Chapter 80
Chapter 80
So, that was how Kim Sanho and I ended up at a snack bar.
Kim Sanho picked the menu. I had no appetite, so I would've eaten dirt if he'd ordered it.
For the record, we were still inside the Green Forest City apartment complex. I hadn't felt any particular need to leave, and... more than anything, I didn't know the area well.
"You have been eating, right?"
"The food... they gave me meals. Even so..."
Locking someone up in the house already seemed to have crossed the line of 'even so' by a mile.
"You didn't, like, get hit or anything..."
"Hyung, you really don't need to worry so much. Other than not being able to go outside, I was perfectly fine."
Which was my point—that 'other than not being able to go outside' made it hard to attach the word 'perfectly fine,' wasn't it.
While I held back what I wanted to say, our food came out. Tempura udon, pork cutlet, and spicy chewy noodles, one each.
Kim Sanho picked up his spoon with trembling hands.
...Hm, maybe it was because I knew his situation now. Suddenly, whatever he did, I just felt sorry for him.
I rested my chin on my hand and quietly watched Kim Sanho eat.
Then I asked.
"...Why are your hands shaking?"
"Ah, I think it's because the tension's easing up."
Kim Sanho seemed to notice it only after I pointed it out, setting down his spoon and rubbing his hands.
"It's just, I almost went abroad to study."
"..."
"I'd been thinking if I had to go, I'd go, but I didn't know you'd actually come all the way here, hyung."
"Why would someone who'd go if they were told to think about jumping out?"
"Ah, that was... I really had no intention of jumping. I was just checking something."
"Checking what."
"...How high it was?"
I found it very hard to believe, but he clearly didn't want to talk about it, so I let it slide.
I popped a pickled radish into my mouth and chewed.
I'd meant to chew it up and swallow it along with the thoughts I couldn't bring myself to voice, but only the radish disappeared. The words remained, like the cloying, sticky sweetness left in my mouth.
Didn't want to eat another one.
"You told me to wait."
Kim Sanho paused mid-bite of the tempura on his udon and stared at me.
"I did, didn't I."
"..."
"Honestly, I just said it offhand. I had no idea you would genuinely care about it, hyung..."
"So I came for nothing?"
"That's why I meant it's all the more reason to be grateful..."
It didn't sound like he was just watching my reaction and adjusting his words.
Watching Kim Sanho resume eating, I picked up my utensils too.
Packing this up and taking it all the way back to Seoul was awkward, and the portions were just barely manageable if I helped eat it all.
So I was steadily emptying my bowl.
"So, about the permission... how did it..."
"No need."
Seeing him bring up a serious topic, he must have already been full.
I dared to sigh right there at the dinner table.
"You've been doing fine without a contract up until now, haven't you."
"I have."
"You'll be an adult in a few months anyway. And you said your older brothers all cut ties with the family. If I'd known your family situation from the start, I would've just told you to rebel."
"Oh, did you speak to my brothers on the phone, hyung?"
"Yeah."
Maybe it was because he'd learned I'd been in contact with his brothers, but the sense of distance between us seemed to shrink significantly.
Kim Sanho started opening up smoothly about his family.
"All of my brothers... they haven't exactly cut ties. My oldest brother is still playing the cello, and my other older brother is a med student. Since both of them are living up to our parents' wishes, they just leave them alone."
"..."
"But an idol isn't acceptable."
"That's what it looked like."
I had just come from hearing the reason for the opposition straight from the source himself.
That man seemed to view the idol profession itself as... I was careful because it was an outdated term, but slightly as a vulgar occupation.
Not that this perspective was entirely new or shocking to me.
What was more surprising, rather, was this.
"And yet here you are, from that kind of family, dying to become an idol."
"Ah, well, it was out of rebellion."
Kim Sanho said, looking a bit embarrassed.
"I wanted to do it precisely because my dad hates it so much."
"...Being an idol?"
Kim Sanho nodded.
"I'm sorry. The reason is so... impure."
"Impure how..."
It wasn't like people only got recognized for having purely pure motivations.
After all, one of our members right now said he just got a call from the PD when he had nothing to do and decided to give it a try...
"So what will you do?"
"About what."
"My contract..."
Ah, right. We were on that topic.
"I already told you. No need."
"Huh?"
I wasn't sure if I could arbitrarily decide this.
"Because we can just debut next year."
It would be July soon, and even if we started preparing to debut immediately, it would normally take at least three months.
That meant a debut in October or November.
The news that Sorasum was debuting someone in just three months would cause distrust among fans—'aren't they just rushing a sloppy debut to chase quick cash?'—rather than 'we get to see them soon, great!', but at any rate, there were no merits to debuting in that period.
Usually, idols debuting in Q4 aim to compete for both that year's Rookie of the Year and the following year's. Some award shows carry Q4 results over into the next year.
But this year's Rookie of the Year... was already decided.
'It'll be Mary's next group.'
Because of that, a Q4 debut was no advantage; it only meant starting out losing a year of seniority. Under the current circumstances, a Q1 debut next year was best.
Small and mid-sized companies already had shorter lifespans than big ones; we had to avoid debuting and immediately becoming a year older in the industry.
And one more thing.
Generations usually changed based on whichever group scored a new hit.
So we absolutely had to debut after Mary. They would become the dividing line marking the generations.
'It'd be unfair to be labeled as the previous generation right as we debut.'
About six months until debut...
The attention we had tightly gathered through <MAKE100%> would shrivel to half of half in just three months.
Whether the early termination situation would cool public interest even faster or have the opposite effect remained to be seen.
But we'd do our best to keep it from cooling.
"Ah, when's your birthday?"
"January 1st."
"...Really?"
My birthday was December 25th.
'Seven days apart...'
Was me calling myself 'hyung' in this relationship even correct?
No. It happened to work out since we had no one the same age on the team. Should I suggest, a bit forcefully, that we start counting by international age starting today?
"Why did you ask about my birthday, hyung?"
"Huh? Ah."
This wasn't the time.
I returned to the main topic.
"I'd need to look it up to be sure, but even as an adult who's past their birthday, you can't completely avoid parental interference, can you?"
"Looking at my brothers... No."
Parental interference was a bit of a foreign concept to me.
Which made it harder. Because I had no idea what kind of trials might come tumbling Kim Harok's way later on.
But, well.
"Seems like you won't need to worry about it either."
"Really?"
I gave a nod.
"He's a person who's constantly anxious about making a bad impression on the neighbors."
"He does seem... like that."
"Once we debut, all our fans will be on your side. If he has any sense, he wouldn't dare do anything rash."
"On my side..."
Kim Sanho muttered, clutching the clear water glass.
"Will they really appear?"
"That depends on you doing a good job."
I picked up a sausage that had come as a side with the pork cutlet and ate it.
"So, work hard."
Kim Sanho's face was reflected on the surface of the water.
He looked half doubtful, half trusting.
And a moment later, when he lifted his face, only worry remained.
"But then I'd be staying contract-less from now on. Would the president really allow..."
"You'll have to go beg for that yourself."
"Right..."
Contracts within the same team were originally all signed with different terms and dates anyway, so it wasn't something I should get further involved in.
In any case, the immediate issue was resolved, so it seemed fine to use regular public transit for the way back.
If a sighting account got posted... we'd just say we went on a trip.
It was just as I picked up my phone, thinking I should start looking up travel routes.
[Objective progress updated.]
[Objective: Recruit colleagues to achieve debut. (5/N)]
"...!"
I shot up to my feet.
"Hyung...?"
No, wait.
...Did this mean Kim Sanho?
Was this the System's mercy, specially acknowledging him as a colleague even without a contract?
'It must be, right?'
The trainee recruitment notice posted on the company Inheart said 'always open,' but that president didn't seem like the type to have signed a contract without discussing it with me.
Still, it felt a bit uneasy.
I waved my hands at Kim Sanho, signaling it was nothing, and sat back down in my spot.
"Are you going to call someone?"
"Yeah, to give them the news about you..."
And also because I needed to check if something had happened. Or hadn't.
I scrolled down my contacts and called Kim Yuri.
"..."
"..."
No answer.
Let's try Han Neuti.
"..."
"..."
He didn't pick up either.
'What on earth are they doing.'
Had a zombie outbreak hit Seoul while we were here?
I tapped my fingers on the table and called Jeong Sowol.
Thankfully, this one went through.
[Hyung!]
"Why are you panting?"
[We're at the park. What about Sanho hyung?]
"He's next to me. Why did you go to the park?"
[Yuri hyung said he wanted to ride a bike. What has Sanho hyung been doing?]
Hm.
I hesitated for a moment, then handed the phone to Kim Sanho.
Holding the phone with both hands, Kim Sanho glanced at me with a faint look of betrayal in his eyes.
'He was worried too.'
Kim Sanho read my lips, rolled his eyes, and then hesitantly opened his mouth.
"Hey, Sowol...ah, I'll be back up soon..."
[Oh, awesome.]
"..."
Come to think of it, looking at that dynamic, maybe Jeong Sowol was the problematic one...
Anyway, I took the phone back as it was sheepishly handed over and glanced outside through the window.
Late afternoon, the sun starting to set.
It was exactly the time of day that hyung liked to go out.
"So you all went to ride bikes together?"
[No. Neuti hyung is on a skateboard.]
"And you?"
[I'm just running.]
...So while the two hyungs rode a skateboard and a bike, the youngest just ran on his own two feet.
What kind of scene was that.
A scene from a dog training program flashed through my mind.
"Alright... got it. We'll head back soon."
[Okay.]
I hung up.
Right before I did, I'd heard a clamoring voice asking to be switched over, but, well, we'd see each other soon anyway, so there was no need to call again.
"..."
Ah, right.
I forgot to ask.
* * *
"Yeohyun-ah, what color do you want to do your hair for this comeback?"
"Oh, uh... fans have been saying they want to see red hair."
"Yeah? I'll keep that in mind for the concept meeting."
"Okay!"
Jin Yeohyun, the leader of Giddeun, had been in peak spirits lately.
That was because he had a gut feeling the day to show fans a new side of them wasn't far off.
In the meantime, their comebacks had been continuously delayed and canceled, and whenever fans were disheartened, he had wanted to at least show his face through a live broadcast. But even that hadn't been allowed by the Youth staff.
All he could do was post a few selfies and some brief messages of greeting.
"Wait, I haven't uploaded this picture yet."
While he was at it, Jin Yeohyun left a post on the official Wit.
(Photo)(Photo)(Photo)
Cotton~ You're having a great Haru, right?
I'm off to practice now
Today's lunch recommendation is jokbal!!
#Giddeun #Yeohyun
'Don't we have a communication app?'
They were already in their third year (exactly, their second anniversary was approaching), but since there weren't any notable achievements, they were still treated like rookies who'd just debuted.
But lately the atmosphere had been slowly easing up, so he felt like he could finally try making a suggestion.
Jin Yeohyun organized the points he'd make in the upcoming meeting and headed to the practice room.
And just then, his phone vibrated.
'Who is it.'
Jin Yeohyun casually checked the message.
[Baek Gyeonwoo: 3rd floor terrace]
[Baek Gyeonwoo: Come out]