“What are you doing right now?”
Annoyed, I quickly sent the minors and the non-smokers outside and opened the window wide. Strong sunlight poured in, but Lim Hyeonsu didn’t seem to care, continuing to sit in her chair with her legs propped up on the desk.
She had a similar temperament to Kang Ichae from the beginning, but their actions were becoming more and more alike. They must have absorbed each other’s bad habits after they became close.
“It’s so smoky in here, and yet the fire alarm isn’t going off.”
“I purposely chose a room with a broken alarm… to smoke indoors…”
“Are you crazy?”
“It’s my building, so it’s fine. Besides, we’re on the first floor, so we can just jump out the window if there’s a fire.”
“Fix it soon.”
Why is she like this?
Lim Hyeonsu wasn’t in a good state. I always thought she was a fool, but today, she was even stranger than usual.
It was bearable after opening the window and letting out some smoke, but it was still too early to bring the members back in, so I just stood with my arms crossed and watched Lim Hyeonsu.
Instead of laughing mockingly as usual, Lim Hyeonsu took her legs off the desk and averted my eyes.
…What’s going on?
I looked at the ashtray next to her and sighed. Cigarette butts were piled up like a mountain, and several empty cigarette packs were scattered around.
“Even if you own the building, is it okay to do this indoors?”
“Is it your place to talk? You smoked here, too.”
“Shush, you have a good memory.”
“Is this a hearing?”
I did smoke her when I threatened her before. Lim Hyeonsu, who used to complain that people who quit smoking got too cocky, sighed deeply, and fiddled with a cigarette pack.
“I don’t know… I want to smoke a pack or two a day and die early. I want to live a stylish life like an artist and die quickly.”
“What?”
“People in this industry tend to highly evaluate the talent of those who die young. I’m going to shine all the way to the end and then just die. What do you think? Isn’t it cool?”
Pathetic…
Has her style completely died?
I sat down on the small chair next to Lim Hyeonsu and grabbed the armrest of the spinning chair she was sitting on.
I didn’t know what was going on, but—
Maybe I should try cheering her up.
“Don’t die. Please.”
“…!”
“I want to use your composing skills…”
Lim Hyeonsu, who had been forcibly spinning around until then, suddenly looked at me with a touched expression.
“Until the very, very, very end.”
“You fucking…”
I gently smiled and said I wanted to exploit her for as long as possible, and Lim Hyeonsu slapped my hand away and distanced herself.
With that, I figured the joke went far enough. The atmosphere lightened, and I called back the members who had been waiting outside.
“Does it smell?”
“It’s okay!”
It didn’t smell at all.
Half-melted like jelly, the members, including Jeong Dajun, who was kind but couldn’t lie, greeted Lim Hyeonsu with a nod and carefully sat on the sofa.
“So, why did you come?”
“Please check our fan song.”
“Haah…”
Lim Hyeonsu sighed and leaned back on the chair, completely drained. Normally, she would have cursed profusely but still got excited as she listened to Kang Ichae’s song… This time, however, she seemed oddly listless.
Even the quick-witted Kang Ichae seemed to notice, hesitating as he took out his laptop.
A moment later, Lim Hyeonsu rubbed the corner of her eyes and abruptly straightened her upper body.
“Alright, play it.”
“…Yes.”
As always, Kang Ichae obeyed Lim Hyeonsu’s words. The song he produced in a very short time sounded beautiful even to my tone-deaf ears.
The song, reminiscent of a 1980s American high school setting, had a powerful upbeat and refreshing melody.
Kang Ichae is quite a guy.
After that… incident, Kang Ichae seemed a bit depressed, but then he suddenly holed up in his room and obsessively dug into classic movies. Afterward, he and Jeong Dajun conquered 1980s American movies and produced that beat while yelling, “I’m an American high teen,” “I’m Kang Ichae-buster,” and “I’ll go back to the past in a burning car,” all of which were incomprehensible.
Honestly, as long as he produced amazing songs, I was willing to tolerate any nonsense he spewed.
“♩♬♪?”
Kang Ichae, with the focused members beside him, glanced at Lim Hyeonsu with slight tension. Lim Hyeonsu remained silent for a while after the song ended.
“…?”
Just as we started exchanging glances and gestures, her hand reached for the cigarette pack, then stopped. She blinked her eyelashes once and spoke.
“…It’s not bad.”
“Wow!”
“Whoa!”
The members who didn’t know much about Lim Hyeonsu just cheered at the fact that they were praised by a famous composer, but I momentarily lost my words as I looked at Hyeonsu. It seemed that Kang Ichae was also in the same situation, but he soon lowered his gaze and laughed.
“We learned everything from our genius composer~.”
“Of course, where else would you learn?”
Lim Hyeonsu responded lightly with a joke and gave feedback while pointing at the program. As Kang Ichae listened to Hyeonsu’s voice intently, not missing a single word, the song became richer and more splendid whenever she touched the computer.
I turned my eyes away as I leaned on the sofa and watched them.
Min Jiheon….
I had tried to contact him afterward, of course, but there was no reply. I couldn’t see him at the company at all. Whether the news of him going to China was true or not, I tried contacting him through a manager or the company, but it was obvious that I wouldn’t be able to properly talk that way.
Biting my lip, I untangled my still-tangled thoughts one by one.
Min Jiheon definitely knew something.
Let’s start from the beginning.
He told me that I “looked urgent” when we encountered each other on Jeju Island and at the company.
He then withdrew that statement, saying he must have seen it wrong….
What exactly is urgent?
Although it’s true that I was caught in this goddamn game and working my bones off for something that wasn’t even in the plan, there was definitely no time limit to clear this scenario. There was only a vague directive to become a first-tier idol.
There were time limits occasionally placed on quests, but I never doubted the reason for that because I thought those quests were reasonable in those situations.
…Wait.
Did I miss something?
What if the quest rewards, failures, and unbalanced patches weren’t random but actually served a purpose?
What if there was some information the system window didn’t tell me about, but Min Jiheon noticed… and then told me to hurry?
What if there was a limit for him too?
“…Eh.”
Even if that’s the case, there were still many unsolved mysteries. How did Min Jiheon show me my traffic accident when he obviously knew nothing? Why did the system window have an error? And—
Someone tapped my shoulder just as I was about to get lost in my chain of thoughts.
“Hey, Seo Hoyun.”
“…Ah.”
It was Lim Hyeonsu, who stood with her hands in her pockets, leaning slightly forward. Excluding me, who was spacing out, the members were already standing up and greeting Hyeonsu.
“Why didn’t you hear me talking when you were thinking so hard?”
“I was cursing the composer.”
“You little shit, really….”
As she shrugged her shoulders, trying to leave, Hyeonsu grabbed me.
“Wait a minute. I have something to talk about.”
“Yes? Um, yes.”
“Composer Cheongbeom! Thank you again for today~!”
“Thank you!”
“Yeah, go on in.”
The other members quickly greeted her and left, leaving me there awkwardly. Watching them go, I wished she had at least given me some snacks to recharge while I waited.
Sitting quietly on the sofa, Hyeonsu seemed to be waiting for the members to leave. She then sat down heavily in a chair and took out a cigarette again.
“Really, aren’t you a little too impatient? Couldn’t you hold it in for a moment?”
“Fuck, give me a break….Life is so annoying, and I need to smoke.”
“…”
I stared at her blankly. Hyeonsu put down the lighter, exhaled the smoke, and looked up at the ceiling.
“Kang Ichae, I’m really….”
“…”
“Really, really, really envious.”
It was almost like talking to herself. It seemed like she was trying to hold it in, but the words came out forced.
As I was about to frown slightly, Hyeonsu flicked the ash off and turned her gaze to me.
“Anyway, that’s not what I wanted to talk about. I just wanted to chat.”
“Why?”
“…You look a little sensitive.”
“Me…?”
No, I was now… in a somewhat recovered state. I raised my eyebrows. Hyeonsu looked at me as she slowly narrowed her eyes.
“You looked sensitive since the beginning, but today, even more so.”
“…”
“What’s the matter?”
So perceptive.
I sighed and slid down on the sofa as if lying down. What should I say here?
I have a slightly crazy sunbae at the same company, and they showed me my trauma?
…Instead of saying that, I looked up and down at Hyeonsu. Hyeonsu seemed startled.
“I…”
“…”
“I quit smoking, remember?”
“Ah, shit. I totally get it. Okay.”
Hyeonsu, a heavy smoker, nodded her head crazily. Seeing Hyeonsu stubbornly puff on a cigarette even in front of someone who found quitting hard, I couldn’t help but burst into laughter. Covering my mouth and squinting my eyes, Hyeonsu clicked her tongue and shook her head.
“Don’t laugh like that; I might fall for you.”
“I guess you already have.”
“No, seriously, could you quit? I’m over it.”
Why? I wanted to see it for a long time.
Hyeonsu took another puff, put out her cigarette, and was about to grab another from the pack when her phone rang with a vibration.
“Huh?”
Thinking it was time for me to leave and escape this raccoon’s den, Hyeonsu murmured as she looked at the caller ID.
“It’s Heeyeon.”
“…???”
“Heeyeon? What’s up with her?”
“And she’s texting too.”
What kind of nonsense was this?
Without even looking at me, Hyeonsu had already taken out a new cigarette, put it in her mouth, and was typing a reply with an awkward nod.
“… PD Kim Heeyeon?”
“Yup. We’ve been getting close lately. We met at a drinking party last time. She’s quite a drinker…”
As soon as she closed her mouth, Hyeonsu snickered. Noticing the suspicious look in my eyes, she glanced over and made a confused face.
“…Why are you mad?”
“I’m not mad, okay?”
What reason did I have to be mad?
But Hyeonsu continued to scrutinize me with her eyes narrowed, misunderstanding my intentions. She snapped her fingers.
“Why? Do you want to swear??”
“…”
“Damn, you’re like a ghost. Yeah, you’re right. All we do is talk behind your back when we meet.”
For a moment, I felt dizzy and leaned on my forehead.
I really wanted to stop hearing about that now. Why couldn’t I just block their numbers since I was such a loser…
Of course, Hyeonsu didn’t know about my situation and rambled.
“Sorry, but I can’t include you~. I’ve been really close with Heeyeon lately. Have you heard? Best Friend?! B.F.F! Our relationship isn’t something a loser like you can easily join… Even Joo Woosung looked like he was being threatened by you last time. I’m thinking of forming a trio with him.”
“Shit…”
“If you know anyone else being threatened by you, let me know. We’re recruiting new members.”
Hyeonsu chuckled and gestured for me to leave. I was going to go anyway!
I got up abruptly, glared at Hyeonsu, and left. Until I closed the door, Hyeonsu kept giggling at her phone. It was really annoying.
“Hyung! Over here, over here!”
“Oh, perfect timing. Drink this!”
As soon as I walked out, Dajun waved his hand frantically with snacks tucked under his arm. Next to him, Jiwon handed me a Java Chip Frappuccino.
“Java Chip with caramel drizzle, mocha syrup, and espresso whipped cream. I thought you’d want something sweet today.”
I was glad my members had some sense.
“Thanks.”
I took the drink and slurped it down. As the sugar kicked in, my irritation subsided, and I became a little more composed. Jiwon blinked and cautiously asked.
“…But Hoyun.”
“What?”
“Why are you so annoyed?”
“I’m not annoyed, okay??”
***
Seo Hoyun had already messed up (on top of other mistakes) to the point of no return… but he still worked hard. Thanks to that, another video was quickly uploaded to The Dawn’s YouTube channel.
[The Dawn? Will you go to prom with me? (Teaser)]
The teaser suddenly appeared without any notice or even dropping a hint on V-Live. As soon as Noeul’s fans clicked on the 20-second video, a series of highlights unfolded.
“?♪?♪”
The video began with Dajun picking up a letter in front of a cabinet.
Kim Seonghyeon shooting a basketball, Seong Jiwon picking out roses in front of a flower shop, and Kang Ichae leaning on an old motorbike while chewing gum appeared in succession.
The monotonous and refreshing beat changed into upbeat 1980s American-style music at some point while maintaining a trendy, sophisticated rhythm. Ichae indeed possessed a talent that could make Hyeonsu jealous.
Lastly, under the purple lights, Seo Hoyun appeared, grabbing a standing microphone and smiling with a band consisting of drums, bass, guitar, and piano.
“Yes, I’m asking you!”
The purple light shone brilliantly on his delicate, rich hair, and his slightly raised eyes seemed to fold playfully.
He turned towards his youthful love as if slightly embarrassed and a little scared.
“Will You Go to Prom with Me?”
The short highlights played, and the song’s title was stamped on the black screen.
It was a fan song.
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