By Zephyria I’ve been experiencing rollercoaster-like emotional changes because of him, so there must have been a temporary abnormality in my emotions.
Sung Se-han is just a friend.
A friend I particularly like. That’s all.
In order to maintain this position, it was necessary to keep a slight distance from Sung Se-han.
“If Sung Se-han is dating instead… Ah, damn it!”
A terrible feeling rushed in just thinking about it, and I punched the wall with my fist. The bracelet he gave me was shaking on my wrist.
“What are you going to do, Tae-kyung….”
I couldn’t erase the thought that it was already ruined.
Our schedule was so packed without any gaps that it was said that the first day of our debut was the most leisurely.
The relay interviews that had started this morning continued past lunchtime. In the afternoon, they had a YouTube content shoot and a fan signing event scheduled.
And tomorrow, they would appear on a cable music show. It was Sky Blue’s first music show appearance.
“So, Tae-kyung, you first met Sung Se-han when you were twelve?”
“Yes. As I mentioned earlier, at the piano academy…”
Tae-kyung had expected to be too busy to think about Sung Se-han today. But thanks to entertainment reporters trying to dig up anything about Sung Se-han’s past, he was constantly reminded of Se-han without a moment to spare.
“Sung Se-han must have been good at piano?”
There were still several questions left on the questionnaire, but the interview was already losing its way.
“Yes. Even back then, the teacher said Se-han was a genius. That he would definitely become a world-renowned pianist…”
Sitting side by side on chairs in front of the white wall, the members were blankly looking around the interview room. Tae-kyung glanced at them and sighed inwardly.
Was this a Sky Blue interview, or an interview with Sung Se-han’s friend?
“Hoh ho ho. If he received such praise, it would have been nice if he had continued playing the piano and entered the Chopin Competition, right? Or maybe he participated in some gifted children’s competition?”
What…? While trying to maintain a gentle smile, Tae-kyung’s face gradually hardened.
“Reporter Kim Jin-hong, Se-han wasn’t very interested in competitions. Even without receiving awards, everyone around him knew that Se-han had a natural talent. His talent as an idol is nothing compared to his piano skills.”
“Oh, is that so?”
The reporter with a cold appearance wearing a white shirt was sneering at Se-han. Knowing nothing…!
“At first, I didn’t take the word ‘genius’ seriously either. I was just curious about Sung Se-han’s playing, so I went into the lesson room, and Se-han was playing Moonlight Sonata, third movement. It was such an insane performance that even I, a child with no talent for piano, was overwhelmed…!”
Tae-kyung didn’t even realize he had clenched his fist in excitement.
He was frustrated to the point of madness that he was the only one who knew how amazing Sung Se-han’s performance was.
Twelve-year-old Sung Se-han was tall, thin, and as white as milk. That was all Tae-kyung noticed at first.
But the moment he heard Se-han’s crazy performance, he understood the meaning of the word “overwhelmed.”
He fell for Sung Se-han instantly. He began to look at him with admiration. Anyone would have done the same if they had been there.
And yet, there were people who doubted Sung Se-han’s talent. How could this be?
“If you could just hear Se-han’s performance once…”
“Moonlight Sonata, how fantastic.”
Reporter Kim Jin-hong tapped on his laptop and smiled pleasantly.
“I wish I could have been there to hear twelve-year-old Sung Se-han’s Moonlight Sonata. Lee Tae-kyung, you’re so lucky.”
Tae-kyung’s face, staring at Reporter Kim Jin-hong with a dazed expression, probably looked really foolish.
“Sung Se-han is either too modest, or he says it was just something he did briefly when he was young and not a great performance. Thanks to Tae-kyung, I learned a new side of Sung Se-han. Thank you.”
Ha… Tae-kyung bowed his head and covered his face with one hand.
What would Sung Se-han say if he saw Tae-kyung suddenly getting carried away and spilling unnecessary information?
Clearly, Tae-kyung was not normal these days.
Gun-woo Hyung, sitting next to him, patted his shoulder as if to comfort him. Tae-kyung’s face sank even lower.
“Tae-kyung Oppa! You’re so handsome! Kyaa!”
Seeing a fan screaming as she handed him a signing paper, Tae-kyung couldn’t help but smile happily.
“Thank you so much. ‘God Vocal Tae-kyung’? Ah, I remember seeing you in the fan cafe.”
“Oppa! You remember me? Kyaa! I’m such a big fan…! But Oppa, you’re not wearing that bandage because of a scar on your face, are you? The fans are curious…”
“Ah, were you worried? This is just a concept. Haha.”
“Right? It suits you so well! Like a delinquent honor student!”
“Nee? Hahaha!”
When they debuted last time, the fan signing event was lackluster. The members were embarrassed and their faces were stiff.
Tae-kyung glanced at his younger members and Gun-woo Hyung. Everyone looked happy as they shook hands and talked with the fans with flushed faces.
The fans waiting in the waiting area were taking photos and videos as if they didn’t want to miss a single moment of them.
Everything felt like a dream.
It was almost frightening to receive such excessive happiness.
But the ticklish feeling nestled deep in his heart was trying to suppress even this happiness.
Right now, Tae-kyung was having the strange experience of thinking about Sung Se-han non-stop.
It wasn’t so bad. After all, it was just a warm breeze that would soon pass.
The next day’s schedule started at 5 a.m.
They first went to the salon to get their makeup done. Tae-kyung was a bit busy because he had decided to change his bright hair to black for the concept.
But Soo-ji Noona, the salon staff member who was styling his hair, showed interest in his bracelet.
“Tae-kyung, weren’t you not really interested in accessories? I’m a bit taken aback that you suddenly showed up wearing a luxury bracelet?”
“No… it’s not that. Soo-ji Noona, this is…”
“Tae-kyung received that bracelet as a gift.”
As stylist Da-hyun Noona chimed in, Soo-ji Noona’s eyes widened.
“Who gave you such a luxury bracelet? Your parents?”
Tae-kyung felt awkward that people were paying attention to the bracelet. As he hesitated, Da-hyun Noona grabbed his wrist and shook it.
“He received it as a debut congratulatory gift from a friend.”
“What? A friend gave you a bracelet worth over two thousand?”
O-over two thousand? Surely not twenty million won? Suddenly, his thoughts stopped and he stared blankly, while Soo-ji Noona gave a suspicious smile.
“No, which friend would give such an expensive bracelet? I heard that this limited edition only had a set number of pieces per store…”
Da-hyun Noona smiled and patted his shoulder.
“That friend is Sung Se-han.”
“Oh!”
Soo-ji Noona’s mouth turned into a circle and she exclaimed in admiration.
“So Tae-kyung and Sung Se-han were really close friends? Wow, that’s a bit different from the rumors?”
“That’s right. Even after Se-han left our company, the two of them remained best friends.”
While the Noonas were talking, Tae-kyung looked at the bracelet on his wrist. He had guessed that it would be an expensive bracelet since Sung Se-han had given it to him, but he had thought it would be around one or two million won.
But over twenty million won. The bracelet suddenly felt heavy at the unexpectedly high price.
“I didn’t know that Tae-kyung had a generous friend like Sung Se-han, so I was worried for nothing… Hoho! Well, let’s finish up quickly!”
After finishing their hair and makeup, they headed to the broadcasting station. And then they entered an endless wait until the rehearsal time.
“Hello, Sunbaenims! We are Sky Blue!”
Standing in a row in front of the waiting room, they bowed deeply to the Sunbaenims who passed by, and everyone patted them on the shoulder in a friendly manner.
The members were stiff and sweating, but Tae-kyung wasn’t particularly nervous because it was mostly a repetition of what he had experienced in the past.
He straightened his posture and turned his gaze to the end of the hallway, where the “Sweet Girls” team was quickly approaching them.
Sweet Girls, who were entering their fourth year since debut, were a top idol group with a huge fan base. Tae-kyung was also slightly nervous as the Sunbae team, whom he had never seen in person before, approached.
“Hello, Sunbaenims! We are Sky Blue!”
“We are Sky Blue! Please take care of us!”
Sweet Girls also greeted their team’s ninety-degree bow with a friendly response.
“Nice to meet you. We are Sweet Girls!”
“Nice to meet you, Hubaes!”
The Sunbaenims patted the members on the back, causing them to blush in embarrassment.
“Wow! You’re all so handsome.”
“You’re all really cool!”
“Thank you! Sunbaenims, you are all very beautiful too!”
“Really? Hahaha!”
Just like their image on TV, all four members of Sweet Girls seemed to have cool and uninhibited personalities. Tae-kyung was listening to the Sunbaenims’ words with his hands clasped and a polite posture, when the youngest member of the team, “Yeon-du” Sunbaenim, approached him.