Even though Sol’s disregard might have been a bit awkward, Ga-ram remained unfazed, looking at the ignored hand with a nonchalant expression before casually withdrawing it. Sensing the potential awkwardness, Sol slightly bowed his head to Ga-ram. It wasn’t an attempt to provoke or intentionally ignore; he was just uncomfortable with skin-to-skin contact and wanted to avoid it. In truth, with his arms and legs feeling heavy and lethargic, Sol had an overwhelming desire to grasp the hand Ga-ram extended.
When Sol stood up, DK, who had even piled Ji-ho’s bag onto his own, took the lead and moved forward. He didn’t know when the other arrived, but the manager, Yeong-ho, returned the cell phones that he had taken away at the entrance and even gave a warning.
“Make sure to go straight to the dorm.”
“Got it.”
“Do you know that the manager hyungs are lurking in front of the Chinese restaurant?”
“I know! Just...”
“No ice cream either.”
“Yeong-ho hyung, just a moment. I’ll take care of Deuk-yong.”
“Yes, yes. Ji-ho, I trust you. Oh, and take care of Sol, too.”
“Yes.”
Ji-ho reassured with a smile at Yeongho’s words. However, as soon as they left the agency building, DK cryptically remarked.
“Let’s have black bean noodles at the convenience store.”
“Kim Deuk-yong, it hasn’t even been 5 minutes since Yeong-ho hyung warned us.”
“...They’ll probably be lurking in front of the convenience store, huh?”
Although they had started walking side by side, the distance between the three people chatting lively and Sol gradually widened. Ji-ho and DK, following behind Ga-ram, were a few steps apart from him. The distance between them widened just as much as the perceived distance between each other.
Watching the three people walking, teasing each other and laughing at DK’s words, Sol absentmindedly followed behind. Even if he tried to move his feet quickly to catch up, the distance somehow didn’t close. Having lost the will to continue walking after just a few more steps, Sol came to a complete stop. Ga-ram, who had been walking ahead, noticed Sol stopping and halted in his tracks, turning around to look back at him.
“...The dorm is behind the company.”
“Are we close?”
“Yes, just a few more steps.”
It was better this way. At least when returning to the dorm, there’s no need to take a car. Ga-ram’s quiet words were accompanied by his gaze settling on Sol’s legs. Sensing the question conveyed in his gaze, Sol nodded vigorously, indicating that he was okay.
It seemed like others might suspect the reason Sol stopped was due to perhaps tripping or stumbling in the practice room. As the two of them stopped, Ji-ho and DK, who were walking ahead, turned around.
“...Tae-oh.”
“Yes?”
“Tae-oh has been going through a lot lately. He has always been strict with time, but... and we thought you wouldn’t come.”
“...Well, I should have contacted you. I’m sorry.”
“No need to apologize. We didn’t expect you to come anyway. This happened before. The debut kept getting postponed in this absurd way, and new people kept coming in.”
“Before?”
“Yes. And each time, without any contact, they disappeared.”
Ga-ram spoke dully, his gaze fixed beyond the darkened alley, but his familiar, indifferent voice made Sol, who had been lost in thought, suddenly snap out of it. It wasn’t just about the change in the lineup of the debut team.
“Every time we’re about to make our debut, the CEO and the director change the whole concept and bring in someone new, someone who can’t dance or sing.”
Feeling no different from himself, Sol awkwardly laughed with a hesitant “haha” sound. It was not something to pass off as a mere coincidence.
“How many people?”
“About five... so, we thought the person wouldn’t come this time either.”
“What happened to those people?”
“Every time a new member came, Tae-oh suffered. He’d get along with them for a while, and then they’d suddenly lose touch with him or disappear like they’d evaporated. It was the same every time.”
“...”
The story that couldn’t be contained any longer flowed out of Ga-ram’s mouth. For some reason, Sol couldn’t shake the thought that the five people who came before him might have experienced something similar to what he was going through now. Could they have been brought to this world unknowingly, like him, to progress through quests and make futile choices, only to face system shutdown? Despite Sol’s lack of knowledge in this industry, overturning concepts and recruiting new members before debut seemed uncommon.
Even as an outsider, Sol couldn’t see any indication that these four people desperately needed a fifth member. They were well-prepared enough that even if they debuted right away, there would be no noticeable gaps. From the look on Garam’s face, it was clear that he was questioning it as well. But experiencing such a rare event five times made it all the more unsettling. What if the opportunity for a system reboot hadn’t been given to him? Ga-ram might have witnessed the disappearance of another possible member for the sixth time.
“We’ve arrived.”
“Here?”
“Yes, it’s the 8th floor. I’ll tell you the entrance passcode separately. Since we’re moving together anyway, you probably won’t need it. We always go around in pairs.”
“Thank you. But I thought you didn’t like me joining you?”
“Honestly, I don’t have any opinion about it, and I don’t think you’re going to be here long, anyway. So if you’re going to quit, I’d like to see it done as soon as possible.”
Surprisingly, he answered casually to both the asked and unasked questions. Sol, feeling relaxed by Ga-ram’s straightforward response, couldn’t help but smile at the return of his usual directness. It felt oddly familiar, reminiscent of university life.
Back in university, there were classmates enjoying their student lives with dreams and goals. In the midst of it, Sol always felt detached, often drifting. His vague concentration, inappropriate laughter, and forgetting important matters didn’t endear him to others easily.
Sol was perceived at university as someone who didn’t take anything seriously. Tae-oh, who wasn’t here right now, probably also thought of him the same way. Just like his university life, which he never fully adapted to, Sol perhaps didn’t know if he would grow more distant from these four people in the future. Why was he dragged here in the first place?
Should he ask the system for answers?
Sol entertained the thought multiple times, but the notification window, seemingly reading his mind, never appeared. Mentally and physically exhausted, Sol just wanted to take a warm shower and crawl into bed, forgetting the complexities of both quest success and dormitory life.
Sol, who had one foot out the door mentally, often engaged in behaviors that were incomprehensible to the average observer. Like not tidying up his room or lying down without moving, despite knowing an important appointment time was approaching.
When he was alone, there was nothing to worry about or anyone to judge his actions, but it was different when he was with someone. Once the group activities started, Sol’s minor deviations from the norm would never have a positive impact. The wide-open front door felt like the jaws of a predator.
“But Tae-oh, is that person not coming to the dorm?”
“Tae-oh... Usually, after finishing cleaning the practice room, he either practices more or has personal matters to attend to, so he might come in a bit later.”
The dorm was tidy, to the extent that one wouldn’t think four guys lived there. It was a bit old and small, but the cleanliness was overwhelming, making Sol hesitate to touch anything. If he interfered, the meticulously arranged order would become chaotic. He had been told that his luggage would arrive first, but there wasn’t a single box or carton in sight in this immaculate home, so he held back his discomfort and asked cautiously.
“Um, which room should I use?”
“....”
Ga-ram stared at Sol in silence, then pointed firmly at a closed door with his finger.
“That’s the closet and storage room. There are only a few clothes, so Tae-oh probably organized your things over there. And we...”
Following these words, Sol’s face contorted in surprise.
“We all sleep in that room over there.”
“All together?”
“Yes.”
“So, all four of you.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Sol felt something was off. There were clearly one, two, three, four, or five rooms. Even if you exclude the dressing room and bathroom, there were two or three rooms suitable for individual use. However, four big guys gathering together to sleep seemed peculiar. When Sol questioned it, Ga-ram hesitated for a moment before explaining the reason.
“Deuk-yong and I can’t hear the alarm well, so we’re often late.”
“I thought you said Tae-oh hate being late.”
“...We’re also often late to school.”
Though Ga-ram’s response didn’t really answer his question, Tae-oh’s repeated words came to Sol’s mind. Sol awkwardly laughed. It seemed that Ga-ram and Tae-oh and didn’t quite get along as well as their first impressions suggested.
For someone like Sol, who tended to forget everything easily, managing to be punctual was a challenging task. He wondered if he should start going to school since he hadn’t even graduated from high school yet at this time. Just as his thoughts drifted off to another place, Ji-ho’s voice interrupted him.
“You don’t have to share a room with us. Tae-oh had a separate room before. It’s an empty room now, so use it if you want to be alone.”
“...Thank you.”
“Hey, what do you want to eat for dinner, guys?”
“Ji-ho, I really want to eat ramen. Or maybe black bean noodles.”
“No. Not allowed.”
“Why did you ask if you’re going to refuse?”
“I didn’t ask you. Kim Deuk-yong. You eat chicken breast.”
Ji-ho, who bluntly spoke to DK, glanced at Sol and Ga-ram. Beside him, DK pouted and stared at Do Ji-ho with narrowed eyes.
“But why do you call him Deuk-yong?”
“That’s...”
“Oh, don’t say it, hyung.”
“His real name is Kim Deuk-yong.”
“Is DK a nickname?”
“It’s short for Deuk-yong Kim, so DK.”
“Oh, come on. I told you not to say it, hyung!”
Sol let out an embarrassed laugh. The reason for using a nickname was clear, but DK didn’t really seem to make it sound convincing. DK’s gaze became sharp as he noticed Sol’s awkward expression. As the corners of his eyes raised, accentuating his already fierce appearance, Sol instinctively and subtly averted his gaze without even realizing it.
“Hey!”
Ojalá acepten poco a poco a mi niño, está lastimado y traumado, no pido que lo entiendan del todo, pero que enserio dejen de juzgarlo solo por las experiencias con aprendices pasados 🥺
ReplyDeleteMuchas gracias por traducir. 💕