Chapter 39
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 39
Chapter Title: Too Early for the Festival
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The car carrying us arrived at the salon in no time. After exchanging a few words with the staff we'd grown familiar with, the time for hair and makeup flew by before we knew it.
We hopped back into the car and headed straight for our destination—the university—everything proceeding smoothly.
The result?
"Didn't you say traffic would be bad...?"
We arrived at 5:30 p.m.
Even if preparations had started an hour earlier, there was still plenty of time left.
"Didn't you say it might rain?"
Of course, the sky was still overcast, but it didn't look like it would pour anytime soon.
Well, when has the weather service ever been accurate?
At my words, Kim Han-soo let out an awkward cough.
"That's weird. They definitely said there'd be an accident causing a backup."
Then, trying to change the subject, he quickly schooled his expression and forced a bright tone.
"Want me to grab some festival food for you guys?"
"Food! Sweet and sour chicken!"
Sure enough, Kim Ha-woon perked up immediately.
After our official debut, we'd escaped the strict diet meals, but with our packed schedules, we often skipped proper meals.
Yeah, it was good to eat well on occasions like this. What should we get?
"Sweet and sour chicken, chicken skewers, fried chicken skin..."
Was Kim Ha-woon possessed by the ghost of someone who starved to death without ever eating chicken in a past life?
The guy, who was chattering away about chicken, suddenly sparkled with an idea and shot his hand up.
"Can we go pick it out ourselves? I'm curious about the university festival!"
Honestly, I was curious too. I'd been so focused on becoming an idol that I'd never even set foot on a college campus.
"No, that's not happening. You never know what could go wrong."
But Kim Han-soo drew a firm line. He was so resolute there wasn't even a crack to argue through.
"Aww."
He didn't budge even for Kim Ha-woon's aegyo. I quickly chimed in.
"Still, we need to know what's there to order, right?"
"I'll go check it out and call you guys."
"Then you'd just have to make an extra trip, Team Leader or Manager hyung."
"We've got time. It's fine."
He was a tough opponent.
In the end, we couldn't win against Kim Han-soo and trudged off to the performers' waiting room. The university staff were surprised, wondering why we'd arrived so early.
As soon as we got to the waiting room, the road manager and Kim Han-soo left as promised to buy food.
"I wanted to see the university festival..."
The moment they were gone, Kim Ha-woon pouted and kept grumbling.
I understood how he felt, but Kim Han-soo had a good reason for saying no, so we couldn't just rebel blindly.
'If only we had an excuse...'
But no ideas came to mind. Honestly, crowds could spell trouble.
"Don't hyungs want to see it?"
"I do!"
"Yeah."
Park Tae-hoo and Lee Jae-ha nodded too. But Lee Jae-ha added right after,
"Still, Team Leader's right. It'd be fun to look around, but now that we've debuted, we have to be careful."
Kim Ha-woon whined like a kid denied candy and raised his voice, not wanting to lose.
"But still! The more famous we get, the harder it'll be to wander around!"
Then he turned to me with pleading eyes.
"Do-jun hyung! Right? I'm right, aren't I?"
"...Well, yeah, that's true."
"Right? Right? So can we just sneak out for a bit?"
Hmm, it was tempting, honestly. But since Kim Han-soo had warned us so sternly, going out on our own felt wrong.
"Hyung? Please...?"
Noticing my hesitation, Kim Ha-woon stuck to my side and started begging.
I turned to see Park Tae-hoo gazing at us with longing in his eyes. Looked like he wanted to go too.
Even Lee Jae-ha was staring at me silently.
But when our eyes met, he slowly shook his head.
No, I heard him say no too, but honestly, I was curious.
'Pretend to go to the bathroom and sneak out one by one?'
Oh? That might work.
It was a sudden idea, but it didn't sound bad.
If we went one at a time, we wouldn't draw attention, and if Kim Han-soo asked, we could say we went to the bathroom.
I was about to share my perfect plan with the members when—
Knock knock.
"Excuse me."
A familiar voice came with a familiar face opening the waiting room door.
"Huh? Sunbae-nim?"
It was Park Min-ha.
I jumped up in surprise and greeted her. The other members' eyes widened as they hastily stood.
"I heard you were performing at my school, so I stopped by. I didn't interrupt your break, did I?"
"Of course not."
If anything, we had time to kill and were worrying about it.
I couldn't say that, so I gave an awkward smile, but Park Min-ha smiled softly.
"Good. I finished my lecture and was planning to check out the festival with friends before heading home when I heard B.O.Y was here."
Ah, got it.
'Wait, does that mean we can go out too?'
Park Min-ha, way more famous than us, was wandering the campus. Surely we could too?
Best not to sneak out—wait for Kim Han-soo and use this as an excuse.
As I thought that, Park Min-ha, who had been greeting the members, asked cautiously,
"Where's the Team Leader?"
"He stepped out to grab some food."
"Oh..."
Park Min-ha looked flustered at that. Right then—
Click.
Perfect timing—the door opened, and Kim Han-soo walked in, hands full of steaming food.
"Do-jun, I got the foo—...?"
Seeing the Team Leader, Park Min-ha relaxed and greeted him.
"Hello, Team Leader."
Kim Han-soo seemed caught off guard and hesitated before smoothly composing himself with a gentlemanly smile.
"Min-ha, what brings you here?"
"I came for a lecture at school and heard B.O.Y was here, so I wanted to congratulate you on your #1 on the radio show. Am I intruding? Sorry if I am."
"No, not at all. We're grateful you thought of us."
"It's nothing. You've helped me a lot too."
Meanwhile, Kim Ha-woon grabbed a chicken skewer first from the pile on the table and grumbled.
"If we're gonna stay in the waiting room, we should've at least seen the festival!"
His lips were still pouting, but after one big bite, his expression melted away.
"So good...!"
Park Tae-hoo approached the happily munching Kim Ha-woon, rummaging through the food and scolding him.
"Don't get it all over your mouth! You'll stain your clothes, idiot."
"I'm not an idiot!"
"Wipe your chin first, then talk."
Here they go again.
Well, even though they bickered like this every day, those two had the best relationship in the group.
At first, I'd been tense watching them, worried they'd actually fight. We couldn't afford any bad blood.
But soon I realized their bickering was how they bonded, and I relaxed. They didn't seem to hold grudges.
"Kim Ha-woon, more chicken? Gross."
"Hey, mind your own business!"
"Pfft."
A clear burst of laughter cut through their banter, drawing everyone's eyes to Park Min-ha.
She covered her mouth hastily, then smiled warmly.
"You guys all get along so well."
"No, sunbae-nim! He keeps bullying me!"
Kim Ha-woon waved his chicken skewer in protest, but Park Tae-hoo just shrugged nonchalantly and grabbed a drink.
"Look at him acting all innocent!"
His indignant shout filled the waiting room with laughter again.
"You guys are too much! No one eat any! I'll eat it all!"
"Hey! You can't hog it all!"
As the two bantered across the table, Kim Han-soo chuckled awkwardly and offered Park Min-ha a drink, looking embarrassed.
"Our kids are a bit rowdy, huh?"
"No. It's fun."
There wasn't a hint of hesitation in her reply. Before those two could devour everything, I quickly pulled some food our way and said,
"Feel free to have some, sunbae-nim."
"Really? Okay?"
Of course. Why not?
"Oh, right! I've been listening to your song a lot. I even play it during breaks these days."
"Ah, thank you!"
Even for a company senior, going out of her way like this wasn't easy. I was just grateful.
"But why didn't you mention my name?"
"Huh?"
"When you were giving your #1 thoughts."
She was looking straight at me with a rare mischievous expression.
"You were on my radio show, so don't I have a stake in your #1?"
"W-Well, yeah?"
I knew she was joking, but since she'd genuinely helped a ton, I wasn't sure how to respond.
What should I say? 'I'll make sure to next time'?
As I struggled for a reply, she laughed out loud, still teasing.
"Kidding. Don't take it seriously. And it wasn't just you—everyone looked nervous on screen."
Nervous? Me?
"That was acting, actually."
"Acting?"
"Yeah. Being too confident would've looked weird."
"Nah, if that's acting, other actors could learn from it. Or not? Well, they did say you're good at acting."
Park Min-ha suddenly clapped as if remembering something.
"Oh! Speaking of, the drama's such a shame."
"The drama? Oh...!"
"The one we were supposed to do together. They ended up canceling it."
Only then did I recall the drama tucked away in a corner of my memory.
Honestly, I'd completely forgotten about it. Too much had crashed over me like waves.
"They asked me to step back first. Nothing we could do."
"Exactly! How could they? They're the worst."
She furrowed her brow in anger.
She clearly looked furious, but it was so similar to her usual TV persona that a smile tugged at my lips unbidden.
'She's exactly like her on-screen image.'
She seemed like a cartoon character jumped straight out of the TV, making me chuckle inwardly. I pressed my hand to my mouth.
Can't laugh here. Once I'd calmed down a bit, I finally spoke.
"At first, it really felt like a betrayal. And then they reached out again."
Kim Han-soo had relayed the production company's offer to team up again, asking if I wanted to.
He'd said he'd respect my wishes fully and, if I still wanted drama, he'd find the best alternatives elsewhere.
My answer was obviously 'no.'
The situation had been rough back then, but that company hadn't even bothered listening to us. It was basically a backstab.
"I was floored when I heard. You turned them down, right? Good call."