Chapter 93
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 93
“What did you say?”
I asked again, but Kang Yi-chae, after playing a few rounds of a rhythm game, seemed to have grown bored. He tossed his phone aside and muttered.
“I’m hungry….”
I had the distinct feeling he was ignoring me… As I watched him with a sense of unease, a sharp intuition struck me.
Is this my opening to win over Kang Yi-chae?
Ding!
[I don’t know what you’re thinking, but I’m pretty sure that’s not it.]
Ignoring the system window’s jab, I cleared my throat with a harrumph and asked in a gentle voice.
“Yi-chae, you know your hyung is always by your side, right?”
“What kind of nonsense is that?”
“It means that if you’re ever struggling, your hyung is ready to listen.”
“Don’t need it.”
“……”
He was being extra prickly today, refusing to play along. Kang Yi-chae stared at my souring expression, then smirked slightly.
“You’re ready to listen… but you have no idea what people actually want to hear.”
“……!”
Even after that incident, Kang Yi-chae had acted like his usual self, joking around as if nothing had happened. I thought he’d just let it go…
Was I wrong?
I could only draw one conclusion.
Is this a sign of a split?
A team split due to solo activities? Was it possible that Kang Yi-chae, swept up in the team’s mood, hadn’t been able to voice his complaints?
Fwoosh!
I shot up into a sitting position and, with deliberate exaggeration, threw my script into a corner of the practice room. Kang Yi-chae’s eyebrow twitched.
“Should I not do it?”
“What?”
“Should I not do this? You don’t like me doing a solo project? Yi-chae, just say the word. Your hyung will listen.”
I set the mood, putting on my most solemn expression as if I’d grant him anything. With a hollow laugh, looking deeply displeased, Kang Yi-chae stared right at me—.
“Don’t make me laugh~.”
“……”
“~is the word~.”
He was being a sarcastic little shit.
“You’re going to do whatever you want once you’ve made up your mind anyway, yet you’re making such a show of it.”
“...That stings a little.”
“It probably stings because it’s true. And stop with the ‘hyung’ this, ‘hyung’ that. It’s annoying how you only do it when you’re at a disadvantage.”
“……”
Ding!
[Hahahahahahaaha....]
…Even the system window, which had been walking on eggshells around me for days, was laughing its ass off. It was the first time it had ever spammed the character ‘ㅋ’ like this, and I was slightly—no, very—miffed.
Whether I sat there in defeat, realizing such placating tactics no longer worked on Kang Yi-chae, he didn’t seem to care… He just picked up his phone again.
“Ah… I’m seriously hungry.”
Kang Yi-chae rolled over once while lying down, then shot to his feet.
Wow, damn… He was being exceptionally sharp-tongued today. As I struggled to figure out how to handle this second puberty that had hit him at twenty-one, his sulky expression finally returned to normal.
Is he over it now?
“Let’s go eat with the members.”
“What do you want to eat? Hyung… no, I’ll treat you.”
“Lobster, Almas caviar, and a Wagyu sirloin steak. For dessert, Hawaiian Kona coffee.”
“……”
Nope.
He was still pissed…
* * *
“Ahem! Ahem-hem!”
“What’s with him now?”
“Just let him be. He wants to give a toast.”
Although his expression had returned to normal, I had to placate the persistently sarcastic Kang Yi-chae, and we barely managed to agree on beef.
Jeong Da-jun, who seemed to have gotten way too into a drama he’d watched recently, stood up, tapping his glass of cider—its bubbles fizzing up—with a fork.
“I would like to express my sincere gratitude to everyone who has joined us today. Your maknae, Jeong Da-jun, offers his greetings.”
The hyungs clapped half-heartedly while grilling the meat.
“After all that hardship!! We have finally received a meaningful settlement. Sniffle, how moving it is…!”
I just snorted in disbelief as Jeong Da-jun pulled a thin, recycled napkin from the table to wipe away his fake tears.
“Don’t you think he’s getting more and more shameless?”
“Ho-yun, you’re not one to talk.”
“He’s just learning from you. They say you should even be careful drinking water in front of kids…”
“……”
Seong Ji-won landed a blow, and Kim Seong-hyeon followed up.
After getting hit with a right hook, a left hook, and a few jabs from Seong Ji-won and Kim Seong-hyeon, on top of what I’d gotten from Kang Yi-chae earlier, I was in so much pain that I diligently stuffed beef into my mouth to console myself.
“I dedicate this honor to all my hyungs… Manager-hyung, the gently executing Ji-won-hyung, Seong-hyeon-hyung who’s so handsome it’s like getting LASIK just by looking at him, The Dawn’s most handsome Yi-chae-hyung, and The Dawn’s biggest nuuuuisance, Ho-yun-hyung…!”
“……”
“If I were to list his track record of nuisances, it’s so impressive that I’m at a loss for words…!”
“That’s enough.”
I shut Jeong Da-jun’s rambling mouth by shoving a meat wrap into it.
“An’way, chee’rs~!! (Anyway, cheers!)”
“Cheers~”
We raised our ciders and played along half-heartedly.
Still, it was settlement day, so everyone was still a little excited.
Jeong Da-jun asked, his mouth full of meat.
“Hyungs! Is there anything you’re going to buy?”
“Not really.”
“Booo~, no fun~.”
“No fun is the best, you know?”
It means nothing bad happened.
Jeong Da-jun, who booed my answer, held up his spoon like a microphone and thrust it in front of Kim Seong-hyeon.
“I was thinking of paying off some of my family’s debt.”
“Huh?! Seong-hyeon-hyung, you have a lot of debt?”
“No, not a lot. But my family has a lot of siblings, so there are little bits here and there.”
“…You’re not planning to use it all, are you?” Seong Ji-won asked with a hint of concern. Kim Seong-hyeon waved his hands dismissively.
“No, no. It’s not that much, so I can pay it off. I’ve been relying on my parents a lot since I was a trainee… so I’m just paying that back.”
“I see. What about you, Ji-won-hyung?”
Seong Ji-won thought for a moment. He fiddled with his fingers, then smiled gently.
“…I want to have a meal with my grandmother.”
“Ooh! Such a good grandson, a good grandson!”
“Haha.”
Naturally, the spotlight moved to the last person, Kang Yi-chae. He had been stuffing his face with meat as if it had nothing to do with him, but he tilted his head as all eyes gathered on him.
“I don’t really have anything either. Jeong Da-jun, should I buy you something?”
“Huh?”
Jeong Da-jun was taken aback by the offer. Kang Yi-chae continued nonchalantly as he flipped a piece of meat on the grill.
“Well… is there anything you want? Shoes or clothes.”
“Hyung, I got paid too. It’s okay!”
“Ah, okay, okay~.”
Jeong Da-jun primly rejected the offer.
While putting some grilled kimchi in my wrap, I kept glancing at Kang Yi-chae.
He’s been a little… strange since then.
He had a sense of money that was sliiightly off from the average person’s. Kang Yi-chae looked up, and our eyes met. I quickly turned my head as if it were natural and asked Jeong Da-jun.
“Jeong Da-jun, what are you going to spend your money on?”
“Me!”
Jeong Da-jun’s cheeks flushed faintly.
“I’m going to put it in my savings account!”
“……”
“I have a bankbook I’ve been saving my allowance in since elementary school. I’m going to put it in there!”
“……”
Everyone fell silent, placing pieces of meat and side dishes on Jeong Da-jun’s rice. While Da-jun looked flustered, not understanding why, we moved on to the next topic.
“So, when does filming start?”
“In three days.”
“What? That’s really fast.”
“We’ll shoot for two months, and then you have to go straight into promotions. What are you guys going to do in the meantime?”
“……”
For a moment, the members furtively exchanged glances, communicating with their eyes before they all put down their chopsticks.
“Actuaaally.”
“What.”
“Weeell~.”
“What is it?”
Why were they dragging out their words so ominously?
“What should we do?”
“I think it’s okay to tell him now.”
Seong Ji-won looked at Kim Seong-hyeon, who seized the opportunity to speak.
“Da-jun and I decided to go on a dance variety show.”
“Huh?”
“It’s a dance program… the concept is really fresh. Kim Hee-yeong PD recommended it. …And Ju Woo-seong-sunbae-nim might be on it too.”
“Oh~.”
Just as I was about to applaud in admiration, Seong Ji-won cut in.
“I’m actually singing the OST for Ho-yun’s drama.”
“Oh~?”
“And Yi-chae is composing it.”
“Wow, that was epic. Hyung, as soon as Yi-chae heard that Cheong-beom-jakkangnim got an OST offer, he stayed up all night making beats like a madman, then went and pitched a whole bunch of samples.”
But why don’t I know about this?
“And in the end, I, the genius Kang Yi-chae, succeeded. It’s truly a mystery where this talent came from…”
“Don’t try to make rhymes with off-beats.”
Jeong Da-jun grimaced, but Kang Yi-chae shamelessly added another rhyme or two before chewing his beef, swallowing, and speaking.
“Besides, I’m already working on the title track and B-sides for the full album with Im Hyeon-su-jakkangnim. I’m swamped with just that.”
“Oh……?”
That’s all great. It’s all good, but…
Why was all this news suddenly pouring out at once?
I stabbed a piece of kkakdugi with my chopsticks and asked.
“What’s with you guys?”
“……”
The members flinched.
“Are you leaving me out? Why didn’t I know any of this?”
“……Haha!”
The members laughed awkwardly and scratched their heads. They pushed the responsibility of explaining back and forth—‘You tell him,’ ‘No, you’—until finally, the right to speak fell to the team’s resident Buddha, Seong Ji-won.
“Well, we actually talked about it a lot.”
“About what?”
“We were worried you might be feeling burdened by your solo acting gig.”
“……”
Well, that’s true.
“But we… we want you to try everything you want to do, everything you’re capable of.”
“That’s right! Hyung! You have to try everything!”
“To do that, it’s better for us to do our own solo activities and then regroup for the full album.”
The members hesitantly laid out their story, then burst into laughter. Jeong Da-jun, who was usually a chatterbox about everything, must have been frustrated keeping this a secret. As soon as Seong Ji-won finished, he let out a relieved laugh, clutching his chest.
“Phew! We finally said it. We were going to tell you earlier… but we missed the timing.”
“I see.”
Only then did I grasp what was going on. Just then, my eyes met Kang Yi-chae’s. I finally understood why he had said and done all those things.
I took a gulp of water and let out a deep sigh.
“…Yeah, thanks.”
“……!”
“You guys really thought about it a lot… I’ll go and do my best, comfortably.”
Everyone’s eyes went wide, and then they suddenly started piling side dishes onto my rice, just like they had for Jeong Da-jun earlier.
“Ho-yun, don’t you like this?”
“Hyung, hyung! You know mushrooms grilled in meat fat are the best, right?”
“Let’s get some nutritional balance. Hey, wraps. Eat your vegetables.”
“All of you, get lost.”
“Okay, okay~, being prickly today is okay~.”
It was a fresh realization. I felt like I was carrying everything on my own, but in truth, I relied on them for a lot. Kim Seong-hyeon and Jeong Da-jun always painstakingly crafted the choreography, Kang Yi-chae handled the music, and Seong Ji-won managed the team.
I was just the one who stood out in the more visible areas.
Even so, if they wanted me to comfortably ride on the fruits of their labor… I thought it might be nice to just go with the flow and rest for a bit.
Man, that was a long-winded way of saying I want to hitch a ride.
I shrugged once and ate my meal quietly.
Kim Seong-hyeon placed another piece of meat on my bowl and chuckled.
“Eat up. I’m looking forward to the drama, PD Seo.”
At that, I couldn’t help but laugh.
I’d never imagined I’d hear Kim Seong-hyeon call me ‘PD-nim’.
* * *
[Heard today is Ho-yun’s first day of filmingㄷㄷㄷ I’m so fucking nervous]
[Shit, I’m more nervous than I was for my master’s thesis defense, what do I do
└What do you mean what do you do, ditch the thesis and go all-in on Seo Ho-yun
└Ah, fucking no hesitation hahahahahahahaha]
Three days later, the drama had already cranked in, but today was my first day of shooting.
As I got out of the van and walked inside, the staff were moving equipment around, looking like they had just finished filming the previous scene.
“Hello.”
“Seo Ho-yun-ssi, hello!”
After exchanging greetings with the staff, I looked around. It seemed most of the other actors were packing up to leave, as their last scene for the day had just been shot.
Just then, Yoo Ji-ah, who was passing by, spotted me and offered a light greeting.
“Is today your first shoot?”
“Yoo Ji-ah-sunbae-nim, hello.”
“You must be nervous… is what I’d like to say.”
Yoo Ji-ah giggled.
“But you don’t seem like the type to get nervous, Seo Ho-yun-ssi. Break a leg.”
I smiled sheepishly. Yoo Ji-ah was incredibly perceptive.
Yeah, if I had to put a label on it, it’s less ‘nervous’ and more… ‘I want to fucking kill it.’
I looked around the set a bit more before sitting at a prepared table and letting the hair stylist work on my hair. That’s when Min Ji-heon—the man who had proudly won the grand prize for ‘Person Seo Ho-yun Wants to Crush This Year’—suddenly appeared.
“Seo Ho-yun-ssi~!”
He was at least using the proper address since we were on set. Min Ji-heon scanned the set with a leisurely gaze. For a guy who claimed he couldn’t tell the difference between people and ghosts, his eyes were remarkably clear.
“Seeing you here is a new experience~.”
“…Yes.”
I gave a lukewarm reply, but it didn’t seem like Min Ji-heon was particularly interested in a conversation. He sat in a chair next to me and let his body go limp. After a short while, a staff member approached and spoke to him.
“Min Ji-heon-ssi.”
“……”
“Min Ji-heon-ssi!”
“…Oh, oh, sorry.”
Min Ji-heon, who had been spacing out, answered a beat too late. The staff member, clearly used to this, simply gave his instructions and left. Min Ji-heon scratched his cheek and slumped back into the chair. He looked so much like a sloth that I found myself speaking to him without thinking.
“…Do you always have trouble hearing people?”
“…Is that what you really want to say? Your eyes look like they’re cursing me out…”
“Let’s prevent excessive self-consciousness and reclaim a healthy life.”
I wanted to show this guy that article about preventing useless narcissism, too. Min Ji-heon laughed awkwardly.
“Um, it’s not that I have trouble hearing…”
Min Ji-heon cracked his neck once, then twice. He tapped the armrest of the chair with his finger and said.
“It’s safer to just ignore them once or twice at first.”
“…Why?”
Min Ji-heon might have been an attention-seeker, but he didn’t seem like the type to abuse his power. I asked out of curiosity, and he put on a wistful look and muttered.
“Sometimes, very raaarely, it happens…”
“……”
“If you accidentally answer them, they’ll seriously, tenaciously follow you all the way home. Appearing in your dreams to steal your energy or possess your body is just the beginning. I almost got properly possessed once…”
The atmosphere turned chilly. I stared in disbelief, my mouth agape, before asking.
“…Is that a true story?”
“Of course. Ji-heon’s life is surprisingly tough, too…”
With his slightly drooping eyes, Min Ji-heon looked genuinely troubled, so I decided to forgive his use of the third person just this once.
“But, hyung, you look like that sometimes too.”