Hard Mode Idol

“If it’s the next building over, why are we going underground?”

“To avoid the sasaeng fans at the entrance.”

“Ah! That’s right, hyung.”

“Yeah?”

I told him about the female student I had encountered this morning and evening, explaining that I didn’t know how to respond to her.

“They say not to associate with sasaeng fans after debuting, but there aren’t really set rules for trainees yet. They’ll take action if any cross the line again, but the ones gathered now at least seem to respect the minimum boundaries.”

“Minimum boundaries?”

Like not throwing trash at me?

“Yeah. The ones who try to follow you inside or touch you. Apparently there was an incident before where they legally dealt with it. After that, I don’t know why they regathered, but it became a gray area for filing charges again. They just huddle in groups by the shared entrance.”

“I see.”

So the ‘boundaries’ were different from what I imagined. I recalled her just waving at me from outside the glass doors, despite being able to follow me in. That was respecting the boundaries.

“Anyway, it’s best to avoid associating with sasaeng fans as much as possible. If you engage in conversation, they might remember you. Then if you accidentally act familiar, even just once, they could perceive it as you being close with that fan. Nothing good can come of it.”

“I understand.”

Now I know how to respond. This guy is quite helpful.

“Originally you were supposed to share the dorms with us, but you ended up just having a distressing experience for no reason. Haon, there are so many things I feel sorry about towards you.”

“It wasn’t that distressing.”

“You’re doing it again……”

Doing what again? Park Yoochan’s brow furrowed. He had a rather pained expression, as if deep in thought. With a wistful smile, he spoke.

“Pretending you’re okay? Both me and Seoho hurt you, didn’t we.”

I’m not pretending, I really am okay. Kids as immature as Gomchi often lack patience. If I had ignored him for a few days, he would have just come and gone to sleep, leaving me alone. This world is certainly being quite generous to me.

“You need to have expectations in order to feel distress or disappointment. If there were none to begin with, there’s nothing to be hurt by.”

Park Yoochan closed his mouth. Did I speak too seriously? I curved my lips and eyes into an exaggerated smile, then nudged him playfully with my elbow.

“Why are you being so serious? Oh, no, that’s just how those dorm guys are.”

I almost said Gomchi’s name. I covered that up quickly, so he probably didn’t notice, right?

“To you, I must have been just another person too.”

“Of course. What kind of special relationship could there have been from the very start? Everything changes gradually.”

“But you’re already a special person to me.”

“To you, hyung?”

“Yes. You’re our maknae, after all.”

Is this the majesty of the ‘Likes’ fondness level? It seems he really is the type to warm up to people easily. If I categorized Park Yoochan’s interpersonal relationships by fondness levels, most would probably be ‘Likes’ and ‘Strongly Likes’.

“Then I’ll say you’re a special person to me too, hyung.”

“Just like that, so easily?”

“How heavily do you weigh things, hyung?”

Park Yoochan laughed out loud. He said he’ll work hard to earn my trust. But he doesn’t need to work hard. Just by regarding me warmly like this is enough. This is what I wanted – a friend.

When we entered the debut team dorms, Seoho was sitting on the living room sofa. As soon as our eyes met, he sprang up, his mouth opening and closing. It seemed he had something he desperately wanted to blurt out, but was struggling to swallow it down, looking agonized.

“……Why. Why did you bring him? Yoochan hyung, I told you I’m not ready yet!”

The words he had been holding back burst forth, igniting a fiery outburst in an instant. Despite his efforts not to hate me, it appears he had been engaged in an intense struggle with himself. But the Cult Leader prevailed.

“I don’t understand why Seoho doesn’t believe me. I explained the same thing to Jinsu earlier.”

It’s because he’s a dim-witted fanatic. Does that mean Gomchi’s head is better than his? Gomchi……. was unexpectedly smarter, it seems.

“He probably doesn’t want to believe it, meaning he cared that much.”

“Yoochan hyung!”

“Seoho, I told you to stop taking it out on Haon, didn’t I? Haon, come over here.”

“Where are you trying to take him? To your room? That was Jaehyuk hyung’s room! I still object!”

Seoho protested vehemently, his voice rising sharply.

“We all ended up living together thanks to Jaehyuk hyung, right? The hyung persuaded the director that the debut team needs to be close-knit, so he gathered us all in one dorm! But now you’re letting the guy who chased Jaehyuk hyung away use his bed? That makes no sense! I can’t agree to that!”

When Seoho tried to grab my arm out of his unbroken habit, Park Yoochan firmly stepped between us, his face stern.

“I carefully explained that Haon misunderstood, but why do you keep acting like this? And do you know why Jaehyuk isn’t answering our calls? It means he’s cut ties with us too, he’s not coming back.”

“……Hyung is just angry at the company right now! Of course he’d be upset after being unfairly fired! But if we give his spot to someone else, hyung will be hurt when he comes back…… We’re supposed to wait for hyung……”

His loud voice gradually trailed off into a choked whisper. So that was the issue. He’s still a fanatic waiting for the Cult Leader’s resurrection. I could see just how frightening a false cult leader can be – this blind, unshakable devotion impervious to reason and common sense.

They say once you fall into a cult like that, you can never escape. Park Yoochan suddenly seemed admirable. He had fallen deep but managed to crawl out by his own strength. What about Gomchi then? No, that might be overstepping for me.

For Gomchi, was Park Yoochan more like a proxy leader? That’s why he kept meekly obeying – understanding the proxy leader’s words held more credibility. Since the two of them were originally close friends.

In contrast, for Seoho, all the members were equal, with Joon Jaehyuk alone towering as the sole Cult Leader. That’s why Park Yoochan’s persuasion doesn’t work on him. There’s no solution here. What a headache.

For now, I’ll just do as he asks of me. If I convey that I have no intention of attacking his Cult Leader, he might shift to neutral.

“Then I’ll just sleep in the living room. I can’t return to my original dorm anyway.”

It was something I got permission for from the director. If I go back there, wouldn’t it be rebelling against the notion of ‘I don’t want to live with the members’? It would be advocating for our poor relations. I need to show that I’m making an effort, so I absolutely can’t do that.

“No way. You need to sleep comfortably.”

“This sofa looks fine though.”

“Then just go back to the dorm you used before!”

“He can’t do that.”

Park Yoochan responded firmly. Seoho, feeling betrayed by his hyung, let out strange grunting sounds like “Ugh, ugh!”

“I saw Kim Jinsu manhandling Haon, how can I send him back there?”

Seoho’s mouth fell open wide. He froze like he had been electrocuted, then seemed quite startled as he haltingly continued speaking, his large eyes rapidly blinking.

“……W-Wait a minute. What? What did you say?”

Park Yoochan explained to Seoho what he had witnessed – Jinsu throwing me down and straddling me to hit me. Processing it slowly, the puppy stared blankly before jolting back to his senses.

“Jinsu hyung did what? Is he crazy? Or why would he do that to a lightweight like you? Hey! Are you hurt anywhere? Let me check.”

Why is he reacting like this? Park Yoochan and I exchanged bewildered looks at Seoho. Not noticing our stares, Seoho fumbled as he patted down my arms, waist, and elsewhere.

“Are you hurt? Are you hurt anywhere? Did you get bruised? Why didn’t you say anything? Is your mouth injured?”

“……No, it’s just your behavior that’s baffling.”

“What did I do!”

“You’re worried about me right now.”

“Of course I’m worried! Jinsu hyung is huge! Someone like you would be a single mouthful for him.”

He’s not understanding. Park Yoochan let out a stifled “Pfft” of laughter. It seems Seoho didn’t hear that sound. As the considerate one, I should explain.

“You dislike me the most here, so it’s funny that you’re worried about me.”

“I do dislike you, but that’s separate from this! Especially against a scrawny kid……”

“I’m not scrawny. My stamina is just a bit different.”

“That’s what being scrawny means! Hey, if anyone tries to do anything to you again, call me!”

Seoho, who had been rapidly spewing words, suddenly closed his mouth. Then he cleared his throat with exaggerated “Ahem, ahem, ahem” sounds before speaking.

“B-But I still dislike you, so don’t misunderstand?”

I wonder why he’s acting like this.

“I won’t misunderstand, and I’ll handle it myself, so don’t worry about it.”

No matter how many times I say it, it’s not a health issue but rather a status abnormality. Since there’s no way for me to explain it, the misunderstanding can’t be cleared up either. Seoho snorted derisively before shooting a look at Park Yoochan.

“Yoochan hyung. You’ll tell the director, right?”

“Yeah. Of course I’ll tell him.”

“Tell him right away tomorrow. So he doesn’t do it again.”

“Yeah. I will.”

I interjected between the two of them.

“By the way, Seoho.”

“What.”

“How long are you going to keep fumbling around?”

“Take off your clothes. I can’t tell by just touching, I need to see properly.”

“……Are you insane?”

What a creepy guy. With my face scrunched in clear discomfort, I openly expressed my disgust. Yet this rabid puppy kept trying to lift my clothes to check for injuries. We’re not that close, are we?

“I need to see where you got hurt!”

“I’m not hurt anywhere. Back off. It’s gross.”

“You think I want to? I find it gross too!”

“Then back off!”

Unable to take it anymore, I ended up raising my voice. Suddenly, Seoho’s eyes lit up, his face brimming with glee as if he had found my weakness. Oh, what now? This guy is really tiring me out.

But strangely, my stamina drain rate didn’t change at all. It was similar to when I’m at home. Am I the pervert? Why is it so stable? Doesn’t it reflect my psychological state? This stamina system really makes no sense sometimes.

“You’re weak against this kind of thing? Does it tickle?”

With a sly grin, Seoho finally began wiggling all ten of his fingers erratically. This guy has really lost it!

“Hey, hah, stop, it tickles! Ahaha!”

I have no immunity against this kind of thing. Help me, Park Yoochan! If you help me, I’ll acknowledge you as my hyung! As I reached my hand out towards Park Yoochan, a saving hand was extended.

“You must have been very startled because of Jinsu, so stop playing around now.”

“Huh? You’re right. Hey, are you okay? Sorry about that. You looked perfectly fine, so I felt relieved.”

The lingering effects of the tickle attack still made my body tremble uncontrollably. Seoho, you’re like a cultist to be wary of.

“It’s not okay!”