Save a Failed Idol's Life

Translator: MarcTempest

Editor: NicoleTempest

Chapter 231 Doubt

“It’s about the perilla leaf debate. When I’m eating with my girlfriend and my friend, can my girlfriend peel off the perilla leaf for my friend? Is that okay or not? This thing.”

What’s a perilla leaf? I asked as if I didn’t understand.

“Just peel it off for them.”

What’s the problem with that? I frowned and Yi-jun laughed next to me.

“Oh, perilla leaf is fine, no problem?”

I still didn’t get it and asked again.

“What’s the problem with peeling off the perilla leaf?”

Is perilla leaf some kind of slang that I don’t know? I really had no clue.

“Well, you know… usually you don’t like it, right? When your girlfriend pays attention to someone else in front of you?”

Is that what it was? I still looked unconvinced and answered.

“But people have to eat to live. If you’re worried about something like an indirect kiss, just use a new chopstick.”

Then Naru snapped at me incredulously.

“Isn’t that worse? Why do you have to care so much?”

“That’s true. It’s hygienic, but it might look like you’re picking on them?”

“Where’s the fault in hygiene?”

“Isn’t that too harsh?”

Then Yi-jun threw another topic.

“Then, are you okay with peeling shrimp for them?”

It felt like the situation was turning into a 6:1 interrogation. The eyes of the other guys, except for Kyunghwa who was resting after finishing the recording, were on me.

“Why do you peel shrimp for them?”

“Just imagine it. I went to a shrimp barbecue place with my girlfriend and my friend. But my girlfriend peeled shrimp for my friend. Are you okay with that?”

What’s that? I narrowed my eyes and answered.

“Why don’t you just not eat together? Or do you have to eat shrimp? Just eat your own plate.”

It was amazing that this could be a topic and a concern.

“Hey, that’s no fun. I made up the situation to make you think a little.”

“Hmm…”

I trailed off without feeling the need to think deeper, and Seon-woo answered instead.

“I’m fine with perilla leaf, but… shrimp is a bit…”

“Ooh.”

The youngest’s confident remark drew the attention of five older brothers and one younger brother.

“What’s the difference between them?”

“Perilla leaf is just a matter of touching it with chopsticks, but shrimp requires hands and it’s annoying and stuff?”

“Yeah, shrimp is more like… why bother? And it’s cumbersome.”

They chatted among themselves and then Hwijin suddenly spoke the truth.

“But… if it was a relationship that would cheat because of showing kindness while eating… it wouldn’t matter what they ate. I think it doesn’t matter anyway.”

That’s right. If they had chemistry because of that, I would have been invisible anyway.

Time flew by as we chatted. It was time to stop the nonsense and finish the recording.

“That’s true. But still, it’s annoying to be misunderstood, so let’s all take two perilla leaves and peel them ourselves, and peel the shrimp with our own hands. The end!”

I snapped my fingers as if to ask for the questionnaire I had written, and collected it.

I felt like I had gotten enough content while chatting. I also felt better after getting an IV while sleeping unintentionally.

I thought I would finish the collaboration tonight and send the promotional portfolio to the company that looked promising. I should go to bed around 2 o’clock.

As I was thinking, Seong-won looked at me with a dumbfounded expression.

‘What… did I say something that hurt his feelings?’

I wondered and asked Seong-won.

“Why are you looking at me like that? Did I do something wrong?”

Thud, thud, I rolled up the questionnaire in my hand and hit it against the wall to align the center, and Seong-won opened his mouth with a dissatisfied face.

“It seems like you’re pushing yourself too hard.”

“Me?”

“Who else besides you?”

I shrugged and pointed to Yi-jun, who was busy directing. Seong-won scowled.

‘He hates him that much…’

“He’s different from you.”

“What’s different?”

“He didn’t collapse and you did…”

Seong-won was about to point out that I had been to the hospital, but he stopped when he saw that the camera was still on.

“Hey. It’s just because I was sleepy. Don’t worry. I’ll take care of myself.”

I patted Seong-won’s shoulder lightly and took out the laptop I had brought for work.

If I finish the recording today and the mixing by the end of this week… the release schedule for Holiday with Offbeat was also set.

I had no time to relax as I had a live event planned for the day the first episode was released on the OTT platform.

On top of that, there was the salad that was being made as a prototype. It was a self-inflicted disaster, as the kids these days would say.

‘But I have to do well if I started.’

I didn’t intend to neglect any of them. I smiled at Seong-won, who was looking at me with a suspicious expression.

“Thanks for worrying about me. If you’re concerned about me, just post a selfie on our official account.”

The other members and I had been posting selfies on our official SNS under the pretext of communication, getting Kyunghwa’s confirmation along the way.

Seon-woo and I, who were more cooperative, and Yi-jun, who often went up. Kyunghwa was also embarrassed, but he couldn’t miss out on his own PR, so he diligently uploaded them.

Seong-won had a lot of demand for selfies, as he was the first one to get a fan club.

‘…’

‘Who’s going to ask him to take a picture?’

‘I hate it.’

‘Me too.’

‘Me too…’

They all hated it as if they were putting a bell on a cat’s neck, so there was never a selfie of Seong-won uploaded except for the group photos taken during the activities.

It was so bad that sometimes questions like “Does Seong-won hate selfies?” came in as quotes.

Does he hate selfies? I don’t know about that… but I’ve never seen him take one himself. He wasn’t the type to avoid group photos, though…

It was a good thing. I took out my phone and handed it to Seong-won.

“Let’s take a selfie while we’re at it. You know the fans are sad that you don’t post selfies, right?”

“I don’t know.”

Seong-won came over to me with a blank expression, as if he agreed.

There was no selfie stick, but luckily his arm was long. I switched the camera to selfie mode and pressed the button with our faces close together, and Seong-won’s slightly annoyed and handsome face was captured on the screen.

“Are we done?”

Seong-won tried to get away like a mudfish, but I quickly grabbed the back of his clothes and stopped him.

“Where are you going? We have to fill up four shots and upload them.”

I took one shot of Seong-won alone, one of me alone, and one more of us together, and I was quite satisfied with the four shots.

“That’s it. I’ll edit and upload them.”

Kyunghwa usually took care of sorting out the photos to post on SNS, but he was busy recording the back vocals in the recording studio.

‘It came out well, so I guess I can just upload it.’

Seong-won didn’t say anything either, so he must have thought it came out well. I didn’t care much and pressed the send button.

And a little later. As the recording ended and everyone shouted to disband, the camera for behind-the-scenes filming turned off and Kyunghwa screamed.

“What? Why?”

Everyone was startled and looked at where Kyunghwa was, and Kyunghwa ran over to me in shock.

“When did you upload this?”

What is this? I looked at Kyunghwa’s phone and it was the two-shot of Seong-won and me that I uploaded earlier.

“Why? Did we take something that shouldn’t go out?”

“Did Seong-won say it was okay to upload this?”

“Yeah.”

We didn’t wear anything weird, and there was nothing in the background, either. I asked with a puzzled look and Kyunghwa frowned.

“I hate guys who don’t have any desperation for selfies.”

“What are you talking about?”

Yi-jun and Yu-geon turned their heads and laughed as if they were going to choke.

“Would it be better to delete this?”

Then Kyunghwa shook his head.

“It’s fine. It’s already out there, and there’s plenty left after saving it. What can we do?”

At Kyunghwa’s resigned reaction, I quickly checked the quoted status.

[- Am I looking up from the ground right now?]

[- If you’re going to make that face, give it to me]

[- If not taking selfies is a crime, “life imprisonment”]

[- Kyunghwa, take their phones away??????????]

Most of them were filled with shock, horror, and teasing. There were some positive comments in between, but they were also teasing.

[- There’s nothing to say about guys who have no desperation for selfies]

[- You should have gotten the boss’s confirmation before uploading, but you’re the boss??????]

[- For the finale, Kyunghwa should film a selfie class special and the views will explode and we’ll be happy too]

Oh… this is a good idea. I pressed it hard and copied the content, and Kyunghwa looked at me with a bit of contempt.

“Are you saving that in the meantime?”

“No, the idea is good.”

As we finished cleaning up the studio, exchanging playful banter, we saw snowflakes falling from the sky.

“Ugh… I wish it would warm up soon.”

Kyung-hwa muttered as he got into the van first. We split up into our groups and headed home. Everyone was exhausted from the long recording session, except for Seon-woo and Naru, who looked up at the sky with sparkling eyes.

“Wouldn’t it be busier if it got warmer?”

Especially in spring, when the events and festivals that had been on hold during winter would start. Last year, we barely got any invitations, but this year was different. We had sent our portfolio to event agencies, and we couldn’t expect the same as last year.

“I’d rather have it not cold, at least.”

Kyung-hwa snuggled his face into the shoulder cushion that the fans had given him, making a smug sound.

I snorted, feeling deflated, and closed my eyes for a while on the way home.

Did I sleep for about 15 minutes? After a short nap, I was overwhelmed by the pile of things I had to do at home.

‘Let’s finish them quickly and go to bed.’

I was annoyed by the constant nagging of the guys who came out to the living room one by one, asking me when I was going to sleep, as if they were monitoring me. They all seemed worried that I might collapse again.

But I stubbornly completed the tasks I had set for today.

Tomorrow, I had to confirm the mix that Yi-jun had done… prepare what to talk about on the live broadcast when the travel content was released… and decide how much to spoil on the live broadcast…

As I sorted out these thoughts in my head, I suddenly felt strange.

‘Why did I faint?’

Was it because of pain? Fatigue? I didn’t think it was that bad. Everyone around me was worried and told me to stop overworking. But that was only when I took too long to handle things because I lacked skills.

I was getting at least six hours of sleep every day, so I wasn’t that overworked.

Why then? I wondered, feeling puzzled, when my head started to hurt again.

It felt like something was coming back to me… or not. It was a weird feeling.

That’s when I felt something bubbling at my feet.

“Woof!”

Pposili, who looked grumpier than usual, was looking up at me.