go, she sucked on my lips harder than usual, and I obediently complied, wrapping my arms around her waist to support her.
“This won't do.”
“What now?”
“What time do you get off work tomorrow?”
“Me? Uh… nothing's set, but probably around the same time as usual? Around four?”
“Then tomorrow, don't come home after work. Wait for me at the office.”
For now, I just nodded to show I understood.
It was my first day after officially signing the contract with Bitdam.
I had a meal with the CEO and a few of the producers.
There were some faces I recognized from around the office, but there were also people I was meeting for the first time.
We ate at a nearby hanjeongsik restaurant, and I felt my eyebrow twitch again at the murderous prices.
Around my university, this amount of money could buy me ten meals.
“By the way, Taemin-ssi. Are you going to keep RKRO as your stage name?” the CEO asked me, pausing his chopsticks.
“Uh… you don't like it?”
“It's not that I don't like it, but I think something catchier would be better. In Korean, it's Al-Ke-I-Al-O. You know?”
“He's right. Taemin. Change it.”
My teacher chimed in from the side, as if he wouldn't take no for an answer.
“What do people… usually go with?”
“That's for you to decide. You can do something like the people here, or go for a completely different vibe. Just don't stick four letters together and tell people to read them out.”
I considered just going with Lucario, but decided against it since there was the VTuber Luka and other content that it would bring to mind.
“A studio will be assigned to you as soon as it's ready. You can use that. As for your work…”
The CEO's face turned toward my teacher.
“I'll take him under my wing and work with him. We'll have him try any projects that come in, and when I think he's ready, he can start working on his own.”
“Ah. Yes. Let's do that, then.”
Since there weren't that many people, it definitely felt much more intimate.
It was a stark contrast to the atmosphere at YM, where everyone stuck to formal language and a business-like attitude.
“Aigoo. What am I going to do for fun when Taemin moves downstairs?”
When we returned after the meal, my teacher sighed as if he was genuinely disappointed.
“You get along just fine by yourself. Don't be so dramatic.”
This wasn't just an empty platitude; it was the truth.
I had never in my life seen a man who was better at entertaining himself than this guy.
Recognized by the public. Lots of money. A freelancer. No wife.
Could a more perfect environment for being a fanboy possibly exist?
“I'll drop by often. When I'm bored.”
“Yes, anytime.”
There were still many things I wanted to learn from him.
“Today, let's just go over the mastering details I taught you last time one more time, and then we'll call it a day.”
“Yes, sir!”
After one hour of lessons and two hours of fanboy talk, I headed to my meeting spot with Doah.
She'd told me to meet her in front of the department store, so it seemed like she had something to buy.
“Oppa!”
Spotting me, Doah scurried over on her short legs.
“You're here early.”
“Just arrived.”
“Oh yeah? So why'd you want to meet here? To eat?”
“To eat, and to buy something.”
“What is it?”
Doah put her hands on her hips and puffed out her chest.
“Our couple rings!”
Hiss… If we buy them here, the price is going to be insane…
This was truly a complacent miscalculation on my part, born from not knowing just how much the world-class Doah-tan was earning.