Save a Failed Idol’s Life

Translator: MarcTempest

Editor: NicoleTempest

Chapter 219 Too Personal (1)

On the third day in Okinawa, Kyunghwa was the main guide. We had a busy schedule from the morning because we were going to take a late-night flight to Sapporo.

As soon as the sun rose, we headed to the aquarium. It was a famous place for having the largest aquarium in Japan. I felt like I was on a field trip as I followed Kyunghwa’s calm progress.

“Wow, the souvenirs are so cute.”

“I think the stingrays are the cutest.”

“I need to buy a headband!”

Everyone was acting like they were ten years younger as they wandered around and stopped by the souvenir shop to buy some trinkets.

Most of them chose mascot dolls that fit in their palms, but Naru went straight for the headbands.

He wore a penguin headband and took selfies enthusiastically. He seemed to be getting enough healing from this trip.

“…”

And Seon-woo was watching him from a few steps behind. I approached Seon-woo and asked him.

“Do you want me to buy you one?”

“Huh?”

Seon-woo flinched and waved his hand.

“No, I’m not as small as Naru, and I’m not the youngest anymore…!”

Seon-woo hesitated and shook his head. You’re the prettiest here no matter who you bring, what are you worried about? I was incredulous and clicked my tongue as I paid for a sky-blue dolphin headband.

“Wear it. You’re the youngest of Climax. Naru is the youngest of Swift.”

It would be cute if the youngest ones wore headbands and followed each other. I fixed Seon-woo’s hair and pushed him towards Naru. Naru looked at Seon-woo and pouted.

Maybe he thought he should be the prettiest and cutest, but Seon-woo was too eye-catching… Did it bother him? He glanced at him suspiciously for a moment and then pulled Seon-woo to his side.

He took a selfie with him with a huge whale shark tank as the background.

Seon-woo willingly bent his knees to match Naru’s height, since there was a considerable difference between them.

“Yikes. What do you guys eat to grow so big?”

Naru was not that short, he was average for an adult male. But everyone around him was over 180 cm tall according to their profiles, so he looked unfairly small.

“Your height?”

Yu-geon smirked and walked past him. Eek-! Naru stomped his feet and moved away from Yu-geon, annoyed.

‘Anyway, I’m glad he’s doing well…’

I followed the members with a nervous expression and soon saw the exit.

“Next, we’re going to Okinawa Folk Village. I’ve reserved a shuttle, so please wait for a while.”

Kyunghwa looked calm, but he felt very different from usual. Was he feeling the pressure?

We went to a traditional experience center that felt like a folk village. They sold simple Okinawan snacks there.

Everyone quietly held a sugar candy pack and followed Kyunghwa’s guidance.

There was a wide sea on the edge, and the buildings and landscaping were similar to Jeju Island, but with a completely different style. It was pleasing to the eye.

“This is super sweet.”

Naru looked for the nutrition facts on the package, worried about the calories. Seon-woo quickly put the remaining candy in his mouth.

He looked at me nervously, as if he was afraid I would take away what he was eating.

No… I wouldn’t forcibly take away what he was eating, no matter what. I thought to myself and walked a few steps away from Seon-woo.

Then, at the very end of the group, I bumped into Seong-won and Cook.

“Why?”

Seong-won tilted his head and looked down at me.

“No. Seon-woo seems to be conscious of me.”

I pointed to where Seon-woo and Naru were. Naru refused to eat and Seon-woo picked it out and put it in his mouth.

“…They look happy.”

I nodded at Seong-won’s short comment. And then there was a brief awkward silence. He had improved a lot since I first saw him, but there was still some discomfort. I asked Seong-won quietly.

“Do you not like traveling like this?”

I wasn’t really curious, but. When we were divided into groups and did research, he wasn’t this dull.

“No? Why?”

Seong-won asked back, puzzled.

“You seem to lack enthusiasm.”

“Not really. It was quiet around, so I just watched the sea quietly.”

He pointed to the front. Indeed, the unreal emerald sea was shimmering.

Seong-won’s other hand was holding a mascot doll he bought at the aquarium.

Well, if he was enjoying himself in his own way, that was good. I nodded and followed Kyunghwa’s gesture to the next destination.

Soon after. Everyone who finished their schedule in Okinawa and landed at Sapporo Airport had one sentence engraved in their minds.

“It’s so freaking cold-!”

“Hey, use words that are suitable for broadcasting.”

“It’s so cold.”

“That’s not allowed either.”

“Ugh, seriously.”

As Yi-jun and Seong-won bickered, everyone quietly took out their gloves and scarves from somewhere in their bags and put them on carefully. Of course, I was no exception.

“What is… that…”

Hwijin looked at me with a somewhat nervous expression. I casually put on a roasted chestnut vendor’s hat and wrapped a mask and a scarf around my neck. And then I topped it off with a padded hat.

“I need to be well-prepared to survive.”

Since the day was not over yet, I had already decided to lead the rest of the schedule.

“We’ll take a shuttle to the ryokan, but it might be very cold, so I prepared some heat packs.”

I took out a heat pack from a separate bag and handed one to each of them. They all shook the heat packs vigorously with their red-frozen hands.

We soon arrived at the shuttle stop and got on the heated car, which was a relief… not. It was colder than I thought.

“Anyone need another heat pack?”

I had plenty of heat packs, so I thought they could use them as much as they wanted. I asked for volunteers and all seven of them raised their hands.

“…Cold.”

Kyungwha, who had been quiet throughout the day except for the progress, also muttered quietly, unable to ignore the cold.

“Y-yeah. I’ll give you one more each.”

We shook the heat packs with both hands in the car and arrived at the ryokan. They all exclaimed at the sight of the snow-covered hot spring resort, which looked like a painting.

“Wow, I’ve seen this in anime!”

“Oh… I think I’ve seen it in manga too.”

They all commented as they crossed the snow-covered garden, looking at it with curiosity. Yi-jun suddenly made a ominous remark.

“You know, in detective manga, there are always murders happening in places like this.”

“There’s no place where murders don’t happen there.”

“That’s true.”

Anyway, the friendly conversation that could be broadcasted went on and soon a staff member came out and greeted us.

Fortunately, there was a staff member who could speak Korean, so we were able to check in without any communication problems.

‘It wouldn’t have mattered if the staff didn’t speak Korean.’

Floss had already done a tour in Japan, so they all knew how to speak basic level of conversation.

There were even people who recognized three of the staff and asked for signatures and selfies.

As the staff members took pictures with the former Floss members, we had to stand by and wait.

“Woo. Let’s break into Japan soon.”

Climax had also gone abroad once, but not to Japan.

It was… Southeast Asia.

And that was only once. It was a bitter experience that we had to return to Korea quietly without any promotional effect or profitability.

“Let’s finish the regular album first. If we do well in Korea, there will be demand there too.”

The recent comeback single had achieved a meaningful result and the music video views had jumped unexpectedly.

‘Honestly, I thought it would be great if we got 3 million views.’

Three months after the release, the current view count of Drink Me’s music video was 18 million.

Of course, Floss’s music video, which was released a little earlier, had already hit 300 million views. They were all expecting that it would easily reach 500 million views next year.

‘But they broke up spectacularly at the end of the year, so what… it’s water under the bridge.’

How much would the revenue be if the YouTube views were 300 million? I was curious for a moment, but Floss was too far ahead of us. We were doing well enough… maybe 200,000 in the first week…

I shook my head as I was lost in a dream.

No. I have to see how it goes. All I can do is plan the best I can.

I waited for the Swift guys with a faint expression, and a staff member came up to us, trembling.

“Hello, can I take a picture with you, if you don’t mind? I’m a fan!”

Was this… pitying us or sincere? We all exchanged the same thought with our eyes for a moment and gladly took a picture.

After taking the picture, he showed us the record of watching Seon-woo’s fancam and proved that he was not lying.

We entered the room with the staff’s gratitude and warmed up our bodies. Soon, the kaiseki cuisine that was professionally provided by the ryokan came out.

“I’ll explain from left to right. First of all, the far left is a soy sauce stew made with local mushrooms sold by the forest association in this area. It has a deep sweetness without being salty…”

I had received the course information in advance and prepared a guide script, so I explained everything from the seasonings to the characteristics and origin of the ingredients without any hesitation. They all had the same expression.

‘Don’t you want to eat quickly?’

Anyway. These guys needed ramen or something hearty, not fancy food. I narrowed my eyes and shortened the explanation.

“Mushroom stew, wild vegetable tempura, salmon roe pickle, it’s etiquette to drink a sip of the liquor next to it before eating.”

“Okay~.”

Naru, who had just turned 20, looked at the glass of alcohol with sparkling eyes.

“Hey, by the way, is this your first time drinking officially, maknae?”

Yi-jun asked teasingly, and Yu-geon added from the side.

“Uh. But you haven’t graduated from school yet, right? You’re not supposed to drink then.”

Naru’s expression darkened in an instant.

“What are you talking about? I can drink as soon as I turn 20, right?”

“Doesn’t the Youth Protection Act or something prevent that? If you don’t graduate from school.”

It turned out later that it was something related to the harmful media for youth, but anyway, Naru had his glass taken away just in case.

“Ah, where is this give and take~!”

Despite Naru’s protest, the meal was enjoyable and full of delicious food, and fortunately, the atmosphere was not bad.

Kyunghwa also seemed to have a weight off his chest, as he drank his glass with a flushed face.

And not long after, finally. He got a chance to talk to Kyunghwa alone.