Chapter 65 |
I also had a transitional period.
I grew my hair to my waist and painted my nails black, and there were times when I shook my hair on stage until it became disheveled.
At that time, my conflict with my agency was at its peak, and in rebellion, I did all sorts of crazy things. Looking back on it now, I realized it was the reckless impulse of youth; wanting to do something all the more because I was told not to. The problem was, everything I did ended up being a trend.
I even said I would pluck the guitar with my teeth, but my younger brother stopped me, telling me to do it moderately.
“Get off me. I’ll rewrite the history of idols!”
“Drop it.”
Thank goodness he stopped me. I was out of my mind at the time, like I was possessed by something.
Anyway, having settled into that style that was considered my trademark, I had never tried the hairstyles or styling that idols do these days. So, after I entered Han Seungbeom’s body, I began to have some expectations for it.
Additionally, as the program entered its latter half, a new change was necessary to boost the fans’ enthusiasm, so an external transformation became inevitable.
“What nonsense are you talking? I need to bleach my hair. I haven’t washed it for two days.”
“Ew, never take off your hat. I like clean people.”
That’s why I kept my hat on even during the trainer mid-term evaluation when the cameras were rolling.
“Seungbeom, come in!”
“Hello.”
“You didn’t wash your hair as I told you, right? There’s no other way to make the bleaching less painful.”
“Yes.”
I was at Han Seungbeom Aunt’s shop, one of the most prestigious salons in Korea, and naturally, I was led by the staff to the VIP room.
Even though no words were said, seeing that they sent me in that direction, it seemed there must have been instructions from Han Seungbeom’s aunt.
“Welcome. It’s been a while since I last saw you.”
As expected, when I opened the door to the VIP room and entered, I saw Han Seungbeom’s aunt standing there with a faint smile. I smiled and returned the playful greeting.
“Thank you for arranging the reservation right away, even though I asked you so suddenly. There was no need to go as far as giving me a VIP room, though.”
“If you don’t want to be photographed with white bleach all over your face, looking like an alien, just listen to me. You’re enjoying a huge amount of popularity more than you think.”
“…….”
“Well, our Seungbeom would still look pretty even with his face like that, but anyway … getting secretly photographed when you’re not ready isn’t exactly pleasant, is it? And in my eyes, you don’t seem like the kind of person who enjoys that.”
“…Thank you for your consideration.”
“Alright. I’m not the one in charge of hair, so most of the procedures will be done by someone else. They’re all very skilled, so don’t worry.”
As if she had already figured me out a lot about my personality, Han Seungbeom’s aunt rattled off a bunch of things without giving me a chance to ask any questions, and then left the VIP room.
I watched her go and thought to myself, ‘Please leave and don’t come back in.’
I sincerely hoped so.
I sincerely hoped so, because every time I saw Han Seungbeom’s aunt, I couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable. I had no choice but to visit her shop because it was the best in the industry, but my conscience was tingling.
She was smiling like that, but I had no idea what was inside her head.
If something like this happened to my little brother’s body, would I have been able to endure it?
It would be impossible.
‘Even now, I still couldn’t tell that guy that I came back to life because I didn’t want to burden him, so what.’
Is it because I met the only family Han Seungbeom had left?
For some reason, I really longed to see Seo Yuseong today.
.
.
.
As always, my wish did not come true.
After several staff members worked on me and finished my hair, Han Seungbum’s aunt came back into the VIP room as if she had been waiting.
Then, she quietly stared at my face and said, “As expected, my nephew’s face deserves recognition. Normally, bleaching it that light wouldn’t suit most people, but it really suits you. You look great.”
“…….”
She wasn’t talking to me.
I didn’t respond to the compliment directed at Han Seungbeom, just stared blankly into the mirror.
Han Seungbeom’s aunt must have noticed that I was feeling awkward, as she quickly wiped the sad expression from her face and took a few pictures with her phone.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m going to post it on our shop’s promotional SNS. I made room for you in our shop by pushing aside the celebrities who were already waiting, and even made a last-minute reservation for you today. So, you can at least let me do this, can’t you?”
I had nothing to say. I nodded and let Han Seungbeom’s aunt act as she pleased.
“….Please do as you wish.”
I heard her snap a few more photos, and then suddenly her Messenger notification beeped. Within seconds, her face stiffened.
I didn’t know what kind of message could make her look so serious, but I assumed it was something personal and ignored it. Then, after letting out a deep sigh, Han Seungbeom’s aunt spoke first.
“It’s Seungbeom’s stepmother. These days, she messages me two or three times a day.”
“Are you still keeping in touch?”
I was no longer living in that house, and Han Seungbeom’s aunt must have known that, so there was no need for her to be in touch with them. When I asked in confusion, Han Seungbeom’s aunt shook her head.
“No. Ever since they moved, I haven’t heard from her even once. Even when Seungbeom was still around, that woman never reached out to me first. It was always me who contacted her first, and most of the time I was ignored. I only wanted to check if Seungbeom was doing alright.”
“So, you’re saying that recently, she suddenly started contacting you?”
“Yes. About two weeks ago, she asked if I could do her son’s makeup at our shop. I declined, saying it would be difficult since we were already fully booked, but she keeps bringing it up like this.”
“What does his son even need makeup for?”
They had already taken the family photo, and it wasn’t like he’s about to graduate, so what reason would an ordinary person have to get his makeup done at the most popular salon in Cheongdam-dong?
Is he getting married because of an accident?1
Just as I was thinking about that, Han Seungbeom’s aunt, who put her hand to her forehead, cleared up the question.
“No, she said he suddenly wanted to become an actor. She asked to get his makeup done so he could look a little more attractive before going to an audition at the agency.”
“…An actor? Han Jaewoon?”
I turned to look at Han Seungbeom’s aunt, doubting my own ears. She nodded, as if she understood my reaction, and continued speaking.
“I have no idea. That boy should be seriously preparing for his CSAT by now, so I don’t understand why he’s suddenly doing this…….”
When I heard that, I thought about Han Seungbeom’s younger brother’s face.
It might be shallow to judge someone by their looks, but Han Seungbeom’s younger brother, Han Jaewoon, had a face that couldn’t be more ordinary. I thought that since they share the same seed, there would at least be some resemblance, but there was none at all.
He didn’t have any special charm too. Then what about acting skills? He didn’t have those, either.
‘Until he fixes that unclear pronunciation, he shouldn’t even dream of becoming an actor.’
I couldn’t claim to be an expert on acting talent, having spent my whole life as an idol, but no matter how much I thought about it, it was a choice I couldn’t understand.
‘Judging from this woman’s reaction, it doesn’t seem like he was interested in acting or showed any particular talent for it before. So, why the sudden interest?’
“Have you heard anything?”
The time I spent together with them was extremely short, so there were few clues. I frowned as I sensed that something troublesome was going on, and Han Seungbeom’s aunt asked with a worried look. I didn’t understand why she felt the need to make such an expression when I wasn’t even her nephew.
“I haven’t.”
“…Have you completely cut off contact with that family?”
“Since I signed the contract with my agency and got a dormitory, I haven’t contacted or visited that family even once.”
Weird people should be cut off quickly. This was a lesson I learned through the excruciating pain of living as Seo Yutae.
I had no intention of joining that weird group or having anything to do with them, so I quickly reached out to Lee Yooin. I was going to make a ton of money as soon as I debuted, so I had no plans to keep in touch with them.
“I have no intention of doing so in the future either.”
When I said that firmly, Han Seungbeom’s aunt nodded in agreement.
“I also think that’s for the best. Then, I’ll just cut off all contact with that woman on my end. She didn’t even acknowledge me when I contacted her before, so it’s so shameless of her to contact me now that she needs something.”
“If it’s not too much trouble, then please do that.”
“It wouldn’t be a trouble at all. It’s actually more of a hassle to keep putting up with this situation.”
Han Seungbeom’s aunt, who had guessed that the discussion had come to a suitable end, shrugged her shoulders and answered. Then, after a moment of thought, she carefully asked, “By any chance, did Han Seungbeom’s father not contact you first?”
“…..Yes. He didn’t contact me at all.”
I didn’t quite understand why she would ask such a question. It seemed like this woman still had some sort of expectation for Han Seungbeom’s father. I couldn’t help but laugh at the thought of her expecting something, just because Han Seungbeom and his father shared the same blood.
‘In the end, he’s a person who doesn’t even notice that his own son is withering away.’
From an outsider’s perspective, it was an expectation that wasn’t even funny.
As I was having a hard time getting rid of sour feeling, Han Seungbeom aunt’s face suddenly came closer to me.
“…….”
“…….”
She was caressing Han Seungbeom’s cheek with a sorrowful expression.
I realized belatedly that those eyes that weren’t looking at me held not regret, but pity.
“Seungbeom relied on his father more than anyone else … that’s really sad news.”
“Did Han Seungbeom’s father not contact you first?”
The faint hope and desperation contained in the previous question were not hers.
It belonged to the foolish and naive Han Seungbeom.
***
The stares burned into me.
As I walked down the hall, I felt like a monkey on display at the zoo, or maybe a model walking down a runway.
I’d contacted SU Entertainment and ridden back in the agency’s van, but there was no way to hide my changed hair once I was inside Lucky Center.
It really pushed my mental strength to the limit when people whose names I couldn’t even remember swarmed around me, showering me with praise.
‘I’m tired…….’
I ran like a dog to escape them and barely managed to reach my room.
Creak. When I opened the door and entered, Do Yuda was alone, playing with his tablet. As soon as he noticed my presence, he greeted me without looking up from the tablet.
“Oh, hyung. Did you have a good time out?”
“Yeah.”
Only after hearing my short reply did Do Yuda raise his head and look at my face.
Then, as if he had seen a monster, he gasped, covered his mouth, and collapsed to the floor.
“Oh, handsome.”
He blurted out just one word.
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Translator’s Corner:
- Means getting married because the girl already got pregnant. ↩︎
I can’t sleep so here’s one more jdhsdkjdshdjds
We read too many novels to not figure out what’s that family is thinking