Chapter 104

"......Yuri, you hate him so much that up until now I just assumed something had happened and let it slide."

Surprisingly, it was Han Neuti who first broke the tension over Kim Yuri's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠endless parade of displeasure.

Looking slightly sheepish, Han Neuti cracked his knuckles for no reason and asked flatly.

"But I think it's time to ask. What on earth happened to make you go through all those colors?"

That 'you hate him so much' encapsulated all the excessive fuss Kim Yuri had made that we'd had to endure so far.

Because every time Yoon Haejun's debut song—which, unusually for a male idol, had captured the public's ears—played, Kim Yuri would let out a "Kyaaak!" and cover his ears.

And of all things, it was an easy-listening track people loved to play anywhere, so it really did play everywhere, all the time.......

At Han Neuti's blunt question, Kim Yuri, who had been lying on his side, tossed and turned and rolled over toward us.

Letting out a long sigh, Kim Yuri opened his mouth reluctantly—no, more like he had been waiting for it.

"Something did happen."

"Yeah."

"I'd have hated him even if nothing happened. His personality, seriously... ugh, he's way more obnoxious than our Gyeon-woo—no comparison."

"What about me?"

Baek Gyeonwoo, still with his eyes fixed on his game console, interjected while working the controller.

Completely unfazed, Kim Yuri continued.

"No, Gyeon-woo may talk like that, but he's warm on the inside. He's secretly affectionate. I know."

"He wasn't warm."

"So-wol wasn't sleeping."

Jeong Sowol, who had thrown off the blanket and popped out, also sat up and joined the fray.

Han Neuti, who had been nodding deeply in agreement with Jeong Sowol's retort, hurriedly urged Kim Yuri to continue when his eyes met Baek Gyeonwoo's.

"S-so, what is his personality specifically like?"

"Anything beyond this would be too pointed a backbiting, so I'll stop."

"......Hey, so what you said up until now wasn't backbiting?"

"I do this much right to his face."

At this point, maybe growing interested, Baek Gyeonwoo turned off his game console and joined the conversation.

"But Seo Cha-gyeom doesn't seem to hate him."

......The person in question was right next to you, so why were you looking at that hyung when you said that.

"Chaegyeom......"

Kim Yuri murmured, lowering his eyes wistfully like the lead in some tragic drama.

"Because... he was closer to that jerk than to me......"

No, I mean, the subject of this conversation was right in front of him.

It had gotten too awkward to keep pretending I hadn't heard. In the end, I pulled my earphones out and joined their conversation.

"Now I'm closer to you, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hyung. You're my teammate now and he's on another team."

"......So you're saying back then you were closer to him than to me."

Damn it, it was a trap.

I lost my words for a moment, then retorted as calmly as possible.

"It can't be the same, a person I've known for years versus someone I've known for a few months."

"......."

"And yet now I'm closer to you."

"So... in terms of the intimacy growth rate over the same period, you're saying Yuri hyung has the upper hand."

Kim Sanho, who had been quietly listening beside me, neatly supplemented my statement.

"Hmm......."

Maybe the excuse was convincing enough, because Kim Yuri's expression softened considerably.

Then this time, Han Neuti began to doubt my sincerity.

"Hey, but you're weird too. Usually if two friends ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠don't get along, you drop one of them, don't you?"

"......."

"......Wow, you're looking at me like I'm an elementary school kid. Fine."

I hadn't looked at him like that.

It was just a look of wondering whether I should distance myself from Yoon Haejun in the future, if that was really ordinary friendship loyalty.

'Anyway, we were on different teams now, so it wouldn't be hard.'

And no matter how many years you'd been colleagues, building friendships within the entertainment industry was something to be cautious about.

"Well, anyway! I'll handle all the interviews later, so if Yoon Haejun tries to talk to you, don't answer."

"Why don't you just perform a ritual to make the team flop?"

It was then, as Kim Yuri issued that obstinate declaration, that Baek Gyeonwoo tossed out a remark in exasperation.

[Bang!]

"Chaegyeom!"

With a loud noise, the waiting room door swung open and the subject of the gossip walked in confidently.

The first to react to that familiar face was Kim Yuri.

"Oh my, the senior has arrived."

At Kim Yuri's nonchalant voice, Yoon Haejun whipped his head around.

And he said in a delighted voice.

"Ah, Yuri hyung! But you're going to call me senior?"

"Yes, I am."

"Then do that! That's nice. It reminds me of our trainee days."

Kim Yuri clicked his tongue with a 'Tch' and turned his head away pointedly.

'......It did bring back memories of our trainee days.'

Because at Mary the hierarchy was determined by trainee tenure, Kim Yuri, who had started his trainee life much later than Yoon Haejun, had always used formal speech diligently.

Then why hadn't he used it with me?

To be precise, it was more correct to say that Kim Yuri had used formal speech only with Yoon Haejun. Because he'd quickly become casual with the other trainees.

In short, he had just put up a wall with Yoon Haejun.

After closing the waiting room door, Yoon Haejun strode over toward me.

Amid this, Han Neuti rose awkwardly and glanced at me. I had no choice but to seek his permission first before greeting Yoon Haejun.

"It's okay if I don't say hi, right?"

"Were you about to? You don't have to. Yes, please sit comfortably."

From the start, no one except Han Neuti had even looked like they were going to get up.

......It was a good thing it was Yoon Haejun. I really needed to set aside some time to educate them, this was seriously not okay.

After briefly shooting a glare at Kim Yuri, who was staging an emotional protest even while holding the leader title, I quickly returned to the main point.

"Why are you here?"

"How many chances do I get to see you? I had to catch you while I can. Do you have your phone?"

"Why?"

"Your number!"

"Number?"

Back when we'd just reunited, I seemed to recall him saying he didn't have a phone.

'Had he gotten it back after winning first place?'

I'd heard there were still companies that confiscated phones during rookie years. I hadn't known Mary was one of them.

Usually the condition was a first-place win on a public broadcast, so Yoon Haejun had probably gone through that too. For a Mary group, claiming first place on a public broadcast was an absurdly obvious course of events.

Although that it happened right after debut... well, I guess that wasn't that surprising either.

Still, Kim Yuri was leaning his head against the wall, expressing rejection toward Yoon Haejun with his entire body.

I glanced at Kim Yuri and said.

"I'll give you my manager's number. Contact him if you ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠need anything."

"Huh? Why? Can't you give me your number directly? ......Ah, is your company managing personal contacts?"

No... our company didn't have that kind of manpower.

Instead of saying that, I simply nodded in answer.

I took Yoon Haejun's phone, entered our manager's contact info, and handed it back.

Without any suspicion, Yoon Haejun slipped the phone into his pocket.

Then, looking around our waiting room with eyes full of curiosity, his gaze stopped at Kim Sanho, who was sitting next to me.

"Oh, we've met before, haven't we?"

"......? Yes."

"You debuted. Congratulations."

"Thank you."

Kim Sanho answered with a bow of his head.

It was a perfectly ordinary conversation with nothing odd about it, but at this peculiar point, Kim Yuri's patience finally ran out and he couldn't help but interject.

"Senior, aren't you busy?"

"Why? So you can badmouth me once I leave?"

"I was already doing that."

"Aish......"

Yoon Haejun smiled benevolently and shook his head.

"No matter what, you shouldn't do that, hyung. Who knows where ears are listening around here? And you're the leader—isn't that too irresponsible?"

"......."

Somehow, I felt like we were all being scolded together.

'Wait... it was true we'd gotten slack.'

Probably because we'd been so focused on debut preparations, the basic idol skills of 'image management' and 'watching our words' had been pushed down the priority list.

As soon as we got back to the dorm today, we really needed to have a group attitude adjustment. Myself included, of course.......

Unable to refute a valid point, Kim Yuri shut his mouth tightly.

Looking at that face, Yoon Haejun seemed to recall something, and returned to a casual tone to ask.

"By the way, I didn't see your name in the credits for this album. You didn't participate?"

"......."

Kim Yuri's expression subtly hardened.

I cleared my throat to cut through the moment, and asked with the intention of changing the subject.

"You checked the credits too?"

"Huh? Yeah, of course. So where's Comet-zem? Is it under your company?"

"Well...... something like that."

'Comet-zem', whose name was on every track of the album [HAZERD MAP], was a producing unit newly formed by combining that composing team we'd scouted with Kim Yuri.

So, in other words, Kim Yuri was already credited on every track.

The reason we hadn't listed Kim Yuri's name separately was just that we were saving it for surprise content to be revealed later.

It wasn't exactly a classified secret, but Kim Yuri simply looked unwilling to satisfy Yoon Haejun's curiosity.

Or maybe it was just uncomfortable to be asked about his work by someone from Mary.

Whatever the reason, if the conversation dragged on here, it would only dampen his mood, so I should take the lead.

"So, did you have other business?"

That was my way of saying if not, please leave.

And I'd naturally thought he'd say no, but Yoon Haejun defied my expectations and nodded.

"......You do?"

"Yeah, I came to suggest a challenge dance."

'Ah.'

The challenge dance.

That thing considered an essential course for idol comeback promotions these days.

It was short-form content where members from different groups swapped and danced each other's new choreography or danced together.

They usually filmed it on the spot in places like music show waiting room corridors and uploaded it to their respective social media.

'Come to think of it.'

It had been almost a week since debut, and we still hadn't done a challenge dance with a single group.

Part of it was because as a new company we lacked connections, and part was because we hadn't had the leeway to take the initiative and propose it.

'We'd have to teach them the choreography too.'

I thought I'd heard that some groups contacted each other the day before to learn it in advance... I wasn't sure. It was my first debut too.

'Well, it was an unnecessary worry.'

Yoon Haejun was the main dancer position, after all.

"Okay. So...... hmm, should we do it now?"

"Ah, not here."

Yoon Haejun made a troubled face.

I thought they usually filmed at music shows, so why.

"I'm the MC. If I film just with you, it might cause unnecessary talk."

"Ah."

So he didn't want to film with any other team.

That wasn't my business. The important thing was where we'd film, then.

Before I could ask, Yoon Haejun suggested first.

"Want to come to my company? I'll let them know."

I saw Kim Yuri raise an eyebrow at that.

'......Hmm.'

I accepted readily.

"Sure, I think I'll have a little time before the fan signing tomorrow. Is that okay?"

"Yeah, of course! I'll tell the company I'm filming with you——"

"No, not with me."

I jerked my chin toward Han Neuti behind me, who had somehow retreated endlessly into the corner again.

Yoon Haejun's gaze naturally turned to him.

"Ah, main dancer to main dancer?"

Yoon Haejun laughed as if amused.

"That'll be fun! I'm good with that."

Han Neuti looked at me with a conflicted expression, as if debating whether he should be polite to a senior or fuel his competitive spirit.

The answer... came not from me, but from Kim Yuri.

"Wow, that won't be easy! Are you saying that knowing our hyung is the legendary Rei? Then the loser of this match will from now on——"

Han Neuti approached and clamped his hand over Kim Yuri's mouth.

And bowed his head.

"Yes, sir. I look forward to tomorrow."

"Yes, I'll discuss with my company and contact you through your manager's number. See you later, Chaegyeom!"

Yoon Haejun said that, waved lightly, and left the waiting room without lingering.

[Thud!]

The door closed.

A moment later, Baek Gyeonwoo, who had picked up his game console again, threw out a remark in the silence.

"He seemed closer to you than to Seo Cha-gyeom."

"Ugh, what a terrible thing to say......"