Save a Failed Idol's Life

Translator: MarcTempest

Editor: NicoleTempest

Chapter 206 Picked Up on the Way

“Wow, it’s cold.”

Yu-geon, who had covered 98% of his body with a hat, sunglasses, scarf, gloves, and so on, muttered as soon as he got off the platform.

“We’re screwed.”

It was at least an hour’s drive from here to the hotel. He didn’t want to scream and die in a car accident on the icy road that had started to snow without chains.

He wanted to avoid headlines like “Floss K, leader of a rival group, and C, in an accident while traveling together.”

“What do we do now?”

As I sighed a long, white sigh and messed up my hair, Yu-geon asked me as if he was taking medicine in the dark.

“We’re asking for trouble if we drive badly in this weather.”

And I didn’t want to go to the underworld with this guy.

“Then what do we do?”

It was 3 a.m. now. There was no subway service, and even if there was, if someone recognized us while we were riding with this guy… I was already fed up.

I thought about calling the manager, but… it wasn’t enough to ask him to put on snow chains and come to the airport at this time, and he was also accompanied by other team members… I wasn’t too keen on that either.

The only option left was… to wait for the limousine bus, which had fewer users, to start running.

The limousine bus managed by the transportation company was safer than my chainless car… Maybe? Maybe not. There was no other way.

“Let’s wait until the limousine runs.”

As soon as he checked the time, Yu-geon turned around and went back into the terminal.

“Where are you going?”

As I followed Yu-geon inside and asked, he pointed to the inside with his eyes.

“I think I’ll freeze to death if I stay outside.”

Say something and move. I snickered at Yu-geon, who lay down and curled up as if he was going to sleep in a warm place.

Who would think that he was a top idol who was worth a lot of money in Korea? I kicked Yu-geon’s long legs slightly to make room, and then sat down with my hips slightly hooked.

“Wake me up when the limousine runs.”

Yu-geon nodded his head without answering and then lay his head on the floor of the chair and curled up again.

The heater was on, but the inside of the airport was so chilly that I had to tighten my sleeves more, and I still had to endure two hours.

I stared blankly at the ceiling with lights hanging down for a moment, and then I thought of the members who were worried.

‘Ah, I have to contact them.’

As I rummaged through my pocket, my phone was barely holding on with a battery that seemed to die soon.

[Me] I arrived at the airport again 3:42 a.m.

[Me] I’ll be back in the morning 3:43 a.m.

Contrary to what I thought they would be sleeping, the read confirmation marks popped up in an instant.

‘Heck, what’s this?’

You should be sleeping, why are you still awake at this time. As I panicked, Kyunghwa sent me the first reply.

[Kyunghwa] You came back early 3:43 a.m.

I replied hastily.

[Me] Why aren’t you sleeping yet 3:44 a.m.

Then Yi-jun answered instead with a cheerful emoticon.

[YJ] I’m worried, that’s why 3:45 AM

[YJ] It’s snowing outside too 3:46 AM

[YJ] Except for Seon-woo, none of us slept 3:47 AM

I wondered why one person didn’t read it. The youngest was probably snoring in dreamland by himself.

I felt more cute than sad.

[Me] Okay, I’m sorry for making you worry 3:48 AM

[Me] I’ll be careful and go home quickly 3:48 AM

[Kyunghwa] Okay 3:48 AM

There was no word from him all along, but the read confirmation number kept disappearing, so I guess Seong-won was also looking at the screen.

I was grateful and sorry at the same time. From the members’ point of view, we were also direct and indirect victims of Floss Wave, and the situation was that the label representative and leader left to take care of another group on his own.

I had no choice but to straighten up and behave well from now on.

[YJ] Buy something delicious on your way 3:49 AM

Oh, right.

I just remembered that I went all the way to Jeju Island and didn’t buy anything and came back empty-handed. Ah! The stuff they sell at the airport is a bit inferior to the ones they sell at the exclusive souvenir shop, but they were still edible.

As I was clutching my head with regret, Yu-geon raised his head and looked at me as if he thought I was noisy.

I asked him as if I had caught him.

“Did you buy anything like souvenirs?”

“Huh?”

Yu-geon looked at me as if I was talking nonsense.

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“Something like tangerine chocolate chips. White chocolate is delicious.”

Yu-geon, who was suddenly threatening to give me something to eat, answered with a bewildered expression.

“I have tangerine pie…”

“Let me see.”

“Suddenly?”

“Anything else?”

When I robbed Yu-geon’s luggage, a box of tangerine pie, hallabong tart, and individually wrapped omegi pie came out.

No matter where I picked, I was disappointed that he only bought these B-grade copies of famous brands.

“You should have bought tangerine chips, tangerine chips.”

“Why are you picking a fight out of nowhere?”

Yu-geon frowned as if he was annoyed. Frown or not. But the kids would be satisfied with this much, right…? I rationalized it by myself.

“I’m taking this.”

“Wow, you’re a real robber.”

He protested, but I didn’t care and put the souvenirs I stole from Yu-geon in my bag.

“I’ll make you earn more in the future, so let it go as a pickup cost.”

Yu-geon’s eyebrows shot up like a mountain and flinched, but I didn’t care.

A little later, the night sky that was only dark began to brighten and the snowflakes thinned out.

To prevent the morning rush hour chaos, snowplows were dispatched here and there, and the roads were cleared faster than expected.

“Where am I going now?”

Yu-geon, who had turned his back and lay down with resentment for being robbed of his souvenirs, turned his body and looked at me and asked.

“Do you have a separate room?”

When I narrowed my eyes and asked back, Yu-geon shook his head.

“No, I just stayed at the hotel for now…”

“What about your home?”

“My mother is not in Korea, so I sold everything.”

Hmm… Should I take him to a hotel for now? I thought for a moment and remembered that I still had the studio apartment that I used as a temporary shelter for Climax.

“Then I have a place to stay. I’m staying at the hotel, so you can use it by yourself.”

Yu-geon widened his eyes as if he was surprised.

“It might be added by one or two people. It’s a studio, but it’s spacious, so it won’t be cramped even if you use it with many people.”

Yu-geon looked at me with a puzzled expression as if he was asking what that meant.

“I’m going to bring your leader too.”

If the Floss fans knew, they would rip off everything from the pillars to the rafters of our house, which was a very shocking content, but the house was already burned down.

I have to save the skeleton if I can!

I chuckled lightly to myself and looked outside. People were lining up to wait for the limousine.

“I’ll get the tickets.”

Yu-geon nodded and sat up straight. It was time to jump into the chaotic controversy again after barely getting any sleep.

“Ugh, I’m tired.”

I finally arrived at the hotel lobby and checked the time. It was exactly 9 a.m. It was either early or late than I expected.

I took Yu-geon to the empty studio and spent a lot of time discussing what to do next.

‘Don’t think of using your father’s matter, just focus on overcoming the crisis for now.’

To solve Yu-geon’s problem, I had to explain why I had to act irresponsibly for the time being, apart from the current corruption scandal of Floss.

It was not enough to reveal how murderous Floss’ schedule was.

The public, including the fans who turned their backs, would mostly react, ‘Don’t you have to put up with that much if you make a lot of money that others can’t make easily?’

If he didn’t get paid, the public opinion would have been completely on Yu-geon’s side, but there was a high chance that there would be a disdainful view as he earned a lot of money.

‘To be honest, I don’t think it’s too… unreasonable to think that.’

It was also true that he made a lot of money that young people in their 20s couldn’t touch even if they worked for a lifetime.

So he had to have more reasons than overwork to convince the public and gain sympathy.

Yu-geon didn’t want to reveal his father’s matter, and I had to persuade him harshly and then comfort him again.

‘I don’t think it will affect your activities anyway.’

Yu-geon’s reaction was reasonable. But if he quietly returned and resumed his activities, there was a high possibility of repeating the previous situation.

For Yu-geon’s better future, I had to clear it up now. I couldn’t go back to the same or worse situation than before because of the reaction of ‘Wow, that guy ran away and came back again.’

At least the mental health of the former was much more stable than the latter.

After a long argument, Yu-geon decided to reveal his father’s matter and that he couldn’t handle the schedule due to the panic caused by the assault of Cha, a member who was unstable due to the schedule problem.

He knew that what I suggested was ultimately beneficial to him. But he was resentful of having to act against his will.

‘Why are you talking informally?’

I wondered if he remembered that time on the way, but in this world, there was no trace of the 100th participant, let alone anyone who remembered him.

I felt the same irritation at his informal speech, even though I had no memory of him. It was natural. After all, we were the same person.

I didn’t answer and turned my head away with a snort.

After dropping off Yu-geon at his studio apartment in a hurry, I returned to the dorm.

Gurgle-

…My stomach started to sound the alarm.

Yeah. This was more like me. No matter how busy and tired I was, I had to eat and move.

I opened the door lock quickly and entered. The first thing that greeted me was Pposilii, the dorm’s dog.

“Woof-!”

“Aw, yeah.”

I didn’t mind his face licking mine and hugged him tightly, placing him on the sofa.

As he sniffed my winter and unfamiliar smells with his wet nose, Seon-woo came out of his room and into the living room.

“Hey, Ise hyung, you came back so soon? Are the other hyungs asleep?”

Seon-woo, unlike the other members, slept soundly at bedtime and woke up on time. He looked confused as he got up when everyone else was asleep.

“Leave them alone. Let them sleep a little more while I cook. I’ll wake them up when the food is ready.”

I hung my coat and bag on the hanger and went to the kitchen to wash my hands.

Let’s eat and think. Ever since I shivered at the airport, I craved a soup dish. It was a bit heavy for breakfast, but… it was cold, so it would be fine.

I decided on shabu-shabu, a dish where I could eat meat, vegetables, and a dessert for Koreans. I washed and cut the vegetables diligently.

“Do you need any help?”

I gladly assigned Seon-woo the task of washing and drying the cabbage, lettuce, and bean sprouts. I put the frozen broth pack in warm water and boiled it.

Outside, the record-breaking cold snap continued and the windows were fogged up.

The sun was fully up outside, reflecting on the snow and dazzling my eyes. A faint drowsiness came over me and my eyes became half-closed.

‘I have to do what I can for now.’

I seasoned the broth lightly and moved the pot to the burner, stretching.

There were more troubles ahead, piled up like a mountain.