chapter 173

"<Shining Star... When is the Gala Concert?>"

"<The Dawn, taking a 2-week break>"

After the final broadcast, the program ended more smoothly than expected. Kim Heeyoung's adept handling played a role, but it was also significant that the idol who had experienced a parent's accident continued their activities without showing any signs, maintaining their strength for a year, and even winning first place in the competition, which touched many ordinary people.

Sympathetic sentiments poured out like a burst dam.

[Congratulationsㅠㅠ I cried while reading your final thoughtsㅠㅠ]

[He's truly an amazing young man. I support him.]

[I heard he was there for his parents' accident.. The young friend has really gone through a lot. I'll cheer for himㅠㅠ]

[Are you just fishing for sympathy? Protect his privacy, damn it, seriously.. So annoying.]

[Isn't this just exploiting a tragic narrative?ㅋㅋ]

Of course, as much attention as it garnered, there were also numerous negative comments.

The more sensitive fans began to relentlessly criticize every article that came out.

[Oh please, stop posting articles like this!!!! Protect his privacy for god's sake!! Just because you can't get sympathy points anymore]

[Whenever I see these stories, I get so tired.. I know my friend likes Hoyun, but I wish she would just stop contacting me. I'm tired of pretending to know anything]

[Seriously, I'm tired of people pretending to be compassionate and leaving comments about how pitiful he is every time something like this comes up. What does he know anyway?]

However, as the protagonist, I calmly acknowledged and brushed off the malicious comments while chewing on the apology given to me by Sung Jiwon.

After all, it was my doing.

And there was even a side benefit to it all.

[Oh, when did our views suddenly spike like this?]

[Hey;; Seo Hoyun's fancam views are legendary right now]

[??? What's the Stardust stage?]

With my family story being revealed, the views of related videos on YouTube suddenly skyrocketed.

Not only did several songs rise on the music charts in real-time, but clips of my final remarks were circulating on social media and various communities.

While it's important to row when the water comes in, if this narrative-spinning goes too far, it'll only add negative impressions.

I might be taking the brunt of it, but I couldn't allow it to negatively affect The Dawn.

Anyway, since it was my vacation, I chose to spend it quietly rather than exposing myself to the public.

Since the plan to spend the vacation with Seo Hojin had fallen through.

"Jung Dajun."

On the day I met Seo Hojin, I collected every petal from the bouquet he gave me and brought them back to the lodging.

As soon as I saw Jung Dajun in the living room, I was about to say something, but...

"Y-yes?!"

How could I say anything to this fourteen-year-old kid who looked as flustered as a scared puppy?

"...No, never mind."

I couldn't say anything when I saw his face.

Feeling narrow-minded, I deliberately let out a heavy sigh, as if exhaling a dense atmosphere, and went into my room.

I might as well fill the void with some much-needed sleep.

Thanks to all this, I could hide my state, but whether I should be thankful for it is another question.

Knowing I couldn't leave things as they were, I procrastinated dealing with it by using Seo Hojin as an excuse. I kept picking up and putting down my phone, touching it repeatedly.

"Really, what a hassle."

I didn't want to see anyone, but why were they contacting me?

I wished I had a lot of work to distract myself, but there was no news from the company, no concerts, no reality shows, nothing.

My phone kept buzzing incessantly, but it was all useless messages.

From Kang Yeonhoo, Jung Wonha, to Kim Gita, etc.

Why were they bothering me when they knew nothing about me?

Ironically, Seo Hojin's number remained silent.

In the end, I spent every day holding onto my phone, tossing and turning in bed with sleepless nights.

"What should I do about this?"

As days passed like this, in a rare moment when I was about to fall asleep,

Vroom.

I heard the vibration sound. I sat up and answered the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey, come out."

It wasn't the voice I was expecting.

Kim Pak. As his mocking laughter echoed through the phone, cold sweat dripped down my slightly chilled forehead.

"Who is this?"

"Wanna die? Come out quickly. We agreed to settle it."

It was lim Hyunsoo. From the sound of it, he was already a few drinks in.

I didn't feel like it, but since it was a promise, I hastily put on some clothes and headed to the location he had texted me.

As I walked into the store, removing my earphones, I saw familiar backs.

Joo Woo sung, Kim Heeyoung, and lim Hyeonsu.

"Wow!!!"

Yes, it was the teasing trio.

"Kyaa!! Seo Hoyun is here!"

And they were already quite drunk.

Fortunately, the tables were empty except for the one we had reserved.

"What time is it now...?"

I sighed softly and sat down next to Joo Woo sung.

"When is this gathering going to end?"

"It's already scheduled. Remember when we sent a coffee truck to you during the drama shoot? Now we're thinking of going to your place."

"How much are you putting in?"

"Five thousand each."

"What? Five thousand is nothing. It should be a hundred thousand."

"Then do it!!"

For a group consisting of a famous idol, a composer, and a PD, the amount was quite modest.

"Are you drinking?"

"No, thanks."

Even I knew that my condition wasn't great. If I drank with this group in this situation, who knows what could happen, so I declined.

"Sure, let's drink. Get the expensive stuff."

However, the table was only filled with a few bottles of beer and soju.

As Kim Heeyoung searched for bottle openers, I handed her a beer bottle and opened it with a spoon.

"Wow, that's so cool!"

Ignoring the flushed Joo Woo sung next to me, I chuckled as I poured beer into Kim Hee-young's glass, perfectly balancing foam and beer.

"Congratulations on wrapping up the program, Producer Kim."

This was my social life.

I had to be sociable even if I didn't feel like it.

"Wow~~! Thank you. Seo Hoyun, you've worked so hard too!"

"They're the best! Damn!! And choosing 'The Shining Star' as the last Stardust song was perfect. Kang Ichae, you little devil!"

"Yeah, he doesn't need to go to California after all!"

"I'm so pissed!"

Kim Heeyoung's words were interrupted by Im Hyeonsu who joined in with excitement. Then, with a mischievous glance at me, she licked his lips.

"Hey, can you tell Kang Ichae that I want to see our disciple too??"

"No, you can't."

I immediately blocked any potential scandal.

Besides, it had been so long since I'd seen Kang I-cha that it would be difficult to deliver the message anyway.

I popped a peanut into my mouth, set as a basic snack, and asked Joo Woosung.

"When did these guys start like this?"

"About three hours ago...."

It was surprising that Joo Woo sung looked the most sober.

I was amazed. I knew Kim Hee young was a master of words, but still.

Suddenly, Kim Heeyoung and lim Hyeonsu who had been chatting among themselves, started talking about Joo Woo sung.

"Ha, even before The Dawns go on stage, Joo Woo sung kept saying how you guys gonna be the first place with just skills. He couldn't even shut up!"

"We all had to say something in the end, to make sure the mentors heard. Even Han chaeri and Chae Jung-ñwoo!"

"Ugh, to be acknowledged by Black Hole's Joo Woosung, you must be able to achieve first place!"

"Ahaha."

Well, if I could use anything and everything to my advantage to achieve first place, why not?

I chuckled as I poured water into my mouth instead of beer.

After revealing all our truths, we all stood up with satisfied faces.

"Heeyeong, let's go to Danta!"

"Sure, Hyeonsu!"

"Gyah~. Let's go, Heeyoung."

Unaware of my disapproving gaze, the two of them happily sang as they went out of the store.

"This woman, ignores all my calls but rushes over when Cheongbeom noona calls him..."

Joo Woo sung, who had been quietly drinking until then, muttered.

"Are you drunk too?"

"Just look at the air here. Alcohol is floating everywhere. How can you not get drunk?"

"Is that so?"

"I want to eat kimchi fried rice...."

I thought he was sober, but seeing him talk nonsense made me think otherwise.

"So, did Joo Woo sung praise me a lot?"

"Pfft."

Joo Woo sung, who was drinking beer straight from the bottle, coughed at my words. Seeing him like that was quite funny, so I chuckled as Joo Woo sung wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and glared at me.

"He never lets go once he bites, this guy."

"Of course."

"Not your praise, but your group's praise."

Joo Woo-sung, who thought he would eventually be cornered by me, gave up and honestly spoke.

"We went to see you and Han chaeri. Then I understood. You guys deserve to be first place based on your skills."

"Oh, thank you."

"But honestly, I thought we'd be second place."

Honestly, if it weren't for the penalties, I would have been satisfied with just second place.

"Honestly, we were lagging behind in terms of capital and fandom."

"Right."

But I had made a lot of mistakes, and I couldn't undo them. I hated the time spent regretting the past. Instead of that, I preferred to do what I could do now.

In the end, I even sold out my family. I had nothing left to lose.

I would do even more in the future.

"Well, it's not really a surprise."

I could easily guess what the next words would be.

"You did your best, I'm sorry to hear that, well, something like that."

"I never thought we'd win."

Then what should I say in response? It's nothing, don't worry about it, if I say that...

"—Until you spread your family's story yourself."

...I thought that might work.

"What did you say?"

Just now, Joo Woo sung... What did he say?

'How... Could it be Kim Heeyoung n? No, no.'

I couldn't even come up with an excuse because I had no idea such words would come from Joo Woo sung's clumsy mouth. But he casually sipped his drink with a calm expression.

"Is it true?"

"Where did you hear such nonsense?"

"...Ah."

With a slight lift of his lips, Joo Woo sung opened a new bottle of soju and poured beer into his glass.

"No, I haven't heard anything. Would everyone really be unaware?"

"...."

"But, you know, this guy has a sense."

Drinking down the drink in one go, Joo Woo-sung stuffed some dried squid into his mouth.

"Yeah, you know. I've been in the entertainment industry for a few years now, and there's nothing I haven't seen. Once rumors start spreading, they spread like wildfire, but usually, even if you act like trash, you surprisingly don't surface in front of the public."

I agreed with that part too.

While working as a PD, I had seen countless irredeemable trashy people, but I had also seen many cases where they presented themselves in front of the public as innocent and pure, pushing a clean and innocent image.

"So even though I've had a lot of relationships, I can still be here managing my image. That's when I realized."

"...."

"That baseless scandals don't happen as often as you'd think."

Dating, assault, bullying, drugs... Anything.

Sometimes, smoke could come out of a chimney for no reason.

However, most scandals were triggered by some pretext, either to benefit oneself or a third party, or to expose someone for fun or out of hatred.

"Your family situation is the same. If it were going to spread, the rumors would have started circulating sooner. But the timing of it all is just perfect."

Since when had Joo Woo-sung understood me so well?

Since I threatened him?

Since Kim Seonghyun turned evil during Shining Star Season 1?

During the sudden downfall of Today?

Or—.

"...There are too many."

Joo Woo sung looked apologetic as he spoke. However, there was a strange sense of certainty in his eyes.

Although no one seemed to have figured it out until now, the fact that Joo Woo-sung was the first to notice was surprising.

I blinked at his face, which was shining unnecessarily even when he was drunk.

"Joo Woo sung is amazing."

"Why? What do you want to say?"

I didn't exactly agree, I just acknowledged it.

"You really did it."

"Did you try it without being sure?"

"Why did you do it?"

"To be first place."

Joo Woo sung looked at me for a moment without saying anything, then took a deep breath.

"You crazy bastard...."

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