Chapter 61 |
Don’t eavesdrop on the conversation of others.
These were wise words passed down from our great ancestors. As they said, the old folks were always right, and I paid a heavy price for not heeding their words.
“Hyu … Han Seungbeom?”
With a loud crash as the partition wall collapsed, I appeared. Jay’s eyes widened as he spoke. Cha Woon, seeming more angry than surprised, immediately frowned and glared at me.
‘You little brat, you’ve got quite a temper.’
In an instant, my body was violently pushed against the wall, and before I could even fall down to the floor, Cha Woon grabbed me by the collar, forcing me to face his face up close.
“How much of it did you hear?”
“…….”
‘Isn’t it pointless to ask, since you guys have only been rambling on about stuff that’s going to end badly, no matter where I started listening from?’
The first option was to say “I didn’t hear anything“, The second was to reveal my identity and move on, just like I did with Jay. The third was to admit that I heard everything.
Cha Woon was neither generous nor foolish. Therefore, if I chose the first option, problems could arise in my future. After all, senior artists harassing their juniors was a common occurrence in the industry.
However, if I chose the second option, I would become someone who sold their secrets like the little match girl1. Since Han Seungbeom’s aunt and Jay already knew my identity, I couldn’t afford to add any more variables.
‘Cha Woon is not trustworthy.’
And most importantly, Cha Woon was not the same as Jay.
He had a rebellious side and often twisted situations with his complicated personality. If he found out my secret, there was a possibility that he would reveal my identity to others.
In the end, I was left with only one option.
However, how I would handle it was entirely dependent on my own capabilities.
After quickly calculating in a very short time, I calmly looked up at Cha Woon. Then, I smiled brightly and spoke.
“Everything, from start to finish.”
Seeing my shameless face, Cha Woon let out a bitter laugh and raised one eyebrow. His expression seemed to say “Look at this guy?“.
“You’re not making excuses?”
“If I made an excuse, would you be willing to fall for it?”
“No? I would never.”
Although it was awkward for me to say so, having been closely acquainted with him, I must admit that his personality was truly terrible. If I ever showed any submissiveness or made myself seem weak, he would secretly spread rumors, dragging my reputation through the dirt. How convenient it would be for him to make someone who knew his weaknesses disappear right before his eyes.
“I knew it.”
So, I had to show him that I was competent enough to deal with him, that I wasn’t someone to be taken lightly. I had to make it clear that if he dared to harm me, he would pay a fitting price.
With an intrigued expression, he tightened his grip on my collar and lifted my chin with his other hand. There was an almost forceful intent behind that strong grip, as if he was determined to see this audacious junior’s face.
The guy, having confirmed the face hidden under the cap, smirked and quietly whispered in a soft tone.
“Look who it is. It’s Trainee Han Seungbeom, the one who’s been drawing a lot of attention.”
“…….”
“You’re the one who performed the trainer collaboration stage with Jay, right? You’re one of the kids I’ve been keeping an eye on, but I didn’t expect to run into you like this. I actually hoped you’d be assigned to my song.”
“I’m honored that you’ve been watching my activities positively.”
“Don’t get the wrong idea. I wasn’t watching you that enthusiastically for you to be so honored. You’re just a trainee.”
“I thought that since you were entrusting such a precious song to our program, you would need the cooperation of the ‘just‘ a trainee, but it seems I was mistaken.”
“Since people were so enthusiastic about it, I decided to give them a chance. But as you saw today, Han Seungbeom, all I got in return was disappointment. So what? Do you want to hear from me one more time that the quality of your fellow trainees was terrible?”
“Well, when you weighed the two options of simply releasing the song or releasing it through our program, didn’t you choose this one because you calculated it would be more beneficial? If charity were your hobby, I might understand Cha Woon-sunbaenim’s judgment, but … unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to be the case.”
The heated exchange continued without a moment to catch our breath, and seeing me effortlessly fire his sharp remarks back, Cha Woon turned to Jay. His eyes seemed to say “what the hell is this kid doing?“.
When Jay shrugged his shoulders, the guy turned his head back toward me. There was a faint smile lingered on his face. He had become interested in me. After all the years we had spent together, there was no way I didn’t know what was going on in his head.
It was like playing a game where I knew the exact strategy.
‘Half of it worked.’
Now that I had gained his favor, the next thing I had to do was prove that I wasn’t intentionally setting him up for a trap. As soon as I thought about that, Cha Woon asked me the perfect question.
“Why did the very famous trainee Han Seungbeom hide like a rat and eavesdrop on our conversation? Are you planning to sell this story to the press?”
“Actually, I’m the one who’s flustered. I came in first and was resting, but my seniors suddenly barged in and started arguing.”
After saying that, I secretly reached my hand behind Cha Woon’s back and flailed about.
It was a desperate struggle that would not be visible to Cha Woon, but would definitely be visible to Jay.
‘Help!’
Catching my signal, Jay placed his hand on his forehead and backed me up.
“…Come to think of it, we didn’t check behind the curtain.”
“I like to quietly rest alone behind the curtains.”
“…I knew that Trainee Han Seungbeom often used this place. Still, you could have at least told us there was someone here.”
I had never been to this break room before. This was my first time. He must have known that for sure, but seeing him act this way, it seemed like he was trying to subtly take my side.
“I couldn’t find the right moment to leave because you two were arguing so intensely. I apologize for that.”
“No, it’s our fault for not being careful.”
Everything was perfectly in sync.
Cha Woon, who had been watching Jay and I take turns talking, relaxed and loosened his grip. He had come to believe the lie that I hadn’t intentionally eavesdropped their conversation.
Jay and I, no matter how you looked at it, had no significant connections. We were just a trainer and a trainee. So, he likely never even thought that I could force Jay to take my side.
‘Now is the time!’
While Cha Woon was lost in thought, I smoothed out my wrinkled clothes and began to speak.
“Have the misunderstandings been cleared up now? Then, I will take my leave.”
I moved my legs to leave the break room right away. But that attempt was immediately thwarted by Cha Woon.
Before my hand even touched the doorknob, Cha Woon’s hand quickly reached out from behind me, and his long fingers lightly touched the door lock. Click. The door locked with a sound, and his cold voice fell on the back of my neck.
“You’ve heard something you weren’t supposed to, and that fact doesn’t change. I can’t just let you go so easily. People must tell you often that you’re quite optimistic, right?”
‘F*ck!’
“…I have common sense too, so I know it’s foolish to turn Prism seniors into enemies. I don’t have the hobby of gossiping about other people’s business, so please just let me go.”
“…….”
Cha Woon just watched me quietly without answering. Feeling a bit anxious from his gaze, I opened my mouth again.
“People who gossip about others’ pain are bound to face consequences someday. I am a person who keeps my promises.”
At those words, Cha Woon’s pupils widened and contracted repeatedly, shaking as if he had been greatly shocked.
‘Did I say too much? Is this what kids these days call doing verse 2 and 32?’
I glanced sideways at the unexpected reaction and saw Jay burying his face in his palms. Seeing that he too was acting strangely, it seemed that he knew why Cha Woon was acting that way.
“Interesting, and you’re also pretty bold.”
As I tilted my head in confusion, Cha Woon quickly regained his composure and smirked. At that moment, Jay stepped in, pushing Cha Woon back and creating some distance between us.
“That’s enough, just let him go. It’s our fault.”
“…I’ll wait and see. Just as Trainee Han Seungbeom said, even if you go around telling everyone, you will only end up regretting it.”
Cha Woon forcefully brushed off Jay’s hand on his shoulder. He fixed his gaze on me and issued a warning. I nodded and immediately spoke up.
“Is it alright I offer a piece of unsolicited advice?”
Cha Woon, with arms crossed, nodded as if telling me to ‘go ahead and try‘.
“This may be presumptuous of me, but I think it would be better to refrain from mentioning that senior in a public setting like a broadcast. If the public happens to notice, and if it is blamed on me, it would be troublesome.”
“…I thought only Jay would notice, but it seems that Trainee Han Seungbeom is quite perceptive as well.”
“Even if no one notices at this point, you never know what might happen in the future. I don’t think there’s any need to take such a risk.”
It was a pointed comment filled with my selfish desire, wishing that he would mention things appropriately and move forward on his own path confidently. After hearing that, Cha Woon hesitated for a moment before muttering.
“…..I don’t know why I did that either. It’s just that my inner thoughts came out automatically.”
Jay turned his head away when he heard those words, spoken so softly they seemed about to extinguish.
“…….”
I didn’t know what to make of these guys.
It seemed like neither Jay nor Cha Woon was living a normal life.
I opened my mouth again in frustration, “If I were in your position, sunbaenim, I would try my best to avoid mentioning anything that might cause the public to doubt you without reason. Besides, Seo Yutae-sunbaenim didn’t particularly have a good reputation among the public, am I wrong?”
“Seo Yutae is not the bad person the media makes him out to be. I don’t believe what the reporters or the people from our company say.”
“……”
That was the last thing I expected to hear.
When I stood still, frozen in place, Cha Woon added, almost as if making an excuse.
“You heard our conversation, didn’t you? How many people in this world would be foolish enough to say ‘Sure, take as much as you want‘ to someone who wants to steal and use their songs? Trainee Han Seungbeom, as a composer yourself, you must know how precious your own songs are.”
“….I’m not sure.”
At my dry reaction, Cha Woon, irritated, opened his mouth but then stopped himself. He covered his mouth with his hand, as if he had just realized an unbelievable truth.
Cha Woon staggered slightly as he walked towards the door. After wiping his reddened eyes with his hand, looking tired, he slowly opened the door and spoke.
“I’ve talked too much. I’ll be going now, so make sure you keep your promise, Trainee Han Seungbeom.”
“Yes.”
And the guy who was about to leave the break room stopped several times, opening and closing his mouth repeatedly. When he finally finished hesitating, he spoke in a trembling voice.
“I realized something while talking to you, Trainee Han Seungbeom … maybe, just like Jay said, I’m missing that person too. No matter how much everyone else cursed him, he was a good person to us.”
“…….”
“How could someone like him kill his own father? I just can’t, I can’t believe it at all.”
After saying that, Cha Woon clenched his teeth and quickly walked away.
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Translator’s Corner:
- Little Match Girl, a literary fairy tale by the world-famous Hans Christian Andersen. It’s the story about a little girl selling matches on new year eve. In short, no one buys her matches and she’s freezing so she light up the matches herself to keep herself well … and yeah, you know the ending when she ran out of the matches. ↩︎
- Doing verse 2 and 3: basically going overboard. It’s to explain the meaning so I’ll write it as it is.
So, in Korea, there’s a popular joke saying “sing the first verse only” (1절만 하자). This is usually used when “the same or similar joke is repeated too much, it became boring and uninteresting at some point, so it stop now“. So it’s literally telling people to stop telling a joke that has gone too long.
It is called “sing the first verse”, because when singing national anthem in school (for the old generations), people would ask to do just one verse (it has four). There’s also this popular practice of singing only the 1st verse and 1st chorus of songs when doing Karaoke, since the time is limited. So if you sing the verse 2 verse 3 or verse 4 too, it’s too much. ↩︎
My feelings………