Chapter 388

Side Story (5)

Leaving the staff’s flustered eyes behind, I finally arrived in front of Choi Jeokhyeon. Then, I pressed the squeaky chicken’s beak right against his cheek. Since he doesn’t have a girlfriend, I figured I should at least let him get a kiss from a chicken.

“…….”

As soon as the squeaky toy touched his cheek, he blinked once and immediately looked up at me. I thought he wouldn’t like this kind of joke, but his complete lack of reaction left me the one feeling awkward.

‘This is different from what I expected.’

I thought Choi Jeokhyeon would calmly push the squeaky toy away with a polite smile. But instead, he simply looked up at me as if telling me to go ahead and try again, then obediently tilted his head a little higher and smiled, his long lashes fluttering together.

It felt like watching a dog I was raising do something cute.

You know how these days, if you make a circle with your fingers and say “nose”, dogs politely press their noses into it? That’s exactly what it reminded me of … though I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was being toyed with a little.

‘Dogs are cute, and Choi Jeokhyeon is not cute at all.’

Isn’t that a little unfair? No matter what I do, he always stays calm and composed, while I’m the one who keeps getting irritated and angry because of him…….

Honestly, in this situation, anyone can see that I’m the one at fault, not Choi Jeokhyeon. I was the one who bothered him when he was just minding his own business. Still, I don’t know why I feel so lousy about it.

As my expression grew more and more crumpled, Choi Jeokhyeon didn’t even glance at the squeaky chicken. Instead, he rested his chin on the desk and looked at me. No, ‘observed‘ might be the better word. He was watching my face with the kind of curiosity you’d have when something unexpectedly fascinating appeared before you.

‘…You don’t find it funny?’

As a last attempt, I pressed down hard on the squeaky toy.

Squawk.

In the now-silent set, with everyone’s eyes fixed on the two of us, the squeaky chicken’s cry echoed awkwardly, like a misplaced crow sound effect. Choi Jeokhyeon, still utterly unfazed, kept his gaze on me, his lips curved into a calm, unbothered smile.

“Fine, forget it.”

I frowned slightly and threw the chicken head onto the desk.

Squawk! Squeak! Squk.

Then the rubber body bounced in quick beats, thump, thump-thump, as a pitiful squeal echoed through the air. Everyone on set clenched their teeth at the ridiculous sound that didn’t suit the visuals of Choi Jeokhyeon and me.

No one was allowed to laugh.

I was, after all, the company’s director, a great senior, and the elder here.

There wasn’t a single person who could say anything to me…….

“Cute.”

Ah, right. He was here, f**k.

He looked straight at me as he spoke, and for a moment, I froze, unable to react at all. His expression and tone were the kind that would’ve definitely come with a “^^” emoji if it had been a text message.

‘What the, what…….’

I look like this.

And I’m this old.

‘Is there something wrong with his eyes? Or has he actually gone crazy from being called a lunatic so many times?’

I was so dumbfounded it felt like my brain just shut down.

It was a feeling, how should I put it … like I’d been left alone in the vast universe.

No matter how old you get, you’re still a baby in your parents’ eyes, right? Maybe it’s something like that. I’ve never experienced it myself, so I don’t really know. No, from the very first time I met Choi Jeokhyeon, I was already a head taller than most adults. How on earth could that crazy bastard even say something like that? That said, Seo Yuseong was super cute even back then.

‘What am I even supposed to say to that?’

It would’ve been fine if I’d only heard that ridiculous talk when it was just the two of us. I could’ve just snapped at him to stop talking nonsense and ignored it. But right now, there were too many people around. From the ones I’d raised since they were chicks to the ones who were still chirping like babies, plus all the staff working under me … there were so many people, and yet I had to let them see me listening to something like that.

“…You actually find something like this cute? Your taste is really strange!”

In the end, I ended up lifting the chicken’s head into the air, acting as if that was the object of “cute” comment, trying to manipulate the situation. But that attempt was immediately blocked by Choi Jeokhyeon.

“…….”

From the very beginning. Up until now. Without missing a single second. He had been staring only at me.

I, who had been stubbornly avoiding his gaze, couldn’t take it any longer and finally grabbed the collar of his suit.

“…Don’t.”

“Don’t what?”

“Don’t say that!”

Cold sweat ran down my back, and my ears were genuinely burning. If this had been the body of Han Seungbeom, whose skin is thin, his face would have flushed bright red.

“What did I say?”

I whispered it carefully so the other staff and cameras wouldn’t hear, but my splendid best friend, as if to confirm the killing blow, clearly repeated the exact same words,

“Ah, you mean when I called you cute?”

The staff, who had been pretending to look off into the distance and act like they hadn’t heard, lowered their head as their shoulders shook. It was clear they were laughing heartily.

“Wow, now that’s what our CEO should be like! I need to start living with that much backbone too.”

“This is hilarious. That hyung always dodges it whenever Seras call him cute or tries to moeify him. Looks like today’s the day he gives in.”

“Even the way you look when you’re embarrassed is cute.”

At least the staff tried to hide it, but the Prism members, as if sensing this was their golden opportunity, openly laughed and teased me mercilessly. Everyone, just get lost.

As my face gradually turned more and more like a goblin’s, Cha Woon and Jo Inchan, their faces drained of color, urgently clamped their hands over Lee Chise, Nam Yihwon, and Yoo Jay’s mouths and yelled.

“I didn’t say anything. I didn’t say anything. I didn’t…….”

“Are you crazy? You’ll die if you keep doing that!”

…Forget it.

They’re already as good as dead, so what’s the point of stopping them now?

I just hope they have a really great day today. It’ll be the last day of their lives, after all…….

“But the funny thing is, it’s a fact.”

“As expected of Seo Yutae! The leader of Prism! The icon of K-pop! The once-in-a-lifetime legendary idol! People already called him sexy, handsome, and cool, but oh my! Now he’s cute too? Wow, he, truly, is, a, greedy, man!”

“The King has donkey ears.”¹

With that, I pulled my beloved members into my arms. No, to be exact, I grabbed their faces. Their faces were so small that they fit entirely in one hand. Or maybe it was just that my hands were big.

“Ben, it’s bench climbing!”²

Climbing, my foot.

This is clearing.

Hearing Do Yuda shout while shoveling the caramel popcorn he had prepared as a snack gave me a headache.

Why does that guy always blurt out whatever pops into his head?

As a director of YT Entertainment, I was genuinely concerned.

“Mmph! Ugh!”

“I-I was wrong, ack!”

A cracking sound came from the tightly clenched hand, followed by frantic tapping on my wrist. Do you know this? In a martial arts match, when someone taps, the referee steps in to stop the fight. In reality, no such thing exists.

“Oh? Go on. Do it again.”

That’s why humans should always watch what they say…….

Especially Nam Yihwon. He really crossed the line today. Gloves would be too much of a luxury for him.

“I w-won’t do it again.”

“Please save me…….”

There was no helping it.

Really, there was nothing I could do…….

It would’ve been nice to have three hands. Unfortunately, humans only have two, so I could only caress Lee Chise and Nam Yihwon. Because of that, Yoo Jay’s eyes trembled violently as he watched what happened to his two hyungs and instinctively realized what awaited him next.

“Inchan-hyung! Chise-hyung and Hwon-hyung!”

“…It’s already over. You know how strong Yutae-hyung’s grip is!”

Even in the middle of all that, Jo Inchan tried to protect our youngest, hiding Yoo Jay behind his back. Yet, as he watched Nam Yihwon getting thoroughly tormented … no, I mean, being loved, he was trembling just as much himself.

Cha Woon ran to the tent and started rolling over Seo Yuseong, who was sleeping like a caterpillar in his sleeping bag, shouting over and over, “It’s happening now! Wake up! Please!”. Should I call it a kind of rescue request? Unfortunately, once Seo Yuseong was in that state, he couldn’t wake up unless I personally did it.

‘Of course I worry sick over him. Once that guy falls into a deep sleep, he wouldn’t notice even if someone kidnapped him.’

In fact, Seo Yuseong had been filming all night as a judge on a vocal audition program, so he overexerted himself just to be able to come to this outing.

‘He’s a heavy sleeper to begin with, so if you wear him out like that, of course he won’t wake up.’

On top of that, and crucially, Seo Yuseong couldn’t care less whether the members whine or not. He just has no interest in anything going on in the world.

“Ahaha!”

Now, the only one laughing in this situation was Choi Jeokhyeon.

‘That crazy bastard.’

He was laughing so radiantly that his cheeks had even flushed red. At this point, I couldn’t help but think that guy might be living just for the fun of watching me.

With a calm face that contrasted sharply with the veins bulging on my forearms, I looked up at the sky.

‘The sky is blue.’

“…….”

“…….”

I could feel Lee Chise and Nam Yihwon’s movements growing slower and slower. They’d been such bright, good guys, so it was truly a shame things had turned out this way.

Fweeeet!

Just then, Woo Kangwon—who knows where he’d been all this time—rushed in between me and the Prism members, blowing a whistle and holding up a red card with a panicked look on his face.

Ah, right. Come to think of it, Woo Kangwon hadn’t been able to join most matches because of his weight class, so we’d assigned him to be the referee instead.

“Please don’t, sunbaenim! Your hand, please let go of his hand!”

At Woo Kangwon’s restraint, I finally loosened my grip.

Keeping my eyes fixed on the two people collapsed on the ground, I spoke quietly to Gong Seonghwa, “…Continue, Seonghwa-ya”

Then Gong Seonghwa, who had been staring at me with a mix of fear and awe, gave a shudder and hurriedly recited his lines.

“Yes! T-the winner of the first match is Team Pantheion! Congratulations! N-now, for the next event, we have a tug-of-war scheduled, so the participating Trainee Team, Solo Team, Pantheion Team, and Staff Team, please come forward!”

The Pantheion members tilted their heads in confusion at the MC’s announcement. This was only natural, since Team Prism wasn’t participating and the staff team had been brought in to make the teams even.

“Hmm? Prism sunbaenims are not participating?”

“The members of Prism won’t be playing as a single team. They’ll be split up and assigned to each team as helper players.”

“Why?”

“What do you mean ‘why’? Why wouldn’t it be? Are we trying to cause an accident? We’re not throwing a lion into the chick pen. Absolutely not allowed.”

There had been a time during the Idol Sports Competition when we completely slaughtered the civilians, which made the situation truly awkward, so would a company field day be any different? Since it was obvious that they would completely crush the other artists’ morale, Prism’s participation was blocked from the very start.

‘I was already out as a judge from the start, and Seo Yuseong is asleep anyway.’

Besides, what’s the point of those guys, who already make plenty of money, competing so fiercely to win the prizes and prize money here? They should go to the juniors. The Prism members themselves were completely on board with this decision as well.

“But still, we’re all adult men here! It’ll be fine!”

Maybe it was because he felt bad that the Prism members, whom he had grown much closer to since joining the same company, couldn’t participate, or maybe his pride was hurt, but Do Yuda clenched his soft little fists and shouted.

“Silence, you foolish snipe! You go fight the gorilla alone. I’ll fight the humans!”

Although it was unclear whether that had been discussed with his teammates.

At Do Yuda’s shout, I fell into thought for a moment, then let my gaze fall on what used to be Lee Chise and Nam Yihwon, still sprawled on the floor, before finally resting on my own hand.

Then I slowly lifted my head,

“…Adult men, you say?”

Certainly, among the Prism members, I am the strongest. Still, they’re only slightly weaker than I am. Do these chicks really think they can handle them?

When I looked at them with eyes filled with nothing but genuine doubt, Do Yuda shuddered and shook his head frantically.

“No, I was wrong. I wasn’t thinking straight.”

I nodded, then stepped back and lifted the two men—who together weighed well over 150 kilograms—one in each hand without so much as a grunt. The match would be starting soon, and having such big guys lying around would only get in the way, so I had to move them.

“I suddenly feel so deprived…….”

“We’re the normal ones. Normal. Human.”

“…You showed us that, and now you’re telling us to show off our strength? This is so humiliating.”

“Isn’t this a fight just between them?”

I could hear people whispering behind me as they watched my back, but I firmly shoved the two of them into Prism’s tent. Then, after softly stroking the hair of the peacefully sleeping Seo Yuseong, I looked out at the chicks in the arena and smiled.

‘Cute, so cute.’

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Translator’s Corner:

1. 임금님 귀는 당나귀 귀. This phrase is the title and famous line from a well-known traditional Korean folk tale (The King with Donkey Ears, if you want to read it, click here). It’s similiar to the classical Greek myth of King Midas’s donkey ears (the Phrygian King Midas who had a secret that only one servant knew). In the Korean folktale, the servant couldn’t keep the secret to himself so he shouted the secret in the bamboo forest, “The King has donkey ears!”. When the wind blew, the sound of the bamboo stalks rubbing together echoed the phrase across the kingdom.

   So, the phrase here is used to refer to revelation of a major secret that could not be contained any longer, often leading to public embarrassment for the person whose secret is exposed. ↩︎

2. I think they’re making wordplay of the term “bench press” ↩︎

Can Choi Jeokhyeon hire me … this is like the dream job environment … imagine watching all that for your job…. Choi Jeokhyeon-nim, I’m a good person I promise

That said, it’s getting pretty cold now that we’re in November, so don’t forget to dress warmly everyone : ) And if there’s any Filo here, I hope you stay safe … I heard there’s a typhoon?