Chapter 193
Anyway.
The one most likely to object if anyone said “Let’s go find Liu Wei!” had just left.
So what they had to do next was clear.
Kim Chunyong exchanged a glance with Bang Yu Chan, who then turned to the uneasy team with a careful voice.
“…Anyone want to go find Liu Wei?”
“Gao Yan says no. What Liu Wei just did was pure trolling. No! It’s downright vile. Every single thing he does, he’s been nothing but a—”
“Gao Yan, you really need to relearn your Korean before debut. …So, anyone else with Yu Chan hyung to find Liu Wei?”
All that was left in the room: Bang Yu Chan, Kim Joo An, Lee Chae Hyuk, and Kim Chunyong.
“Blugh! G-Gao Yan’s Korean is perfect… Because Gao Yan taught it to Gao Yan! Bu-bu-bu—”
Well, with Kim Chunyong’s hand clamped over his mouth, Gao Yan was out of the running.
“Hmm… I don’t know….”
“Why would we? We’re not staff. Why should we go look for that asshole?”
Kim Joo An and Lee Chae Hyuk, who’d watched everything unfold, were skeptical.
“If he doesn’t come back, we’ll just go on as five. And if he does, we’ll still do it as five. Damn. I never thought I’d see this kind of s**t in my life.”
“…Yeah, I feel the same. He’s really out of his mind. Who throws stuff right at someone like that? If Hwa Sung had really gotten hurt—”
“…You’re not wrong about that. No, you’re right.”
Nodding with a troubled face, Bang Yu Chan turned to Kim Chunyong.
“Chunyong, you don’t have to come if you don’t want to. This is just… something that’s been bothering me personally. And it’s not like finding him will magically fix it. …We need to save our energy for the live broadcast.”
Kim Chunyong locked eyes with Bang Yu Chan, closing his eyes for a moment as he thought.
‘Honestly… I really don’t want to.’
All the grief Liu Wei had caused, the looming live broadcast, everything.
Besides….
[Current Goal Nearing Completion!
Current goal: Survival Program Targeting Star Final 6 members (progress: 99%)
※ If target not met, the “failure clause” in the Sirius standard contract takes effect immediately
※ Failure: Return to the pre-contract situation]
That morning, he’d gotten a notification that he had to debut no matter what by winning today’s stage performance.
He had all these skills, and even X’s guidance, but none of that guaranteed a debut.
His last rank update at the mid ranking vote had been 8th.
With Liu Wei out, he’d managed to claw back some ground from past stages, but unless today’s live text votes and mission points all lined up, he couldn’t say his debut was “guaranteed.”
“…It’s fine. Hyung’s not an elementary school kid. You don’t think I can find my way back, do you? Don’t worry, Chunyong. I’ll be back soon.”
But.
“…No, hyung. I’m coming with you.”
It wasn’t because he was stupidly kind.
It was just that Kim Chunyong was not the kind of guy to stand by and watch an older brother who’d once sacrificed for him work alone to help someone else.
“Huh? No, it’s fine. It doesn’t even seem like you and that guy get along all that well. You don’t have to—”
“No, well. It’s not like I don’t want to look good in front of you. But more than that….”
More than that….
He had a pretty good idea of where that guy would be, and he didn’t want to leave room for some disaster if Liu Wei decided to make a scene on stage.
* * *
I moved quickly along the path behind the performance hall, replaying that short conversation with Yu Chan hyung in my head.
“You said you had a pretty good idea of where he’d be, but you’re not 100% sure… so I’ll check the other floors too. You take the 3rd and 4th floors, and I’ll take the 1st and 2nd.”
“Okay.”
“If it takes too long, it’ll mess with our stage timing, so let’s cut it at 30 minutes and head back. Sound good?”
“Yeah, well. That shouldn’t even touch our rehearsal time. It’s fine.”
“Ha! That’s a relief. Oh, and… I got the junior writer’s phone number just in case. If you find Liu Wei, call them there.”
“Got it. Hyung, and….”
“Mm?”
“Don’t do anything too dangerous, okay? Promise me that.”
“Hey, you too!”
Me? Come on, Yuchan hyung.
I’ve got too much at stake just by coming back to my valuable body like this. I couldn’t even think about doing anything risky.
But Yu Chan hyung? He’d throw himself in front of someone else’s danger if it came to it.
That’s why it was best not to even let Liu Wei have the chance to cross paths again.
“…Phew.”
I stopped at the door leading up to the emergency stairs, taking a slow, careful breath.
What I had to do from here was simple.
Find Liu Wei fast, don’t get into some stupid argument with him, and call the junior writer to get him out of here.
Perfect.
Tap-tap-tap—
In this massive indoor stadium, when I said I had a “pretty good idea” of where Liu Wei might be, it wasn’t just bluster.
Our team, Arrows, had performed in this very building before.
Which meant….
“Yes! That was Son Jae Ha. Next up is Rex’s solo performance! Rex has been working so hard, let’s hear a bit about what he’s prepared!”
“…….”
“Rex?”
“Sorry, sorry… I need to step out for a moment, sorry, really sorry.”
“Wait a minute! Rex, Rex!”
This was where I’d once given in to the pressure and bolted out of a fan meeting.
“…Haa….”
I won’t get into what was going through my head back then. That’s too embarrassing.
The point was, this was also where Liu Wei had said he wanted to be alone that day.
Click—
Unlike the hot, suffocating air of the floors below, a cool breeze brushed my cheek as I stepped onto the outdoor terrace, a smoking area and rest spot combined.
It seems like people always end up in places like this when they’ve got too much on their mind.
“…Ha.”
And sure enough, like I’d guessed, there he was, squatting next to the vending machine like it was the only thing holding him up.
He must have heard me coming, but he didn’t move at all.
“Hey.”
“…….”
“Hey, Liu Wei. Get up. Let’s go back down.”
“Go.”
“Go? What, you think you can just pull s**t like that, not even apologize, and run—”
“I said. Go.”
The sudden snap of Liu Wei’s head up left me standing there with my mouth open.
That bastard who’d never shown any hint of tears, who everyone called the “Ice Fairy”…
“…Are you crying?”
“…….”
He had a look on his face that I couldn’t even begin to describe.
Discussion
1 CommentBeees