ALL NOVEL Chapter 71
Chapter 71. Guess Who? (2)
Team Leader Ji Suho, known as the guardian of Miro, entered a restaurant in Seoul.
“Welcome. Do you have a reservation?”
“Yes, it’s under Ji Suho.”
“Please follow me to your table.”
This restaurant was known for its clean food, but what was even better was that all the tables were private rooms, making it a frequent choice for important meetings.
Although today’s meeting wasn’t strictly business, the nature of the conversation that was to be had required more confidentiality than any regular meeting, so this place was chosen for the appointment.
“I guess I’m a bit early.”
Checking the time, there were about 30 minutes left until the scheduled time.
Unable to waste even those few spare moments, he took out the tablet he had stored in his bag. It was to monitor the response and viewer voting rates for the performance video of
When he accessed iTube, the performance video of
Worried that the sound might be too loud, Ji Suho quickly paused the video and checked the views and comments.
**MIRO MAZE (미로 메이즈) ∥ Daylight(日光) (Prod. Seo Taeil) – Team A Performance Video**
**Views:** 498,125
**Comments:** 2,965 (sorted by popularity)
—
– *I’m writing this for Seo Taehyun’s timeline*
*0:03* *That hair flip is heavenly*
*0:21* *A sad Taehyun*
*0:54* *The falsetto is insane ㅠㅠㅠ*
…View more
– *Seo Taeil really knows how to make a song*
– *♥Let’s debut Jeong Siwoo, the statue who sings and came in second place in GAEON University’s music department♥*
– *Damn, now I’m going to risk my life for another man’s life*
– *Taehyun, you’re so admirable*
– *Eunchan-ah, it’s your noona. You don’t know me, but from this moment when I first saw you, I’ve decided to use my bank account and the rest of my life to support your debut*
…View more
Considering this level of achievement in just one day, it was remarkable.
Even the promotion team had sent him screenshots, saying that posts related to it were flooding various social media platforms and communities.
—
**HOT! ║ [Just Released: Performance Video of Miro’s Next Boy Group Survival]**
**Team A** https://itu.be/eHdmsrj
**Team B** https://itu.be/tjDMghkdwl
+ All lyrics, composition, and arrangement by Utopia’s Seo Taeil
+ First broadcast on 5/3 at 9 PM
+ Voting has started >> Voting link
—
– *? The view count trend is crazy*
– *Team A’s visual troika is killing itㄷㄷ*
– *Who are you picking? Team A VS Team B*
└ *I’m for Team A… the visuals and skills are on another level*
└ *2*
└ *333*
└ *Hmm, I think Team B is better!*
└ *22, Team B seems more polished*
– *Is Seo Taehyun not aging?? Or is he just not aging?????*
└ *Shut up, I’ve aged enough for both of us*
└ *Stop aging, you’re going to get sick*
– *Guys, please tell me who’s the first to sing in Team B’s introㅠㅠ? Consider it as saving a life and let me know*
└ *Kang Hajin, 182cm, vocalist + Team B leader (yes, the guy in the black hoodie)*
└ *Wait, that cat?*
└ *What did they do to their profile picture?*
└ *Insane, he’s the main vocal but also the dance center???*
└ *He’s not the main vocal… The main vocal is someone named Gong Seok?*
– *Are Seo Taeil and Seo Taehyun related?*
└ *There’s been talk about it since Boy’s World, but nothing’s been confirmed*
└ *No, they mentioned it in an interview recently; they’re distant relatives*
└ *Really? ㅋㅋㅋㅋ*
└ *But they’re so distantly related that they’re practically strangers… Also, Seo Taehyun is higher in rank, so it’s said that they’ve become awkward and barely greet each other anymoreㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ*
└ *LOLㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ*
└ *OMGㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ*
– *Has Seo Taeil decided to just stick to producing now… Is he not going to be active in Utopia anymore? Well, producing would definitely make more money than old Utopia…*
└ *Actually, they just announced a 12th-anniversary concert last week~?*
└ *Clueless fool, go back to wherever you came from and stop ruining other people’s celebrations*
‘The first teaser… was it this Wednesday?’
As he recalled the broadcast schedule, which was now only about three weeks away, Ji Suho jotted down feedback to relay to the promotion team in his tablet notes.
It was clear that the buzz had spread, as he was receiving calls from reporters and industry contacts in real-time.
No matter how relentless this industry was with its lack of weekends or holidays, at times like these, it felt particularly unforgiving.
“I’ll check the urgent calls later and call back…”
Fortunately, he had passed on Enderway, which he had been managing before Miro Maze started, to a junior colleague. Otherwise, it would have been even worse.
If Hajin hadn’t brought the survival show proposal to Director Son Hyeong-gu and gotten him fired, Suho would still be working solely as Enderway’s dedicated manager.
Looking back, so much had changed in just three months since he met Hajin.
‘Sometimes it feels like a bit of a waste. He would have been quite capable if he had worked as an entertainment employee.’
One thing he had learned over those three months was that Hajin loved “work” far more than he realized.
There was something about him; his eyes sparkled when he was working. He was full of life and energy, which was apparent even to those around him.
‘It really seems like he enjoys this work.’
Otherwise, he wouldn’t be practicing all night every day and still checking on the condition of the other trainees.
Suho recalled the evaluations from staff who had monitored Hajin’s team during the two missions.
– *Wherever Hajin is, it’s really noisy.*
– *Other teams are more competitive, and even among the ones who are close, there’s a certain tension, but… with Hajin, that’s not the case.*
– *He makes sure no one feels left out. He talks to those who don’t speak up, eats with those who eat alone, and helps those who struggle with practice.*
– *He’s incredibly sociable! He even memorized all the camera crew members’ names? You can tell he’s lived in a community for a long time.*
Among the staff, there was already quiet talk that Hajin might be the leader of the next debut group.
– *Hajin really doesn’t seem like he’s only twenty.*
Of course not.
He wasn’t just any ordinary twenty-year-old.
‘He said… he came back from the future.’
As trust grew between Hajin and Suho, Suho naturally came to learn another of Hajin’s secrets.
Hajin would occasionally talk to Suho about his “past life.” Hajin referred to it as some kind of regression, but Suho still didn’t fully understand everything.
‘If I didn’t have these abilities, I wouldn’t have believed him in the first place.’
Suho checked the time, which showed about ten minutes remaining until the appointment, and took a sip of water.
“Kang Hajin…”
Suho was curious about Hajin. It was an instinct as a manager.
Why hadn’t he debuted in the past?
Why did he deny that he loved this work?
Why couldn’t he trust himself?
What had happened in his past?
Did those events in his past affect who he was now?
“……”
On the tablet screen, which was back to iTube, next to the Team A performance video, a recommended video for Team B’s performance automatically appeared.
Without thinking, Suho clicked on the video.
The thumbnail showed Hajin, smiling as if he could captivate anyone, waving at the camera.
“…He’s so good.”
Kang Hajin—why did he seem to stand a step back from all of this?
Various questions cluttered Suho’s mind.
Creak—
Then, the door opened.
“Hello, Team Leader.”
“…Ah, yes. Please, have a seat, Hajin.”
Who are you, really?
Swallowing that curiosity, Suho responded to Hajin’s greeting.
—
‘Damn Seoul Republic.’
Hajin, who had left his home without even having breakfast for his lunch appointment, currently felt a deep resentment toward the infrastructure of this country, which revolved entirely around Seoul.
It was a typical gripe of a resident of the metropolitan area, where it took at least an hour to get to Seoul, two if it was further away, and a round trip could take five hours. There was no need to dwell on it.
But it was hard to ignore Hajin’s visibly tired
expression, so Suho asked in an awkward voice.
“Was it difficult getting here? Maybe I should have come closer to your place instead.”
“Oh, no. I had things to do in Seoul, and an hour and a half isn’t that far.”
“…That’s not far?”
“That’s just how Gyeonggi-do is. You can get anywhere in two hours. The problem is, it takes two hours to go anywhere.”
For Suho, who had lived in Seoul for generations, this was an incomprehensible sense of time.
Rather than awkwardly trying to console him, Suho chose to just fill the hungry Kang Hajin’s stomach as quickly as possible. When he pressed the bell, the server soon reopened the door.
“Please prepare two A-course meals for us.”
“Yes, two A-course meals coming right up.”
While Suho ordered the meal with practiced ease, Hajin drank the cold water that had been poured for him.
The restaurant, which Suho had reserved, certainly seemed to be private of the private. Given what they were going to talk about today, it was necessary to be as cautious as possible about security.
“But Team Leader, how long are you going to keep being formal with me? You used informal language last time.”
“Oh, did I? I must have done it unconsciously, haha.”
“You need to start talking comfortably now, or else there will be trouble if you do that in front of the kids. I’m actually much younger than you.”
At that, Suho’s expression became uncertain. It seemed like the perfect time to ask about Hajin’s past, which he had been curious about.
“…Since we’re on the topic, about that, you said you came back from the past?”
At Suho’s question, Hajin put down his cup and looked up. Suho continued, unable to shake off the nervous feeling.
“So, exactly how old are you? From that previous life… I mean, it sounded like you were definitely an adult.”
“……”
“No, it’s just… Since we’re now in the same boat, I need to know you well so I can support you properly…”
He hadn’t done anything wrong, but his words somehow kept rambling on.
Hajin silently stared at Suho for a long while. The longer he stared, the more Suho felt like he was sweating.
Hajin continued to watch Suho for a while longer, and just when Suho had no more words left and started to feel awkward, Hajin finally spoke slowly.
“Did you believe that?”
“What?”
“Did you really believe that? The story about me coming back from the future.”
Yes. I did believe it.
Caught off guard by Hajin’s unexpected words, Suho blinked dumbfoundedly.