Chapter 63
[Anonymous] ㅇㅈㅇ has no conscience
It’s useless for everyone to scramble trying to debut. The son of JT company has come down. JT will push him like crazy, so he’ll get angel editing and get tons of screen time on broadcasts. We’re just fighting over scraps. If I had been an agency son too, I would’ve debuted ages ago.
I bet my wrist that ㅇㅈㅇ will place first this time. You’ll see from the second announcement ceremony.
└No wonder they were pushing him so hard. I thought it was strange how he got so much screen time from the beginning when there were nearly a hundred people. You can clearly see they’re all trying to ride on his fame. Tsk.
└So this is a broadcast made for just one person.
└ㄱㅆㅇ Don’t make ridiculous excuses. Your baseless speculation could ruin a kid’s dreams.
└└We’ll see if it’s baseless speculation or not.
└He earned everything fairly through missions, so what bullshit are you writing so spitefully? Huh?
└└How do you know if the missions themselves were fair?
└But isn’t the winner decided by public vote?
└How would we know if it’s rigged? He probably wasn’t first in the first announcement. That’s why they showed the eliminated contestants.
└└I think this is right. What audition show would show eliminated contestants? That PD guy was pure fantasy to begin with.
└ㅇㅈㅇ? The ㅇㅈㅇ I know? He’s the CEO’s son?
└JT?
└└J*
└└Just look at the agency that came out as trainee
* * *
When Sowoon came to him, Jaekyung guessed something had happened. But the moment he looked at the phone, he felt something was off.
As Jaekyung read through the content, Sowoon couldn’t stay still and paced restlessly in front of him. Unable to wait for Jaekyung to finish reading, he opened his mouth.
“Someone posted on an anonymous board.”
“I see.”
After reading the content, Jaekyung scrolled back up to check the title and author. After examining the comments too, he returned the phone to Sowoon.
“Are you sure Jungwoo is JT’s CEO’s son?”
Sowoon shook his head as he took back the phone.
“I don’t know about that either. I came to you right after seeing this, hyung. The other hyungs are from the same agency, so they’re being more careful.”
The person Sowoon had been hanging out with most closely lately was Hajun. However, it was difficult to show this to Hajun, who was from the same JT Entertainment as Jungwoo, so he came straight to Jaekyung.
“I don’t know much about this kind of stuff… What should we do? Should I tell him?”
It would be good to let him know that rumors about him were circulating, but Jungwoo was currently focused intensely on practice. It was hard to judge whether it would be good to tell him and make him worry about it.
“Let’s watch and see for now.”
“But then things will definitely get bigger.”
Sowoon grabbed onto Jaekyung’s words worriedly. Jaekyung understood why Sowoon was acting this way. It was because of the announcement ceremony results that hadn’t been broadcast yet. The kids who were currently unsure about this rumor would give even more credibility to this board once they found out Jungwoo placed first.
“How about if Jaekyung hyung talks to Jungwoo hyung?”
Sowoon said in a subtle voice. He probably had this in mind from the beginning. As Jaekyung looked at him, Sowoon fidgeted with his phone and continued.
“Still, knowing is better than not knowing for preparation, and it’s a bit awkward if everyone else knows but only he doesn’t.”
The more Sowoon spoke, the more tightly Jaekyung’s mouth closed. If it was malicious rumors surrounding himself, he had experienced them more sickeningly than anyone. That’s why he knew what it felt like when ridiculous rumors about himself circulated, and he repeatedly felt disappointed in people who believed those rumors as if they were real.
What if he hadn’t known?
If he had just known nothing at all, wouldn’t his heart have been at least more comfortable? He had such thoughts and hoped not to tell Jungwoo, but Sowoon’s words weren’t wrong either. Everyone would react differently, and unlike Jaekyung, Jungwoo might handle it wisely.
“Got it. I’ll see how things go and talk to Jungwoo. You should go to practice.”
“Then I’ll head out.”
Sowoon, who checked the time and was startled, hurried out through the emergency staircase first. After Sowoon left, Jaekyung sat alone in a corner of the emergency staircase.
Having a job that put you in front of others meant you had to endure the words that came with it. You couldn’t always hear good things, so there were times when you needed to pretend not to see what you saw.
Strong action from the agency was one method, but you couldn’t live completely unaware of the malice directed at you.
Thinking about it that way, what Jungwoo was experiencing was just bringing forward what he would have to face someday. Whatever the rumors were, since he currently had the highest ranking in the audition, it might be the weight he had to bear.
“Still…”
Rationally, he could fully understand it could be that way, but emotionally it wasn’t. Jungwoo was human too. Telling him he had to endure because after experiencing this as a taste, bad words about him could come up anytime later was truly terrible comfort.
That’s what happened to Jaekyung. Behind the initial “J,” everyone said his terrible rumors were just fame, so let’s just watch and see. They all told him to endure until those rumors grew and grew, becoming an uncontrollable monster that swallowed Jaekyung whole.
“I really hate this.”
The fact that Jungwoo had to experience part of what he had gone through. And… the thought that the same thing could happen to him someday dragged Jaekyung’s mood down to the bottom.
* * *
After practice ended, Jaekyung, who remained alone, cleaned up the practice room. He gathered his belongings, put other trainees’ items to one side, and wiped the spots where sweat had dripped so no stains would remain. After finishing the basic cleanup so they could practice right away tomorrow, Jaekyung checked the time.
It was past 3 AM. It was time he should be sleeping to handle the intense practice that came every day. Jaekyung, who had practiced late because he couldn’t sleep, let out a deep sigh.
His body was tired and wanted to sleep, but his mind was still on edge. It was because of the rumors about Jungwoo. His disturbed and complicated feelings made him tire faster while not letting him rest properly.
Jaekyung picked up his phone and turned off the practice room lights. As Jaekyung left the practice room and walked down the hallway, he suddenly looked to the side. It was where Jungwoo’s team practiced, and since the lights were on, he wondered if someone was still there. Then he saw a familiar figure still practicing and stopped.
“That tenacious bastard, really.”
Seeing him practicing at this hour, Jaekyung showed an annoyed reaction. He had also practiced late, but since he finished before Jungwoo, he was treating him like a tenacious guy.
Jaekyung watched Jungwoo for a moment, chewing his lips. What Sowoon had said during the day about talking to Jungwoo hyung came to mind, and his feet wouldn’t move.
After hesitating for a moment, Jaekyung eventually knocked on the practice room door. Jungwoo, who turned around at the knocking sound, discovered Jaekyung and immediately approached.
“What brings you here at this hour?”
“You practice until this time?”
As Jaekyung walked past Jungwoo into the practice room, he heard following footsteps.
“I couldn’t sleep.”
Jaekyung, who had also practiced late because he couldn’t sleep, didn’t say anything but just settled in a corner. Seeing Jaekyung sit as if he had something to say, Jungwoo plopped down next to him.
The image of the two sitting side by side was reflected clearly in the mirror. When the announcement ceremony ended, it had been a glass window, but today it was a mirror.
Jaekyung looked at Jungwoo’s appearance for a long time. Even among people who said they practiced to death, Jungwoo’s practice amount was noticeably extensive. Looking at his sneakers that were as faded as his own, Jungwoo tapped Jaekyung’s shoulder.
“What is it?”
“…You know,”
Jaekyung started speaking but when the next words wouldn’t come out, he tugged at his collar. It wasn’t easy to say those words – do you know that bad rumors about you are circulating?
Since they were friends, he was worried and wanted to tell him, but it also seemed like it might be overstepping. With many concerns, Jaekyung’s hesitation grew longer.
“Do you write hate comments?”
At the words he finally managed to say, Jungwoo’s expression changed strangely. It was a look that said, is this guy crazy?
“Have you ever written hate comments?”
When Jaekyung asked twice as if demanding an answer, Jungwoo’s eyebrows furrowed.
“I don’t.”
“Why?”
“What?”
“Why don’t you?”
“I’m not leisurely enough to do that kind of thing.”
“Really?”
As Jaekyung readily agreed, Jungwoo’s expression became even more contorted. Was that what he was hesitating so much to say?
But whether Jungwoo was thinking anything, Jaekyung seemed uninterested as he unnecessarily smoothed out his wrinkled clothes. It wouldn’t straighten out, but Jaekyung used it as an excuse to speak without looking at Jungwoo.
“Right. Hate comments are written by people who have nothing to do. So even if something like that gets written about you, don’t get hurt. You’re working really hard right now, so just show your cool side.”
“Why are your words jumping around like this?”
The conversation jumping from hate comments to suddenly telling him to show only his cool side was funny, so Jungwoo smiled.
“Anyway, think that it’s because you’re doing well. They’re just jealous of you, so they’re saying stuff like CEO’s son or whatever.”
“Hmm.”
Jungwoo, who finally caught on to what Jaekyung was trying to say, made a sound in his throat. Jungwoo looked at Jaekyung for a moment, then said playfully.
“But I actually am JT’s CEO’s son?”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
