I opened the studio door.
Then, from outside the firmly sealed door, the sound of flashy steps rang out. Soon the footsteps quickly moved away in the opposite direction.
“Baby, hello?”
The back that had been striding away stopped abruptly upon hearing that greeting.
“…Hello.”
“Hey, you seemed like you came to greet me, so why are you running away?”
“No. I was just passing by after practice ended.”
“Baby, your lie is so shitty I don’t even feel like mocking you.”
The practice room and here are completely different floors.
“Sunbae-nim really… says things….”
I beckoned toward the kid who was grumbling.
“…Why?”
What? Why? When I tilted my head sideways meaning ‘how dare you ask back,’ Go Won quickly gave up and approached me.
Actually, I called him right now because I was truly proud.
Like Santa preparing for Christmas, I had gained a measure to see how well and nicely Go Won had been living.
Go Won
Vocals Lv.63 (▲8)
Dance Lv.88 (▲9)
Stamina 62%
These past few days, I completed adapting to the newly appeared Go Won-style Quest Window.
If the Quest Window that appeared to me 9 years ago was a Korean-style growth all-in all-nighter first clear oriented game, Go Won’s Quest Window was a pastoral farm management game. A game where you wait very slowly for harvest without fast-forwarding.
Today’s morning results were as follows.
Dance level has increased by 1.
Go Won preciously dug up one potato and put it in his bundle.
Vocals level has increased by 1.
Go Won carefully cut one bundle of rice and stacked it in the barn.
Like that, starting from 8 AM, he dropped his stamina tick, tick, tick, then ate lunch alone and refilled it. Then practice again. Preciously rising one level at a time.
Seeing that continue until just now, it was certain he kept moving his body until he was kicked out by Newton.
“Hey, I told you not to live getting hit, so why did you get hit by another group?”
“I didn’t get hit though….”
Go Won had an expression asking how I knew.
How did I know?
Go Won
Current Status: Use it. Just ■.
And now.
Go Won
Current Status: ■■■ ■■■ ■■ ■■….
For sure, when the kid faced me, his current status usually wasn’t visible. Openly reflecting his thoughts about me probably wouldn’t help Go Won.
Looking at things like this, the current Quest Window seemed to be mostly on Go Won’s side despite exploiting my labor.
But this time, there’s nothing I can’t take his side on.
“You’ll have plenty of situations to get hit from now on. So in pathetic situations, don’t get hit if possible. There’s almost no one stronger than me in this company.”
“…Yes.”
“So, what are you practicing today?”
“I’m also practicing songs requested for challenges… and so Unlimited and DRIFT don’t lose their feel.”
“You’re doing well.”
Hearing warm words of encouragement, will has bloomed.
Stamina is being charged.
What, he’s an easy kid.
“You’re doing well.”
“Yes.”
“I said you’re doing well.”
“…Thank you?”
“I’m saying you’re doing well?”
“……?”
HBN was discouraged by being treated like an old fart.
Stamina is decreasing.
Hey.
The tiny thing is complicated too.
“…Well, is there anything new?”
It would be better to talk about something else.
“Since activities ended, not particularly…. Ah, they said I’m opening Universe soon.”
“Wow, you’ve become a star. Soon you’ll go to Gocheok Dome and do world tours too.”
“…Um, I have a question I’m really curious about, may I ask?”
“If it’s a question you’re asking, it probably won’t be impressive enough to need permission, so just ask.”
Go Won
Current Status: How ■ I say ■■■ ■■?
“Isn’t yACE coming back?”
I barely swallowed laughter at the question whose outside and inside were starkly different.
“Are you really curious about that?”
“Yes.”
There’s no sign of being stabbed, so this side seems sincere too.
“Go Won-ah.”
“Yes?”
“If you find out yACE’s comeback date with 5th Division insider privilege, there’s something you must do.”
“…What?”
“Buy K-dum stock. It’ll skyrocket.”
“……”
“There are various circumstances, but typically one person won’t answer the phone.”
“Ah, what happened….”
“He’s in Africa.”
“What?”
“He went for volunteer work. Seems he’s determined to pour out all the money he earned with yACE.”
Go Won had an expression not understanding the situation. No, not knowing whether my words were a joke or serious.
Of course. Even I, a fellow member, am dumbfounded.
“That hyung had the softest personality among us, but somehow he blew up with one variety show reaction. Back then yACE was in a position where we had to appear on any show that called, so hyung was always called. But also, variety shows back then were the style of giggling while putting each other down. It was poison to hyung’s personality.”
Phew. Talking about it made me sigh naturally.
“But even after becoming somewhat famous, people remembered him as the variety show image, so he couldn’t comfortably return to his original personality and be active.”
“……”
“So one day, he just put everything down and went to volunteer according to his personality.”
“Should I, be hearing such stories….”
“If you go two or three steps from the company, you can hear all this. Up to here.”
Since Go Won works with many people who were yACE staff, it’s probably information he can access even more easily.
“So cherish the present and work hard. It’s useless even if you say ‘those times were good’ later.”
Go Won
Current Status: I ■ now is a miracle ■■, in the old days ■ ■■■ and ■■ ■■.
“……”
…Ah, really. Only showing me things like this that I can guess. I don’t want to know.
“Hey, Go Won. Why do you want to be an idol?”
“I’ve never thought about the reason…. Since suddenly participating in Debut Chart, I’ve thought it was the best among things I could do.”
“Then what if you find something you can do better than being an idol?”
The wariness that had softened a bit recently bloomed on Go Won’s face. It was the expression of a young child anxious that the candy tightly held in his two hands might be taken away.
“Right now, I can do being an idol best. I….”
Anyway, even if you say you don’t like being an idol, I’ll have to hold you down and make you do it, so no need to be scared.
If he himself is full of will and in an environment where he can’t help but be desperate, it was all the better.
“That’s enough. I meant work hard. If you’ve said everything, go practice. Ask hyung if there’s another practice room and he’ll find you one.”
“Understood.”
Like that, three hours after sending Go Won away.
His stamina dropped to 50% and his vocals stat rose by 1.
And five hours later.
His stamina dropped to 30% and his dance stat rose by 1.
“…What’s this kid doing?”
Looking out the window, it was already dark as the sun had set. Until now, Go Won’s stamina had only decreased, never increased.
Only then did I recall Kwon Taeyoung’s previous advice saying ‘don’t tell him to practice.’
‘Shit, did he perhaps take what I asked earlier as pressure or a warning?’
Even while thinking that, his stamina was cheerfully wearing down.
…And this kid, hyung definitely said he gave him a week’s vacation… wasn’t that the day before yesterday? Then he went home and came back in one day….
“……”
After roughly ruffling my hair, I immediately called Go Won.
– Sunbae-nim, what’s the matter?
Only after answering the phone did the plummeting stamina stop. His voice was mixed with rough breathing, and there was the unique echo of a practice room.
I pressed my forehead and lowered my voice seriously.
“Go Won. Are you perhaps still at the company?”
– Ah, yes.
“Shit, I’m glad at least you’re here. Ha… I’m going crazy.”
– What’s wrong?
“Yeah, well, can you come out of the building for a moment? You know the central lobby? Go to where the information desk is.”
– Yes, I’ll get up.
“Yeah. Don’t hang up, this needs to be done by someone trustworthy.”
– …Yes. I’ll do it carefully.
His voice became quite determined.
The sound of pushing off from his seat, then passing through the corridor, getting on and off the elevator.
– Sunbae-nim, I’ve arrived at the 1st floor lobby.
“See the information desk?”
– Yes.
“Yeah, there’s a delivery person there, right? Receive it, bring it, and come to the studio.”
– …….
Click.
Since it would be hard to hold food while on the phone, I hung up first out of sunbae’s consideration.
Practice is good. I’m not in a position to coddle a young kid like Kwon Taeyoung, so it’d be even better if the kid works himself to death practicing and grows quickly to finish this damn quest early.
But collapsing is regression.
Soon Go Won burst into the studio with a blank expression.
“Eat, and sing the song you were working on here.”
I don’t know about other things, but I’ll fill in this lack of know-how for you.
I don’t know why I keep feeling like I’m being swayed by that kid. Of course, the kid is putting jjamppong in his mouth with a frustrated face, saying he’s being swayed by me again.
