Becoming An Idol Wasn’T On My Plan [EN]: Chapter 259

“…just a little yes.”

Hanjin looked at me cautiously and nodded when I asked if he felt uncomfortable coming to the practice room.

He could have just told me comfortably; I taught him so diligently.

“Actually, you came to the practice room more often than some of our trainees.”

“Is that… possible?”

It’s a valid question because back when we were participating in the survival program, Ryu Iden thoroughly punished anyone who didn’t come to the practice room.

Seokjun was always dragged to the practice room by Ryu Iden, even on days he wanted to rest.

Ryu Iden’s eyes are quite accurate, and he’s skilled at pushing people to the brink of collapse. If he had been born in 19th-century England, he probably would have made a name for himself as a capitalist.

“Dong-hwa, the teacher, really, really cared about us.”

Stop, I don’t want to hear any more.

“Once, Eun-gu and I counted how many days Senior came, and it was five times a week. That ‘Dong-hwa Teacher’s Dawn Class Compilation’ on X-Tube [a fictional video platform] ? That’s just the tip of the iceberg! Sometimes, even when we wanted to rest! When Senior came! We’d automatically sit down! There was exactly one time when that was just a little bit uncomfortable.”

“Hyung [older brother or male friend], what are you doing not coming home at dawn?”

“I was on my way home.”

I just wanted to make sure that at least the people arranging the music didn’t fall behind.

Seeing people jokingly teasing me in the live comment section just makes me feel sorry.

“Everyone, what I really want to say is that I never forced anyone.”

As I confidently puffed out my chest, Eun-gu almost spat out the water he was drinking to wet his throat, barely managing to hold it back.

“Eun-gu seems to have something to say—Hyung.”

“Ah, no, I really respect Dong-hwa Senior, and I’m always grateful, and I wrote on the questionnaire that I never felt uncomfortable.”

“Eu, Eun-gu, your story is different…”

Let’s just leave Hanjin, who is momentarily consumed by betrayal, alone for a while. It seems like something was going on.

“Hyung, shut up, just be quiet. Anyway, that’s how it was…”

A little squirrel was still glancing at me.

This rootless broadcast is all about being informal, but they’re being considerate because I’m their senior.

I mouthed, ‘Anything is fine,’ and then he finally blurted out.

“Dong-hwa Senior can imprison people just by existing!”

A sound that was really hard to get out.

If that’s really the case, wouldn’t that be a villain that needs to be eliminated on a human level?

Seokjun also lowered his head and covered his mouth for a moment.

“No matter how tired I am, when I see Dong-hwa Senior, I just think, ‘Ah, I should just sit down and work.’ Senior is practicing ‘sleep less, work more’ in person, so how can I rest… that’s what I think.”

What is ‘sleep less, work more’? From the context, I can tell it means someone who doesn’t have the concept of resting in their head. Of course, I’m someone who rests when I need to.

“Ah, I know too!”

Seokjun expressed sympathy to the two guests with sad eyes. He nods as if it’s his daily life, as if he knows better than anyone else.

“But, after we debuted, we looked back at the songs from our survival days, and Dong-hwa Senior’s name was in the arrangement credits for all of them.”

“Ah, that’s right. It was strangely mysterious. He even composed a lot of the songs.”

A sudden start to a tale of good deeds.

It’s obvious that they’re trying to sugarcoat the conversation we had earlier.

“Plus, he bought us the most coffee. He listened to our concerns the most often. He even told us how to speak well.”

Eun-gu’s eyes gradually began to fill with madness.

He’s not looking at anything, but he’s focused on something.

With a subtle smile on top of that, it gave off a feeling that was hard to describe.

“I learned everything from the small techniques needed for arranging to how to deconstruct existing songs, and even where to put emphasis when speaking to attract attention.”

…Um, that was me.

“I learned how to treat people, and what attitude to take when working. Senior taught me about life.”

I didn’t teach you that, Eun-gu.

Eun-gu looked happy after speaking, so I had nothing more to add.

I don’t know if this is appropriate to say to a rising rookie, but his expression was like TOT’s crazy prophet senior, or God-A’s mad scientist Yoon Sungho.

In other words, to put it mildly, it was like Seokjun talking about ingots.

The thing you want to avoid most on the radio is silence, but since I, who was hosting, and Seokjun were standing there with our mouths open, it suddenly became quiet.

Both of us were too weak to face the intense respect that Eun-gu was showing towards me.

“Our Eun-gu likes Dong-hwa Senior a bit.”

If it weren’t for Hanjin, there’s no telling how long the silence would have lasted.

“…a bit, huh.”

I chuckled at Seokjun’s words.

* * *

“So, we went to arrange the music, and Dong-hwa Teacher coldly said, ‘I think it would be better to do this again!’ And the deadline is tomorrow!”

I just wanted them to do well, and I believed that the two of them had the skills to do it.

“Ah, that’s right. Dong-hwa Senior was a real legend back in his trainee days. There used to be several computers for trainees to work on, and there was no time limit. As long as you didn’t leave. But Dong-hwa Senior would go in with an armful of canned coffee and not come out for about three days. If we were worried and looked inside, he was still working.”

I don’t know anything about that. Base life,

[Don’t you think you know even if you don’t know?]

Oh, dear.

“And Dong-hwa Teacher had no schedule that day, but he showed up with coffee as usual and conducted a surprise inspection of the arrangement team. And half of them were ordered to stay up all night.”

I just told them to do it again; I never told them to stay up all night.

However, I didn’t say anything because Hanjin looked like he was about to spit out his coffee if I said that now.

My story is just a series of horror stories.

This 자리 [Jari, meaning ‘seat’ or ‘opportunity’ in Korean] was created because I strongly recommended it for you to promote yourselves, but why aren’t you talking about your group at all?

“Let’s stop here and listen to some Kinetica stories.”

“Okay, everyone, look closely at Hyung’s expression. He looks expressionless, but according to Hamin Hyung, that’s what he looks like when he’s embarrassed and trying to change the subject!”

Shut up, Jun.

“Wow, can all the Blossence members read Dong-hwa Senior’s expression?”

It looks like they’re praying for something desperate.

Eun-gu, why do you have such a useless ability….

“Yes, we created a study group, and Hamin Hyung gives us presentations.”

I didn’t know, not at all. It’s creepy.

“Really?”

“…Ah, it was top secret.”

Seokjun covered his mouth. It must have been a secret between them.

No matter how I think about it, it’s a creepy thing to do, which means they knew that I would hate it if I knew.

Somehow, from some point on, these guys have been reading my expressions as well as Chae Hamin.

Unlike me, who was shocked in real time, Eun-gu shouted with sparkling eyes.

“Hamin Senior… I definitely want to meet you!”

“Oh my god.”

How did that squirrel get so messed up? If I’m the cause, I’ll be sad.

* * *

After the radio broadcast, Eun-gu approached me and bowed 90 degrees.

“Thank you so much for today, Senior!”

Originally, back when we were in the idol production workshop, it would have been a cute sight, but after doing the radio broadcast together today, it’s just burdensome.

I’m not a great person who deserves to be respected by anyone; I’m just nobody.

Hanjin, who had been following behind Eun-gu, bowed 90 degrees to Seokjun. I guess they’re planning to greet each person one by one.

“I really wanted to see you at the last broadcast, Senior, but it’s a shame.”

“I had a schedule at that time too.”

“After I was confirmed for debut, everything I learned from Senior came to mind. I was really grateful and respectful.”

Eyes without a hint of falsehood.

If I saw him acting socially, I would have said empty words without saying anything, but since I know he’s sincere, my mouth won’t open.

So, Ryu Iden’s social skills special lecture advanced edition: a warm smile allows silence in many situations.

“Seniors, I heard you’re making a comeback soon.”

Finally, a change of subject.

“Yes.”

“Is it a self-composed song again this time?”

“We plan to do that for the most part in the future.”

Unless I suddenly injure my head and lose my ability to compose.

“I’m looking forward to it. I even saw a spoiler for Senior’s solo song. I’m just waiting for next week.”

It’s refreshing to see him chattering like that. He seemed a bit discouraged during the survival show.

He was confident in his skills but suffered a lot because his political skills were close to 0.

“And, this is what I thought with my lacking brain.”

Um?

“Thank you for helping me.”

…Um.

* * *

The phrase ‘Thank you for helping me’ has already been said several times before.

However, language has countless meanings depending on the context.

Considering the phrase ‘thought with my lacking brain’ together, it can be seen as meaning that there was something I helped Eun-gu with without him knowing, which he recently realized and that he could only know after careful consideration.

Such a thing, there is. Maybe he doesn’t know exactly what the situation is, but he probably guessed from the circumstances.

Our PD [Production Director] Jung Kyungwoo has retired, but he was someone whose inner thoughts were all revealed on the outside. I don’t know well, but Eun-gu must have known somehow.

Um, it’s not really important.

It would be difficult for me if he knew all the inside details, but that’s definitely not the case. More important to me right now was a separate matter.

“Hamin.”

“Yeah!”

Chae Hamin, who was smiling while looking at a picture of a reptile on the big screen, turned his head.

A conversation in the room after a long time, how enjoyable.

“I heard from Jun that you lectured on how to read my expressions.”

“…Huh?”

“Looking back at dozens of screenshots of my expressions.”

The two eyes that had been relaxed due to the reptile regained focus as if they had been hit with a stimulant.

“Wow, I finally got caught.”

Seeing his cheeks rising as he smiled, I wanted to hit someone other than Ryu Iden with a brick for the first time.

I, who have recently become skilled at expressing emotions, immediately picked up a cushion.

“Finally?”

“Yeah, it’s been about half a year!”

“…You guys aren’t in your right minds.”

“Hey, you knew it all along. And since I’m the one who suggested it, let’s just say it’s not just me!”

Chae Hamin took out the blanket that was on the bed and hid his body as if digging a rabbit hole.

I thought I would feel better after hitting him, so I opened the door and went out and opened Ryu Iden’s door with the spare key that I had made in case the members collapsed in the room.

“…Huh?”

Ryu Iden, who was giggling with Seokjun, froze at my sudden appearance. I immediately hit him with a brick.

“No! Why! Based on the atmosphere! It’s not like I’m the one who’s going to get hit…”

“Guilt by association.”

Since we’ve become a family, accept it sweetly. Because you’re the only person in our group who can be hit.

“Do, Dong-hwa! Wait a minute! We’re making a comeback next week! You can’t get hurt!”

Next week is finally the week when the first episode of the Problem Solver Office, the release of my solo song, and our comeback are all together.

“I won’t get hurt.”

I’ve gotten the hang of it because I hit it often.

“I!”

You’re indestructible.