Hard Mode Idol

Someone who’s really sick won’t get better just because the door is closed. I’m not, but still. At least it will take a minimum of 1 hour for the vocal teacher to come, so I’ll try hoping. If it ends in 30 minutes like the headache, I can let it pass quietly.

I can’t plant a bomb image before signing the contract. This kid is the problem, but if I appease him properly, he’ll keep his mouth shut. Even if we’re caught, it’s a situation that’s not good for either of us.

“Hey… Are you okay, say something, no, no. Don’t talk… Yu-Yoochan hyung, should I call him? Should I call hyung at least? Or the manager? Teacher? Who should I call for you? What should I do? What can I do for you? Huh?”

So noisy. I told him not to do anything, but Seoho crouched down next to me, asking. King-sized teardrops kept falling. I patted his trembling hand. A scaredy-cat crybaby.

“Hey, you, gasp, hic, why, are you crying.”

“Don’t, talk, it’s hard for you, hic, sniff.”

The puppy kept his head down like a guilty person and fidgeted. The words he blurted out between sobs made no sense, I couldn’t understand anything. I tried to answer appropriately, but he got scared, telling me not to talk. Then he grabbed my hand tightly, and I was surprised it was unexpectedly warm.

After 30 minutes, the abnormal condition ended. With 1 health left, I sprawled on the sofa, drained of energy.

“Are, are you okay, now?”

The puppy examined my complexion with his swollen eyes.

“Yeah. But don’t touch me. I need to rest now.”

“Oh! Of course. I won’t touch you. I won’t touch you at all!”

The puppy raised both hands and distanced himself from me. His big eyes were staring at my face intently.

“Are you worried?”

“Of course I’m worried! This is the first time for me too!”

“It’s the first time for me too.”

“…Really?”

“Yeah. I’m sorry for scaring you.”

“Why are you apologizing! I should be the one apologizing…”

Right then. Suddenly, the door flung open and the manager came in.

“Haon, are you here?”

The manager froze, I froze, and the puppy froze. Since it was right after the abnormal condition ended, my face must have looked terrible, and anyone could tell the puppy had been wailing.

“I think there’s a story I need to hear.”

The manager entered the vocal room. Click, the door closed. Nothing in life goes the way you want. Before I could even appease the puppy. If this kid has something called thoughts, he won’t blabber, right?

“I’m sorry… It’s because of me… I got so angry…”

The puppy really doesn’t have thoughts. To start with, the beginning was really bad. I quickly interjected.

“Manager, what happened was.”

“Haon, stay still, and Seoho, keep talking.”

The manager’s perception is top-notch. When I tried to open my mouth again, she looked at me quietly. The puppy had already started blabbering about the whole incident.

He said he got angry and grabbed my collar, and then I suddenly had difficulty breathing. This stupid jerk told everything.

“Lee Seoho.”

“Yes. Manager…”

The puppy kept his head down and was shouting ‘It’s all my fault’ with his whole body. That frustrating kid. It would have been nice if he glossed over it appropriately. Unnecessarily honest.

But strangely, I didn’t feel like I hated him. The first impression was the worst, and the second meeting was even worse. The third even caused an abnormal condition. But still, I couldn’t really hate him. Is it because I don’t feel heavy, persistent malice from him?

The manager put a hand on her forehead and let out a deep sigh.

“For now, wait in the manager’s office. Let’s talk again later.”

“…Yes.”

The puppy left the vocal room sniffling, and the only ones left were the manager and me. The manager approached me, knelt down, and met my eyes.

“Can you get up now?”

I can get up, but it’s hard to walk around. I don’t even have the stamina to go home. I had no choice but to shake my head, and pity filled the face looking at me. It seemed like guilt too. Anyway, it wasn’t a good emotion, so my heart ached.

This is why I wanted to hide it. If the impression that I have a weak body sets in, I might get dropped from the debut lineup. With how packed an idol’s schedule is, would they want to carry someone already staggering from the start? I don’t have that much value to them right now.

“Haon.”

“Yes.”

Am I getting cut after all? My heart secretly thumped at the serious tone. Should I look for a new company? As my mood instantly sank, my stamina which had barely recovered dropped again.

“Did this happen often usually? I’m not blaming you, I’m asking because the company needs to know you well to protect you from now on.”

Protect me? Not kick me out? I shut my mouth tight, a bit surprised. When I didn’t answer right away, the manager added this, though I don’t know how she interpreted it.

“Theos’ Rye has acrophobia. So we consider that when making stage sets. We don’t send him to variety shows where he has to bungee jump or go up high either.”

I see; that can happen too.

“The reason I asked is the same. To protect you from dangers that may occur when you’re active in the future. So will you tell me honestly?”

If I could tell her honestly, I want to say it.

The abnormal conditions trigger when health reaches 0. That’s the cause, I’m originally the epitome of health… If I say that, I’ll really get cut then, so I desperately came up with an excuse.

“I have weak stamina.”

“Okay. I heard that.”

“When I’m pushed to my limit a bit, I get a fatigue reaction and this happens sometimes. Earlier, the timing was really bad, it’s not hyung’s fault. These days, I overworked myself…”

I only changed the nuance a bit, but it was unexpectedly okay. Since it’s already found out, it’s good to have a plausible reason. It’s true that I lack stamina, and it’s the kind of thing I can’t hide. But I added that it doesn’t mean I’ll give in.

“I usually control it well. I know my body well. But after becoming a trainee I dreamed of, and immediately joining the debut lineup, I keep getting greedy and overworked myself. I’ll manage my body well from now on. I’ll build up my stamina until I debut too.”

I don’t know how to build stamina, but if I just manage well, there won’t be incidents of abnormal conditions triggering, so it’s not a lie.

Moreover, I found out after experiencing abnormal conditions three times the time limit when stamina drops is 30 minutes max. If it’s 30 minutes, I can quietly go missing alone for an hour including recovery, and it won’t be a problem even if I appear later. For events, it was a day, but since the conditions and stamina state after the abnormal condition ends are different, I had to consider them separate.

“Okay. Got it. From now on, if you’re tired, you must rest no matter what. An idol’s body is their asset. Let’s promise to build up your stamina together.”

“Yes. I will.”

“Good. That’s done, still can’t walk? Need to rest more?”

I need to rest. I nodded awkwardly with an embarrassed smile.

“How much longer do you need to rest?”

“About 20 more minutes should do.”

“Then I’ll tell them training ends here for today, so rest obediently.”

“Oh, I can do more…”

The manager’s eyes turned sharp. I’ll do it at home then. I shut my mouth tightly and completely lay down on the sofa as if leaning on it. The manager smiled brightly.

“I’ll come get you in 20 minutes, so rest well until then.”

“Yes…!”

Manager Kim Hyemi left the vocal room and headed straight to the manager’s office. Lee Seoho was a kid who was clumsy at handling momentary emotions. Antagonizing Jin Haon in front of her must have been a protest to bring Joon Jaehyuk back. But she never imagined he would go this far.

‘He was never a kid who did violent things originally…’

The time she had watched him since directly casting him and having him join the debut lineup was 5 years. During that time, Lee Seoho had never once acted violently.

“Joon Jaehyuk is a monster who destroys the minds of those around him. He makes people do absurd things without hesitation. Attacking others too.”

Park Taesoo. CEO Park Taemin’s nephew and the victim who revealed Joon Jaehyuk’s true nature.

‘Joon Jaehyuk was expelled the day the CEO cast Haon.’

If only the dates were off, would it have been different? Would Lee Seoho be able to give up on Joon Jaehyuk? Won’t he become more violent if left like this? Worry came first. If he continues acting like this…

‘We’ll have to let him go.’

Kim Hyemi hardened her face and opened the door to the manager’s office. Lee Seoho was crying with his cheeks soaked and eyes swollen.

“Hic, sniff, hic, sob.”

Lee Seoho was trying his best to stop crying. But as soon as he saw Kim Hyemi, an apology mixed with sobs he couldn’t swallow in time spilled out.

“I, hic, wrong, sniff, did wrong, hic, did,”

Kim Hyemi took out tissues and handed them to him. Lee Seoho blew his nose with a loud paaeng sound and tried to calm down by taking deep breaths.

Lee Seoho had a lot of tears. He even cried along when someone cried while watching movies or dramas. As much as his emotions were abundant, his narrow vision in that moment when he got angry was a disadvantage.

“Seoho.”

“Yes…”

“Do you have anything to say to me?”

Lee Seoho shook his head with his head down. His hand clutching the wet tissue was neatly placed on his knees.

“What about to Haon?”

“An apology. I couldn’t apologize properly. I want to apologize…”

“Raise your head and look at me.”

Lee Seoho slowly raised his head. What do you want to do to Haon? When asked again, he answered clearly once more while sniffling. All he wants to say is an apology.

“Okay. But Seoho.”

“Yes.”

“Since you acknowledged your mistake, you’ll have to pay a price for it, right?”

Lee Seoho bit his lip hard. And with determined eyes ready to bear anything, he nodded and answered. “Yes.”

“No matter how much you lose your reason and get angry, raising your hand is not allowed.”

“…Yes.”

“I have no intention of debuting a kid like that.”

“…, hic, …yes.”

Lee Seoho, who realized the implication in Kim Hyemi’s words, trembled slightly.

“I was going to terminate your contract.”

“Hic, I, I, did wrong, did wrong, hic, so, so do that.”

With his head down, busy crying, Lee Seoho couldn’t see Kim Hyemi’s face. Kim Hyemi inwardly felt relieved while looking at Lee Seoho. He knows what he did wrong and regrets it. Even when she said she would give a punishment at a level high enough to think it might be unfair, he didn’t make a single excuse. His true nature was the same.

When Kim Hyemi got up from her seat, Lee Seoho’s body visibly flinched. Kim Hyemi pulled out tissues and put them in Lee Seoho’s hand.

“If you hadn’t repented, I would have done that. But Haon covered for you too, and you realized what you did wrong, so this won’t happen again, right?”

“Never. Absolutely, absolutely never.”

“Look at Haon properly. See what kind of kid he is. Then you’ll understand why we put him in the debut lineup.”

Lee Seoho, who nodded, left the room, and Manager Kim Hyemi’s sigh was long as she was left alone.

‘Seoho, let me take you with me. Please.’