It’s not wrong to have drinks with some acquaintances, but why is this guy looking at me as if I committed some sin?
I removed the mask, cap, and glasses that had been covering my face, and threw my bomber jacket onto the floor.
“Give me some water too.”
I walked over and snatched the water bottle from Kim Do-bin’s hand. As I felt the cool air from the refrigerator, I started looking for a cup, noticing Kim Do-bin wrinkling his nose.
As I scanned the room, Kim Do-bin fixed his gaze on me and asked, “Did you drink, hyung?”
“Yeah, I had a little, but I didn’t drink much.”
I didn’t drink much, considering the system’s constraints.
Failing to find a cup, I opened the bottle and took a swig without touching the rim to my lips. After putting the bottle back in the fridge and heading to my room, Kim Do-bin suddenly grabbed my arm, speaking with uncharacteristic seriousness.
“Hyung, we need to talk.”
“I’m exhausted right now. Can’t it wait until tomorrow?”
As I rubbed my furrowed brow and started walking away, Kim Do-bin blocked my path with a determined look in his eyes.
“No, it has to be now. It’s really important.”
Annoyed at the interruption, I just wanted to get to my room and rest. “It better be important,” I muttered, my voice low.
Though he flinched at my tone, Kim Do-bin didn’t budge. “It’s about sponsors…” he began.
My apologies. This is a serious conversation, then.
I immediately dragged him to the couch. Though the other members were likely asleep, it felt wrong to discuss such a serious matter in front of the refrigerator. Seeing him finally opening up to me, I decided to listen intently.
As I watched, a hiccup or sob escaped from Kim Do-bin, who was trembling. He still didn’t speak, so I gently encouraged him with a soft voice.
“Go on. Speak up.”
“Just a moment, I need to prepare myself… Please don’t get angry, hyung.”
As he stammered with a voice trembling like a goat’s, I sighed and gently patted his head. “Do you think I’m going to eat you?”
Encouraged by my comforting gesture, Kim Do-bin took a deep breath and asked, eyes tightly shut, “Could you stop accepting sponsorship deals?”
My fatigued mind took longer than usual to process his words. Hadn’t he said he was receiving sponsor offers? Why did it sound like he was saying I was the one taking sponsorship deals?
“Sorry, what?” I asked, needing clarification.
With a faltering voice, Kim Do-bin reiterated, “You’re not accepting sponsorship deals, right?”
I laughed, nodding as if I understood. As Kim Do-bin tried to mimic my reaction, I grabbed him by the collar and yelled, “Why would I accept sponsors, you idiot!”
[Forbidden action detected.]
[Initial Intention -1]
Feeling a sting of pain, I quickly released my grip. “Huff, you mean it wasn’t that? Then what about the ‘returning the favor’ thing with the guy who helped with the featuring today, and the perfume scent…?”
“That was just a connection! An acquaintance! The perfume smell was from someone sitting next to me who had drenched himself in his sister’s perfume.”
Raising my voice in irritation, I then remembered the early hour and lowered it again. Kim Do-bin, now thoroughly chastened, cautiously asked, “Then what about you saying it was tough working hard and that you were looking for a way out, always leaving the dorm and coming back late at night…?”
“I was working on a song. Do you think that song can be completed in just two days?”
Seeing the realization dawn on Kim Do-bin’s face, I roughly ran my fingers through my hair. “And when you complained about how tough it was to network with people…”
“I bought drinks and meals for feedback on my songs. Do you know how much effort that took? Want to cover half the cost?” I asked, exasperated.
“Then, when you talked about carrying the burden together…”
“You kept flinching every time you heard the word ‘sponsor,’ so I thought you were receiving offers and told you to speak up if you were. Who would have guessed you were imagining a melodramatic story starring me?”
As I spoke, my voice rose again in frustration. Kim Do-bin, noticing my irritation, quietly mumbled, “I should have listened to Jae-hee…”
“Why are you bringing up Ryu Jae-hee?”
“He told me to just ask you directly.”
“You didn’t tell our youngest this absurd theory, did you?”
Avoiding my gaze, Kim Do-bin looked up at the ceiling. Unlike Kim Do-bin, who was avoiding me, it seemed our smart youngest member hadn’t believed this ridiculous theory, given his consistent behavior toward me.
No, maybe it’s not that Ryu Jae-hee is smart; maybe Kim Do-bin is just clueless, overly imaginative, and foolish.
But…
“Come to think of it, this is infuriating…”
Hearing my cold muttering, Kim Do-bin lowered his head, now aware of the situation.
“You thought of me as someone who takes sponsorship deals, or something like that.”
“N-no, not at all! I never thought of you that way, hyung!”
“Stop.”
At my command, Kim Do-bin, who had been fervently denying it, immediately shut his mouth.
“You reduced the results of my hard work to something as insignificant as sponsorship deals.”
I’ve been struggling so hard to avoid our group’s downfall and make us a top-tier group, and yet he thought I earned all this by selling myself?
My eyes naturally turned menacing.
Kim Do-bin, lying flat on the floor, burst into tears. Who’s the one who should be crying right now?
“I’m sorry, hyung! Please don’t hit me!”
“When have I ever hit you?”
“But your eyes, they’re… scary!”
I squatted down in front of him, and he pointed at me with a tear-streaked face.
Seeing his face, my desire to scold him further dissipated.
“Just one question: how did you end up thinking I was taking sponsorship deals?”
“Well, it just so happened that on the day I started doubting, I read a web novel where the main character’s rival group fell apart because they got exposed for taking sponsorships.”
I grabbed his head, filled with snot and tears, and squeezed it with one hand.
“Stop watching so much anime and reading web novels.”
“But it wasn’t anime, it was a web novel…”
“Whether it’s anime or web novels, just stop. You’re turning a decent person who’s holding the team together into someone who takes sponsorship deals.”
I pressed my fingers firmly on his scalp. This wasn’t violence; it was a scalp massage for the fourth member, whose head must have been heavy and complicated all this time.
Hearing his exaggerated yelps, I figured he found it refreshing. The system didn’t penalize my initial resolve, so it must have recognized my good intentions for the members.
The door suddenly burst open, and Gyeon Ha-jun peeked in with a half-asleep face.
“Eden, why are you harassing him in the middle of the night?”
“You heard that? Sorry, go back to sleep.”
“You should come in and sleep too…”
As Gyeon Ha-jun motioned for me to come in and then retreated, Kim Do-bin looked like a beaten puppy, crestfallen. Feeling sorry for him, I let go of his scalp and patted his back.
“Go to bed. You need to sleep if you want to practice the choreography tomorrow.”
“Is it my final choreography practice?”
“Do you want it to be?”
“No! Good night!”
As I watched Kim Do-bin scamper to his room, I yawned and headed to mine.
It’s a good thing I didn’t storm into the agency, thinking they had offered sponsorship deals to a minor. That damned idiot…
—
“Do-bin! Water!”
“Do-bin is a free house elf!”
At my call, Kim Do-bin quickly ran over, handing me a glass of cold water.
“What, don’t want to do it?”
“It’s just a line from the house elf character…”
As Kim Do-bin murmured, looking dejected, Ryu Jae-hee clicked his tongue.
“I told you to just ask him directly. I said it was nonsense, didn’t I, hyung? If it were really a sponsorship deal, Eden hyung would have already caused a scene and our group would have been doomed.”
“Stop with the nonsense and go do the dishes, maknae. I saw a pile of them.”
“Aren’t you on dish duty this week?”
“Who brought you Seoraon’s signed album?”
At my crooked smile, Ryu Jae-hee silently trudged to the kitchen.
Leaning comfortably back on the sofa, I grinned. Gyeon Ha-jun, who picked up the empty glass I had placed on the floor and headed to the kitchen, reminded me, “Just don’t overdo it.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll only milk this for about a week.”
Ryu Jae-hee immediately retorted from the kitchen, “A week is too long!”
“You should be grateful I’m not giving you a day for each album, Jae-hee.”
If it were a day per album, you’d have to serve me for 12 days, you punk.
After handing over the cup for washing, Gyeon Ha-jun sat down next to me, and I struck up a conversation.
“By the way, KICKS’ teaser is out.”
“How is it?”
“It looks pretty good. Can’t tell about the song until we hear the full version.”
Seo Ye-hyun, who was using the sofa as a backrest, clicked his tongue. “They’re coming back in the second week of November, and we’re in the third week, so our promotions will overlap. Since neither of us is a senior group yet, we’ll have to share the waiting room.”
“Just thinking about hearing them make snide remarks again pisses me off.”
I patted Seo Ye-hyun’s shoulder as he scratched his head. “That’s why we need to make sure we don’t lose in terms of chart rankings and stage performances. That’s the best way to shut them up.”
“What did we ever lose to them? The number of people with bad attitudes?”
“We’re losing right now.”
I opened the ongoing 20xx Awards Best New Artist voting results and showed them.
1. KICKS – 541,345 votes (43%)
2. Reve – 337,985 votes (31%)
***
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