After Won Hajun dropped a sharp word to Choi Wongil, peace returned to the vocal class. Park Moondae maintained a firm boundary, while Choi Wongil avoided eye contact with Hajun altogether. Hajun wondered if he had gone too far with a kid so young… yet scaring him to this degree felt excessive. He failed to realize that his natural aura could tame a tiger with a single glance. Having lived a life far removed from teenage idol trainees, he couldn’t help it.
Bzzzz—
The smartphone vibrated, interrupting his rest. Used for business alone back in the US, he didn’t need to check the screen to know the sender. He had surrendered his Korean phone to the production crew, though rules meant little to him.
The phone buzzed two or three times in quick succession. Cha Eugene, who was resting on Kim Raebin’s bed while Raebin worked in Eugene’s room, called out from the mattress as if he owned it.
“Hajun, your phone is ringing.”
“It’s not a call.”
Bzzzz—
“It keeps buzzing.”
“Hmm.”
Scratching his head, Hajun picked up the phone. As expected, Alex was spamming text messages.
[Hey] [Are you out of your mind?] [They say it just started and hasn’t aired yet, so get back here now!] [Attachment: The reason why you bastard cannot–NEVER–be a Kpop star and should return ASAP.docx] [Read that and think. Put a hand on your dead conscience and think.] [Damn it, if you read this, answer me!] [Do you want to see me go crazy working until crack of dawn?]
Switching the phone to silent mode, Hajun downloaded the document and tapped ‘Leave Chat.’ Seeing his friend full of energy meant Alex was doing fine. He considered turning off the power, yet decided to read a bit out of respect for his friend’s effort.
“Let’s see… Rule no. 1: Must have a good character. In short, you’re screwed. Stop behaving like trash and…”
“Huh??”
Hearing Hajun mutter in fluent English, Cha Eugene sat up like a coiled spring.
“What the, you speak English?”
“Ah.”
Right. He had waited to see when Eugene would notice. Catching the natural English pronunciation, Eugene shouted in English.
[Why didn’t you say so! That you speak English!]
[Did I need to? I have to keep using Korean anyway.]
[Still, communicating with you feels much smoother this way! My Korean isn’t fluent yet, so I get frustrated sometimes.]
Eugene beamed at gaining a personal interpreter. Sensing impending hassle, Hajun set a line right away.
[When it’s just the two of us, fine. But during filming, if you talk to me in English, I won’t answer. Speak Korean. This is Korea.]
[OK. I get what you mean. Still, you should have told me earlier! How did you learn English? Study abroad? Are you from California? Your accent hints at it, though I’m not certain.]
[Right, California. As for my accent, I lived in other regions for a long time too, so things got mixed.]
[Heck, to meet someone from back home all the way here!]
Freed from elementary-level Korean, Eugene poured out words with excitement. Anyone would wonder how he had held back to this point.
When Kim Raebin returned to the room, the fast-flowing English conversation caught him off guard. A quick explanation helped him accept the situation. However, because Hajun and Eugene used Korean when others were present, Raebin’s English showed zero progress despite living between two native speakers.
The first grade evaluation ran smooth. Hajun pinned a shiny platinum badge to his chest with an indifferent expression. No surprises occurred.
“Wo-Woah, woah!”
“Damn! Awesome! You got platinum!”
Others reacted with loud excitement. Over by the noise, Keun Sejin—the tall actor contestant—was pounding Park Moondae’s back. The recipient of the platinum badge wore a lukewarm face.
Meanwhile, top rankers accepted platinum badges without major fuss.
“Hajun! Same color!”
“Yeah, right.”
“High five?”
Their palms tapped together, and the kid giggled. Hajun chuckled at the carefree face.
“Do it again!”
“Do what?”
“Smiling like that!”
Seeing a smile different from his stage persona, Eugene pressed him, yet Hajun had already returned to his normal expression. Why should he?
“Just once!”
“No. Watch out.”
Sidetracking Eugene, Hajun bumped into someone and reached out by instinct to catch the trembling shoulders of the person behind him.
“…Let go.”
It was Bae Sejin, the former child actor. He hid his discomfort and brushed Hajun’s hand away.
Shrugging, Hajun offered a brief word. “Sorry for grabbing you. That guy pushed me.”
“My fault?”
“Apologize too.”
“Sorry!”
“…Forget it.”
Awkward around large and sharp-looking guys, Bae Sejin hurried away.
Noticing the silver badge on his jacket, Hajun spoke up. “Wasn’t he weak?”
“Who?”
“Just now.”
“Hmm, no idea!”
“You didn’t watch his stage earlier?”
“Everyone had to prepare their own stage. So I didn’t watch that well. You didn’t watch either, Hajun!”
True enough. Still, moving from below rank 51 to above rank 26 meant he must have trained with fierce determination. Hajun respected hard work. He revised his view of Bae Sejin upward.
“Participants with platinum grade, please step onto the stage!”
Following the crew’s instruction, they walked onto the stage. Rehearsals for the first performance began.
8:00 PM. Filming ended.
Cha Eugene and Kim Raebin lay flat on the floor, motionless.
“Still breathing?”
“…”
“…Yes…”
“About to collapse. Everyone flopping around like this. Tsk!”
“…”
Surrounding contestants cursed in their minds. You are the monster with abnormal stamina…
Ryu Cheongwoo caught his breath while drinking water. “Phew, Hajun, your stamina is impressive.”
“You’re quite useful among this crowd.”
“Haha. I’ve handled harsher schedules before… Ever done sports?”
“Hmm, guess not?”
“Why frame it as a question?”
While exchanging words, the PD gathered everyone to deliver closing remarks. First performance broadcast next Friday, next filming starts the following day. Memorizing key details, Hajun clapped along with the crowd.
Filming was finished at last. Contestants picked up their bodies to gather their bags and scatter.
“Bye! See ya!”
“Yeah.”
“See you next week. Stay healthy.”
“Sure.”
“Haha, see you all next week.”
“You too.”
Boys exchanged farewells and parted ways.
Hailing a taxi by the curb, Hajun gave the hotel address and leaned deep into his seat. Returning to his biological mother never crossed his mind. Explaining things felt like too much work.
Through to Friday, Hajun indulged in a lazy lifestyle. Except for a surprise visit from hotel staff worried that a wealthy guest in the top-floor suite hadn’t left his room for three days—resolved by ordering room service wine to prove survival—everything stayed peaceful.
Meanwhile, a college student was flipping TV channels out of boredom.
[, Relisted!]
“Crazy fools… Doing this show again?”
“Hey, give me the remote if you’re not watching.”
“Get lost. I am watching.”
“Why watch while cursing?”
“None of your business.”
Exchanging affectionate banter with her brother, the college student paused. A face on screen caught her eye.
Black hair, eyes full of rebellion, a wild aura.
Though it flashed past in a second, the face struck her taste.
“Hey. Hey, hear me? Knock knock.”
“Shut up for a sec.”
Tossing a cushion, she focused on the screen. She hadn’t misread it.
In the group stage scene, a tall figure stood out from head to toe, calling for attention.
Ever since her former idols hit a club scandal back in high school, she had stepped away from idol fandom. Now, a fateful encounter found her again.
Grabbing her phone, she logged into a forgotten fan community, set on finding the handsome guy’s name.
