LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 316
Chapter 316: Youth Sniper Project (1)
“Haa….”
Seo Taehyun, who had been pressing his temple with the hand that wasn’t holding the baseball bat, glared at me and Dan Haru with fiery eyes.
He took a deep breath, clearly preparing to unleash a torrent of anger. In a panic, I quickly covered the delicate Dan Haru’s ears with my hands. Just as I did, Seo Taehyun suddenly stood up, thrusting the terrifying baseball bat in front of us, and shouted loudly.
“Do you have any idea how many inquiries the guesthouse is getting right now!? Just today alone, every single guest has been talking about the convenience store food, so much so that my mom was startled and called me!”
“I-I’m sorry….”
“You said you wouldn’t get caught! You said you were confident you wouldn’t get caught! Even when I begged you to just stay quietly at the guesthouse, you promised you’d only help out quietly. And then what!? You set up a stall~? Boost the sales!?”
“I have nothing to say even if I had fifteen mouths…….”
But isn’t it good if sales go up?
…that fleeting thought from my capitalist part-timer self was quickly strangled and buried by my more realistic, socially-aware self. After all, it was obvious that this kind of short-term fame wouldn’t benefit anyone unless Haru and I were seriously planning to get hired as permanent convenience store part-timers.
Seo Taehyun, now restrained by Lee Doha and Lee Yugeon who had rushed to calm him down, continued to yell at the top of his lungs.
“They even posted the guesthouse’s name and address on TreeWiki!!!!!!”
…Hmm. Did this get bigger than I thought…?
TreeWiki, the place where the most useless but interesting information gets recorded? It got documented there?
As Seo Taehyun’s rage level soared, he shook off both Lee Doha and Lee Yugeon, who were each a full head and a half taller than him, throwing them onto the sofa! (He threw down people twice his size…!)
The dumbfounded expressions of those two giant guys, who clearly had no idea what just happened, were priceless.
“The same goes for you two! You were supposed to just help serve the food, but what did you do!? Gambling? Singing contest? Buskingggggg—!? You all had a blast, didn’t you!?”
“I-I was wrong.”
“I’m sorry… I’m really sorry.”
Even Lee Doha and Lee Yugeon were so intimidated by Seo Taehyun’s outburst that they confessed their wrongdoings with frightened faces.
Then, Seo Taehyun suddenly turned his head sharply. In the kitchen, Jung Siwoo, who had been quietly making some adlay tea while trying to sneak back to his room, flinched when he met Seo Taehyun’s gaze and hid his cup behind him.
With a sinister voice, Seo Taehyun, who had already lost all sense of reason, murmured darkly.
“Stop right there….”
“…….”
We need Joo Eunchan.
Every second felt even longer as the absence of the sixth member, who could mediate Seo Taehyun’s rampage, was deeply felt….
* * *
Seo Taehyun finally began to calm down after spewing out a solid ten minutes of an angry filibuster.
Not that Seo Taehyun had told us to do so, but at some point, the five of us had all ended up kneeling in a row in the living room, quietly listening to his lecture. Seeing our seemingly remorseful posture, Seo Taehyun let out a short breath, *“Hoo,”* which was a sign that he had vented all his anger. In the past year of getting scolded by him, I had come to understand that when he sighed like that, it meant he had finished saying all he needed to say. I exchanged glances with Lee Yugeon, and we both nudged Dan Haru, who was sitting between us.
Recognizing the signal just as well as we did, Dan Haru glanced up at Seo Taehyun with a pathetically sad expression.
“Hyuuung….”
“…….”
“But my legs really hurt….”
Another thing I learned from getting scolded by Seo Taehyun was that he had a soft spot for younger members. Perhaps because he grew up as an only child, Seo Taehyun had a soft and generous side when it came to those he considered younger and weaker than himself.
Even though Dan Haru was taller than Seo Taehyun, much stronger (by a lot), and had lived far longer (by a significant margin), it didn’t matter.
“Ugh, I just wanted to help you, hyung….”
“…….”
“If I keep kneeling like this, my growth plates might close, and I won’t get any taller, ahhh….”
“……….”
“But I definitely don’t regret going to Gangwon-do with you, hyung….”
“Alright, enough! Who told you to kneel? No one asked you to kneel, but you did it yourselves, for real. Just sit comfortably. Who said anything? Seriously….”
As expected.
Among our members, Seo Taehyun was the one most susceptible to Dan Haru’s ‘I’m the maknae’ attack.
Grumbling as he relented, Seo Taehyun’s words prompted the members to glance at each other and slowly relax their postures. My legs were so numb from kneeling for so long that pained groans echoed around the living room as everyone moved.
“This is really the first time I’ve experienced something like this….”
Jung Siwoo, who had likely only ever made people kneel and had never knelt himself, seemed more mentally than physically affected. Considering he had been kicked out of his room last time, it seemed even he was no match for Seo Taehyun in many ways.
‘Is this the “You’re the first to ever treat me like this” route?’
At this point, I wondered if Seo Taehyun was the most powerful figure in our group. Could it be that Siwoo and I were just being used as the public leader and eldest brother?
Just as I was lost in thought, pondering whether Seo Taehyun was the true power behind the scenes, he carefully set the baseball bat against the side of the sofa, crossed his arms, and began to speak.
“Don’t relax yet. I still have more to say.”
“Yes, sir.”
It was confirmed. Seo Taehyun was definitely the power behind the throne. At those words, all the members immediately straightened up and focused on him. His expression suggested that he wasn’t angry anymore, but what else could he possibly say? As I cautiously opened my system to gauge his mood, trying to read his intentions, Seo Taehyun spoke again, his voice now much softer.
“…Thank you. For coming to get me.”
Seo Taehyun’s gentle tone instantly changed the atmosphere.
“Even though you caused a lot of trouble, I’m grateful that you helped out with my family’s business. Mom and Uncle also asked me to convey their thanks. They said they had a busy but great weekend because of you.”
“Why are you making such a warm comment after making us kneel….”
“I didn’t ask you to kneel. You did that yourselves. Look, Haru’s already sitting comfortably.”
Seo Taehyun shrugged nonchalantly. With the tension now completely diffused, the members also slowly returned to more comfortable positions. Watching us, Seo Taehyun chuckled softly before sliding off the sofa to sit on the floor with us, making eye contact.
As Dan Haru discreetly inched closer to Seo Taehyun, I cleared my throat and asked in an awkward tone.
“So, uh… what’s going to happen with the guesthouse?”
“I’ve posted a notice saying the snacks were a special, limited-time offering and that the store won’t be selling them anymore. Anyway, we’re only accepting reservations for next month, and then we’ll be closed for a while, so we’ll just have to hope people forget about it by then.”
We made such a big impact that the guesthouse had to temporarily close…?
I looked at Seo Taehyun, my face full of question marks. Sensing what I was thinking, Seo Taehyun chuckled and shook his head.
“No, it’s not because of you guys. We were already planning to remodel and do some repairs. During my break, the family discussed it and decided to go ahead with the plan. It was something we had decided on before you guys even came, so don’t worry about it.”
“Oh, I see. I thought…”
I thought my cheesy grilled sweet potatoes had wrecked an entire guesthouse….
I sighed with relief, realizing it was all resolved. Feeling the tension ease from my shoulders, I straightened up, deciding this was a good opportunity to share something with everyone.
“Alright, alright. Now, let’s take a moment to focus.”
“……?”
“Let’s agree that we’ll be more careful in the future and refrain from causing trouble. But since we’re all gathered here, I have something to report.”
The grand way I introduced the topic made the members’ eyes fill with suspicion, as if asking, ‘What now?’
‘Ouch. That hurts a little….’
My 51% Feeling side was reacting to their mistrustful expressions.
But I knew their expressions would change once they saw what I was about to show them, so I pushed my 49% Thinking side to the forefront, grabbed the tablet from my bag, and placed it on the living room table.
As soon as I did, Lee Doha, the first to realize what I was about to reveal, leaned forward with sparkling eyes.
“Is it all done?”
“Yep. I even got it approved by the company. If you guys are okay with it, I’ll upload it tonight.”
“Oh! Is that what we talked about in Gangwon-do?”
“Yes.”
As I nodded, the other members, including Dan Haru, gathered around the tablet, their faces lighting up with anticipation.
I turned on the tablet, accessed the gallery, and clicked on the file for ‘that project’ I had been working on since our trip to Gangwon-do.
‘It’s a bit rough since it’s been a while since I last worked on something like this….’
But considering our activity plans for this year, nothing could be a better signal for our comeback than this.
As excited as the members were, I was equally nervous as I pressed the ‘Play’ button on the first project that would mark our new beginning.
* * *
That night.
The gift arrived for Destis at the exact moment midnight struck, marking the start of a new day.
– **A post from Hajin just went up on the fan cafe!**
A new post written by Hajin was uploaded to Kairos’ official fan cafe.
Although Kairos had always tried to communicate with Destis through various platforms, it had been a long time since something was posted on the official fan cafe.
With so many lighter, more accessible platforms like I-Verse, Pop-Pop, and Bluebird available nowadays, the official fan cafe had mostly been used as a communication channel for things like ticket applications, schedule announcements, and fan club notices.
– **Why a post from Hajin out of the blue……. Is something wrong?**
Given that Hajin’s first post on the official fan cafe was a letter of apology during the previous scandal, the Destis were understandably a bit anxious when they received the notification.
One of them was ‘Kang Hadi,’ a well-known figure among Hajin’s fans, who now worked as a lawyer and had once taken the lead in a fan club cleansing campaign.
“What’s this about, what’s going on, what’s my baby doing, what happened, why?”
Could those crazy people be stirring up trouble again, dragging up the guesthouse part-time job? But I didn’t notice anything strange while browsing SNS and communities just now. Even on private accounts, where people usually throw around harsh words, everyone seemed to be in a sweet, fangirling mode. Some of the long-time fans even lamented that the boys should come back now, thinking that it would be the perfect time to hit a career high.
Kang Hadi quickly put her glasses back on and logged into the official fan cafe app. Hajin’s post, having just gone up, was right at the top.
**[[Hajin] Hello, Destis :]]**
“Oh no, the title is so simple that it’s even scarier….”
Steeling herself, Kang Hadi clicked on the post.
Then, a rather long letter, likely written carefully by Hajin, began to load on the screen.
**Hello, Destis :)**
**This is Kairos’ leader, chief, captain, and boss. The new power and future, Kang Hajin.**
To her relief, the letter began with Hajin’s usual playful tone.
Knowing that Hajin, despite his silly demeanor, could be more serious than anyone when needed, Kang Hadi finally relaxed and slowly scrolled down. The letter continued in Hajin’s straightforward yet witty style.
…
**A lot of news has come out in the past few days.**
**I imagine many of you were surprised and worried, so I’m writing this short letter to keep the promise I made to update you soon.**
**First of all, I want to let you know that Eun-chan, whom you were most concerned about, is recovering well, thanks to your support.**
**The doctor even joked that if he continues to recover like this, he could probably try competing in a triathlon soon. He’s really eating well, sleeping well, and resting well, so you don’t have to worry too much.**
**(Though please do worry about him at least once a day, because he might feel sad if you don’t.)**
From an update on Eun-chan’s recovery to a thank-you message for the various awards they had received at the end of the year, Hajin’s letter conveyed the members’ well-being and feelings with a calm and collected tone. Kang Hadi, who had been filled with worry earlier, was now engrossed in Hajin’s letter, reading each line carefully.
…
**We’ve worked hard and done our best, but we know this is only the beginning.**
**Kairos plans to keep flying toward the destination known as Desti, so it would mean the world to us if you continue to enjoy the journey with us as you have so far.**
“My baby… he even writes well….”
Tearing up at her favorite’s writing skills, Kang Hadi noticed that the letter was nearing its end.
And as she scrolled down to read the last sentence, she spotted something at the bottom of the post.
…
**I thought you might not believe we’re doing well if I just told you, so I’ve brought a little gift as promised. It’s not perfect, but I worked hard on it, so I hope you’ll enjoy it even if it’s a bit rough.**
**See you soon.**
**-Hajin**
**
“……?”
A music video, with a thumbnail of the Kairos members dressed in casual clothes, smiling brightly at the camera under a tree in full bloom with cherry blossoms.
The video was brimming with the scent of spring.