Soon he let out a sigh mixed with arsenic.
“You probably think you’re very smart, but honestly, you’re too easy to read. Everyone here has at least ten snakes in their stomach, so it’s best for rookies to act like rookies. No matter how venomous a snake is, it won’t bite a newborn chick.”
“……”
“You can scheme later. Wouldn’t that be more comfortable for you too?”
Baek Hanje then kicked Go Won’s shoe with his toes.
“Cool sunbae-nim has given all the advice that becomes bone and flesh today too. Let’s go.”
“…Ah….”
“Why, should I wait here longer while you chat with your friend?”
“No, not at all.”
“Yeah, Go Won who won’t even get bitten by snakes because they think you’re pathetic, let’s go now.”
Go Won turned his body to follow Baek Hanje who looked unusually displeased for some reason, then looked back at Kim Eumyul.
“Kim Eumyul, I sincerely hope all the friends who went through the survival show together do well. That includes you, …and me too.”
At those words, Kim Eumyul couldn’t answer anything. Whether he couldn’t or didn’t, he didn’t know.
And when he looked forward again, Baek Hanje was sending an even more irritated gaze.
Baek Hanje who returned to the waiting room together also boarded the van together. As he just rested his chin looking out the window, everyone in the car watched his mood.
“Haha, Won-ah, you worked hard. You start your schedule from dawn tomorrow too, so go into the dorm and sleep well.”
“Yes, understood….”
Go Won was also very bothered by Baek Hanje’s attitude. In the midst of that, he broke the silence first.
“What was with that kid earlier?”
“…Kim Eumyul, a trainee belonging to Maybe Entertainment.”
“Why would I ask about something I can guess since he came out with DearRune? I’m asking why he was acting like that to you.”
“He was the member who got 2nd place in Debut Chart, and he asked me to come to Maybe and debut together but I refused.”
“Debut Chart sure has a lot of good friends.”
Baek Hanje suddenly muttered.
“Did it make a fuss with bright red letters saying it’s a crisis because of this? Well, when you’re originally a rookie, even small things can seem like big deals….”
He didn’t know what the story was about, but it was difficult to raise his head that was directed downward. His fingertips tingled.
Baek Hanje had been like this from the beginning. While seeming indifferent to him, when he came to his senses, he would give him something until his arms were bursting.
When they first met, after rudely pressing him in the conference room, he gave him a song, and today too, after making him feel scolded throughout the waiting room, in the end he took his side.
‘…What on earth is this feeling?’
Guilt for not taking care of himself, watching a superior’s mood—none of them fit exactly.
“Um, sunbae-nim. You don’t have to worry like that, it’s okay.”
“If you’re going to say shit like ‘my friend isn’t that kind of person, he’s originally nice,’ just stay quiet.”
“No. That’s not it. I really don’t care.”
“What do you mean you don’t care? You just listened even when he said all kinds of things in front of you.”
“Just… because it doesn’t matter.”
It wasn’t like he was cursing to his face, and that level was just a matter of feeling bad for a moment then enduring and passing by.
His family environment had created various incidents since his school days. To be honest, what he wasn’t used to was the situation where someone appeared and took his side.
For a moment, Baek Hanje’s gaze narrowed slightly. Go Won who thought ‘oh no’ quickly changed his words.
“It’s the nature of audition programs, right? The more episodes continued, the more curses I got.”
“…Phew.”
Baek Hanje closed his eyes with his arms crossed. From his turned head’s back, small muttering flowed out.
“Ah, well. You did everything you had to do…. Why am I freaking out? No, I think I’m running around more than when I was seventeen.”
Though it was a small voice that only Go Won in the seat next to him could hear, even that was hard to understand in parts.
Soon Baek Hanje turned his head back this way with a snap.
“What was his name? Music? Melody?”
“Kim Eumyul.”
“Oh my, how pretty. His parents gave him a name perfect to use as a stage name from birth.”
But I don’t know why his personality is like that. Baek Hanje who was muttering held out his hand in front of Go Won. Go Won just blinked, not understanding.
“Give me your phone. Let me see his account. Ah, do you have a StarStar ID?”
“Ah, yes.”
“You didn’t seem like you’d do this kind of thing, what’s the occasion?”
“I made it during Debut Chart because they told me to encourage voting and promote the main broadcast.”
“That’s more like it.”
‘But why with mine….’
Baek Hanje who had quickly seen through even Kim Eumyul, couldn’t possibly not read Go Won’s thoughts.
“I don’t want to leave records like viewing stories by going in with my account.”
“……”
Go Won obediently offered his phone. Baek Hanje who received the phone and turned on the StarStar app looked at the pure white screen that didn’t load even after over ten seconds and the blinking ‘3G’ display in the upper right corner and let out a Korean person’s lament.
Go Won’s follow list was only twenty-five people. A few who seemed to have appeared together on <Debut Chart>, K-dum Entertainment, and.
“Why did you follow yACE’s official account?”
Even before hearing that answer, he discovered an ID saying yulyul something right below yACE’s official account.
Baek Hanje pressed on that account.
“…Your phone plan a bit…, no, never mind.”
He waited one minute with an expression like enduring an eternity. Then the photo that seemed like it would never load finally appeared.
“Mm, a typical fan-bait face.”
The stylist who was listening to the two’s banter with interest stuck her head out from behind and looked at the feed together. Fair, with baby fat remaining, and unabashed aegyo.
“I can see why Maybe wanted to take Won. Their appeal doesn’t overlap at all, and if the two stand together, there’d be contrast and synergy too.”
“I guess.”
Even at the stylist’s words, Baek Hanje indifferently scrolled down the screen with his thumb a couple times.
“Oh, he already posted new content.”
How diligent. Before they knew it, the photo that had been in front was pushed to the side, and a new photo was registered in the upper left.
Thinking it must be taken at <Music Ocean>, they waited, but no matter how long they waited, the front photo remained a pitch-black square.
“Hey, that… ask Taeyoung hyung to change your phone. How many minutes does it take to refresh, huh?”
Feeling frustrated, he pressed on the black photo, and the post appeared right away. It seemed he had just uploaded one completely black photo.
And the post was two lines.
yulyul.kyl
All by my self .
Only, by myself .
“…Oh.”
Baek Hanje pulled his neck back and held the phone with his fingertips, dropping it far away.
“Good heavens, how disgraceful….”
“Why, what is it?”
The stylist stuck her head close toward the screen and made an expression similar to Baek Hanje’s. In the midst of that, the comment count was rapidly increasing.
Our Yullam-squirrel, did something happen? ㅠㅠ
↳yulyul.kyl After meeting various sunbae-nims today, I felt I need to work hard!
Today’s stage was the coolest, loveliest, cutest, everything in the world! Dreaming day and night only for YuD’s debut♥ Quickly shake off the sad things and next time stand on stage together with Won!
↳yulyul.kyl Now it’s Go Won sunbae-nim, right? Thank you..
Phew, you saw Go Won so your feelings must be complicated…
↳yulyul.kyl (smiling emoticon)…
The last comment even had a heart pressed wistfully.
“Wow, unnie. Look at this. This kid already started pulling shit on his fans.”
“That’s what I’m saying. With a face like this it’ll work well though….”
“Did something happen?”
As people in the back seat murmured over his phone, Go Won asked with an anxious face. Then Baek Hanje tossed the phone to him.
“What will you do?”
“Pardon?”
“It’s a quiz, so try to answer.”
Go Won’s expression, receiving it bewilderedly, gradually hardened. Baek Hanje crossed his arms and waited for a reaction.
Soon Go Won gripped the phone with both hands and raised his head.
“…Should I, post something too?”
“If it were multiple choice, that’s the worst answer I wouldn’t even include as an option.”
“StarStar Debut Chart 1st and 2nd place diss each other with vague shots in the air…. Wow, jackpot…. I just saw a scenario of the PR team working overtime….”
“It would be super fun if it wasn’t our kid.”
Go Won soon realized how absurdly wrong his answer was.
“Then should I just pass it by without any response?”
“No.”
“……”
“Try answering again.”
“…I’m sorry. I don’t know.”
At the clueless reaction, Baek Hanje pressed his forehead firmly.
