Chapter 44

“Anyway, fine.”

“Baek Hanje finally agrees to perform on a music show, and suddenly there’s no end to the entertainment. All right. You can go.”

“Yes. See you next time.”

Q Emergency. Detect HBN’s Crisis

Cleared

You have successfully overcome the crisis.

The completion message this time left a slightly bitter aftertaste. Instead of a clean “Quest Success!” I had ended up owing her a favor.

At least she wasn’t the kind of person who would play that card in a truly nasty way.

Right. Nothing in this business was ever free to begin with.

Still, she had cut me plenty of slack.

There was no telling what would have happened to Gowon if they had filed an official complaint with K-Dom. If the other divisions had found out, it would have reached Executive Director Choi’s ears too....

Nothing will happen... probably.

I said goodbye to the producer and turned to leave, only to spot someone in the distance staring fixedly at me.

It was Gowon.

Judging by where he was standing, he must have seen the whole thing when the producer dragged me away. Maybe because all I had ever shown him was me swaggering around every day like I was hot shit and pretending to be invincible, I suddenly felt awkward.

“Brother.”

“What?”

“.......”

“Why are you alone?”

“...I won’t cause any more trouble.”

No, I had genuinely meant to ask where everyone else had gone. He must have been thoroughly dejected, because he somehow interpreted it as something else entirely.

And, well....

If the reason a kid who had spent his whole life swallowing everything finally exploded was because someone insulted me....

It was hard to stay angry with him.

“You did right by telling us.”

“...What?”

“Overall, you did half of it wrong and half of it right. I’m not going to lecture you because I already know the company will tear you a new one for the part you did wrong.”

“.......”

Gowon closed his mouth again, just as he had before.

I wondered what his status window looked like now. If I had known something like this would happen, should I have just unlocked his Mental Strength slot?

I opened it, worried that one of his abilities might have dropped for no good reason, but an unexpected entry caught my eye.

Gowon

Current Status: I’m sorry.

What?

Gowon

Current Status: Please don’t give up on me.

Gowon

Current Status: I was wrong.

“...Hey, Gowon.”

“Yes.”

His impassive face turned toward me. For a moment, I wondered if the blinking status window was lying to me.

“Is there something you want to say to me?”

“.......”

Gowon

Current Status: I’ll ■■■ ■■■ more.

Oh, come on.

What more was he going to do? Everyone around him was already up in arms, telling us to stop him before he practiced until his bones broke.

Just say, “I was wrong,” like you’re actually thinking.

As I watched his face grow darker and more rigid, my own mouth began to feel dry, and I finally urged him again.

“I asked if you had something to say.”

Just say anything. I think telling you I didn’t expect anything from you was a little harsh, so I’ll let it go with a smile.

“...No.”

“.......”

A sigh I had tried to hide escaped me.

I thought I understood now.

It wasn’t that he had never been desperate. He had lived more fiercely than anyone, and somewhere in that brutal life, he had never once learned how to ask for help.

And the first person who had probably ever helped someone like him was....

Am I seriously acting like the youngest member who just got his first little brother?

What a strange feeling.

***

After we returned to Korea, Maybe Entertainment contacted K-Dom.

They formally apologized for what had happened at <Music Building>, and I heard that this had also allowed us to raise the issue of their overlapping concept from a stronger position.

Which meant that Kwon Taeyoung was finished with whatever had been keeping him busy....

—What did you promise the producer?

Damn it, see? I told you he was scary when he got angry.

Even over the phone, icicles seemed to drip from his voice.

“Promise? What do you think I did, auction myself off?”

—.......

He had been the eldest and the one in charge since elementary school, so no matter how old I got, I couldn’t help shrinking beneath the pressure he exerted. My insides went cold, as if someone had poured sparkling water over my heart.

“Maybe I shouldn’t have answered the phone....”

—Go ahead, if you want to see me break down your studio door.

“I was talking to myself. Why were you listening?”

—So what was it?

“Nothing much. I promised that whenever I release a song, I’ll do its first performance on their show.”

—Is that really all?

“That’s all. What else would there be?”

—Don’t concern yourself with things like this. The company is supposed to handle them.

“Fine.”

—And don’t do anything like this again. Gowon matters. But obviously, you’re the one the company should prioritize.

“I said I understand....”

But if Gowon goes down, we go down with him....

I couldn’t remember the last time I had been scolded like this at my age. But perhaps because the habit had been ingrained in me since childhood, I didn’t feel rebellious so much as awkward.

When I trudged out of the room, Gowon saw me and flinched.

A certain awkwardness had remained between us even after we returned from Singapore.

“.......”

It was because every time he saw me, a series of expressions crossed his face before he quietly turned his head away.

Just how badly had Kwon Taeyoung chewed him out to leave him this intimidated?

“Where are you going?”

“...To practice.”

“Oh. Have fun.”

“Yes... I’ll be back.”

He hesitated, bowed his head, then hurried out.

“Look at him.”

It was good that he knew he had done something wrong, but he had picked up a bad habit. Why was he hiding his face behind his forearm?

I would have to say something about that later.

***

—You have set foot in the Cursed Idol Academy.

“Eek!”

The cheerful classroom became steeped in a sinister atmosphere in an instant.

—Only the very best idols are qualified to graduate and leave the school.

“The door—it’s locked from the outside!”

“Help us!”

“I’m almost forty! If I’d gotten married a little earlier, my kid would be old enough to be an idol!”

Creeeak.

At that moment, the classroom’s rear door opened with an eerie sound.

“Aaaargh!”

Idol ghosts in bloodstained stage outfits staggered through the open doorway.

—Idols do not dare speak of marriage.

—Idols are their fans’ eternal sweethearts. They must watch their words and actions so they do not disappoint them.

“I—I was wrong! I said I was wrong!”

The cast member regretted it too late. Unable to take back what he had said, he was surrounded by the idol ghosts.

Bzzzt, bzzzzzt—bzzzt—

“Aaaargh!”

An unidentified noise rang out loudly enough to tear through their eardrums as the lights flashed ominously.

At last, everything went dark.

“Are you all right?!”

“What the hell happened?”

The lights came back on amid the chaos.

“Gasp...!”

“G-guys, sob, you guys....”

For the crime of daring to utter the word “marriage” inside the Idol Academy....

His upper body had been immobilized with both hands cupped beneath his chin.

—Correction into proper idol conduct is complete.

What had wrapped around and restrained the cast member’s body was the bizarre power of the Cursed Idol Academy... or rather, packing tape.

“Damn it, what the hell is going on?”

—Idols use proper, wholesome language suitable for an all-ages program.

“Aaaargh!”

—Idols do not scratch their noses.

“W-wait!”

Several more cast members were forcibly “corrected” for violating the school’s demanding rules. Still trapped in adorable poses, they explored the classroom and gathered meaningful clues.

A digital clock that had stopped.

A blotchy dark-red calendar.

A student’s diary.

“The date on the clock—it’s marked as graduation day on the calendar.”

A circle had been drawn on the calendar as though with a bloodstained finger.

Surrounded by the sinister atmosphere, everyone opened the diary.

Once we graduate, we can leave this insane school. We absolutely have to make the graduation performance a success. Otherwise, the school will never let us go. Rather than break its history and tradition of producing the greatest idols, it would kill every failing student....

“.......”

“W-what kind of f—fine and wholesome school rules are these... ha ha....”

The cast member, who had nearly used some strong language, hastily corrected himself before he could be “corrected.”

However, since we could not become the greatest idols immediately, we decided to disguise ourselves.

The diary continued with a meeting to select a song, learning the choreography, and assigning parts.

After reviewing the entire process, the guest immediately realized what the students had attempted.

“These people were preparing a cover performance! They were going to cover a song by a senior group recognized as ‘the greatest idols’ and pretend to be them! That was how they planned to escape the school.”

He brightly summarized the situation, drawing the spotlight to himself.

He was Jung Yusang, Newton’s youngest member and center, one of the guests on this episode of the popular escape-room variety show <Escape on Sundays>.

“Guys, it looks like we really do have to put on some kind of performance!”

A cast member who had gone to investigate the lockers in the distance called out.

“Look at what Gowon found!”

Beside the cast member, Gowon effortlessly lifted a huge box and carried it over to the others.

The two guests on this week’s episode of <Escape on Sundays> met each other’s eyes.

Newton’s Jung Yusang—and Gowon.