ALL NOVEL Chapter 65
Chapter 65. Turbulence
On purpose, I got red seasoning on the sleeves of my old school uniform shirt that I had brought from home. It looked terrible.
For a very brief moment, various thoughts (read: countless curses) flashed through my mind.
‘…That young brat.’
Most of them were about where a young punk like him had learned such ridiculous manners. (That’s the cleaned-up version)
‘Hold it in, Kang Hajin. Not yet, not yet.’
No matter how annoying he was, it wasn’t the right time yet. Moreover, we were in the middle of the waiting room surrounded by outside staff. Getting into an unnecessary fight with him here wouldn’t be beneficial at all….
‘I know that very well in my head.’
But what could I do about the irritation?
[System Alert: The system grabs some popcorn. (Intriguing)]
‘This system doesn’t even think about helping me.’
I decided to pretend I didn’t see the system window popping popcorn effects.
Just as I was about to say something to Han Sung-woo, who still stood before me with that insolent expression, someone else spoke first.
“You should wash this, you know?”
“What?”
Lee Yugeon, who looked like he couldn’t care less about the standoff between me and Han Sung-woo, casually handed the empty lunch box back to Han Sung-woo.
“You should wash it. And remove the stickers too.”
Although he spoke lightly, the fact that it was Lee Yugeon—a guy over 180 cm tall with a delinquent face—made his words carry a different weight. Even the confident Han Sung-woo seemed taken aback.
“Why should I wash this?”
“Have you never done recycling? That’s the rule.”
“Who washes…! …fine, I’ll wash it.”
“A-class always did it that way. Even when you were in A-class.”
Han Sung-woo bit his lip, glancing at the surrounding staff members, while Lee Yugeon maintained his innocent tone. Then, he pushed the lunch box back toward Han Sung-woo once more.
“Should I wash it for you?”
“…No, it’s fine. I guess I didn’t know. I’ll wash it.”
As other trainees who had finished their meals began to gather around, Han Sung-woo quickly backed down, unwilling to make a scene. He irritably accepted the lunch box, which left me feeling somewhat unsatisfied.
‘But I didn’t wash my lunch box either?’
So why did he tell him to leave it? Maybe because he didn’t know me well enough to tell me to wash it? I felt a strange curiosity towards Lee Yugeon, who had abruptly ended the standoff.
I shook off the seasoning on my hands and asked Yugeon,
“Does the special class really wash their lunch boxes before throwing them away?”
“No, it’s a lie.”
“Huh?”
“It’s noisy with him around. I just wanted to get rid of him.”
…What is this guy?
“Aren’t you on the same team as him? What if it becomes uncomfortable?”
“Well, not really…. I’m not going to debut anyway.”
“What?”
“If you’re not going to wash it, please leave. You’re blocking others from throwing their trash away.”
Lee Yugeon pointed with his chin at the other trainees awkwardly standing behind me with their empty lunch boxes. I had no choice but to stand up with a frustrated heart.
‘…Did he just say he’s not going to debut?’
Despite always being in the special class with his subpar stats, now he’s backing out, saying he won’t debut?
‘This is definitely strange.’
Does he know something? Or….
[Single Quest 02.]
‘I’m the crazy one in this area!’
Content: You, who have entered (or will enter) Miro.
Overcome the suffocating politics and checks happening inside,
Meet comrades who will help you, and debut successfully.
(Reducing the likelihood of regression activation and increasing quest success rate by removing hidden bombs)
Remaining period: 6 months.
Success reward: Clue for tracking the regressor
Penalty for failure: 85% increase in the probability of 5th regression activation
‘If he thinks it doesn’t matter because he’s going to regress anyway?’
As soon as the recording ended, I would meet Lee Doha and dig into Lee Yugeon.
What is this guy up to, really?
* * *
“Ah, damn it!”
After confirming that no one else was in the bathroom, Han Sung-woo let out a loud curse. He had already dumped the lunch box he had hastily washed in the bathroom sink into the trash can.
“Nothing is going my way, damn it….”
Had there ever been days when nothing went according to plan like these? Initially, with the Director’s backing, he easily became a trainee and enjoyed all the benefits of the special class, getting rid of anyone who annoyed him.
“But why do I have to be here with those punks…!”
When rumors of his parachute entry started, he pinned the rumors on Joo Eunchan. While the public thoroughly ostracized Joo Eunchan, he pretended to take care of him, carefully crafting his image.
He had even made plans to follow the Director and set up a new company since he couldn’t immediately place him in Miro’s next debut group due to Manager Ji Suho.
“This is all because of that bastard.”
Since Kang Hajin joined, nothing had gone right. What should he do about that thorn in his side?
Even complaining to CP Yoon didn’t help; he just said it was fine as long as he didn’t debut anyway.
-As long as the public sees the broadcasted part, it doesn’t matter how well he did during recording. We can just edit it out. Why would Miro want to take a newbie trainee who doesn’t get a good response from viewers?
The first broadcast was approaching fast. Han Sung-woo decided to endure it until then. Yes, just until then….
“Oops, sorry.”
The one who shattered Han Sung-woo’s monologue by barging into the bathroom was none other than the root of all his troubles, Kang Hajin.
Hajin, who entered the bathroom with the sleeves of his uniform shirt stained with seasoning and holding some dish soap, made a mocking comment.
“I didn’t realize you were crying alone.”
“Who said I was crying?”
“Well, you were taking so long to wash the lunch box. Just in case.”
Hajin smirked, his shoulders shaking. With a few long strides, he reached the sink next to Han Sung-woo, clearly intending to wash the shirt sleeves.
“Wow, it’s so low.”
Because he had to bend over, his silver necklace, which he wore inside his short-sleeved t-shirt, jingled and came into view. The necktie, loosely hung on his pants instead of a belt, swayed with his movements.
Reluctantly admitting it, his sharp side profile and cold atmosphere were quite attractive.
‘Why am I thinking like this while looking at that guy?’
At that moment, Hajin turned on the faucet and began to wash his long, delicate hands, which were covered in dish soap, under the water.
“But hyung, is this really the time to be keeping me in check?”
“…….”
“Are you confident about today’s performance?”
That smirk, which never failed to annoy people, conveyed a mix of playfulness and confidence, as if he had me all figured out.
That smile seemed to say that I could never step within Kang Hajin’s boundaries.
“Turbulence… It’s a good song. It’s not too difficult for someone like you to sing, and your team isn’t bad either. It’s perfect for the finale stage.”
The sound of the water continued to resonate in the bathroom.
“But why do you think I gave you the last spot?”
By then, Han Sung-woo felt something was seriously wrong. It was as if an unknown insect was crawling all over his body under the guise of tension and pressure.
What was this disgusting feeling?
“Warm up your voice, hyung. Stop yelling. It’d be embarrassing if you hit a wrong note. You’re the main vocalist, after all.”
Hajin, fixing his hair in the mirror, gave one last smile at Sung-woo. If you removed the thorns from his words, it would sound like he was encouraging his fellow team member before a competition.
But Sung-woo knew. He knew what the thorns in those words meant, and what that peculiar and unpleasant feeling crawling inside him was.
“Nobody likes being compared, do they?”
Naming the order selection game as the main vocalist battle, ensuring that Sung-woo’s team was placed last by picking the second slot.
“It’s already tough enough to handle the original song, but if you get compared to the other team, it’ll be even more tiring.”
Mentor praised Jung Siwoo’s perfect singing skills, and Kang Hajin, who impressed the original artist with his rendition of Sarin’s song.
And then my performance would follow after their stage’s lingering effects had completely faded.
“Phew, survival is tough, really. Right?”
With a creak, Hajin turned off the faucet. He lightly wiped his wet hands with a hand towel and tossed the damp towel into the trash can beside the sink. It was the same trash can where Sung-woo had shoved the lunch box.
“Hyung, good luck!”
With a bright voice, Hajin cheerfully left the bathroom without a second thought.
Left alone again, Sung-woo glanced down at his feet. A puddle of water, which he hadn’t noticed before, was slowly soaking into the soles of his shoes.
“…Damn it, really.”
It was a sense of defeat. A peculiar feeling of defeat that Han Sung-woo, who had always grabbed victory even before the
fight, experienced for the first time in his life.
* * *
Hajin, having passed by Sung-woo, removed the paper stuck to the bathroom door. The paper had “Restricted access except for production crew” written on it, along with the Miro Maze’s title logo.
“What an annoying guy.”
After lightly reattaching the paper to its original place on the assistant director’s room door, Hajin quickly headed back to the waiting room. A blue system window appeared in front of his eyes.
[System Alert: The system is impressed by the relentless attitude of the unyielding regressor.]
[System Alert: Scary person…. ((ノдヽ))]
“What did I do?”
All I did was apply a bit of pressure.
Did I curse him out or use violence?
He could just perform well on stage, so why blame me?
“Hyung, come quickly. The recording is about to start.”
“Hyung! Hurry up!”
Seo Taehyun and Dan Haru, who seemed to have been sent to fetch me, were calling from the end of the hallway. I also saw Joo Eunchan coming out of another bathroom after brushing his teeth.
‘At least those guys almost had their dreams crushed because of Han Sung-woo.’
Anyone can dream.
Being born with a silver spoon in a capitalist society, enjoying all the perks— I have no intention of criticizing that. If it’s their ability, it’s their ability.
‘But I don’t have to cheer for people who trample over others’ lives to nourish their dreams, do I?’
I walked briskly without a word. I half-heartedly responded to Seo Taehyun and Dan Haru’s nagging about ruining my shirt.
Han Sung-woo’s significant mistakes—two pitch errors and three lyrical slips due to extreme tension during the finale performance of Turbulence—happened a few hours later.