Save a Failed Idol's Life

I didn’t mean to give all the spotlight to Kyunghwa or Seon-woo. What was that? Wasn’t Kyunghwa supposed to be the leader?

As I tilted my head with a bunch of question marks in my mind,

[Whiskey in a glass is gonna be brimming, the whiskey in the glass is the only thing that sparkles.]

[I’m trying to lose count till dawn, I’ll be drunk until dawn comes.]

Seon-woo’s part finally came. The choreography was decent enough to make him stand out, but it wasn’t a part that showcased his vocal skills.

Of course, Seon-woo wasn’t good enough to shine among the main vocals.

But still, he wasn’t so bad that he had to rely on his face only. Why did they give him such a part?

I looked at Seon-woo with a puzzled expression on my face as he acted cute for the camera. He wore a blue jean jacket that evoked the nostalgia of the 80s and 90s, Ray-Ban sunglasses tucked in his chest pocket, and a scarf that added a touch of rebelliousness.

He combined his usual cuteness with a retro and chic vibe, pleasing my eyes.

Well, at least he got some screen time. I sighed inwardly as I focused on the next part, where Kyunghwa appeared.

[We shouldn’t have to wait, I can’t wait any longer.]

[Drink more, the beat is too heavy to skip. Raise your glass higher, you can’t just skip it.]

The lyrics were not much different from the others, but the part was so fast that the camera quickly moved away from Kyunghwa.

Why did they choose that part? I wondered for a moment and shook my head. Maybe it was because of that part that Kyunghwa got it.

I was annoyed by the other group members who took the center stage. They didn’t seem to do much better than us, but they were so greedy for parts.

I grumbled to myself as the stage was nearing its end.

Well… It’s not like they were happy either. The overall level was not bad, but I don’t think anyone was 100% satisfied with the stage.

I felt a mix of relief and regret as I watched Kyunghwa and Seon-woo finish the stage.

“Thank you!”

“Good job everyone!”

“Thank you~.”

With the final bow of the vocal C team, all the unit stages were over.

‘Let’s never meet again, it was hell.’

I smiled politely and said goodbye to the unit members.

“You all worked hard. Let’s keep doing our best in our own teams.”

Then, not only Vesper AB, but also AtoX AB smiled smugly as if they had won easily.

“Yes, you worked hard too, hyung.”

You too, my ass. You didn’t work hard, I did.

“We were awesome, I think we’ll be a legend, maybe even a meme.”

We? No, it was just me.

“I hope we can work together again, maybe at the end of the year or something!”

I don’t.

I had a lot to say, but it was time to be grateful that it was over and look forward to the future.

“Well, I’ll go to the team waiting room then.”

I ran out of the unit waiting room and headed to the team waiting room, where Kyunghwa and Seon-woo were already sitting on a chair.

“You all did a great job.”

As soon as I entered the waiting room, I saw the gloomy faces of Kyunghwa and Seon-woo and tried to offer them some consolation. Seon-woo’s expression turned into a sob in an instant.

“I really, really had a hard time.”

Kyunghwa seemed to have a lot to say too, but he was holding back because we were still in front of the camera. Seon-woo didn’t care about the camera or anything and cried with big tears.

I looked at Kyunghwa with a puzzled expression, wondering why he was like this. He shook his head as if to tell me to leave him alone.

“You did well, it’s over now. Let’s go back to the dorm and rest.”

I patted Seon-woo’s back, who hugged me like a puppy, and looked at the camera with a bewildered expression.

While I was waiting like that, Seong-won and Yi-jun joined us in the team waiting room.

“Wow, it’s over~!”

Yi-jun looked relieved and happy, while Seong-won looked no different from usual.

“We’re filming the stage review and evaluation tomorrow, right?”

Yi-jun wiped his sweat with a towel that said ‘Changwon City Sports Festival’ in big embroidery, which I had no idea where he got it from.

“Yes, today you just need to check your health condition and go home. Your agency staff will be here soon.”

Following the instructions of the production staff, Yi-jun nodded and drank the water that was on the table.

It’s good to have some leisure time. Everyone looked at Yi-jun with envy, while Seong-won moved away from him as if he was a barbarian.

His reaction was so obvious on the camera that… If it was another member, I would have worried about a controversy over his personality, but it was already well known through the crisis phone that Seong-won and Yi-jun hated each other. It would be used as a gag element, not edited badly.

The stage filming ended with everyone looking shabby, and soon the manager came and took us to the dorm.

We didn’t know how the results would turn out, but the vocal was likely to win in group A, the rap in group B, and the dance in group A.

If it goes like this, we will win in all parts. I hoped that our efforts for the past two weeks would not be in vain and prepared to go to bed.

The night when everyone returned to the dorm and finished cleaning up.

I heard a sniffling sound from outside the living room where Seon-woo was sleeping.

‘Anyway…’

I thought it would be better to pretend not to know, but I couldn’t stand it and got up.

As soon as I got up, I heard rustling sounds from here and there.

That’s right. I wasn’t the only one awake.

“What happened earlier?”

Finally, I turned on the light and looked at the bed where Seon-woo was sleeping. Seon-woo, who had curled up his body, was there. Yi-jun was peacefully sleeping with his arms and legs stretched out, while Kyunghwa and Seong-won covered their faces with their hands and opened their eyes slightly.

“Ah, no…”

Seon-woo tried to deny it, but his face betrayed him.

Kyunghwa seemed to be having a hard time too, but he wasn’t mentally broken like this. There must have been something that happened.

‘I should have slept early.’

We had to move our luggage in the morning, so we didn’t have time to rest.

I started to worry a little as I saw the fatigue on Kyunghwa and Seong-won’s faces.

“Are you upset because of what you heard earlier?”

I asked in a slightly hoarse voice, wondering if Kyunghwa had dozed off for a bit. Seon-woo’s back flinched noticeably at my question.

“What’s wrong? You have to tell me if you want me to comfort you or help you.”

I offered him a place to vent his feelings, sitting down on the edge of the bed. Seon-woo rolled his swollen eyes around.

“I, I’m really fine…”

But Pposili, who was curled up under Seon-woo’s feet, said otherwise.

[※‘I, Seon-woo’ has entered a ‘very anxious’ mood.]

His face and status window showed that he was not fine at all. He was probably holding back his troubles by himself, afraid of causing trouble. But if he exploded later, it would be a bigger problem.

“I’m really fine!”

He shook his head as if he couldn’t cause any more trouble here in the middle of the night.

“If that’s the reason, I’m going back to sleep.”

Kyunghwa said in an unusually deflated tone and lay down on the blanket. Seong-won seemed to be curious about the situation, but he put on his sleep mask and lay down again.

‘Kyunghwa is not the type to leave me like that. There must be a reason for that.’

Should I use the replay service or something? After a brief moment of thought, a good idea came to mind.

‘He can’t say it out loud.’

I sighed briefly and dragged Seon-woo to the table and gave him a chair.

“…?”

He looked up at me with a bewildered expression. I declared briefly.

“I’ll make you a late-night snack that you can eat for dinner, so think about it.”

It wouldn’t be good for his body to eat right before sleeping. But he was young, so his stomach would work well. He was 21 years old, so this much was fine.

I took out the low-calorie konjac noodles that I had stored in the cabinet and soaked them in hot water until they were soft.

There was milk, bacon, and onion. I chopped the onion finely and sautéed it with butter and sliced garlic. Then I added the ramen soup and seasoned it.

The sauce looked sticky, but it was guaranteed to be delicious. I added the slightly soaked konjac noodles and simmered them a little.

When the sauce was thick enough, I added a slice of cheese and finished.

It was a visually sticky dish, but it had a stimulating taste. A bowl was quickly made.

“Wow, it smells really good.”

Of course. It was a combination of unhealthy but delicious things. The bacon was not a cheap product that was salty, but an expensive one that had a savory taste without being salty.

The recipe was cheap, but the ingredients were not. It was a delicious dish that was well deserved.

“Eat slowly and don’t scrape the sauce.”

“Okay!”

Seon-woo nodded his head repeatedly with a revived look in his eyes. The konjac tumbler, which was slightly less than one serving, disappeared in an instant.

He liked it, I guess. I wondered if there was anything he didn’t like. His eyes were still swollen, but he ate so eagerly that I felt a little relieved.

He looked at me eating and sneaked a glance at me. He quickly ran to the sink and brought me a pair of chopsticks.

“Hyung, you eat too…”

“I’m fine. I’m not hungry.”

I didn’t like eating after waking up from sleep. It made my stomach upset. And it was a little short for Seon-woo to eat alone.

He was depressed, so he should eat well and feel better. I wasn’t starving enough to take his food.

“But…”

“Eat more. If I wanted to eat, I would have made more.”

“Uh-huh…”

He nodded slowly, as if he finally accepted my refusal after I turned him down a few more times.

I sighed briefly and opened my mouth again.

“So, why are you crying? You were like this even after the shooting ended yesterday.”

I didn’t intend to interrogate him, but now that we finished eating, we should talk.

I untied the apron that I had tightly wrapped around me, as if this was the main part, and stared at Seon-woo.

Seon-woo started to avoid my gaze again, with a hesitant and insecure expression on his face.