Survive! Foolish Bottom!

 

Haeun’s first thought was obvious: “What did they spike, and with what?”

 

Instinctively feeling that he’d just overheard something dangerous, he took a cautious step back. Then, leaning against the wall to stay out of sight from anyone in the restroom, he discreetly activated the recording function on his phone.

 

“Guys like him are always the same, you know? Everyone around them keeps praising them, and they start thinking they’re hot stuff, strutting around like they own the place.”

 

A snickering voice continued inside. From the shadow cast on the bathroom floor, it looked like there was only one person inside, likely on the phone. He didn’t need to think hard to guess who it was; just the voice alone was enough to give him away.

 

“Doesn’t matter if he thinks he’s some kind of superstar. Give them a dose of laxatives, and they’ll all react the same way. Doesn’t matter how great he thinks he is—unless he’s trained his sphincter muscles, he’s done for.”

 

Gloomy’s very own Jaewoon. Third place in likability for being friendly with others, he thought bitterly. Turns out he’s apparently good at getting acquainted with people’s intestines instead.

 

A bad feeling started gnawing at him. The only person Jaewoon would have a grudge against would be Kim Gyowon. Could he really have given Kim Gyowon a laxative?

 

Haeun still harbored a fair amount of frustration toward Kim Gyowon after everything that had happened earlier. Yet, strangely enough, after spending days reviewing his entire filmography, he’d developed a bit of a one-sided attachment to him. And no matter how frustrating he’d been, he didn’t hate him enough to want him publicly humiliated from a laxative incident.

 

‘If only I knew where he went, I could at least warn him not to eat anything.’

 

Haeun thought, debating whether to stop the recording and ask the staff if they’d seen him. Meanwhile, Jaewoon was still chattering away, openly confessing his misdeeds.

 

“Eh? How’s Kim Gyowon in real life? Honestly, he looks better on screen. He’s just got an annoying face. He tries to act all high and mighty with his flawless performance, trying to play some power move—if that’s not territorialism, I don’t know what is.”

 

He sounded pretty bitter, but shouldn’t these kinds of things be said in private? Not in a public bathroom where anyone can walk in.

 

“What did he say again? He told me that there’s no chance of improvement, so I should wrap it up after this scene. Like he was going to fire me or something. That guy, I think he got his ego bruised from having to play second fiddle to an idol and him in a two-lead drama.”

 

Haeun double-checked his phone’s recording function to make sure it was still running. The severity of the situation was serious, but part of him found it funny. 

 

A two-lead drama? From what anyone could see, Jaewoon’s role was clearly a secondary lead, with little to no impact. 

 

If you just listened to the distorted words, it sounded like Kim Gyowon was the bad guy… well, maybe he did have a few trashy qualities, but still, this story was clearly wrapped up in Jaewoon’s personal biases.

 

“Ugh, so sad. What’s the point of living like that? In the end, he’ll just lose his job to idols like me, who learned acting overnight anyway.”

 

While there might have been some resentment in the first part of his words, this next part was something that would definitely have bothered Kim Gyowon as well. 

 

More than anything, it made Haeun’s mood sour. He was also one of those idols who had learned acting in a short amount of time. And even though he was trying to take it seriously, hearing someone like Jaewoon lumping them all together and badmouthing them was infuriating.

 

Jaewoon kept rambling on without a pause, and the next words he spoke were the final damning evidence.

 

“Stop asking! Anyway, that bastard only put laxatives in his coffee. Kim Gyowon’s gonna be stuck with extra scenes today. He’s screwed.”

 

Haeun kept the recording function on and tucked his phone into his pocket just in case. Even if it was too late to save Kim Gyowon, at least she could expose who the real culprit behind this situation was. If that happened, his drastically lowered favorability would rise a bit, and Jaewoon would probably stop acting like a jerk toward her as well. 

 

With a slightly excited feeling, Haeun was about to head back toward the set from the bathroom when the bathroom door suddenly swung open.

 

“…”

 

He locked eyes with Jaewoon. He immediately looked as pale as if he had seen a ghost. After an uncomfortable silence, Jaewoon grabbed Haeun’s arm and pulled him into the bathroom. He staggered to the sink, then threw a rapid-fire question at him.

 

“Did you… did you hear it?”

 

“……”

 

“Hey! Did you hear me? How much did you hear?”

 

What should he even say in this situation? When Haeun remained silent, Jaewoon got closer and started shaking his body roughly, like he was grabbing him by the collar. It made him dizzy.

 

“Fck, why are you here? Are you that clueless?”

 

Maybe he thought he was caught, or maybe he assumed that someone like Haeun wouldn’t be able to do anything even if he figured him out. Either way, Jaewoon started swearing casually, acting with a twisted sense of entitlement. 

 

He hadn’t even gone off to some hidden corner to talk, but was ranting in a public bathroom like this, and now he had the nerve to act like she was in the wrong.

 

It seemed like Jaewoon had decided to stick to threats now. He pointed his finger at Haeun and warned him.

 

“If you go around talking about this, there’s nothing good that’ll come out of it for you, you know that?”

 

“……”

 

“Who’s going to listen to someone like you? The pain of being unknown isn’t anything special. It’s the agony of saying all the right things, but no one cares to listen.”

 

Suddenly, Jaewoon switched to lecture mode. Haeun slowly started recalling his profile in his mind. Was he 27 years old? For an idol, that was getting old. And even more strangely, he wasn’t even enlisted in the military yet.

 

“No, wait, let me help you,” he said, switching to a more persuasive tone. It sounded like he was offering to help if he kept quiet.

 

What would the original Park Ha have done? Would he have accepted it, grateful for the offer, and submissively played along? Having mentally lived through Park Ha’s life several times, Haeun scoffed inwardly.

 

Park Ha might seem indecisive and overly kind on the surface, but he actually had a surprising amount of backbone. And he hated injustice. He probably wouldn’t have just stood there silently. Most likely, he would have spoken up, saying something like, “But this is wrong!” only to end up being beaten, insulted, or threatened.

 

It might be foolish, but honestly, being foolish like Park Ha was better than being a coward like Jaewoon. If the system truly supported Park Ha’s pro-idol career, it wouldn’t interfere here. With his resolve solidified, Haeun shrugged off Jaewoon’s hand on her shoulder and replied firmly.

 

“Stop it. You’re past your prime.”

 

Jaewoon made a dramatic face as if he had just heard the most terrible thing. It was as if the word “shock” had been written across his face. He staggered for a moment before opening his mouth.

 

“…What did you say?”

 

Should he just tell him what he heard exactly? Before he could even respond, Jaewoon was already muttering to himself.

 

“Haha… What did our junior just say? I must’ve heard that wrong, right?”

 

Trying to set the mood, Jaewoon continued, but Haeun, rarely feeling patient, responded with unexpected calmness.

 

“I don’t think you heard wrong. It’s just that I don’t think you’re in a position to be helping anyone.”

 

Jaewoon snickered at his dry mockery.

 

“Look at this guy, pretending to be all nice, but his true nature is showing now.”

 

In truth, Haeun was still trying to choose his words carefully. He was worried the system might send him a warning at any moment. But since there was still no notification, it seemed like he was okay for now. Perhaps it was because Jaewon was the one he was dealing with. 

 

If he showed this kind of attitude towards another member back at the dorm, there would be a warning immediately, his favorability would drop, and penalties would hit him, leaving him mentally drained.

 

“You know, there was an attitude controversy about me not too long ago. I can tell by how you don’t even know my name that you probably don’t know what happened…”

 

Haeun carefully chose his words. He silently prayed not to accidentally suggest anything cute or playful in front of Jaewon.

 

“Anyway, I don’t really want your help. I don’t think it’ll be of any use, so there’s no need for you to put in the effort.”

 

“Ugh!”

 

Jaewoon sucked in a breath, clearly surprised. He’d probably never been insulted like this by a junior he saw as beneath him. Haeun shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly.

 

“Did you think you were something just because people around you praise you? Or did you think I was so desperate to get famous that I’d act like some crazy fan for you? Either way, I’m not so desperate that I can’t tell the difference between shit and stew.”

 

Jaewoon’s face turned red when he realized the words Haeun was saying were exact same ones he had used earlier against Kim Gyowon. He was repeating the same weak expressions, and Haeun couldn’t help but think that if Kim Gyowon saw Jaewoon’s range of facial expressions, he might reconsider the insulting comment he made earlier. 

 

“Looks like you’ve got some guts now. Do you even know that the only reason you got that role in this drama is because of the company, right?”

 

Jaewoon came at her with another attack, though this one didn’t seem to faze her. It was the same old, tired line. If the company wasn’t big enough, they’d all be out on the streets by now. Instead of trying to save a group, they’d have already seen the end of their career and been looking for other jobs.

 

‘And what about him? Is he any different?’

 

Would Jaewoon have been able to snag such a role if he wasn’t already a popular idol? Haeun didn’t think so. He lowered his head as if embarrassed and scratched the back of his neck.

 

“You know, I’ve been pretty confident lately.”

 

“What?”

 

“Like you said, after getting a role in this kind of drama, I’ve been feeling pretty full of myself. But there are a lot of more hardworking, earnest people than me, so maybe you should go offer your sponsorships to them.”

 

“Ha…”

 

“There are so many people with better faces and talent than you who didn’t make it, so you really think it’s just about luck?”

If you're reading through normal releases, Happy new year everybody. I wish you all the happiness and hope success, health, and luck come to you like an old friend. Stay safe <3