Save a Failed Idol's Life

Translator: MarcTempest

Editor: NicoleTempest

Chapter 244

I didn’t want to go too early and look suspicious, so I killed time until lunch by browsing articles related to Offbeat. Fortunately, the other members were working hard to fill the gap left by Cheon Ise, and I could easily find news about their activities.

I also didn’t forget to feed the fans with some personal Y-apps.

A clip of Seon-woo being shocked by the fans’ recommendations of diet-friendly late-night snacks, such as pig’s feet, bossam, rose tteokbokki, chicken, and pizza, on his Y-app where he ate konjac tteokbokki for diet, was shared over 20,000 times.

He probably didn’t expect that much of a reaction.

[- Seon-woo, you don’t have to be so shockedㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

[- The reaction of God-Banin who is surprised by my daily dietㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

[- You eat that at night? Oh, not just one, but several? ←I was so shocked that I felt hurt]

[- Seberji must have been strict with the managementㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]

Sometimes there were comments looking for me, and my heart sank.

‘They’re all doing well.’

I thought it might be better to just exclude Cheon Ise and continue as a seven-member group.

‘Then what about the composition?’

It would be best to be absorbed back into WePlanet and become a label with only a separate name. It wasn’t the direction I wanted, but it would be better than having the unit and the group disintegrate.

I felt bitter.

Cheon Ise… It would be best if he could pull himself together and take over well.

‘I have to check his condition first.’

As soon as it was time for me to visit him without looking weird, I jumped up from my seat.

The kids who shared the room with me, who looked like high school students, glanced at me.

I felt embarrassed by the unwanted attention, but now was not the time to care. I walked out of the dorm and took a bus.

‘…’

The main house where the chairman of Cheon Soo Group and his family lived was about 40 minutes away by public transportation.

As I looked out the window, a scene from <Between Us> music video was being broadcasted on a large billboard.

I stared blankly at the song and the screen, which I had not missed a single part of the review, and soon the bus moved away from the billboard.

I turned my head and looked at it until it became as small as a fingernail, and various complicated thoughts came to my mind.

I was no longer Cheon Ise. So I shouldn’t have any attachment to what was not mine from the beginning, and what was not mine now.

‘The truth is…’

No, don’t think about it. I shook my head and checked the station to get off, then pressed the bell.

It was better to move quickly than to be depressed by assuming impossible things.

I switched to a new bus in a hurry, and this route was crowded with people.

‘There are a lot of students.’

They had a lot of key rings hanging from their bags or behind their phones.

‘We also had those goods.’

As I thought, I saw an Offbeat key ring that was on sale behind the grip talk of a student wearing a nearby high school uniform.

“I was so sleepy because I watched Y-app until dawn yesterday.”

“Who did you watch? Oh Ha-seon? Or Lee Hwijin?”

“Lee Hwijin. He usually doesn’t do it for that long by himself, but yesterday he responded well to the chat and did it for a long time.”

My heart skipped a beat at the familiar name that came into my ears.

“Some of the Climax members joined in the middle, so it was a bit chaotic. But it was fun because they were all close.”

They had been stuck together for a long time, traveling and preparing for the music, and now they seemed to have gotten over the awkwardness and became closer.

‘Really… If only Cheon Ise could hold the center a little better.’

I couldn’t relax with the guy who was causing a fuss in the leader’s seat.

As soon as it was my turn to get off, I got up from my seat and a dagger-like word stabbed my ear.

“But what’s wrong with Cheon Ise? Why is he on hiatus all of a sudden?”

“I don’t know. Maybe he’ll get depressed or have panic disorder soon. He wouldn’t want to do that either.”

The bus stopped at the station near the Cheon Soo Group’s main house, along with the fans’ common guesses.

“Student, aren’t you getting off?”

The driver called me loudly as I hesitated.

“Oh, I’m getting off!”

I hurriedly came to my senses and stepped outside.

He was a guy who had been driven to an extreme choice without any skills.

Cheon Ise must have some awareness that he had to do something. But he didn’t know what to do or have confidence in doing it well, so that was the problem. And the responsibility was too heavy.

He might have just run away because he didn’t know how to deal with it.

Then I should tell him how to get out of it. So don’t misunderstand and hide or block me.

I arrived at the huge mansion and took a short breath.

‘It’s okay. I’ve done something similar before.’

I calmly pressed the doorbell. Soon, I heard a voice from inside.

“Who is it?”

I answered calmly.

“Hello, I’m a friend of Ise. Can I see him for a moment?”

“A friend of the young master?”

“Yes, I’m a trainee at WePlanet. Yu-geon told me to come here and check on Ise. He was supposed to come with me, but he got caught up in something, so I came first. We had something to discuss about the company’s plan, but he’s not answering his phone. It’s kind of urgent.”

I sold out Yu-geon and dragged in the company’s story. The location of the Cheon Soo Group chairman’s residence was already known nationwide, so it wouldn’t be strange if I was mistaken for a fan.

I racked my brain, wondering if I should show them the members’ numbers stored on my phone and pretend to be a trainee. But then, the gate opened with a buzz.

“Come in for now.”

It opened so easily? I was surprised by how easily I passed the first gate. I sighed with relief and headed to the entrance.

Did he not go to work today? Creak, the door opened and Vice Chairman Ahn greeted me with a worried expression.

“I’m sorry. Ise is not feeling well. He got worse after he came home yesterday. He won’t be able to work for a while.”

He was so polite to a kid who looked like a freshman in college. It showed what kind of person Vice Chairman Ahn was.

“Is there anything else wrong with him besides his mental health?”

I asked casually to check on Ise’s condition. Vice Chairman Ahn sighed deeply.

He got up quietly and took me to the second floor. He opened the door to the quietest room on the floor.

‘Oh no.’

Ise was lying on the bed with a pale face, almost like he fainted.

‘It feels so weird to see him like this after looking at him in the mirror.’

It was awkward. His skin was pale and dry, and his lips were blue, like a dying person. He closed his eyes weakly.

“He had a thorough check-up at the hospital, but they said nothing was wrong. They said it was just a mental problem that caused his condition to deteriorate. But he can’t get up, and it’s a big problem.”

Damaged data. Even if he was the owner of the body, something was wrong. I was looking down at the bed silently, when Ise’s eyelids fluttered and he opened his eyes.

His blurred eyes showed through his trembling eyelids. His eyes wandered around and then met mine. Ise gasped and sat up.

“Who, who are you!? Why, why are you here? How did you get here!?”

He reacted violently, as if he saw a ghost. Vice Chairman Ahn ran to him and supported him.

“I let him in because he said he had something to discuss with you about the company. You don’t seem well, so I’ll tell him to come back later. Don’t push yourself too hard…”

Ise shook off Vice Chairman Ahn’s support and yelled.

“Get him out of here! Don’t let anyone in the house again!”

Well, I was kind of like a ghost. He clearly recognized me. He was shocked by Ise’s fierce rejection. Vice Chairman Ahn apologized to me.

“I’m sorry. I’ve been thinking about taking him to a psychiatrist, but he’s been refusing so strongly. I’ll apologize for him.”

I expected this reaction, so I calmly opened my mouth.

“No, it’s okay. But…”

I bravely went back into the room and spoke to Ise, who was breathing heavily.

“Can you handle this?”

He didn’t look well at all. He had nothing wrong with him according to the health check, but he looked like this. There must have been a problem somewhere else.

“Don’t joke with me! I’m the owner of this body, what do you mean I can’t handle it?”

He looked like a zombie. He meant that he couldn’t function normally even if it was his body.

“Get out of here, you think you can take over someone else’s life for a while and act like it’s yours. You think I’ll disappear for you?”

My expression cooled down. This was bad. Even if he was sane, it would be hard.

I sighed and answered.

“Whether you’re stubborn or not. I can solve the problems you can’t.”

He screamed again.

“What are you doing? Don’t you hear me telling you to get out!?”

While the servants rushed in and tried to stop me, I opened my mouth after a moment of thought.

“I’m not here to take your body back, so don’t misunderstand. The offbeat, composition, and climax that you’re ruining are precious to me too. I came here to tell you to accept my help before it’s too late.”

Ise’s eyes widened with surprise.

“I’m… disappearing soon. If you want my help, contact me soon. The dream of being an idol was precious to you, and the members and the company are precious to me too. It’s not just important to you.”

Ise’s eyes shook again, and he said nothing.

Instead, his body tilted and fell on the sheet.

I couldn’t expect a proper answer from him in this state. I bowed to the restless servants and said to Vice Chairman Ahn.

“He’s definitely… not like himself. He’s too sensitive and it’s hard to talk to him. I’m sorry for the trouble.”

I left behind the noisy farewell and stepped out of the entrance. Creak, the huge iron gate opened towards the outside and the moment I set foot with a troubled mind.

“Uh.”

The being that I had sold off to get inside was standing right in front of the door.

“Huh?”

Yu-geon’s eyes were filled with surprise as he looked at me.