Chapter 69
Translator 8uhl
Chapter 69
Chapter Title Caught on Camera
Baek Sihwa fluttered his eyes and shoved his face right in front of Yoo Minha.
Then we just need to create that unavoidable situation, Minha. Right?
Wwhat the hell does that mean?
Caught off guard by the sudden turn, Yoo Minha tried to gently push Baek Sihwa back, but he didnt budge an inch.
Instead, he smirked and leaned in even closer.
Like, I got an unexpected injury and cant handle the center choreography anymore. Thatd work, wouldnt it? Ah, I shouldve done it properly back then. If it werent for that bastard, Id have broken one of your fingers ages ago.
The color drained from Yoo Minhas face.
The moment the distance between the two trainees all but vanished.
I flung the door open and strode straight toward Baek Sihwa.
Wwhat the!
Didnt I warn you back then?
Spotting me, Baek Sihwa hastily stumbled backward.
But using the crown princes long legs, I easily cut him off.
If you ever come at my friend again, next time Ill snap your neck.
I flashed a cold smile as I clamped down on Baek Sihwas wrist.
Gradually increasing the pressure, Baek Sihwa grimaced and gritted his teeth.
Truly bold, or just so foolish you cant think rationally at allI cant tell which.
Ffuck, what do you know!
I wouldnt know what delusions are swirling in that pathetic head of yours, of course. But I do know other things. Like the temporary cameras installed in the practice room hallway, for instance.
What?
His flustered expression confirmed ithed acted purely on impulse, without a second thought.
I twisted his arm downward with a sigh.
Coming to a camerafree practice room for this stunt was a smart choice. But what about the hallway cameras? Its all on tape that the only trainees who entered this room were you and Yoo Minha. If Minha comes out holding his arm or limping, what do you think the production team will assume when they review the footage?
.
Obviously, theyll figure youthe guy who went in with himdid something. Even if Minha keeps his mouth shut about it.
Hearing my logical breakdown, Baek Sihwas face slowly twisted.
The vicious glint in his eyes gave way to creeping anxiety.
What an idiot. So fixated on the moment that you had no clue what hole you were digging yourself into.
Shut up. What do you know?
Why are you mad at me?
I said it in complete sincerity, genuinely puzzled.
Im the one who told you about the hallway cameras. I just saved your ass from instant downfallat least temporarilyso I cant for the life of me understand why youre pissed.
That tone of yours. That damn tone.
Baek Sihwa shuddered.
His fist clenched in my grip, but his scrawny arm couldnt do a thing.
That knowitall tone, like youve got the whole world figured out. Acting like youre the smartest bastard alive, always giving your two centsits been pissing me off nonstop.
Haha, high praise. Thanks ever so much.
I brushed it off casually, and Baek Sihwa gnashed his teeth in fury.
Then he growled low at Yoo Minha.
Consider yourself lucky.
Even totally cornered, he still spat that outmust really hate Minhas guts.
Baek Sihwa swung his arm down to shake off my hand.
Let go! Im leaving.
I released his wrist, and now he was glaring daggers at me.
I chuckled and shrugged.
Keep your expressions in check until the competitions over.
Whatever.
Baek Sihwa shot one last venomous glare at me and Yoo Minha before storming out of the practice room.
The instant his back vanished from view, Yoo Minha collapsed onto the floor.
Haaaah.
You okay, Minha?
Yeah. Just the tension easing up.
His face was still pale as a ghost, but he managed a faint smile at me.
Thanks, Karis hyung. Howd you know to show up right then?
I was heading back to the cell after late practice and saw you two duck in here. Felt off, so I checked it out. Good thing, too. That couldve turned really ugly.
Sorry for worrying you.
After apologizing, Yoo Minha fell silent for a bit.
He just stared blankly at the practice room door Baek Sihwa had exited through.
I glanced at the clock on the wall and murmured softly.
Wanna step out and talk for a bit before heading back, Minha?
Huh? Oh, yeah. Sure.
Fresh airll clear your head a little.
I helped him up slowly and led him out of the practice room.
Right then.
Hm?
Yoo Minha, head down, probably hadnt noticed, but I caught the sound of footsteps quickly retreating around the corner of the hallway.
Someone was listening?
Id already clocked that I was the only one still practicing this late.
The dorms for trainees were in a whole different building, so no way they couldve heard and come running.
Who the hell was that?
As I pondered it.
Karis hyung.
Hm?
Did I do something so hateable?
Yoo Minha muttered in a gloomy tone.
Might be someone still listening, so lets get outside first.
I grabbed his shoulder and hustled him toward the stairs.
The April night air wasnt too cold or too warm.
We sat side by side on the bench out front of the practice building.
After taking a moment to breathe in the clear sky.
You know I was at the same agency as Sihwa, right?
Yoo Minha slowly opened up.
I nodded.
I only know you were both trainees at UbiQ.
Guess he never told you what went down there.
Baek Sihwa and I arent exactly buddybuddy enough for chitchat like that.
Yoo Minha let out a short laugh at my words.
Then he spoke candidly.
UbiQ was my second agency. Got scouted at 16 from my dance academy, trained there for about a year. Thats when I really caught the idol bug and wanted somewhere better. You know how I am, hyungonce I get into something, I go all in.
You sure do.
When I joined the new place, they already had a debut group prepping for months. Even with my prior experience, I was the rookie there, so I didnt even dream of squeezing into that lineup.
The mention of the debut group immediately brought Baek Sihwas earlier words to mind.
Hed definitely said something about stealing my spot.
So I just focused on practice. Loved dance and rap so much, I breezed through even the brutal schedules the trainers threw at us. No backing downI was debuting, period. About three months in. Thats when it blew up.
Yoo Minha clasped his hands tight and hunched over.
Something bad happen?
No, actuallyfor me, it was an honor. A total blessing. The rookie development team lead at UbiQ checks on all the trainees daily. Most leads ignore anyone outside the debut group, but this one watched everyone. He liked what he saw in my practice, kept encouraging me, saying great stuff.
Hm.
I sorted my thoughts and tossed out a guess.
Did that team lead recommend you for the debut group?
Yeah.
Yoo Minha took a deep breath.
He kept saying the debut groups rap position was shaky. So he pushed hard with the CEO that Id leveled up enough in dance and rap to join them.
And his opinion won out, so you replaced Baek Sihwa in the debut group. That the story?
Short version, yeah.
Up to here, nothing seemed off.
Agencies have to push groups that sell.
Tweaking the lineup based on internal evals to find the perfect combothats the execs job.
Yoo Minha just stood out and got picked.
No issue there.
Except.
Mustve felt unfair to Baek Sihwa.
Rolling stone knocking out the one already in place, basically.
What happened to the debut group?
Trainees love to play around, you know? Two in the debut group had messy personal lives that got caught, so they got booted. Sihwa left UbiQ right after getting bumped, so they couldnt just fill the spot quick.
Debut went poof right before launch, in other words.
In the end, Yoo Minha never debuted at UbiQ.
Thats how he ended up in Idol Training Simulation.
When the guy whod blocked his path before showed up again to block it once more, Baek Sihwa snapped from sheer inferiority complex.
Thats how it added up.
But nothing justifies what Baek Sihwa did.
.
Tell this story to a hundred people, not onell blame you. You just gave your all in the situation you were given. If he wants to gripe about UbiQ, yell at the team lead, not you. And not getting center in Idol Training Simulation? Thats on his own lack of skill.
Humans are such ridiculous creatures.
They dont bother grasping the real causejust fixate on whats right in front of them.
And anything that screws them over? Always someone elses fault.
Baek Sihwa ending up like this wasnt on Yoo Minha.
He just needed someone to blame for his own shortcomings.
And now that Ive leaned on him again, he wont pull any more crazy stunts.
Thanks.
Ill keep a sharp eye on Baek Sihwa until the competitions done, so dont sweat it.
I feel awful dragging you into my personal mess, Karis hyung.
I shook my head at Yoo Minhas words.
No need to think that way. Hes been grating on me from the start anyway.
Still, its my issue.
As long as you stay safe, its fine. My gut says Baek Sihwall selfdestruct soon enough.
Same dawn.
Whoa, fuck. Is that guy for real insane?
One staffer from the Idol Training Simulation shoot team swiftly retrieved the camera memory card.
She reviewed the footage, gathering the data.
And damn, it looked like one hell of an episode was in the works.
Gotta ping someone about this right now.
She pulled out her phone and called the writer, who was probably deep in editing by now.
After a few rings.
Yeah?
Sis, shits gone down here.
Gone down?
Ill send the files overcheck em out quick.