By Zephyria “What? Give up on debuting? You really don’t grasp the situation! Do you think you’re some kind of big shot? There are plenty of guys as good-looking as you! Ah, really…!”
Sung Wook hyung, who was yelling, pulled out his phone from his back pocket.
“You’re hopeless. I’ll tell the General Manager…”
“Stop it, hyung!”
Gun-woo hyung snatched Sung Wook hyung’s phone and threw it onto the sofa.
“This is our problem, so we’ll solve it among ourselves.”
“No, Gun-woo-ya. Tae-kyung…”
“Hyung, are you going to interfere in every single argument we have?”
“This isn’t just a simple argument!”
It was the first time Sung Wook hyung had yelled at Gun-woo hyung, so everyone flinched. I wasn’t really surprised. Even if the CEO himself yelled at me, would it be as terrifying as our album failing?
“Tae-kyung.”
Gun-woo hyung, who had hesitated for a moment, glared at me. I knew he expected me to bow my head and apologize as usual, but I couldn’t.
“Gun-woo hyung, we’ve been preparing for our debut album for over a year. If we continue like this, we’ll miss a good opportunity…”
Ring ring— Ring ring! Ring ring—!
As I was speaking seriously, my phone in my padding pocket rang loudly. I took it out to turn it off and continued speaking.
“If we miss all the good opportunities like this….”
Seeing ‘Sung Se-han’ on the screen, I gasped sharply. I had clearly intended to reject the call, but my finger automatically touched the answer button.
“Hey, Lee Tae-kyung! What are you doing?”
Sung Wook hyung yelled. As I looked at him in surprise, a cushion flew towards my face. I managed to avoid the impact by tilting my head slightly, thanks to my excellent reflexes.
“Are you really not going to come to your senses?”
Seeing me answer a call in this atmosphere, Sung Wook hyung seemed completely enraged.
“Uh, um….”
Flustered, I stammered, and an unusual voice came from the phone.
―Tae-kyung-ah.
Holding the phone, I couldn’t do anything but roll my eyes. Gun-woo hyung glared at me with a frown.
“Tae-kyung-ah, why aren’t you speaking when you’ve answered the phone?”
Ha! This is driving me crazy. I quickly brought the phone to my ear as if I had met a debt collector.
“Uh, Se-han. I’ll call you back later, so….”
―Why haven’t you checked what I sent?
“Huh? What did you send?”
―I sent photos, so check them quickly and contact me.
Photos? What photos? As I tried to ask again, the call ended. Worried that something might be wrong, I quickly checked my messages.
“Hey! Lee Tae-kyung!”
“Tae-kyung-ah! You really….”
Sung Wook hyung and Gun-woo hyung called out to me menacingly, but checking the photos was the priority. What if something was wrong with Sung Se-han…
[Choose the one you like best.]
As I quickly scrolled through the photos that followed the message, I cursed out loud.
Five consecutive photos, with only slight variations in angle, all showed me hugging Sung Se-han.
“Lee Tae-kyung!”
Meanwhile, Sung Wook hyung yelled again, so loudly it hurt my ears. Overwhelmed by the sudden stress, I wanted to throw my phone.
Just then, a loud dance music ringtone sounded from the sofa. It was Sung Wook hyung’s phone, which he had thrown earlier. Sung Wook hyung quickly picked up the phone but stopped.
He glanced at Gun-woo hyung, then, as if making a decision, accepted the call.
“Hello.”
―Sung Wook hyung, it’s been a while.
Since the voice from the phone was so clear, all our eyes turned to Sung Wook hyung.
“Yes. Se-han, it’s been a while. But why are you calling me?”
I looked at Sung Wook hyung, who was speaking stiffly, then closed my eyes tightly. That brat, what is he going to say to Sung Wook hyung…
―Calm down a bit, hyung. The trainees aren’t your servants, so why do you always yell?
Aargh… I wanted to scream, but I couldn’t, so I covered my face with one hand.
“Se-han, I don’t think you’re in a position to meddle in another company’s affairs?”
Sung Wook hyung, unable to yell at Sung Se-han, glared at me through gritted teeth.
―Hyung, are you talking through gritted teeth right now? You might hit me if you’re not careful.
“Hey! Sung Se-han….”
―Be careful. If you raise your hand carelessly, you might get hurt.
“What? Sung Se-han! Hey, hey…!”
The call ended, and Sung Wook hyung glared at his phone, huffing. As I cautiously backed away, Gun-woo hyung’s phone rang.
Gun-woo hyung looked at the phone on the table for a moment, then answered it.
“Sung Se-han… what did you want to say to me?”
―Park Gun-woo hyung, why are you treating Tae-kyung so carelessly?
Seeing Gun-woo hyung bite his lip until it bled, I sank onto the sofa. I no longer had the strength to endure after dealing with so much in one day.
“Se-han. Tae-kyung and I are like brothers.”
―Wow, what a fucking thing to say.
“Wh-what…?”
―We’re only a year apart, but you treat me so respectfully as an older brother that you’ve lost all sense of proportion. Our Gun-woo hyung is….”
Where that strength came from, I pounced on Gun-woo Hyung like I was flying and snatched his phone in an instant.
“Sung Se-han! Are you really crazy? What are you doing!”
―Tae-kyung, have you chosen the picture?
I was about to go crazy with anger, but Sung Se-han drove me even more insane.
“Sung Se-han! You, crazy….”
―If you don’t pick a picture quickly, I’ll spread rumors that I was sexually harassed.
Holding the disconnected phone, I stood there dumbfounded. Everyone seemed to have lost their words, and only rough breathing filled the living room.
The first to move was Gun-woo Hyung. Hyung took the phone from my hand and stared into the air for a moment.
“Tae-kyung, let’s talk again later.”
I followed Gun-woo Hyung as he went into his room.
“Hyung, don’t pay attention to what Se-han said. You know he’s always been like that.”
“Tae-kyung, I….”
Gun-woo Hyung, who was standing holding the door, turned to look at me.
“I’m really disappointed in you today.”
“Hyung…!”
I stood still in front of the closed door when I heard loud footsteps from behind. Sung-wook Hyung, making thumping sounds, left the living room and went straight out the front door.
“Ah, this is a mess.”
It hurt to hurt Gun-woo Hyung, but it wasn’t the time to act weak. I turned and gestured for Jeong-min to follow me to my room.
“Tae-kyung Hyung.”
As soon as we sat on the bed together, Jeong-min grabbed my hand.
“I’m totally in favor of what Hyung is thinking! I almost clapped earlier, it’s so cool that Hyung was thinking about that!”
I don’t deserve Jeong-min’s sparkling eyes.
If I were a truly cool person, I would have thought of this plan a long time ago. I could have given Gun-woo Hyung, who was vaguely imitating Sung Se-han, sincere advice.
But I didn’t have the courage to confront Gun-woo Hyung, and in the end, I was a coward who couldn’t do anything.
“But, Hyung. You’re not really going to leave the company, are you? Huh?”
“Maknae.”
Jeong-min, who started as a trainee at the age of 12, is already 17 years old. Knowing that Jeong-min, who has worked so hard, betting everything at a young age, will eventually taste painful failure, I can’t just stand by and watch.
“I’m not going to slip away alone. You and Gun-woo Hyung have both worked hard, so we have to debut together and succeed.”
“Yeah! Keep your promise. I really want to be on the same team as Hyung.”
I hooked my pinky with Jeong-min’s, but I sighed inwardly. I’m frustrated because I don’t know if Gun-woo Hyung will seriously consider my words.
I went straight to the playground after seeing the text that Sung Se-han had finished filming.
I felt like I was suffocating in the dorm, and I wanted to sort out my thoughts alone. I kept wandering around the dark playground late at night.
“Don’t be impatient. Let’s solve it one step at a time.”
I kept repeating it like a mantra, but the impatience didn’t go away. If only Gun-woo Hyung would make up his mind, things would go smoothly.
“No, there’s no time to slowly persuade Gun-woo Hyung now….”
Besides, Gun-woo Hyung won’t easily give up that problematic song.
“Hoo….”
I sat on the bench and took out my phone. Then I opened YouTube and played Perfect Puzzle’s debut song ‘Space War,’ which I had already watched about a hundred times.
Every time the orchestra’s magnificent performance begins, my heart throbs painfully. And with the rapidly changing destructive beat, I taste painful frustration.
When Sung Se-han’s face fills the screen with his eyes closed, I can’t help but hold my breath. Because I know that the moment he opens his eyes, a whirlwind of rap will begin.
⌜Why are you looking at the sky?⌟
⌜Right here. The place where I stand is the constellation.⌟
⌜The dazzling star that blinds you is me!⌟
This part, where he smiles leisurely while staring at the screen, has already been made into countless memes. I know that Sung Se-han’s fans call this scene ‘the beginning of the legend.’
The main vocalist’s high note, which Perfect Puzzle boasts, follows, but honestly, I’ve never focused on it. Because Sung Se-han’s intro part is so destructive. The visuals that dominate the screen, the dramatic voice that hits the ears, the afterimage remains so deeply that I only look for him behind the screen.
⌜I know my footprints will become history.⌟
⌜There are no rivals on Earth! My scale is a space war!⌟
His arrogance and confidence were shocking enough to make my head spin.
I thought, what a brazen and fearless bastard, but then, well, it’s Sung Se-han. I had no choice but to accept it.
I’m sure I’m not the only one who feels that way. You can tell just by the fact that Sung Se-han has an overwhelming individual fandom even within Perfect Puzzle, which is uniquely popular.
That was the problem.