Chapter 106

Yunjin muttered, “See? Told you.”

For some change of heart Hanje couldn’t begin to understand, Cha Yensu agreed to the shoot.

As for the staff, the moment Cha Yensu himself said he wanted to work, they immediately started planning as if determined to make sure he couldn’t take it back.

...No matter how bad Gowon is at talking, if he appears with Yensu looking like that, a million views should be the bare minimum.

It seemed Hanje could set aside his worries about that quest for now.

***

...Now that the third part is basically taken care of, of course this goddamn confession quest is bothering me again...!

Hanje tried to think about whether there might be some other way to interpret this quest too.

After all, that confession content Gowon had done before was ultimately another kind of confession, wasn’t it?

A confession doesn’t necessarily have to mean love.

For example, it could mean admitting to something you did wrong, or revealing feelings you had kept hidden....

His thoughts branched out in every direction without finding a foothold, only to be repeatedly torn away and erased like pages being ripped out of a notebook.

At this point, I’d rather get something like: your friend got caught drunk driving right when your debut song was titled <DRIFT>, or Squirrel Class—a group of sixteen-to-eighteen-year-old boys—has to perform a song dripping with mature adult sex appeal....

A quest with no clues at all was simply overwhelming.

“...Gowon’s Current Status.”

Gowon

Current Status: Hanje, I’m h■re!!!

Huh?

Almost at the same time, Hanje heard someone entering the passcode, and Gowon came into the apartment.

“I’m back.”

“Uh, yeah....”

His greeting was calmer than what Hanje had just seen in the status window, but then Gowon’s gaze shifted into empty space.

“...That just now... it was floating there, right?”

The quest window blinked off as if fleeing, but Gowon had caught that brief instant.

Apparently, the problem of Gowon being able to see the quest window after the time paradox wasn’t going to be fixed.

“Yeah.... I was just checking it for a second.”

“...Can’t you show it to me too?”

“You can’t read English.”

“...Ah. I’m studying. I had a lesson today too.”

“Wow, good job. What does ‘senior’ mean?”

“That’s... I used to go with Grandma and Grandpa to places like senior welfare centers a lot, so I thought it meant an old person.”

...No. You little bastard. Family is cheating.

With that explanation, Hanje decided to forget his grudge over the old man planting flowers.

“And this time it was in Korean anyway. I saw everything.”

Gowon strode over and sat right beside him. They were close enough that their thighs touched.

At this point I could switch this place out for a one-person sofa and still live comfortably, you punk.

Guess he doesn’t even remember the days when he used to put up a wall between us anymore.

...Well, if some of the distrust toward the world that had filled Gowon’s eyes back then had faded, that was a good thing.

The truth was, even though Hanje had told him a certain amount already, he had no intention of telling Gowon about the quests themselves or the prices attached to them.

The Senior Who Paves the Flower Road

Failure Penalty: Gowon ■■

All rewards Baek Hanje obtained from previous Scenario Quests will be confiscated

...No matter what, this would put way too much pressure on him.

Gowon was already carrying enough and had already been hurt enough. As his senior, if Hanje couldn’t lighten that burden, then at the very least—

I should make sure he doesn’t have anything else suffocating him.

Come to think of it, compared to the days when Hanje genuinely hadn’t cared what happened to Gowon, he had grown pretty attached to him now.

They had gone through enough together for that attachment to form, and Hanje had gotten to know him better too.

Then, as for something he could show this guy who was broadcasting curiosity with his entire body—

...Maybe we can look at his stats together.

It would help him track his own growth too.

Gowon Status.

The translucent window seemed more hesitant than usual, but soon displayed a screen in front of them.

Gowon

Appearance Lv.147

Vocals Lv.110

Dance Lv.MAX (∞)

Stamina 73%

Recognition ♥♥♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

(Inactive) -

Current Status: ■■ ■■?

MAX LEVEL: 150

Gowon stared at the window in front of him with his eyes wide open.

“This is... my current level, right? Am I good?”

“Don’t know. You’re the only one I’ve ever raised.”

“.......”

“But when you started, your Vocals level wasn’t even thirty. Considering that, you’ve grown like crazy.”

“What are these black squares?”

Naturally, Gowon pointed straight at the “Current Status” field.

The quest window had tactfully hidden that part. Hanje had expected it would.

“...I don’t really know either. It’s almost always... hidden like that.”

“Hmm....”

Gowon scratched at the part with the question mark using the tip of his finger. He seemed a little startled when his hand passed straight through the window.

Since they were sitting pressed close together to look at the same screen, Hanje caught the smell of shampoo from him.

“Did you shower before coming over?”

“Ah... yes.”

Usually Gowon finished practice, came home, and showered there.

As if he could see what Hanje was thinking, Gowon hurriedly continued.

“...I think I sweated a lot. ...I didn’t want you to see me looking dirty....”

Then why was he avoiding Hanje’s eyes and turning red?

Wait. He showered before coming here?

Don’t tell me...?!

“...Are you dating someone?”

“No! What are you talking about?!”

Thankfully, Gowon nearly jumped out of his seat.

Well, he hadn’t even confessed yet, so he couldn’t possibly have reached the dating stage.

“But what does dating have to do with showering before coming here?”

“I thought maybe you were washing off the evidence that you’d gone somewhere else first.”

“......? Does showering erase evidence that you’re dating?”

Then why have there been so many dating scandals in the world? Is it because people didn’t wash properly?

That was practically written all over Gowon’s round, bewildered eyes.

“...No. Uh, forget it. Sorry.”

At least Gowon didn’t seem to be thinking anything weird.

Hanje felt relieved inside, only for a sudden surge of irritation to flare up in his gut.

“And don’t you even think about performing <Too Good to Waste> from now on!”

“What?! Why?”

“If I tell you not to, then don’t, damn it.”

“It’s a good song for practicing isolations. Why not?”

“...Practice with something else.”

Now I understand perfectly well why the A&R team dumped almost all the parts in <Too Good to Waste> on Kwon Taeyoung and Cha Yensu, who were twenty-nine at the time, and barely gave twenty-three-year-old me anything....

But seriously, this kid really never skipped practice.

It hadn’t even been that long since promotions for <DEEP> ended, and there had to be some lingering fallout from getting dragged into the quest too.

If he had unexpectedly gotten a day off because of bad weather, of all things, one would think he might spend it lazing around a little. Instead, he diligently went back and forth to the practice room.

“Why are you working this hard?”

“What?”

“Look here.”

Gowon

Dance Lv.MAX (∞)

“Your Dance is already maxed out. You’re past the point where ordinary practice raises it. For you to improve beyond this, you need something more like a new realization.”

Like when Gowon had broken through a wall during the <DEEP> comeback showcase.

He had moved beyond the stage where he accumulated experience one step at a time. Now he needed some kind of catalyst that would let him awaken on his own.

Gowon seemed to have felt something himself in that moment, because he nodded in agreement.

“I’m still going to keep doing what I’ve been doing.”

“That’s what I’m asking. Why? You want to make another comeback already? Come to think of it, next in order should be a full album, right?”

Gowon had put up solid results with a digital single and a mini album, so next came the stage where an artist established their musical identity with a full album packed with a variety of tracks.

The prettiest trajectory would be to promote a single album sometime in late autumn while preparing the full album at the same time, then make a flashy comeback around the first anniversary of his debut.

Even I think that sounds like the ideal elite course for a rookie singer....

“What do you want to sing for the full album?”

“.......”

After a brief pause, Gowon turned to look at him.

“Hanje.”

What kind of ridiculous plan did he have to be looking that serious?

“...You don’t have to help with my next album.”

“What?”

What the hell was that supposed to mean?

Is eighteen-year-old Gowon still lurking inside him somewhere? Is this puberty?

“Of course I want one of your songs too. But, well... instead of you helping because you have to, I’ll become a singer you genuinely want to give a song to. I’ll make you choose me yourself. Judge me fairly.”

“Ah....”

I understand what an admirable thing you’re trying to say.

But if I don’t play favorites with you, both you and I are screwed....

“Ah! I don’t mean I don’t want one of your songs. I’ll work hard too. If I work even harder, I can become a singer who earns you a lot of royalties....”

The baby who hadn’t even known what comprehensive income tax was was now saying he would earn royalties for Hanje.

Maybe this is what it feels like to watch the grandchild you once held crying in a blanket enter kindergarten.

But... the more Gowon acted like this, the more Hanje wanted to help him.

...Ahem.

Truthfully, all the teasing about Gowon being a chick or a kindergartener came from much the same place.

It made Hanje weirdly reluctant to watch him shed his immaturity and grow steadier.

Hanje quietly looked Gowon over as he sat beside him.

The company’s brutal management had made Gowon’s appearance even more celebrity-like than when he started, and he had accepted all of it without complaint.

But the change wasn’t only physical.

Hanje could clearly feel that Gowon had changed on the inside too.

Of course he’s my junior. He’s admirable... and cool.

Especially because I know better than anyone where he started and how far he’s come.

Of course, Hanje had absolutely no intention of ever saying that out loud.