Chapter 71 |
After the main PD relayed that person‘s words to me, I couldn’t quite remember what I was thinking as I walked back to the waiting room.
‘Why on earth, and since when?’
I kept wondering how he could have found out about my identity. But no matter how hard I racked my brain, I couldn’t come up with a conclusion.
‘That person’ was always someone who went beyond the realm of common sense and easily overturned my expectations. There was no way I could understand his way of thinking.
However, one thing I could say for sure was that ‘that person‘ would never go around blabbering about my secrets.
‘That person always claimed to be my protector.’
The twisted, ill-fated relationship between him and me began a long time ago, when I had just become a high school student.
“I’m the casting manager for the newly established RH Entertainment … have you ever thought about becoming an idol?”
When I first met him, I was deeply troubled after being cast by Kang Hyukwoo. I couldn’t just accept the offer immediately because my family’s financial situation wasn’t very good. At that time, I was struggling to send Seo Yuseong to college, and spending time to pursue my own dreams was a luxury.
Standing on stage was a dream I had cherished for a long time. When the hope of achieving it arrived right in front of my eyes, I was too young to simply give it up, considering the reality.
“You wouldn’t want to waste your whole life just taking care of your family, would you?”
“I’ll help you, so your talents can shine.”
After agonizing for several days, that person suddenly showed up at my doorstep. He offered to provide everything I needed: a place to live near my new company, money for living expenses, and even clothes.
‘Now that I think about it, that person was also very young at the time, yet I wonder why he seemed so much like an adult….’
As a fresh high school student, I eagerly succumbed to that sweet temptation. Without saying a word to Seo Yuseong or my father.
‘This is why there should be adults around children.’
Looking at it now, it was definitely something I would smack myself in the back of the head for.
I don’t know what I would have done if he had been a cult member or someone trying to harvest my organs.
As I rummaged through my memories, I remembered him driving a black foreign car with a chauffeur and was covered in luxury items, including shoes with red soles.
“Do you like them?”
When I stared at those things, he smiled gently and asked that question. I was expecting him to be offended, but he didn’t seem to mind at all. It seemed like he was being unusually kind to me from the very beginning.
‘No matter how I think about it, he’s just a crazy person.’
I should have suspected something was off, but back then, I didn’t.
“Yeah. It’s awesome.”
There must be something wrong with my head.
But that didn’t mean I completely let my guard down. Ever since I was young, I was a troublesome kid who didn’t trust others’ goodwill, so his unfathomable generosity made me scared.
So, I was always on guard and would only call him with titles such as ‘Hey, you, over there, hey‘. His associates freaked out whenever I crossed a line, but he didn’t seem to mind at all, so I guess it was okay in the end.
Luckily, he really saw me as someone he needed to ‘protect’.
In the end, we maintained that ill-fated relationship until we both became middle-aged men, and even after I started making a lot of money, we continued to be good partners.
At that time … to be honest, I even thought that the two of us were really good friends.
So, why did I fall out with someone I had such a good relationship with? It was because of his extremely strange behavior.
“You, what the hell did you do!”
“Are you back now? You’ve worked hard. It must have been really tough, right?”
“Don’t change the subject. Answer my question.”
“…….”
“Did you kill him?”
When working as a celebrity, it was incredibly common to be entangled in all sorts of nasty rumors.
I had somewhat prepared myself for it when I entered the entertainment industry, so I could force myself to ignore it, but it seemed he couldn’t do the same.
“Yutae-ya, do you remember that journalist who kept publishing negative articles about you?”
“I remember, but I don’t know much about him because he hasn’t written anything these days.”
One day, the journalist who had been continuously spreading bad rumors about me suddenly disappeared. At first, I didn’t pay much attention. I thought it was a relief since one person spreading false rumors was gone. I even thought it was a good thing.
But that thought didn’t last long.
“He was dead, by hanging himself in his own home.”
Because I realized that they hadn’t repented for their sins or stopped tormenting me on their own.
“…What?”
“I heard he got caught cheating, was abandoned by his wife and kids, and was fired from his job. They said explicit photos of him were sent to his home and workplace. He ended up living like a wreck and died.”
When this happened not once or twice, but several times, I confronted him. Is it true that you are the one who did this?
When he heard that question, he answered,
“Yes, it’s my gift for you. Do you like it?”
He was smiling. Like a child hoping for a compliment.
The moment I saw that smile, I wondered if this person was really the one I knew. It felt like the person who used to eat meals with me, sleep beside me, and put an effort to act like a normal person, despite his sometimes odd sense of economics, had completely vanished
This is abnormal. It shouldn’t be happening. My limbs were shaking. I couldn’t believe that someone died because of me.
And I didn’t want to believe that someone had gotten their hands dirty just because of me.
“When, when did I ever ask you to do something like this! Do you have any idea how horrible the thing you’ve just done is?”
I was so shocked that I collapsed on the floor and screamed like a maniac. He just watched me in silence.
“You didn’t know. Just tell me it was because you didn’t know, please….”
“…….”
As the terrifyingly awful silence grew and I gradually lost my words, he approached me and put his arm around my shoulder. Then he said,
“I was trying to take care of it quietly because I was worried you would be so troubled.”
“…….”
“Who told you?”
As soon as I heard the question and faced his grim face, I instinctively knew.
If I told him their name, that person would suffer an unbearable amount of pain. I realized that the person I had considered a close friend was fundamentally different from ordinary people.
He did not feel guilt or fear at all, and he was someone incapable of empathizing with the suffering of others who were unrelated to me. And I, intoxicated by the comfort provided by the protector I had been given for the first time in my life, realized this far too late.
Since then, I made an effort to distance myself from that person more and more, but each time I did, he acted even stranger without trying to hide his actions.
And that led to this current situation.
‘That bastard is doing the same shit he used to do.’
The way he got rid of Kang Baeyoung was more like a greeting.
Due to the nature of the idol survival program, all involved parties had to maintain strict confidentiality. Especially since this season was receiving a lot of attention from the public, the production team enforced even stricter control over the information.
All participating trainees had to turn in their personal phones to the production team, and there were even surprise checks of their belongings using metal detectors.
‘Well, there are occasionally some kids who sneak in like ninjas, but there hasn’t been anyone brave enough to make post or spread photos.’
In the midst of all this, it was nearly impossible to identify the trainees who had hostile relationships with me. However, not only did he gather information, but he also took hold of Kang Baeyoung’s weakness and turned the situation around in an instant.
‘The main PD’s expression was quite something. I almost felt sorry for him.’
This was closer to a performance. It was something he did so I’d know it was him, even without mentioning his name.
‘Why do I have so many lunatics in my life?’
After the tyranny of the greatest lunatic passed, I found myself sitting in a chair, consumed by doubts about my life. No matter how much I thought about it, I began to feel that there was not a single sane person among the people around me.
That person was undoubtedly lunatic, and even my younger brother was pretty rude, which made this older brother feel heartbroken. And Jay … I didn’t want to speak ill of him, but honestly, he’s not normal either.
‘A normal person wouldn’t threaten someone with a weapon like that.’
I stared at Jay’s face on the waiting room screen with a cold expression.
Come to think of it, both Lunatic No. 3 and Lunatic No. 1 knew my secret. A deep sigh escaped me when I realized that fact. No, I really haven’t done anything wrong, have I?
‘Fine. Take all my secrets. It’s free sharing, you bastards.’
“The third mission performance has finished. The on-site audience will be leaving within 10 minutes, so trainees, please start preparing to go out!”
But there was no time to be lost in a reality check.
The announcement of the third mission results was just around the corner.
***
“Hello, trainees, thank you for your hard work on the third mission’s performance!”
Yang Hajun, holding the cue cards in his hand, bowed on stage and greeted us. He could have easily be casual to us, considering we were trainees much younger than him, but he always made an effort to show politeness.
“Thank you for your hard work!”
“Good job!”
The trainees responded to him with bright smiles and applause. The warm atmosphere continued, and the production staff gave silent signals to Yang Hajun.
“Since authority to distribute positions was given as a benefit in the third mission, there seems to have been a lot of conflict and concerns during that time.”
That’s exactly what I was saying. Don’t ever pull this shit again, you stupid idiots.
“We can’t make things harder for all of you who have worked so hard! So, we’re going to refreshingly reveal the complete rankings.”
‘Refreshingly?’
It was a different development than usual. There was no way the production team had any genuine concern for the trainees.
Something special must have happened to make them think that revealing the rankings all at once would be more entertaining.
“The results of the third mission!”
Before I had time to speculate on the reason, the beaming Yang Hajun spoke up.
“It is as follows!”
Bam!
“Uuuh.”
The moment the rankings were revealed, Do Yuda spilled a drink on my shoes.
“Ouch! I’m sorry! My hands are sweating so much!”
Do Yuda and I, who had turned our heads at the feeling of the cold liquid, had not yet confirmed the results.
“…What is this?”
“Are you sure the ranking is right?”
But the reactions the trainees around me were strange. Since I was an extremely self-centered person, the first thought that crossed my mind was, “Could it be that my team lost first place?“.
‘Ugh, I told you not to bring food to the filming.’
Ignoring my damp, soaked feet, I quickly raised my head and looked at the top row, but there didn’t seem to be any particular issue.
[1st place: Refreshing Concept Team (Center: HAN SEUNGBEOM)]
‘The results look fine, so what on earth is the problem?’
Relieved by the results, which weren’t much different from what I had expected, I took a deep breath and looked further down. Only after spotting the name right below did I begin to understand the trainees’ reactions.
No wonder they were surprised.
“….Huh.”
[2nd place: Charisma Concept Team (Center: NAGI ZEN)]
The dark horse of the third mission was neither Lee Hwayoung nor Woo Kangwon.
It was Nagi Zen.
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Translator’s Corner:
Got distracted by Korea politics news … this is why you should use your election vote wisely, everyone