Chapter 209
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 209
The man chuckled as he flopped onto the sofa across from him.
“Ugh, you really kept me waiting. I’ve been hanging around here for a week. I thought I was going to die of boredom because you never showed up.”
“…What did you say?”
“The hotel staff kept glaring at me. I barely managed to talk them out of kicking me out.”
An incredulous sigh escaped Seong Ji-won’s lips. He had wondered why the receptionist had been stealing glances at them ever since this man sat down.
One strange thing, however, was that the receptionist’s gaze didn't seem suspicious; it looked more like it was brimming with sympathy.
“Ah, for your information, our concept is that we’re half-brothers who were separated at birth. It’s the perfect way to avoid annoying questions and get some pity.”
“…….”
The madman who had suddenly intruded spoke as if it were nothing. Ji-won couldn't help but let out a hollow laugh.
It was hard to tell because of the cap, but the man looked older than Ji-won.
‘Still, he looks a bit young to be an industry official.’
Whether he was a scammer or someone from D.go, Ji-won didn't know—and he didn't want to know.
Everything was just a nuisance now. To put it bluntly, no matter who the man was, Ji-won didn't see how it concerned him.
“My name isn't Cheol-su.”
“Really? Then is it Yeong-hui?”
The man crossed his legs and stared intensely at him from under the brim of his cap. With a practiced motion, he reached into his inner pocket, rummaged around, and then stopped with a click of his tongue.
“Tsk, I don’t really want to make this long, either. Hand over the card key you’re holding.”
“…….”
“Wait, does saying it like that sound like a threat? Hmm, I kind of need it. Mind cooperating with your big brother?”
Why the card key? How did he even know what it was?
Seong Ji-won gripped the card key in his hand tightly.
“What are you going to do with it?”
“Whoa, dropping the honorifics already?”
“…What do you plan to do with it?”
When Ji-won switched back to formal speech, the man’s lips curled slightly. He leaned back into the sofa, resting his chin on his hand.
“Hmm, you curious?”
He was clearly smiling, but his eyes were cold and his tone was mocking.
It was as if he found Ji-won pathetic.
“Why would a guy with perfectly good limbs choose to walk such a filthy path? People like you are the type I understand the least in this world. Why bother~?”
His voice was light, but the weight of his words was not. He seemed to know exactly why Ji-won was here.
Each word felt like a spear piercing through Seong Ji-won.
‘He’s really doing the most.’
“Hand over the card key, go home, wash your feet, and get some sleep.”
Seong Ji-won just wanted this man to get lost.
He had to go upstairs and take those evidence photos before it was too late.
And he wondered what on earth made this man think he would just hand it over so easily.
Yet, the man shamelessly held out his hand.
“Why should I trust someone who just shows up out of nowhere and starts picking a fight?”
“……Wow.”
The man let out a short laugh and brushed the end of his eyebrow with a long finger.
“Kid, you’ve got quite a mouth on you, don’t you?”
“I must take after the ‘half-brother’ I’m meeting for the first time today.”
Despite the biting sarcasm, the man only laughed harder.
In fact, he seemed rather amused.
“You’re pretty prickly. You won’t let a single word slide, will you?”
“Get to the point.”
“Fine. I have some business with the person you’re supposed to meet today. Some total asshole caused a mess, and I’m in the middle of cleaning up after him.”
Listening to the man’s colorful vocabulary, Seong Ji-won kept his eyes fixed on his own hand, merely tilting the card key back and forth.
The man lowered his upper body, trying to meet his eyes. Even so, the brim of the cap blocked Ji-won’s view, leaving him seeing nothing but the man’s chest.
“I know why you’re here. You want to debut, right?”
“…….”
“Do you really think you can debut if you go in there like this? No, let’s say you do debut. What then? This incident will hang over you for the rest of your life. Are you okay with that? Can you look your fans in the eye with a clear conscience?”
The mocking tone from moments ago had shifted into something coaxing.
Seong Ji-won didn't feel much like arguing.
‘I already know.’
His goal in going upstairs wasn't to debut.
It was simply that he didn't have many options left, and he had chosen the one way he could leave a scratch on D.go—by gathering as much evidence as possible to expose them.
Just then, a default ringtone erupted from the man’s pocket. He pulled out his phone, checked the caller ID, and hung up without hesitation.
“Dammit.”
But every time the man tried to speak again, the phone rang repeatedly. Finally, the man let out a curse and turned the phone off.
“Right, so, the card key—”
Seong Ji-won, who had been watching this in silence, took off his own hat out of frustration.
As he swept back his messy hair, his eyes met the man’s just as he was stuffing his phone back into his pocket.
“…….”
“……Oh.”
The man stopped mid-sentence and took a sharp breath.
As the silence stretched on, just as Seong Ji-won was about to tilt his head in confusion—
“What are you lacking that you’re doing this?”
“……Pardon?”
The man spoke again.
“…Hey, how old are you? You look young.”
“All of a sudden?”
“Hurry up.”
“…Twenty-one.”
“Twenty-one? Ah, I guess if you were to debut….”
The man’s eyes scanned Seong Ji-won from head to toe.
“You’re the same age as him….”
What was he talking about?
Seong Ji-won studied the man with narrowed eyes.
The man rubbed his chin with one hand, seemingly lost in thought for a moment, before asking in a much softer tone.
“Let me ask you one thing. Did you come here against your will?”
“Why do you ask?”
“Answer me.”
“…If I say yes, will you even believe me? It’s not like anything will change.”
The man burst into a sudden laugh.
“Why wouldn't it?”
“What?”
Then, he looked Seong Ji-won straight in the eye.
“The card key. If you give me the card key, I’ll flip the script for you.”
“What does that even….”
“Seeing how tight you’re gripping it, you must be trying to do something on your own. It’s useless, so don’t waste your energy. Leave it to me.”
“…….”
“I’m good at wrecking things. Good enough that people on my team say I should have a PhD in being a thug.”
It was an absurd claim, but the man was dead serious and overflowing with confidence.
Perhaps that was why it felt like he could actually pull it off.
“So, give that to me and forget about it. I’ll take care of everything from here.”
“…….”
“Got it?”
Ji-won looked down, seeing only his own uncertain feet.
This was a man he had met for the first time in his life. He didn't know his name, his job, or even his age.
There wasn't a single reason to trust him, yet he found himself wanting to. It felt like being enchanted by a devil’s whisper.
“You don’t have to worry about a thing.”
As if sensing his hesitation, the man’s hand tapped Seong Ji-won’s hand—the one holding the card—a few times before slowly sliding the card out.
“Good job.”
Whispering in a low voice, he gave Seong Ji-won a light pat on the back, stood up, and vanished.
Seong Ji-won sat there dazed for a long time after the man had left.
‘…Why did I let him take it?’
He couldn't understand it himself.
Everything had flowed so naturally.
As if it had been planned from the very beginning.
Letting out a sigh and rubbing his face, Seong Ji-won suddenly realized something. If that man used the card key in any way, the blame could fall entirely on him. After all, Seong Ji-won was the one who was supposed to have the card.
He couldn't just go back like this.
‘Get it together.’
He didn't want to ruin everything with some random mishap before he could even expose D.go.
He felt he needed to find the man and get the card back, or at least find out what he had done.
About thirty minutes passed as he paced the lounge.
Just as he was debating whether to go upstairs, it occurred to him that there might be another exit.
He approached the receptionist who had been glancing at him and the man earlier, used the same "half-brother" excuse, and asked if there were any other doors.
Sure enough, there was a back door leading to the parking lot via the emergency stairs.
As he stepped outside, raindrops began to fall one by one from the pitch-black night sky.
His pace quickened as he worried he might have already missed him, but then the thick scent of cigarette smoke reached his nose.
“I told you not to make me do this kind of shit.”
It was the voice from earlier.
“I’m at the point where I don’t even know what my job is anymore. Did I get hired to be someone’s cleanup crew? —Ah, what do you mean, ‘what did I do?’ The bastard has nothing but money, so he’s going on about ‘how much do you want.’ He thinks he’s actually someone important. We all look the same when we’re dead.”
In a secluded smoking area outside the hotel, the man’s "refined" vocabulary was on full display again.
Seong Ji-won realized for the first time that there were so many different ways to swear; the man must have been holding back earlier.
“—Anyway, I’ve settled things here, so don’t worry about it. Just make sure you get me that spot you promised. And give the kids some vacation time.”
The man then pulled the phone away from his ear and dug at his ear with a finger. Even from a distance, Ji-won could tell the person on the other end was screaming.
“Yep, hanging up now~.”
The man cut off the person on the other end mid-sentence and ended the call.
He shoved the phone into his back pocket and took a deep drag of the cigarette in his mouth.
“If he’s so unhappy, he should do it himself. So annoying….”
As the man exhaled a cloud of white smoke and flicked his ash, his eyes locked onto Seong Ji-won, who was standing awkwardly by the back door.
“Cheol-su?”
“…….”
Ji-won had so many things he wanted to say and confirm, but—
“…I’d rather be Yeong-hui.”
Those were the first words that tumbled out of his mouth.
The man chuckled at the response and asked nonchalantly, “Did you come because you were curious about how I wrecked the place?”
“…How did you do it?”
“Beyond your wildest imagination.”
In other words, he wasn't going to tell him.
“Don’t worry. I handled it so that no harm comes to you.”
The man spoke with a slight slur, the cigarette still clamped between his teeth.
“Maybe it’s because I’m getting older, but even though I know I’m meddling, I can’t keep my mouth shut. Don’t do things like this. You’ll only regret it.”
As if to show Seong Ji-won, the man pulled out the card key and crushed it with his bare hands. He tossed it into an ashtray overflowing with butts and even ground his lit cigarette into it.
“Once filth gets on you, it follows you until the day you die.”
It was a warning of sorts, telling him not to even think about going back in.
Then, rummaging through his pockets, he added one more thing.
“…And there are people like me who will just jump to conclusions.”
He seemed to be referring to the mockery he had heaped on Ji-won earlier.
Seeing the man look slightly embarrassed made Seong Ji-won feel strangely amused.
“Is that an apology?”
“Do you really have to say it out loud? You don’t look it, but you’ve got a real backbone.”
Ji-won laughed a little at that.
The man pulled out another cigarette but didn't light it, just keeping it in his mouth. He squinted at Ji-won’s laughter.
“…What do I do now?”
“Figure that out yourself, kid. It’s not like I’m going to live your life for you.”
The man spat out the unlit cigarette he had been chewing on.
“Your agency is D.go, right? If it’s there… are you an idol trainee?”
“Yes.”
“How many years have you been training?”
“Seven years.”
“Seven years… Seven years?! Not seven months?”
The man’s eyes widened in pure bewilderment as he looked at Seong Ji-won.
“Hey, with a face like that, why are you still—?”
“…….”
“Is your agency blind? Are you a terrible singer? Or can you not dance?”
I was originally the center before I was pushed out, and I even ranked first in this month’s evaluation.
I guess there are things that can’t be solved with just looks, skill, or effort.
Swallowing the words that rose to his throat, Seong Ji-won simply shrugged.
In truth, Ji-won knew all too well that his luck was abysmal.
“What’s your name?”
“…Ji-won. Seong Ji-won.”
Seong Ji-won. The man repeated the name to himself a few times, looking conflicted.
“A long-term trainee with good visuals. Stay in this game a little longer.”
“…What does it matter to you?”
“Playing hard to get, I see. I can tell by your eyes that you’re still full of lingering attachment.”
The man let out a faint smile as he untied the shirt he had wrapped around his waist.
Come to think of it, he had been wearing that shirt earlier.
“I’m saying this because I think a good opportunity will come your way soon.”
The man said something cryptic as he threw the shirt back over his shoulders.
Seong Ji-won was about to ask if he was a broadcasting station official when he suddenly froze.
As the man moved, a faint, uniquely shaped scar—slithering like a snake—caught his eye under the man’s left black short-sleeve shirt.
The man clearly knew where Seong Ji-won was looking, but he silently opened his umbrella.
“Do you have an umbrella?”
“I do.”
Even though he told her he was fine, his grandmother always packed a folding umbrella in his bag.
“As meticulous as you look. I just bought this one.”
The man gave a casual wave and walked away under his umbrella. Thinking this couldn't be the end, Ji-won shouted at his receding back.
“What you said earlier—what did you mean? How are we going to see each other again?!”
“Good grief, kid. Are you obsessed with your big brother already?”
“…….”
Just as Ji-won was about to regret asking, the man turned around with a chuckle.
“Don’t worry. You’ll know the moment you see me.”
One corner of his mouth curled up.
“See you around.”
He left the hotel without looking back.
Seong Ji-won stood there until the sound of the man’s footsteps was drowned out by the intensifying rain.
“…He looks like a different person when he smiles.”
In the end, he hadn't heard or asked anything.
Even if everything that man said was a lie and he faced the consequences tomorrow, he didn't feel too bad right now.
As he pondered what to do next, just as the man had suggested, he heard some whispering nearby.
“Hey, did you see what happened to that nuisance customer on the 41st floor?”
It seemed to be hotel staff out on a cigarette break.
“It was insane. Suddenly some peddler broke in, screaming his head off, throwing everything in sight….”
“The other guy was crazy, too. Ashtrays and stuff were flying at him, but he didn't even blink, just kept smiling. And then he said something, and that nuisance guy couldn't even make a peep.”
Seong Ji-won knew instantly who they were talking about.
“But isn't it weird? That’s a VIP floor, so you can’t even get off the elevator without a specific card key. How did a peddler get in?”
“Who cares? It was so satisfying to see that jerk run away. Honestly, I wish that guy would come and kick him out every time he shows up….”
“…….”
“…….”
“…….”
Belatedly noticing Seong Ji-won in the smoking area, the staff fell silent and scurried back into the hotel.
‘A master of wrecking things, indeed.’
A half-brother, a peddler, and a master of wrecking things.
Recalling the man’s confident face, Ji-won let out a snicker.
He pulled his umbrella from his bag, opened it, and headed toward his agency.
The company lobby was quiet due to the late hour.
After seven years as a trainee, you learned how to enter without swiping a card or how to avoid the CCTV. Methods for not getting caught while sneaking out for a smoke or a late-night snack were passed down among the long-term trainees.
Once inside, he turned off the CCTV and headed straight for the CEO’s office. In the corner, there was always a putting mat and golf clubs that the CEO was currently obsessed with.
He picked the heaviest one and went down to the practice room.
He saw the mirror he had faced every single day for seven years.
“Hmm.”
His reflection in the mirror felt foreign.
Is this what I look like?
Ji-won raised a hand to touch his cheek, then slowly stepped back.
And then—
CRASH!
He swung the golf club into the mirror.
Crunch, crunch. He stepped over the glass shards and moved to the next mirror.
CRASH! SHATTER!
With a thunderous noise, fragments flew in every direction.
It didn't take long to break all the mirrors.
He threw the golf club onto the floor and looked around.
Unlike before, the practice room felt small and dark.
At the same time, he realized that none of this was a big deal.
‘Let’s go back. Home.’
Seong Ji-won suddenly missed his grandmother.
As he was leaving the lobby, someone shouted from behind.
“Hey, you crazy bastard!”
He turned around to see a trainee who was always picking on him.
He must have been in the building and come running after hearing the noise.
“You—you’re really insane, aren't you? Seong Ji-won, you broke the practice room mirrors, didn't you?! I’m going to tell everyone!”
“Hmm…….”
If they asked him to pay for it, he could manage.
Seong Ji-won intentionally tilted his head.
“Hyeong-jo, what are you talking about?”
Then, he smiled brightly.
“Do you have proof?”
Leaving the boy gaping in shock, he walked out of the company.
His slow footsteps quickened as he neared home.
The moment he opened the front door, he ran straight to his grandmother.
“…Grandma.”
“Is my sweet boy home?”
“Hehe, yes.”
Feeling her warmth and her cozy scent, a few tears finally escaped.
Even though her grandson was sobbing into her shoulder, his grandmother only hugged him tighter and didn't ask a single thing.
Only then did the feeling of wanting to throw everything away in desperation finally subside.
Seong Ji-won knew himself well.
He wouldn't be able to easily give up on the dream of being an idol he had held for so long.
“Your sweet boy is home.”
Even in this moment, he desperately wanted to sing on stage.
The next day, just as the man had said, nothing happened to Seong Ji-won.
That was the day he left D.go Entertainment.