Chapter 62 |
“…….”
I could only stare at Cha Woon’s back as he stormed out of the break room.
It’s a given, because I was no longer Seo Yutae. I was just Han Seungbeom.
As I stood there motionless for quite some time, a firm hand grasped my shoulder. I burst into laughter, turning to Jay, whose intention to comfort me was clearly evident in his action.
“What?”
And then, Jay, who had been looking at my face with worried eyes, cautiously opened his mouth.
“Hyung, you’re okay, right?”
“Of course I am.”
“Really?”
Even though I said I was okay, Jay didn’t take his arm off my back. I was actually fine, but because this guy was acting like this, I started to feel not okay. With a faint smile, I forcefully removed his arm and spoke.
“How can you be so perceptive and see right through people like that? I really had no idea Cha Woon thought of me that way. No, I couldn’t. Even he didn’t seem to realize it, so how could I have known? It’s just you who’s extraordinary.”
“…….”
“I thought he would resent me until the end. I thought he took my song and used it because he resented me. I never imagined that’s what he really felt………”
While I was constantly pouring out my thoughts, Jay quietly listened to me. I had no idea why he’s acting like this all of a sudden, considering he was so angry with me just a few days ago.
‘Don’t look at me like that.’
His gaze wasn’t much different from the one he had directed at Cha Woon earlier. I lowered my head to the floor to avoid his pitying gaze.
“Not even in my dreams….”
My voice cracked.
This was all because of Jay. Because that guy was acting so strange. Even a perfectly fine baby would burst into tears if someone fussed over them and asked if they were okay. This was no different.
“…….”
My burning face felt awkward. As I took a deep breath to clear my throat, Jay quietly spoke.
“It’s all right. It’s okay to cry at times like this.”
Strangely enough, when I heard those words….
“Sto……”
“Sto?”
“Stop acting so gross, you little brat! I’ve told you several times that I’m okay!”
‘Why the hell would I cry, you crazy.’
My overwhelming emotions completely disappeared, and I had truly and sincerely become okay. I meant it with everything I had. As if I had heard some kind of magical spell. Jay, having recovered in an instant, looked at me with eyes filled with disdain as I triumphantly pumped my fist in the air.
“I’m starting to hate you, hyung. Can’t you live a little more emotionally? I’m willing to share your sadness and comfort you, but why do you keep running away like this?”
“What’s the point of sharing something like sadness? It just creates two sad people. I don’t want to share your sadness.”
He said something I couldn’t understand at all, so I snorted and ignored his irritation. I absolutely hated wasting energy on unnecessary emotions.
Jay smiled brightly, and through clenched teeth, he asked me, “I’m starting to hate you, hyung, don’t you care?”
“Your feelings are your own freedom. What should I do if you ask me even that?”
“You’re the worst.”
“Really? I thought you were pretty nice. Well, no matter how you think of me, the way I think of you won’t change, so don’t worry.”
“…It looks like I’m the only one who’s trash.”
I was just honestly saying what I thought, but Jay was hitting himself on the head.
“Hey, hey, what are you doing? Don’t you have another schedule later? Your styling is getting messed up.”
“What good is my hair? My heart is breaking right now.”
“What are you talking about? Stop doing something ridiculous and stay still.”
Ringing! As I chatted with Jay about pointless things and eased the awkward tension, the sound of a phone notification echoed through the break room. Since I had turned in my phone due to the program’s rules, I naturally knew it was Jay’s.
“It’s the manager.” Jay said briefly as he picked up his phone and checked his messages.
It sounded like he needed to move for his next schedule.
“I’m heading out now. Oh, and I forgot to mention this earlier … Hyung, this isn’t the time for you to be worrying about others.”
“What do you mean?”
When I raised an eyebrow skeptically, expressing my doubt, Jay shook his head and repeated exactly what I had said earlier.
“People who gossip about others’ pain are bound to face consequences someday.”
“So what about it? Just spit it out.”
If you’re going to say something, just tell me directly. But that guy insisted on beating around the bush. When I spoke grumpily, still not understanding, Jay let out a deep sigh and told me the answer.
“That’s something our Seo Yutae-ssi used to say all the time. Cha Woon must definitely remember that too, so if you keep making mistakes like that, he might get suspicious.”
For a moment, my thoughts stopped as if I had entered a wrong command.
I used to say it all the time?
“What? Don’t lie to me. Did I say that often? I don’t remember it at all?”
I didn’t remember at all.
As I frowned, as if hearing something for the first time and lost in thought, Jay shrugged and answered.
“I figured you wouldn’t realize it. Old people usually don’t know they say the same thing over and over. I thought my ears were going to bleed.”
“Are you seriously asking for it?”
When I clenched my fist and raised it after his sarcastic remark, Jay screamed and covered his back.
“Ah, it was a joke! Why can’t you take a joke! And I didn’t say anything wrong.”
“Whether it’s a joke or the truth, just pick one.”
“So what are you going to do? He might have already noticed that it’s strange.”
I shook my head. Cha Woon would never believe in anything supernatural. He would only think it was a passing resemblance.
‘When he saw Lee Hwayoung, he said he looked like me, but now there are two people who look like me.’
I calmly reassured Jay, relieved that Lee Hwayoung’s existence had already been drilled into his head.
“It’s okay. There won’t be many people who remember my habits one by one, and there will definitely be even fewer crazy people who readily believe the ridiculous story that I died and came back to life.”
“Is that supposed to be about me?”
“Who else but you?”
“I was that desperate. Please don’t belittle my sincerity and earnestness like that?”
I burst out laughing at Jay’s banter, then hesitated for a moment before opening my mouth. It was to address something that had been bothering me the whole time.
“Can I ask you a favor?”
“What is it?”
“That cloud, you still have access to it, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Then can you delete all the data there for me?”
“…You want me to delete everything? Why?”
After hearing my request, Jay shook his head in disbelief and asked why. I answered him in a flat tone.
“It’s just, Seo Yutae can’t come back now anyway … I think it’s time for the people left behind to move on with their own lives.”
“…….”
“We never know when Cha Woon will be unable to resist temptation and repeat the same thing. If my unreleased song still exists, he’ll probably never be able to escape from me.”
“That’s true, but…….”
I grabbed Jay’s arm, who was filled with hesitation, and pleaded, “Please. I’m really sincere about this.”
“…All right.”
Then Jay pressed his lips tightly together and answered in a small voice. I nodded in satisfaction and gave the sulking guy a pat on the back.
“Then I’m going to practice now.”
“You’re going to practice again after all of this?”
“Of course. You know there have been a lot of changes in my team. You’ve seen it all, haven’t you?”
When I mentioned the mid-term evaluation performance, Jay nodded and let out an acknowledging sound ‘ah, I see‘. Just as he was about to head towards the car where his manager was waiting, he paused.
“Ah, that Kang Baeyoung? I think you need to be careful with that guy.”
“Why?”
“Just a hunch, I guess. That guy’s eyes are crooked.”
“What nonsense. Go away.”
I gave Jay a quick wave and walked towards the practice room.
***
Jay was the best at reading human nature among the people I’ve ever met.
The celebrities that he filtered out were soon became embroiled in controversies, and those who even tried to offend him were mysteriously vanished from the industry.
Fans even called him a “landmine detector“.
I shouldn’t have forgotten that fact.
“Ah, that Kang Baeyoung? I think you need to be careful with that guy.”
As for why I was thinking about this now, in the end, it turned out that Jay was right.
As soon as I opened the practice room door and walked in, what caught my eye was Kang Baeyeong yelling at the members, including Do Yuda.
“You did it on purpose.”
As soon as he spotted me, he stomped over towards me with thundering footsteps. I calmly closed the practice room door and looked down at him.
“Did what?”
“What do you mean by what! Don’t play dumb! Surely you haven’t already forgotten what you did during the mid-term evaluation!”
Seeing him huffing and puffing, I could roughly guess how worked up he was. His face, which had gotten unnecessarily close, was bright red. I pushed him away and looked around the practice room.
‘You’re doing this even with the camera on? Are you serious?’
Not only was there a camera in the practice room, but there was also the production staff. It wasn’t the right environment to cause trouble. Having assessed that, I left Kang Baeyoung behind and moved to the center of the practice room. He kept chasing after me, hissing.
When Do Yuda saw Kang Baeyoung chasing after me, he let out an exasperated ‘Ugh‘ and stepped between us. It seemed like he was trying to block a fight in advance.
He covered his mouth with his hand and whispered, “Is he mad about what happened during the mid-term evaluation? To us, he was just throwing a tantrum asking where Han Seungbeom went, so we don’t really know what the problem is.”
“I don’t know. I haven’t listened.”
“…..You’re not going to listen?”
“Of course not. There are cameras all over this place.”
Do Yuda glanced around, then nodded briefly and said ‘Aha‘. The production team was watching Kang Baeyoung with sparkling eyes. It seemed like they were hoping Kang Baeyoung would cause more of a scene.
“Don’t ignore me!”
Despite my desperate efforts, Kang Baeyoung stubbornly squeezed through the crowd and blocked my path. Then, like a street thug, he shoved me hard on the shoulder.
“If you have a mouth, why don’t you try to make some kind of excuse?”
“…….”
It felt like the nightmares of the past were resurfacing. Kang Baeyoung was someone who didn’t understand the meaning of ‘moderately‘, and I had already sensed this when I was asked to help with the choreography practice.
I slowly looked up at the ceiling.
‘What’s wrong with my luck today?’
There had never been a single peaceful day in my life, but today, it felt like everyone was especially going out of their way to bother me.
“Can’t you hear me?”
‘Is this guy wearing some kind of filter that makes him not see the camera?’
I quietly observed Kang Baeyoung’s face. He was intoxicated by something. And I could sense him secretly glancing at the production team to check if the camera was filming him.
Why is he so focused on the camera while getting angry? It was only when that question crossed my mind that I was finally able to understand his psychology.
‘Oh, my goodness.’
This wasn’t a case of him losing his rationality and losing control of his actions. This was completely intentional, the act of an idiot who was deeply immersed in the delusion that his anger made him look cool.
I would rather it be a strategy to deliberately create controversy to get attention. Being subjected to this secondhand embarrassment, which almost felt like a direct assault, I tightly shut my eyes.
“I’ve been letting things slide to avoid ruining the mood, but you should’ve picked up on the hint by now.”
“…….”
Kang Baeyoung, who I thought I had defeated during the mid-term evaluation, cast Tenacity.
Due to Kang Baeyoung’s pretentious act, Seo Yutae took 99 mental damage!
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Translator’s Corner:
I really cant with stupid people jkfdhgkjfdszhm