The Parents' Intrusion
Han I-jae was simply staring silently at the scene unfolding before him.
'I hope I don't get dragged into this unnecessarily.'
He gave the arm of the man gripping his wrist a light tap, as if to say it was fine even if he held on.
But Han I-jae refused to loosen his grip, his expression clearly displeased with the situation.
Soon after, the security team arrived, and the man was immediately dragged away.
"......"
"......"
Silence settled over the practice room.
"Are you okay?"
Kwon Hak-jin stepped forward to check on me. The other members surrounded me as well, their faces full of worry as they asked if I was all right.
Actually, I wasn't okay. It wasn't painful enough to warrant that level of concern, but it was deeply embarrassing.
'With this, the company will call for a meeting. I'll explain everything then.'
I remembered the times I had been a trainee at the previous agency—how they would show up demanding money, cause scenes, and leave. With this incident, I knew I had to get a ban on approaching the company or something similar.
Of course, family matters for idols were sensitive, but I couldn't just let them keep causing trouble like this.
"I'm fine."
I forced a smile.
"You're not fine at all, though."
Han I-jae said, his brows furrowed.
"Your parents did that and you're telling me you're fine?"
"What can I do? Besides, I can't change my parents anyway."
With a resigned tone, my words made Han I-jae let out a bitter sigh.
Anyway, the situation had been resolved. The security team had forcibly taken the man away.
"Let's wrap up practice here for today. Everyone worked hard."
The practice session had also been forcibly ended.
The director looked somewhat tired, perhaps because the earlier incident had shaken him.
Well, while doing this job, you wouldn't often encounter such a crazy person...
"What's going on?"
The realizer entered in a hurry after receiving the situation report and looked at us.
"First, you all head back to the dorm quickly. And Won-woo. You... no. You should also go to the dorm first."
So, we were sent to the dorm.
* * *
Upon arriving at the dorm, the members didn't speak up rashly. They seemed to be watching me closely because of what had happened earlier.
I've always thought the system's problem in this world. We can't choose or replace our parents.
"I'm sorry."
Upon hearing my apology, Hae-won said in surprise.
"No, why are you sorry?"
When you thought about it, I hadn't done anything wrong, yet I felt I should apologize.
The incident caused by my parents. If you dug deeper, it wasn't actually my parents, but the original Do Won-woo's parents—the real culprit behind the antagonist character...
'Because of me, the practice ended early.'
After all, it was connected to me.
"It wasn't because of you. Precisely, it was because of that weird uncle."
Han I-jae, who had been listening with his arms crossed, added.
"First time hearing about a bad relationship with parents. Why didn't you say anything earlier?"
...Hmm.
What was the point in saying it?
In this world, telling someone that their parents were crazy would only make them a weakness.
Of course, among the members, there didn't seem to be anyone mean enough to use that as a weakness.
"Hey, hey, why didn't you say it earlier? It wouldn't have been easy from Won-woo's perspective. And to be honest, we're not that close yet."
Hak-jin stepped in to mediate between Han I-jae and me.
"I told you to tell me if it's hard."
But Han I-jae looked angry somewhere.
"I'm sorry."
Right now, the best I could do was stay silent and apologize to look pitiful.
'Who knows how much more rampage that crazy guy will cause after finding the company. Just keep saying sorry.'
Once labeled as a nuisance in people's eyes, it was over.
Even if it wasn't my fault, since it was connected to me and noise kept coming, eventually it would become annoying.
"Why are you always saying sorry? Because of that person, will we start hating you?"
Han I-jae seemed to have read my intention.
"No such thing."
Then, the one who spoke up after that was Jeong Hui-min.
"You didn't do anything wrong."
Jeong Hui-min said in a flat tone, patting my shoulder twice as if concerned.
"Even family is eventually others. When separating, separate. Especially if that family is harassing you."
"...Thank you."
Looking at the members offering comfort, my heart felt strangely warm.
Actually, I had thought there was no one on my side in this cursed world, but at this moment, the members felt like family...
'Family.'
Even after being disillusioned with the existence called family, assigning meaning to the word was amusing.
"After talking to the company, I'll try to make sure they don't come again. So no one gets hurt by the group."
Receiving comfort that wasn't quite comfort, I went to my room.
'This is such a disgrace.'
Actually, I hadn't been hit or anything for what family did.
Because it wasn't real family. The parents of the novel's Do Won-woo character. The crappy parents inserted to explain why Do Won-woo had turned out that way.
'While reading the novel, I didn't understand, but now a bit of it is clicking.'
Why Do Won-woo's parents had made him so dirty and cold despite his good looks.
Not everyone turned out that way under parental influence, but the influence had been significant.
Unable to receive love, Hae-won's talent and harmonious family would have been a target for jealousy.
'Just, the moment everything is understood.'
A while after lying on the bed, a message came from Won Ji-an.
A question if I was okay. It seemed I had heard "are you okay today" dozens of times.
'Don't worry.'
I closed the phone after saying that.
* * *
A meeting with the company had been scheduled. Probably to ask about the incident in the practice room.
'Sigh.'
I entered with as pitiful a face as possible, my eyes hollow.
The realizer gave me chocolate and candy, asking if I was okay. It felt like a kid going to a dentist consultation.
"Heard. Parents came to the company and said they found you. But from what I heard, you don't have a good relationship with parents..."
"Yes."
I bowed my head and squeezed out every tear, real or fake.
Of course, I wasn't an actor, so my tears didn't gush like a professional.
"Aigo, don't cry..."
But the realizer who fell for my acting started pulling tissues from the table.
Not going to the bathroom, and no need to pull so many, yet a pile of tissues had accumulated in front of me.
"...Thank you."
Compared to the pile, only a few drops of chicken-egg tears came out.
"First, the company people already had a meeting about this, right?"
"Yes."
"The incident that day is something that can't be tolerated in any way. First, we'll make security more thorough. Even if it's parents, they won't open the door casually."
I nodded.
"But, instead of immediate response, we'll observe the situation more. After all, it's parents. If a scandal breaks before debut, who knows what happens."
So, it meant we would observe without responding this time and respond when it happened again.
'By then, it might be a complete mess?'
Because the company didn't know about Do Won-woo's parents yet.
If they saw him officially debuting and performing, their eyes wouldn't roll back. Surely they would chase to schedule sites demanding money.
In that case, perhaps the broadcast station staff or fans would see the disgrace.
Then, it would be irreversible.
'The company is too lenient. Before even listening to me, they didn't check the seriousness and just decided?'
I swallowed the sigh inside.
I had seen content in the novel setting about how planning companies handled things.
Companies had the capital to run a group, but their staff's handling wasn't smooth.
'Now I get it...'
Directly facing it, I felt the company handled work vaguely.
"...Sigh."
I took a deep breath and bowed my head. I had to look as miserable as possible.
The company shouldn't dismiss this as a trivial matter and just pass it with this meeting.
I had to convey how serious this was and how urgent it was to deal with those crazy guys.
"Hey, Won-woo? Are you okay?"
The realizer's expression had become serious, and he looked worried.
I answered with tears welling up.
"Previously, parents came to the company. Demanding money. Borrowing money. My son has been a trainee here for several years, and it's a debut group, so why not lend money..."
I hadn't personally experienced it, but I recalled the anger I had felt while reading the novel several times and immersed myself in Do Won-woo's emotions.
"After that incident, the mental shock was too big. I thought after debuting it would be fine, but seeing them come again this time made me too surprised."
I recited the prepared lines and looked straight at the realizer.
"The day of that incident yesterday, breathing was hard, and this morning when coming to the company, I suddenly couldn't breathe."
Actually, I had been breathing fine, but I had desperately acted as if I couldn't.
"Also, afraid parents might come to the company or dorm, afraid they might come during schedules, every day is too scary and anxious."
It was turning the request to stop those crazy guys from approaching me into a statement.
"How hard it must have been..."
The realizer pulled more tissues and added one to the pile.
"Yeah, thank you for telling me a little about how hard Won-woo is. From what I heard, it seems the company won't just let it slide at the company level."
While wiping my eyes with the tissues the realizer gave, I nodded.
"The company will try to do everything legally possible. We'll support and help as much as possible so Won-woo doesn't have hard times, so don't think you're alone and don't be too anxious."
It was fortunate.
Saying this much meant they wouldn't just sweep it under the rug.
Probably I could get a protection order or such practical help.
"Thank you."
I put the tissues in my pocket and stood up.