I opened the door to my studio.
From beyond the heavily soundproofed door came the rapid patter of someone executing an elaborate series of steps. Then the footsteps quickly retreated in the opposite direction.
“Hello, baby.”
At the greeting, the broad back striding away from me froze.
“...Hello.”
“Yeah, yeah. Looks like you came to pay your respects, so why are you running away?”
“I didn’t. I finished practicing and happened to be passing by.”
“Baby, that lie is so pathetic I don’t even feel like mocking you.”
The practice rooms and my studio were on completely different floors.
“Senior, the way you talk is seriously....”
I crooked a finger at the grumbling brat.
“...Why?”
What? Why? I tilted my head to the side, silently asking how he dared question me, and Gowon quickly gave up and approached.
Honestly, I had called him over because I was genuinely impressed.
Like Santa preparing for Christmas, I now had a measure for determining how well-behaved Gowon had been.
Gowon
Vocals Lv.63 (▲8)
Dance Lv.88 (▲9)
Stamina 62%
Over the past few days, I had finished adapting to Gowon’s newly revealed quest window.
If the quest window that appeared before me nine years ago had been a Korean-style game focused on pouring everything into growth, staying up all night, and achieving the world’s first clear, Gowon’s quest window was a pastoral farming simulator. A game where you slowly waited for your crops without any fast-forward function.
This morning’s results had looked like this.
Dance level increased by 1.
Gowon carefully dug up a precious potato and placed it in his sack.
Vocals level increased by 1.
Gowon cautiously harvested a bundle of rice and stacked it in the barn.
Starting at eight in the morning, he had steadily drained his stamina drop by drop, eaten lunch alone, and replenished it. Then he practiced again. One precious level at a time.
Since that had continued until just now, he must have kept moving right up until Newton drove him out.
“Hey. I told you not to let people beat you around, so why did you come back after getting beaten by another group?”
“I wasn’t beaten....”
Gowon looked as though he were wondering how I knew.
How did I know?
Gowon
Current Status: Use it. Just g■.
And now:
Gowon
Current Status: ■■■ ■■■ ■■ ■■....
One thing was certain: whenever the brat faced me, I generally could not see his current status. Openly displaying his thoughts about me probably would not help Gowon.
Judging by things like this, the current quest window seemed to be mostly on Gowon’s side despite exploiting my labor.
Not that I minded taking his side this time.
“There’ll be plenty of chances for people to beat you around in the future. So unless it actually matters, don’t let yourself get beaten in some pathetic situation. There are barely any people in this company stronger than me.”
“...Yes.”
“So, what are you practicing today?”
“I’m practicing songs I received challenge requests for... and I’m also making sure I don’t lose my feel for <Unlimited(∞)> and <DRIFT>.”
“You’re doing well.”
His will has blossomed after receiving warm encouragement.
Stamina replenished.
What? He was easy.
“You’re doing well.”
“Yes.”
“I said you’re doing well.”
“...Thank you?”
“I’m telling you you’re doing well.”
“......?”
HBN has become discouraged after being subjected to condescending nagging.
Stamina decreased.
Damn.
The little bastard was complicated too.
“...Well, has anything new happened?”
It would be better to change the subject.
“Not really, now that promotions are over.... Ah, they said my Meverse will open soon.”
“Wow, you’re a real star now. Before long, you’ll be performing at Gocheok Dome and going on a world tour.”
“......There’s something I’ve genuinely been wondering. May I ask?”
“Any question coming from you probably isn’t impressive enough to require permission, so just ask.”
Gowon
Current Status: How ■o I ■ut this into ■ords?
“Is Young Ace not making a comeback?”
I barely managed to suppress a laugh at the stark difference between the question and what was going on inside him.
“Is that really what you’re curious about?”
“Yes.”
He did not look guilty, so that part seemed sincere too.
“Gowon.”
“Yes?”
“If you ever learn Young Ace’s comeback date through your privileges as someone connected to Division Five, there’s something you absolutely need to do.”
“...What?”
“Buy K-Dom stock. It’ll skyrocket.”
“.......”
“There are several reasons, but the biggest one is that one member won’t answer his phone.”
“Ah, did something happen...?”
“He’s in Africa.”
“What?”
“He went to do volunteer work. Looks like he’s determined to give away every cent he earned through Young Ace.”
Gowon looked as though he had no idea what I meant. No—he could not even tell whether I was joking or serious.
Of course he couldn’t. Even I, his fellow member, found it ridiculous.
“He had the softest personality out of all of us, but then one reaction he made on a variety show suddenly went viral. Back then, Young Ace was in a position where we had to appear on every show that called us, so he was constantly invited. But variety shows in those days were all about tearing each other down and laughing about it. That kind of thing was poison to his personality.”
The more I talked, the more naturally a sigh escaped me.
“But even after we became successful, people still remembered him through that variety-show image. He couldn’t go back to his real personality and promote comfortably.”
“.......”
“So one day, he simply put everything down and left to volunteer as himself.”
“Am I really allowed to hear something like this...?”
“You could hear this much from anyone two or three connections removed within the company. That’s as far as I’ll go.”
Gowon worked with plenty of people who had once been Young Ace’s staff, so it was probably information he could access even more easily.
“So appreciate the present and work hard. There’s no use looking back later and saying, ‘Those were the good days.’”
Gowon
Current Status: My ■resent is already a mira■■e, so I don’t ■■■■ to look back at the ■■■t.
“.......”
...Seriously. Why did it only show me enough of this kind of thing to make it possible to guess? I did not want to know.
“Hey, Gowon. Why do you want to be an idol?”
“A reason... I’ve never thought about one. Ever since I suddenly joined <Debut Chart>, I’ve always thought it was the best thing I could do.”
“Then what if you found something you could do better than being an idol?”
The wariness that had softened somewhat lately returned to Gowon’s face. He looked like a child afraid that someone might take away the candy clutched tightly in both hands.
“Right now, being an idol is what I can do best. I....”
There was no need to be scared. Even if you said you hated being an idol, I was in a position where I would have to grab you and force you to continue anyway.
The fact that he was full of motivation and trapped in circumstances that would keep him desperate was even better.
“Enough. I meant that you should keep working hard. If you’re done talking, go practice. Ask my brother whether there’s another practice room available. He’ll probably find you one.”
“Understood.”
Three hours after I sent Gowon away, his stamina dropped to fifty percent and his Vocals stat rose by one.
Five hours later, his stamina fell to thirty percent and his Dance stat rose by one.
“...What the hell is he doing?”
I looked out the window. The sun had already set, and darkness had descended. Until now, Gowon’s stamina had only decreased. It had not replenished even once.
Only then did I remember Kwon Taeyoung’s warning: “Don’t tell him to practice.”
Shit. Did he interpret what I asked earlier as pressure or some kind of warning?
Even as I considered it, his stamina continued draining merrily away.
...And my brother had definitely said he gave the brat a week of vacation... Wasn’t that the day before yesterday? Which meant he had gone home and returned after only one day....
“.......”
I raked my hands through my hair, then immediately called Gowon.
—Senior, what is it?
Only after he answered did his plummeting stamina stop. His voice carried heavy breathing and the distinctive echo of a practice room.
I pressed a hand to my forehead and lowered my voice gravely.
“Gowon. Are you still at the company?”
—Ah, yes.
“Shit, thank God you’re there. Ha... This is driving me insane.”
—Did something happen?
“Yeah, well... can you step outside the building for a moment? You know the central lobby, right? Go toward the information desk.”
—Yes, I’ll get up now.
“Good. Don’t hang up. This has to be handled by someone trustworthy.”
—...Yes. I’ll be careful.
His voice turned rather solemn.
I heard him spring to his feet, then move through the corridor, enter the elevator, and get off.
—Senior, I’ve arrived at the first-floor lobby.
“Can you see the information desk?”
—Yes.
“Good. There should be a delivery driver there. Take the food from them and bring it to my studio.”
—.......
Click.
It would be difficult to carry the food while holding the phone, so I thoughtfully ended the call first.
Practicing was good. I was not in a position to coddle him like Kwon Taeyoung did, so it would be even better if the brat practiced himself half to death, grew rapidly, and finished this damn quest early.
But collapsing would be a regression.
Before long, Gowon stormed into my studio with a sullen expression.
“Eat. Then sing whatever song you were practicing here.”
I might not know about anything else, but I could teach him the techniques he lacked in this area.
I had no idea why I kept feeling as though that brat was dragging me around by the nose. Of course, he looked equally resentful as he stuffed spicy seafood noodles into his mouth, apparently convinced I had manipulated him yet again.
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