I didn’t want to stay in this place even for one more second.
I tried to organize my thoughts while quickly going down the stairs.
Was the reason Ka Jerim died because of his family? But from the outside, although she seemed to love his hyung, his mother hadn’t really treated Ka Jerim badly either.
While thinking deeply, at that moment, as the sound of me going down overlapped with different footsteps and my name kept echoing, I stopped for a moment. At that moment, the footsteps were heard loudly, and Ka Junjae, who was suddenly close behind me, grabbed my wrist.
“Hey, why do you keep going when I called you! Aren’t you staying longer? Mom wanted to see you so much.”
“The company suddenly contacted me.”
Ka Junjae, who was acting as if he was endlessly on my side, had been strangely uncomfortable since earlier.
So when I spoke in a naturally cold tone, Ka Junjae looked at me, then let out a deep sigh and said something I couldn’t understand.
“Don’t tell me you’re like this because of that incident? No, I’m telling you it was really a mistake… Hey, you also decided not to care about it. Right?”
“……”
“No, Jerim. Why that expression? Like Mom said, after Mom and Dad die, there’s only the two of us. We have to get along well. I want to get along with you. Let go of that incident now—”
What incident? But since I couldn’t ask, I tried to just nod and move on, and Ka Junjae, whose face had been strangely uncomfortable, relaxed and smiled brightly.
“Jerim is nice after all, right? I’ll take you to the front. We made up now, right? No take-backs?”
I just nodded and let his voice flow in one ear and out the other. And with one floor left, he suddenly stopped me.
“Ah, but really. By any chance. It’s not like I’m really just curious, uh, just. The members also told me to ask—”
“What is it?”
Just as I was wondering what he was trying to say by beating around the bush so much, he said.
“Do you belong to any group?”
“Group? I don’t belong to any group.”
“No, why can’t you understand when I say it once… That, geez.”
His face really showed he couldn’t understand, and his expression became even stranger.
“LS agency singers, like, that— Retro and… ahem, you know.”
LS is the agency I, Cha Hohyeon, belonged to before, and currently an entertainment company that puts Fort and Retro at the forefront.
And LS’s male idol group Retro is the group Lee Yeonun belongs to, and they’re doing very well this year. The fandom has grown quite large, and since they worked especially hard on activities this time, there’s openly talk that they might win a big award this year.
“Lee Yeonun from Retro is just a friend from the same school.”
Because I went to the same school as Lee Yeonun. There was nothing grand enough to be called a group as the reason we met. Lee Yeonun was just a classmate in the same class at school. And he was my celebrity friend who would be filming variety shows with me in the future.
While thinking that and staring blankly, Ka Junjae hastily poured out disorganized words.
“Oh, you transferred schools— and Lee Yeonun. I see. Uh… Then what about Go Yoon and Kang Juno?”
Of course, I didn’t know Yoon hyung and Juno hyung because of some special group. It was just that because I was Cha Hohyeon, I was continuing my connection with Kang Juno hyung and Go Yoon hyung.
“I didn’t meet them at a group, it was through a coincidental opportunity—”
“No. So what was that coincidental opportunity?”
Looking at Ka Junjae, who was speaking in a slightly irritated and pressing tone, I answered as if slightly displeased.
“I can’t tell you that.”
The opportunity was that I am Cha Hohyeon. But since I couldn’t answer that, when I said so, Ka Junjae suddenly started to appease me gently.
“Huh? What’s that opportunity? Just. There’s talk going around. That your reverse chart climb this time was also helped by that agency… LS is big and originally excludes idols from other companies, but you—”
“Hyung, so what are you trying to say?”
I was tired. When I said that, wanting to end the conversation quickly, Ka Junjae looked at me with a face that seemed hurt for some reason. When I felt that gaze and raised my head to stare directly, he quickly withdrew the glare he had been giving me and suddenly spoke to me pleadingly with a pitiful face.
“Our company isn’t small. But… ah, they don’t promote us well and completely neglect us. Everyone isn’t getting proper settlements now, and can’t do activities.”
“……”
“No, just in case. There was talk that your reverse chart climb was helped by LS Entertainment, but that company said it wasn’t… So there’s talk that it was because of your connections. So, that.”
So this is what it’s about. I knew Ka Junjae had pride in his agency. But to be frank, no matter how big Grace’s agency was, it was far from catching up to LS Entertainment, which had already firmly established itself, but the bigger problem was that Grace itself lacked star quality.
“Jerim, you know I’m a huge fan of Go Yoon and Kang Juno, right? I have all of Fort’s albums. But you’re close with my idols. Right?”
Only then did I notice that the reason Ka Junjae grabbed me was to hear something from me, who had received help from LS agency singers.
I almost let out a hollow laugh but held it in. Ka Junjae’s face asking me was full of desperation. Although he spoke arrogantly in front of Mother, no matter how much advertising you do, an idol who doesn’t become popular would naturally receive less support.
‘He’s blaming the agency. When it was their own lack of ability.’
Even on variety shows, they always caused attitude controversies, and they were caught being half-hearted while dancing with the song among members, so talk already spread that they were arrogant even though they were rookies.
“At least a contact number. Really just a contact number. I won’t contact them. I’m just a successful fan. You also, that, got some help from LS agency singers. Me too, just once, okay?”
“Haah. LS doesn’t do anything special, hyung. At most, we didn’t even ask for it directly. The sunbaes just helped us, and your agency is big too.”
“Still. Because of that cover video, you guys completely blew up now. You got a fandom too, and also activities, albums…”
Everyone’s starting line is different.
But thinking he was already at an ahead starting line and falling while walking leisurely, while those who started late have their starting line behind so they run desperately harder—how could he not understand that?
“Hyung. Do you think we had a reverse chart climb because of LS Entertainment, Fort, and Retro sunbaes?”
“Ah, no? Of course Abyss also worked hard and all but…”
I was angry at the fact that Abyss, our members’ efforts, didn’t enter his eyes at all.
Of course, I couldn’t say there was no help from Fort and Retro’s Lee Yeonun. But what kept seizing that opportunity and climbing up was our effort.
‘Why is he acting like such a child? Why doesn’t he know how the world works?’
A celebrity uploading a cover video can make that song enter the rankings. But for it to continue for several weeks on an upward trend and even create a fan base was never an easy thing.
“Hyung doesn’t know. We really worked hard. Hyung knows, right? We’re not a big agency. That’s why we worked even harder.”
On broadcasts, if told to be a folding screen, we became a folding screen, and if told to fill in a cancelled spot, we went in without any pride. Not refusing even small variety shows or small appearance fees, participating while sleeping in bits, gradually fans started appearing.
But even though we were ignored no matter what in the beginning when we had no fans and no power, we smiled, and even now when fans gradually appeared, we’re always the same. Even during activities, even when seniors who thought we got a bit big tried to crush us with their provocations, we all kept bowing our heads in greeting. The more successful we became, the more we bowed our heads. With the determination not to create anything that could be used against us later.
“So don’t say things that ignore our members’ efforts.”
“No, I know. I know. I know how hard Abyss worked.”
When I spoke in an angry tone, he was flustered and said as if somewhat wronged.
“Jerim, we decided to make up. Why are you so angry? You’re still sulking about that incident. Right? No, I really didn’t do that? My junior—”
“…Haah.”
I was the type to never get angry over trivial things. Even if someone touches me, I don’t get angry easily. Pride wasn’t important or useful in life, and just because I bent it didn’t mean tomorrow’s me wouldn’t exist. I just smile and let fights that come at me pass.
But what actually made me angry was separate. It was insulting the members.
It was the same when I was in Fort before, and it was the same this time too. The Abyss members weren’t people who should hear such evaluations.
“Hyung.”
Right before ending the call, Yoon hyung told me. If my family demands something too excessive from me, don’t endure it and speak harshly, but if I can’t do that, act the most frustratingly and obliviously in the world, he advised me.
But there was one thing Yoon hyung didn’t know.
“Junjae hyung.”
I, Cha Hohyeon, who was the youngest in the group and had the least popularity in the beginning. Among our members who were all outstanding in acting, appearance, and charm and climbed to the top in an instant, I had been relatively buried from the beginning.
Moreover, because I debuted at a young age and was often ignored, Yoon hyung probably didn’t know how many people hid their transparent insides and schemed against me.
“Earlier when hyung was eating.”
In fact, it was a field where I couldn’t remain purely gentle and nice. There were more than a few people who tried to constantly create discord between my agency and members to scatter us and recruit me. There were also those who drew pictures trying to use the popular Fort members with me as bait.
