# Chapter 96
Uncle and Aunt went to their room to prepare for going out, and noona looked at me.
“Not bad, Seomin.”
“What?”
“Never mind. You don’t have to say anything if you don’t want to. I’m on your side too. Though I doubt you’ll believe me saying this now.”
Then she looked at Hyung and continued.
“I thought I should at least know the extent of it. Whether there’s any possibility, or if it’s completely impossible. But seeing the atmosphere today, it seems like forcing it would absolutely not work. Alright. I’ll help too, Kang Seungwon.”
Hyung stared at her with widened eyes.
“Really?”
“Yes. If we stand together, even the two of them won’t have a choice.”
It seemed like if noona made up her mind, she could even persuade Director Won herself.
“Alright, if everyone’s ready, let’s go.”
Uncle and Aunt emerged, gorgeously dressed, and Hyung and I exchanged meaningful glances.
* * *
“One last question to finish up.”
I couldn’t count how many times that phrase had been said.
But PepperMix never once showed an annoyed expression from beginning to end.
Among all the people I’d met over my years in this job, someone like Kim Taeyoung was truly rare.
Every time he was asked if it was difficult, his answer was consistent.
How could he say it was hard when this opportunity might never have come to him?
I was watching PepperMix.
Now I needed to step in and cut this off.
“Crop Five is about to be discharged from the military. Honestly, how do you feel? Some say PepperMix has been able to enjoy this tremendous popularity because of Crop Five’s military hiatus. I’m really curious what you think about that.”
“That’s definitely not true. Honestly, it’s been tough having to hard carry.”
The host burst into loud laughter at Kim Taeyoung’s words.
“You won’t say you’re disappointed, even as a joke. But I knew you’d say that even while asking the question. It’s so well-known. Fans naturally think of Crop Five whenever PepperMix appears. Some people say that because PepperMix constantly talks about Crop Five, it doesn’t even feel like they’re in the military or on hiatus.”
“You shouldn’t say that. Their efforts should be recognized. The Crop Five members are surely working hard in their military service, so please support them. Not just Crop Five, but everyone currently serving in the military—hang in there. I’m cheering for you all.”
He speaks so kindly.
When Crop Five comes out, I should tell them to learn from their hyung.
Since I had been repeatedly signaling with my hand to cut it off, the host couldn’t continue with more questions and reluctantly let Kim Taeyoung go with a disappointed face.
“I’ll play some music for you. This is Crop Five performing ‘December’.”
While Ki Hyunshin’s “December” played in Crop Five’s voices, Kim Taeyoung hurried.
After bowing politely to the PD and writers, he rushed over to me with worry on his face.
“Am I too late?”
“Can’t be helped.”
“I should have cut it off.”
“No, hyung. You did well.”
Even as I said this, my pace was quite fast, and Kim Taeyoung matched my speed without saying anything more.
Only after getting into the car did he speak again.
“It’s been a while since you’ve seen him, right? Since you kept giving up visiting opportunities to others because of limited visitation.”
“That’s right.”
Why is Sergeant Han Sijin so selfless?
Of course, it was something to be touched by, but I had quite a lot of complaints because I was the one bearing the full brunt of it.
His reasoning wasn’t wrong, but shouldn’t he also consider that there are people who have been waiting just for visitation day to see him?
When he said he wanted to give up visitation opportunities to junior soldiers who had difficulty going on leave—since he would be discharged soon anyway and could see people plenty then—I felt like I was going to cry.
I wished the Han Sijin I liked was a little more selfish.
Unlike where celebrities typically go, Sijin became a CBR (Chemical, Biological, Radiological) specialist and went to the CBR battalion, and I often headed to Chuncheon to see him.
If I had gone alone, I wouldn’t have had to rush like this.
But since it might look strange if I visited Sijin alone, I always went with Kim Taeyoung or Ki Hyunshin.
Sometimes Hyung or Team Leader Hyun would go with me, but today everyone was busy, and Kim Taeyoung was the one whose schedule ended earliest.
Kim Taeyoung also liked it when I asked him to go see Sijin and would come along without complaint.
Even though if you were to name the artist with the busiest schedule these days, it would definitely be PepperMix.
I wasn’t just visiting Sijin—I visited the other Crop Five members enough that they wouldn’t complain, which made my schedule tight.
“Not much time left now. Less than a month, right?”
I inwardly sighed at Kim Taeyoung’s words.
It wasn’t wrong, but to me, it felt like there was still a whole month left.
It seemed like I was waiting more desperately for Sijin’s discharge date than my own retirement date.
It was fortunate that we could chat every day if nothing special happened; otherwise, I don’t know how I would have endured.
I really had no confidence.
“Stop smiling, CEO Kang.”
I flinched at Kim Taeyoung’s words.
This happened every time I went to see Sijin.
Even when I tried not to, the corners of my mouth kept turning up and my cheekbones kept rising, and I couldn’t control it with my will.
“Sijin is really lucky. That’s truly remarkable dedication.”
Kim Taeyoung still didn’t know about our relationship, and I planned to keep it that way until the end if possible.
The people at the company who knew about Sijin and me were just Crop Five and Seungwon Hyung.
The same group knew about Ki Hyunshin and Hyung’s relationship.
There might be people who suspected, but those were all the people who knew because we had revealed it to them.
“How much will he rest when he gets out? Will he not be able to start activities right away? What plans are you making?”
“I’ll have to talk with the guys.”
Despite their hiatus, their popularity hadn’t diminished at all.
Rather, perhaps because of the thought that they wouldn’t be able to see their performances for a while, the hearts of those waiting had become more fervent and desperate.
And Kim Taeyoung’s efforts had played a big part in that.
If there had been no one waiting, it might have taken time from discharge to comeback.
But thanks to Kim Taeyoung consistently reminding people about Crop Five’s discharge at every appearance, the comeback stage seemed likely to go smoothly.
We talked a lot on the way there.
PepperMix was enjoying the greatest popularity in a world without Crop Five, but he remained so consistent.
“If I get the chance, I really want to stand on stage with Crop Five. With Hyunshin sunbae too.”
This was something we would welcome as well.
“Oh, wait a minute. Grandfather’s birthday is coming up soon. Should we schedule it for then?”
“The Chairman? After all Crop Five members are discharged?”
“Yes. That should be around then, right? How many days was it again?”
I called Hyung, and he also thought it was a good idea.
Family events were never held in small scale, and every year numerous singers were invited to attend.
Previously, because he had firm tastes, singers that Grandfather liked were invited, but after Crop Five debuted, they became regular guests.
After Ki Hyunshin joined Grand Tamer, he was also included, and the same went for PepperMix.
“The stage there is set up so meticulously and with such care, it’s memorable. I’m looking forward to it.”
“Me too.”
On Hyung’s birthday, I helped Hyung, and afterward, Grandfather often called us separately.
Rather, Grandfather had an open attitude about Hyung’s situation and even invited Ki Hyunshin to dine together.
“But about Sijin. Can he sing Hyunshin sunbae’s ‘December’ alone?”
I wasn’t sure why the conversation suddenly went in that direction, but Kim Taeyoung asked.
“Why do you think that?”
“I can tell by watching. Looking at his vocal range when singing other songs, it seems like he could.”
I just smiled without answering.
If Sijin wanted to tell himself, that would be one thing, but I didn’t want to reveal it.
“I saw Sijin singing at first, and it’s hard to believe he changed that much in the meantime. I wonder how hard he must have practiced.”
Listening to Kim Taeyoung’s words, I also drifted into memories.
The visitation process wasn’t smooth.
I couldn’t even remember how many times I’d gone there, but it was the same every time.
The moment people realized PepperMix had come, they seemed to think they absolutely shouldn’t act like they knew him, but they couldn’t seem to help themselves.
The corners of their mouths kept trying to rise, and they looked almost pitiful trying to forcibly hold back.
After applying for visitation and finally getting to see Han Sijin, I laughed at his chestnut bur-like hair.
His hair had grown a lot since I last saw him.
Sijin, sitting down across from me, smiled broadly.
He seemed to guess why I had brought Kim Taeyoung.
I saw Kim Taeyoung often.
I was trying to see how he looked at Sijin so I could imitate that expression.
I was being careful because if I looked at Sijin according to my own emotions, it might look strange to others.
With really not much time left, my only thought was that I didn’t want to make a mistake and make things difficult for Sijin.
