Genius Idol’s Strategy to Conquer the Entertainment Industry

Chapter 229

—

Before heading back to the dorm, we stopped by a nearby convenience store to buy some alcohol, as per my suggestion.

Of course, I was underage and couldn’t buy alcohol, but luckily, Gyun Seong-ha had his ID.

After we paid, Gyun Seong-ha, holding a bag filled with clinking soju bottles, looked at me with an expression that said he’d never seen someone as strange as me before.

“You can’t even drink. Why did you buy so much alcohol?”

“I plan to get everyone else drunk first.”

“What?”

“Let’s go!”

When we arrived at the dorm, we were met with bewildered stares from the members at the sight of the unusual amount of alcohol.

“I thought you went to exercise, but you came back with so much alcohol?”

Kang Ji-woo, who had counted the number of bottles, alternated his gaze between us.

A system window appeared next to his face.

[This person will soon be incoherent.]

Can you not add such weird commentary?

“Is this the second round? I’m down for it.”

Ban Yo-han, who had just finished showering, sprawled lazily on the sofa and responded.

As expected, a system window appeared next to him as well.

[This person will also be a mess soon.]

I glanced at Ban Yo-han with a bitter look before speaking calmly.

“I have something to say to the members.”

“Something to say?”

“Yeah. But it’s a bit embarrassing to say it while sober.”

Kang Ji-woo still had a puzzled expression.

“I see. But our youngest isn’t an adult yet, so you can’t drink.”

Kang Ji-woo, with his strict adherence to the law, looked at me with a stern, serious expression, as if to say underage drinking was absolutely not allowed.

“I know.”

Obviously, I didn’t buy all this alcohol intending to drink it myself.

“So I figured if I got the older members to drink, we could resolve some of the things on my mind.”

Kang Ji-woo looked at the spread-out bottles on the floor with wide eyes, then glanced at my nonchalant face before reluctantly replying.

“…I don’t understand what you mean by resolving things.”

“I understand your feelings. But you’ll know once you drink.”

“No, I don’t understand even while sober.”

“You will. You’ll get it.”

“Is this revenge for not letting you play games?”

“Haha, it’s not like that.”

While exchanging meaningless words, I was pouring the alcohol into dishes I had taken from the kitchen cupboard.

At first, the other members watched me with a look that said they wanted to see what I was up to, but as my hand movements continued, their faces gradually turned pale.

“What the… why are you putting so much soju in there?”

“I think he’s trying to kill us.”

“Don’t look. Go away.”

“Why is he so natural at pouring drinks? Have you been drinking secretly?”

“I learned from watching YouTube.”

“This is why YouTube is bad for educating kids these days…”

“Raon…”

Seo Moon-gyeol called my name wistfully.

[This person will also soon regain freedom of his stiffened facial muscles.]

This jerk… Is he having fun?

Anyway, I finished making drinks for the four of them.

The clear liquor swayed precariously in various shaped glasses.

Drawn by the promise of a conversation, the members gathered in the living room and each received a glass.

“Drink this all, and then I’ll talk.”

“All of this?”

“I’m not Yo-han hyung. How am I supposed to drink all this?”

Next to the grumbling Gyun Seong-ha, Larry displayed another system window without fail.

[Despite his words now, this person will soon live up to his family name.]

This one was annoyingly funny.

Anyway, I encouraged the unsure Gyun Seong-ha.

“No, you can do it.”

“No, I don’t want to do it even if I can.”

“If you can do it, you should.”

“You’re not making any sense. Did you get drunk from just smelling the alcohol?”

“No. I’m perfectly sober.”

“That makes it worse!”

And as far as I knew, none of our members were so weak that drinking this much would kill them.

“Why are you drinking soju mixed with beer in mugs and soup bowls? Which YouTube channel taught you such a heinous thing?”

Kang Ji-woo looked ready to report whatever channel I named, but unfortunately, I didn’t learn this from YouTube.

“I didn’t learn it from YouTube. I learned it from the members, especially Yo-han hyung.”

In reality, I learned this through various practical experiences in the previous world, but I blamed Ban Yo-han, who often drank from mugs or tall tumblers.

For some reason, our dorm didn’t have proper drinking glasses except for one large beer mug, so other dishes were often used as substitutes. Ban Yo-han’s preferred choice was a large mug, while the other members typically used ordinary-sized water cups.

As everyone’s faces turned pale, Ban Yo-han, who was laughing to death alone, said I learned well, causing Kang Ji-woo to clutch his neck in frustration.

“Sigh… I should have bought soju glasses for the dorm earlier…”

Even if we had soju glasses, it wouldn’t have made a difference today as I would have poured the liquor into bowls anyway.

“Of course, it’s not mandatory. If you don’t want to drink, you don’t have to.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. But since it’s hard to say certain things without a bit of courage, I’ll tell you what I wanted to say today while drinking in a year.”

“…I don’t know about courage, but it seems like your blood alcohol level isn’t lacking.”

Gyun Seong-ha, grimacing as if I had secretly drunk while preparing, sniffed me like a drug-detecting dog.

I teased him about living up to his name and got hit.

Eventually, Kang Ji-woo, looking determined, asked with a resolute face.

“…Can we drink it in intervals?”

His curiosity about what I had to say outweighed the fear of the death-like drink.

Maybe “curiosity killed the cat” would be newly added to today’s Korean dictionary.

“Of course. Just drink it first.”

Naturally, if I felt they weren’t drunk enough, I would make them drink more.

Finally, one by one, they reached for their glasses.

Seo Moon-gyeol, too, reached for the smallest cup with a determined look.

Seeing that, I grabbed Seo Moon-gyeol’s arm in surprise.

“Why?”

“You only drink this.”

“Okay.”

I scooped a spoonful of liquor with the rice spoon I brought and brought it to Seo Moon-gyeol’s mouth, who drank it with a relieved face.

“It looks like you’re feeding medicine to a child.”

Ban Yo-han, who saw this scene, teased lightly, but I ignored him and pushed the still-full glass toward him.

“The rest is all yours, Yo-han.”

“Hyung’s not drunk yet.”

He was the most troublesome and annoying one, so rather than just getting him pleasantly drunk, I intended to make him completely wasted.

Starting with Seo Moon-gyeol, who became lethargic after just one spoonful, everyone began to drink their assigned portions at their own pace.

“How much soju did you put in here?”

“You drink well, so a lot.”

“So how much is ‘a lot’?”

“Enough that you won’t die?”

“We’ll see next year…”

Gyun Seong-ha, who glared at me as he finished the last of his drink, nibbled on snacks.

* * *

Much later.

Everyone successfully emptied their glasses.

Though they were all drunk enough that Gwak Sang-hyun would scold us if he saw the dorm tomorrow, thanks to my careful mix of soju and beer ratios for each member, communication was still somewhat possible.

“You tough guy…”

Their tongues loosened, making their speech slightly slurred, but there was no noticeable drunken behavior.

Whenever someone tried to spout nonsense, another member stopped them, focusing back on my original intent.

Watching their messy yet not completely chaotic state, I realized our members were quite strong drinkers.

Of course, excluding Seo Moon-gyeol, with his shocking child-sized tolerance.

Despite being lethargic from just one spoonful, he managed to stay awake, but if he had drunk more, he would have passed out.

“So what did you want to say?”

“If it’s not something serious, I won’t let you off.”

After taking a sip of soda to quench my dry throat, I spoke in the calmest voice possible.

“Our upcoming title song ‘Again’, I composed and wrote it.”

“……”

“……”

A brief silence.

“Really?!”

“That was you?”

“I knew it was you. Right, Hae-jae?”

“Hae-jae? Haze? Hae-jae? Haze! Not Haze, but Hae-jae? Not Hae-jae, but Haze?”

“Ji-woo hyung, it’s confusing, so please be quiet.”

I explained the reason why I had kept it a secret until now.

Though I couldn’t be sure if the drunken and excited members were listening properly, I tried to convey my thoughts more clearly than when I told Ban Ga-eul.

It was easier to say than I had expected, maybe because I didn’t expect any productive discussions from a drunken state, or maybe I was also carried away by the mood.

“…That’s why. I did this because I was scared of how you guys would react. I’m sorry.”

Before I could finish speaking, Kang Ji-woo interrupted.

“Why are you sorry?!”

He started pouring more drink for himself, saying he was the leader and should have known about my concerns.

Gyun Seong-ha, suddenly crying, shook my shoulders and asked why I was so good at everything, his grip so strong it felt like he was shaking dust off my soul.

While Gyun Seong-ha let go to complain to Seo Moon-gyeol, who seemed asleep, Ban Yo-han, giggling, started questioning me.

“So what is Hae-jae?”

“It’s just a word.”

“What does Hae-jae mean to you?”

“…You smell like alcohol. Get away.”

“You told me to drink, and now you’re saying this is unfair. What does Hae-jae mean to you?”

How does this guy make sense even when drunk, making people angry?

Then, Seo Moon-gyeol, who had been lying still like a corpse with my leg as a pillow, suddenly sat up.

So he wasn’t asleep.

“You’re not planning to keep it hidden forever, right?”

“Yeah. Don’t do it because of us. You’re too good for that.”

“I’ll reveal it.”

Kang Ji-woo ruffled my hair, making it messy like he would with Dae-bak and So-bak at home, saying I made a good decision.

“But not now.”

“Then when?”

“I want to reveal it at our first concert.”