Chapter 33: The Night Before (3)
10:00 PM.
I borrowed a company car and made a quick purchase of oil paints, canvases, and various tools.
Then, I returned to Lilac’s dormitory.
Originally, I planned to work in my one-room apartment, but the girls insisted on watching me paint in person.
As a result, Lilac’s dorm was now being forcibly aired out.
The smell of oil paint had us opening all the windows, turning the place into an impromptu icebox.
“This is amazing. How does this even work? It feels like doodling, but it somehow turns into art.”
Yoo Ah-ra and the other three members were bundled up in their padded jackets, huddling together as they observed.
“It’s just about letting your hand flow naturally.”
“Wow~ Just now, oh wow~~”
“Ooooh~”
Swish, swish.
Every stroke of the brush drew gasps of admiration, filling the room.
The oil painting of Yoo Ah-ra, modeled after a photo of her, was finished in no time.
“Hmm.”
I crossed my arms and carefully inspected the piece for any flaws.
Luckily, there were no smudges or uneven spots.
I turned to the captivated audience to gauge their reactions.
“What do you think? Good enough to work?”
“Of course! Wow… Can I keep this? It’s me, after all.”
Yoo Ah-ra eagerly reached out for the painting.
Slap!
I swatted her hand away, firmly.
“Ahhh!”
Her groan filled the room.
“Hold it. Oil paint dries slowly.”
“…Ugh. How many hours?”
“Hours? You wish. It takes at least a week.”
Even though it was just for an internet upload, where the colors and shapes wouldn’t change much regardless, handling it before it dried was a bad idea if she intended to keep it for herself.
“Alright, I’m taking the photo.”
I set the easel upright at a perfect angle and used Kim Yoo-jung’s 5-million-won DSLR camera to take a picture.
I even made sure the background was spotless so no one would figure out this was taken in the dorm.
Click.
“Done. Now, set it up somewhere clean and leave it for a week. Don’t put it in your bedroom. Once it’s dry, buy a frame and mount it.”
“Got it, got it. So, I can really keep this, right?”
“Yeah.”
I nodded.
The materials alone cost over 100,000 won, but I didn’t mind since I could afford it now.
“I’m going to use the computer for a bit.”
“Huh? Oh, yeah. Go ahead.”
Yoo Ah-ra, still focused entirely on the painting, waved me off absentmindedly.
I grabbed the camera and headed into her room.
“W-wait! I’m coming too! That setup’s expensive—don’t mess with anything weird!”
It seemed she came to her senses and quickly followed after me.
“Let’s see… Does this one look the best?”
“To me, it does.”
“Right?”
I selected the best shot from the DSLR, transferred it to the computer, and uploaded it to the fan café I had joined earlier.
[Yoo Ah-ra looking at the camera.drawing]
LilacSo | Views: 0 | Likes: 0 | 2018.01.18. 23:34
”’
She was so beautiful I just had to draw her.
“This should do it.”
Feeling a strange sense of satisfaction as I reviewed the post, I noticed Lee Yeon-ji glaring at me with sharp eyes again.
“Huh. So, it’s only Ah-ra unnie’s picture? Guess you really are biased…”
“You’re next.”
“…Where did I put my photos~?”
She suddenly started humming a tune as she busily scrolled through her phone.
Bzzzzzz—
Just then, a phone vibrated on the desk, rattling slightly.
It wasn’t mine.
It wasn’t Lee Yeon-ji’s either.
It was Yoo Ah-ra’s phone, sitting on the computer desk.
She didn’t have privacy mode enabled, so the caller ID was visible on the lock screen:
[Chan-hyeok]
“…”
Yoo Ah-ra checked her phone, and the moment she saw it was Chan-hyeok, her face twisted into an annoyed grimace.
“Him again?”
At this point, I couldn’t help but feel curious.
It wasn’t Yoo Ah-ra’s fault, obviously, but what kind of replies was she sending that made him keep pestering her?
Yoo Ah-ra answered casually, as though it wasn’t a big deal.
“Oh? Ah, if I ignore him, he sends a KakaoTalk message saying I’m ignoring him. But I’m getting rid of my phone soon anyway. I’ll be too busy with activities.”
Even so, I felt uneasy.
No, hearing she planned to get rid of her phone made me even more uneasy.
If communication suddenly stopped, wouldn’t that push him over the edge and cause him to act out in some bizarre way?
Of course, Chan-hyeok was a rational, intelligent person, so this was probably just needless worrying… Hopefully, it was just worrying.
But after all the cursed streaks of bad luck that had plagued me whenever I released music, I couldn’t help but be concerned.
Bzzz—Bzzz—
This time, it was my phone vibrating.
It was a call from Yoon Seong-woo.
“What?”
-“What do you mean, ‘what’? You called me first.”
Oh, right.
I had called him earlier to brainstorm ideas for drawing attention.
I was about to lie and say I’d already figured it out and hang up when I hesitated.
“…Hey. Wait a second. Don’t hang up.”
He had been with JM Entertainment for nearly seven years now, so he likely knew a ton of insider gossip.
I muted my phone and stood up.
“Guys, about the post I just uploaded—use your accounts or ask the manager to boost the likes and comments. I’ll upload at least four more paintings by the release date, so we need to get the buzz going.”
“Huh? Where are you going?”
Yoo Ah-ra asked innocently.
I smirked as I gathered my clothes, paints, and other tools.
“I can’t exactly sleep here, can I?”
“…Oh, right. I forgot. This felt like your studio for a moment.”
Yoo Ah-ra chuckled and waved her hand as I left.
“Alright, take care~”
“Oppa, I’ll pick my photo later and send it to you on KakaoTalk.”
“Goodbye!”
“Yeah, yeah. Take care of yourselves.”
After exchanging some casual goodbyes, I stepped outside.
I took the elevator down to the ground floor, shoved the armful of items into the car, and finally picked up my phone again.
“Hey, are you still there?”
-“Took you long enough. What do you want, you bastard?”
“It’s nothing major. Do you know someone named Chan-hyeok?”
-“Chan-hyeok? Who, the celebrity?”
“Yeah. From Romeo.”
-“Oh, yeah. I know him.”
Chomp, chomp
I could hear the crunching sound of him munching on something as he continued speaking, completely unfazed.
-“He used to be one of our trainees before he switched agencies. Actually, he ran away.”
Ran away.
That word left a sour taste.
Sensing this might lead somewhere serious, I adjusted my grip on the phone.
“He was one of your trainees?”
-“Yeah. His name was Yoo-chan before he changed it, wasn’t it? He was with us until two years ago. You might’ve crossed paths with him back then.”
“…Oh.”
So, we had some sort of connection, no matter how faint.
“What made him run away?”
-“It was a problem with women—or no, it wasn’t a woman problem, it was his problem. He kept trying to hook up with female trainees, pulling all kinds of crap until he finally got sued. Later, we found out he was basically at stalker level. His parents ended up paying settlement money to the girl, and then that punk just ran off.”
So, Chan-hyeok was rotten to the core from the start.
“…He wasn’t just an average scumbag. But why have you kept quiet about this until now?”
-“He changed his name and even got plastic surgery. When I first saw him again, I wasn’t sure if Chan-hyeok was the same Yoo-chan. Not many people know about it, either.”
“Then you should expose him now, before anything worse happens.”
-“Why would I ruin my relationship with that agency? I’m already getting pushed around enough these days. No need to make enemies. Burp.”
He burped loudly, probably after finishing off his snacks.
Disgusting.
“You’re going to get fat at this rate.”
-“Mind your own weight.”
“I’ve been slimming down lately, for your information. Anyway, what about the girl he harassed? What’s she doing now?”
This time, there was no response.
A brief silence fell.
After a moment, Yoon Seong-woo let out a faint, drawn-out sigh.
-“Why are you digging into this so much? What’s going on?”
“I’m in charge of Lilac’s album this time, and he’s been hitting on one of their members.”
-“Oh, is that right? Then be careful. If you say so, I guess you’d better watch out. Heh.”
His mocking laugh was just irritating enough to put me in a bad mood, but before I could snap at him, Yoon Sung-woo spoke again.
-“Kidding, kidding. But honestly, he wasn’t all bad. For a trainee, he had a lot of money, and he took good care of the others. He was always buying them food and stuff.”
I pulled a business card out of my wallet.
[Oh Hae-yeong – Entertainment Reporter, EN Daily]
I could only hope he wasn’t as bad as he seemed and that this uneasy feeling of mine was just paranoia.
“Alright. But if something does happen, I’m using this info. Just so you know.”
-“What? No way, you idiot. I told you, it’ll ruin our relationship with their agency. If this leaks, we’ll be the first ones they suspect.”
Yoon Seong-woo’s voice suddenly turned urgent.
He had a point.
Romeo’s agency had grown much larger than JM Entertainment by now.
“Don’t worry. It’s just for insurance. I’ll hold onto it without using it.”
-“Bullshit. Do you think I don’t know you? The same guy who used to throw punches first whenever something pissed him off in high school…”
“Why are you bringing up ancient history?”
-“Ancient history? It was ten years ago, dumbass.”
To be fair, he wasn’t wrong.
Back in high school, I did have a habit of punching first and asking questions later.
Not that I’m proud of it.
I was big, decently good-looking, and naturally attracted the attention of annoying guys—mostly wannabe delinquents trying to pick fights.
They showed up so often it got on my nerves, so I just started throwing the first punch to shut them up.
Oddly enough, they were the ones who always got punished afterward.
I, on the other hand, got away clean because I was good at academics, art, and maintaining a spotless reputation in class.
“Alright, fine. If anything does happen… How about this: two songs. I’ll give you two of my best, most carefully crafted songs.”
There was a pause, like he was considering the offer.
Then, after a theatrical cough, his tone softened.
-“Well, well, Heli must be pretty confident these days, putting his songs on the negotiation table. By the way, speaking of your music—Mountain Scenery felt like a total departure from your usual style. What happened to you? Got hit on the head or something?”
For a moment, I froze.
Damn, his instincts were sharp, as always.
I brushed it off with a vague reply.
“I had a near-death experience and found enlightenment, that’s all. Anyway, if it comes to using the source, we settle it with two songs, okay?”
-“Make it three. Let’s call it three songs and wrap this up neatly. If I get three tracks, I can brag later about scoring songs from Heli without batting an eye.”
“Oh-ho? Didn’t they call So-ha the icon of failure?”
-“You’re not So-ha; you’re Heli.”
Yoon Seong-woo chuckled and added,
-“And all of this only applies if Lilac’s album doesn’t flop. The benchmark is getting #1 on the charts. You know the gap between a composer who’s hit #1 and one who hasn’t, right?”
“Okay, deal.”
-“Alright, then. Take care.”
“Yeah.”
I was about to hang up absentmindedly but quickly called out to him again.
“Hey, hey, wait! Don’t hang up. You still haven’t answered something.”
-“What now?”
“What happened to her? The one who was stalked by Chan-hyeok?”
-“She quit being a trainee. But I hear she’s doing alright—she went to college and seems to be living her life.”
“…Is that so?”
What a cruel irony.
The perpetrator is out there enjoying the love, money, and dreams of his fans, while the victim had to give up her dreams entirely.
-“At least she’s doing fine. I heard she got into a good university. Was it Busan National University?”
“Anyway, thanks. Talk later.”
-“Sure.”
I ended the call and gripped the steering wheel.
My whole body felt heavy with fatigue.
Come to think of it, today has been a particularly grueling day.
From working on the survival program to painting…
I wanted nothing more than to head straight home, but since I had borrowed the company car, I’d have to return it first.
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