Save a Failed Idol’s Life

Chapter 205:

Translator: MarcTempest

Editor: NicoleTempest

Chapter 205 Why There?

“Jeju Island?”

Kyunghwa’s eyes narrowed in an instant and his gaze turned into a look of disbelief.

It was a bit of an odd timing, but there was no need to look at me with such contempt. I broke out in a cold sweat and explained.

“I think I know where Kang Yu-geon is, so I’m going to bring him back.”

I had to tell Kyunghwa in advance, unlike the others.

“I’m going to bring him to our label.”

When he heard that, Kyunghwa furrowed his brow as if he was ready to connect his eyebrows. He had a terrifying expression that looked like he would punch me in the face.

“It’s not just Kang Yu-geon. I’m going to bring Hwi-jin too.”

I tried to justify myself, but Kyunghwa sighed and shook his head.

“You talk like you’re bringing in a new flower pot, not a controversial group member.”

He looked 100% troubled. There was no sign of positive expectation on his face.

‘It would be a mess if I told him I was bringing Shim Naru too.’

I would think about how to use the newly recruited artists later, but I wanted to support them so they wouldn’t quit their activities here.

Even if what I experienced in the virtual space was a mirage of my own, their passion for the stage was sincere.

“I’ll start with Kang Yu-geon.”

I finished packing my luggage and zipped it up. I lifted the handle and Kyunghwa looked at me with a dissatisfied expression.

I had a vague idea of what he was worried about. He was afraid that I would neglect Climax or lose sight of what was important because of some unwanted stones that rolled in.

That must be what he was worried about. I patted Kyunghwa’s shoulder lightly and said.

“Don’t worry too much. Climax is my priority, of course.”

Even if the Floss trio bothered me, the more important thing was the members who had been with me for more than six months and kept the fruitless Climax for five years.

That never changed.

“You talk a good game.”

Kyunghwa snorted and turned his head. He had a point. We were on standby right now, so we had nothing to do, but we didn’t know what our schedule would be like in the future.

And I was getting ready to fly to Jeju Island to catch someone else’s group member.

I was sorry and shameless, but I had no choice. I couldn’t leave Yu-geon alone to run away from the stage forever.

“I’ll be back soon.”

Kyunghwa didn’t answer. I felt sorry, but I was glad that Kyunghwa was here. He was the best person to play the role of a brother who would keep the center while I was away.

“Hey, where are you going, Lee-se?”

As I walked out of the living room with a suitcase in my hand, Seon-woo asked me with a puzzled expression.

“I’m going on a short business trip. I’ll be back tomorrow.”

Maybe. I omitted the next sentence that could add to my anxiety and ruffled Seon-woo’s hair once. Then I grabbed the door handle.

A piercing gaze stabbed me in the back of my head.

“…”

It was Son Seong-won. I wondered if I should just pretend I didn’t know and run away by opening the door. But I felt bad for leaving him waiting without saying anything, so I eventually turned around with a tingling in my feet.

“Where are you going?”

Seong-won frowned like a preschooler who caught his parents sneaking out to work on a holiday.

“Business trip.”

I answered shortly on purpose, but Seong-won immediately retorted.

“At this hour?”

If it was before, I would have complained a lot in my mind that he was so rude. But now I knew that this was his way of worrying.

‘…’

It might not be a worry.

Anyway, I knew that he would feel uneasy without me, so I eventually added a footnote.

“Yeah. I’ll try to solve it as soon as possible today, and come back tomorrow.”

Seong-won didn’t say anything right away, but crossed his arms and glared at me with a full of discontent.

Then he blurted out something I never expected.

“If it’s an important problem… can’t you talk to us all instead of trying to solve it by yourself?”

It was an unbelievable remark coming from the guy who hated teamwork more than anyone and always played solo.

I opened my eyes wide without realizing it.

“What? Why are you looking at me like that?”

Seong-won snapped at me when he didn’t like my expression. I was speechless for a moment and stammered.

“No… I’m just surprised that you care about ‘us’ so much…”

He didn’t like my answer, and his eyes got dirtier.

“Thank you.”

I hurried to fix it. Seong-won turned his head with a displeased expression and snorted lightly.

“You’re making me worry.”

“Okay. I’ll be back soon.”

I waved my hand lightly and turned the doorknob to go outside. It was the end of the year, and my hands were cold even indoors because I was wearing light clothes.

I hurried to the airport, parked my car in the parking lot, and ran to the platform. There, I saw a thin layer of snow falling from the sky, barely visible to the naked eye.

“It’s snowing.”

The people who were waiting for the boarding time in front of the platform took out their phones and snapped pictures of the snowflakes in the air.

Fortunately, it wasn’t snowing for long, and the boarding started with an announcement that the landing was scheduled as normal.

I hastily booked a business class seat that I had never tried before, even when I was the representative of Jo Young Food. The seat was spacious.

From the unfamiliar seat, I looked down at the runway, where the snow that couldn’t pile up fluttered for a moment and then melted away.

‘It’s already dark.’

I wondered if Yu-geon was still in Jeju Island. Where was he now? Had he gone indoors? Or… I didn’t even realize that I was worrying about this and that, and I fell asleep in an instant.

As soon as I closed my eyes, I suddenly thought, what if I was dragged into another strange space again. The thought crossed my mind, but luckily nothing like that happened.

“We are preparing for takeoff. All passengers, please wait in your seats safely.”

With the captain’s announcement, I closed my eyes briefly and opened them again. The dark night sea came into view.

It was time to move my body for real.

“Wow, he’s not here.”

I finally found the place where he took the picture by comparing it with the one Yu-geon sent me, but only the pale night waves greeted me. There was no trace of anyone there.

Of course. It would be impossible to leave any traces in this ocean park unless you threw away some trash or left some clothes behind.

I quickly grabbed my phone and typed with my fingers that were starting to freeze.

[Me] Where are you? 10:15 PM

[Me] You’re not where you sent me the picture? 10:16 PM

The read confirmation message popped up right away, but there was no answer.

Oh, come on, is he crazy? If he’s going to run off somewhere else, he should at least tell me where he’s going, or at least warn me that he’s not there.

Do you like watching people suffer? I was getting annoyed and irritated, and after five minutes, a new picture arrived.

It was a picture of someone standing in the night sea, taken in the background. A faint breath came out of his lips, which were wide open. He looked pretty cold.

‘Whatever. It’s not just cold, it’s fucking freezing.’

It was none other than a picture of me taken from behind. This crazy bastard. I turned around with anger in my head, and there was Yu-geon, looking fine.

This guy made everyone bleed.

I approached Yu-geon with a wicked heart, and I could see that he hadn’t been doing well for a while.

His mouth, which was always relaxed, was bruised as if his blood was about to freeze, and his clothes were expensive, but they were wrinkled or piled as if he had washed them in a coin laundry.

I didn’t bother to say anything. It was more winter than winter. Yu-geon, who had a dry face, spat out a faint breath against the night sky, where the snowflakes started to fall again.

“Let’s go.”

I reached out my hand to Yu-geon, but he didn’t seem grateful to the person who came all the way here and asked.

“Where to?”

Where do you think it is? Of course, where you belong.

“I’ll make sure you can keep dancing and singing.”

Yu-geon looked at me blankly with a motionless face. Damn, is that not enough? I swallowed my complaints and added.

“I’ll feed you, too.”

Then Yu-geon started laughing like a madman, holding his stomach.

“Is that my recruitment condition right now? Am I being scouted?”

He was serious until a moment ago, but he laughed so hard that he curled up his body. I felt the heat rise in my head.

“Laughing? This crazy bastard, I came all the way to Jeju Island for you.”

I snapped back at him, and Yu-geon looked at me straight with a smug face, pulling up his mouth.

“Do you know how much The Classic Entertainment offered me as a signing bonus?”

I don’t know. But I guess it would be the amount of money that I could get by making a deal to pull out the Cheon Soo Group’s stake that Cheon Ise could claim later as an investment. Or it could be much less than that.

It could be the amount of money that Cheon Ise could spend as pocket money.

“Do you know how much the Cheon Soo Group’s market cap is?”

Then Yu-geon started to laugh again as if someone had made a funny joke. I stepped on his foot.

“Stop laughing. Think carefully not to waste the trouble I came here for. You’re going with me, or not.”

I looked pretty good, so maybe I was being too nosy.

But I couldn’t ignore the fact that he had left behind all the people he knew, his team members, and the company staff, and only sent me his news. There must have been a sign that he wanted me to find him.

It was like that for many things that made me who I am.

I couldn’t just ignore it when I could do something for him. I couldn’t turn my eyes away and think of it as none of my business because it was inevitable. That’s why I came here.

“…”

He stared at my serious expression for a long time, biting his lip. Then his mouth gradually turned downward and he covered his face with his hands.

Even though his eyes were still in the air, not yet touching the ground. Thump, thump, thick teardrops fell on the yellowish dry grass.

“Don’t cry. You’ll get ugly if you cry. You have to live by tearing off the face of the bastard who did this to you.”

He retorted, as if his mouth was still alive.

“I didn’t cry.”

“Liar.”

I fixed his scarf around his neck so that he could cover his face tightly.

“We’ll catch the fastest flight back.”

If the snowstorm got worse, we could be stuck in Jeju. We had to avoid that for Kyunghwa’s emotional and physical health.

‘Isn’t this like a young father who is oppressed by his son’s rich family?’

What was I doing, taking care of someone else’s kids that I didn’t even give birth to? On the plane back to Incheon, Yu-geon was silent the whole time and I looked out the window.

It was as if the morning, when the weather was warm, was a lie. A blizzard was pouring down.”