Genius Idol’s Strategy to Conquer the Entertainment Industry

Chapter 206

Following Kang Ji-woo’s theory that meals should be eaten on time, we had a hearty dinner, yet the topic of conversation remained focused on Seo Moon-gyeol.

“Why didn’t you say anything until now, even though you’re talking so freely now?”

Seo Moon-gyeol’s response to Ban Yo-han’s question, which had always teetered on the edge of caution, was simple.

“Because you never asked.”

“Yeah. It’s our fault…”

Seo Moon-gyeol’s empty remark, saying he remained silent because no one had asked, led to a barrage of questions directed at him, who rarely initiated conversations.

“So, is it true that you were legally adopted by your stepfather?”

“No.”

“Is it because you didn’t want it, or did your relatives prevent it?”

From Seo Moon-gyeol’s brief hesitation, Ban Yo-han found the answer.

“Both, huh?”

“Yeah.”

“I won’t ask further since you dislike it, but if it were me, I’d definitely claim the inheritance out of sheer resentment.”

“Me too. Oh, are we too materialistic?”

“No. You have to live materialistically in this world.”

With a sigh, Ban Yo-han added a remark full of hidden meaning.

“But I’m really worried because there are too many people among our members who live life like a scripture…”

Ban Yo-han’s dragging gaze passed indifferently over Seo Moon-gyeol, Kang Ji-woo, and Gyun Seong-ha in turn.

“Let’s stop talking about this now!”

“Yeah, let’s stop.”

“I usually don’t ask this kind of stuff out of pride, but you eat everything without being picky, so I still don’t know what your favorite side dish is.”

“What does that have to do with pride?”

“A person responsible for meals should be able to discern at a glance what the people eating their food like and dislike.”

“What… I’ve never heard of that before…”

“My grandmother told me.”

“Indeed, elders have unique wisdom about life.”

I had something to say regarding the initial question, which had been momentarily forgotten.

“Hyung likes pudding-like steamed eggs.”

“On Raon, I like that too.”

“Haha, what do you want me to do with that information? And he also liked the marinated crabs your mother made last time. He liked the kimchi pancakes that came with the spicy pig’s trotters we ordered when the three of us were together before. Am I right?”

Seeing Seo Moon-gyeol’s slightly surprised expression, confirming my guess, made me feel a sense of trivial triumph.

“How do you know things I don’t?”

“Every time he ate those, his expression softened. Once I noticed, I could see him subtly savoring the foods he liked.”

Kang Ji-woo looked shocked at my words.

“I can’t believe it… As the person responsible for the household, I never noticed such a decisive sign…”

Meanwhile, Gyun Seong-ha, with a determined look, called out to Kang Ji-woo.

“Ji-woo hyung.”

“What?”

“Next time, teach me how to make pudding-like steamed eggs. And kimchi pancakes too. As for marinated crabs… I don’t think I can make them as well as your mother, so I’ll find a good delivery place.”

At that moment, Seo Moon-gyeol, who had been quiet, spoke up.

“I like fish cake soup too.”

“!”

“I’ll make it for you tomorrow!”

It seemed that steamed eggs, kimchi pancakes, marinated crabs, and fish cake soup would regularly appear on the table for a while.

In the meantime, it was a relief that Gyun Seong-ha, who had seemed about to collapse, regained his energy.

As it neared midnight, it was time to wrap up.

“Wow, how did it get so late?”

“Let’s clean up and go to bed.”

As we cleaned up the knife and plates we used to cut fruit, Seo Moon-gyeol quietly apologized.

“Sorry. I’ll make sure they don’t come here again.”

“It’s not like you gave them the address. You have nothing to be sorry about.”

“That’s right. We’re mad at Seo Joo-won, not you.”

“Of course, I want to tell you to seriously reconsider whether to keep accommodating him. It might be hard to cut ties if you’ve known him since childhood, but it’s not that difficult if you set your mind to it.”

“For the record, if Seo Joo-won comes to apologize, I’ll accept it, but I won’t accept your apology. The person who did wrong should apologize.”

Seo Moon-gyeol couldn’t say anything in response to Kang Ji-woo’s firm words.

Honestly, I also thought it was unlikely that Seo Joo-won, who was as self-centered as Ban Yo-han, would come to apologize.

“Anyway, don’t worry about it, hyung.”

* * *

Thus, a long day full of various incidents from dawn till dusk finally ended for On Raon.

Usually, Seo Moon-gyeol, who was the first among the members to fall asleep as soon as he lay down and the first to wake up, stayed awake deep into the night.

Was it because he was worried about Seo Joo-won, who had promised to contact him upon arriving home but hadn’t yet?

After thinking it over carefully, he realized that didn’t seem to be the reason.

It wasn’t the first time that Seo Joo-won, upset with him, had behaved this way.

Moreover, if something had actually happened to Seo Joo-won, his mother, who would have been anxiously waiting for her younger son to return, would have already called him by now.

In any case, it seemed like he couldn’t sleep because of the events that had occurred that afternoon.

‘…There wasn’t a need to get so angry.’

It was his duty as an older brother to take responsibility for Seo Joo-won’s mistakes, but he should have handled it as calmly as he always did, without any major conflicts.

He had done worse things before, so why was he suddenly so upset now?

Seo Moon-gyeol pondered over this for a long time before finally falling asleep.

* * *

The energy that had been slightly revived in Gyun Seong-ha due to his anger at Seo Moon-gyeol’s situation quickly plummeted back underground the very next day.

During the early hours, a second exposé post was uploaded.

Furthermore, this time, the post temporarily set aside its attacks on Gyun Ha-ram and instead persistently targeted Gyun Seong-ha.

“Did this person really make an enemy?”

Several issues explained. I wrote the last post ambiguously to protect my identity from being revealed and facing pressure. Deleting the post suddenly was for the same reason.

– I was puzzled when it was deleted, but I understand from the victim’s perspective.
– Then what about Gyun Ha-ram?
– It’s nonsense to say that the kids gathering around Gyun Ha-ram on their own was intentional hierarchy formation.
– No, this person has been silent all along, but now they’re contradicting themselves ridiculously. Everyone already figured out who the exposer is from the part about fighting in front of the locker with Gyun Seong-ha, so what do you mean you’re scared of being identified?
┗ The writer added in the second post that several people experienced those incidents separately and they compiled them.
┗ Haha, now it’s like a clone technique?
– We’ll have to keep watching since there’s no solid evidence from either side.

Because the exposer’s statements kept changing, the public began to doubt the authenticity of the posts, thinking there was something odd.

However, the negative image placed on Gyun Ha-ram and Gyun Seong-ha had not disappeared.

‘Anyway, I have to find a way to reverse the situation…’

At that moment, an employee next to me pointed to my phone on the desk.

“Raon, your phone’s been ringing for a while. Aren’t you going to answer?”

“Oh, it’s not a call I need to take.”

“Is it a sasaeng (obsessive fan)?”

“If I leave it alone, they might come directly… but no, it’s not a sasaeng.”

After a moment, the call ended.

11 missed calls from [ㅗ]

I had ignored the suspicious calls that continued persistently after I missed the first one.

Just as I wondered if there would be another call, a message arrived.

[ㅗ] Let’s talk soon
[ㅗ] Answer the phone

Why does this person keep doing this?

When we met last time, their face and condition didn’t look good, and I was starting to consider blocking them.

Thinking it might serve as evidence for my future defense, I decided to leave it for now.

“I forgot something, so I’ll head back to the dorm for a bit.”

“Be careful.”

“Raon, bring back the container of sliced fruit from the fridge when you come back.”

“Okay.”

I arrived at the dorm quickly, which was close to the company.

I opened the door and entered the dorm without much thought.

‘Something… the atmosphere…’

It felt more chilling than the haunted houses I’d visited before.

Trying to shake off the ominous feeling that something was about to happen, I groped for the light switch in the living room.

“Ah…!”

Suddenly, someone burst out of an open room and rudely pushed me, causing me to fall straight to the floor.

‘What’s this? A sasaeng? A robber? Or…’

I didn’t have much time to continue thinking.

As soon as I instinctively swung my arm towards the face of my assailant and tried to escape, they grabbed my clothes and pulled me back.

Frowning, I looked at the attacker’s face.

In the dark room, the brightly glowing white eyes looked familiar.

‘Oh Hyun-jin?’

No.

As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I identified the person.

“Seo Joo-won…”

For a split second, the gears in my mind, which had been working separately, clicked into place.

Taking advantage of the momentary hesitation when his name was called, I shook off his hand with all my strength and ran into the room he had come out of.

I planned to close and lock the door, but Seo Joo-won, who followed me immediately, pushed the door with much greater strength, causing me to fall as I tried to hold the doorknob.

At that moment, I heard the sound of someone entering the door lock code and then opening the door.

“…!”

Whether someone was coming or not, Seo Joo-won continued to push me down with force, making my body tilt again, and a dull thud resounded as my back and shoulders hit the floor.

The only hopeful thing was the sound of footsteps coming closer, indicating someone had sensed something wrong from the noise earlier.

The tragic fact was that the madman had completely grabbed my neck.

“Ugh…!”

My breathing became increasingly labored.