The Sunbae Who Paves a Flower Path 55

Go Won’s eyes, which had been stiffly raised even in front of Executive Director Choi’s threats, widened.

“Having fun in the middle of the night?”

“…Baek Hanje.”

“Let me join in too.”

***

Go Won wasn’t coming back, and he wasn’t answering calls either.

The time had just turned from 9 to 10 o’clock.

I knew the practice time had increased quite a bit since the comeback song choreography was finished. But recently, the guy who’d occupied someone else’s kitchen had been coming home punctually every evening.

Acting as if he had a mission to feed me home-cooked meals instead of delivery food…

– The person you are calling is currently unavailable…

So, this was definitely a strange situation.

When Go Won didn’t answer the call I made thinking it would be the last, I opened my mouth softly.

“Go Won Status Window.”

A gray window floated up, filling my vision.

Standing someone up and doing who knows what, where…

Go Won

Stamina 46%

“…What?”

Go Won

Current Status: Let’s hide Jeong Yusang sunbae-nim.

“…What’s this now?”

I thought he was showing me everything inside without hiding anything for once, but incomprehensible words were floating there.

Jeong Yusang—isn’t that Newton’s maknae member? The one who kept picking fights with Go Won…

What, did he get pissed and kidnap him?

Go Won

Current Status: Why are they trying to connect a school violence victim with a perpetrator from another agency? We’re the victims here.

…Aha?

‘Another bastard who did bad things in school trying to become a celebrity, I see.’

The situation I could deduce with very high probability was.

“They must have received money from the other agency.”

Go Won

Current Status: What are they trying to do to a kid?

“But do you really want to help that Newton maknae kid?”

Go Won

Current Status: Yes. Because this is absurd.

“……?!”

It must be a coincidence, but the guy’s current status seemed exactly like an answer to my question.

Go Won

Current Status: Should I escape to hyung’s studio?

“…Right. Even if the CEO comes there, they can’t touch it.”

I sent the door lock number to the guy’s phone.

I don’t know what it is, but it seems like he’s entangled in quite a dirty matter—will that go so smoothly?

‘Especially since Go Won is quite weak to bad luck.’

“Haah…”

I got up from the sofa seat where Go Won always sat like a cat that had marked its territory, and grabbed the car keys.

“Such a high-maintenance hoobae.”

From here to the company at this hour, roughly.

“Run hard and hide well. 10 minutes will do.”

Go Won

Current Status: Costume storage room. It’s connected to the freight elevator though… can people ride this?

Go Won

Current Status: Is he hurt? Can’t be helped. I’ll have to carry him.

“Huh.”

Just as I was starting the engine and about to leave the parking lot, the genre suddenly changed. The kid is filming some kind of horror game.

Looks like escaping to the studio failed.

In the midst of this, the cold Quest Window seemed to judge that this wasn’t a problem affecting ‘Go Won’s success as an idol’ and remained quiet.

Right, strictly speaking, it’s not Go Won’s crisis but a kid named Jeong Yusang’s crisis.

During the chase, Go Won’s stamina was steeply shaved away. It made sense since he was running desperately without eating after grueling practice. He even said he was carrying a person.

Go Won

Current Status: If I go down to the underground parking lot, I can escape.

Around then, strength went into the foot on the accelerator.

The company I arrived at urgently. The most chaotic direction there.

Combined with the sight of the company with all lights off, it was a tearfully pleasant sight to see.

“Doing good deeds in the middle of the night.”

BANG!

With a loud sound, a car parked on the ground was kicked.

“Let me join in too?”

I don’t know whose car it is, but an expensive foreign car waiting at the company with even a driver at this late hour. The owner doesn’t seem like a good person.

Indeed, seeing Executive Director Choi’s expression crumple suddenly, it seemed to be the correct answer.

Beep, beep—the vehicle with one corner dented made a high-pitched warning sound. As the small commotion spread widely, confusion appeared on the damn bastards’ faces.

I approached the scene one step at a time.

“Am I seeing this correctly? Even though the 4th Division is a group of old fogeys, I didn’t know they’d go as far as gangster behavior against kids.”

Six Newton members, plus Go Won.

Kids young enough to be believed if you said it was a high school after-school classroom gathered together.

On the opposite side stood adults stained enough by society to be senile.

So I guess my place is in the middle.

“Executive Director, shall we subdue him?”

“Are you crazy? It’s yACE! Don’t even touch him!”

Still, as an entertainment company executive director, a speck of intelligence remains, I see.

Executive Director Choi knew that the loss and repercussions when I suffer injury and rise up would be greater than the benefit of forcibly dragging Newton members away from here.

“Haah. Baek Hanje, there seems to be some misunderstanding.”

“Yes. This really should be a misunderstanding.”

I deliberately looked around this pitch-black situation slowly. The bastard who hurriedly entered the foreign car’s interior turned off the warning sound. Then murmuring about what was going on was heard. There are always people working overtime at entertainment companies.

“Won’t you leave?”

“……”

“If you don’t like that, how about we appear together on the social page? If it were me, I’d go worry right now about what excuse to spout at tomorrow’s meeting.”

“…Baek Hanje, watch your words.”

“Why should I? The person who spoke wrongly should watch their words.”

“Executive Director. From Somyeong Entertainment.”

A 4th Division staff member conveyed something to Executive Director Choi. In the direction he vaguely pointed, a van was hurriedly leaving.

“Looks like that side is fleeing. See that? Outside K-dum there’s no loyalty. Why leave your own people and take care of others?”

“……”

Executive Director Choi’s murderous gaze swept over me and the surroundings. Standing with the hoobae kids behind my back, more strength entered my body.

“…Let’s go.”

He eventually withdrew from the spot. While some immediately followed him, there were also a few who couldn’t do either and stamped their feet while glancing at Newton.

“Kids… what’s going on? Huh? You’re okay, right?”

And there was also a person with an equally frightened face who ran to Newton and took care of the members’ safety first.

I approached Newton’s leader.

“Go somewhere other than the dorm—a hotel or someone’s family home. Turn off all the members’ phones.”

I held out my card in front of Nam Jungho.

“…S-sunbae-nim. I…”

“Is this the time to be hesitant? Move. If you want to stop making that self-blaming face from now on.”

Nam Jungho hesitated, then accepted the card and bowed his head deeply before raising it.

Eventually, the staff who remained with them and Newton also left.

A dim silence descended on the scene. Now only Go Won and I remained.

“Ha…”

Executive Director Choi, when you keep watching and watching a person…

He’s a greedy human being, so I expected he’d be taking care of something behind the scenes. Still, I didn’t know he’d pull this kind of shit at the company.

How should I handle this? My head throbbed.

It’s obvious Go Won has gotten on Executive Director Choi Dongjin’s bad side.

First, the Quest Window wasn’t saying anything. Does that mean it’s not an immediate threat?

Or maybe it can’t give a quest since we can’t remove executives. I could push forward relying on yACE’s name, but I’m also just a singer.

However, setting all that aside, there was something I absolutely had to say.

“Go Won.”

“…Yes, hyung.”

“That bastard’s words to you, ignore them.”

Who’s going to ruin who? The bastard who really should be ruined.

If Go Won is ruined, I’m ruined, yACE is ruined, then the world is ruined.

…And, even if that’s not necessarily the reason.

Should a guy who helps even the senior who bullied him in a crisis, while desperately living, be ruined?

“You absolutely won’t be ruined even if you die. I’ll definitely make you succeed so no one in the world is enviable.”

“……”

I firmly grasped the arm of the guy who was still stiff.

“I’ll make sure the light above you doesn’t go out.”

The stage spotlight you love so much—you’re fully qualified to receive it.

You can’t be ruined even if you want to. Who do you think is going to grant that wish of yours, whatever it is?

“Kid, come with hyung. You must be tired from running around—let’s go home and I’ll order meat for you.”

I entered the driver’s seat of the car. Go Won subsequently boarded the passenger seat.

By now would be the time he’d chatter something about being called a kid, but Go Won had nothing much to say. Puzzled, I turned to the side, and the guy’s expression reflected in the car’s interior light was strange.

“What, are you sick somewhere?”

“Wh-uh, yes…?”

Somehow his reaction is also a bit odd.

“Look. Did you hurt yourself somewhere while running away?”

“N-no. I’m not hurt anywhere!”

A bastard who can’t lie to save his life. He can’t meet my eyes while saying no, and the complexion visible at a glance is also a bit strange.

You think I only know if I ask about your condition?

‘Flower Path-ssi. Turn on the Status Window. Just stamina.’

A pink window popped up before my eyes.

…Pink?

‘It was definitely a low-saturation gray shade, so why did the color change?’

As I was bewildered, the system window turned up the stamina large as instructed…