By Zephyria 
Three months after Jae-ha publicly announced our marriage at a press conference.
While I was enjoying my newlywed life, the President of HB Entertainment contacted me one day.
[President]
‘What’s going on?’
After I revealed that I was An Ga-hyeon, not Yeon Yu-jin, and he reacted as if he was about to faint, I hadn’t heard from him at all for a while.
I had no idea what made him contact me.
I woke up late and answered the phone with a hoarse voice.
“Yes, hello.”
-…Are you An Ga-hyeon Guide?
What’s with this stiff, rigid voice?
Even a chick in front of a tiger wouldn’t be this scared, so I burst out laughing.
“Manager, what are you doing? You sound like an idiot.”
-Who are you calling an idiot… No, An Ga-hyeon Guide. I’m trying to be polite. Ahem.
“Just stop it, it’s awkward.”
-…Is that okay?
“Either way, the fact that I owe HB Entertainment, the Secrety members, and even Manager Hyung a debt of gratitude hasn’t changed. You can treat me as comfortably as you did when I was ‘Yeon Yu-jin’.”
The President didn’t refuse my consideration.
-Hmm, hmm. Then I’ll speak casually. Yu-jin… No, Ga-hyeon.
“If that’s not familiar, you can call me Yeon Yu-jin. I only changed my name to An Ga-hyeon, but I didn’t change my stage name.”
‘Yeon Yu-jin’ debuted with his real name, ‘Yujin’.
So, I was An Ga-hyeon and Yujin at the same time.
‘I think of this as my own way of honoring Yeon Yu-jin.’
Taking over the body of the unconscious Yeon Yu-jin was due to luck and the fact that my ability, ‘Resurrection,’ worked well, but…….
That doesn’t mean I intend to forget the original owner, Yeon Yu-jin, entirely.
He will continue to live and breathe in people’s mouths as ‘Yujin,’ a member of Secrety.
I hoped that would be a little comfort to Yeon Yu-jin, who left early.
The President, who didn’t know my inner thoughts, was delighted, saying he didn’t know there was such a way.
-Oh, really? Then I’ll call you Yujin comfortably.
“Anyway, what’s going on? Why did you suddenly contact me for a call?”
-Well, that’s….
I spoke directly to the hesitant President.
“I don’t like long phone calls. Just get to the point. You wouldn’t have contacted me, even enduring the awkwardness, unless you had something to ask.”
-That’s…. Oh, screw it!
The President, filled with determination, asked me loudly.
-Yujin, don’t you want to return to Secrety activities?!
“…Excuse me?”
What did you say?
*
I was dumbfounded by the unexpected proposal.
“Comeback? That’s ridiculous.”
The President said that he had always felt bad that the last mini-album, Volume 1, had to be hastily finished with only four members after the Ban No-ah incident broke out and I had to leave.
-Ho-yeon, Yoon-chae, Tae-beom, and Si-yoon all feel the same way.
“…….”
-The remaining members also want you to come back and perform on stage with them.
It was a strange feeling.
‘The guys who couldn’t wait to kick me out of the group are now reaching out and asking me to come back and work with them.’
But wasn’t I already semi-implicitly withdrawn from Secrety?
I even married Hyeon Jae-ha and revealed that my identity was actually An Ga-hyeon.
‘This…. Isn’t this the worst thing for an idol?’
While resting, I searched the internet and gained some general knowledge about idols and their fandoms.
Idol fans hate it when their favorite idols are involved in dating scandals, engage in illegal and morally reprehensible acts such as drunk driving or drug use, or make image-damaging remarks related to history, and they no longer support the idol.
But I’m a married man who was proposed to and married Hyeon Jae-ha three months ago.
Even though I’m being treated like a hero, I never expected anyone to look kindly on me for marrying someone of the same sex.
I told them that Yeon Yu-jin had ended his life by suicide because I thought the fans would be too shocked, and I made it seem like I couldn’t remember my past life as An Ga-hyeon from the beginning, but….
I knew very well that my existence alone was quite alien to continuing idol activities.
‘If I were to make a comeback, it would be a disservice to Secrety’s future.’
That’s not the ending the members would want either.
I really didn’t know why they asked me to come back.
“I’ll think about it.”
Only worries remained at the end of the call, which ended vaguely.
“Ah… This is driving me crazy.”
What should I do?
Logically, it would be better not to return and remain in a state of potential retirement.
I’ve watched from the sidelines how long the Secrety members have wanted success.
Even though it was a short time, they loved their job as idols and wanted to continue doing it for a long, long time.
I couldn’t ruin their efforts that were finally seeing the light of day.
So, returning to Secrety as ‘Yujin’ is out of the question, I should say….
“Ga-hyeon, why does your face look so twisted?”
“I’m annoyed.”
“What is it? Just tell me and I’ll take care of everything.”
“No…. It’s not that, it’s just that I think I liked being an idol more than I thought.”
“Hmm?”
Jae-ha’s eyes widened and blinked as if he was very surprised.
“The President of Secrety’s agency contacted me and said that the remaining four members agreed that they wanted me to come back.”
The President’s plan was quite specific.
He was considering releasing a ‘special album’ centered on the mini-album, Volume 1, which had to be discontinued early due to the commotion caused by Ban No-ah, and reactivating as a complete group including me.
However, since the previous album had already been promoted, he wanted to release the music first, skipping showcases and other events.
Since it’s a special album, the President said that they could record the songs from the debut album in a new style, or add a self-composed song by Tae-beom.
-All the schedule, including the comeback date, has been set. All that’s left is to get your permission.
‘…Secrety is good enough with just the four of them now, isn’t it? It’s not like the remaining members can’t fill that hole with their skills just because I, the sub-vocalist, am gone.’
-But the members, the agency, and the fans all want ‘Yujin’ to return.
‘…Isn’t that just the President trying to butter me up to get me on board?’
-No! I can swear on my beloved car. Yujin, there are a lot of fans who want you to come back.
‘…….’
-Ever since it became known that the reason you had to leave without finishing your activities was to protect the citizens from Ban No-ah, the Guardians have been waiting for Secrety to be complete with five members.
Was it because ‘Yeon Yu-jin’ wasn’t just a Guide in name only?
The President even told me that the current public opinion was favorable to me, if not good.
-Same-sex marriage? It’s common among same-sex Esper Guide partners these days. If anyone tries to make an issue of it now, just ask them if they were on Ban No-ah’s side, and they won’t be able to say anything?
I guess so.
Shin Yun-hui, the Director of the Management Bureau, and the newly appointed, clean Minister are working hard today to completely eradicate the traces of Ban No-ah.
I was grateful that he only said good things.
‘I still don’t know if I can go back.’
It’s true that peace has settled in by defeating the common enemy, Ban No-ah.
With the addition of the White Tiger Unit’s knowledge, the possibility of Dungeons suddenly breaking down has also decreased drastically.
Still, my identity as the nation’s top, one-and-only SSS-Class Guide was stronger.
If a group like Ban No-ah ever tried to pull off such a trick again, I had a duty to stop them immediately.
Like Hyeon Jae-ha, this was a duty that I had to fulfill as someone with power.
That’s why it was difficult to accept the proposal to return as a member of Secrety.
“What should I do?”
As I lay on the desk, scribbling aimlessly on a notebook with a pen and sighing, Jae-ha approached me.
“Is it because it’s hard to give up the offer?”
“…I want to deny it, but I have no words to refute it. That’s right. I think I had more fun living as an idol than I thought.”
Standing on stage and conveying my heart to the listeners through song.
Once I knew that charm, it was hard to refuse right away.
It was hard, and at first I was clumsy and just wanted to run away, but….
“Even if it’s not Guiding, I want to keep seeing people happy with my songs.”