Becoming An Idol Wasn’T On My Plan [EN]: Chapter 76

76.

# ‘Momoji’, ‘There Will Be No Secrets Under Truth’ Edited Version

Still inside the cabin, the countdown on the TV ticks down, and the five members are gathered in front of it.

They searched the cabin for an exit, but found only hidden bombs, nothing else.

So, they gathered to discuss what to do, but no one spoke.

And in that silence.

“…I think you all know that I didn’t do anything.”

Ryu Iden (Kant) said quietly, trying to emphasize that he wasn’t involved in the truth they had to reveal.

“When I went to high school with Hana, you all know that I was the one who helped Hana.”

Then everyone looks at Ryu Iden.

“Is there anyone here who isn’t? Clock?”

“It’s been a while since that art-obsessed bastard said something right.”

“Shut up, you suspicious bastard.”

Lee Hyun-jae (Descartes), who frowned at the derogatory term ‘suspicious bastard,’ continued.

“Anyway, you all know? The reason why the five of us stuck together… was all because Hana played a central role.”

Then the screen switches, and a caption appears: ‘Ju Hana’s Death Date.’ A male student is seen walking down the school hallway.

“Hana, where are you going?”

Lee Hyun-jae (Descartes)’s voice echoes, and as Ju Hana tries to turn around, the screen briefly shows what the other members looked like on Ju Hana’s last day.

Ryu Iden (Kant) talked to Ju Hana leaving the classroom, Chae Ha-min (Locke) talked with Ju Hana in a classroom after all the students had left school, Seok-jun (Hegel) shared the cake Ju Hana bought in the art room, and Ji Dong-hwa (Nietzsche) played the piano together in the music room on the highest floor.

And that night, the scene returns to the cabin with Ju Hana going to the rooftop.

“That’s right. We were all… close to that friend. And we received a lot of help from that friend.”

As Chae Ha-min (Locke) nodded and muttered, Ryu Iden (Kant)’s expression hardened and he opened his mouth.

“…Weren’t you the only one who didn’t come to the funeral?”

“Who would think it’s desirable to show up at a funeral as a suspect?”

Ryu Iden (Kant)’s expression becomes suspicious.

“Well, even if it’s not desirable, why didn’t you, who was close to Ju Hana, come?”

“…To believe the words of a person who couldn’t even properly show their face on that TV, and to start suspecting without any basis, I doubt whether you are Kant. Shouldn’t we be trying to get out first?”

“So… aren’t we trying to get out now?”

Chae Ha-min (Locke) smiles as if he finds it funny that he, a politician, was targeted first. Anger is suppressed in his voice.

“Kant, do you suspect me now? Is this when we say the clock can be wrong?”

“…Because I saw a red mark on the blackboard in the classroom where you were last with Ju Hana.”

Then, Chae Ha-min (Locke), who stopped talking for a moment, calmly answers as if he had shaken off all emotions with a deep breath.

“Really? I’ve never seen it… If so, it wouldn’t be left on the blackboard, would it?”

However, the members who heard Ryu Iden (Kant)’s words heard the word ‘red mark,’ and all eyes are on him.

Gaining strength from that, Ryu Iden (Kant) adds.

“…It was a mark that you tried to erase, but couldn’t completely erase, you know.”

Chae Ha-min (Locke) is conscious of that and briefly raises his head, then returns to his expressionless face. Soon, he carefully loosens his tie and takes a brief breath.

And, maintaining a perfect poker face like a politician, he stares at Ryu Iden (Kant) with a cold expression.

“…Kant, you.”

A cold and sharp voice. Ryu Iden, who is just a professor, feels constricted by that gaze and answers.

“…Speak.”

“Why you didn’t tell the police about that, you will have to explain it after all my stories are over.”

And silence falls again. The camera zooms in and focuses on Chae Ha-min (Locke). Soon the video switches to inside the school.

* * *

Director Kim Kang-woo, who got the job through his acquaintance with Kim So-young, shouted lightly, though not for ‘Momoji’.

“Cut! That was good. Let’s take a short break.”

Then Chae Ha-min let go of the expression of glaring at Ryu Iden and turned back cheerfully, talking to Ji Dong-hwa, who was sitting next to him.

The instantaneous transition made me doubt whether Chae Ha-min was really an idol.

‘With that level of skill… he’s almost a rookie actor?’

Among the rookie actors, there are many who appear in dramas with just their faces and cause trouble, so Chae Ha-min was better than those guys.

Of course, it’s too early to jump to conclusions as he hasn’t gone into deep emotional acting yet, but the ‘feeling like he became that person’ acting could be confirmed even when he loosened his tie and took a breath.

“Director Kang-woo, how was it? The acting was pretty good, right?”

PD [Production Director] Kim So-young sits next to him and asks quietly. Director Kim Kang-woo watched Ji Dong-hwa pushing away Chae Ha-min, who was clinging to him on the sofa, as if he was annoyed, and Chae Ha-min rushing at him without paying attention, then nodded.

“Overall, the acting isn’t bad and the chemistry between the kids is good. Especially that friend Chae Ha-min, I guess he’s an aspiring actor that every idol has these days? He’s the best. And Ryu Iden, who matched his breath, seems to be doing well too.”

At those words, PD Kim So-young smiled softly.

“Unfortunately, Ha-min is not an aspiring actor. As far as I know, he’s the main dancer, right?”

“…Really? Then is that friend Iden an aspiring actor? That friend also has a pretty solid foundation.”

“That friend is the leader. His singing is average, and his dancing is average, so he’s well-balanced. Anyway, his skills aren’t bad.”

Kim Kang-woo became curious as he watched Kim So-young answering without hesitation.

“Anyone would think you’re an employee of the agency.”

PD Kim So-young, who smiled again at those words, turns her gaze to the sofa. Earlier, only Chae Ha-min was banging his head against Ji Dong-hwa, but now all the members were gathered and contributing to tormenting Ji Dong-hwa.

“…You should have a daughter too. There’s a lot of information you end up memorizing even if you don’t want to. She chatters so much.”

Of course, it’s a secret that the mother herself becomes interested in the process.

* * *

The relationship between Chae Ha-min (Locke) and Ju Hana is examined one by one.

In his childhood, Chae Ha-min (Locke), who grew up under strict parents and lived a life where only results were checked, met Ju Hana as a classmate in the first-grade classroom.

Chae Ha-min (Locke), who thought he would not make friends for the future, subtly regarded Ju Hana as a friend due to Ju Hana’s unilateral clinging.

Then, Chae Ha-min (Locke) accidentally discovers corruption within the school.

“…Well, it’s a common thing.”

He overheard the story taking place in the school’s small counseling room…….

He thought, “I don’t want to get into trouble,” and tried to ignore it.

“Locke, what are you doing here?”

However, Ju Hana’s kind eyes. And still, the exchange of grade manipulation in the counseling room.

Unlike Chae Ha-min (Locke), Ju Hana had no intention of ignoring it.

“…Are you really going to do it?”

“Yeah! How can they do such a thing because they are blinded by money? It’s not right.”

Chae Ha-min (Locke) sighs deeply and says.

“…Ha, then let’s do it together.”

Ju Hana was clearly a child from a single-parent family, and I heard that her family didn’t have much money. It would be more likely that things would be handled properly if he, who had a politician as a parent, got involved.

However, after the report, the incident began to turn bizarre.

He thought it was a simple and trivial corruption, so it was routine, but the connections reached higher up than expected.

Chae Ha-min (Locke)’s parents’ social power made them safe, but they slowly began to be isolated within the school.

In addition to that…….

“…I clearly told you not to cause an accident!”

“Well, I think I did the right thing.”

“Do you think politics is made up of mere justice?”

“…It would be right for the people to destroy such unjust power.”

“Again, that kind of! Dangerous talk!”

Even at home, where he had been doing well, he was receiving glares.

Therefore, gradually, Chae Ha-min (Locke) began to rely on Ju Hana emotionally. Because of the sense of camaraderie that they were going through hardships together, and because he was the only person he acknowledged as a friend.

Then, four more people who became close to Ju Hana gathered and began to hang out together.

And Chae Ha-min (Locke) and Ju Hana change into a relationship in the form of Ju Hana accepting Chae Ha-min’s subtle whining.

Whenever there was something difficult, he would tell Ju Hana one by one, and Chae Ha-min (Locke) would gain peace of mind. And he tried to help him with anything he could.

Then, on the day of the incident, they had a minor argument.

“…Locke, it’s nothing.”

Chae Ha-min (Locke) frowned at the scars on Ju Hana’s wrist.

“…Are you crazy? How can this be nothing? What the hell happened?”

Chae Ha-min (Locke)’s voice was precarious. It was clearly a sign of self-harm.

“Hey! You’re getting serious again! You’ve seen me solve problems on my own when something happens.”

“…More bullshit. You can only solve problems in a way that you lose out, you stupid human.”

Seeing Ju Hana trying to get out of it like a slippery eel as always, Chae Ha-min (Locke), filled with anger, began to pour out his anger on him.

He shouted that he had lost everything to help Ju Hana, but why didn’t Ju Hana tell him everything, why did he make secrets, that it wasn’t fair, even though he himself thought it was illogical.

Ju Hana, who was watching that, made a troubled expression and tried to slip away to the side.

“Where are you going!”

Chae Ha-min (Locke) unconsciously grabbed Ju Hana’s wrist. But at that moment, blood flowed from his wrist as if the wound had worsened.

Facing that red light, Chae Ha-min (Locke) felt all the strength in his body drain away as if it were a lie.

Ju Hana looked at the wound and then at Chae Ha-min (Locke).

“…I guess that’s true,” he muttered and ran out of the classroom.

That night, Chae Ha-min (Locke) wiped Ju Hana’s blood and frantically worried about how to apologize.

And again that night, Ju Hana is found dead.

* * *

I was watching Chae Ha-min’s acting and suddenly realized that I was holding my breath. Seeing Chae Ha-min getting angry reminded me of Chae Ha-min getting angry at me like a trauma.

In other words, the way that guy was angry in his acting didn’t feel much different from the way he was angry at me, so it can be interpreted as meaning that he is good at acting.

“…Does God Entertainment give acting lessons often?”

Ryu Iden, who was watching it, seemed to be the same, whispering very quietly. I’m grateful that he asked me a question, but unfortunately, I don’t know. If it were a base creature, I would know, but that creature is currently confined somewhere unknown.

I couldn’t tell a lie to my puppy, so I kept my mouth shut. Ryu Iden thought I was focusing on Chae Ha-min’s acting – probably because I had ignored his words countless times – shook his head and looked ahead again.

And soon, Chae Ha-min, who finished acting with a cut sign, seemed to collapse, greeted the actor who played Ju Ha-min, and ran towards us.

“…I don’t want to say this, but he’s like a dog. Who heard the sound of going for a walk.”

Lee Hyun-jae muttered quietly, leaning his head towards my shoulder. I know it’s not something to say out loud, but I wish he would get rid of it because it’s unpleasant.

“But when I think about it, I think we’re doing a lot of very unique things, don’t you think?”

That’s right. Do idols usually appear in something like this? Of course, since they are rookies, it wouldn’t be a bad thing if they could show their faces anywhere as long as it’s not just news.

“…Well, the team leader must have his own thoughts.”

In the first place, there’s no way I could know anything about the entertainment industry. There’s no way I, who had been locked up in a room reading books, could know the secret to idol success, so I’m just doing my best at the given work.

“That’s right… but it’s fun to be like an iconoclast in the idol world.”

“I― like heretics― I think it’s cool―.”

I laughed inwardly as I listened to Seok-jun and Ryu Iden’s stupid conversation. An iconoclast, what kind of animal farm is that?

“Guys! Give me some water! I’m so exhausted!”

An iconoclast doesn’t suit a rabbit who craves water.

* * *

The screen returns to the cabin.

Chae Ha-min (Locke) has an emotionless face. As if all emotions have been removed.

“I want to know too, like Ms. Jinri.”

Only the countdown is still in progress on the TV he glanced at.

“…I want to know if Hana died because of me.”

Sadness seemed to be faintly visible in Chae Ha-min (Locke)’s eyes.

“…Since that day, I have been working non-stop. To create a world without the poor like Ju Hana.”

He worked on the front lines of the workers’ party to create a world where all the poor could live like human beings and where their labor could receive fair compensation.

“Maybe… it was because of guilt. All those things.”

The cabin is filled with silence. Chae Ha-min (Locke) smiles. He is still looking at the TV.

“So now I want to know. Did I pull the trigger?”

It was as if he was talking to someone who was watching this situation from beyond the TV.

And Lee Hyun-jae (Descartes), who was watching it, gets up from his seat. His expression looked extremely bored.

“Why do we have to focus on the whispers of that devilish human being? He’s an unreliable human being in the first place.”

Invariably suspicious, Lee Hyun-jae (Descartes) turns around and moves his steps. He was in a mood to make a saw himself and break through.

Nevertheless, Chae Ha-min (Locke) still only looks at the screen.

At that time, the TV starts to flicker, and at the same time, the OST [Original Sound Track] flows out, creating a solemn atmosphere. It is a song worked on by Ji Dong-hwa.

The screen flickers, and a person wearing a white mask shows his face. Lee Hyun-jae (Descartes)’s feet stop.

“In the name of truth, the truth has not been revealed. I declare again. There is still truth to be revealed.”

* * *

Chae Ha-min lies down on the sofa and shouts.

“Wow… it’s not just the cabin scenes, so it’s really hard to catch the emotional line.”

I nodded as I listened to Chae Ha-min muttering. Since the school scenes are scheduled to be filmed on a different schedule, the emotional line is bound to become complicated as they are only filming the cabin scenes.

Especially since the scene Chae Ha-min just filmed is one of the most difficult scenes.

‘…For 10 years, that incident remained a trauma in his life.’

My previous life is similar to that. However, in my case, the situation was not as serious as that.

“Don’t you think the people who wrote this script must have had a really hard time too?”

Lee Hyun-jae says, sitting on Chae Ha-min’s stomach. Chae Ha-min complained of pain, but he just ignored it and sat there, looking cunning.

‘…The fox is hunting the rabbit.’

Extremely cunning.

“But Dong-hwa, what does the scene you just filmed have to do with philosophy?”

I explained to Chae Ha-min that Locke’s ideas were progressive in many ways at the time, linking them to political acts in the drama.

And the point that he advocated for workers’ rights was also linked to the political color of Chae Ha-min (Locke) in the drama.

“…Wow, so if you watch the drama, you’ll learn the ideology on your own.”

I don’t think it’s that easy, but I just nod.

“Anyway, our Ha-min, you worked hard.”

Ryu Iden takes off his blazer and carefully lifts Lee Hyun-jae and puts him down next to him.

…A human can be lifted that lightly.

“But― from the next― scene, it’s our― turn to suffer― again.”

I nod.

“…That’s right.”

It’s still the first day of filming. The outline of the culprit has not been properly grasped. All the members have to film their relationship with the character Ju Hana in this way.