Chapter 28 |
As I barely lifted my eyelids, heavy like a lump of mud, I saw a dark gray ceiling.
‘Gray? Not white?’
I thought that when I opened my eyes, I would see the hospital ceiling. For someone who had collapsed, where else could they possibly find themselves when they opened their eyes if not a hospital? However, it was far from the white ceiling of a hospital.
When I turned my head, a space furnished with gray-toned furniture unfolded before me. The ominous truth was that I had been in this place before.
Yes, the place where I was confronted for a long time with a shard of glass.
“Hello, hyung. Are you awake?”
‘Ah, crazy. You scared me.’
When I turned my head to the other side, Jay was sitting there. With a gaunt face and completely motionless, I thought he was a ghost.
“.…Is this your house?”
I didn’t understand why he twisted it like that instead of just answering. Was he in a bad mood?
“You didn’t take me to the hospital and brought me to your house instead?”
“Of course, I went to the hospital. I’m not a doctor, so I needed to know what the problem was. Did he collapse because he got hit, or because he was tired, or because he had an illness? Since this Mr. You-Know-Who didn’t say anything, I thought I should consult a professional.”
“Really? What did the doctor say?”
“Body aches, overwork, stress-induced stomach cramps. And the doctor said you’re malnourished. You got an IV drip.”
‘Oh.’
It was similar to the rough estimate I made when I collapsed. Fortunately, it wasn’t a concussion. It seemed like Jay had caught me well when I collapsed.
“I was still unconscious. How did you manage to get me out safely?”
“Don’t you remember? You were lying in the emergency room, then suddenly jumped up and said you wanted to go home. The doctor was terrified. Of course, I was too.”
I didn’t remember anything that happened in the emergency room. However, since they wouldn’t just send someone who hadn’t regained their senses out of the hospital, it seemed like Jay’s words were true.
“You couldn’t even remember where your house was, but you kept insisting, so I tied you up tightly with a coat and brought you to my place. But guess what? When we got to my house, you just collapsed and fell asleep.”
“…You worked hard. Thank you.”
I caused such an inconvenience?
I was suspicious, but I didn’t want to point out this and that in front of someone who had worked hard for me, because that would make him explode. So, I just said thank you.
“What about the members of my second mission team? They must have been really surprised.”
“They’re practicing well under the guidance of Trainee Woo Kangwon. They’re worried about you, but they’re doing what they need to do. That Japanese guy, despite his appearance, has a really delicate heart. I had a hard time getting him to stop his clinging and crying to follow me.”
‘Ah.’
I remembered that faintly.
“Leada, are you okay? Did you get hurt because of me?”
“Seungbeom-ah, don’t worry. We’ll prepare as much as we can. You have to recover well and come back.”
“Is the person you’re carrying right now, Han Seungbeom?”
I remember the other trainees holding onto me and worrying about me while I was being carried on Jay’s back. Zen seemed to feel more guilt than expected, and Woo Kangwon appeared to act mature at first glance, but I could sense his anxiety. As for the last guy, I didn’t know who he was.
In short, it meant that I had to go back and resolve things as quickly as possible.
“Okay, then I should head back quickly.”
“Is that possible?”
Jay asked me, smiling brightly.
Was that a challenge to me, or a simple question? I couldn’t tell what he was thinking because he was smiling.
“…….”
“Is there anything else you’re curious about?”
As I was glaring at his face as if I had just bitten something, Jay asked in a gentle tone.
‘Is it just my imagination?’
He was oddly kind. The guy who had seemed ready to kill someone right up until the moment I collapsed suddenly became gentle, and it made me feel even more uneasy.
“What about Frick?”
“Well, I guess he’s probably crying and mopping the floor by now?”
“Stop joking around.”
“I’m serious. I told him to clean up the practice room and mentally prepare himself.”
“….Is that so?”
I pictured Frick sitting there pathetically, mopping the floor. I wondered why that kind of jerk always got caught by someone like Jay.
“Next question?”
“You made sure to grab the SD card, right?”
“Yeah, of course.”
Jay took the SD card out of his pocket and threw it at my face. It made a thud sound as it slapped against my cheek, then weakly fell onto my hand.
“Ouch.”
“Because my hyung was trembling and told me to grab the SD card. I honestly thought for a moment that you were my manager, not an idol trainee. Your life is on the line, yet you’re worried about me getting caught with a weakness. Am I right?”
Jay’s weakness?
He seemed to be under some sort of delusion. He seemed to think I was trying to hide what he had said to Frick, but unfortunately, that wasn’t what I was aiming for.
Although, of course, I was worried about that too.
“This rude brat is throwing things at his hyung’s face. You punk, I’ve been raising you since you were a chick and going through puberty, how can you treat me like this? All those years of raising you were for nothing.”
“Next question.”
‘Next?’
I had no more questions. I didn’t understand why he kept asking me to ask something.
I shook my head with a frown.
“Have all your questions been answered? If so, then let’s quit the program.”
Jay, who had been smiling the entire time, suddenly said something shocking in a calm tone. Compared to his gentle expression and tone, the content of his words was so extreme that my head went blank for a moment.
‘What’s wrong with him again?’
“…..Did you take your medication?”
I started to suspect he was having some sort of mental problem again. Coincidentally, it felt even more so because this place exactly matched the place where he caused a scene last time.
As soon as he heard the question about whether he’d taken his medicine, the guy scowled, then forced a smile by twitching his eyebrows. As expected, all that cheerful smiling had been an act.
“Of course, hyung. I’m perfectly normal right now. The only one who’s not normal here is you, hyung. Is someone who doesn’t sleep, doesn’t eat, and collapses from working normal? I don’t think that someone is even a human.”
“…….”
‘No, but this guy, the way he’s talking to his hyung is getting worse.’
I wanted to slap him on the back, but I owe him a lot today, so I’ll hold back.
“First, calm down. I think you’re just tired and your thoughts are becoming too extreme. It’s not something to react to so sensitively.”
“No? That’s not going to work. Get off the program right now. And take some rest. I was an idiot for thinking everything was fine just because you were walking around fine after experiencing such a thing and dying.”
‘Why is he like this?’
I rested my chin and thought carefully, wondering why the hell he was acting like this. There must be some problem for him to be acting this way.
And then, I came to one conclusion.
“Are you sulking?”
This rascal, he seemed to be sulking because he thought I was planning all sorts of things without involving him.
Thinking that way, I asked him with a smirk, and a vein popped out on his forehead.
“I’m not sulking.”
“If that’s not sulking, then what is it?”
“I hate it when someone who has done something wrong dismisses my legitimate anger with a silly word like ‘sulking’ without truly reflecting on their actions. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
“…Okay. Got it.”
If it was no, then he should have just said no. Why did he need to make such a serious face and say something that long?
Either way, I had to get back to the Lucky Center in a hurry, so I scrambled to my feet.
“You’ve got to be kidding me. I already said you can’t go?”
But before I could get to my feet, he pressed his palm to my forehead, stopping me.
“After being treated like that, you’re just going to walk away and go back to filming? I can’t let that happen.”
“What nonsense is that? Do I look like someone who’s going to sit back and suffer? It’s finally time to harvest the seeds I’ve planted, but now you’re stopping me.”
“No, at least not until those bruises have healed.”
Apparently, I had failed to properly explain that the bruises weren’t Frick’s doing. He seemed to think that I was in a very difficult situation that was too much for me to handle.
But the situation was too urgent to deal with those misunderstandings now.
In this kind of situation, the most effective method was to ‘become serious‘ too.
This kid, who often got scolded by me since he was young, would immediately back off as soon as I created a strict atmosphere.
“Yoo Jay, I’m not joking right now. Do you think I went on that program with some half-hearted attitude?”
“I know that. But!”
“You’ve been in this industry for years, you should know better. Broadcasting isn’t a joke. Everyone here is working hard to make a living. But you’re telling me to quit like a spoiled kid? What about my agency that trusted me and sent me there? What about the companies that invested in production costs after seeing my potential?”
“…….”
“What about Do Yuda, who left the regular group of SU Entertainment to debut with me? Just like I did for you back then, I have a responsibility to take care of that child’s life.”
“I didn’t want that. Not at the cost of damaging your health like that…..”
His face darkened instantly at the mention of the past.
‘Alright, after the stick comes the carrot.’1
“Yes, you’re doing this because you want to help me. I know everything. How could I not know how you feel?”
“….Yeah.” Jay replied meekly.
Actually, the one who caused this trouble was me, but the situation turned out as if that guy did something wrong.
I really am a trashy bastard!
I relaxed the facial muscles that had been set in a stern expression and smiled softly, “I have no intention of releasing the video to the public. However, that doesn’t mean I’m just going to let this slide. I was simply trying to give flesh and take the bones.”
“What are you talking about?”
“The program’s ratings are skyrocketing, but a violent incident had occured. It would be a huge loss for the broadcasting station to cancel the show now, so the production team would naturally want to shut my mouth first. But I won’t just let them get away without gaining something.”
“What did the production team do wrong?”
“Of course they’re in the wrong. They brought in someone with a bad reputation just for ratings, so why should they be forgiven? They should definitely be held responsible for doing something like that on a children’s show. It’s only because it’s me that things are fine. If it was any other kid, how scared would they be?”
“…..How about just exposing it?”
“That’s nonsense. Why would I want to become an idol that gets pitied by the whole country? Instead of causing trouble, I should just take everything I can.”
“Why don’t you stop being an idol?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. I have no other way to live. You go and talk things out with the CEO of Frick’s agency. Make sure he can never make a comeback, ruin him completely. I’ll go and negotiate with the production team.”
The first condition for negotiating was knowing your value well.
Survive IDOL, through its seasonal format, had been milking the show for several years and had reached a stagnant period. Despite everything, this season brought in even more buzz than the already legendary first season. It was truly a jackpot.
It wasn’t like the production team found any particularly novel or interesting elements. The reason this season was successful was simply due to the incredible star quality of the cast.
And the beginning of all those waves was me.
‘The production team will never give up on me. Cutting one Frick is the bare minimum, and even if I ask for more, they’ll probably have to comply.’
The thought of what was about to come was already mouthwatering.
“How many years has it been? Let’s show them our teamwork.”
As I rubbed my palms together and licked my lips, Jay looked at me with disgust.
“What are you just staring at? Let’s get moving.”
To be precise, it’s not really teamwork. It’s just me bossing that guy around. Since he seems eager to help, shouldn’t I gratefully take advantage of it?
“Ready, go!”
With a cheerful shout, I gave Jay’s butt a hard push.
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Translator’s Corner:
- Stick and Carrot metaphor would be used a little often. It’s a metaphor for the use of a combination of reward and punishment to induce a desired behavior. You are rewarded for some actions and threatened with punishment for others. So carrot is reward and stick is punishment. ↩︎
For additional information in case you missed it, MC is the older member of PRISM (and Jay is the youngest) so it’s given he has Ph.D in child manipulation