Chapter 72
Chapter 72
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 72
Chapter Title: Comeback, and Comeback (3)
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Music show waiting time used to be my reading time. A fantastic stretch where I could tear through all the books I'd been dying to get to.
"Hey, Jae-ya. Let's hit some exercise today."
"Finish that up first, then come over here, hyung."
Lately, I'd been getting dragged around by Jae-oh and Kwang-myeong.
No point heading back to the dorms where composing or working out would eat into awkward chunks of time, so why not knock it out now when we had nothing else going on.
'No room to argue there.'
And their logic was... damn near airtight. Besides, nothing I said in this situation would get through anyway.
In the end, throughout this whole comeback schedule, I'd be stuck in the waiting room—either getting dragged into strength training by Jae-oh or practicing composing under Kwang-myeong's watchful eye.
Like that, while I was laying down beats on Kwang-myeong's laptop under his supervision in the waiting room, I suddenly stood up.
"Where you going? Not done yet?"
"Bathroom."
"Then grab me a coffee on the way back."
"What am I, your errand boy?"
"Jae-hyung. Please, I'm begging you. Running low on caffeine here."
Kwang-myeong clasped his hands together and pulled the most pitiful face imaginable.
Hmm. Hard to blow off a plea like that when you're the hyung.
"Milk?"
"Black."
"Got it. Got coins?"
"Here."
Kwang-myeong fished a handful of 100-won coins from his pocket and handed them over. Then, in a playful tone:
"Bring back 5,000 won in change."
"Get lost."
"Kidding. Get whatever you want with the leftovers."
"Alright."
Fair trade for a quick errand. I'd pull a milk coffee for myself too. I pocketed the coins he handed me and headed out of the waiting room.
I made quick time to the bathroom on the waiting room floor, pulling open the door and stepping into the men's room like it was nothing.
That's when a small voice drifted out from inside.
"Yeah, noona. No, it's just weird, you know? I thought I'd cleaned it up nice and tidy on my end last time, but then out of nowhere, he starts crawling back."
What the...? Curiosity hit me like a tidal wave, and I crept forward on tiptoe, holding my breath.
Through the mirror, I clocked the guy on the phone.
'Yoon Da-on?'
No doubt about it. That cute, rabbit-like face definitely belonged to Yoon Da-on.
'Why's he holed up in here having such an intense call?'
Right as the puzzlement sank in, Yoon Da-on launched into the real talk over the line.
"Yeah. Ugh, fuck. No, it's hilarious, seriously. This nobody who's suddenly got some stock from acting thinks he can come slithering up... No, like, did he earn that on his own? It's filthy, I don't even want to... Yeah. Of course. This month, I'm taking number one again. Who else is gonna do it if not me? Yeah, yeah. Pfft, hahaha. As expected, only you get this stuff, noona. Yeah. Ugh... This fucking system has me tiptoeing around nobodies every damn day. It's such bullshit. Head's gonna explode."
Whew, even my head was starting to spin.
'Is this the real him?'
Sure, celebrities have their stage personas and their off-stage selves—I get that.
But the cute Yoon Da-on I'd seen smiling in the hallway earlier and this smirking, griping version being the same guy? Still a shock hard to swallow.
Anyway, boiling it down: he was seriously pissed about YourM's system.
'Can't blame him. Even I'd...'
I'd wondered the same when I first heard about YourM's setup—why the hell implement something like that?
From an idol's perspective, it was a real pressure cooker.
'Ranking within the same group every month...? I'd be cursing up a storm too if I were in his shoes.'
So his rant made total sense.
Still, what now?
Having accidentally eavesdropped, I seriously debated just bailing to another bathroom.
That's when it happened.
"......!"
The exact second I turned to slip out.
Like something out of a bad lie, my eyes locked with Yoon Da-on's. Perfectly terrible timing.
'Shit. I'm a little fucked here.'
He looked thrown for a split second—his eyes shook, giving it away.
But he pulled himself together fast, face smoothing back to neutral.
At the same time, he spoke to whoever was on the line.
"...Hold on a sec. The director's calling me over. I'll call you back later. Yeah."
He hung up, then stared at my reflection in the mirror. Our gazes met through the glass.
He eyed me in silence for a beat, then curved his round eyes into a gentle smile.
A perfectly polished grin, straight out of the playbook for a member of the hottest idol group around.
Face lit up like a picture-perfect idol, he asked:
"How'd you get in? I swear I locked the door."
Figures. No way he'd be spilling that kind of tea without checking the lock.
Must've been a slip—door didn't catch.
"It was open when I came in."
"Oh yeah? ...Maybe this door's finicky? Or I messed up locking it today..."
Yoon Da-on trailed off, eyes rolling as he sized up the situation, figuring his play.
Then, in a casual tone, he tossed out:
"You heard my call, right?"
No point denying it here—even if I lied, he wouldn't buy it.
I ran the angles in my head for a second, then nodded.
"Yeah. Wasn't trying to."
"Nice to see some honesty."
"Figured you'd see through a denial anyway."
"At least you're someone I can talk to."
A smile crept onto Yoon Da-on's reflected face. He turned toward me fully.
"What's your name?"
"Ha Jae."
"Ha Jae. We crossed paths in the hall earlier, right? EverPlanet... something like that?"
"Yeah, that's us."
"I'll call you Junior Ha Jae then. Cool?"
"Yeah, of course."
I replied, thinking:
All I wanted was the damn bathroom. How'd I end up here...?
Headache situations like this were the worst.
Yoon Da-on narrowed his eyes at me, then spoke up in a serious tone.
"Junior."
"Yeah."
"Straight to the point: what do you want?"
"Huh?"
"What do I have to give you to keep quiet about what you just heard? Be real—stuff like that leaking out would be a problem for me."
Fair enough. Word getting out that he was badmouthing the group's system on a call? His image would take a hit.
'Especially with that harmless concept of his. Fatal.'
Even I couldn't hide my shock at the start of his call.
Fans who loved his stage presence? They'd be gutted.
'But that doesn't mean...'
Didn't mean I'd blackmail him or leverage it.
His side made sense, and on the big picture, squeezing him wouldn't net much.
'More likely to backfire.'
No upside to beefing with a guy from a powerhouse group like YourM.
Short-term gain? Maybe. Long-term? Better to let it slide.
Decision made, I shook my head.
"It's fine."
"...What?"
"I'm saying don't sweat it. No plans to repeat what I heard anywhere."
"......"
"Pretend I didn't hear a thing."
Yoon Da-on's expression turned downright peculiar, like this was the last response he expected.
He stared at me with confused eyes, scratched his head, and muttered:
"...Doesn't compute."
"What do you mean?"
"You just caught me with my pants down, junior."
"Did I?"
"Obviously. But seriously... you don't want anything?"
Yoon Da-on blinked his big eyes and pressed:
"Like, group promo? A spot on a show you want? Or cash? I can hook you up, no problem. Cleaner for me that way."
What was I supposed to say here?
I gathered my thoughts, then spoke evenly.
"Just feels lame to grift off something I overheard by accident."
"......"
"And honestly... I'd be pissed at that system too if I were in YourM."
"......"
"So yeah, lips sealed. No worries."
Now, can I use the bathroom?
I flashed him a smile loaded with that vibe.
Yoon Da-on stared at me like I was a total enigma, then burst out laughing—puhaha.
After chuckling for a bit, he walked right up to me.
"Junior, I like your vibe."
"Uh, thanks."
"Got your phone?"
"Huh?"
"Hand it over."
What was this play? I glanced between his face and outstretched hand, then pulled my phone from my pocket and passed it.
Yoon Da-on took it, punched something in, then fished out his own phone from his pocket.
Bzzz—his brand-new Berry Phone vibrated.
"That's my number. Save it."
"...?"
"I'll save you as Junior Ha Jae."
What the hell was going on? Caught off guard by the curveball, I hesitated.
"Uh, wait—"
"Just take it. You say you don't need anything now, but who knows? Might need a favor from me someday."
"......"
Couldn't argue that.
YourM was a heavyweight, and a top-ranker like Yoon Da-on could pull real strings.
He nodded like he got it and kept going.
"Call it a debt. Hit me up if you need something later. I'll help. Or just bored? Text away."
"......"
"Let's be friends. You grew on me."
He flashed a bright grin and patted my shoulder lightly.
"Catch you later."
With that, Yoon Da-on sauntered out of the bathroom.
Alone now, I stared at his number on my phone and scratched my head.
"...Feels like a storm just blew through."
All for a bathroom break.
"Beats me what that was... but it worked out, I guess."
For a fledgling group like EverPlanet, connecting with a Sunbae like Yoon Da-on wasn't a bad move.
Problem child? Better off steering clear. But as far as I remembered, he'd never been tangled in any major scandals.
I saved the number with a sigh.
Ever since becoming "Ha Jae," my life just wouldn't catch a break.