Chapter 49
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 49
“Hey, Puppy.”
“Aaaagh!”
“Our little angry rice cake, could you say it one more time? ‘Don’t you dare touch a single hair on my hyungs’ heads!’”
“I never said that!”
Kim Seong-hyeon and Kang Yi-chae snickered, relentlessly teasing Jeong Da-jun. I ruffled Da-jun’s hair for a good while and only stepped in to settle things once I’d had my fill.
“Man, he’s not going to sue me for assault, is he? I just couldn’t hold back.”
“It was self-defense. Besides, those guys aren’t in any position to worry about anyone else right now. But seriously, how are you so good at shoulder throws?”
“I did judo as a hobby in middle school… Ugh, I regret it now.”
After the members of Today fled with faces as pale as ghosts, the set was quickly cleared. It was decided that continuing the rehearsal was impossible.
The manager rushed over, heard the story, and made a fuss about going to the hospital, but the one who actually needed a hospital was probably Yoo Hyuk.
“Do you think the cameras caught that?”
“Ah, I’m curious too. If they did, I’d watch it whenever I’m feeling down.”
I was sharing idle chatter with Seong Ji-won.
“There won’t be any delays with the live broadcast schedule, right?”
“Who knows? The whole program might just go under.”
“Still, the audience is already coming. They can’t cancel it over this. The show must go on.”
We stared blankly at each other. Seong Ji-won had a strange look on his face.
“What is it?”
“Nothing. I just… I feel like we really pulled it off, just like you said.”
“…….”
“So this is how it ends.”
Ji-won’s expression seemed somewhat bittersweet. It seemed he was feeling a complex mix of emotions, perhaps because he hadn’t expected the things that had tormented him for so long to crumble so easily.
Seong Ji-won let out a deep breath, his long eyelashes casting shadows as he looked down, then nodded.
“Thanks, Ho-yun.”
I brushed off his gratitude. I wanted it to pass by as if it were nothing. I didn’t want this incident to remain a debt or a burden to him.
…It was just that, for some reason, the aftertaste was strangely lingering.
“……Should we go practice?”
“Yeah.”
Seong Ji-won forced a bright smile.
I looked around before heading back.
Kim Hee-yeong PD….
I wanted to ask her about the direction of the program, but I decided to hold off for now. She was probably losing her mind trying to clean up the mess with Today.
Better not to bother a busy person; I should handle the cleanup on my end.
I got into the van and checked the internet reaction. Hundreds of posts were flooding SNS in real-time.
[So creepy lol I always said Today felt off. The drug scandal ㅋㅋㅋㅋ for real, those photos are the final nail in the coffin]
[PHY!!!! SIOG!!!! NOMY!!!!! I told you, it’s all in the face!!!!!!!!!!]
[This is so embarrassing, ugh……]
[What’s this about assault?? Is there a video?
└ Search Nutube
└└ (Link)
└└ Don’t click that, it’s just a gross thumbnail ㅡㅡ Give us the link to the Today video]
I checked the real-time search trends.
[Today]
[Today Yoo Hyuk]
[Yoo Hyuk]
[Shining Star]
[All members of Today sent to prosecution on drug charges (Breaking News)]
Sent to prosecution. At this point, their departure from Shining Star was as good as confirmed.
Next, I searched for The Dawn. Compared to the total explosion surrounding Today, the volume was smaller, but posts were starting to pop up.
[Title: The Dawn needs a re-evaluation ASAP
(Gif of Kim Seong-hyeon scowling while looking at Today)
(Gif of Kim Seong-hyeon saying ‘Do I really need to say it…’ after watching Today’s stage)
(Seo Ho-yun blatantly ignoring Yoo Hyuk’s greeting)
Devil’s Editing my ass ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ It turns out it was Angel’s Editing.
There was a reason Kim Seong-hyeon was always grimacing and not greeting Today.
└ FR ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
└ Does Kim Seong-hyeon have a bloodhound’s nose? How did he even know? Even the fans didn’t know.
└└ There’s a rumor he’s a drug-sniffing dog.
└ Still, they’re seniors lol I still find this a bit off…
└└ Better than being friendly with junkies.
└└ ‘Seniors’ my ass, they’re drug-using, assaulting idols ㅋㅋㅋㅋ Are you a Today fan? Are you crying?]
[Title: If Shining Star continues, will The Dawn take 1st place?
Title says it all.
└ Are they that good? …… But if all of Today’s fans drop out, I think they might actually get 1st.
└└ School Bully Idol vs. Drug Idol
└└ ㅋㅋㅋ Holy shit ㅋㅋㅋㅋ The battle of the century.
└ Isn’t the main concern whether the show will even continue?
└└ Would they stop just because one group dropped out? The show is super popular right now.]
Seeing the community reactions, people on SNS were fuming.
[It pisses me off to see these clueless idiots talking about ‘re-evaluation’ and all that, but sigh… I guess… I should say it’s a relief.]
[At least the unfair parts about Seong-hyeon were revealed, so that’s a relief ᅮᅮ]
I also looked up the Shining Star Nutube channel where videos of Kim Seong-hyeon and The Dawn were posted. The top comments hadn’t changed yet. As I scrolled through the latest comments, one caught my eye.
[Kim Seong-hyeon is a school bully, stop overhyping him~]
[It’s disgusting to see The Dawn fans stirring up trouble the moment they get a chance, makes me want to puke.]
It had a decent number of likes. Hmm.
This is a bit bothersome….
Resting my chin on my hand, I scrolled through the comments and remembered my phone call with Kim Jae-yeon.
—The school bullying victim? Apparently, he went abroad to study.
—Huh?
—I heard he went to Austria. I’m trying to find his phone number, but it’s tough. He doesn’t seem to use SNS at all, and his email account has changed.
I thought I’d be able to resolve the bullying controversy quickly, but things had gotten complicated. According to the original plan, it would have been better to clear it before the Today scandal broke.
That was why everyone was naturally keeping an eye on Kim Seong-hyeon, even while they were smiling.
The fact that Kim Seong-hyeon cried while looking at those post-its last time… that’s also bothering me.
What should I do about this?
As I was lost in thought, trying to organize my ideas, the system window chimed for the first time in a while.
[A special service just for you!]
I felt uneasy. For some reason, I felt incredibly uneasy.
[Check the Item Shop!]
……The Item Shop.
But the one who needs something is the one who loses. In the previously empty Item Shop, a new tab called [Special Service Items] had appeared. I clicked on it.
[Lucky Polyhedral Dice
Roll the dice and the phone number you desire will appear!
Uses: 1
Note: The item disappears immediately after rolling.]
“Oh……”
Why is the system window helping me all of a sudden? Wait, how much is this?
[Price: 2,000 Points]
[Points Held: 1,000]
As I sat there, I reopened the quest window that was blinking as if begging to be noticed.
[Aegyo is a Must for Idols!
Aegyo is an essential skill for idols.
Practice your aegyo and increase your proficiency.
Current Aegyo Proficiency: 0%
Reward: 1,000 Points upon reaching 30% proficiency]
“…….”
The system window isn’t trying to help me; it’s trying to screw with me!
I trembled. I looked at the internet comments again, then at the quest window, and finally at Kim Seong-hyeon.
“What is it?”
Seong-hyeon asked, looking bewildered. At the same time, the image of him with his hat pulled low, head bowed in front of the digital billboard, flashed through my mind.
“……Sigh.”
I grit my teeth.
* * *
“Huh? Ho-yun, you’re staying to practice more?”
“Yeah. You guys go on ahead.”
“Hyung, aren’t you overdoing it?”
Jeong Da-jun asked, surprised. I waved him off dismissively.
“I’m just going to do a little more. Go back and rest.”
“…Okay, text us if anything happens.”
Starting with Kim Seong-hyeon, the members of The Dawn filed out of the practice room.
They’re all gone.
Just in case, I paced back and forth inside and outside the practice room several times, checking until the very last moment.
Two in the morning…
Yeah, it was the perfect time to lose one’s mind.
I searched for aegyo on Nutube.
[Buing-buing~!]
[I dweamt of a ghowst! A ghowst!]
After watching the videos, I took a deep breath and looked into the mirror.
Right, aegyo. Aegyo is fine.
It’s essential for an idol, and I’d have to do it eventually if a fan asked. I couldn’t exactly make a disgusted face then. If the fans want it, I have to deliver.
I looked in the mirror and brought my fists up to my cheeks.
“Buing…… buing.”
God dammit!
[Aegyo proficiency increases by 1%.]
[Current Aegyo proficiency is 1%.]
I reflexively punched the mirror.
No, I can do this. I can do this. I, Seo Ho-yun, can do this.
I repeated the spell of victory over and over as I continued my aegyo assault.
“I dweamt… of a ghow… Ah, fuck.”
Now the curses were coming out. The proficiency meter stalled.
I rolled around on the practice room floor. It didn’t seem like much when I was just watching, but actually doing it myself was driving me crazy.
“How does everyone do this? Is it innate? Do you have to be born this way?”
I let out a long exhale. It’s no big deal. Everyone else does it, so what’s going to change if I do it too?
After brainwashing myself several times, I jumped up and started practicing again.
“Save you in my heart! Save!”
[Aegyo proficiency increases by 1%.]
[Current Aegyo proficiency is 2%.]
Once I threw my conscience away, it became a bit easier. After scouring the internet for a while and getting over the initial hump, it felt manageable.
It’s fine when other people do it, so why is it so revolting when I do it? I felt a sudden need to re-evaluate Yoo Hyuk, who had acted all cute in front of the cameras.
Seo Ho-yun, get it together.
It became easier once I brainwashed myself into thinking the disgusting version of me in the mirror was a different persona entirely.
I can do this. This is nothing.
[Current Aegyo proficiency is 28%.]
After all sorts of nonsense, I was nearing 30%.
“You. Are. So. Love-ly. It’s. Se-ri-ous. Se-ri-ous.”
Now, aegyo would probably pop out if someone just tapped me.
I am an aegyo machine. Just a little more of this and I’ll hit 30%……!
“I’m. Just. Too. Pret-ty! Sor-ry. Sor-ry.”
[Current Aegyo proficiency is 29%!]
I was fully immersed in my practice. Then, I felt a sudden chill.
It wasn’t just cold; it was a bone-deep shiver…
Creak. The moment I turned around.
“…….”
“…….”
“Um…….”
It was Kang Yi-chae.
Kang Yi-chae was standing blankly at the practice room door.
When our eyes met, even the shameless Kang Yi-chae offered an awkward smile for the first time.
“Um, Hyung, you weren’t answering your phone…… so I came to tell you the news about Shining Star.”
“…….”
“Today is off the show, and Shining Star is going to continue. The live broadcast will go on as scheduled.”
“……Right. That’s good news.”
“Yeah. Kim Hee-yeong PD was looking for you.”
“Okay. I’ll call her.”
Even though he was done talking, Kang Yi-chae stayed put, glancing at me and scratching his head.
Since he was usually the type to snicker and laugh, I would have felt less embarrassed if he had just burst out laughing and teased me. Instead, his eyes were filled with… pity.
“…Uh, Hyung, um.”
“…….”
“Hang in there.”
With those final words, Kang Yi-chae vanished.
My soul felt like it had been sucked out as I collapsed onto the floor.
My life…….
* * *
[Current Aegyo proficiency is 30%!]
[Quest Complete!
Aegyo is a must for idols!
I was so embarrassed I almost punched a wall!]
[1,000 Points have been awarded.]
I barely, just barely, hit 30% proficiency and looked at the Lucky Dice in the Item Shop.
I honestly felt like crying, but I held it back. I am never doing this again. No matter what happens, I won’t.
“Seong-hyeon… your hyung is going this far for you.”
[Purchasing Lucky Dice.]
[2,000 Points consumed.]
I muttered to myself as I bought the dice. Light poured out, and a nine-sided polyhedral die rolled out from my clenched hand.
“Do I just roll it eleven times?”
[Austrian phone numbers are ten digits long!]
“Right. Thanks, you little brat….”
With a hollow heart, I rolled. 6, 6… I wrote down the numbers as they appeared consecutively.
How many times had I rolled? Before I could even think, I rolled the dice for the last time, and it vanished.
I entered the final digit, stood up, and punched the numbers into my phone. Wait, it’s an international call… I dialed the international code for Austria, and a long dial tone followed.
Pick up, pick up.
I’m doing all this ridiculous shit, so you better pick up. Before long, there was a click.
[Hallo? (Hello?)]
“…….”
[Hallo, Hwang am Apparat. (Hello, this is Hwang.)]
“Mr. Hwang Jeong-gyu.”
I let out a sigh. I could feel the person on the other end of the line catch their breath.
“Hello, I’m Seo Ho-yun, an acquaintance of Seong-hyeon. Could you spare a moment of your time?”
Even if you can’t, make time, god dammit.