Becoming An Idol Wasn’T On My Plan [EN]: Chapter 84

84.

Everything was proceeding as planned. By now, Lee Ji-hyun would be visiting the ‘FFF Club’ in Gangnam, likely wondering what it even was.

Following that, Ryu Iden’s sister and her three colleagues would be documenting the drug deals inside the club with photos. Given the nature of the press, there were three possible scenarios. If things went according to what seemed most likely, considering his sister’s personality…

“Ha! Dong-hwa! Did you see that? I won again!”

…What a racket.

Here we were, at a board game cafe with a name that made you wonder if they called it a cafe to mean a social gathering place, or just because it sounded cool.

Ryu Iden officially declared his victory and started teasing me. It’s a game where you dig for gold in a gold mine, drawing gold or bombs from your pocket to score points, with luck determining almost everything.

I clearly calculated the points to be gained and the probability of bombs appearing, choosing only the higher probability options, but either the number of trials was insufficient, or…

“Haha! Huh? You were so happy when playing brainy games, right? You have terrible luck!”

…Or I just have bad luck.

I should be smart enough to overcome even luck, but it’s my fault that I’m not.

Damn, luck-based 망겜 [Mang-gem, Ruined Game – slang for a badly designed game]. Lee Hyun-jae taught me that word.

* * *

Lee Ji-hyun felt on top of the world. He booked a VIP room at the FFF Club and was chugging down alcohol like crazy. He was even writhing in pleasure.

As a VIP, he knew that drug deals took place there.

Curiosity. In many cases, the downfall of humans starts with curiosity.

“Ji-hyun… is this really okay?”

“Come on! Don’t you know it’s been circulating here for over four years? It’s safe! You and hyung [older brother/male friend – term of endearment] were curious too, right?”

And arrogance. Many mistakes stem from the illusion that they are invincible.

“…Hey, even if we’re curious, doing it ourselves is a bit different. It’s dangerous, I’m telling you.”

“And! ×발 [Shibal, F*ck – Korean curse word]! I’ve been so stressed out lately because of those Blossence bastards! Let’s just relieve stress for one day, okay?”

Next is inferiority. One of the most dangerous toxins that cloud human judgment.

“Just trust me, okay? It’s safe! No one’s ever been caught here, I’m telling you?”

Finally, superiority. They wear a well-performing mask created to hide their inferiority.

The leader of a group becomes a mirror of the group members. That’s why they have the thought of ‘just once…’ and start reaching for the liquor bottles and the drugs placed between them.

* * *

Still at the board game cafe. We gave up on the gold mine search, which was defined as a ‘luck-based 망겜 [Mang-gem, Ruined Game],’ and Yoon Sung-ho and I started playing Korean chess, Janggi.

Ryu Iden and Ho-yeon somehow teamed up and were overly engrossed in a game where you ring a bell when five fruits appear, so we found a game we could play together.

“Dong-hwa, are you good at Janggi?”

“…Just the basics.”

“This hyung [older brother/male friend] is good at Janggi! My grandfather was the best Janggi player in the neighborhood. I’ll show you how I beat Flower Boy Brain today.”

Unfortunately, such provocation doesn’t work on me, who has no concept of competitiveness.

However, I don’t want to lose either.

Janggi is a game I used to play with my father when I was young. We used to play to decide who would do the dishes from around the age of five. After my father passed away, I would play grand matches alone on the Janggi board. Perhaps it was my way of remembering him.

The game began. Yoon Sung-ho is moving his pieces quite aggressively. …Is this how you play betting Janggi? His attempts to shake the opponent are easily visible. It’s full of slightly arrogant moves.

As Yoon Sung-ho aggressively digs in, I slowly respond, and the game progresses. Yoon Sung-ho captures a pawn that I subtly placed, looking easy to take, with his horse.

A single big mistake. This one arrogant choice sealed Yoon Sung-ho’s defeat. My check and Yoon Sung-ho’s defense, and the palace placed in a checkmate position, all lead to Yoon Sung-ho exchanging his pawn and horse over a total of eight moves.

“…Wait. What, now? Wait a minute.”

Since I didn’t learn Janggi in vain, Yoon Sung-ho realizes that his chances of winning are approaching zero. He slowly looked back at the moves he made, and sighed as he realized.

“…Ah, so this happened because I moved my horse wrong once eight moves ago.”

I nod.

“The immediate gain can be a loss in the overall result.”

“…I really didn’t expect this. I thought it would be okay.”

“…This time, I subtly set a trap. It’s hard to predict about eight moves ahead.”

“No, Dong-hwa. You saw it. You’re a cheater, really.”

I responded with a smile.

“You can’t just look one move ahead, Sung-ho.”

Because human life can be ruined by that one move.

At that moment, my phone vibrated. I opened it, checked the message, put it down expressionlessly, and spoke to Yoon Sung-ho.

“Want to play another round?”

“Wow, I think I’ll lose… but let’s do it.”

On the phone I put down, there was a message from Ryu Iden’s sister.

―Ice consumption.

It was Lee Ji-hyun’s checkmate. Now, to avoid losing the game, I have no choice but to make a humiliating exchange.

* * *

I wonder if Lee Ji-hyun knew.

That Ryu Iden, Ji Dong-hwa, and Ryu Iden’s sister gathered various information to find out which room he mainly used.

That a person from a private investigation agency, commissioned anonymously by Ji Dong-hwa, had installed a camera in that room.

And that the waiter working in that room was a person who had infiltrated from Ryu Iden’s sister’s side under disguise.

If he knew all of that, would he have touched the drugs?

From the beginning, the FFF Club was a place that the police, who were tracking drug deals, were keeping a close watch on. Since Ryu Iden was directly involved in the entertainment industry, the moment he conveyed the suspicion that drugs seemed to be circulating through the club through his father, the police moved for their own benefit.

The dirty lifestyle in the room would certainly be fatal as a celebrity, but even the fact that drugs were found in his possession was recorded.

The next day, the video will be sent to God Entertainment under an anonymous name, along with a mischievous sentence that they have no intention of releasing it yet.

According to Ji Dong-hwa’s prediction, the most rational choice God Entertainment can make at this time is to corner Lee Ji-hyun. In order to find the anonymous sender, they have to show the video to the police, so unless they’re crazy, they can’t do that. The rational path is to trust the mischievous sentence for now and prevent recurrence.

If that happens, Lee Ji-hyun will lose trust as a leader. No one will try to follow him. What choice will he make at this time?

Ji Dong-hwa, who carefully analyzed Lee Ji-hyun’s personality, estimated several cases and their respective probabilities. With a probability of about 87 percent, Lee Ji-hyun will inform his father of this fact.

Because humans who rely on the power of others often become accustomed to crying out to solve the problems that have occurred to them.

Therefore, the problem that arises, what choice will Lee Ji-hyun’s father make?

* * *

Still at the board game cafe, we are healthily drinking cola and Americano until 1 o’clock. Next to us, Ryu Iden and Ho-yeon’s battle of pride is in progress, snatching each other’s cards as the bell rings for about 20 minutes.

On the other hand, Yoon Sung-ho and I have now switched to me teaching Yoon Sung-ho Janggi.

“So, Dong-hwa, what should I do in this case?”

Yoon Sung-ho recreates the place where he went wrong by reversing a few moves. His important piece, the chariot, is isolated in the middle of the enemy camp. He tries to save it, but it leads to a chain of events, and he ends up giving up his horse and cannon.

The most rational move in this case is…

“You have to give up.”

Cutting your losses.

“Can’t you save it?”

“…You can save it. But you’ll just lose.”

As a literary critic named it ‘The Ethics of Ruin,’ there may be one value that must be protected even if everything is given up, but in reality, most people generally choose the path of protecting everything by giving up one value.

“Hmm… that’s right. That would be right. Even if I save the horse, there’s too much to lose.”

“However, you shouldn’t give up the game just because you lost the horse.”

I move a few pieces. I only make the best possible moves, and finally, I create a checkmate for Yoon Sung-ho with my soldier. His eyes widened as he slowly recalled each move, and an exclamation came out.

“I won. I abandoned the horse and went in with the chariot…”

Yoon Sung-ho’s eyes sparkle as he quietly murmurs and reviews the game.

“When playing Janggi, after losing something, there will always be an opportunity to achieve it again.”

So, personally, I hope that Yoon Sung-ho will not give up. Perhaps… an incident will happen in about a week.

Ding―!

The bell rings. Ho-yeon gets up from his seat and starts dancing without saying a word. A fairly large build, a perfect expressionless face, an incomprehensible dance, and above all, a straw still tied to one hand. It’s a chaotic state where nothing can be missed.

Ryu Iden is bowing his head in front of him as if he has lost. An act of performance art is unfolding, showing that Ho-yeon has won in the final fruit snatching.

Surprisingly, we are all unmasked even in the board game cafe. Occasionally, requests for autographs came in, but most of the time, since it was late, the fans were just watching.

That frenzy of excitement.

“Admit it, hyung [older brother/male friend] couldn’t protect the fruits.”

“…I’ll admit it, I guess I can’t beat the son of an orchard owner.”

It was a beneficial time to learn the utterly useless information that Ho-yeon is the son of an orchard owner.

“…Really, I burned it all white [gave it my all]. Let’s go back now.”

Ryu Iden mutters in the voice of a loser. He lost in a fight that lasted over 30 minutes, so that could be the case.

We ate and came in around 8 o’clock and played here until 2 o’clock in the morning, so it’s time to go back.

But before that, I need to take a picture for a while.

“Gather around.”

At my call, everyone gathered in front of the clock hanging on the wall inside the board game cafe.

Click―

This photo will protect Yoon Sung-ho and Ho-yeon, along with countless eyewitness accounts, in the event of an emergency.