By Zephyria “Ah, damn it… I’m going crazy.”
My head was so confused it felt like I was getting a headache. I ran my hand through my hair, and Jeong-min continued.
―You don’t really use community sites, do you? I’ll send you the links, so check them out.
As soon as I checked the posts Jeong-min sent, my jaw dropped.
Title: Sung Se-han’s friend is a G-Enter male idol debut team member ㅇㅇ
As I scrolled through the photos, starting with close-ups, then upper body shots, and finally full-body shots, sweat beaded on my forehead.
Gasp! And there were dozens of comments. My fingers kept pausing as I scrolled down.
Title: Sung Se-han’s friend is a G-Enter male idol debut team member ㅇㅇ
Content: He looks cold even with a blank expression lolllll
Comments (9)
He looks so intimidating you can’t even talk to him if you see him in person
They can say the agency, right? Kim Tae-kyung of Global Enter will be amazing if he debuts
His physique is also excellent, is he similar in height to Se-han?
⌎No, it’s just that his proportions are good, they say he’s around 180cm
He has a history with Sung Se-han lol, the synergy will be amazing when they’re together lol
⌎Don’t link them, they’re not even in contact after G-R-B, he just went to meet him at the dorm
⌎Are you Sung Se-han?
⌎Go find videos of Sung Se-han running
⌎This is too much
I closed the window without reading all the comments. Would it be too weak-minded to say I felt like I was standing naked in the street? My heart pounded so hard it felt like it would jump out of my chest, even though I wanted to deny it. It was different from the fear of being buried and forgotten when I debuted and no one paid attention. Sweat seeped from my tightly clenched hands.
I came back to a year ago to prevent Sung Se-han’s accident. But now, I haven’t even debuted yet. That means I haven’t failed at anything yet.
“Hngh…!”
I covered the groan escaping my throat with my hand. I have a chance to fix the most important point of my life…! Unable to suppress my churning emotions, I buried my face in my palms. My tightly closed eyes burned.
“I…!”
I will absolutely not lose Sung Se-han. And I will not repeat the same failure.
*
As soon as I returned to the dorm, the manager hyung, who was waiting at the entrance, scolded me.
“Lee Tae-kyung, are you going to do whatever you want? Are dorm rules a joke?”
“I apologize.”
I bowed deeply and apologized sincerely.
“Something urgent came up suddenly, so I couldn’t help it. Next time, I’ll get permission from Gun-woo hyung in advance.”
Gun-woo hyung was sitting on the sofa with his arms crossed, not even looking at me. Only Jeong-min, sitting beside him, fidgeted nervously, glancing at Gun-woo hyung.
“Gun-woo hyung, Tae-kyung hyung took a taxi to come back quickly. If that stingy hyung took a taxi, it must have been a big deal.”
I needed to calm Gun-woo hyung down for the conversation to go well, but I was losing my composure and felt anxious.
As I sat on the sofa without a word, Gun-woo hyung casually shifted his gaze.
“Congratulations, Tae-kyung.”
“What?”
“You became incredibly famous in just a few hours, didn’t you? Did you go there hoping for a spillover effect from Sung Se-han? If so, I’d really have to admit it.”
“Is that not allowed?”
Gun-woo hyung turned his head sharply and looked at me. He seemed stunned, as if my answer was shocking.
“Tae-kyung… you, don’t you have any pride? He’s someone who betrayed us and left…”
“Gun-woo hyung.”
I looked directly into Gun-woo hyung’s eyes for the first time in a long time. When our album failed, we avoided each other’s gaze and ignored our wounds.
“Hyung, I’m not going to worry about pride with Se-han anymore. Living like that only brought regret.”
“Tae-kyung, what you’re saying…”
“Gun-woo hyung, I have something to say.”
As our conversation became serious, Jeong-min swallowed hard and stood next to Sung Wook hyung, who was sitting at the end of the sofa. Sung Wook hyung was a manager who was strict about rules, but that didn’t apply to Gun-woo hyung. Gun-woo hyung was the CEO’s only nephew, so everyone, knowingly or unknowingly, often found themselves watching Gun-woo hyung’s reactions. Among the trainees, no one dared to argue with Gun-woo hyung. Except for Sung Se-han.
“Gun-woo hyung, I don’t think our debut should be delayed any further.”
After Sung Se-han left the company, various misfortunes piled up, and our plans were canceled multiple times. We finally debuted in late October with a mini-album.
“Uh…?”
Gun-woo hyung, who never imagined I would bring up the debut, looked at me with wide, startled eyes.
“Gun-woo hyung, I think we should debut as a vocal group, as we originally intended. We don’t necessarily have to debut as a 6-member group like Perfect Puzzle.”
Ah, that was a slip of the tongue.
“Hey! Lee Tae-kyung…!”
To calm Gun-woo hyung, who was jumping up, I scooted closer to him and firmly grasped his hand.
“I think the song you made before suits us. If we prepare with that song, we can release an album before April. Right?”
“What the hell are you talking about!”
Gun-woo hyung threw my hand off and stood up abruptly.
“Stop changing the subject and just say you don’t like the song I’m making now!”
His face turned red with anger as he looked down at me. I just bit my lip and couldn’t answer.
Gun-woo hyung, that song’s reference is Se-han’s song. Even though it’s a modified version of such a hit song, we fail so badly that no one notices.
“Tae-kyung.”
Sung Wook hyung, who had been listening quietly, admonished me gently.
“You’re not in a position to discuss debut timing. Your trainee contract ends in the fall, and you don’t know what will happen to you then.”
In the past, Sung Wook hyung’s subtle gaslighting used to scare me. But now, it wasn’t the time to care about such things. I was standing at a critical crossroads in my life.
“Sigh, Tae-kyung. I’ll let today’s incident slide, so go to your room and reflect.”
As Sung Wook hyung turned serious, Gun-woo hyung tried to ease the tension by patting me.
“Hoo….”
My chest felt so tight that I could only sigh. Only I am impatient. Who would listen to the opinion of a mere trainee?
Just then, my phone rang from my padding pocket. I took it out and checked. It was a message from Sung Se-han.
[It will be past midnight after today’s shoot. I’ll come even if it’s early morning, so wait for me.]
“Tae-kyung, you and Se-han are so affectionate, how have you endured this long?”
Gun-woo hyung said sarcastically, but it didn’t affect me much. I could fully understand the complex feelings he had for Sung Se-han.
“Gun-woo hyung.”
I put my phone back in my pocket and stood up from the sofa. Then, I faced Gun-woo hyung.
One thing was clear: there was no time to stand around idly.
“I really want us to debut before April.”
“No, Tae-kyung….”
“And, hyung.”
I raised my hand to stop Gun-woo hyung. Gun-woo hyung’s eyes sharpened at my action.
“You know the idol survival program that MVT is starting in May, right? The CEO mentioned recently that if we had debuted as planned last year, he would have sent us there.”
“Uh, uh…?”
As Gun-woo hyung stammered, Jeong-min jumped up from the sofa. I glanced at Jeong-min and continued.
“In my opinion, I think we would do really well if we went there?”
The MVT idol survival program, which started filming in late May, generated considerable buzz. Even teams that didn’t win gained some level of attention and gathered a significant fandom. At this time, I, who hadn’t even stood on a professional stage, was only filled with envy and inferiority.
“Gun-woo hyung, please tell the CEO that I want to go on the survival show.”
Gun-woo hyung looked at me with a bewildered expression. I already knew how difficult it was to gather even one fan. If I missed this opportunity, I probably wouldn’t be able to bear it.
“Otherwise, I will give up on debuting with Global Enter.”
As soon as I finished speaking, the living room fell into a deathly silence. Gun-woo hyung, who was only opening and closing his mouth, seemed profoundly shocked. Jeong-min, pale, looked back and forth between us.
“Lee Tae-kyung! Are you crazy?”
The silence was broken by Sung Wook hyung’s angry shout.