Second Try Idol

Chapter 270: First Full Album (6)

“Where is Hyuk-Soo?" I asked Su-Hwan as Goh Yoo-Joon's recording session was nearing its end.

Su-Hwan glanced at his phone and sighed. “It seems he's gone to make a call."

“Why the sigh, hyung? Are you tired? Do you want to go grab some coffee together?"

“No, I'm not tired," Su-Hwan replied with a forced smile.

As someone who picked up on social cues easily thanks to working as a trainer before, I roughly understood what that expression meant, so I ended up laughing.

“It seems Hyuk-Soo is chatting wildly with his girlfriend."

“I just wish he'd moderate his calls a bit while at work..."

Hyuk-Soo had been with our company for about half a year. He was a road manager and, so far, he had mostly been handling driving and managing the members. Thus, we weren’t really close to him.

Actually, Su-Hwan became friendly with us quickly. For us, who were shy, maintaining a distance from Hyuk-Soo was usual. It seemed like Hyuk-Soo wasn't very interested in getting closer to us as he appeared to consider us mere co-workers. Even when working or driving, he would focus intensely on his job. Whenever there was a break, he would often spend his time talking on the phone with his girlfriend rather than chatting with us.

“I was thinking of resting in the car for a bit. Hyuk-Soo has the car keys, doesn’t he?"

Su-Hwan looked puzzled, probably because I always praised Goh Yoo-Joon's voice so highly, he must have thought I'd want to listen to the entire recording.

“Aren’t you going to listen to the rest of Yoo-Joon's songs?"

“I would like to, but I’m tired. Driving was stressful."

“Ah, Hyuk-Soo should be in the lounge right now. Shall I get the keys for you?"

“No, I will go there myself. And hyung, if it's okay, please let me know if there are any updates about the staff who are being investigated."

“If there's anything I can share, I will," Su-Hwan said.

I nodded and left the recording studio.

Where could Hyuk-Soo be? I looked around trying to locate him. Honestly, I wasn’t that tired. It wasn’t like I was that stressed from a bit of driving. While it was disappointing not to watch the end of Goh Yoo-Joon's recording, there was something I needed to check in the car.

“Skyfall, Skyfall—"

As I approached the lounge, I heard an awkward impersonation of Jin-Sung’s part in Parade. Clearly, this was Hyuk-Soo.

I knocked on the lounge door and entered. Hyuk-Soo looked up at me and stood up.

“Ah, Hyun-Woo. Has Yoo-Joon finished recording?"

“Not yet. I just stepped out because I feel a bit tired."

Hearing this, Hyuk-Soo seemed sympathetic and sighed. “Should I buy you a drink?"

“No, I was just going to rest in the car for a bit. Do you have the car keys by any chance?"

“Ah!" Hyuk-Soo frantically searched his pockets before handing over the car keys, “I should have just let you keep them since you’re driving."

“It's okay."

Hyuk-Soo was still so considerate. I took the keys, thanked him, and left the lounge, heading straight for the car.

***

Once in the car, I did as I told the managers and climbed into the backseat to rest. I reclined the seat and closed my eyes. Then I sniffed the air inside the car.

‘Earlier, Goh Yoo-Joon said there was a peculiar scent here.'

A sweet scent still lingered in the air, possibly left by one of the staff who had entered the car during the recording. If the scent Goh Yoo-Joon noticed was the same as from my pillow, what then? For now, it didn't seem to be the same perfume. It meant the stalker hadn’t been in here.

But why was I doing this? I hadn’t expected to end up acting, too. I pretended to sleep, then casually fiddled with my phone.

- Where are you? What kind of manager leaves their singer?

I casually ignored Goh Yoo-Joon's text, but I didn’t sign into BlueBird this time. Instead, I sent a message to Su-Hwan.

- Hyung, can you check BlueBird for any stalker activity? Let me know what comes up.

Since there was a video uploaded from nearby about an hour ago, it was likely they are still following me. I was curious how quickly information reached the person who filmed me when I moved locations unexpectedly.

If Su-Hwan searched and found that the footage of me entering by car had already been uploaded, then the circle of potential leakers or stalkers would certainly be narrowed. If not, I was simply wasting my time.

I was waiting for Su-Hwan's reply when it happened.

Knock, knock, knock.

“Whoa!" I was startled by the knocking on the window and jumped up. Before I could even relax, the doorknob rattled violently.

“What, what is it!"

I was so shocked that I had heart palpitations. I frowned and looked out the window. Fortunately, the person looking at me from outside was not a stalker, but Goh Yoo-Joon. He was shaking the doorknob, urging me to open the door quickly. I let out a sigh of relief and unlocked the door I had previously locked.

“Why are you so startled? Don’t make me feel awkward."

“Hey, sounds were louder than you think from inside. Are you done recording?"

“Yeah. Stay where I can see you, dude. What are you doing here alone as the manager? This is ridiculous."

Goh Yoo-Joon grumbled and pointed behind him with his thumb.

“Come out. The director wants to talk. It seemed impolite to go to him without you."

“Okay, let’s go."

As I pushed Goh Yoo-Joon out of the car, I got out. Just then, as Goh Yoo-Joon was climbing out of the car smoothly, he suddenly stopped and stepped back.

“What’s wrong? Why? Huh?"

“Huh? What’s going on? Ah."

As always, something unexpected happened. A person wearing masks, sunglasses, and a huge cap was blocking Goh Yoo-Joon's path, calling our names. “Oppa, oppa!!! Yoo-Joon oppa, Hyun-Woo oppa!"

The pronunciation was clearly not Korean. She was perhaps a foreigner. She was the one who had intruded into our dorm that day.

Su-Hwan quickly ran over. Other staff members converged on the woman and scolded her. “What the heck!”

“Hey!"

However, the woman was unfazed. She continued to hold her phone up and film Goh Yoo-Joon and me.

Goh Yoo-Joon couldn’t bring himself to push the woman, but managed to push away the phone as he struggled to close the car door. “Are you filming right now? Don’t do that.”

Su-Hwan finally got close enough to grab the woman by the shoulders. “What are you doing? Move away!”

“Ah… no, oppa! Oppa! Wait a moment!” The woman pushed away Su-Hwan’s hand and continued to point her phone at us, but Su-Hwan’s grip strengthened. She frowned and raised her hand high, slapping Goh Yoo-Joon across the face.

Slap!

“…”

“…”

Shit.

Surprised by the woman’s sudden action, both the staff who were pulling her away, as well as me and Goh Yoo-Joon, who had been slapped, were momentarily speechless. All that could be heard was…

Click, click, click -.

The sound of the insane woman’s phone taking pictures.

“…”

This was not good. There were too many onlookers and, above all, she resumed filming.

“What are you trying to do?” I managed to suppress my anger as I checked Goh Yoo-Joon’s face. “Let me look at your face.”

This crazy fucker. His face was all swollen and red.

“I’m fine, really, I’m okay.” Goh Yoo-Joon, who said he was fine, seemed very shocked. His face was stiff, and his voice was trembling.

“What do you mean you’re fine? Hey, come here.” I pushed past Goh Yoo-Joon and got out of the car.

“What are you doing? Who told you to film?” I asked the woman.

“Ah, are you angry? Are you angry?”

“Yes, I’m angry. Give me the phone. Hurry up.” I snatched her phone, deleted the video, and also deleted all other photos in her gallery.

Meanwhile, Su-Hwan handed the woman over to the staff and called the police. I handed the phone to Su-Hwan before getting back into the car.

“Hey, can you hear me?” I asked Goh Yoo-Joon.

“Huh? Oh.”

“Let’s go to the hospital. It sounded like she hit you really badly.”

‘Why would she hit him out of nowhere? What a bitch move.’

I suddenly remembered the phrase I saw in the BlueBird screenshot earlier.

[What should I do to make him frown?]

The phrase the stalker had written over the video. Was she the same person?

Su-Hwan climbed into the car looking pissed. “We are going to the hospital. I’ve left the meeting with the director to Hyuk-Soo, so don’t worry.”

During the ride to the hospital, the usually noisy Goh Yoo-Joon was shockingly silent. I started searching for stuff on my phone while biting my lip.

‘What the fuck is this? What is this?’

I was so furious that I couldn’t contain myself. I could feel my eyes sharpening with anger.

“I will catch all of you and throw you in jail,” I muttered to myself while my fingers moved non-stop.