# Chapter 62
[Congratulations. Oh my god! I finally get to witness this scene. It was so heartbreaking to see our oppas with their ears drooping like wet puppies after Seomin oppa left, but finally, FINALLY!!!]
[Seomin should join in too now. Your wandering has been too long. Let’s go Crop Six!]
[What does Seomin lack? It’s not like the other members are that good at singing either.]
└What’s this person’s deal? A fan of another idol?
└No need to feed the troll, right? But I’m confused whether they’re friend or foe. Crop Six is our heartfelt wish after all.
While reading such comments in the rapidly scrolling chat, one particular message caught my eye.
[It feels like it’s been so long since I’ve seen the oppas this happy. This might even be the first time I’ve seen them so delighted. I guess the oppas always needed Seomin oppa. As someone who’s been watching and loving the oppas from the beginning, it was heartbreaking to see them looking somehow unfulfilled and empty as they gained popularity, but I guess it was because of Seomin oppa. I wanted to see the oppas happy and thought it would be good if they had more good people around them, but it turns out all they needed was Seomin oppa.]
Many people were agreeing with that comment.
Seeing that made me choke up, and when I told Seo Irun about it, he smiled.
“You didn’t know that, hyung? You created Crop Five. After we failed at the audition program and were giving up, you came to each one of us and said, ‘Let’s try together,’ ‘Let’s try once more,’ and that’s how we were formed. We were really hopeless back then.”
“Well, I wasn’t hopeless.”
“What do you mean ‘not hopeless,’ Dagyeong? Let’s be honest. In what way were you not hopeless?”
“Whoa, hyung. Why are you being like this? I was already complete and an all-around player from the beginning.”
“Yeah, according to whom?”
While Irun and Dagyeong were bickering, the other members, though not speaking, clearly showed their happiness and satisfaction on their faces.
Watching them, I finally realized that I was returning to where I belonged.
It was a good choice.
Truly, I was confident I wouldn’t regret it.
I wasn’t worried about working hard at all.
If these guys still needed me.
I also became convinced that I was the person who could give them the best things they couldn’t get elsewhere.
“Hyung. Thank you. Really, thank you.”
Other members’ voices mixed with Seo Irun’s deep voice.
“Please say something too, hyung. It’s not just good for me, right? You’re not taking this on reluctantly, are you, hyung?”
“That’s right. I didn’t really want to do this. I was doing well on my own.”
The chat window surged at those words.
Saying they had been waiting a long time for our banter like this.
Then someone in the chat asked about Sijin.
Did Sijin know about this?
Shouldn’t Sijin know too?
‘Don’t worry. He’s watching right beside me.’
Though I couldn’t say it out loud, I looked at him with contentment, and Sijin was looking back at me with the same smile as before.
“Really, Crop Six isn’t possible?”
I was in the middle of a call with Irun, and it was being broadcast, when Sijin’s voice was heard, causing a few incredible people to wonder if they had just heard Han Sijin’s voice.
In the end, Irun, who seemed to have noticed early on, naturally ended the broadcast.
“You. Did you do that on purpose? Don’t you have any sense?”
After the broadcast ended, feeling like my heart had dropped, I grabbed Han Sijin and shook him while giving him a stern warning.
Sijin also seemed quite surprised and promised himself several times that he would be really careful from now on.
“So I shouldn’t make this kind of voice next to hyung at this time. I should be careful.”
I nodded several times as I blankly stared at him muttering in a voice sweet and seductive enough to be accurately described as ‘this kind.’
* * *
I didn’t think that the news of Crop Five and me reuniting would be such a big issue.
I did think it might be talked about somewhat given Crop Five’s fame.
But I couldn’t have imagined it would be to this extent, and as I found myself at the center of the issue, I experienced their popularity in real-time.
As my name was mentioned alongside Crop Five, more people started looking me up, and along with that, searches for Seyoung Group also increased.
In Korea, there was no need to look it up, but the response from overseas was certainly noticeable.
Seyoung Group’s favorability skyrocketed, and the mere fact that I was returning to Grand Tamer had such an impact that it inflated the market capitalization of companies under Seyoung.
Even those who had been saying that Crop Five’s influence was significant were shocked, having not thought it would be to this extent.
I couldn’t understand how these guys, whom I used to pat on the bottom saying they were cute like children in my arms, had grown so much to make me shine like this.
Sijin, even in such a situation, didn’t seem surprised and considered it natural.
That attitude was truly remarkable.
Is this how it feels when you realize that the person you love is more capable than you imagined?
For several days, Crop Five and my name almost dominated the portal main pages, and during that time, I completely moved to Grand Tamer.
Though familiar people were still holding their positions, their attitude toward me wasn’t the same as before.
First of all, my position itself had changed, and people who newly learned that I was Grandfather’s grandson were at a loss for how to treat me.
I went to those people individually to greet them and talk, telling them nothing would be different from before.
Although I did get the title of co-CEO of Grand Tamer with hyung, I had no intention of being involved in the overall management any differently than before.
What hyung expected and asked of me was related to Crop Five, and I planned to focus on that.
Since most of Grand Tamer’s revenue came from Crop Five, I wouldn’t have a dull moment even if I only took on that job.
“It’s reassuring now that you’re here. People who were saying Grand Tamer’s corporate value would plummet if Crop Five left are now releasing positive evaluations one after another with your arrival. Expectations for content are also growing. Many people want you to come together again and do programs together like before. The desire is so great that success is guaranteed. You just need to walk through the cheering crowd.”
It was a remarkable statement.
The factor of success.
I was grateful that it was due to fans who wished for Crop Five’s happiness.
People who have been hoping that Crop Five would be happy and that good people would surround the members.
Thinking whether Crop Five could have come this far without such fans, I planned an event to coincide with Crop Five’s return to the country.
“Hyung, how about having a fan meeting near the airport when Crop Five returns? Domestic fans have been waiting for so long.”
“Right. They have. That’s a good idea. Let’s prepare for it. Since there’s a lot of interest in you too, you should prepare as well.”
“…Huh?”
What is this?
Is this the feeling of digging my own grave?
So I cautiously suggested:
“Hyung, you have that long title too. How about you stand with us as well?”
“Why would I stand there?”
“Oh come on. You’re the best-looking among Korea’s super-rich. If you stand on stage with us, fans will go wild.”
“Ah, you didn’t know? Since it was revealed that you’re Grandfather’s grandson, that title now belongs to you.”
“…Huh?”
“You didn’t know that? You should keep up with these things now. With your identity revealed, I’m now second place. You’re first, and Lee Wonjae is third.”
A pleased expression settled on hyung’s face.
It seemed like he had a rivalry with Lee Wonjae and was happy about winning.
‘Could he have lost the title to that hyung in the meantime?’
When I met hyung’s friends, I remembered how the business celebrities at the gathering buzzed about the possibility of Lee Wonjae appearing on <Crop Five>, and it made hyung seem newly human to me.
“Anyway, you’re doing it too.”
“Fine.”
Hyung nodded vigorously, as if it wouldn’t be a problem if he absolutely had to do it.
While we waited for the members’ return to the country, Sijin was fulfilling a murderous broadcasting schedule to console domestic fans who couldn’t see the Crop Five concert.
Fans who knew that he was appearing on broadcasts with such intention told him to reduce his broadcasts and take rest to take care of his body first, but still expressed their utmost happiness when he appeared on broadcasts.
What used to be occasional calls with him had now become work, and I was realizing a blessed union of duty and joy.
“Hey, idol. Working hard?”
“Of course. I’m working extremely hard to boost your confidence, hyung.”
Everything about Sijin was now so familiar that I could tell his condition and mood just by hearing his voice.
I felt like I was born to be Crop Five’s manager.
Once when I mentioned this, he said I wasn’t just coasting because of him, so I just stared at him silently until he immediately backed down.
