Becoming An Idol Wasn’T On My Plan [EN]: Chapter 187

“Oh? That’s me!”

“I-I am not.”

I silently observed the state of the waiting room before letting out a sigh. Memorizing the list of nearby stores to find a place to escape the cold while waiting had become meaningless. There was no way he’d suddenly turn over a new leaf, and building a makeshift waiting room like this would cost quite a bit of money. Why would he do something like this?

“…Could it be?”

For some reason, a certain person’s name popped into my head, but I tried to ignore it. If it were true, it would be too much to handle.

As I returned from the stage, I felt my suspicion turning into certainty.

Come to think of it, it was strange. Why would Jinhan suddenly talk nonsense like that to me? Getting help is nice, but this is too much. I don’t know how he can exert influence on the broadcasting station, but this is excessive.

“Wow, the stage is spacious and not bad, right? It was good.”

“I felt it during the rehearsal, but it’s definitely true. The sound system was good too.”

“Could it be some kind of reconciliation offer? Is our agency finally reconciling with HBC [a fictional broadcasting company]?”

It wasn’t officially a cold war. It’s not like we were banned from appearing on music shows. Just in case, I checked my phone, but there was nothing particularly noticeable besides Mok-hwa’s worried texts.

Should I send a text? No, let’s wait for now. It might be a ridiculous thought from the start. The idea of having enough power to influence a broadcasting station is absurd. It’s not like he’s the chairman of a major corporation.

I closed the phone screen and replied to Mok-hwa’s text.

—It was okay

An immediate reply followed.

—Wow, Jinhan *oppa* [an honorific term used to refer to an older brother or male friend] was right, I’m glad! I was worried!

Oh my god, Hwa-yang *ssi* [a polite suffix], seriously.

* * *

‘Ugh, getting old makes you do such irrational things.’

Hwa-yang felt a renewed sense of his own age. If he was going to help, he should have helped more decisively. To make such a big deal just to change the waiting room to a better one. He had just done something foolish that he should never do in his current job of living off information.

‘Still, they shouldn’t be cold. Originally, heating should be done properly.’

He knew that his subordinates would be so horrified by those words that they would clean their ears out, so he chuckled.

And the personal secretary standing quietly next to him wanted to clean his ears out because he was horrified by that laughter.

The secretary clearly remembered Hwa-yang from when he had a private conversation with the director of HBC’s entertainment department not long ago. His boss, digging into the weaknesses of a dirty human being, was a terrifying person to behold. On top of that, he was usually so cold-blooded that he wouldn’t let a single mistake pass.

It was only natural that such a person would be scary when he suddenly laughed.

“Anyway, keep a close eye on this guy. It’s obvious he’s got something shady going on, right?”

“Yes.”

As the secretary turned to leave after the short meeting, he also clearly heard.

“Oh, long time no see.”

He couldn’t hear the other person’s voice properly, but he could tell that his boss burst into laughter as if he was definitely happy.

“No, where’s the guarantee that I did it?”

He said in a joking voice.

“Ah, that damn grandson of mine is no help at times like this. If you see him, just smack him on the head for me.”

He, who was usually more terrifying because he only chose kind words in front of others, was uncharacteristically using vulgar language.

‘I need to run away quickly.’

It is said that the greatest fear for humans is encountering something they cannot understand. He couldn’t understand it now, and he was seized by a physiological fear.

After the secretary left, Hwa-yang let out a good-natured laugh.

—Thank you so much. But, how.

“Don’t worry about that. Just understand it as, ‘Ah, my mother’s old friend has become quite successful.'”

—Can I be honest with you?

“Of course.”

He’s just like his mother in terms of personality, so he’s probably feeling burdened, Hwa-yang predicted as he organized the papers in front of him.

—…It’s burdensome.

And Hwa-yang roughly knew how to answer in these situations after a long period of repeated learning.

“I’ll put it all on debt, so you can pay it back later. You’re not thinking of taking it for free, are you?”

There was silence on the other end of the phone for a while. He was probably running calculations in his head, wondering if he could repay it.

—…It seems like a big debt to repay.

“Since it’s a friend’s acquaintance, I should give you a bit of a discount.”

—Um, then… I understand. As long as it’s not something excessively unjust, I’ll ask for your help from time to time in the future.

‘Oh, he can pay it back, huh? I like the confidence, very much.’

Gaeul didn’t have a desire for money, so there was little I could do for her, but this kid has a bit of a desire for money, so I can do more for him.

This time, it was a small gift. But a gentleman’s gift is never too late, even after 10 years, so if I call the personnel department, I can use it to tip the scales. If I use the broadcasting station’s internal politics well, I might even be able to cut off the entertainment director’s line if I push it.

“Okay, since there’s a big loss this time, I’ll put a big debt on you.”

And the debt is reduced as soon as it’s incurred. What debt to a friend’s son?

* * *

“Dong-hwa *hyung* [an honorific term used to refer to an older brother or male friend]… please untie me.”

Ryu Iden mumbled, his legs tied with rope. The rope was tied to the sofa leg with knots starting from the middle.

“Today, we’re going to do feedback on two songs.”

“Don’t pretend you didn’t hear me, please. My legs are going numb.”

“Even better. You won’t be able to use your legs.”

“…You’re crazy. You’re crazy, you are.”

“We have to suffer together.”

I deliberately shook my phone more annoyingly. Ryu Iden shouted in anger.

“I! I will somehow destroy this dictatorship!”

“Wow… that’s exactly what I said when I went to the gym, it’s disgusting.”

“Freedom! What was freedom! Universally! You said something!”

“The idea that freedom exists even for animals was only invented recently, so it’s okay if you’re a little late.”

Ryu Iden paused. He pondered my words for a moment, and then looked at me as if he had realized something.

“…Am I an animal?”

I sat down in the studio chair without answering.

“First of all, there are about three songs we wrote, but I’ve eliminated two based on our own criteria.”

“No, *hyung*, am I an animal?”

“It would be nice if you could listen to the two as well, but you might not have enough energy, so let’s focus on the ones I picked first.”

“Don’t ignore me. I might only feed you salad.”

“Sorry, do you think that threat will work on someone who can live as a vegan?”

Ryu Iden reached for his feet with a frustrated expression, but it was tied with a mountaineering knot, so the more he pulled, the tighter it became. Until I finish two songs today, today doesn’t matter.

“Today, if you don’t finish even after staying up all night, I’ll keep waking you up until it’s done.”

“…Don’t lie. You’re lying, right?”

Ryu Iden’s expression gradually turned to fear. It was exactly how the protagonist of a thriller looks when they encounter the culprit.

“Ha… save me, everyone! I, I’m going to die here!”

Watching him shrink and scream made me feel refreshed.

“*Hyung*, there’s no way they can hear you screaming like that. This place is soundproofed.”

“Don’t say scary things. It doesn’t sound like a joke coming from you.”

“And I asked no one to come today.”

“…Oh, uh.”

Ryu Iden tasted frustration once again. An expression filled with deep bitterness.

“You tied me up while I was asleep…….”

“I can’t beat *hyung* with strength.”

“I used to, I think I used to tease you…, how did it end up like this.”

I need to find a new breakthrough. I turned on the music without much thought.

“This is a candidate for a track on the album for now.”

“…Not the title track?”

“It shouldn’t be the title track.”

Ryu Iden, who was quick to adapt, nodded and slowly added his voice to it. It seems that because Ji Dong-hwa had forced him to sit in the studio for a long time, he could now predict to some extent which part was written with whom in mind.

“…Huh?”

I smiled softly.

“This is currently a solo song.”

I’m planning to have him write the lyrics himself as a gift for finishing his studies. Because once the studies are over, new studies must begin.

* * *

“Today, I gathered you all to let you know that we have a schedule before going on hiatus. Of course, I have a feeling that you’ll all be putting out work even if I tell you to rest… but it’s been a while since you’ve had about 2 weeks without any schedules, so I hope you get plenty of rest.”

“I object.”

Ryu Iden, with a half-dead expression, raised his hand slightly as he listened to Team Leader Jang Hae-jin’s explanation.

“Yes, Iden-*ssi*.”

“It’s not ‘you all,’ it’s just Dong-hwa, so I’d like you to agree to tie him to the bed with chains!”

Unlike me, who stayed up for two days straight, he took naps in between, but he’s holding a grudge for a long time.

“I’ve heard that Iden-*ssi* is suffering because of one stubborn old man. But it’s sacrificing a cow to achieve something great, so please continue to suffer next to Dong-hwa-*ssi*.”

Ryu Iden covered his mouth with an exaggerated gesture and bowed his head. And even his shoulders were shaking slightly, he must have wanted to act like he was crying. Chae Ha-min was seriously flustered and stroked Ryu Iden’s shoulder.

“*Hyung*, I’ll try to stop Dong-hwa somehow. Mok-hwa said that Dong-hwa listens to me to some extent.”

“Ha-min, I’m counting on you. Even if I report that guy to the labor office, he’s the kind of guy who will somehow exploit the law and get away with it. My dad trusts Dong-hwa implicitly, so I can’t get any help either.”

“Wow…, when you say it like that, Dong-hwa *hyung* really seems like a villain.”

“He’s a villain! He’s a villain! When I! When I said I was going to the bathroom! The length of the rope was exactly the length to reach the bathroom!”

Well, this year, the disaster farming has been really successful. It’s a bumper crop. More than that, my father, who is a police officer, trusts me, so I can get help later when I need to falsely accuse someone.

“Everyone, please calm down for a moment. Anyway, the last schedule of this year is to go somewhere.”

Wow, I’ve never had a job where I have no idea what I’m doing. Going somewhere is what we always do.

“It’s nothing special, do you remember the job experience we had last time?”

Simba, I miss you. I saw you in pictures recently and you’ve gotten really big, I miss you even if you don’t recognize me.

“That show got a pretty good response. Especially Jun and Iden, cough, doing stupid things.”

“Ah, the one where I fought the elephant and lost.”

Ryu Iden laughed heartily at Lee Hyun-jae’s words.

“It was neck and neck at the end.”

You already lost at that moment, you’re biologically human.

“Jun *hyung* is…, um, I’m living each day grateful that I had self-control back then.”

I learned a new way to say ‘I really wanted to kill him but I held back’ in the most elegant way. Smart, Hyun-jae.

“I’m also—, grateful— every day— because I’m with Hyun-jae.”

And saying something indirectly is only meaningful when the other person can notice it. Maybe Seok-jun won’t be touched if I praise him ironically.

“Anyway, it got a good response in its own way back then, so we got a proposal to come out one more time. Aren’t they grateful people? We went out in the early days of the show, and they’re trying to take care of us again after the viewership ratings went up quite a bit.”

“Is it a secret what kind of work we’re doing this time too?”