Save a Failed Idol’s Life

Translator: MarcTempest

Editor: NicoleTempest

Chapter 225 Are We Friends?

‘Were we that close?’

I wasn’t sure if I was friends with Yu-geon. Of course, we had improved a lot since our first encounter, which was like a bad karma.

It was the same with Hwijin and Naru. Naru still seemed to resent me inside. Hwijin seemed to rely on me completely, but…

I didn’t have the confidence to say we were friends.

But if I compared it to the time when I joined Mydol, I could say we were fairly close. I scrolled down and checked the recent reactions.

We hadn’t revealed the concept poster yet, and there were a lot of responses after we posted an article on our official account that we were planning to do an eight-member unit activity.

I had received some data from them, but this was the first time I looked at the reactions of the fans I subscribed to.

[- I was surprised to see that this was what they were preparing when they said they had something ready at the last Yapp, but I like it, no, I love it, I’m so excited ㅜㅜㅜ]

[ㄴ I think Jjunie is producing it, I’m already looking forward to it, I want to hit my head and faint and wake up on the day of the release]

[ㄴ Can’t we exchange deals with each otherㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ I wish they would release one official material soon ㅠㅠㅠㅠ]

[- Three people were added at the climax, and the average age was lowered by Naru and raised by Hwijin, resulting in a strange situation where it stayed the same]

[ㄴ Wow, did the three people who went to the composition join the climax???]

[ㄴ No, no, look at the article!!! They’re doing it as a unit!]

[- Not bad, but I’m not sure yet. But I trust Seberji’s eye, so I think it’ll be okay]

[ㄴ I trust Seberji22222 Jjunie seems to be starting self-producing in earnest, so I’m more excited than worriedㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

[- Ah… ㅅㅉ I’m worried that they’ll fight for the center here too]

[ㄴ Me too, I’m a bit anxiousㅠㅠㅠ There are the eldest brothers, and I can only hope that Hwizion will cut them off in the middleㅠㅠㅠㅠ]

[ㄴ But to be honest, even if they fight, Seongwoonie wouldn’t know, he’s the type who just does his bestㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

[ㄴ Sometimes his coolness was sad, but sometimes it’s goodㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

There were some uneasy looks, but as I heard, the majority of the opinions were hopeful.

Anyway, we avoided the part that the fans were most worried about, and the collaboration itself had a lot of positive views, so all that was left was to show them a good result.

‘Then I’ll just check the opinions this much…’

As I was about to wake them up, I saw a post that annoyed me.

[- When Mangdol was the top of the first group, they made a fuss not to compete with them, but now that Zzuge became Mangdol, they sat down and competed with them.]

I checked the account, and it was definitely a public account when I followed it, but now it was locked.

This meant… what I saw now was only what they could say on a public account, and they filtered out the rest.

The actual opinions under the water could be different.

‘Hmm…’

I was a bit uncomfortable, but it wasn’t an unexpected reaction. Just in case, I checked the Entertainment Talk Talk, and the top had relatively good opinions, but the pros and cons comments and the latest comments had a lot of content that I read as aggro rather than worry.

‘Well… there can’t be only good words. I shouldn’t care too much.’

But as I read down, the posts that were closer to malicious criticism than appropriate criticism became more noticeable.

Some of them even twisted and bashed Naru, who had just become an adult.

I searched on YouTube and saw that cyber leeches had already started making videos with titles like ‘Guessing the Concept of HemeCo’s Activities’ or ‘The Shocking Moves of the Key Members after Floss’s Disbandment’.

The die was cast and it was out of my hands, unless there was something worth suing over.

‘So instead of suffering from the negative comments, I’ll just add some cheese cubes to my salad.’

I took out a chunk of fresh mozzarella from the fridge, diced it into cubes, and sneaked it into my salad.

It was a small indulgence to relieve some stress.

“Hmm.”

I was startled when Seon-woo came out of his room, rubbing his eyes, but luckily I was able to hide my crime.

“Are you up?”

“Yeah, I’ll go wash up and come out soon.”

When everyone got up at the time they had set their alarms and gathered around the table, I felt more at ease.

“Let’s eat quickly and get going.”

“Okay!”

We munched on our salads like herbivorous animals and started another day.

“Perfect, you look great right now. Keep that expression and just lift your chin a bit.”

It wasn’t like we had to shoot a music video, but why did it take so long?

The poster shoot was no easy task.

There were more delays than I expected, so the waiting time was long.

“Ugh.”

I yawned without realizing it and leaned against the wall with my arms crossed, watching Seon-woo who was being filmed. Then Yu-geon came over to me.

“If you have some time, you can either turn on the Y app or shoot some behind-the-scenes.”

He was a veteran of the first group, so he knew how to make use of the waiting time.

“Can I use the Y app now?”

Isn’t it a spoiler since HemeCo is over? I asked him curiously and he answered cheerfully.

“There are various ways, like changing your clothes or covering yourself with a hat. Usually, people take some selfies for their photo cards at this time.”

We decided to shoot some behind-the-scenes and took out a selfie stick.

The concept of the behind-the-scenes video that we planned to upload on our YouTube channel was a VJ interview. I held the camera and went to the set that was decorated like a bookstore, where Kyunghwa and Yi-jun were chatting.

“Hello, what are you doing?”

I shoved the microphone that I had prepared for the shoot, which looked like the ones that the variety show VJs use to interview people. Yi-jun, who caught on to the concept, joked.

“Wow, this bookstore is so nice and the owner is a gourmet. The books that he brings in every season are so fresh.”

“What are you talking about?”

Kyunghwa kicked Yi-jun’s knee and hit the spot that triggered his reflex. Yi-jun collapsed to the floor with a thud.

“Ouch.”

From a distance, it looked like a scene from Dumb and Dumber, but it wasn’t bad to watch.

I also went around and filmed the other members who were waiting and then it was my turn.

“Ise, please stand in front of the set.”

I went behind the counter of the makeshift cafe stand and struck the pose that we had discussed beforehand. Yi-jun and Yu-geon teased me from the set.

“Please add two decaf shots to a warm iced americano and put half of the java chips on top and blend the other half. No whipped cream, please.”

“I’ll have an espresso in the smallest size with soy milk. Please put some whipped cream on top and make it zero sugar. And I’d like some warm water as a service. Four cups, please.”

I smiled naturally at the camera and replied.

“Both of you, get lost.”

“Wow, the service here is terrible.”

“Let’s file a complaint, a complaint. Hurry up and call the boss~.”

I didn’t lose my bright smile and shot back.

“I’m the boss, so both of you get out of my store.”

“The boss is a killer, a killer.”

“Who would live without a store?”

They were so in sync that I wondered if they were brothers. They were annoying as hell.

After finishing the shoot and selecting the final cuts and the B cuts that we would reveal later, I felt drained.

“I’m exhausted from shooting and dealing with jerks.”

While the manager was away to prepare the vehicles for us to go back to our lodgings, the eight of us gathered for a rare moment.

Hwijin smiled brightly and said.

“But it was fun. It’s been a long time since we had such a playful atmosphere for a poster shoot.”

I had a rough idea from the Bobbyam shoot, but during Floss’s activities, it seemed like they only joked around with their own close lines, and the rest of the outsiders were completely isolated.

“Was everyone quiet during Floss’s shoot?”

I asked politely and Naru answered with his arms crossed.

“Hwijin hyung and Yu-geon hyung were kind of? Distant with the other members. They had a superficial vibe.”

He spoke as if it wasn’t his fault. As I looked down at Naru with a blank stare, Hwijin quickly added as if to make an excuse.

“Naru was friendly with the other members too. They must have had a lot of fun together. I’m just not very good at socializing, you know…”

I hadn’t been to the scene, but I had a pretty good idea of what it was like.

“Then you should get used to this atmosphere. We like it when we’re all lively together.”

Seon-woo nodded from the side.

“I’ll try my best!”

I didn’t know what he meant by trying, but he was cute anyway. The car arrived in a warm mood, and we split into Climax and Swift to go home. I felt a bit empty.

“It’s quiet now that three people are gone.”

The five of us gathered at home and wondered what to eat for dinner. I wondered how the other three were doing with their meals.

They all made a fortune with Floss, so they wouldn’t starve to death even if they lived on it…

I remembered the state of the apartment when I went to recruit Naru and spent half a day with Yu-geon.

‘Are they eating delivery food or something?’

At least Naru was still living at his parents’ house, so they would take care of him. Yu-geon was the biggest problem.

Hwijin seemed to be able to handle himself. Feeling a bit anxious, I called him when we were almost at the dorm. Yu-geon answered the phone casually.

“What’s up? I’m still on my way home.”

I started to worry that I sounded too nagging. He was a third-year, and he could take care of himself. Was I being too nosy? It was too late to think about it, and I blurted out a stupid question.

“What are you going to eat when you get home?”

“What? Do you want me to recommend a menu?”

“Just tell me what you’re going to eat.”

Then Hwijin, who was still with him, answered with a laugh.

“We ordered a salad for delivery. Don’t worry.”

He was a leader with experience, and he sensed what I was worried about.

“Oh, thank you. I’m not saying you shouldn’t eat delivery food, but just in case. I’m relieved that Hwijin is watching over you.”

“I don’t always eat with him, but he manages well, so don’t worry too much.”

“Okay, thank you.”

“Wow, did you really call me because you thought I was going to eat something weird?”

Yu-geon said something else after that, but it didn’t seem very important, so I ended the call soon.

“Are you going to take care of them now?”

As soon as the call was over, Kyunghwa asked me with a light laugh.

“Well… They’re artists from my label, after all.”

“Good luck. I’ll cheer for you.”

Kyunghwa spoke as if it was someone else’s trouble, and I laughed too.

“Why are you laughing?”

He asked me back right away, and I answered him brightly.

“First of all, I have to worry about you. You have your first web drama shooting tomorrow.”

Then he seemed to remember something he had forgotten, and his face turned pale.