By Zephyria I was about to put rice in my mouth when I stared at Kim Hyuk-soo with my mouth open. What on earth, what is this guy going to say again….
“I heard from a Hyung I’m close to. That Vice Manager Jang Joong-seop is a gangster from all over the country.”
The surroundings seemed to be quiet for a moment, but then surprised voices burst out one after another.
“Huh? A gangster? Perfect Puzzle’s manager?”
“Wow, no wonder! I knew he had a fierce aura just from looking at the pictures!”
“That’s really scary. A gangster as a manager…!”
I ended up putting down the spoon I had been holding all along. I didn’t know if Kim Hyuk-soo knew what he was talking about, but even though there was nothing certain, I had a feeling that it was true.
“Hyuk-soo Hyung, is that real? You shouldn’t say things like that if you don’t know for sure?”
Jeong-min, who had furrowed his brow, asked as if he was interrogating, but Kim Hyuk-soo had a confident expression.
“I heard it from my Hyungs, you know? Even if ordinary people don’t know, they all know in that world. No one believed it at first that Jang Joong-seop was an idol manager.”
“Huh? Is he that famous?”
Ho-soo, who had been silent, couldn’t resist his curiosity and leaned forward.
“I saw him from afar once, and he didn’t look like a gangster at all and was ordinary, though?”
“Ordinary?”
Kim Hyuk-soo lowered his voice and looked at Ho-soo.
“Jang Joong-seop is a person called ‘Ghost.’ He can handle 100 people alone with just one knife. There are people who have actually seen this. His skin is also like steel, so knives don’t even go in. He’s not a human, he’s a ghost. Besides….”
“Kim Hyuk-soo.”
I tried to reason with Kim Hyuk-soo in as soft a voice as possible.
“There’s no way a big company like Century Entertainment would use a dangerous person as a manager. Whatever the rumors are, they must have hired him because he’s a good person. That’s what I think.”
“Aish, Tae-kyung Hyung. You’re so naive.”
Kim Hyuk-soo, who raised his head, looked around the cafeteria and then lowered his voice again.
“In the first place, Century Entertainment was created with an investment from Shinhwa Construction, right? I also heard from my Hyungs that Shinhwa Construction is a gangster company. I also heard that Jang Joong-seop is Kang Robin’s lackey. Kang Robin is the only one who can use Jang Joong-seop in that organization.”
“Kim Hyuk-soo, you really.”
I couldn’t help but sneer as the corners of my lips twisted upwards.
“Can’t you focus on practicing instead of worrying about such useless things?”
I hope that Kim Hyuk-soo will reflect on his past and work hard with the goal of becoming an idol, even now. Hating and resenting people is a really energy-consuming thing. If possible, I want to understand and support Kim Hyuk-soo now. Even if it’s just for my sake.
“Kim Hyuk-soo, you really have talent, so if you make up your mind and work hard….”
“No, who said I’m not working hard? I heard that Tae-kyung Hyung went to Kang Robin yesterday too, so I’m just telling you to be careful not to get involved with that side!”
Kim Hyuk-soo, who had erased his smile, gave me a fierce look. I should have held back a little. I started talking about unnecessary things. I’m about to show the sight of arguing with a junior while eating.
“Hey, Kim Hyuk-soo. Watch your mouth.”
I’m the one who should be watching my mouth, but I still lack the training to control my temper.
“Is Kang Robin Sunbae your friend? Why are you calling a senior by their name without any honorifics?”
“Wow, seriously! Tae-kyung Hyung, you didn’t seem like that kind of person, but don’t be such a boomer, okay?”
Kim Hyuk-soo threw down his spoon, making the dining table turn cold. While everyone was surprised and frozen, Gun-woo Hyung opened his mouth hesitantly.
“Hyuk-soo? You… dropping the spoon was a mistake, right?”
“Gun-woo Hyung, did I do something wrong? Didn’t you see Tae-kyung Hyung keep picking a fight?”
“No, Hyuk-soo… it’s not that Tae-kyung was picking a fight….”
As Kim Hyuk-soo’s tone became increasingly rough, Gun-woo Hyung couldn’t hide his embarrassment and began to stammer. Well, Gun-woo Hyung must have thought of Kim Hyuk-soo as a talented and sociable younger brother, so he must have been surprised by the sudden rough appearance.
“Hyuk-soo Hyung, watch your mouth to Tae-kyung Hyung.”
Everyone’s gaze focused to the right at the heavy words. The owner of the voice was Soo-in, who had been silently eating his meal as if he was there or not.
“What? You little punk?”
The moment Kim Hyuk-soo’s eyes flashed fiercely, Soo-in put down his spoon and stood up.
“The Hyungs need to eat, so let’s go outside and talk.”
“Hey, hey! Soo-in…!”
I had no choice but to get up in a panic at Soo-in’s sudden action.
“You, sit down quickly. Sit down and eat!”
After rushing to Soo-in, who was sitting three seats away, and pressing his shoulders to make him sit back down, he tried to get up again.
“Tae-kyung Hyung, I’m…”
“Soo-in, the Hyungs aren’t fighting. Don’t worry and eat, okay?”
It was really admirable that the good kid was trying to help me, but my head instantly heated up. Kim Hyuk-soo was the kind of guy who hung out with real gangsters and used violence without hesitation. If this bastard held a grudge against Soo-in, I didn’t know what might happen. Because of my stupid actions, Soo-in almost got into danger.
“Kim Hyuk-soo, other people need to eat, so let’s go outside and talk.”
Before I could even point to the restaurant entrance, Kim Hyuk-soo jumped up from his seat. Gun-woo Hyung, who was looking back and forth between us, awkwardly got up.
“Tae-kyung, I’ll…”
“Gun-woo Hyung, I’ll talk to Hyuk-soo and sort things out. You guys should eat quickly instead of standing around.”
After reassuring the members and Hubae, I followed Kim Hyuk-soo out of the restaurant. Kim Hyuk-soo walked to the end of the hallway, opened the emergency exit door, and waited for me.
Standing face to face with Kim Hyuk-soo in the emergency staircase, I felt remorse for having rashly revealed my emotions and extended my hand.
“Kim Hyuk-soo. I was too sensitive earlier, ugh!”
Kim Hyuk-soo pushed my shoulder hard with one hand, pinning me against the wall. I couldn’t help but groan from the impact that struck my spine, but I wasn’t too surprised.
“Lee Tae-kyung, just because I’ve been going easy on you, do you think you’ve become something special?”
“That’s funny. When have you ever gone easy on me?”
I tried to push away the hand pressing on my shoulder, but Kim Hyuk-soo unexpectedly resisted with a strong force.
“Hey, are you going to move this hand or not?”
Kim Hyuk-soo was bigger than me, but I got pissed off at being pushed around by someone younger than me, and my voice rose.
“You little punk, are you really crazy?”
I was so dumbfounded by Kim Hyuk-soo’s outrageous behavior within the company that a burst of laughter escaped me. Kim Hyuk-soo gritted his teeth as he looked at me.
“The crazy one is you, Lee Tae-kyung. Do you think I don’t know you pushed me out of the debut group? You son of a bitch, I’ve been holding back from killing you, and you’re acting like a dick?”
“Haha.”
A laugh came out of my hollow heart.
“If you wanted to be an idol, you should have lived a more ordinary life.”
Kim Hyuk-soo grabbed my collar tightly with his remaining hand.
“What?”
“There are no secrets in the world. Kim Hyuk-soo, if you debut and your face becomes known, all the things you’ve done will be revealed one by one. How could you even think about becoming an idol?”
When I asked quietly, Kim Hyuk-soo’s expression quickly turned vicious.
“What nonsense are you spouting!”
“Ugh.”
My throat was constricted because Kim Hyuk-soo was shaking me by the collar. Still, I couldn’t help but say what I wanted to say.
“If a terrible article comes out later, the members who debuted with you will all be ruined together. So, if you really want to be a singer, just go solo. That’s the best, hup!”
The moment a fist landed in my solar plexus, I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t even groan. I couldn’t withstand the pain that made my vision go white, and as I was about to collapse, my collar was grabbed again.
“Hey, Lee Tae-kyung! Do you think your songs are so great? You only have a face, so why are you acting so high and mighty!”
My vision went dark, and Kim Hyuk-soo’s voice seemed to be pounding in my head.
“If I can’t become an idol, you’ll have to be prepared.”
Only after Kim Hyuk-soo released my collar as if pushing me away was I able to sit down comfortably. Bang. As I stared at the door that Kim Hyuk-soo had left and closed, laughter burst out absurdly.
It’s so difficult. No matter how many times time changes, I’m still immature and foolish.
Just because Kim Hyuk-soo isn’t exemplary, am I someone who has the right to push him out and take away his opportunity? How ridiculous is it that I’m trying to gain comfort with a petty sense of guilt after doing such presumptuous things?
In reality, I’m just a powerless bystander who can’t do anything for the people who are precious to me.
“My songs aren’t great…?”
I leaned my head against the wall and closed my eyes.
“They are great. My songs are.”
Because Sung Se-han liked my songs more than I did.
Because I sang about light.
“What more proof do I need?”
The pain subsided, but for some reason, I felt drained and didn’t want to get up. At that moment, I felt a vibration in my training pants pocket, so I took out my phone to check.
[Tae-kyung, where are you? We’re heading to the practice room now.]
Even after checking Gun-woo Hyung’s message, I fiddled with my phone for a while.
I felt frustrated. I couldn’t relieve the frustration. I regretted not being able to see Sung Se-han’s face properly yesterday because I was drunk.