LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 185
Chapter 185
The car heading back to the dorm was quiet after finishing all the Ten to Ten filming, concluding with the personal interviews to be inserted into the broadcast.
“Hyung, aren’t you tired? If you’re sleepy, we can stop for a bit and rest.”
Gwak Sang-hyun, gripping the steering wheel with bloodshot eyes, answered in a slightly hoarse voice.
“Oh, I’m fine. I’ve been taking the tonic Yo-han brought me recently, so I can manage. I also rested a bit while you were filming.”
His choice of words.
He didn’t say he could manage; he said he could survive.
I hoped they would hire additional managers soon, considering future circumstances, but it seemed they hadn’t found the right person yet.
“You’ll have to wake up early tomorrow too, so it’d be tough. Try to sleep a bit now if you can.”
“No, the person in the passenger seat should stay awake to keep an eye on the driver.”
At my words, Gwak Sang-hyun, who was exhausted from dealing with broadcast staff all day, gave a brief smile using his tired facial muscles.
Maybe he preferred chatting while driving, as he started talking about various things.
“Did you get close to Hye-sung today? You were really worried before the filming started.”
“Hmm, I think so. But I wasn’t that worried.”
“Of course you were. You were really worried.”
“Was I?”
“Yes, you were. And the directors kept praising you a lot, saying you did well on the show.”
“They said that last time during the Aya University filming too. I guess I’m kind of popular with variety show directors.”
“You think your popularity is limited to directors only…”
Anyway, Gwak Sang-hyun added that he felt particularly good about today’s filming and couldn’t wait for it to be broadcast.
“We’re here.”
As Gwak Sang-hyun stopped the car, he frowned at the sight of about six people gathered near the dorm building.
“Those people are here again.”
“Yo-han hyung has been really annoyed lately because of them.”
Recently, a fierce post on social media had warned that if they intruded on personal space again, he would expose their faces, names, and ages. It had reduced their numbers for a while, but now a new group seemed to have appeared.
“Let’s go in quickly. I’ll try to hold them off, so you go ahead.”
“No, well… They won’t be able to get inside the building anyway. And you won’t hear anything good either.”
Saying he wouldn’t hear anything good was an understatement. Once, he had gotten a bruise around his eye trying to block a hand reaching for me. I felt so sorry back then.
“I’ll just ignore them and go in. You park and come up.”
I thought I had seen those two earlier at Seoul Forest, while eating, and at the arcade…
Well, those kinds of schedules are seen by everyone anyway, so if they have the ability to follow, it’s not a big deal. But the dorm is different, isn’t it?
Of course, that’s just my opinion. Everyone accepts things differently. Ban Yo-han, who is the most sensitive among us, dislikes even being followed during private schedules.
Gwak Sang-hyun shook his head at my words.
“No, let’s go together. It’s my job to take the flak too. They’re the ones who really deserve it though.”
I suppressed a sigh and got out of the car.
Maybe they had been watching our car from the start because they approached us quickly.
“Stay back. We’ve already warned you about invading privacy by coming to the dorm. We’ll take legal action.”
“Raon! Take this!”
Someone shoved a paper bag with a luxury brand logo towards me, making sure I saw it.
“We don’t accept gifts. You know that. And don’t come to our dorm.”
“Then at least take this letter. You do accept letters.”
“We don’t accept letters given like this. If you send them to the company, we read them all thankfully when we have time, so please don’t come here and send them to the company…”
At that moment, I noticed someone recording my words with their phone.
I was momentarily speechless.
I wondered if I should write what I wanted to say in big letters on a sketchbook like the writers do during broadcasts.
“Raon, stop talking and go in.”
“Who are you to stop him from talking?”
“What do you mean who? I’m their manager. Lady in the cream blouse, stop taking pictures or videos immediately! I’ll call the police!”
Even though Gwak Sang-hyun spoke with all the patience he could muster, the woman replied seductively to me.
“Raon, reporting this won’t help. I’ve been through it all.”
Wow, my blood pressure.
When we finally returned to the dorm, the members who were monitoring recent music broadcasts on TV crowded the entrance.
“Did you do well?”
“Yeah, I’m tired…”
“There was a commotion downstairs. Was everything okay?”
“Sang-hyun hyung seems to have a scratch on his arm.”
“Why do they act like that, seriously?”
Kang Ji-woo, who said that, went to find some bandages and ointment.
“Do you know what they said to me last time? They said they worked hard doing part-time jobs to come to Seoul for us. How is forcing gifts on us and coming to our dorm for us? I really don’t get those people…”
Gyun Seong-ha said, shaking his head in disgust.
After the incident during the last entrance, the group gatherings seemed to have somewhat settled down.
But there was no way to handle individuals coming like earlier.
“Why aren’t you guys asleep yet? You usually sleep early.”
“It’s the last week of activities. We’re monitoring the performances we’ve done so far to do better this week.”
“We generously analyzed yours too.”
“What? How was it?”
“I’ll tell you tomorrow. You look really tired now.”
“You must be tired from running around so much.”
“What do you think I was doing out there?”
Just then, Gwak Sang-hyun entered the dorm looking exhausted and collapsed onto the temporary bed set up in the living room, muttering.
“Wake me up in four hours, guys. I’ll get up quickly then. I’m going to sleep now…”
“No, you should wash up first!”
“No, I’ll wash up after sleeping…”
“But your arm’s scratched!”
“It’s fine. I’ll be okay after a good sleep…”
“But you can’t sleep well, can you?”
At Kang Ji-woo’s sharp remark, Gwak Sang-hyun got up with sad eyes and extended his injured arm.
“Hyung… I’ll definitely tell Aunt to hire a new recruit, no matter who it is.”
“No, not just anyone. Make sure to hire the right person. Specifically, someone sturdy enough to function on less than six hours of sleep a week, under 25 years old with more than eight years of experience, has connections in broadcasting stations, holds a Class 1 driver’s license, and speaks at least basic English…”
“Everything else aside, how can someone under 25 have eight years of experience?”
“What are you talking about, looking for experienced new recruits…”
“I guess hyung isn’t tired enough yet.”
“It seems he’s so exhausted that he can’t make rational judgments.”
In any case, we all agreed that we needed to hire more managers before Gwak Sang-hyun died from overwork or quit being our manager.
* * *
Around the time our mini second album activities were nearing the end, a teaser of the Ten to Ten episode featuring Muk Hye-sung and me was released on Witube.
**[Ten to Ten Teaser] Beyond Imagination! Muk Hye-sung and On Raon (+a mysterious passerby) turn Seoul Forest into a stylish hotel with a special Chopsticks March (jazz ver.) collaboration｜MBS 18××××**
However, it felt a bit different from the other teasers that had been uploaded so far.
Unlike the other teasers that were edited by splicing small clips from the entire broadcast, our teaser was just a full cut of the busking part.
The teaser stopped right at the point where Christine, whose face was covered with the Ten to Ten’s symbol character ‘Tenten’ to hide her identity, was about to start playing.
– What? Aren’t these people idols? Why are they so good at playing the piano?
– At 0:58, On Raon smiles and raises the tempo, he looks so handsome.
┗ I understand what you’re saying, but On Raon has been consistently handsome from 0:00.
– If there’s no sheet music and it’s all improvised, then he’s a genius, right? His technique isn’t bad, and his emotional expression is especially good. Jazz is all about the swing feel, and his style resembles Hana Jang.
┗ Who is Hana Jang?
┗ She was a famous jazz pianist in our country about 7-8 years ago. She’s still active abroad.
– Muk Hye-sung and On Raon should play the piano every day for public good. More people will want to learn the piano because of them, and our country will become a music powerhouse in 10 years.
– Why did it cut off there? Release the full video immediately, MBS.
The members watching the teaser with me also murmured about the abrupt ending of the video.
“What is this?”
“Why did it cut off there?”
“If you’re curious, watch the live broadcast.”
“Raon, who is that person?”
“If you’re curious, watch the live broadcast.”
“You’re so stingy.”
I had been keeping quiet about everything that happened that day because I wanted to tease the members.
“But the way it’s edited makes it look like a completely different show.”
“Totally. It’s like ‘Road to Music.’”
By the way, ‘Road to Music’ is a music variety show where singers and musicians travel domestically and internationally to perform busking.
“Did you just play on the spot? No prior practice?”
“No, no. It’s a piece I used to play a bit. I didn’t coordinate with Mr. Muk in advance. I swear, it was all spontaneous.”
“I was wondering how well you played for the Aeries to get so excited, but you really played well.”
“What? You knew I played the piano?”
“A fancam of the busking session was uploaded to StarTel for a bit. It was taken down quickly, though.”
“How did you see a video that was taken down so quickly?”
In response to my question, Ban Yo-han smiled brightly and evaded answering.
“He’s such a cheat. Why is he even good at playing the piano?”
Gyun Seong-ha grumbled.
“Hehe, a true master always hides about 30% of his skills…”
“What? Thirty percent? If you’re still hiding something, spill it now!”
“Actually, I’m Korean!”
“We know that already!”
“That’s supposed to be a secret.”
And a few days later, the day of the Ten to Ten broadcast arrived.