The reason the gangsters included Kang Hyukwoo in their business was because he had been wielding immense influence in the entertainment industry through Prism.
The public tended to admire celebrities and follow in their footsteps. As long as their fashion, favorite foods, and cultural tastes were consumed as trends, Kang Hyukwoo, with his powerful network, would’ve been a highly useful asset to the gangsters’ business.
“All you have to do is come and sit quietly, okay? It’d be even better if you could perform on stage while you’re at it.”
It wasn’t hard to guess, given that when Kang Hyukwoo first opened the club, he had tried everything he could to get Prism members there.
‘I heard that the ones who wanted to get on Kang Hyukwoo’s good side would show up there from time to time.’
But what about now?
After it was revealed that Kang Hyukwoo had manipulated online communities to slander rival groups and had even gone so far as to threaten them in real life, he was completely shunned by the entertainment industry. On top of that, after Prism, the pillar of RH Entertainment, left the company, he lost everything.
Now, Kang Hyukwoo was as good as useless to the gangsters.
My guess was that Kang Hyukwoo had already been discarded by the gangsters, and it seemed like he was taking out his resentment on Prism, whom he considered an easy target.
The incoherent words stammering through the speaker were filled with an undeniable, deep sense of guilt. Right now, Cha Woon’s regret over what he was forced to do and the guilt he felt toward me far outweighed any resentment caused by the many lies coming from Kang Hyukwoo’s mouth.
Sensing it immediately, I held back my shattering heart and answered in a calm voice, “…Why are you apologizing for that? You don’t have to apologize.”
“…….”
But there was no reply from Cha Woon, as if my words hadn’t reached him.
“…I’m sorry. Because of me ……. It was my fault.”
And when the one thing I least wanted to hear, an apology, came out of his mouth again, I shut my eyes tightly.
“Because I know you’ll forgive me, hyung … Because I know you’re the kind of person who would never resent us, no matter what we did … That’s why I tried to stay quiet, because asking for your forgiveness felt like the coward’s way out. But … ah, I don’t know. I just, I felt like if I stayed silent any longer, I’d end up regretting it deeply, so I had to apologize…….”
His voice was thick with emotion, his breathing unsteady, and his words came out noticeably slower than usual. Anyone could tell, even without thinking too hard, that Cha Woon wasn’t in a normal state.
The root cause of all this tragedy was still alive and well in this world, and he had never offered a single apology or shown any remorse to me, shamelessly continuing to hurt the ones I love. So why on earth should Cha Woon be the one apologizing? This was all so terribly, terribly wrong.
“Cha Woon, calm down. Everything’s going to be okay.”
“No, it’s not okay. It’s not okay at all, hyung. It can’t be okay. Even if you forgive me a million times, the things I’ve done will never disappear forever! Why do you always try to shield us without ever blaming us even once?”
“Because you didn’t do anything wrong. Because I know what you were feeling, and why you had to do that. That’s why I’m acting this way.”
Cha Woon was never the type of guy who liked being idolized by others in the first place.
He was the kind of guy who was content just making music quietly with the people he cherished. It didn’t make sense that someone who found even going up to accept an award embarrassing would steal my song just for the sake of his own fame.
“…I really like your songs. I want to compose songs like you, hyung.”
There was no one else who treasured my songs as much as Cha Woon did…….
“All of this happened because of Kang Hyukwoo.”
Cha Woon used my song under Kang Hyukwoo’s threats. And without properly explaining the situation to me, he chose to play the villain, pretending he needed the song for his own selfish reasons. At the time, he must not have wanted to burden me with the truth, since he didn’t know I was already being blackmailed with Jo Inchan’s video.
That guy didn’t even hope for my understanding. Driven solely by the duty to protect Prism, he willingly took on a role that could have easily earned him the resentment of the members. It was the title of ‘leader‘ alone that pushed him to such lengths.
“Woon-ah, it’s okay. A leader is someone who protects everyone.”
“….A leader is someone who protects everyone.”
I understood that feeling better than anyone else, so how could I ever resent Cha Woon for it?
“…If only I’d done better, if I’d handled things more skillfully … maybe it wouldn’t have turned out this way.”
The trembling, uncertain voice suddenly cut off, and through the speaker came a loud thud!—the sound of a phone hitting the floor. For a moment, I thought Cha Woon had collapsed from extreme stress, and my heart dropped as I cried out in alarm.
“What’s wrong?! Cha Woon! What’s going on!”
Then, not long after, there was the sound of a phone rattling as it was picked up, and Cha Woon’s voice came through again.
“I-I’m sorry. My hands were shaking … I dropped my phone.”
Relief rushed over me so suddenly that my head spun. Leaning heavily on the table, I rubbed my chest where sharp pains lingered, and Cha Woon once again compulsively muttered apologies.
After that, all that could be heard was the sound of rapid, shallow breathing.
I had no chance to speak first; my head was still reeling, and as I tried to compose myself, he spoke quickly, as if something were chasing him, perhaps afraid of silence.
“…Hyung, is it true that you tried to kill yourself because of me?”
“…What?”
“Because I made things too hard for you, hyung…….”
Cha Woon must have already known why I had tried to die. Didn’t I promise to answer honestly, without a single lie, in front of that sea and the members of Prism?
Even if I hadn’t answered that way that day, the timing alone would’ve made it obvious.
For quite a long time, I kept living as if nothing had changed, even while giving songs to Cha Woon, but after learning about Seo Yuseong’s death, I broke down and couldn’t get back up.
It meant that Cha Woon had never done anything wrong to me. I had never once resented him, not even for a moment. If anything, even in the face of death, all I felt was guilt toward the members of Prism.
“If I keep staying by your side, Hyung, then again…….”
And yet he asked if I died because of him.
What question could be more sorrowful and despairing than that?
“…Don’t say that.”
I finally collapsed right there. My legs gave out, and I couldn’t stay on my feet.
‘Aaah…….’
My death was Cha Woon’s greatest fear. When the anxiety became too overwhelming to bear, wouldn’t it be natural for his instincts to lead him to brace for that fear before anything else?
It was all my fault.
If I hadn’t died, none of this would’ve happened in the first place. If I had stayed by the Prism members’ side, Kang Hyukwoo would never have dared to tell such lies, and the members wouldn’t have been burdened with guilt over my death.
“Seo Yutae!”
Lee Hwayoung, who had been watching the situation with anxious eyes, panicked and reached out to support me, grabbing my arm. I slowly shook my head to refuse his help and let out the breath I’d been holding.
“…….”
Once things have come to this point, what meaning could saying “It’s not your fault” a hundred times possibly have?
Cha Woon probably knows, too.
The root cause of all this was Kang Hyukwoo, and the fact that in the past, he himself didn’t even have any choices. But that was a way of thinking that only held true when one was in a normal state of mind, wasn’t it?
“I’ll come to you. Just stay right there, okay?”
It was a textbook pattern of behavior seen in those who were mentally vulnerable; their judgment clouded, thoughts spiraling into extremes and irrationality, until the heart of the issue was lost. All the regret and self-blame he’d been carrying for so long, and all those hateful comments hurled at us by people who had no idea they were playing into Kang Hyukwoo’s hands, had molded him into this state.
“It’s okay. Everything’s going to be okay…….”
Once again, a huge wave was crashing down over us.
.
.
.
On the way straight to Choi Jeokhyeon’s company, I checked the internet on my phone. Reading the posts insulting Cha Woon was incredibly difficult, but I figured I had to be aware of them too. After all, he had likely already read them over and over again.
— What? Cha Woon used Seo Yutae’s song? That’s so absurd I’m totally confused, so confused…
— No wonder he came back so quickly after Seo Yutae died. Of course it wouldn’t affect him, he’s the one who killed him
— I always prayed for Prism to go down, and now they’re finally getting buried lol. After all the incidents and scandals they went through, you’d think they’d be done for by now. Honestly, the way they kept hanging in there was kinda f***ing annoying. Yeah, definitely an inferiority complex. Totally.
— Seriously, kids, please get some common sense! They kept their mouths shut for their entire contract, literally worked the kids to the bone, and then immediately started running their mouths as soon as they went independent? That’s not a confession of conscience, that’s just spiteful revenge attempt because their contract wasn’t renewed. How can you just flip your hand so easily and overlook all the screw-ups that bastard has done until now?
└ Fact: Cha Woon did steal Seo Yutae’s songs
Just from this alone, Cha Woon is already ruined, but his fangirls are yapping away, trying to defend him somehow~
└ So what kind of proof did Kang Hyukwoo show? No recordings, no photos, nothing. All he did was keep giving interviews to the same tabloids that kept stirring up scandals. And you’re here talking about “fact” and stuff? BTW, I’m not even a Prism fan;
└ No, what LOL stop denying reality. That person was the company director all along, his testimony is basically proof. What nonsense are you spewing? Of course, there wouldn’t be any physical evidence left. Even so, they’re their own artists; do you really think they were desperate to find dirt on them?
— Just by looking, it’s obvious, isn’t it? I had a bad feeling about Cha Woon from the start. Thinking about how he always picked on Jay, it’s clear his personality was rotten from the beginning
Someone had already started spreading false information as if they knew everything about our lives, while others were simply pouring malice toward Prism.
What gave me at least a small sense of relief amidst it all was that Sera was still by Cha Woon’s side.
— No, stop. Leave Cha Woon alone. Yutae would never want any of this. The Yutae I knew hated seeing the members hurt more than anything, no matter what. Please, stop hurting the kids. I’m scared that Woonie might end up like Yutae too
— Cha Woon doesn’t know how to create songs? Wow hahaha this is some next-level manipulation. (Video clip) Seras watched the entire process of Cha Woon composing Sing for You live, from start to finish, so where are these lies coming from? All this pretense of virtue and integrity while subtly tearing Cha Woon down is just so fake. It’s obvious they’re doing this because Prism left their agency. It’s honestly creepy
— It’s so sickening how you all come running to curse as soon as you find an excuse to attack him. You guys don’t know anything. Do you even realize how much Yutae hated Kang Hyukwoo when he was alive? Things got so bad that even among Seras, we were wondering if the members were being blackmailed. Doesn’t any of this feel off to you? Seo Yutae kept trying to make Prism independent. But every time, a scandal would blow up and it wouldn’t go through. And the agency? They always stayed silent whenever Yutae was being attacked. Can you really believe that’s all just coincidence?
— Excuse me, Kang Hyukwoo-ssi, since when did you become so principled about copyright? You forced our kid to compose songs like Seo Yutae, didn’t you? You told our kid, who mainly composed ballads and jazz, that his own songs weren’t even worth listening to and pushed him to bring a hit song by copying Seo Yutae, right?
Maybe it was because they knew all too well what Kang Hyukwoo had done all along. Or maybe it was the regret over someone they had already lost. Seras seemed confused, but they were fighting to the very end to protect Cha Woon.
‘…Thank goodness.’
After arriving at Choi Jeokhyeon’s company, I opened the door to the room that Lee Chise had informed me about in advance, and saw Cha Woon sitting on the sofa surrounded by the Prism members.
“Woon-ah!”
When I hurriedly approached his side, Cha Woon slowly lifted his gaunt face, which had been staring down at the floor, and looked up at me.
“…Hyung.”
And before our eyes could even meet, he lowered his head, and then slowly knelt down in front of me.
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Translator’s Corner:
The drama so delicious I still can’t believe how underrated this novel is in Korea … like a lot of other idol novels are far more popular than this …. but then I remember how the unnies asked me how did I even find something like this in that yellow K platform, and maybe that’s the cause … this isn’t really that yellow platform’s style … maybe it would already be 10x more popular if it was released in the R platform ……
Ugh sorry for the lack of updates too. My neighbour (the house in front of me) passed away, so I’m busy helping with the funeral etc (I’m a pro at this). And today my close friend told me she’s going to get married next week ….
I guess I’m really not fitting for close human relationship because I’m happy but at the same time … I also feel sad ? for myself, I mean. Now that I think about it, I have close friends from high school and college, and I was quite a social butterfly in school setting, but there’s always like … a wall? Like, they helped me a lot, I wouldn’t survive college without them, but I also know I’m not their “closest friend”, and I don’t have someone I can call “closest” too …. I guess this is the realistic case of when Yutae recalled his old friendship with Lim Seunghoon. It’s somehow hard to get that close when you live a different life, and somehow all my friends live a life very different from mine (Well, to be fair, most people live like that. Korean NovelFires have the tendency to give MC 1001 traumatic background, but real life isn’t that dramatic for most people) … I think I’m a magnet for people with happy family background … even all guys who confessed to me also like that (I rejected them all for that very reason) …
Oh I got sidetracked. My point is … I guess it’s realistically true that Prism works so well because almost all of them have similiar background …. we used to say that Pantheion is a healing chance for Yutae, but when we put them side by side with Prism, it’s obvious which group he belonged to …. (I definitely didn’t write this because someone slandered Prism)
It’s just that I binge read a few idol novels lately, and a lot of them has orphan setting, you know. It kinda bothers me how often authors glossing the setting with “I don’t think much about the fact that I don’t have parents” and “It doesn’t bother me” MC’s mentality. Like, maybe if the MC is the typical psychopath like CJH, Seo Yuseong type … but when an MC supposed to have a lot of feelings …. it just feels … ignorant.
Which is why I like this novel. There’s so many heartbreaking things happening but it doesn’t give me the vibe of “author throwing whatever to make the story traumatic and sad”.
Wow maybe the people commented in early chapter is right … I kinda defend this novel like defending my life
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