Save a Failed Idol’s Life

Translator: MarcTempest

Editor: NicoleTempest

Chapter 222 It’s Not Meddling

“Why are you doing that?”

It was only natural that his feet flailed in the air, unable to touch the ground.

“It’s part of my role as the head of the agency to look after the well-being of our artists, right?”

“Since when were you the head?”

“I haven’t been for long, but I am the head now. I need your help for a lot of things in the future. You have some problems, and I can’t afford to lose your help because of them.”

I smiled smugly at Kyunghwa, crossing my arms.

“And I have the means to solve your problems. Don’t worry, I don’t do anything that would make me lose. Just think of it as me putting you in debt so you can’t run away.”

Then Kyunghwa started to spill out everything that had been bothering him, sobbing.

“What am I? I’m not popular, I’m not good at fan service. I can’t compose or write lyrics or do anything. My face is mediocre, my vocals are mediocre, I have nothing to show for myself. Why? Do you pity me?”

He seemed to be trying to make me angry, but he couldn’t hurt me at all.

I knew he had an inferiority complex all along.

“No. I need you.”

Kyunghwa snorted.

“I’m sure you’ll do fine without me. What do you need me for?”

No, I won’t. I shook my head firmly.

“You know I don’t talk nonsense or do anything that would make me lose.”

“You don’t lose my ass. You’re like a volunteer for the whole neighborhood, meddling in everything.”

Is that what you think of me? I frowned reflexively.

“You were born with a silver spoon in your mouth and you think you can do anything. You’re so annoying, just get lost.”

“…”

I looked at Kyunghwa’s face for a moment. He looked relieved after letting it all out, but also afraid of the consequences.

‘I didn’t expect him to think that much.’

I was a bit surprised, but not shocked enough to say how could you think that!

I was prepared to get slapped at least three times anyway.

Kang Yu-geon and Shim Naru, they all thought that Cheon Ise had everything easy because he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth.

‘It’s not like he would have tried to kill himself with sleeping pills if that was the case,’

Before he died, Cheon Ise was under the pressure of the chairman, who told him not to accept any help from his only supporter, Vice Chairman Ahn.

You can’t do anything no matter what. Even with all that push, you still failed. You’re not just untalented, you’re hopeless.

His older brothers were even worse.

You’re a disgrace to the family. How did someone like you get born in the Cheon Group? I can’t believe we share the same blood.

He had to endure ridicule and mockery until he made the extreme choice.

He had his own struggles that no one else knew.

I had to tell him some of it at this point.

“Do you think I had an easy life?”

I looked him in the eye, but he avoided my gaze.

“Look at me and tell me. Do you think I lived easily?”

He hesitated for a while, then opened his mouth.

“Did you forget that you’re a chaebol’s son, acting all high and mighty?”

“…”

Ah… well, that’s true. I rubbed my forehead as I answered, thinking of the karma that the real Cheon Ise had left behind in the past.

“I tried to kill myself in May.”

“What?”

Even Yi-jun, who was holding Kyunghwa, looked at me in shock, as if he had never expected that.

“You said it yourself, I tried to act like a noble and did everything I could, but nothing worked out. I injured my back, and at home they treated me like a pathetic trash and told me to get lost. I just didn’t want to do anything anymore.”

“…”

Kyunghwa lowered his head again and looked at the floor.

“My sister and brother are doing well as businessmen. You don’t know how it feels to be treated like a parasite who can’t do anything right. Just like I don’t know how you lived in your family and what you felt.”

I didn’t want to compare who was more miserable or not. Of course, crying in a Benz was better than crying on a bike in the rain, as if it would collapse with one hit.

“My life wasn’t as easy as you think. But still, it’s better to be annoyed in a comfortable house than to have nothing to complain about.”

I scratched my cheek as the atmosphere became awkward and added.

“That’s why I need you. I’m not a failure either. I want to show you that I can succeed. I want to prove it by making Climax a source of income as soon as possible. What more do you need me to say that I need you for that?”

Kyunghwa was silent for a moment and then asked again.

“What can I do?”

I snorted lightly and retorted.

“You don’t seem to know how important you are. Without you, Climax would have disbanded in two years, right?”

I meant that he was good at taking the leader role and coordinating the members, but Yi-jun suddenly added his own reason.

“Oh, right. I would have left the agency sooner if it wasn’t for Kyunghwa hyung.”

“What?”

“What did you say?”

Both Kyunghwa and I were startled by Yi-jun’s sudden confession.

“Hey, is this the time for a heart-to-heart talk?”

How could he say that without blinking? I asked Kyunghwa nervously.

“See? He said he would have left if you weren’t here.”

“What the hell…”

Kyunghwa, who seemed surprised himself, shot an arrow at Yi-jun.

“Why did you?”

“Why? Because I thought you wouldn’t leave until Climax went bankrupt.”

“What does that have to do with me being in Climax and you?”

“Don’t you remember what you said when I joined as a trainee?”

“What?”

Kyunghwa looked confused and tried to recall, but it didn’t seem to come to his mind.

“I don’t know, what did I say?”

Then Yi-jun turned his head with a pouty expression.

“Ah, unbelievable. You forgot? How could you forget that?”

What’s with this mood? I narrowed my eyes and glared at the two of them alternately.

Suddenly, I thought, this is the time to take him to the hotel.

“Can’t you guys fight inside if you’re going to fight?”

I didn’t care much about the people who glanced at me and walked away, but it was so cold that my ears were about to fall off, probably because the sun had set too long ago.

“Achoo!”

Soon after, Yi-jun sneezed as if to show off, and I pushed them both into the back seat of the rental car as if I was dragging them.

“If you two are going to fight, fight it all in the back seat. We’ll wash up and go to bed as soon as we get to the hotel.”

I was in a mess after running around and jumping all night looking for someone.

“What are you fighting about?”

“I never said it was okay for you to forget what you said.”

“What nonsense. You want to fight over that now?”

I ignored their voices as if I had noise-cancelling on and headed to the hotel.

As soon as I handed over the valet parking to the staff and went up to the room, my body relaxed with the warmth that poured out of the heater.

“Stop fighting now. I’m going to sleep.”

I ran to the bathroom first, melted my body, and went straight to the bed.

As I closed my eyes, I kept hearing them grumbling. To sum it up, Kyunghwa was digging a hole endlessly.

‘I wish I could shut him up.’

I thought for a moment and came up with a good idea. I picked up my phone and fiddled with it for a while, making some evidence to show Kyunghwa.

‘Done.’

Well, it’s not like I never thought about this direction before.

I called Kyunghwa right away.

“Huh? Hey, wait a minute. You got an audition offer?”

When I asked him, pointing at Kyunghwa, he looked at me with wide eyes and pointed at Yi-jun.

“Him?”

I shook my head as if he was talking nonsense.

“No. Not Yi-jun, you.”

“Me? What, what is it?”

Kyunghwa looked at me incredulously.

“It’s a web drama lead role. It’s based on a webtoon.”

“No, no way.”

“It’s not a lie. Why would I lie about this?”

When I showed him the email screen, his eyes widened and he read the text down.

“It’s true….”

“See, you’re not talentless, so stop talking nonsense and go to sleep. It’s a good thing you don’t have a schedule tomorrow.”

Then Yi-jun groaned.

“Ah~. I have a lot to do tomorrow. Poor brother, suffering because of his forgetful brother.”

“Ah, really.”

Yi-jun still didn’t seem to tell him what Kyunghwa had forgotten.

Well… maybe he’ll tell him someday. That was their problem.

Kyunghwa finally hit Yi-jun’s back as if to tell him to stop and the situation was settled.

He made an excuse that he would go and see the vending machine in the hotel for a while and slipped out as soon as Kyunghwa went to wash up. He immediately called Mr. Woo, the head of the planning department.

“Yes, Mr. Woo. I’m really sorry for the late hour. This is something you need to check first when you come to work tomorrow. Could you please check out one audition for the web drama lead role? Oh, no, not me. Kyunghwa is going to star in it. Yes, please take good care of it….”

It was only natural to prepare for the aftermath after opening his mouth.

I breathed a sigh of relief after barely finishing the call, but then I felt someone behind me.

Oh no, did he hear me? I turned around in shock and saw Yi-jun.

“You’re such a fox, hyung. You always act so innocent.”

“Stop talking nonsense.”

I quickly passed by Yi-jun and went back to my room. I felt exhausted and closed my eyes, thinking that at least I had wrapped things up well.

The next morning, I returned home by plane. I was able to get to my place without much trouble, since I had split up with the other Floss members beforehand.

Because of the short Y-app video I had done, the news of our group leaving Japan had leaked, and some fans who somehow found out were waiting for us at the entrance.

The Swift trio looked oddly calm in response, and both Seong-won and Seon-woo seemed a bit surprised.

‘But, we had our fans too!’

Seon-woo smiled brightly and told us what happened, as he saw a slogan with his name on it.

It was a moment when I felt the gap between Floss and us, but we were just starting to rise again.

‘All that’s left is…’

To work our bodies to the bone.

The concept for our eight-member unit single was decided first.

High-teen Property. The concept photoshoot that would be pre-released next month was about high school students who worked hard at part-time jobs to confess their feelings on Prom night.

‘We don’t have a single high schooler among us.’

Yi-jun made a cold remark, but I ignored him.

‘Be quiet.’

We had to choose a concept that was stable and appealing to the public, but the options were limited.

‘We’re not doing that ‘whatever-X’ concept this time.’

We needed a concept and a visual that would captivate the audience and turn them into fans, for our upcoming climax full album promotion.

‘Then, the best thing is to be high-teens who are both exciting and cool.’

Boys who fell in love for the first time or had their first crush in school… That wouldn’t be too bad either.

‘…’

I looked away, trying not to think negatively about Hwijin.

We couldn’t be completely fresh with a thirty-year-old among us. We had to plan it so that Hwijin could show his own adult sexiness between the boyish vibes.

After the concept was set, we moved on to the music production.

“Hmm~. Nothing really stands out.”

Yi-jun spun his chair around in the still-unheated studio, looking troubled. It was the first obstacle of the single project.