# Chapter 15
“…Why?”
Sensing the strange atmosphere, Han Sijin cautiously asked.
“Do you always talk like that? Like it was hyung’s fault.”
“No, that’s not what I meant… It’s just that hyung is still just a regular employee…”
I wasn’t angry because I understood what Han Sijin meant, but the other trainees eagerly comforted and soothed me.
“Hyung, Sijin just can’t filter his thoughts, but he’s not a bad kid. So please be patient with him a little. Sijin will become a proper human being eventually.”
Han Sijin probably felt wronged by such treatment, but he couldn’t speak up and just endured it.
He looked like a rain-soaked Shiba Inu, which was cute, but I couldn’t openly show my affection because of the other kids watching.
I was relieved that our plan was welcomed, and decided to visit Seo Irun again.
* * *
When I went to see hyung about the Seo Irun issue, he didn’t look very enthusiastic.
“I don’t understand why Seo Irun is so essential for the team, nor why we need to bring back someone who already rejected us once. Also, the other trainees have already bonded well, and I’m worried about creating divisions now. Plus, Seo Irun is older than the others, which is another concern.”
Despite listing many reasons, there was only one real one.
He was displeased that Seo Irun had rejected me.
That was something I learned through noona.
—Seomin, were you upset because Seo Irun wouldn’t even look at you? Seungwon was worried. He thought you might have been hurt because of him. But if you dwell on such things, you won’t accomplish anything significant. Not everyone’s heart is like yours, and many more things won’t go as you wish. You might feel disappointed now about not being able to recruit Seo Irun, but later on, something much better might come from this outcome. So don’t worry too much.
Anyway. Such a tsundere.
Only after convincing hyung for quite some time was I able to go with him to find Seo Irun.
Hyung came along only because I dragged him forcefully, not because he wanted to, and his face showed no belief that we absolutely needed to recruit Seo Irun.
Since he seemed to be hoping Seo Irun would reject us again, I decided to meet Seo Irun alone first, leaving hyung in the car.
By the time we arrived, classes had ended and people were flooding out.
“Ah…”
If we had arrived a little earlier, we wouldn’t have been caught in this chaos, and now it seemed impossible to find Seo Irun.
But then someone recognized me and shouted.
“Irun! It’s that person who came looking for you. That manager hyung.”
The power of the internet was remarkable.
Someone had recognized me in the midst of all this.
Suddenly, the eyes of many people focused on me, including Seo Irun’s.
His gaze was different from before.
Previously, he seemed to have nothing to say to me, but now I could tell that he had been considerably shaken in the meantime.
As long as he didn’t run away first, I had no reason to back down.
I slowly approached him.
During this time, Seo Irun didn’t go elsewhere.
The situation became extremely crowded as I was the only one moving against the flow, but no one complained about it.
They seemed to already know about Seo Irun and wanted to support him as he sought a new life and made different attempts after having shared the challenge with them.
That much was evident from the fact that they stayed in place, watching us instead of leaving.
“…”
Seo Irun stood there and then bowed his head when he saw me.
“Hello.”
“Wow…! They really must be scouting him. That’s so cool!!”
People from all around spoke with excited admiration.
Such a scene must have been new to them.
“This might appear on TV later.”
Someone said that and started recording us.
“Irun, if you hit Billboard #1, I’ll submit this video at that time.”
Someone else said.
Billboard #1.
It seemed like just a dream right now, but it didn’t feel like an entirely far-fetched one either.
Seo Irun’s face showed that he didn’t know whether another opportunity would come his way.
“I’m from Grand Tamer. We want to work with Seo Irun-ssi. We need you. We want to achieve our dreams together with you.”
“AAAAHHHHH!!! It’s like a proposal. Quickly say yes!!”
The others were more impatient.
“…”
Unable to speak, Seo Irun’s eyes reddened.
I hadn’t expected to see such an expression from him, which made what I felt even stranger.
If it had been Lee Dagyeong, I would have thought it was understandable.
Seo Irun pressed his eyes with the back of his hand and bowed his head to me again.
“I was rude before, but thank you for coming back. Thank you so much.”
“But… may I ask why you changed your mind? Ah, you don’t have to tell me right here and now.”
Noticing the many people around us, I said that, but he shook his head.
“No, it’s okay. And if I say it here, the people here can be witnesses, and I think it will make me work harder with more responsibility. My mother told me to succeed. To definitely succeed. She said I should succeed, if only to ensure that the life she lived wasn’t in vain.”
“…”
I had thought he was envious after hearing that other trainees had signed with Grand Tamer, but I was momentarily stunned.
And I thought his mother was remarkable.
Thinking of my mom, it wasn’t difficult to understand his mother.
She was a mom who had endured everything, wanting only my happiness.
“Then, can you come with me now? There’s someone I’d like you to meet.”
“Yes.”
At that, the people around Seo Irun patted his shoulders and offered congratulations.
“Good job, Irun. Now you just need to succeed.”
“That’s awesome, Seo Irun. Don’t forget us.”
Leaving those words behind, as we walked away, hyung got out of the car.
“Woooah!! I know that person. He’s the grandson of Seyoung Group’s chairman.”
“That’s right. It’s him. Wasn’t he voted the most handsome among Korea’s super-rich?”
Was there such a thing?
Who determines such titles anyway?
In any case, hyung was much more famous than I had thought, and with camera sounds coming from everywhere, it seemed impossible to continue talking there.
We moved to another location with Seo Irun, who apologized for the fact that the CEO had come personally.
“Thank you for giving me another chance. I really want to try my hardest.”
I hadn’t known at first, but after I had visited, several agencies had apparently approached him to recruit him.
However, since it wasn’t that he disliked Grand Tamer, he rejected all other offers and, after talking with his mother, had only Grand Tamer in mind.
He hadn’t thought I would come back, so he was planning to approach us himself, and said that even if I hadn’t come, he would have gone to Grand Tamer on his own in about a week.
Saying that he felt he should at least try so as not to have regrets, regardless of whether we accepted him or not.
That statement was very fortunate for him.
Until then, hyung had been looking at Seo Irun with disapproval, but after hearing that, his expression softened considerably.
Who could stop this hyung?
“Now we’re complete. Congratulations.”
Hyung was speaking to me when he sensed Seo Irun’s gaze and flinched.
It seemed he was concerned that Seo Irun had noticed the difference in tone he used with me compared to how he would speak to an employee.
“We… have such a family-like atmosphere, so… in private, we speak like this.”
“Yes… that seems nice.”
Seo Irun nodded as he spoke.
Since the topic had come up, hyung explained the program we were preparing.
“The basic theme is ‘flex.'”
“Flex…? Not an audition or debut or something?”
Seo Irun asked as if checking whether his understanding was correct, and hyung nodded confidently.
“We’ve seen enough of those to be sick of them. Something familiar yet different. Wouldn’t that be necessary? It would be good if it also satisfied elements of vicarious satisfaction.”
“That’s… true.”
But Seo Irun still looked uncertain.
“But I don’t understand exactly.”
“You’ll understand as we go along.”
Seo Irun smiled as if he would trust us.
“I’m looking forward to it. I’ll work hard.”
I was looking forward to it too.
These five trainees had finally formed a complete unit.
* * *
[Photo]
[Photo]
[Photo]
[Hey, Kang Seungwon. Why don’t I look like your brother? It’s the same crop top.]
After a flood of chat notifications, Song Wonyoo from HM Oil expressed his grievance with a crying emoticon.
[Are you crazy? With a face like that, how dare you! Ask for something reasonable, you shameless bastard.]
Kang Seungwon sent the message while shaking his head in disbelief, wondering if the other genuinely didn’t understand.
[Hey, but aren’t you speaking too rudely? What if I capture this and leak it to the press?]
[Then I’d leak those photos above. Would that be okay with you? Your hip bones and abs would all be visible. I bet your company’s market cap would drop by over 5 trillion won the day the article is published—I’d bet my right hand on it.]
[Hah… Your fact bombs are devastating. Anyway, it’s strange. This doesn’t make sense. The fit is weird. The fit.]
[It’s just your birth that’s weird. Both your mother and father have good proportions, so why are you like this?]
[It’s my grandfather. My grandfather. That’s why he adores me so much. I was born with a cursed figure, and in return, I got my grandfather’s love.]
[Then it’s worth it. If the chairman loves you, that’s all that matters.]
[That’s right.]
After this useless chatter, Kang Seungwon realized that now wasn’t the time for him to be fooling around like this.
