Cornered by a Signature

The younger brother of a member following a debuted senior group.
And, the friend of that member who’s becoming a topic.
There had been contact from the new talent development team.
Rumors might be circulating about both joining the debut lineup.

It was seven in the former agency.
But with Taeha and now including Hanbyeol, it would become eight.

Before debut, wearing black clothes unseen on stage with Cha.N sunbaes, the trainees who didn’t get buzz, and the only brother of a top-tier idol center member.
Moreover, if it’s someone who became a topic on SNS, they’d be instantly outmatched in name value.
Waves were forming among the trainees.

“By any chance, are you joining here too?”

They were the ones who crossed over, excluding only Taeha.
He was being pushed by their former agency to find their own way out.

Even if their methods were slapdash, with a large parent company and broadcast stations backing the agency, they were just waiting for debut.
This made them susceptible to the flood of news that could easily drain their spirits.

“Well…”

Taeha didn’t answer precisely.
It seemed news had already spread that the new talent development team had cast him.

According to Cha.N members, there was no other debut lineup at the agency besides this one.
Since Taeha had already tried to move agencies once before, it was obvious to anyone that joining would mean immediate inclusion in the debut lineup.
Of course, he wasn’t going to join.

At the end of the hallway, around the corner, Hanbyeol stood in a less visible spot.
He was listening to their conversation.

“By any chance, did you sign a contract too?”

A trainee asked Taeha in a tense voice.
Peeking slightly, Hanbyeol could see the neatly built trainee sweating.

Taeha didn’t answer.
Contracts fundamentally required confidentiality, so he shouldn’t easily speak about it.
It was even more so because investments could change depending on member fluctuations.

Now it was time for Hanbyeol to step in.

“Taeha-ya.”

Whether he didn’t know Hanbyeol was there or not, the trainee flinched and turned around.
It seemed he already knew who Hanbyeol was.
He was unable to turn his head away.

“I’ve been looking for you.”
“I need to head out soon.”
“Should we go?”
“Were you in the middle of a conversation?”
“No, we can go now.”

It seemed he had no intention of apologizing to Taeha, which was a relief.
Hanbyeol decided not to feel any remorse toward the trainee.
He was someone who couldn’t even meet his eyes.

****

“I’m sorry.”

Hanbyeol, sitting on the floor working on his laptop, turned his head at the crumpled voice.

Whether feeling resentful or not, Yuseong, who hadn’t been able to properly speak to Hanbyeol for a while, finally managed to open his mouth.
Only about three days had passed.

“Are you in the mood to talk now?”
“No, Hanbyeol-ah.”
“Even so, telling Taeha was a bit much!”
“There you go, raising your voice again.”
“I told you to fix that habit of getting worked up the moment a variable appears.”
“And, I didn’t tell him.”
“Taeha smelled the pheromones and figured it out.”

At Yuseong’s denying, Hanbyeol ground his teeth and scolded him.
Hanbyeol was firm with Yuseong.
He was hugging a cushion tightly.

“And, you’re only an idol to your fans, not to me.”
“Since when did you start acting cute?”
“Do I look cute holding a pillow?”
“……Has this guy gone crazy after eating broadcast content?”

Yuseong was kneading a large fennec fox plushie fans had sent.
They said it resembled him.
Hanbyeol shook his head side-to-side at the sight.

“Still, you should have told me in advance.”
“Did you expect things to get this tangled, brother?”
“……Well, not exactly.”
“How could I have expected it either?”
“I didn’t know Taeha knew about my pheromones.”
“He said he’s known since I manifested at twelve.”
“How could I have known?”
“In the seven years I’ve known him, I’ve never once smelled Taeha’s pheromones.”
“But still…”
“And, I had no intention of dragging Taeha into this in the first place.”
“The trainees being raised as your so-called juniors are the ones who screwed Taeha over, right?”
“Then Taeha has a debt to collect too.”
“They’re not juniors.”
“Right, right.”
“They’re not from the program, so they’re not juniors.”
“Anyway, that’s why he joined.”
“Taeha originally had no intention of getting involved in your situation until this was over.”

Hanbyeol took off the glasses he was wearing.
He did this at the faint citrus scent emanating from Yuseong.
The glasses cord around his neck grew taut.

Yuseong also knew that with Hanbyeol bringing Taeha in, problems arose within the debut lineup.
The company’s situation became tangled.

Hanbyeol alone probably couldn’t have achieved this much.
He would have had to continue subtly bringing up Hanbyeol in personal broadcasts for longer.
But with Taeha joining the fray, it decreased rapidly.

However, Hanbyeol still felt guilt swelling in his heart.
It was over Taeha’s situation, which was little better than being forcibly included.

Seeing Hanbyeol’s expression, Yuseong nodded.

“Brother, please fix that habit.”
“I’m not a smart person like you.”
“If you don’t tell me, it’s hard to follow along.”
“……It doesn’t have to be like that.”
“Because you’ll handle things well on your own, I should just be used?”
“Same with the trainee thing.”
“If you deliberately bring me along and make me go around, how am I supposed to respond to rumors that grow and shrink while I just stay still?”
“Well, uh. That’s true…”
“I don’t know what you’re hoping for.”
“Just because the conclusion is good doesn’t mean everything is good, you know!”
“Tell me what you plan to do in the middle.”
“Please!”
“Ah, okay.”
“Don’t get angry…”

Hanbyeol, who had flared up and gotten heated, regulated his breath.
He saw Yuseong watching his reaction.

Fortunately, from the company’s perspective, they seemed to hope Hanbyeol would develop a fantasy about being a celebrity.
They wanted him to see and laugh in their own content or observe idols moving around.

Most of the main staff for their own content were people who tried to accommodate the idols.
The atmosphere mostly flowed pleasantly and comfortably.

Even though he had signed a part-time-like contract, they were open-minded people.
They smiled and suggested Hanbyeol, an outsider, participate in the content sometime.

“But seriously, what will you do if I end up signing a trainee contract?”

Even in Hanbyeol’s eyes, the situation wasn’t good.
The company seemed to almost consider Hanbyeol a confirmed trainee.
They were focusing their efforts on Taeha.

Despite it being difficult to insert Taeha into an almost finalized debut lineup, they kept approaching and targeting him.

“Does Taeha have any intention of doing it?”
“……Why are you changing the subject?”
“Because that’s important.”
“Why?”
“If Taeha decides he wants to join, we have to adjust our plans, that’s why.”

Well, that’s true.
But Hanbyeol shook his head.
He didn’t want any adjusted plans.

“He doesn’t.”
“I already asked.”
“He said even if he did, he wouldn’t do it at StarV.”
“That’s a relief.”
“Change your answer, brother.”
“What will you do if I really end up signing a trainee contract?”

As Hanbyeol stared intently, Yuseong scratched his cheek.

“Hanbyeol, you’re not good at deceiving people.”
“…….”

His damn brother hitting a nerve again here.
I’m going to be pulverized.
Having been hit with bone-chilling truths so often by that calm, kind voice, Hanbyeol had long since become boneless meat.

“These days, boneless meat prices went up by 2,000 won too.”
“Did it hurt a lot?”
“Because you keep hitting me with facts so often, I only eat bone-in chicken these days.”
“……I’ll order bone-in for you.”
“Honey combo.”

Hanbyeol, who had naturally shifted to chicken, stared intently at Yuseong.
Then he looked away.

Yuseong deflecting the question so effortlessly meant he wouldn’t tell no matter how much he asked.
Hanbyeol simply didn’t have the talent to conceal his expression and deceive people.

If the situation flowed like this and he naturally ended up joining as a trainee, there were several problems.

Hanbyeol absolutely could not do trainee life.

It was a different story from his dream of being a composer.
He literally couldn’t do it.
Without skill, even with training, the conclusion would just be getting dropped.

However, the company could still proceed, somehow using just his name value.

The one getting cursed would be Hanbyeol, not the company.
That much was already clear.

All sorts of stories would flow: he has no skill but relies on his brother, these days every dog and cat becomes an idol, he’s just relying on his looks, etc.

Both were problems.

Joining as a trainee was problematic.
Judging by the company’s actions—crudely put, their ‘vibe’—they seemed like they would push him even without skill.

It seemed less common among recently debuted idols, but it still existed.
The so-called ‘visual member’ assigned few parts and positioned at the sides during group choreography.
They received insane amounts of hate while promoting.

Actually, at Hanbyeol’s level, it wouldn’t just be visual member activities.
He’d need a chair brought out for him at every music show schedule, claiming illness.

“You know if this situation drags on longer, things will get really weird.”

Even the fans were reaching a point of neurosis.

With stories circulating that Hanbyeol seemed to have joined the group the agency was marketing as their junior group, all sorts of rumors spread.
They mixed with Cha.N’s narrative.

The most typical examples were: ‘With the younger brother joining as a trainee, they’ve set them up as Cha.N’s brother group,’ ‘They’re setting them up as twin groups with similar concepts,’ etc.

[F*ck, please don’t attach those bastards you produce to our kids.]
[Our God-Nel is a god-idol made by fans we picked.]
[Why are you attaching those bastards?]
[Ugh, just looking at them, they’re destined to be flop idols if they debut.]
[I don’t know why you’re attaching them to my kids.]
[Is it because of that Won-star?]
[Five-star, no matter how I look, that place has flop idol written all over it.]
[Please desert, don’t join.]
[Come out.]

The fans were probably starting to feel fatigued too.
Hanbyeol was pressuring Yuseong.
If this continued, it was obvious he’d end up in a situation where he couldn’t join or leave.