Chapter 31
“Hyung.”
Jaekyung, who had just entered the store, turned his head at the familiar voice. Sowoon, who was stretching his arm up and waving, smiled brightly when he saw Jaekyung. Wearing jeans and a sweatshirt instead of training clothes, Sowoon was radiating teenage freshness.
“I missed you, hyung.”
Sowoon clasped both hands together and pretended to tear up toward Jaekyung. It was exactly like the emoticon he had sent after the message saying he’d wait a few days ago, making Jaekyung smile. Jaekyung tactfully sat across from him and looked around the interior of the coffee shop.
They were meeting to watch the broadcast together, but there wasn’t even an hour left until the broadcast started. Moreover, since the meeting place was a cafe, Jaekyung asked with a puzzled tone.
“Why are we meeting here?”
“Ah, we decided to gather here and then go. I thought home would be best for watching the broadcast. Hajun hyung lives alone.”
Sowoon pointed at the menu visible under the glass and tapped with his finger asking what he wanted to eat. Jaekyung roughly scanned it with his eyes then shook his head. Sending the message that he wouldn’t eat anything, he continued talking to Sowoon.
“Are the four of us watching together?”
The group chat Sowoon had made that day only had four people. He didn’t know why it turned out that way. There was also Han Chanhyung who shared the same room, and other members too. However, Jaekyung hadn’t said anything else in the group chat besides “I’ll go” and “Where should I go?”
“Yes. Probably?”
Sowoon trailed off as if he wasn’t certain.
“I was looking into places and narrowed it down to a few stores, but Hajun hyung suggested his place so we changed it. But wouldn’t some people close to Hajun hyung might come too?”
“…Right.”
Did I come for nothing? Jaekyung chewed over the regret he had every day once more. Since it wasn’t a broadcast, he thought he could just relax a bit and then leave. Even while going to school and looking for part-time work, he didn’t need to cancel the appointment (separate from the regret), but now he wondered if he should go back.
He didn’t want to see how that Yoon Hajun lived before debut either.
“Jungwoo hyung. Over here.”
Then Sowoon waved his arm at Jungwoo who had just entered the cafe, just like he had done to him. Jungwoo closed the distance in just a few steps with his long legs.
“Did you order?”
“We were still choosing.”
“What are you drinking?”
Jungwoo immediately asked what menu Jaekyung had chosen. Jaekyung shook his head to indicate he wasn’t ordering anything.
“Why? There’s nothing to drink when we get there.”
“It’s fine.”
Jaekyung chose not to eat anything at all rather than uncomfortably forcing something down there.
He didn’t have money either.
Jungwoo looked at Jaekyung blankly, then held out his card to Sowoon.
“Let’s order for everyone and take it with us.”
“You’re buying, hyung?”
“No. I’ll get money from the people at the house. I’ll buy for you and Jaekyung.”
“Oh, really?”
“I’m fine.”
Sowoon happily accepted the card, but Jaekyung felt burdened and refused. However, Sowoon spoke to Jaekyung first before Jungwoo, lowering his voice sternly.
“You’ll get punished if you refuse when hyung is buying.”
Sowoon, who even raised his finger as if teaching a child, quietly added.
“What if hyung cancels his order too because you said you’re not eating?”
So there was that reason. As Jaekyung just stared with bewildered eyes, Sowoon said he’d go order by himself and left.
“I’m really fine though…”
He added that it was okay not to buy him drinks, but Jungwoo just stared intently at Jaekyung’s face.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“You…”
“What about me?”
“…Never mind.”
Doesn’t he know how bad it is to start like that and then trail off? It was when Jaekyung pushed his back backward and turned his head away from Jungwoo.
“Say goodbye that day.”
“That day? When was that day, ah…”
He immediately understood what day Jungwoo was talking about. He meant when they left the hotel after finishing the live broadcast. Actually, Jaekyung had also looked around to see where Jungwoo was before leaving that day. But honestly, he didn’t want to say it. It felt awkward to say “I also looked for you before leaving.” Jaekyung answered “Just…” and closed his mouth.
All he had in his hand was his phone, and since Sowoon’s time looking at the menu and ordering was unexpectedly long, Jaekyung felt increasingly uncomfortable. Since he said he wouldn’t avoid Jungwoo anymore, he should treat him accordingly, but when he actually tried to speak, nothing came to mind.
Seeing Sowoon’s order come out, Jaekyung got up from his seat. He said “Let’s go” to Jungwoo who had been standing the whole time, then passed by him. Sowoon approached carrying a carrier with takeout cups.
“Let’s go quickly. Ah, I’m nervous.”
Sowoon kept saying he was trembling and nervous, constantly talking, so the way to Hajun’s house wasn’t awkward. Then they entered an area with villas gathered together and went into the innermost building.
Jaekyung looked around the vicinity with awkward eyes. It wasn’t a dorm. No matter how big and good the company was, they didn’t provide good accommodations to idols who were just starting out. If that happened, they’d have to keep providing similar environments to the next idol and the one after that too.
But the villas all looked big and nice. Is this where families all live together? With that thought, he followed along, took the elevator to the 5th floor, and there was only one door. He thought this was strange too, but Jaekyung obediently followed Jungwoo.
When Jungwoo pressed the doorbell, Hajun came out as if he’d been waiting.
“You came? It’s been a while, Jaekyung too.”
When Jaekyung awkwardly greeted him and went inside, he could hear conversation. As expected, Park Geonhu and Min Taeyeon were there. Meeting Park Geonhu and Min Taeyeon from the same agency and the number of people increasing wasn’t incomprehensible when you think about it.
“I didn’t call them on purpose. They just naturally barged in.”
Hajun, who noticed Jaekyung’s gaze, made excuses first. Jaekyung sat at the edge of the sofa as if it didn’t matter.
“It’s Jaekyung hyung.”
At Min Taeyeon’s exaggerated greeting, Jaekyung slightly frowned. The honorific was natural, though he didn’t know since when he’d been called hyung. However, since he had already decided not to resent Min Taeyeon and all the former members, Jaekyung awkwardly accepted it.
“Then I… Jae, ahem, Jaekyung.”
Park Geonhu called Jaekyung’s name saying they were the same age.
“Jaek-Jaekyung? Jek-Jaekyung? Jek-Jaekyung?”
Min Taeyeon didn’t miss the timing and imitated exactly what Park Geonhu had stumbled over. Of course, he was immediately punished. Min Taeyeon, caught in a headlock and choking, reached out his hand as if asking to be saved, but Jaekyung ignored him pretending not to see.
“It’s noisy.”
Jungwoo sat next to him and warned Min Taeyeon and Park Geonhu. Then he held out the coffee they brought from the cafe. Jaekyung accepted it and fixed his posture toward the TV. He came because he didn’t want to watch alone, but it was just awkward.
“That’s possible. This kind of thing is best enjoyed noisily.”
At Hajun’s words as he brought snacks, Jaekyung felt a pang. Wasn’t this the reason why he impulsively said he’d go? It was bewildering that he ended up with his former members, but he was even more shaken because Hajun seemed to see right through him.
“While watching together, when other kids’ faces come out, we can tease them, right? Tease the embarrassed kids, right?”
“…”
Jaekyung, who had thought he felt the same as Hajun, turned away from him. It seemed like he had gathered the kids just to tease them.
“It’s starting. It’s starting.”
Sowoon, sitting on the floor, leaning his back against the sofa, kept tapping the table. It was a reaction as if he was nervous and didn’t know what to do. Jaekyung also watched TV with a slightly trembling heart.
Please let me be bland. Don’t come out. Come out for 59 seconds, not 1 minute, he chanted such wishes.
The “Choose a Boy” song played as background music. They said it was a 180-minute broadcast, but it seemed like the broadcast started earlier than expected. Sure enough, Min Taeyeon looked at his phone and explained something.
“This doesn’t count. It seems like exactly 180 minutes starts from 9 o’clock.”
“I see. The introduction is separate.”
Really time-conscious. Jaekyung nodded as if agreeing with Park Geonhu’s muttering.
They briefly showed the stage they had performed live before and announced with subtitles that a total of 99 trainees had appeared. Then, just like PD Choi had done for them, he neatly organized and displayed the same explanation for viewers. That they had been given time according to how hard each worked.
Then a small clock display showing the time appeared in the upper left corner of the screen. After introducing all the rules, the broadcast began in earnest.
“Huh?”
Jaekyung tilted his head as if something was strange. They had clearly mentioned individual allocated portions, but the preliminary content was included. So did they count all of that too? he wondered.
“Ah, right. There were cameras during our preliminaries too.”
“I knew it would come out.”
They were really trying to make the broadcast fairly – all 99 faces were appearing sequentially. It wasn’t a long time per person, but they were broadcasting at least close to two verses of the song each person sang in the preliminaries.
‘They said 1 minute…’
Jaekyung watched the broadcast with a betrayed expression. They had called it a camera test, but it went straight into episode 1. Jaekyung stared blankly at the TV with the expression of someone whose foot had been chopped by a trusted axe.
To be exact, PD Choi had said 1 minute of PR excluding introduction time and judging, but he had thought about it his own way. No, fine, the judging part had to come out so he understood that, but wasn’t that test part too much?
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
