Becoming An Idol Wasn’T On My Plan [EN]: Chapter 232

Professor Ji spoke with eyes full of morbid obsession, meticulously recounting every shameful incident Ryu Iden had committed, from the survival show to the present.

Even as he pieced together fragments of the past, I couldn’t help but mutter, ‘What on earth is he talking about…’ while my cheeks flushed with embarrassing memories.

“P-Professor, how do you know about that!”

“Oh, why wouldn’t I? It’s something my beloved friend went through.”

“You said we weren’t friends.”

“Words can never truly capture meaning. Nietzsche said so. Language cannot contain truth. I think we could be good friends. Good friends should fill each other’s gaps. I will be helpful, especially intellectually.”

Professor Ji winked, and at this point, I was just getting annoyed.

But I couldn’t retort without breaking the show’s concept.

Professor Ji was subtly twisting his words to make it hard to argue back, and whenever I tried to say something, the PD [Production Director] would step in and curtly say, ‘That violates the rules.’

I felt like strangling that PD, whom I had naively thought I was getting along with. ‘Rules,’ my foot.

Of course, having watched the show, I understood, but there was no consideration for a newbie like me!

“…Dong-hwa, what exactly were you filming?”

Chae Hamin couldn’t believe that all of this was happening without a script. He calmly took a sip of water, but he couldn’t stay calm.

Honestly, even though they said there was no script, I didn’t fully believe it. I mean, considering Ji Dong-hwa’s usual self, he was completely different from Professor Ji.

“Our Iden needs to calm down a bit. One, two, three.”

“I give up. Ryu Iden, your blood pressure is too high.”

Ji Dong-hwa, satisfied, shook his head, letting his hair fall forward. He immediately loosened his tie, threw it away, and took off his jacket, returning to his original light blue shirt.

As if he had instantly reverted to Ji Dong-hwa, he dropped the smile, furrowed his brow, and glared unpleasantly at Ryu Iden, who was still trying to grasp the situation.

“Tell me again. Who’s better, me or Professor Ji, you little punk?”

“…Dong-hwa.”

“Again.”

“Ji Dong-hwa is much better…”

“Good.”

Lee Hyun-jae, who had been watching everything, started clapping. On the other hand, Seok-jun looked like he had just witnessed a madman for the first time and was completely bewildered.

“Hyung [older brother/male friend], you were like a real crazy person.”

It was an ambiguous compliment, but Lee Hyun-jae felt deep respect inside.

Really, he was like a crazy person, that hyung. No, he is crazy, that hyung. He’s crazy, that hyung. A tune seemed to hum from Lee Hyun-jae’s nose.

“You guys, don’t just go along with all his plans.”

“Well, actually, this is the PD’s plan.”

Lee Hyun-jae smiled inwardly, thinking of the PD who had told him to keep it a secret. Who cares? I’ll only see the PD today, but Dong-hwa hyung is someone I’ll respect for life.

Lee Hyun-jae was ready to flip off the whole world after that day, but there were a few people he could never do that to.

Ji Dong-hwa closed his eyes for a moment, then stared blankly at the PD.

The PD looked unusually flustered. This was the same guy who never lost his smile even when Ji Dong-hwa dodged all the traps he had set during previous shoots with intense struggles.

“Haha, there’s a misunderstanding, Dong-hwa?”

“…Our trust is very deep.”

“That’s right. A trust that will never disappear, even after a lifetime.”

“Yes, a deep trust that I should never trust the PD. A trust that will never disappear.”

Lee Hyun-jae, who had been listening quietly, burst out laughing. Ah, how ironic. Trust in the lack of trust.

“Hyun-jae is talented too, we should film with him sometime!”

Isn’t he a disaster (災) of talent (人災) to the PD right now? I couldn’t bring myself to say it out loud and just muttered it quietly in my head.

“…No, he seems to have a stronger aura than Dong-hwa.”

The PD muttered, staring at Lee Hyun-jae’s eyes for a long time.

But Ji Dong-hwa, not caring about such things, worried that the PD’s clutches would reach his student, carefully pulled Lee Hyun-jae behind him.

“Oh, what am I doing… I should only be thinking about spending a hundred years with Dong-hwa…”

‘That PD is out of his mind.’ Ji Dong-hwa and Lee Hyun-jae thought simultaneously.

“I’m sorry, but Dong-hwa has to spend a hundred years with our members…”

However, Chae Hamin replied with a helpless expression, as if saying, ‘I’m sorry, I can’t grant your wish.’

Ji Dong-hwa, Lee Hyun-jae, and Ryu Iden all looked like they were wondering what nonsense they were hearing. Just as the question ‘Do you even know what ‘spending a hundred years together’ means?’ was seeping into their minds.

“We’re planning to build a retirement home when we’re around 60. The name is still under discussion… anyway, we have to spend a hundred years together, so sorry.”

“…Could you explain in more detail?”

Their audacious imagination and cheerful rebellion, never before revealed on air, was now being exposed to the world through Chae Hamin’s mouth.

* * *

“Oh dear, how unfortunate.”

Hwa-yang, feeling that she had extracted all the information she needed, smiled and got up from her seat.

She knew she had a knack for business since she was learning from her mother, but she joked about finding her dream and switched to being a musical director, but eventually followed her genes and took over the family business.

“Then, you can look forward to good news.”

Before getting up, she straightened her clothes. The head of the entertainment bureau just stared blankly at the table with lost eyes.

His career was entirely in someone else’s hands, something no one would want to experience.

However, she felt no pity. Pity was an emotion that suited Ji Dong-hwa or Ji Mok-hwa’s childhood, or her grandson Jin-han’s childhood.

“Shall we take you home?”

The secretary asked quietly as they stepped outside.

“Yes, I’m tired. I can’t even handle moving around myself anymore.”

“Is that person going to help you?”

The secretary had eavesdropped on the entire conversation outside the door. The flow of the conversation was clear, so she asked to move in advance, like a proper subordinate.

“No. Why would I?”

What benefit would that be?

The secretary paused, swallowing hard at Hwa-yang’s cold words. The feeling of a sudden chill was always hard to bear.

“Even elementary school students know that protecting someone who is clearly going to be abandoned is not practical.”

“…I see.”

A cold person.

“Or so you thought?”

The secretary held her breath, trying her best not to show it on her face. Hwa-yang seemed tired, taking out her hairpin and redoing her hair.

“Watch the game Dong-hwa has set up carefully. It’s not for nothing that they say he’s cunning. When you guys had trouble getting information, Dong-hwa subtly gave you hints without making it obvious.”

Hwa-yang recalled what had happened last time. When the talk about manipulation was still unclear, she had been gathering information to win them over in advance.

When she was briefly wondering where to start, Ji Dong-hwa subtly gave her a hint. Of course, it took an absurd amount of effort to reach the truth, but it was clear that she had gained time.

Ji Dong-hwa was truly cunning, maintaining the attitude of ‘I don’t know anything’ even while giving hints, which was astounding to Hwa-yang.

The information wasn’t something he could know alone, and it would be difficult to continue his entertainment career if he knew it alone, so he must have received help from someone.

“I don’t know who’s behind him, though.”

Hwa-yang’s thoughts were complicated. Among the people she knew, there was no one like that. Another person close to Ji Dong-hwa who was as obsessed with information as she was.

Unfortunately, Ji Dong-hwa didn’t classify that person as a ‘human’ but as a ‘life form,’ so it wasn’t clear if the expression ‘who is there’ was accurate.

“So, he was subtly pushing them to reap the benefits and run wild as much as possible. If that’s the case, we should extract as much as possible according to his wishes. Make it worthwhile for all the hard work.”

The abacus beads clicked as they moved back and forth. As everything came to an end, she began to calculate the gains and losses from this ‘operation.’

It was a rewarding operation that had far exceeded the break-even point.

“If I have to listen to either a cute grandson-like guy or an old middle-aged man, I’d obviously choose the former. Where is there room for coldness here?”

Yes, even though Ji Dong-hwa was subtly encouraging her in a mysterious way after setting up all this, he was just cute in Hwa-yang’s eyes. She thought, I wish Jin-han was even half like him.

Anyway, he probably didn’t know how much she would suffer even while pushing her.

“Hmm, wouldn’t he be a good successor?”

The secretary swallowed hard at Hwa-yang’s words.

“…There are rumors that the father of one of the members is also aiming for it.”

“Ah, that’s a shame.”

It seems that passing on the trashy behavior should end with her.

“Is it okay over there?”

“Yes, it’s a brighter place than ours.”

“…I wonder if Ji Dong-hwa’s personality would fit in there.”

“I think so too.”

Hwa-yang smiled brightly at the secretary’s words.

“I’ll make a quick call.”

A signal to reduce even the sound of breathing. The secretary didn’t even answer.

Short ringing tone. The ringtone was the new song they had released this time. It was a song full of spring energy, which didn’t suit her.

―Yes, are you healthy?

“I’m not that old, you brat.”

―My mother told me to do this when talking to adults.”

“That woman. She only taught you things like herself.”

Short silence. Hwa-yang chose her words, like when she talked to Jin-han.

“I did something you didn’t even ask me to do.”

And again, a short silence. It was clear that he was smiling on the other end.

―Actually, I’m really grateful.

“Then I’ll ask, who told you?”

―What are you talking about?

“Don’t pretend you don’t know. I need to know this time. I need to exceed the break-even point.”

That’s a lie.

―Well, I really can’t tell you. It’s not a living person.”

Are you some kind of voodoo practitioner, Dong-hwa?

Hwa-yang was afraid that the guy she was cheering on like a grandson might fall into heresy. Just kidding, right?

―Of course, if you really want to know, it’s me.”

Ji Dong-hwa had actually revealed almost all the information. The information was told by himself, who doesn’t live in this world, which is unconventional for Ji Dong-hwa.

Of course, Hwa-yang couldn’t accept it as it was and thought about it for a while before concluding.

“You don’t have any thoughts about taking over our company?”

Ji Dong-hwa figured it out on his own, he’s really a successor material.

―…I’m sorry.”

Oh dear, it seems the passing down is really over. What a shame.

* * *

And the next morning, Jung Kyung-woo, with a rotten expression and a coffee in one hand, looking 10 years older, heard a strange rumor as soon as he came to work.

“…The director what?”

“He said to edit this program completely on your own?”

Whoosh. The Americano in his hand spilled onto the floor in the shape of a map of the United States.

“Why?”

“We’re betting on whether he’s crazy.”

“Or am I crazy…?”

Jung Kyung-woo carefully closed his mouth. What is going on?