Becoming An Idol Wasn’T On My Plan [EN]: Chapter 114

114.

Twenty minutes later, Chae Hamin emerged from the bathroom, face still damp, and we were all sitting in a row on the sofa, waiting. It wasn’t a planned thing, but it felt completely natural.

Seeing us there, Chae Hamin yelped in surprise, “Heeik—!”

I quickly scanned his face.

‘……His cheeks are red.’

The reason he’d spent twenty minutes in the bathroom was probably to keep splashing water on his face.

He couldn’t have been thrilled to see us, so assuming the redness wasn’t from excitement, it was probably……

I frowned.

“What’s up, everyone! What are you doing here?”

Chae Hamin approached with a strained smile.

He was trying so hard to act like nothing was wrong, but it was obvious. Lee Hyunjae and Seokjoon seemed relieved by Chae Hamin’s smile, but Ryu Iden, like me, seemed to have noticed something was off and remained a little stiff.

“Thank you so much for waiting for me again! I’ll treat you to a meal.”

Acting all innocent. That kind of mask is always useful, especially for someone who seems as carefree as Chae Hamin.

Normally, I’d play along and pretend not to notice, given my usual personality.

But I remembered Chae Hamin’s words. The way he looked when I tried to solve the problem alone.

I nodded to Ryu Iden.

‘Calm the kids down.’

Ryu Iden raised his hand and gently stroked his left cheek, a prearranged signal that he understood.

“Hamin, wait a moment.”

I got up, gently grabbed Chae Hamin’s wrist, and led him into the room, closing the door behind us.

I heard Ryu Iden mutter, “It’s the historical room of truth,” but I ignored him for now.

I sat him on the bed and sat across from him.

“Who hit your cheek?”

Looking flustered, Chae Hamin groaned, drawing out his words, then looked at my face and finally answered.

“Um, that… my father.”

I knew it.

The subsequent explanation was uncharacteristically logical and clear for Chae Hamin.

His father assumed Chae Hamin would quit being a ‘performer’ in two or three years to think about his future, so he’d met him today, on his day off, to discuss business matters.

“I understand that he cherishes the company he built with his own hands, but I’ve never even dreamed of taking it over……”

Therefore, Chae Hamin calmly conveyed his thoughts to his father, but eventually, they had an argument.

“I… accidentally said I wouldn’t take that damn company even if he gave it to me… I think I hurt him a lot.”

I froze.

Was Chae Hamin capable of saying such things? Hearing those words about a company he had built over a lifetime would make anyone angry.

I listened to the whole story and nodded.

“Well, objectively speaking, your father had a valid reason to be angry.”

Chae Hamin became sullen at that. He probably knew he’d gone too far.

“Of course, that doesn’t mean it was okay for him to hit you.”

I went to my desk and brought back some medicine. Looking closely, there were scratches.

“Moreover, trying to stop your dream is even worse.”

I disinfected the wounded area and applied some medicine on a cotton swab.

“…I thought he had acknowledged my dream when he came after the survival show ended. So I was so happy, proud, and all that.”

While I was applying the medicine and putting on a bandage, Chae Hamin kept rambling.

“My father probably thinks this is all child’s play……”

A deep sigh followed. I forcibly suppressed the feeling of becoming slightly unpleasant. As someone who has never opposed Mok-hwa’s dream when raising her, it’s hard for me to understand. Parents who see their children as a mirror of themselves often force their children to protect what they have not achieved or what they have achieved, but……

Even if I know it rationally, accepting it is another matter.

Anyway, in the end, what matters is Chae Hamin’s intention.

“What do you want to do, Hamin?”

I said, putting on the bandage and organizing the first aid kit. He looked like a delinquent rabbit.

“I want to persuade him… but if that doesn’t work, I might have to cut ties.”

A lonely light flickered in Chae Hamin’s eyes. Honestly, I knew that cutting ties was an easy answer, but looking at Chae Hamin’s face, it’s definitely not something to recommend. It’s obvious that he’ll spend his whole life digging tunnels [a Korean idiom for regretting something]. Also, I know very well what it means to cut ties with family.

“Does your father… dislike celebrities in general?”

“Um… not really. To be honest, he loves dramas, you know? He’s just a little upset that his son isn’t going to take over the family business.”

“…What kind of business does he do?”

It’s funny to ask now, but.

Chae Hamin made an ‘Ah!’ sound at my question, and his expression softened.

“My dad runs a trading company. Actually, I don’t really know what they do.”

It’s really difficult. If it were Lee Hyunjae’s parents, I could persuade them through conversation, but persuading the successor issue of a stubborn businessman with logic is an excessively difficult problem.

“It wouldn’t be solved if I apologized, would it?”

“……That’s probably right.”

Of course, I have to do it anyway.

“Ah— it’s a bit difficult, right, Dong-hwa?”

Chae Hamin smiled brightly with a bandage on one cheek.

……What is it? Why did his expression really change? Unlike before, it wasn’t a fake brightness, but a real one.

I looked at Chae Hamin with a detached attitude. Seeing my gaze, Chae Hamin smiled again.

“Suspicious eyes.”

Chae Hamin shook his finger from side to side. He’s amazed that I’m sometimes wrong and opens his mouth.

“It’s true, I feel so much better now. I guess it’s true that you feel better when you confide in a friend.”

How can a human be so optimistic? His basic attitude towards life is so different from my pessimistic one that I’m sometimes startled.

More than that, did this rabbit have few friends of the same species?

“I shouldn’t have even thought about hiding it in the first place. I should have run to you and told you everything! I can’t hide it anyway.”

Chae Hamin jumped up and started stretching. With a bandage on his face and stretching, he looked like a very delinquent human.

“Dong-hwa, you don’t have to try so hard to solve it. Just listening is so… so good.”

You bastard. I wonder if you know that I can’t do that.

* * *

Let’s think about it. What can I do? If there’s nothing I can do, I can just put it aside in my head for a while.

First, analyze the human group. What kind of person is Chae Hamin’s father?

I carefully examined the relevant memories one by one. It was only a fleeting encounter and stories from people around him, but I could extract one keyword.

Pride.

Chae Hamin’s father is not an arrogant person. Rather, he is a person who has realized that he is right through various choices and has gained pride. The probability is about 96%.

Ding—!

[Based on the given situation, my analysis is 96.2%!]

Quiet, you bastard. I said about.

A person whose judgment is absolute in his own worldview, which may seem negative from some perspectives.

A trading company is a place that requires judgment on selecting clients, considering exchange rates, and other miscellaneous economic situations. He can be proud of himself for building such a company and creating a home where the concept of ‘young master’ exists, and for contemplating the sunset of his life.

Then, secondly. Is it possible for Chae Hamin to take over the management and maintain the company?

……If I were to calculate the probability, it would be about 0.4%.

It would be difficult even if Chae Hamin had the desire, but it’s impossible in a situation where his heart has left.

Finally, third, why is his father so obsessed with Chae Hamin?

……Of course, it’s because he’s a reader. I don’t know why the company is so obsessed with inheritance, as if it were a monarchy. Seeing this, he may make judgments based not only on rational judgment but also on emotions or intuition.

It’s roughly organized.

I lie on the bed and start calculating slowly. Something that could be helpful……

‘I don’t like that our Hamin is not an actor but a singer.’

What his father said during the survival show.

‘To be honest, he loves dramas, you know?’

What I just heard.

First of all, I should say hello to Chae Hamin’s mother.

* * *

“……The world of dramas is also complex and profound.”

I thought, looking at the list of recently popular dramas and summaries of each plot.

The information I learned while talking to Chae Hamin’s mother was simple. Menopause. She’s in her 50s, an age when she’s becoming more emotional, so she’s immersed in dramas that young people often watch these days.

Of course, it’s a combination of things I got by intermittently inducing questions during about 2 hours of talking.

“……It would be nice if something like a drama OST [Original Soundtrack] came in.”

Creating a connection with dramas somehow, building intimacy with actors. And making Chae Hamin witness it on TV. It would be nice if that could happen.

However, it doesn’t come in just because you want it. It’s difficult. I wonder if there’s anything like a contest.

At that time, a message arrives on my phone.

[Dong-hwa! I heard you’re in the studio, please come to the conference room for a moment! — Team Leader Jang Haejin]

I read the message slowly. It’s strange. What could be the matter that would call me at this time.

……Um, Gisaeng [Korean word for ‘opportunity’], maybe this is it.

[Isn’t possibility mischievous? How amazing is human will?]

Goodness.

* * *

Opening the door to the conference room, Ryu Iden waved his hand, saying hello—. As expected, the leader was summoned.

“Dong-hwa, do you know why they called us, by any chance?”

Roughly.

“……No.”

After I sat next to Ryu Iden, Team Leader Jang Haejin came in and handed out papers.

“First of all, we’ve received OST work offers from two teams. It seems that the composer’s direct mention at the awards ceremony was effective!”

Jang Haejin tries to stay as calm as possible when having official conversations, but judging from the cheerful voice, both cases seem to be good.

“However, we also have to make a comeback, and Dong-hwa’s physical condition is the most important issue. It would be nice to do it, but we’re also considering rejecting it.”

Before I could say anything, Jang Haejin continued.

“But anyway, it’s obvious that you’ll do it even if you persuade all the members. So, even if you accept it, we’ve decided to only accept one case.”

I thought, ‘Oh, I want to do both cases,’ but,

“Dong-hwa, you absolutely can’t do both.”

Ryu Iden said a word, and the look he sent was so fierce that I barely understood.

“Then, take a look. Here are the synopses of the two works. Talk to the members about whether you’ll work on them or not, and if you do, which work you’ll do.”

I received the two synopses and quietly put them in my arms.

“…Ah, and, in the case of plan B, they gave us a hint that they are considering a cameo. They said they had an eye on Momo-G.”

Jang Haejin smiled once and got up from his seat first.

……Things can turn out like this too.

“Wow, what’s going on on a holiday.”

Ryu Iden smiled once and looked at me.

“Are you going to work on the song?”

When I nodded, Ryu Iden immediately sighed.

“……Are you willing to be persuaded?”

I met Ryu Iden’s eyes and uttered only one word firmly.

“…No.”