Chapter 49
“Nobody comes here, I’m telling you. Who would come to such a dreary place?”
‘Jo Munseok?’
Hearing the voice, Juha quickly lifted his head.
Since they had been eating at the same table just moments ago, it wasn’t difficult for Juha to distinguish Jo Munseok’s voice.
“Hurry up and give it to me. I don’t have time.”
“Hey. You have to give me what I want first.”
At Youngin’s demand, Munseok’s voice turned slyly playful.
‘What does he want and what is he asking for?’
After Munseok’s words, no more voices could be heard. Instead, what dominated the space was the sound of wet lips pressing together and separating. The sound of tongues stirring and swirling could be heard with raw clarity.
Juha and Taeri silently met each other’s wide-eyed gaze.
What could they be trying to get that they’d even kiss for it? Just as doubt crept in, fortunately the kiss ended quickly.
“Ha, satisfied now? Hurry up and give it to me.”
“So impatient.”
Soon the sound of a can opening and carbonation fizzing rang out simultaneously.
The two cheerfully clinked their cans and gulped down refreshingly.
‘Must be beer.’
Drinking and smoking during the training camp were naturally prohibited, but someone was bound to do it – and here these two were, hiding and secretly doing it.
Well, with days of constant frustration piling up, even Juha, who didn’t like alcohol, found himself occasionally craving beer.
‘But one kiss for one can of beer…’
The sound of gulping continued, and the two let out satisfied “ahhh” sounds.
“Tell me honestly, did you kiss Choi Taeri or not?”
“Hey, do you think Choi Taeri likes just anyone like you do? Besides, that bastard has no interest in ‘that kind of thing.'”
At Munseok’s lewd question, Youngin spoke with certainty.
Juha’s eyes widened as he looked at Taeri. Taeri’s expression was equally incredulous.
No interest in ‘that kind of thing’? To someone whose nickname is Choi Jeongnam.
“I don’t like just anyone – I’m doing this because it’s you.”
“You’ll find someone else when you get out anyway, so stop talking nonsense.”
Though Munseok spoke words that sounded like a confession, Youngin’s reaction was indifferent.
“Still, it feels pretty good drinking like this, right?”
“Ha, so fucking refreshing. I’ve been stressed because Lee Juha keeps crawling his way up.”
When ‘Lee Juha’ was mentioned, Juha’s body flinched. This made him feel even more like he was hearing something he shouldn’t be hearing.
“Then let’s do it just once more. I really had a hard time getting this one.”
Jo Munseok whined uncharacteristically.
“This is the last time. Now we need to put our plan into action.”
“Of course.”
As soon as Jo Munseok’s answer ended, tongues began mingling wetly. Intermittent low moans of “mmm” echoed through the emergency exit. It was just kissing, but hearing it through sound alone was quite suggestive.
Already nervous with Choi Taeri right next to him, the explicit kissing sounds made the atmosphere awkwardly embarrassing. Just as Juha was touching both his cheeks with the back of his hand, feeling sheepish, he felt a burning gaze.
“……”
When he lifted his head, he could see Taeri’s face with eyes already blazing fiery. His earlobes were dyed bright red from just the kissing sounds. Juha hurriedly turned his head away, avoiding his gaze.
‘This won’t do……’
Just as he thought that with people below, he couldn’t let Taeri transform into Jeongnam, an exclamation burst out from downstairs.
“Ah, why are you so good at this?”
It was Jo Munseok’s admiration.
Juha startled in shock and reflexively covered Taeri’s ears tightly with both palms. He couldn’t think of any other method besides this. Since the biggest stimulus right now was ‘sound,’ his only thought was that he had to block Taeri’s ears to prevent summoning Jeongnam.
Juha’s hands grew hot from Taeri’s warmed ears. Taeri blinked his eyes blankly, looking puzzled as he stared at Juha, not understanding why his ears were suddenly being covered.
“You’re not bad either, you know?”
Yoo Youngin reluctantly threw out a word of praise. The two had a peculiar relationship. It seemed like when Jo Munseok showed interest and pursued him, Yoo Youngin would use those feelings to get what he wanted.
“Just once more……”
“Mmm……”
When Jo Munseok pressed again, a low moan escaped from Youngin’s lips.
Juha put more force into his hands covering Taeri’s ears. Meanwhile, Taeri also raised his hands to cover Juha’s ears with both hands. Thump thump. Juha could hear his own heartbeat in his ears. He was afraid Taeri might notice this trembling.
‘This isn’t right.’
The moment he thought that, Taeri carefully pulled Juha’s head toward him while still holding it and gently pressed their lips together.
Lips that lightly separated with a soft sound. With their ears blocked, the internal auditory sensation was even more stimulating. If this continued, he felt like he might lose his mind and get sucked in. Juha’s eyes snapped open as he removed his hands from covering Taeri’s ears.
By then, the sounds from downstairs had stopped.
“Haah, now I’m really done.”
Yoo Youngin’s voice slowly faded along with his lustful breathing.
“Still, I’ve been enduring with the pleasure of having a can of beer and kisses with you here like this, but what am I going to do from now on……”
Jo Munseok’s tone carried regret.
“What do you mean what? You focus too. We have a lot to do. If we get caught drinking like this and get kicked out, we’re the only ones who lose.”
“We do have a lot to do.”
Munseok answered with a sigh, as if he understood.
‘What do they have to do?’
Juha focused on their conversation.
From the first day, Juha had been paying attention to Taeri, so naturally he also noticed who Yoo Youngin, who was next to Taeri, was close with.
Yoo Youngin always tried to stay only next to Taeri, and Jo Munseok was around them. Since Munseok was also in the top 10 initially, he was in the same group as them. Jo Munseok approached Youngin, who had become isolated when Taeri was completely absorbed with Juha. And the two had gradually grown close like this.
However, Jo Munseok had also chosen the wrong partner during the last death match, so his ranking had dropped significantly this time. So he needed to do well in this competition to make it to the third round.
“So what are you going to do about Na Junho? You said if I just pick him, you’d handle the rest?”
At Youngin’s question, Juha’s ears perked up. It was unexpected for Na Junho’s name to come up at this timing.
“Should I pretend to make a mistake during practice and hit him? Or should I subtly piss him off so he hits me?”
“You’re not going to get hit by Na Junho and forfeit the audition, are you?”
“What do you take me for! You just watch Lee Juha properly.”
When Youngin teased him, Munseok got angry and snapped.
Listening to their conversation, Juha swallowed dry saliva.
The reason they brought Na Junho, who had the same character as Jo Munseok and wasn’t really needed, was to give Jo Munseok an opportunity to eliminate a rival.
Since their youth national taekwondo team days, Jo Munseok and Na Junho had been in a precarious rival relationship. Their skills were similar, but Na Junho had a higher win rate, so they were constantly compared. Jo Munseok had carried that resentment all the way here.
Thinking this far, Juha’s body trembled. It could just be talk from young, spirited guys trying to act tough. With cameras installed everywhere, they wouldn’t be able to attempt it easily. However, the very fact that they were thinking like this in an audition where everyone was desperately fighting for their lives was unbearable for Juha.
“I’m going to completely break Lee Juha’s mentality this time. Seo Eunwon too, as a set.”
Youngin’s voice carried resentment.
“Why Seo Eunwon?”
“Lee Juha and that brat Seo Eunwon are equally disgusting to look at.”
“You’re really nasty too. What kind of sick hobby is it to put kids you find disgusting in the same group?”
Jo Munseok’s voice carried a faint laugh.
“Because I don’t want to debut with them. We need to push them aside and climb up ourselves. Right? You don’t want to debut with Na Junho either.”
“Na Junho was always my enemy when we were doing sports. How could we debut together?”
“Anyway, let’s do our best. For now, our main targets are Na Junho and Lee Juha.”
Their plan was beyond Juha’s imagination.
At this point, Juha found Yoo Youngin’s intentions suspicious. If they ruined the performance, all the team members could be eliminated. Even Jo Munseok, who was so attached to him, could be eliminated. However, Youngin had hit the lottery with the lucky key last time, so he had a free pass no matter what he did in this performance. Even if Jo Munseok got eliminated, his principle was that it didn’t matter as long as he survived alone.
The fans would be disappointed, but if Yoo Youngin cried and squeezed out tears acting like the biggest victim, they might put up a protective shield for him again.
Their low-level conversation, which was unbearable to listen to, continued.
“If I help your plan well, what will you do for me?”
“If Lee Juha gets eliminated this time, I might do something even better next time.”
Yoo Youngin tempted him with a nasal tone.
“That sounds quite appetizing.”
Jo Munseok chuckled and laughed.
“Haah, now the kids will gather again. You take the trash and go out first. I’ll come out in a bit.”
Having finished his business, Yoo Youngin’s voice became much colder.
“Don’t get caught.”
With these final words, Munseok opened the heavy emergency exit door and left. Left alone, Youngin lightly exhaled and tidily arranged his clothes.
As soon as the downstairs door closed, Juha immediately sprang up from his seat as if he’d been waiting. Taeri’s eyes widened.
‘Where are you going?’
‘Wait.’
After finishing their lip-read conversation, Juha quickly went down the stairs with loud thumping sounds. At the sudden noise, Yoo Youngin, who looked up, froze.
When he confirmed that the owner of the footsteps was Juha, Youngin’s eyes widened in shock. He couldn’t even breathe and dropped the hem of his clothes that he’d been holding.
“You, what, what?”
“So that was your preference? You should have said so. I could have helped you. Did you torment me like that because I wouldn’t do it for you? Or I should have offered tribute like alcohol.”
Juha walked down the remaining stairs step by step with a coldly hardened expression.
“What, what?”
“I heard everything.”
Juha came down the last step and stood in front of Youngin. Though he’d spoken without a subject, Youngin was already completely frightened.
“If, if you heard… what are you going to do about it?”
Youngin, who had a lot to be guilty about, noticeably stuttered. Until now, Yoo Youngin had been riding high, even able to beat Choi Taeri in rankings, so he had nothing to fear, but even he couldn’t remain calm after being caught in a secret meeting involving drinking, same-sex kissing, and conspiracy plotting.
“Well? What should I do?”
Juha slightly raised the corners of his mouth and sneered. Juha wasn’t the type to stay quiet after catching something this big.
“I, I didn’t do anything much.”
“Hey. Conspiring with Munseok hyung to eliminate me and Junho hyung isn’t much?”
Juha lightly countered.
Even if he couldn’t make Yoo Youngin voluntarily withdraw, he at least had to make him obediently listen to Juha without causing trouble in this group mission. To fulfill the task of being ‘one body,’ he absolutely had to make him submit.
The nasty Lee Juha knew well how to handle this situation.
“Are you going to spread rumors? Do you have evidence?”
“If I had evidence, wouldn’t hyung be even more scared?”
Looking at the desperately speaking Youngin leisurely and slowly, Juha tapped his watch. They had returned their mobile phones, but this was a smartwatch he was wearing for clock functions like alarms and timers.
“You know, right? Technology is so good these days that everything gets recorded.”
“Ha……”
At Juha’s single sentence, Youngin’s legs went limp with despair. Youngin barely managed to support himself by grabbing the wall. As his complexion grew increasingly dark, Youngin finally realized that Lee Juha had properly caught his weakness.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
