By Zephyria Seeing his younger brother Tae-min’s name on the screen, Tae-kyung quickly grabbed his phone.
“I’ll go take this call. Keep eating!”
He left the cafeteria and answered the phone.
“Hey, Tae-min. It’s Hyung.”
―Hyung, have you had dinner?
Even though they had talked a few days ago, Tae-min’s voice sounded unusually bright today. Tae-kyung knew why and smiled.
“Yeah, I ate.”
―Hyung, I watched the video. You really looked like an idol?
Tae-kyung felt nauseous for some reason and touched his mouth. Tae-min hadn’t said anything special even after watching their team’s music video in the past.
So, Tae-kyung had been tormented by the fact that he had released a debut song that even his own brother didn’t recognize.
“How was it? Was it okay? Did you like it?”
―Yeah… you didn’t seem like Hyung, you seemed like a different person. You were really, really cool. Mom was calling all her friends and making a fuss.
“Hahaha…! Hyung is kind of cool, isn’t he.”
So this is how it feels to be seen as cool by his Mom and younger brother. Ah, his heart really hurts.
―Hyung, send me some pictures you took with Se-han Hyung.
“Huh? Why?”
―I was so mad at Se-han Hyung back then that I threw away all the pictures. So… I don’t have any pictures to show my friends.
“Hahaha… is that so?”
Tae-min had been quite angry about the situation where Sung Se-han had left the company and their team’s debut had fallen through.
“I guess you and I are really brothers. I don’t have a single picture of Se-han either.”
―You’ve made up now, right? Se-han Hyung even left a comment, didn’t he?
“Of course we made up. Oh, Se-han said he was upset that you blocked him. Unblock him first. I’ll tell him to give you some selfies. Are you going to show them off to your friends?”
―What are you talking about. I’m more proud of our Hyung.
Hahaha! Tae-kyung laughed out loud. He’s grown up a bit and knows how to take care of his Hyung’s feelings.
“But Tae-min, I’m really sorry I can’t go to your middle school graduation.”
―Hey, it’s okay. Hyung, just focus on preparing for your debut!
His younger brother’s excited and raised voice made his heart feel proud. Ah, he felt so good!
As he finished the call and stood up, he saw Jeong-min looking around for him.
“Maknae, are you looking for Hyung?”
“Tae-kyung Hyung, Kim Yang-gyu Sunbae is looking for you…?”
Ah, Tae-kyung’s mood suddenly changed when he heard that Kim Yang-gyu Sunbae was looking for him. In a bad way.
“I told him I’d give him Tae-kyung Hyung’s number, but he just told me to come to the underground parking lot….”
“Um, okay. I’ll go down and come back.”
His mood got even worse as he headed to the elevator.
Kim Yang-gyu is the leader and main vocalist of ‘Basic’, Global Enter’s first boy group. In fact, they didn’t have much interaction when they were trainees, but after their debut and descent into the path of a failed idol, he really tormented them.
And only when Gun-woo Hyung wasn’t around, he was a very low-quality person who shook the mentality of the young younger brothers.
Tae-kyung wanted to end the conversation or whatever it was quickly, so as soon as he got off the elevator, he ran straight to Kim Yang-gyu’s car.
“Sunbae-nim, were you looking for me?”
Kim Yang-gyu, who was leaning against his mid-sized car and looking at Tae-kyung, scanned him up and down.
“Do you always wear training clothes? Sigh, let’s go somewhere with Hyung first.”
“Yes? Where are we going?”
Tae-kyung asked in surprise, but Kim Yang-gyu pushed him into the passenger seat without answering.
“You’ll know if you just come with me.”
“No, Sunbae-nim. I came out without saying anything to Gun-woo Hyung. And I have a schedule in the practice room….”
“Shh! A Sunbae has something to say, so you should follow quietly. I’ll talk to Gun-woo, so don’t worry.”
Tae-kyung couldn’t beat Kim Yang-gyu, who was acting arbitrarily, so he ended up getting in the car.
“Sunbae-nim, I really need to go to the practice room soon….”
“Don’t worry. Just take an hour or two.”
An hour or two wouldn’t be a problem for Gun-woo Hyung, but just being with Kim Yang-gyu was stressful. Besides, the way there was terribly far.
“Sunbae-nim, isn’t this a bar?”
“Do you call a club a bar? You’re funny.”
The place that Kim Yang-gyu took him to was a flashy club that Tae-kyung had never even heard of.
And then he boasted that you can’t even enter the second floor without being a VIP… Tae-kyung was really going crazy.
He didn’t know why he had to come to a place like this when he should be in the practice room. He was really going to tell Gun-woo Hyung everything….
“Tae-kyung, this way.”
Tae-kyung had been standing still for a moment, trying to control his temper, when Kim Yang-gyu called him over with a gesture.
Red silk covered the long hallway, and on either side were several ornately decorated doors. He stood in front of the innermost door.
“Hoo…!”
He walked to the door and stood before Kim Yang-gyu.
“Sunbae, please call Gun-woo Hyung… Ah!”
Kim Yang-gyu shoved him into the room so hard he almost tripped.
“Oh, Kim Yang-gyu! You brought him?”
“Welcome.”
He straightened himself and looked around the room, taking a deep breath.
Inside the spacious room, five people sat on a wide sofa around a long table, all of them famous idols everyone knew.
“Tae-kyung, greet your Sunbae first.”
Kim Yang-gyu nudged his shoulder and walked toward the sofa.
Wow, what is this? Before he could gather his wits, someone called his name.
“Tae-kyung? Come closer.”
The person sitting at the head of the table, beckoning him with a finger, was ‘Jae-yi,’ the center of ‘Secret Garden.’
Now in their third year, Secret Garden was a top idol group enjoying stable popularity, and ‘Jae-yi’ was a key member of Secret.
If Perfect Puzzle hadn’t appeared, Secret Garden would probably have swept the grand prizes at the year-end awards ceremonies.
Since they were his Sunbae, he bowed politely.
“Hello. I’m Lee Tae-kyung.”
“Oh, nice to meet you.”
“Hello. I’m Lee Tae-kyung.”
“I heard you’re debuting soon? We’ll be seeing each other often.”
Then he approached Jae-yi, who had called him, and bowed.
“Greetings. I’m Lee Tae-kyung.”
“Yes, welcome.”
Jae-yi, leaning back on the sofa, gave a friendly smile. Fans said he had a god-given face, and indeed, he was handsome up close.
But he just stared without telling him to sit, so he didn’t know what to do.
The others sitting across on the long sofa were also scrutinizing him as if appraising him, and he felt increasingly low.
“I saw the video. You’re pretty.”
“Ah, yes. Thank you.”
He just bowed mechanically, but he felt uneasy. Not a song evaluation, just pretty? He must mean the video is pretty?
“How close are you to Sung Se-han?”
Sung Se-han’s name suddenly came up, and his eyes widened.
“Sung Se-han? Ah… we’ve been friends since elementary school.”
“So how close are you?”
Jae-yi, leaning deeply into the sofa, crossed his long legs. His gaze lingered for a moment on the tip of his shoes.
“We’ve been friends since we were young. We’re as close as that time.”
“I see.”
Jae-yi smiled and picked up his phone from the table. He had a very dandy vibe on TV. Maybe it’s because he’s wearing a flashy blouson, but his image looks different again.
“Sung Se-han seems to like your face a lot. Did you know?”
“Yes…?”
He didn’t know what he wanted to say. As he stared blankly, Jae-yi held out his phone screen to him.
“?”
He leaned in slightly to check the screen and flinched in surprise.
What Jae-yi showed him was a GIF combining three scenes from his cover video. Why would he show him this…?
“1 minute 47 seconds. 2 minutes 50 seconds. 3 minutes 36 seconds. All scenes where your face is close up.”
Wrinkles formed on his brow involuntarily. Ha, really. Calling a busy person here to do what.
“It’s not the face… Se-han likes my song. So I think he pointed out the parts he liked.”
“3 minutes 36 seconds isn’t even a singing part. You’re just making a wistful expression?”
Ah, right? Why did he point that out?
“Maybe he misread the time….”
Pfft. He closed his mouth when Jae-yi let out a sneer. He was getting annoyed, and the people in the room were all staring at him, so he was getting increasingly edgy.
“But did you make the GIF, Sunbae?”
Kim Yang-gyu chuckled at his question.
“Hey, do you think Jae-yi has nothing better to do?”
“Can I call you Tae-kyung? Don’t you check fan reactions? This is going around a lot right now?”
“You’ll get a good reaction when you debut.”
Hoo. He didn’t want to look at Kim Yang-gyu, at least, so he lowered his head. How long did he have to be here…?
“Tae-kyung.”
“Yes, Sunbae!”
He was momentarily startled because Jae-yi called his name so familiarly.
“Give me your phone.”
“My phone?”
He thought he was going to give him his number, so he took his phone out of his hoodie pocket.
“It’s an honor to exchange numbers with Jae-yi Sunbae… Huh?”