The Idol Who Returned from Hell Chapter 172

Finding Chae Ha-ru who had run off was the urgent priority.

To an outsider, it might seem puzzling how we could quickly find a member who disappeared without any prior warning.

But now that I’ve gained considerable experience, I knew well that there are only a few emergency hideouts for CENTIX members.

Since there aren’t many places within the Rave Entertainment building where one can stay quietly.

‘Plus, when your mind is in chaos, your thinking becomes even simpler.’

That’s how I headed straight to the practice room we use every day.

I opened the door wide and looked around, but I couldn’t feel any sign of Chae Ha-ru.

‘If he’s not here……’

As expected, he’d be in a private place rather than somewhere too open.

I closed the group practice room door and opened the individual vocal practice room doors in the hallway one by one.

And when I reached practice room number 3.

“……How did you know to come straight here?”

“It’s not like I’ve been watching you guys for just a day or two.”

“As expected, I can’t beat you, brother.”

Chae Ha-ru, who had been staring at the air with empty pupils, greeted me.

I briefly considered whether we should move locations.

But since I couldn’t think of where to go after leaving here, I just squeezed my body onto the simple stool.

When I stayed quiet without saying anything, Chae Ha-ru broke the silence first.

“……Brother, aren’t you going to say anything?”

“I was waiting for you to speak first.”

“Me first?”

Chae Ha-ru blinked for a moment, reflecting on my words.

Soon, a hollow laugh came out of his parched mouth.

“To be honest, brother. I regretted it from the moment I opened the dorm door and ran out.”

“What?”

“Ah, it feels like I’m making a big deal out of nothing. If I run out like this, how will I face the other brothers and Ha-woon later.”

“If you were worried about that while running out, then what you said to Ha-woon wasn’t sincere.”

When I quickly hit the core with a subdued tone, Chae Ha-ru held his forehead with his hand and said,

“Actually, it was half sincere. Of course, getting angry at Ha-woon wasn’t my true feelings, but what I said about not wanting to receive sympathy because of my family situation was sincere.”

I thought I understood what he meant.

Everyone would have something they want to hide.

Just thinking of the recent incident with Ma Si-hyeok makes it completely understandable.

Chae Ha-ru would be the same.

The feeling of not wanting to gain attention from people around him through sympathy for his poor family situation, but wanting to step onto his chosen path through his own strength.

He would have wanted to start on the same level as everyone else and prove his own worth.

“Everything’s always the same, isn’t it? TV and the internet too. When someone has even slightly unfortunate circumstances or a difficult background, they look at them with a different image. I hated that so much. Not because I resent my parents, but I hated the idea that someone who dropped out of school saying he’d solve those unfortunate circumstances would now use them.”

Chae Ha-ru turned his head to the side to look at me.

His soulless gaze reminded me of when we first had a deep conversation during 〈Idol Stove League Season 2〉.

Surely back then we also talked about revealing Chae Ha-ru’s hidden circumstances.

Fate really is twisted.

“No matter how awesome you are, brother, today’s behavior must be hard to understand, right? With absolutely no malice, he brought it up purely wanting to help me. And I got angry at that and even ran out.”

“……”

“No matter how much the brothers praise me for being mature, actually I’ve always been like a child. Seeing myself sprawled out like this because I can’t properly control even one emotion makes me even angrier.”

Candid words fell into the narrow practice room.

“But even so, the thought that I absolutely don’t want to receive sympathy hasn’t changed. This was my last pride. I’m the person who said I’d help my family while abandoning my studies and becoming an idol without knowing anything. Somehow I wanted to stand in front of my parents proudly with my own strength without depending on others.”

When I think back to the happiest moment Chae Ha-ru ever had…… it was probably during the 〈Idol Stove League Season 2〉 finale.

When his name was first called as a debut member, Chae Ha-ru cried tremendously while continuously looking up toward where his parents had come.

As if he wanted to clearly let his parents know that he was really debuting.

“But…… but when moments like now come where I seem so incompetent, when I’ve spoken so confidently but can’t do anything at such an important moment, I looked even more pathetic to myself. So I ended up saying things I shouldn’t have to Ha-woon, and even caused trouble for the others.”

“I think the conclusion is already out there.”

“What?”

When I answered in a more indifferent tone than expected, Chae Ha-ru’s eyes widened slightly.

“In the end, the root of all this is simple, isn’t it? Ha-ru, you’ve been gnawing at yourself because you can’t handle your mother’s treatment costs. That’s what led to the emotional words. Isn’t that right?”

“……That’s right.”

“Then let me ask again. Ha-ru, do you really think we haven’t proven ourselves?”

“Proven…?”

“Do you think we haven’t succeeded enough as idols to help your mother, no, your family?”

At the straightforward question, Chae Ha-ru’s head shook sideways.

I smiled faintly and provided the answer.

“That’s right. We’ve proven ourselves with results, proven ourselves with sales, and proven ourselves with awards too. We’ve succeeded enough. But fundamentally, why can’t you help your mother right now?”

“……Because there’s no money.”

“Right. Why is there still no money?”

“The settlement…… hasn’t come in yet?”

At such a simple answer, Chae Ha-ru himself seemed to find it funny.

His shoulders, which had been drooping, shook.

“Haha. When I think about it the way you said it, it’s really just that.”

“You’re not the problem, and Ha-woon’s not the problem either. The company just sucks.”

“Is it okay to just say it like that?”

“What does it matter? I don’t expect all the world’s correct answers to be clear and beautiful.”

It’s not that Chae Ha-ru didn’t try.

He went through harsh processes and proudly got his name on the debut member list.

He became the person who broke all kinds of records while promoting as CENTIX.

Yu Ha-woon also didn’t bring it up out of sympathy for Chae Ha-ru.

Because he’s watched him from the side for a long time.

Because he wanted to help in any way possible as someone he cares about most before being a member.

Chae Ha-ru himself knows this fact better than anyone.

It’s just that his mind got complicated simply because the current situation is bleak.

And all this trouble occurred in places beyond our reach.

“……I feel once again that I’m still not mature.”

“I said earlier. It’s not your problem.”

“But it still feels like I was swayed too simply by emotions—.”

“Anyone would naturally be like that. If I were in such an urgent situation, my mind would have been incredibly anxious too.”

Fortunately, Chae Ha-ru seemed to have regained his composure quite a bit.

A faint spark of life began to return to his eyes, which had been completely devoid of light.

“Talking with brother like this makes me feel a bit calmer.”

“You feel refreshed when you spit everything out.”

“……I’ll stop causing trouble and go back to apologize.”

“I don’t think Ha-woon or the other members would particularly want to receive an apology—.”

“But I’ll do it anyway.”

I took Chae Ha-ru back to the dorm.

The atmosphere was still gloomy as ever.

Kang Seon-woo, who had been earnestly comforting the completely deflated Yu Ha-woon, was the first to greet us.

“Ah, you brought him back! Ha, Ha-ru. Are you okay now?”

“I’m sorry. I caused trouble for everyone by being swayed by momentary emotions.”

“No, hey, there’s no need to apologize like that. Why are you being like this between us?”

As I expected, Kang Seon-woo waved his arms enthusiastically, but Chae Ha-ru immediately sat next to Yu Ha-woon.

Yu Ha-woon, who hadn’t been able to make eye contact since Chae Ha-ru entered the dorm, spoke first in a crawling voice.

“Brother Ha-ru……. I’m so sorry for saying that without thinking about your situation—.”

“No. I caused the most trouble by not properly controlling my emotions. I should be the one to apologize.”

“When I think from your perspective, you would have naturally misunderstood if you heard those words! It’s totally me that should apologize, why are you apologizing brother?”

“No, I provided the cause so I’m the one who should—.”

“Okay, okay. You kids, that’s enough. I understand well that you both care terribly about each other.”

Kang Seon-woo appropriately cut off what had become an endless apology relay.

Chae Ha-ru and Yu Ha-woon, who had been competing to see who could bow their head lower, made awkward expressions while returning to proper posture.

At least the internal situation within CENTIX was sorted out, which was fortunate.

But the big problem that had struck hadn’t been fundamentally resolved.

Cerberus, who read my mind, spoke in a serious tone.

{Master, in the end, how should we handle Ha-ru’s friend’s money problem? Even though he made up with that cute friend, other problems remain.}

‘……I’ve roughly thought about what to do.’

{Did you come up with a good method?}

‘I don’t know if it’s good, but somehow it has to work.’

After saying I’d go out for a bit, I stepped outside the dorm.

At the end of the empty hallway, I called the manager.

“Yes, brother. It was resolved well. Yes, yes. But there’s something that fundamentally needs to be resolved, so is it possible to have a meeting with the General Manager? Preferably today.”

Sensing something dark in my tone, the manager urgently said he understood and hung up.

I was curious how quickly the higher-ups at Rave Entertainment would accept my request.

“Si-hwan, the General Manager says he wants to meet right now.”

“I’ll head over immediately.”

Unexpectedly, the meeting was arranged within 5 minutes.

I moved to the adjacent building and was guided to the General Manager’s office with an impassive expression.

“I was surprised to hear Si-hwan suddenly requested a meeting. I wondered what it could be, haha.”

“I wouldn’t have wanted to visit the General Manager directly under normal circumstances either, but recently something a bit urgent happened.”

It’s natural for the General Manager to welcome me with such a friendly attitude.

He probably sees me as a golden goose that lays eggs every time.

It means CENTIX, which keeps producing good results, is in the position of having the upper hand, even if temporarily.

I continued calmly as if it were nothing serious.

“I’m well aware that the settlement we’re supposed to receive is delayed and will come in at the end of March.”

“Ah, I’m sorry for causing you worry about the settlement. This is an unavoidable mistake on the company’s part—.”

“Yes, I understand that too. The important thing is that I didn’t come here to argue about whose fault it is. I’m wondering if we could advance the members’ settlement even a little.”

“When you say advance it a little, what timeframe are you referring to?”

“A day or two would be good.”

At the ridiculous words that came out of nowhere, the General Manager froze momentarily.

Having naturally expected that reaction, I immediately threw out this proposal.

“I know I have quite a few copyrights registered under my name. I also know that the album sales allocated to each CENTIX member are very substantial.”

“That, that’s right.”

“You can give me my settlement later. Even if you exclude my share that would be included in the March settlement, please process the other members’ settlement by tomorrow if possible.”