Chapter 216
I’d expected my family to be surprised by my sudden announcement about moving into the dorm, but they were unexpectedly unfazed.
No—unfazed would be an understatement.
“Oh my, our second child is really becoming independent… Since tomorrow morning will be our last meal together, I’d better make something delicious.”
“Wait, wait! Mom. You want me to leave tomorrow?”
“Of course. When you go, you go fast! All the other kids have already moved in, right? I’ll pack some side dishes for you. Okay?”
They were practically overjoyed.
Dad patted me on the back too, saying “When you take your first step into society, you need to do it quickly,” and all but shoved me out the door.
“It’s not like we didn’t know you were demolishing our entire snack stash. Good riddance. Vanish quickly.”
“Sweet. Once Kim Chunyong’s gone, the laptop’s mine. And the good spot on the sofa.”
The nonchalant yet delighted reactions of my troublesome sisters went without saying.
“…Is this right?”
The very next morning, as I stood in the entryway with a hefty suitcase, I found myself letting out a bewildered murmur.
Right after coming back, I couldn’t spend much time with them because I was preparing for the survival show mentor evaluation stage. During the survival show, I was crammed into the trainee housing facility.
I’d originally planned to spend as much time as possible with my family before moving into the dorm.
“You’re really just kicking me out like this? For real?”
I’m the one who said I was moving out, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that something about this picture was off.
“No, no. You’re supposed to act a little more reluctant about it. This feels kind of….”
Just as I was about to sink into a deep philosophical contemplation on “My Family’s Indifference and Brazenness: Is This Really Okay?”—
Ding!
— X: Hahahaha oh that’s hilarious
— X: Hey, you’re the only one who hasn’t seen your family in a while. Your family’s seen YOU every day for 20 years!
— X: If you really want to do right by them, stop trying to milk that measly survival show appearance fee and focus on completing our contract 😀
Messages poured in from X, as always.
However.
There was one small difference from right after he’d returned, or during the height of the survival show.
— X: I went out of my way! I even included the option you wanted, didn’t I? Hm?
— X: Ha, I don’t normally do stuff like this regardless of whether the Contractor’s embarrassed or not. Man, I really am too nice
At last, that accursed dinging sound from my conversations with X had disappeared, and the notifications were set to silent.
Right after completing the first Objective, “debut as one of Targeting Star’s final 6 members.”
The Rewards X had offered me were varied.
A rank-up for a Skill of his choosing, Stats adjustment, and even the selection of another high-grade Skill.
Something about completing an Objective being a pretty big deal, so I could choose, or something like that. Those kinds of words.
— X: Come on, pick already! Everything must go!
— X: Isn’t the first option obviously the best?? [Idol’s Aura], this is one of the best passives there is
— X: Rank this up and THEN debut? Whoa. It means your starting line for stage domination completely changes
— Kim Chunyong: No, I mean, that’s great and all, but
— Kim Chunyong: I want something else
— X: Huh?
And so, the Reward I demanded was to turn off the notification sound.
Forget everything else. Just kill that accursed pop sound first.
X’s profile picture, which had erupted in fury at this request, turned red, then blue, then yellow, and finally….
— X: Ugh, seriously, you impossible idiot!!
— X: I’ll just do that at my own discretion, so pick a different Reward
— X: Argh, I’m so annoyed, so annoyed, so annoyed
— X: Hey, your face is scary enough that at least your notifications should sound cute
— X: That’s why I deliberately kept the notification on!!
— Kim Chunyong: Don’t give me that crap, you punk
Well, I honestly would’ve been satisfied with just turning off the notification. But that’s how things played out.
Turning off that sound before the debut was more important to me than one might think.
Having notifications go off during the survival show had already been risky enough, but an absurd notification sound going off on a freshly debuted rookie idol’s phone?
I could already hear the inevitable flood of “What the hell kind of ringtone is that?”, “Is he texting someone?”, “These rookies nowadays have zero discipline.”
In any case, it was ultimately a necessary measure.
For the debut, for pressing forward in earnest.
And keeping the Reward on hold for now was all intentional, too.
“Phew….”
Letting out a hollow laugh, I shoved my phone into my pocket and touched my cheek.
The red hair cascading into my eyes reminded me that I was standing at the brink of yet another new beginning.
“……”
Nerves, anticipation.
There was no way to be free of anxiety.
I had to get into the dorm and sort out the subtle awkwardness between the members, had to prepare for debuting under a new group name.
And on top of all that, once we debuted, I’d truly start running into the people from the era when I’d been going off the rails.
Yeon Woo hyung was one of the most decent people I’d encountered in the past, but….
“Rex. Hey, Rex. Come on out.”
“…Manager hyung?”
“That’s right, kid. It’s me. Rex, put on something nice and come out. I prepared something to cheer you up!”
“I’m not really… in the mood to go out right now.”
“Hey, times like these are exactly when you need to think about something else. The other members are greenhouse flowers who only know practice, but… I’m different, right?”
‘You’ve never been to a club, have you?’
There were those who were not.
“……”
I snapped my eyes open wide and forced strength into my slightly trembling legs.
There was no time to waste on self-pity, regret, or despair.
More than anything, what I needed to focus on right now was doing what I could do right now.
Because there was no way something as dreamlike as X showing up again after a failure to grant a second chance was going to happen.
Just as I finished steeling myself and headed toward the elevator to catch the taxi I’d called ahead…
Bang—
“Hey, hey! Kim Chunyong!”
“…Huh? Sis?”
The front door swung open, and my sister, nearly done getting ready for work, came barreling out.
“Geez, I thought you’d already gone down. I left this on the kitchen table for you, and you just walk out without it? Are you an idiot?”
The small item my sister shoved at me, grumbling all the while.
Thanks to it, the mood that had been sinking, on the verge of turning sharp and prickly, melted away in an instant.
“…Thanks. I really almost left without it.”
“Honestly, walking around with your head in the clouds! Don’t be a nuisance to the kids you’re living with, okay?”
Do well, little bro.
The words my sister left me with lingered inside me for a long, long time—in the taxi, in the elevator going up to the dorm.
Yeah. I’ll do well.
This time, I’ll really do well.
Making me repeat that vow again and again.
“…Hah.”
I carefully slipped the family photo—taken to celebrate Nari’s high school entrance—into my wallet, and stood before the dorm to gather myself.
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