“That’s not what’s important! We might get to appear in Prism-sunbaenims’s episode!”
‘Who, appearing in what?’
As soon as I heard those words, the first thought that popped into my head was, ‘Oh, for god’s sake‘. However, the other members, mistaking my lukewarm reaction for being too shocked to know how to respond, simply grinned in satisfaction.
“Ha…….”
As I sighed heavily, the manager, who was wearing an equally cheerful smile, stepped out from between the members and said to me, “Seriously! Seungbeom-ssi, if you had such a close relationship with Prism, you should have told us!”
“…What?”
I had a close relationship with Prism? Where did that come from?
If it’s just the trainer-trainee relationship from Survive IDOL, then the same should apply to the other members as well. I had no idea why he was singling me out.
No, actually, I did have an idea.
‘Those rascals…….’
This was 100% a case of the Prism members exerting their influence.
Among them, figuring out ‘who the mastermind was‘ wasn’t all that difficult.
Cha Woon had no connections in the variety show industry, so it couldn’t be him. Nam Yihwon was more of the type to egg people on rather than take the lead in pranks like this, so he was unlikely as well. As for Jo Inchan, he was too caught up in the company’s control to have any real say in this matter.
‘…Lee Chise and Jay.’
Within Prism, those two were the ones who could take pride in their social skills.
“I’ll be right back, I need to make a quick call.”
“By any chance, are you going to call the Prism members?”
When I stopped without answering that question, the manager, who had been glancing at me nervously, hesitated for a moment before shyly blurting out, “I know this is a bit of a shameless request, but if it’s not too much trouble … could I ask you to get Lee Chise-ssi’s autograph on this album … maybe later? I’ve been a fan of his for a long time!”
‘Ah, damn it.’
It seemed like the rumor that I was really close with Prism had definitely spread.
Feeling dizzy all of a sudden, I tilted my head back toward the ceiling and squeezed my eyes shut.
“…….”
Why did you think I ignored Lee Chise and Nam Yihwon’s calls until the party? It was to make Lim Seunghoon and Kang Hyukwoo feel threatened, to make them think, ‘Han Seungbeom is someone who can release the original video whenever he wants‘.
Eventually, there was a bit of a flaw in my plan since I couldn’t turn down Nam Yihwon and ended up meeting the Prism members. But even that could be spun as “I’m just working hard to deceive themso I can use them.”
However, if I got involved with Prism in a place where RH Entertainment’s lackeys and cameras were present, they might start to grow suspicious someday.
…F**k, I’m not confident I can keep a straight face in front of those Prism guys.
‘How long has it even been since I revealed my identity? And now I’m already experiencing these guys causing trouble and shamelessly walking out like nothing’s wrong?’
Unless I handled everything alone, unexpected variables in my plan were inevitable. But still, this? Plotting something like this? I had no idea where to even begin pointing out the problems. After dealing with Dalli, it felt like my already complicated head had been completely reset to blank.
I simply nodded at the manager, then went into my room and made a call.
Then, Lee Chise’s new song played as the ringtone, followed by a cheerful voice answering the call.
“Oh, hyung. Hi! What’s up?”
The owner of dazzling self-confidence, who set his own song as a ringtone, was none other than Lee Chise.
“What do you mean, ‘what’s up‘? Don’t play dumb. Don’t tell me the so-called program meeting was actually about plotting this stunt?”
When I snapped at him sharply, I heard a typical “Ah, that?” followed by a long stretch of silence. No doubt, he was trying to buy time and think of a way out.
“One, two.”
I started counting, like a parent dealing with misbehaving children.
Just before I reached three, Lee Chise hastily answered, dragging out his words.
“Nooo, the PD asked if I had any promising juniors to recommend, so I just answereed~”
As Lee Chise started speaking in an aegyo tone, things grew chaotic on the other end of the call.
“What? Is that Yutae-hyung?”
“Move over. Let me say hi too.”
“Hey, hey, just switch to a video call. This is so frustrating.”
“Cha Woon, you’re too loud.”
“Who was that just now? Who spoke to me informally?”
“…….”
“…….”
Then the call abruptly ended, and a video call came through right away.
“Hyung, have you eaten?”
“You should’ve let us know when you got back. We were worried since you didn’t contact us at all.”
On the screen, all the members except for Seo Yuseong, Jay, and me were gathered together. Jo Inchan was in the bathroom, though. I watched as the members waved at the camera as if nothing had happened and then asked.
“Why are you all suddenly huddled together like that? It’s gross.”
Then, Cha Woon, who had taken the front spot, glanced around as if looking for Jay. Only after hearing that Yoo Jay was out for a schedule did he finally start explaining.
“Just, we decided to stick together as a group. At the very least, they won’t dare touch Jo Inchan in front of us. There’s nothing we can do about individual schedules … but aside from that, we’re trying to make sure he’s always with at least one of us.”
“This really brings back old memories. How many years has it been since we last lived together in a dorm?”
At those words, Jo Inchan suddenly stuck his face, covered in shaving cream, out of the bathroom and shouted, “It’s not a dorm, it’s my house! You all just barged in out of nowhere!”. But the other members completely ignored his complaint and just giggled, saying, “Woow, our Inchan, you’re getting mad at your hyungs now? You’ve grown up?”
“Ugh, I spilled my beer.”
“I knew Nam Yihwon would do that. Lick it all up.”
“Don’t talk nonsense.”
As I watched the noisy group of members on the screen, I couldn’t quite decide how to react, so I simply stayed silent and waited. Noticing my expression, Lee Chise, who had been desperately trying to avoid the topic just moments ago, suddenly brought up the ‘program appearance offer‘ again to divert everyone’s attention.
“The program offer was Jay’s idea. He thought this might be the only way to have some kind of connection. Besides, we’re a bit curious about the group you’re in now, hyung.”
“Curious?”
“Well, we just wanted to see what kind of kids you’re with now, hyung … You left us for that group, so it’d be pretty disappointing if it was just a bunch of nobodies.”
Lee Chise’s usual smooth-talking tone was the same as ever, but there was an underlying sharpness to his words. When I frowned at that, he let out a cheerful laugh and casually added, “Just kidding, just kidding“, though it didn’t sound convincing at all.
“Hyung, I understand what you’re worried about, but that one program alone won’t cause any big changes. In front of others, we’ll treat you just like any other juniors, so you don’t have to worry.”
I almost blurted out, ‘The problem isn’t you guys, it’s me‘. But realizing a little too late how embarrassing that sounded, I just frowned and shut my mouth.
“And even if, by some chance, you can no longer use that original video you got to threaten them, it’s fine, hyung. The fact that the evidence you obtained can perfectly prove our innocence to Seras and the others won’t change.”
“…How is that fine?”
Whether or not a celebrity has done something wrong, just becoming the subject of sensational public gossip can severely damage their image. Jo Inchan’s original video was especially provocative, making the impact even worse.
‘Even if it f**king sucks, what can I do? That’s just how reality is.’
So, even if we had obtained the original video and secured Taeui’s father as a witness, exposing it to the public had to be the last resort.
‘In the end, since we couldn’t wage a media war, there wasn’t much use for it other than threatening those bastards.’
“If we can explain it properly, the fans will prioritize our side of story.”
However, that didn’t mean those weapons held no power beyond mere threats.
Just by securing the original video and a witness, Prism gained the reassurance and confidence that we had a means to protect our ultimate bastion—the fans—at all costs. Thanks to this, the members were able to take bold actions, such as protecting Jo Inchan and attempting to make contact with me.
“We’ve already made more than enough money. If it comes down to it, we could just disappear from the public eye entirely and focus on concerts. Either way, Seras will still follow us, and as long as we can perform in front of them, that’s all that matters. Of course, I’m only talking about the worst-case scenario.”
“…….”
“We finally managed to reunite after all this time, so let’s not do something foolish like avoiding each other just because of those bastards. If something weird happens and we end up unable to meet each other again, that would be really foolish.”
‘Should I see this as a good change or a bad one…….’
Since I couldn’t say I didn’t understand his sentiments, in the end, I couldn’t bring myself to scold him. I just placed my hand on my throbbing forehead and muttered.
“…Yeah, there shouldn’t be any major problems. Lim Seunghoon will be dealt with soon anyway.”
“What did you say? I didn’t catch that.”
“Forget it, I was just talking to myself. But why is it a survival program of all things? You know that survival shows are usually edited to be provocative. Our Pantheion are still…….”
“Huh? As long as they do well, there shouldn’t be any problem.”
When Lee Chise, who fearlessly went on a hip-hop audition program and won when Prism’s stock was at its peak, said that, there was nothing I could say in response.
‘He thinks everyone in the world is like him.’
In the meantime, Jo Inchan, who had come out of the bathroom, wore a nostalgic expression as he listened to our conversation.
“If you’re so scared of your skills being compared on stage, then why become a singer in the first place?”
I then remembered that my past self was no different from Lee Chise, so I hurriedly ended the call.
“…Fine. I’ll discuss it with Pantheion, so just keep that in mind. If it gets rejected, look for another program.”
After scratching the back of my head in nervousness, I went back to the living room.
“There’s a rumor that Raize-sunbaenims will be on the show too. If we ask Seungbeom-hyung to secretly confirm it with his eavesdropping skills…….”
“No. I said that last time was the last.”
As I firmly spoke while grabbing the top of Do Yuda’s head, who was passionately ranting at the members, he turned to look at me and then let out a whiny “Huhuhu” sound, as if about to cry.
“…No.”
Even if he looked at me with those wide, clear eyes and a face like a wet puppy, what was not allowed, was not allowed.
Unfortunately, I had recently spent a large amount of cost, and since I would soon need it again, I had to drastically reduce the use of the abilities.
Gritting my teeth, I avoided Do Yuda’s and Zen’s gazes and opened my mouth again.
“I know you might be disappointed to hear this, especially when you’re all so excited about it, but I’m against joining this program.”
“…Why?”
“Because, in any case, it means we have to cover Prism’s songs. If it were another artist, maybe I could consider it, but not Prism. The risks outweigh the benefits.”
The moment I uttered those words, Lee Hwayoung, who had been silent the whole time, spoke up.
“Why? Do we look so hopelessly inferior to Prism in your eyes?”
In an instant, the atmosphere turned cold.
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Translator’s Corner:
Go Nicholas, go ….
Although, tbh, when I first read this part, I didn’t expect them to actually confront Yutae about that lol
Yeah let’s forget about a moment and come back to the idol topic … we’re not idoling enough for an idol novel … but I guess that’s to be expected from the title ….
I somehow missed the sale of the dress I wanted for Eid, and it’s sold out and not going to be restocked and I’m doomed now …. I don’t like anything else since I’m super picky person …. but I guess as you grew older, those things don’t feel like a big deal anymore. I didn’t buy anything last year too … if the store doesn’t magically restocked it (it’s pretty unlikely), I’ll just wear my dress from 3 years ago. Wow, but when I wrote this, I really felt like I dgaf … omg, this is adulting ….
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