To be honest, I was a little surprised.
— Don’t piss me off, don’t piss me off, don’t piss me off, don’t piss me off
— I thought I was finally gonna get a taste of dopamine, but you gave it to me and snatched it away. If you hand it over now, I’ll forgive you
— Youngsoo-ya, you have 3 seconds
└ Who is Youngsoo?
└ POX’s CEO
└ OH LOLOLOLOLOL
I had more or less expected a reaction like, ‘How could you do this? ㅠㅠ‘, but instead, everyone was exploding with full-on fury. Honestly, I wondered if they were that curious about an idol’s drunken appearance. Wouldn’t that kind of shatter the fantasy? I figured most people wouldn’t want to see that.
‘Are they simply curious because it’s not something you can easily see on TV because of the regulations?’
—
The guy who always gets drunk and acts out is drunk again < So what, who cares?
The guy who never drinks and always shows only his perfect side got drunk, but even his drunken antics are fking adorable < One of The World’s Four Greatest Delicacies1
— Wow, it’s my first time seeing Han Seungbeom smile so innocently… feels like I just got smacked in the back of the head. I’m in shock
‘I don’t know anymore, I……’
With a distraught mind, all I could do was helplessly watch the chat window spiral into madness. After sitting frozen like that for about a minute, I suddenly jumped to my feet and started looking for the manager.
‘I can’t let my humiliation be exposed like this. I can already guess what Nam Yihwon would say just from what happened earlier.’
This wasn’t the time to be drowning in despair. I should’ve talked to the manager right now and asked them to re-edit it.
‘Who knows what kind of nonsense I spouted while I was drunk…….’
I think I was talking about Seo Yuseong right before I completely fell asleep,, and if that ended up on the broadcast, it would truly be a major disaster.
No, I definitely confirmed the production team wasn’t around before saying that. But seeing something that didn’t happen according to my memory recorded on video made me feel like I was slowly losing my mind. Fortunately, the second part hasn’t been uploaded yet, and since the reality show was produced by the agency, not a broadcasting station, a bit of editing should still be possible.
“Hyung, what are you looking for?”
Since I kept glancing around nervously, Do Yuda, who was beside me, gave me a suspicious look. When I answered, “Manager-nim. I need to request some edits before Part 2 is uploaded”, Do Yuda squinted his eyes as if to say he knew my intention, and then spoke in a playful tone.
“There’s no point, so just give up, hyung. I heard the second part was scheduled to be uploaded just 10 minutes after the first one went up.”
“…What?”
“It should’ve started again by now … Ah, see? It’s on right now.”
Wait, didn’t Part 2 normally get uploaded a week after Part 1? Since the video was meant to show that “Han Seungbeom is fine” before the comeback, I had expected they’d upload it a bit sooner, but this … this isn’t fine.
As soon as Part 2 started playing again, the chat window, which had been shaking with rage, instantly became docile.
— Forgiveness.
— Forgiveness.
— Forgive.
Then, after a brief summary of Part 1’s content, I reappeared on camera, my flushed face filled the entire frame.
[<Drunk on half a bottle of soju>]
The sight of myself grinning so foolishly with some silly caption floating above my head felt oddly unfamiliar.
[<But … he truly is handsome♥>]
— Wow, look at that face ha ha ha ha ha it’s honestly absurd how beautiful he is
— Crazy person
— Do Pantheion’s members get to see Han Seungbeom smile like that every day? Let me join Pantheion too
└ Nah, I don’t think so, lol. He normally doesn’t smile much… It’s such a rare sight, that’s why everyone’s holding their breath like that
The one thing I was sure of was that even if I had gotten drunk the same way with my own body, I probably wouldn’t have looked that good … I just naturally looked too fierce.
[“…If you’re sleepy, do you want to go in and sleep?”]
Baek Kiryang stared blankly at me, whose face looked completely different from usual, and finally managed to say just that one sentence. He was immediately attacked by Nagi Zen, who asked if he was trying to take this fun show away from them, and was subdued in one go.
[“…….”]
I could’ve just gone in and quietly gone to sleep, but instead, I stubbornly shook my head again and, with a blank expression, turned to Lee Hwayoung sitting beside me. Then, smiling once more, I tried to pick him up for a hug, but, as expected, I completely failed.
Then, with a very sad face, I asked him,
[“…Since when did you get this big, huh?”]
[<This person is completely drunk.>]
Then Lee Hwayoung froze, his eyes wide open as if there was some kind of glitch, and hurriedly sat me back down in the chair.
[“Whoa, hyung, don’t get up. It’s dangerous, so just stay seated.”]
[“Stay still……”]
But the me on the screen ignored their efforts and, like a puppet at the event, staggered to my feet again and started patting the other members’ heads. Then, Nagi Zen, whose eyes were sparkling as if determined not to miss the chance, quickly grabbed the hand resting on his head and asked,
[“Leada, am I cute?”]
At that, I nodded my heavy head and answered in a deliberately affectionate tone.
[“…Yeah, of course you’re cute.”]
Zen was so happy about that that he let out a natural ‘hehehehe‘ giggle, his face glowing bright red as he grinned. Seeing his joyful expression, I seemed to catch his happiness and melted along with him. I cupped his cheeks with both hands and gently kneaded them.
[“Leada, please drink alcohol once a day. You’re so pretty, so pretty, it’s great!”]
That guy, as if he had no shame whatsoever, was wagging his tail the entire time.
What was really funny was that not only Nagi Zen but also the other members were crowding around me, waiting their turn. Seriously, it was clear that those guys were pretty drunk too.
— (“Touch me too…”) (“Me too…”) (“Me as well”) … is it for real that they’re lining up like this? Ahhh, so freaking cute ㅠ
— What the? Was Han Seungbeom secretly wanting to be this affectionate but too shy to actually show it? People say your true self comes out when you’re drunk, so how can he be like this? I just want to scream at the top of my lungs right now
— I used to wonder how a project group could be that close, but it turned out it was because of the leader
— Naju Na-ssi, are you a strong dog or what… ㅜ.ㅜ He loves it whenever you pet himㅠ But he bites Yuda
‘No, there must have been some members who didn’t drink at all.’
I continued idly touching the members for a long time like that, then suddenly buried my head on the table and fell asleep. As I stared, mouth agape, at this event I had no recollection of, Do Yuda, who was giggling beside me, asked, “Hyung, you don’t remember, do you?”
“Hyung, you were totally acting like a drunk dad. My dad is like that too, always trying to give kisses…….”
Is that typically how fathers act when they come home drunk? From what I remember, my father was always drunk, and every time, he would often lose his temper, so I had to take Seo Yuseong and run outside quite often. Because of that, Do Yuda’s example didn’t really resonate with me.
Still, I did find myself thinking that perhaps even that kind of behavior was typical if affection is present.
After that, the members left me passed out and drank a little more, eventually becoming completely drunk themselves.
[“Please call a taxi. My dorm is in Gangseo District, Seoul (beep—). The password is…….”]
Suddenly, Nagi Zen recited his home address word for word, and midway through, with a ‘bambam!’ sound effect, the screen turned pitch black and a large white caption appeared.
[<Production Team Withdrawing>]
[<Reason>]
Then, like footage from a documentary, images quickly flashed by in mute: Nagi Zen crawling on all fours on the floor, Do Yuda clutching a microphone and pointlessly wasting his talent by screaming ultra-high notes, the two hyung line drenched in sweat as they desperately tried to get those two under control, me sleeping soundly while leaning against Lee Hwayoung, and Lee Danbi staring with empty eyes at the hyungs who weren’t acting their age.
[<The members are way more drunk than expected>]
Although it was shown very briefly to protect the artists, it was already so utterly disgraceful that anyone could tell at a glance we were completely out of our minds.
— Ah, no way ㅠㅠ hahaha Zen just flawlessly reciting their dorm address lololol this is killing me
— This grandma is relieved… Our Zen is such an admirable, legendary boy who can still confidently recite his home address in Korean even when totally drunk… He won’t be in danger of becoming an international lost child
— Actually, even if he couldn’t recall his home address, I wouldn’t worry. I think Nagi Zen will win no matter who he meets
└ Ah, I agree. No matter what happens, I feel like he’d just show up on his own, marching right in
— Ah, they should’ve just shown it all, no editing needed… Come on guys, let’s rewrite idol history
└ An assassin is here?
— ★Pantheion Drinking Limits★
● Woo Kangwon: Two bottles (based on fan sign Q&A)
● Baek Kiryang: One glass!
● Nicholas Hwayoung Lee: ??? (He said he’s never drunk until he got completely drunk…)
● Han Seungbeom: Half a bottle
● Nagi Zen: One and a half bottles
● Do Yuda: Five bottles (Should probably stop here)
● Lee Danbi: Chocolate milk♥
And then, the video continued with the footage taken right after I woke up the next day.
[<The PD Raids the Zombie Den>]
[“Gooood morning.”]
‘Holy shit…….’
Sure enough, the very scene where the sober me was caught by the PD while messing around with the members, who were soundly asleep, was broadcasted as-is. The chat, predictably, exploded into a frenzy once more.
— CRAZY LOL even my mom doesn’t look at me like that, seriously, what the heck is this
— Seungbeom must really, really, really, really, really like the members…
— It’s real love
— I’m simply watching the reality show legally, but somehow it feels like I got caught stealing. Like I’m doing something bad.
It was embarrassing.
The only saving grace was that the Do Yuda’s sleeping face was pixelated with the words ‘handsome‘ over it, and I didn’t make any particularly problematic slip-ups.
As I finally exhaled the breath I’d been holding, Do Yuda half-closed his eyes and said with a sly grin.
“Hyung, you thought you made a slip of the tongue, didn’t you? That was after we’d already had a blast and calmed down a bit. Manager-hyung saw me running wild and figured we shouldn’t film any longer, so he cut the filming midway. You really should be grateful to me.”
So basically, after getting drunk, my memory blanks out from the middle, and I only properly remember the ending, right? When I thought about it coolly, I realized there’s no way I would have brought up Seo Yuseong in front of a camera, no matter how drunk I was.
“Oh, I was really out ……. Did I do anything weird while I was drunk?”
“You were just like usual.”
One could say this situation was the result of being completely fooled by Choi Jeokhyeon’s lies. In a fit of irritation, I unlocked my phone to shift the blame onto that guy, and saw the text that arrived a while ago.
[You’re pretty drunk.]
[You’ve always laughed a lot when you’re drunk.]
‘What’s the point of telling me now? It’s already all been caught on camera.’
Please say something, just say something! I’ve believed Choi Jeokhyeon my whole life and thought I wasn’t someone with a bad drinking habit. Just how much effort did he put into messing with people?!
‘This bastard, doesn’t he actually have nothing to do? Seeing him waste time on stuff like this…….’
While thinking that and feeling disgusted, a new message arrived.
Tiling!
[I didn’t mention your habit of falling asleep so quicklyon purpose. I was worried you might become dependent.]
[You see, if you keep drinking, you’ll eventually find it harder and harder to sleep.]
“…….”
F**k, now I don’t even have the right to say anything.
“Members, we’re heading to the broadcasting station now!”
In the end, I ended up moving to the broadcasting station, following the manager’s lead, without being able to say a single word to Choi Jeokhyeon.
***
Ever since he became certain that Han Seungbeom was actually Seo Yutae, Kang Hyukwoo had been keeping up with every single one of Pantheion’s activities. Naturally, he watched their latest reality show live … and now, he replayed a specific part of the video.
[“Baby, no, what am I even saying? Hwayoung-ah, the side mirror!”]
“…Ha.”
He remembered the child who would always run straight into Seo Yutae’s arms whenever there was a concert rehearsal.
‘Blond hair, blue eyes…….’
With doll-like large eyes and the soft, milky-white cheeks typical of children, that child looked nothing like the present-day Lee Hwayoung, who now appeared as a well-built adult man. It was indeed hard to recognize the connection between the two at a glance. However, if one consciously compared the two, it became clear they were the same person.
Also, that child was usually seen around Lee Saehwa, and since Nicholas Hwayoung Lee was related to Lee Saehwa, it was safe to say the assumption was spot-on.
‘…Ha, of course he looks like a baby. He’s known him since the days he couldn’t even walk far and had to be carried.’
When he let his guard down like this, similarities slipped out, so why hadn’t he caught on until now? Kang Hyukwoo gritted his teeth, filled with regret that it was already too late.
‘If only Seo Yutae hadn’t existed, if only I’d realized he was around sooner, things wouldn’t have turned out this way!’
And he desperately started racking his brain, trying to figure out how to deal with Seo Yutae.
Seo Yutae had a strong mental fortitude, but he was unusually vulnerable when it came to the standing of those he loved. Prism seemed to have already figured out Seo Yutae’s true identity and latched onto him, so they were out of the question. Seo Yuseong was already dead, and Lee Saehwa was someone not to be trifled with.
Then what in the world is left?
While turning over ideas in his head, Kang Hyukwoo glanced at the video playing on the tablet and suddenly held his breath, struck by a sudden thought.
“…….”
‘…What if we stir up public sentiment that Han Seungbeom is imitating Seo Yutae?’
If Seo Yutae’s existence in this world was the problem, then the solution was to make him want to die once more.
And the method? By directly using Sera.
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Translator’s Corner:
Europeans: Foie Gras, Caviar, Truffles. They’re saying drunk Han Seungbeom’s appearance is the fourth. ↩︎
If I were him, I would be busy guarding his son, but whatever…..
Really need a flashback chapter where Jeokhyeon witnessed Yutae drunk from the first time … also I was re-reading this novel today, and I seriously want to see Survive Idol through Jay’s POV … like, forget about the pretty Seungbeom for a moment, what was he thinking when he saw Prism’s official (since no one knew about Seungbeom) nephew in there, saying he came because he admired Seo Yutae …… I’d give him super favoritism on the spot…..
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