Becoming An Idol Wasn’T On My Plan [EN]: Chapter 72

72.

Gi Saeng shared the information he had acquired with Ryu Iden in a very gentlemanly manner.

…Since the word ‘blackmail’ is too aggressive, I decided to call it a gentleman’s method.

“There’s still some time left, right? Seongho won’t have problems until around March next year.”

“That’s right.”

Ryu Iden takes a large bite of salad. …Hmm, without any dressing. And on the same plate, there’s unseasoned chicken breast.

Since I played a prank on Ryu Iden yesterday, his self-management has become stricter. It seems he realized that what I said wasn’t a lie.

…Well, the possibility of that happening is close to zero, but it’s ridiculous for me to say I solved it.

“What are you going to do? Do you have anything in mind?”

“…I’ve learned that the future is quite complicated.”

Experientially confirming something I already knew was quite shocking.

The minor incident of ‘me becoming a trainee’ leading to the result of ‘Yoon Seongho dying’… is something I don’t want to experience again.

The figure of two months that Gi Saeng mentioned is the number of cases that will occur when time passes without our intervention.

Everything exists in a latent form, wriggling in the shadows of existence, waiting only to be realized at any time.

“…I think we need to maintain the status quo for now.”

Even though it might be cruel.

“Really?”

Ryu Iden eats the chicken breast, looking disappointed.

“It would be nice to solve it before that kind of thing happens… but would that be difficult?”

It’s the right thing to say. But it’s also a plan with a probability close to 0 of being realized.

Since he’s not doing drugs yet, I thought I could prevent him from doing drugs, but what are the odds that Lee Jihyun’s father is the distributor?

Unless we can change Lee Jihyun’s personality, it doesn’t seem easy to solve the problem that way.

People don’t change easily. Unless there’s a significant event. So, rather than postponing the danger with a temporary fix, it’s better to ensure Yoon Seongho’s safety.

So…….

“…First, there’s a list of celebrities who are currently or will be doing drugs in the future.”

I search my mind and recall the stored information. Hmm, fortunately, it seems I haven’t missed anything.

“…What?”

Ryu Iden barely finishes the chicken breast in his mouth and spits out the words like a sigh.

“It would be good to give it to my sister in exchange for her help.”

Since it’s a fact that will be known anyway, I memorized the date I saw in the news, so just being the first to reveal it around that time will help the reporter’s career.

I want to give Ryu Iden’s father information about Lee Jihyun’s father… but I only know that he has personality problems, which is a shame.

“No, don’t talk about such important things so casually!”

Hmm, what’s not casual about it?

I lightly ignore Ryu Iden and continue speaking.

“…First, I’ll tell you the plan. I’ve been pondering over it last night, but since I lack understanding of society, you can fill in the gaps, hyung [older brother/male friend].”

Ryu Iden, upon hearing those words, couldn’t help but let out a dumbfounded laugh.

“Donghwa… you really underestimate yourself too much.”

Ignore again. It’s not an underestimation but an objective assessment, so there’s no need to react to falsehoods.

“…The basic framework of the plan is taken from Leibniz’s pre-established harmony.”

And after looking at the plan I had prepared in advance for a while and explaining my plan, Ryu Iden made a blank expression after hearing the whole plan. That’s probably the same expression a dog chasing a chicken would have when looking at the roof.

“…Donghwa, you planned this last night?”

I nod. It seems there’s a flaw.

“…How can a person divide a plan into Plan A, Plan B, and Plan C, and then divide the detailed plans within those plans according to the number of cases?”

“Well, it might be a matter of people’s lives.”

“It’s reassuring… but I don’t really know how I should feel right now, really.”

Ryu Iden glanced at the plan, then looked at me, then looked at the plan again, and then laughed.

“I hope everything goes well according to the plan without any problems.”

“…That’s right.”

It’s always a problem that things don’t go according to plan in the narrative called life.

* * *

Yoon Seongho was gradually getting tired of the busy practice even during his hiatus.

‘It’s definitely… tough.’

There were rumors among the trainees that it would be even harder after debuting, but at that time, I endured with the single-minded thought that it would be great if I could just debut, so I thought it was an easy thing to say.

Yoon Seongho sits on the bed and turns on his phone. A photo of his mother and younger sibling together had arrived via messenger.

―You pesky son,,, contact me and live,,, Your younger sibling is making a fuss about wanting to go to the zoo

Yoon Seongho smiled because it was funny that there were no animals in the photo.

As he was replying to the text, Hoyeon came in.

“Seongho, what are you doing?”

A blunt voice, now too familiar. Only the tone is like that, he’s actually a warm-hearted friend.

The only person I’m close to in God’s Eye. Although I’m a newcomer, the God’s Eye guys make me feel a bit distant even if I work hard.

In the midst of that, only Hoyeon is friends with me. Actually, to be precise, only the two of us are being ostracized in God’s Eye.

…How did it come to this?

Yoon Seongho himself had already noticed that team leader Lee Jihyun’s actions were somehow fishy, so he was slightly wary, and Hoyeon was just being friendly to me.

What’s wrong with that that I’m being bullied?

‘…I heard they’re hanging around entertainment districts these days.’

I don’t know why they’re acting like that when they’ve become celebrities. It can’t be that they’ve completely failed and given up.

God’s Eye did relatively well. Of course, it feels like they were buried by Blossence, but they did relatively well.

And I can confidently say that myself and Hoyeon account for 60 percent of this success.

I was eliminated from the survival show because I was pushed back by kids who were good-looking and skilled, but I wasn’t lacking in visuals, and Hoyeon was decent in both skill and visuals.

‘Ha, really, those guys with faces that look like they’ve been rubbed on the asphalt road three or four times.’

It’s wrong to criticize other people’s faces, but when you’re being bullied, you get so angry that you can’t stand it.

“Seongho, hot.”

Hoyeon’s trademark bizarre elliptical speech. It seems my anger was expressed on my face.

“…Hoyeon, how are you going to live in this world being so kind?”

“Well, I’m living well.”

Yeah, you’re not dead, are you? Yoon Seongho had no choice but to nod.

“Yeah… if it weren’t for you, I probably would have gotten depressed.”

As he muttered that, his phone vibrated. He thought it was a reply from his mother, so he checked.

‘…It’s Donghwa-ssi [Mr./Ms. Donghwa].’

The only Blossence member he hasn’t dropped honorifics with, and a strange person who doesn’t continue the conversation even if you reply when they contact you out of the blue.

Yoon Seongho opens the message window and checks.

[Hello, today I would like to share some wise living rules.

1. Please recall this message at least three times before making a decision about a situation that seems problematic.

2. I am always ready to listen to Seongho-ssi’s concerns.

3. If it is a matter that I can help with, I will definitely help.

4. If a problem occurs due to others, it cannot be your problem, it is the problem of others.]

What is this message with the strong scent of Neapolitan 괴담 [urban legend]? There was something written after number 4, but in the end, it meant to contact me and live.

Yoon Seongho reads the text a few times and begins to suspect that Ji Donghwa knows something about the internal affairs of God’s Eye. He had been sending messages with the nuance of telling me to talk about my concerns since last time, but this time he even made a declaration to listen to my concerns outright.

‘…There’s no way to know, is there.’

Whether it’s because Lee Jihyun is cunning or because the company is indifferent, the fact that bullying is happening hasn’t been revealed to the outside yet.

‘Oh! Or, is this, perhaps, a sign to become friends? Friends usually share their concerns, right?’

Yoon Seongho is quite serious about making friends. Of course, he didn’t have many friends because of his righteous personality.

This time again, he leaves a message for Ji Donghwa.

[I’m worried about what to have for dinner tonight]

And after a long time with no reply, Yoon Seongho forgot about it while having useless conversations with Hoyeon.

[Although it’s already past dinner time, do you know what a Wiener Schnitzel is?]

A reply had arrived on his phone.

‘Wow! I thought it would be very difficult to become close!’

Yoon Seongho continued the message with an excited heart.

Of course, the replies were very slow, but for the first time, Yoon Seongho was having a long conversation with Ji Donghwa.

As a side note, Mok-hwa is the only person Ji Donghwa exchanges messages with.

* * *

“Okay, everyone. We’re currently on hiatus, but in fact, ‘Momoji’ filming is just around the corner, so we’re going to be quite busy. However, it’s difficult to postpone album preparation due to the situation.”

Jang Haejin introduces the schedule step by step. Schedules such as radio, W app, and events are revealed one by one.

“First of all, we plan to continue the W app steadily even during the hiatus. It seems like it would be good to do the first W app with ‘Monthly Ji Donghwa,’ which Donghwa-ssi suggested in the past. After all, the broadcast content is the most specifically set. Can you do it right next week?”

I nod.

Monthly Ji Donghwa, with the concept of creating a song to give as a gift to the members together with the fans. In fact, I’ve already set the rough framework, so there’s nothing to prepare separately.

Although it’s an idea I came up with, it seems like a pretty good idea.

“And the album… the production meeting is scheduled to start next week. Donghwa-ssi will be participating in the song work again this time, so please focus a little more during the production meeting.”

I nod again.

“Actually, our last album did relatively well, so the budget has been allocated more than expected this time. If the last song had a dreamy concept, this time I personally think it would be okay to have a more glamorous feel.”

…Glamorous. It’s too abstract, so I don’t really know what it means.

Jang Haejin, seeing my expression pursuing a clear definition, begins to ponder how to express his thoughts.

“If the last song felt like nobles having a tea party on the clouds in the late afternoon, this song means that something like an evening ball would be fine. Anyway, it would be nice to have a noble prince feel.”

…Difficult. An evening ball, wouldn’t only Chae Hamin know about this?

“Actually, that’s just what I’m saying, just write a song that you feel. A song like ‘Sorry’ that you wrote for Junseong is also okay, but it’s not. The timing is too close. If it’s too difficult, you don’t have to write it! You can continue the songwriting image by participating in the arrangement.”

Jang Haejin chooses his words carefully, being as considerate as possible to me.

‘…A song I want to write.’

There is a song I want to write.

I want to write a song about the happiness and joy I’ve been feeling recently, but it’s not suitable as a song for the group.

…Should I go somewhere like last time?

As I was worrying, Seokjun, who was next to me, patted me on the shoulder and said a word.

“For inspiration― how about― watching― a movie―, hyung [older brother/male friend].”

…You’re going to see Alfredo again, you dinosaur.