Episode 17

 

The moment the intro shoot was over, they were given a break before moving onto the next segment. As soon as people began to disperse, Junwoo approached Haeun.

 

“Hyung, I have something to discuss with you.”

 

Haeun foolishly accepted, thinking that there was actually something to discuss. 

 

“Huh? Discuss?”

 

『Junwoo’s favorability has decreased by 3 points (｡ﾉдヽ｡)ﾟ』

 

Seeing the decreased favorability score, it became clear that wasn’t the case. Haeun suppressed a shudder at the sight of Junwoo’s smiling face, which only reinforced his belief that Junwoo was a psychopath. Haeun reluctantly followed, forcing himself to smile back.

 

“Yeah. Let’s step outside for a bit.”

 

Junwoo’s smile widened as he grabbed Haeun’s arm. Just as Haeun was about to nod reluctantly, feeling like he was being led to his doom, he spotted Yejun approaching from a distance. 

 

At first, he couldn’t believe Yejun was walking toward them, but as the distance closed and their eyes met directly, it became undeniable.

 

When Haeun’s gaze turned to the back rather than him, Junwoo slightly frowned as if he thought Haeun was ignoring him on purpose. But when he saw Yejun, he appeared to understand. Junwoo stepped aside, leaving room for Yejun, all the while maintaining his fake smile.

 

“Hello, sunbae!”

 

Both Haeun and Junwoo bowed, and Yejun, who was accustomed to such greetings, nodded in return. Haeun subtly glanced up to observe Yejun. He looked every bit the quintessential idol, starting with his purple-dyed hair. The character designs in this idol game were all vibrant, and Yejun was no exception.

 

He thought it was an interesting color even in the game. After finding himself in the world of “Eu-Idol” and meeting the other members, Haeun was curious about how that purple hair would look in reality. It was darker than the bright, vivid purple in the illustrations but it was interesting how it was still far from black.

 

Because Yejun remained silent, Haeun stared the piercings in his ears. Ha, it looks like he pierced it in a spot that doesn’t hurt much. Haeun silently mocked him, only to be surprised when Yejun suddenly spoke.

 

“You there.”

 

Is he going to scold me? For ruining the atmosphere? Even though he stood up for him earlier, who knows what he really thinks? 

 

Haeun, who was feeling nervous due to his earlier thoughts, carefully observed Yejun.

 

But Yejun’s words were the opposite of what he expected.

 

“Don’t worry too much about earlier.”

 

『Yejun’s favorability has increased by 2! (੭⌯˃̶᷄ ⁻̫ ˂̶᷄⌯)੭』

 

Haeun quickly lifted his head, doubting his ears. Yejun was scratching his cheek, looking slightly awkward. His gaze was directed elsewhere, indicating his embarrassment.

 

It seemed he hadn’t misheard. But why all of a sudden? 

 

As Haeun continued to stare at him without bowing his head, Yejun finally met his eyes directly.

 

Was Yejun trying to offer comfort? But Yejun was known for being arrogant and self-centered, barely speaking. In the game, he was one of the hardest characters to approach, giving Haeun a tough time. He was definitely not the type to come over and comfort a rookie idol. While his earlier intervention could be explained by annoyance at the noise, this deliberate act of consolation was completely unexpected.

 

Yejun added another comforting word, perhaps because he thought Haeun was hurt after seeing Haeun’s hardened expression.

 

“You’re a rookie, and you were in the spotlight recently because of some unfortunate incident. They’re deliberately pushing you, so if you just handle it well, they’ll eventually stop.”

 

Every single sign or attitude that is imbued in the way he speaks…… It was hard to describe the situation. Yejun’s fans described it as elegant, but for Haeun, it was a part that made him think, “ He is the one who is perfect for an attitude controversy. ^[1] This means that because no one would really expects him to be that kind/elegant, antis would make fake news about him being rude and arrogant. “

 

However, it was clear that Yejun’s words were meant with 100% sincerity at this moment. Haeun hurriedly bowed his head and thanked him.

 

“Thank you for your concern…”

 

But for some reason, Yejun didn’t respond. Was this silent pressure to show more sincerity? Haeun secretly glared at Yejun.

 

“Uh, it seemed like you two were discussing something important.”

 

After an awkward silence, Yejun finally spoke. It was Junwoo who responded to this.

 

“It’s alright.”

 

Junwoo was smiling as he answered, but his tone did not entirely deny that they had been interrupted. It felt like he was saying that while it was indeed an interruption but it was okay.

 

This perception was accurate only for Haeun, who knew Junwoo’s true nature. Yejun didn’t seem to notice anything amiss.

 

It seemed like Yejun had brought up this as an excuse to leave. Relieved to have an excuse, he quickly spoke.

 

“Then, I’ll be on my way.”

 

“Ah, yes…! It’s an honor to meet you today.”

 

If he’s leaving, let him go. Though he felt disgusted having to act like a polite, unknown idol, Haeun managed to bid farewell quite decently. Yejun gave a small nod, showing no particular emotion, and indeed turned around and disappeared.

 

“What was that…”

 

Haeun mumbled in a dazed voice. Junwoo, who had been watching Yejun’s retreating figure with narrowed eyes, answered with a laugh.

 

“Seems like he likes you.”

 

“Me?” 

 

Haeun responded, widening his eyes as much as possible. It was a full-on facial acting effort, but it seemed to go unnoticed by Junwoo. Junwoo then subtly bowed his head and brought his mouth close to Haeun’s ear. It looked quite affectionate at a glance, but…

 

“He must not have very good taste.”

 

…the content of his words was far from it.

 

???

 

Junwoo immediately took Haeun out of the set as soon as the ‘obstacle’ named Yejun left. Despite the unsettling incident, he hadn’t forgotten their original purpose.

 

They walked just far enough apart to not look too close but stopped at a secluded stairwell in a corner of the broadcasting station. Surprisingly, there wasn’t a single person passing by. Junwoo walked up half a flight of stairs, and Haeun followed, feeling tense. Slowly, he opened his mouth to speak.

 

“What is it you wanted to talk about?”

 

He knew well enough that Junwoo hadn’t called him here just to discuss, but he asked anyway. Junwoo stopped without answering and slowly turned around. Though they weren’t standing close enough to feel physically pressured, Haeun instinctively took a step back.

 

『‘Junwoo’s’ favorability has decreased by 2 points (｡ﾉдヽ｡)ﾟ』

 

Haeun’s back hit the hard wall. He had to look up at Junwoo quite a bit. Even at his original height, their eye levels wouldn’t have matched. Feeling overall humiliated, Haeun faced Junwoo with a slightly grim expression.

 

Junwoo spoke calmly.

 

“Didn’t I tell you to stay still?”

 

When Haeun didn’t answer, he continued in a scolding tone, as if speaking to a disobedient child.

 

“Even if Jo Yejun hadn’t intervened, that part wouldn’t have made it to broadcast. It was too obviously staged. And even if it did air, it would’ve been better for us to keep quiet about it.”

 

His expression was one of utter frustration. Although Junwoo had shown discomfort and displeasure many times, it was the first time he openly displayed such exhaustion. However, Haeun couldn’t quite understand why Junwoo was so angry.

 

‘Does he think I wanted that to happen?’

 

Someone might have manipulated him to do it, but he didn’t come forward on my own anyway.

 

‘I did show something, but in the end, it wasn’t something I couldn’t have done.’

 

Even though he got some criticism for aegyo is XX incident, his popularity has definitely increased. According to the game setup, “Park Ha” was hated from the start of the debut group. But Haeun was unsure if they just hated him no matter what he did. There was no way to understand it but to ask.

 

“Are you angry because you think I’m going to avoid you again?”

 

Park Haeun asked the question bluntly. If the fundamental hatred is not solved and it is like that, you have to solve the part and move on to make people less aware in the future.

 

“I was afraid that we would get criticised because of me.”

 

He bowed his head to show that he was reflecting on himself.

 

‘I’m really getting better at acting. If I go back, I can debut as an actor.’

 

He praised himself and waited for Junwoo’s answer. He thought his favorability would decrease again when he said something along the script, but Junwoo was unexpectedly quiet for a while. It was only when the question came in silence that Junwoo answered.

 

“I never said that, but why are you being so pitiful by yourself?”

 

It is also very cheesy to say that that was not true. As he listened in admiration, Junwoo’s calm words continued.

 

“It’s no big deal to deal with those people if you want to make a living on TV, and I don’t care if I hear a few curses because of hyung or whatever.”

 

“Then why are you―”

 

“But why do you put yourself in an embarrassing situation in front of people who ridicule you by saying you’re going to brag about a talent you can’t even do when it’s obvious you’ll get cut from the broadcast anyway? Are you torturing yourself?”

 

“Do you beat yourself up?”

 

Junwoo cut off Haeun’s words and shot back. Seeing him get angry without even thinking of hiding it made him feel like he had to make an excuse.

 

“It’s not like that. I just felt like I needed to do something.”

 

『Junwoo’s favorability has decreased by 2 points(｡ﾉдヽ｡) ﾟ』

 

“It’s better for you to shut up and laugh and stay still. It only makes the situation worse if you step forward.”

• 1. This means that because no one would really expects him to be that kind/elegant, antis would make fake news about him being rude and arrogant.