The biggest problem was not knowing how long this would last.
What if it never ends for life….
Q99-99. The Path of a Successful Elderly Singer
Fill 100 HBN Dinner Shows
Progress: 65/100
Upon Success: Knee cartilage health recovery
Upon Failure: Departing this life
What if I’m doing this kind of shit in my later years?
“Hyung, tell Go Won to practice hard.”
If he becomes something quickly, the quest will end too.
“Don’t say that to him.”
“Hm?”
When I turned around at the unexpected words, Kwon Taeyoung was looking at me with a stern expression.
“You saw today. He’s already a kid who’s in the practice room all the time except eating and sleeping. People around him are stopping him worried he’ll get hurt. Now that activities are over, I’m going to forcibly send him home for a week.”
“Really…?”
Well, if hyung says that much.
Since I saw his stats rise steadily like a game character set to auto-hunt during this activity period, I had no complaints about those words.
Then is this quest truly just needing to poke him appropriately from the side?
Actually, for me, goals where success or failure is clearly visible like ‘getting 1st place’ that disappeared in an instant are better.
‘…Ah, 1st place.’
Speaking of 1st place, something else came to mind.
“Anyway, there’s no favoritism next time.”
“What do you mean?”
“Go Won’s 1st place.”
“Ahh.”
Kwon Taeyoung seemed to understand now too.
“About 70% of the credit goes to Yeban, isn’t it too much showing off?”
“Yeban hyung doesn’t move unless the youngest asks.”
“…Anyway, yeah. Thanks for waiting.”
“Yeah. You’ll have twice as much to brag about going into the meeting.”
***
The weekend evening when Go Won arrived at the dorm carrying the 1st place trophy and bouquet after finishing his schedule.
The drama OST of Kim Yeban, a yACE member who currently also works as a popular actor, was released.
The originally scheduled date was a bit earlier, but the fact that the release date was delayed a bit at the request of lead actor Kim Yeban was known only to a very select few involved.
If Winter Doesn’t End – Henzel (yACE)
It was an emotional song that appeared like a comet in the era of ballad drought.
The heartfelt love song full of winter seasonality harmonized with the drama’s popularity and quickly caught up with Go Won’s ranking, fiercely competing for 1st place with DearRune who still occupied the throne.
And the following weekend, Henzel swept the 1st places on music programs.
Go Won
Sunbae-nim, congratulations.
Oh my, the baby even knows how to text
I’m not a baby
Yeah yeah you’re a baby. 1st place is a piece of cake, why couldn’t you do it for 2 weeks?
There was no response for a while, then finally another congratulatory message came.
The peculiar connection with hoobae-nim was scheduled to continue in the future.
—
[Pre-Chorus 1]
The official activities for Digital Single Album 1 ended.
Go Won received a week’s vacation and went home. The house where his family lived was an old villa located on the outskirts of Gyeonggi.
Though it was a much better environment compared to the semi-basement they lived in before, grandmother and grandfather had difficulty with the 3rd floor of a building without an elevator, even if they didn’t show it.
The villa consisted of a narrow living room and kitchen, and a master bedroom and small room. The master bedroom was used by grandmother and grandfather, and the small room belonged to his high school sister. Whenever Go Won went home, he spread out bedding in the living room and slept with his younger brother.
The TV that used to be on drama channels day and night was now always tuned to music channels. It was the same even after Go Won’s activity period ended.
“Won-ah, come sleep in here.”
As Go Won was about to spread bedding in the living room, grandmother and grandfather pointed to the master bedroom bed.
“You’re doing celebrity work, what if you hurt your body at home? I’ll feel uncomfortable seeing you sleep in the living room, so that won’t do.”
“Ah, I……”
“Hyung! We can sleep in the master bedroom!”
“Hey, Go Suhyeon! They’re saying for oppa to rest comfortably, why are you sleeping together? You sleep in the living room!”
“Hyung originally sleeps with me, right? You don’t even know that, dummy. Bleh.”
“They said oppa came after working hard. You, while oppa was gone you slept squeezed between grandmother and grandfather, what do you mean originally? If you’d slept alone in the living room during that time, I wouldn’t say anything.”
“Right, Suhyeon-ah. Let hyung rest.”
“Ah, why!”
When even grandmother and grandfather didn’t take his side, Suhyeon got irritated and threw a fit.
Go Won had two younger siblings.
His 17-year-old sister Sua who knew poverty and matured far too early like himself. His younger brother Suhyeon whom their father, who was worse than absent, suddenly appeared 7 years ago and left behind saying he was a younger sibling.
Suhyeon, who turned 10 this year, still doesn’t know exactly what poverty is. Around the time an atmosphere developed among friends to probe each other’s household levels and compare their respective backgrounds, the child gained something to be proud of.
‘My hyung appears on TV!’
And their circumstances actually improved to some extent, so he didn’t feel as much deprivation as his older brother and sister’s growth process.
Sua, who had been watching her thoughtless younger brother throw a tantrum for a moment, said coldly.
“Go Suhyeon. Shut your mouth while I’m being nice.”
“……”
“I said if you tire out oppa, he can’t come home at all.”
Suppressed by his noona’s heavy words, Suhyeon sniffled in frustration and this time turned pleading eyes to his hyung.
“I’ll just sleep in the living room. The living room is comfortable too.”
That opinion was thwarted by grandmother and grandfather’s firm will.
Go Won eventually claimed the master bedroom bed alone. While unable to sleep with an uncomfortable heart, Suhyeon stubbornly came to the master bedroom and burrowed next to Go Won. Go Won closed his eyes pretending to sleep.
Having used the company-provided dorm bed for a few months, the crumbly mattress and his younger brother’s legs placed on his knees felt uncomfortable.
And he felt guilty about finding that uncomfortable.
When he receives the first settlement, let’s postpone paying off debts a bit and first look for a house located on the 1st floor. After moving, let’s put a soft bed in the master bedroom and also change Sua’s elementary school desk she’s still using. The living room TV that keeps turning off and on repeatedly too….
Once he started thinking, thoughts followed like a tail. He wanted to buy new clothes and shoes for his family, buy new bags for his siblings too. Take grandmother and grandfather to the hospital for comprehensive checkups.
…It suddenly felt bitter that until recently he was in a position where he couldn’t dare imagine such things.
Go Won closed his eyes. Covering poverty over his head in a home where there was nothing to do but sleep, sleep came like a lie.
***
Go Won came to the company right after having breakfast with his family.
On the way to the practice room, his gaze suddenly went to the 7th floor elevator button. However, he soon turned his head away.
Though not as packed as the activity period, various festivals and events were held from around when the weather warmed up.
Several event schedules were already booked for Go Won. To stand on those stages, he couldn’t forget the sense he learned during the activity period.
He also heard one hopeful piece of news. Since the debut album’s performance wasn’t bad, if the second album’s performance was similar, settlement would begin.
It was possible because Go Won wasn’t a trainee, so the investment costs were low.
Of course, the penalty paid to the Rnet-affiliated agency and the newly added preparation costs for <Unlimited> were barriers, but Go Won pressed down all of that with his results.
The imagination he had at the villa the previous day might actually come true soon.
…Actually, he had completely forgotten about settlement throughout the activity period.
Though he was busy enough to lose his mind, the euphoria pouring out on stage had paralyzed all other senses.
No matter how much he recreated the stage identically in the practice room, that thrill could never be followed.
‘…If I can perform on stage again….’
He didn’t know how much longer this miracle would be permitted to him, but he didn’t want to carelessly miss any of it.
Go Won, who had been catching his breath lying on the floor after moving until his stamina ran out, got up at the sound of the practice room door opening.
There were five men who appeared to be around his age.
Go Won knew their faces. Newton, a boy group that debuted from K-dum Entertainment last year.
“Sunbae-nim, hello.”
Go Won stood up and bowed at the waist.
However, the five exchanged glances among themselves with sullen expressions.
“…Ah.”
“Yeah….”
“Ah, what. Why are you here? Really so damn annoying….”
“Jeong Yusang.”
One person came forward from the group with an overtly hostile atmosphere.
“Well… you also appeared on Debut Chart two years ago, so we’re not your sunbae-nims.”
“…Still, I….”
“It’s also a bit much to be called sunbae when we’ve never done even one monthly evaluation together.”
“……”
Go Won vaguely noticed the reason for the antipathy in the ten eyes. Then, somewhat clumsy Korean charged from behind.
“It’s our practice time now. Please leave?!”
“Kup.”
The other four burst into laughter at the foreign member’s words. Go Won silently picked up his things.
Considering their position as sunbaes, and considering his own situation, it was better to just avoid the place.
Gazes followed behind him as he passed by indifferently.
Perhaps thinking Go Won couldn’t hear their words with headphones on, murmuring could be heard.
“Oh, hyung’s cool. When he said ‘we’ve never done even one monthly evaluation together~’ he seemed totally shook.”
“Jeong Yusang, really straighten out your attitude. Don’t let talk come out for no reason.”
“What, why are you scolding me? Liam hyung was hilarious too. ‘Please leave!'”
“Stop. You guys don’t care and don’t step forward. …I’ll keep handling it myself. Got it? Let’s just practice properly.”
Go Won checked his phone as he left the practice room. Then he let out a short breath toward the ceiling and walked down the corridor again.
There were still 10 minutes left of his assigned practice room time.
