Chapter 28
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 28
Chapter Title: Big Brother's Fury
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‘It’s about time he showed up.’
Lee Jae-yoon stared holes into the firmly shut door that showed no sign of opening. There was still no word from Do-jun, who was supposed to come by to say hello.
He’d been a rookie himself once, so he had a rough idea of the schedule.
Flame’s waiting room was all the way at the end of the hall, so it made sense that it would take a while, but he couldn’t help glancing toward the door every few seconds.
It would’ve been nice if I could’ve texted him ahead of time. But that wasn’t an option since the company had confiscated their phones.
I should sneak out and buy one.
At least there’d been a ton of news about Do-jun lately, which was a relief.
With all the buzz, it seemed like they’d be sharing a stage soon—maybe a collab performance or even the same variety show.
He was definitely going to push the company for that. It was a promise, after all.
But...
“Why hasn’t he come yet?”
His irritated mutter drew a tilted head from one of the other members.
“Who?”
“Do-jun hyung.”
“He’ll be here soon. Probably just doing greetings elsewhere.”
The member shrugged indifferently and stretched out on the sofa again. That casual pose grated on Jae-yoon like a thorn.
“Don’t you guys even miss Do-jun hyung?”
“Of course we do. That’s why we’re waiting.”
“Min-jae hyung said he’s doing well. Lucky break.”
“Yeah, that guy’s got skills and looks, after all.”
The others nodded in agreement. But that was the extent of their talk about Do-jun.
To Jae-yoon, it all felt woefully inadequate.
These ungrateful bastards. Do-jun hyung took such good care of us back when we were trainees.
Kim Min-jae, perhaps aware of his own guilt in the matter, stayed quietly in the corner with his mouth shut.
Just try screwing up even a little.
He’d make sure the guy tasted some serious heat, using his leader privileges. With that thought, Lee Jae-yoon turned his attention back to waiting for Do-jun.
But time dragged on in silence. Finally, he couldn’t take it anymore and shot up from his seat.
Kim Min-jae, who’d been leaning back in his chair, straightened up and asked,
“Where are you going?”
“To find Do-jun hyung.”
“Just wait. He’ll come.”
“We’ve got soundcheck soon, and then straight to the next schedule. No time. I’ll be right back.”
“Hey! Lee Jae-yoon!”
Ignoring the call, he stormed out of the waiting room. The road manager scrambled after him in a panic.
As soon as he opened the door, he spotted a familiar face down the narrow hallway. A welcome sight after the long wait.
He started to wave but stopped when he saw them entering a waiting room. No big deal. He’ll be out soon anyway—I’ll call then. Or better yet, surprise him right in front.
With that in mind, Jae-yoon approached with a spring in his step.
But...
“Well, well, if it isn’t the guy who weaseled into radio gigs before even debuting, thanks to his connections?”
...What?
He heard some lowlife trash-talking.
Jae-yoon checked the nameplate right away. Of course. It was Arena’s waiting room.
He knew they weren’t the nicest bunch, but picking on rookies they’d never even met like that?
He edged closer to the door and strained to listen.
He could barely make out Do-jun or the B.O.Y members’ voices, but oddly, the Arena guys’ words came through crystal clear.
“Makes sense, hanging with those GH punks who only hit number one because their company bought streams.”
These scumbags famous for their own shitty personalities talking about character? And dragging us into it?
He’d nearly burst in when they started yapping about him getting kicked out or whatever, but the road manager held him back. Jumping in would only make things worse.
Besides, Do-jun had clapped back smoothly enough.
That’s my hyung. He wouldn’t just take crap from lowlifes like that.
A flash of satisfaction hit him, but the next filthy remark pushed him over the edge.
“Latching onto a labelmate for scraps...”
What the hell are these garbage bags saying? Trashing the person who helped my hyung?
Jae-yoon kicked the door open with a bang.
Bam!
“You fucking assholes! Say that again!”
“L-Lee Jae-yoon?”
“What’d you call us? Buying streams?”
He couldn’t even bring himself to repeat the crap about Park Min-ha—it was too vile.
All eyes turned to Jae-yoon. The room froze solid. Even Do-jun stared at him in stunned shock.
The icy silence was broken by Jae-yoon’s exasperated sigh.
“Taking that kind of shit from these losers? You’ve gone soft, hyung.”
“What? These losers? They’re still juniors!”
Kim Min-hoon exploded in outrage. Before he could finish yelling, Jae-yoon cut him off coldly.
“Shut your trap, you psycho.”
His eyes blazed with murderous intent, like he’d rip the guy’s mouth open. The sheer ferocity made Kim Min-hoon clamp his jaw shut.
“J-Jae-yoon!”
“Let go.”
The road manager, pale as a ghost, grabbed him, but Jae-yoon shook him off violently and stepped toward Kim Min-hoon.
“Say it again. I dare you.”
❤
Why’s he here?
I stared blankly at Lee Jae-yoon’s back, utterly bewildered. He’d burst in out of nowhere and was raging like a wildfire for no reason.
How’d he even know about this place?
“Hey, say it again. Don’t you speak Korean?”
His blunt banmal struck a last nerve—Kim Min-hoon’s face flushed beet red as he bellowed back.
“Hey? You just ‘hey’d me?”
“You get it? Thought you were too dumb for words.”
“You crazy bastard!”
“Woof?”
“Fuck!”
That instant, Kim Min-hoon cocked his fist. As everyone scrambled to intervene, Jae-yoon smirked coldly and warned,
“What? Gonna hit me? Go ahead.”
His unflinching confidence made Kim Min-hoon hesitate.
The clenched fist trembled violently.
“Go on, hit me. If you’ve got the balls, bring it.”
Jae-yoon stepped even closer, voice dropping low.
“One of us is retiring today.”
“Y-You...”
“Or get lost. And stay out of my sight. Got it?”
Dismissing any reply, he whipped around to me.
His lips curved into a grin, all traces of fury gone.
“Hyung, pick up a hobby of listening to bullshit while I was gone? Not like you to just stand there.”
I was too thrown to respond, just gaping at him, so he patted my shoulder.
“Do your thing. Like when you chewed me out. Popularity rules here—I learned that the hard way.”
He shot Arena a mocking glance.
“You’re way more popular than those clowns anyway.”
A grinding of teeth echoed from somewhere. But unlike before, no one dared step up. Jae-yoon’s warning had sunk in.
The Arena members, who’d been flapping their gums moments ago, now wore faces etched with fear beyond mere surprise.
Kim Min-hoon still shook with rage, of course.
It was only natural. Arena debuted first, sure, but when it came to popularity or influence, they couldn’t touch Flame’s shoelaces.
And this wasn’t just trash talk—they’d accused them of stream-buying with zero proof.
Even Arena’s CEO wouldn’t dare call Jae-yoon out on it.
But we had a different problem.
...When did all these people gather?
Jae-yoon’s explosive entrance had flung the door wide, exposing the room to the hallway.
Drawn by the echoing shouts, a crowd peered in with wide-eyed curiosity.
...We’ve caused a scene.
First music show, and already this. Hope it doesn’t get twisted into something worse.
Even if people bought our side, I dreaded what Team Leader Kim Han-soo would say once he heard.
“Hiiik...”
Our road manager, new to the job, had gone from white to blue-faced.
He gonna pass out from lack of oxygen?
As I moved to shut the door for him, a man shoved through the crowd, yelling,
“Arena manager here! Coming through!”
Once the path cleared, he stumbled into the room and stammered at the sight inside.
“L-Lee Jae-yoon?”
“You their manager?”
Jae-yoon, face hardened again, stood with arms crossed.
“How do you even say we bought streams in front of a damn crowd? Must badmouth us a lot behind closed doors, huh?”
“W-What?”
The manager whipped toward Kim Min-hoon at the bombshell, but the guy was sealed shut like he’d swallowed honey.
Murmurs swelled in the hallway crowd.
“Make way, please! Coming through!”
Right on cue, Kim Min-jae’s voice rang out from afar. Unlike our panicked roadie, Flame’s manager had clearly called for backup.
At that, Jae-yoon growled a final warning to Arena’s manager.
“Keep those punks in line. Before I snap.”
“Don’t let me see them around, or—”
Before he could finish, Kim Min-jae burst in and slammed the door shut. Panting like he’d run a marathon, he demanded,
“What the hell happened?!”
But the storm had already passed.
Jae-yoon strutted out triumphantly, dragging us along. “Managers’ll handle cleanup—don’t sweat it.”
The lingering hallway crowd shuffled back warily as we emerged.
“Hyung.”
As I herded my shocked members back to our room, Jae-yoon grabbed my arm and pulled me beside him.
“Come to our waiting room. The guys are waiting.”
“Lemme hit ours first real quick. I’ll sort stuff and head over.”
“Soundcheck’s soon, then straight to the event. See them first, sort later.”
True, I did need to greet Flame anyway.
I glanced at the members—Kim Ha-woon and Park Tae-hoo were still frozen in shock.
At this rate, they wouldn’t manage greetings, let alone walk straight.
Nope, not happening. I pried Jae-yoon’s hand off with an awkward smile.
“They’re pretty shaken. I’ll come by later.”
“Tell ‘em to rest. You come alone. Miss this, and it’s another week of waiting.”
Why’s he acting like this? Guy’s grown up, but still a kid at heart.
He felt like that slacker trainee I used to catch skipping practice and scold. Nostalgia hit—I lightly smacked his back out of habit.
“We’ll catch up later. Go on in. I’ll text.”
“Phone’s confiscated.”
“Next music show, then. Or swing by the dorm after schedules if you hate that.”
“...For real?”
As if. I chuckled lightly.
“Kidding, obviously. See ya later. Oh, look—Min-jae hyung’s out.”
Perfect timing: Kim Min-jae emerged from Arena’s room, face stiff as stone. Jae-yoon couldn’t cling forever now.
Kim Min-jae froze mid-step upon spotting me, which cracked me up.
“Why so jumpy? Got something to hide?”
“Man, hide what... Anyway, it’s handled. Told their side to apologize—expect a visit later.”
Even looking out for us amid the mess. I grinned at him.
“Thanks for the help. Without you, we’d be debut-deep in weird rumors.”
“Help? It was nothing.”
“Exactly. You’ve done plenty for me before.”
“Uh, that’s not...”
His flustered face burst me into laughter. Or maybe it was just his unchanged vibe lifting my spirits.
We’d spent seven years together—growing distant would’ve stung.
“Seriously, thanks for today.”
I offered Jae-yoon a handshake. Meant every bit.
He’d escalated things, sure, but without him, it wouldn’t have wrapped so neatly.
“Save the thanks. Next week, no excuses—you’re seeing the guys.”
“Yeah, I’ll be there.”
He gripped my hand tight.
“No matter what.”
“Yeesh, fame’s gone to your strength.”
“Answer me.”
“Fine, I’ll go. Happy?”
Only then did Jae-yoon release with a satisfied smirk.
Wait—why’s my hand so white? How hard did this punk squeeze?!
I shook out the tingling, blood-starved hand and led the members back to our waiting room.