Chapter 198
At the same time, Jeong Yeon Woo was watching the Targeting Star live broadcast finale on the wide TV at his group’s dorm when he said:
“Haha, getting eliminated and he still has such a big mouth… That’s truly remarkable.”
Seeing the absurd scene on the screen, he couldn’t help but snort in derision.
“Oh, Yeon Woo. Do you know why that trainee’s getting cut? Isn’t he under AG?”
“Mm.”
To the question from Joo Young, ever faithfully by his side, Yeon Woo gave a light wrinkle of his nose.
Indeed.
Jeong Yeon Woo had never needed to know much about a trainee called Liu Wei in the first place.
He wasn’t someone Yeon Woo could keep close and handle like the SLEDIX members.
All he knew was how Liu Wei danced, how his vocals were.
And at most, how he treated the other trainees on screen.
‘The editing covered some things up, but his attitude wasn’t exactly great. That’s about all I could tell from the broadcast.’
Still, it was true that there were things that nagged at him.
Thanks to a certain trainee who, as if in defiance of Yeon Woo’s suggestion to ‘try dyeing your hair pink,’ had dyed it a blazing red.
“How do I get what I want from someone who doesn’t want my help?”
“……”
“You said you’d help me, but the person who has what I want is someone else, haha. So I was hoping you could give me some advice…”
Asking that with a face feigning calm but filled with tension. For someone as perceptive as Jeong Yeon Woo, it would have been stranger if he hadn’t figured out something was going on behind the scenes.
‘So naive, honestly.’
If it were Jeong Yeon Woo, instead of all that roundabout probing for weaknesses, he’d have just gone at them head-on with a crowbar to the face.
Whether that was figurative or literal.
Well, it was precisely those differences that made Yeon Woo take a liking to the kid.
Briefly recalling the message that had arrived just yesterday, saying, [Wow, thank you SO VERY MUCH for giving me the song, seonbae]. It was dripping with grumbling energy, Yeon Woo smiled slyly and answered Joo Young.
“…Roughly. No need to feel sorry for him. It’s his own karma. I’ve got no interest in someone like that either.”
“…Ugh.”
‘If he dismisses the guy that easily, how badly must that trainee have screwed up? Must be something else.’
Joo Young flinched slightly, eyes darting about as he spewed excuses that weren’t really excuses.
“I mean, it’s not like I was going to feel pity for a trainee who hasn’t even debuted… I’m just saying, since you’re watching the live broadcast. If it’s not because of him, why are you watching? We should be heading to the studio right now.”
“Oh, I gave those kids a song as a gift. It should come on next.”
“Oh, a song gift… Wait, WHAT!?”
Joo Young had nodded along without thinking, but grasped the meaning late and was struck with shock all over again.
That Jeong Yeon Woo, giving songs he’d personally written… two of them, no less? To trainees who hadn’t even debuted yet?
‘When I asked for just one solo track on the last album, he flat-out said he had no intention of doing that!’
Swallowing the rising tide of injustice within, Joo Young chose his words carefully, just enough not to cross Yeon Woo.
“Y-you must have thought those trainees would do well, then. If that’s the case, I can totally understand. Ha ha! It happens!”
“Mm, well. Honestly, I can’t guarantee anything.”
“…Then why did you give them the songs?”
But when Joo Young finally let his sulky tone slip through, Yeon Woo stared at him for a moment, then let out a thin sigh and ran his hand through his hair.
“Just…”
Because it seemed like it’d be fun.
And that enigmatic remark only served to unleash Joo Young’s complaints in rapid fire.
“You’ve been acting really… weird lately, you know that? Not going out for drinks, gradually changing your routine! Is it because of that show? Targeting Star? Are you going to go back to normal once it’s over?”
“Going back to normal…”
Yeon Woo lightly mulled over Joo Young’s words, then turned his gaze back to the screen where the VCR was playing.
Among the individual interviews filmed for the mid-ranking announcement, Kim Chunyong’s face appeared as well, back when his hair was still black, unlike now.
– “Ha ha, it’s only 8th place, after all. I’m not disappointed at all. I know there are fans who are rooting for me. If anything, I think my role right now is to prepare a performance that pays them back!”
– Then, what are trainee Kim Chunyong’s goals for the live broadcast ranking announcement?
– “Of course, it’s to debut. Work hard, keep working hard. I definitely want to…”
“Keep standing on stage…”
“Yeon Woo, what? Do you even remember I was talking to you just now?”
“…Of course. Obviously.”
Yeon Woo momentarily murmured along with the last words of Kim Chunyong’s interview on screen. He flashed a bright smile at Joo Young and fired back.
“If things go the way I think they will, I’ll be keeping this routine. If not, well. It’ll go back to how it was before, like you want.”
“…There hasn’t been a single time things didn’t go your way, though.”
“Right. That’s unfortunate news for you, Joo Young.”
As it was, Joo Young’s date scheduling with Billie had already gotten tight because of Yeon Woo’s changed routine.
‘Ugh, I’m honestly sick of only meeting in the car. We want to see each other outside too…!’
Joo Young, so blinded by love he could barely tell right from wrong, finally let out a pained whimper and scratched his cheek.
“…Can you at least just tell me what you’re thinking right now?”
“That’s not a hard ask, but well. For now…”
After glancing once at Joo Young’s phone buzzing nonstop, and then at the slowly darkening TV screen, Yeon Woo leaned his neck comfortably against the sofa and closed his eyes.
“Let me finish watching what I started.”
“How are you going to watch anything with your eyes closed!?”
And soon, the song he’d spent days feverishly writing in the studio began flowing from beyond the screen.
“Ah, Yeon Woo!”
“Mm, mm…”
Yeon Woo casually ignored Joo Young’s cry of protest and hummed along with practiced ease.
For him, this song was already on the verge of growing stale. But, well.
The story that would unfold on the live broadcast afterward still held his interest.
Discussion
1 CommentBeees
Ngl, I kinda missed him.