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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: The Missing Kwon Hee-yul (2)
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"The number you have dialed is no longer in service. Please check the number and try again."
No longer in service? I set my smartphone down in a daze.
'Did he change his number?'
Kwon Hee-yul hadn't changed his phone number once in all the years I'd known him. What on earth had blown in on the wind?
'Could it be he doesn't want to keep in touch with us anymore?'
I lifted my head. It was quiet all around. I rubbed my hands anxiously, then turned my gaze back to my smartphone.
'No way. It must just be that something came up and he had to change it.'
I chewed on my lip.
I knew it deep down. That was just wishful thinking.
If Kwon Hee-yul had vanished because he didn't want to see us anymore, then that would be the end of our connection with him.
'Is it really going to end like that? After seven years?'
My heart felt tangled.
The thought that I might never see Kwon Hee-yul again made my chest tighten.
Did the other members know? Maybe he'd just forgotten to give me his new number...
No. That was stretching it too far.
More importantly, could I even bring up Kwon Hee-yul with the members?
Our team was finally finding its footing—would talking about him just bring the mood down again?
I lay down on the bed. I picked up my smartphone and opened the gallery. There was a photo of me and Kwon Hee-yul from last year's album.
Memories of us laughing and chatting in the practice room started flooding back one by one.
'That was so much fun.'
If I'd known it would be like this, I should've at least recorded his voice. Or taken a few more photos...
Regret washed over me.
Click—
I headed to the living room, where Song Yu-bin was glued to his smartphone on the sofa.
The other members seemed to have retreated to their rooms to rest.
I sat down next to Song Yu-bin and asked,
"What're you looking at?"
"..."
"I said, what're you looking at?"
"Checking the charts."
Right. The charts.
After finishing the W app yesterday, I'd been so busy checking the quest window and calling Kwon Hee-yul that I hadn't even looked.
"How're we doing?"
I glanced at Song Yu-bin. He wasn't saying much, so...
"Off the charts?"
"Not quite. We're at 89."
89th place. Barely hanging on.
Just then, Cha Jae-hyun came out of his room and headed to the kitchen, casually saying,
"Even making the charts is a huge win."
Cha Jae-hyun was right, no doubt.
For rookies to crack the notoriously tough concrete charts at 89 was impressive in itself.
Cha Jae-hyun poured himself some water in the kitchen, took a breath, and continued,
"Don't get impatient. Think long-term. We can climb higher, right?"
"Yeah. You're right."
Cha Jae-hyun had a point. Groups that scored big right out of the gate could be counted on one hand in a year.
Still, it'd be a lie to say I hadn't hoped for more.
'A shame.'
At this rate, we'd drop off soon.
That's when Baek Si-woo, who must've overheard from his room, messaged the group chat.
[Baek Si-woo]
Guys, remember? We're #10 on the first-week sales chart!
[Baek Si-woo]
It'll go up after the music show, so don't get down!
[Song Yu-bin]
Fighting everyone~!
Baek Si-woo really had a magical way of lifting the mood.
What would we do without him? The thought alone was terrifying.
[Jeong Eun-ho]
Fighting till music show.
We might climb on music show day, or drop off entirely.
'Whatever happens, let's give it our all.'
If we do our best every moment, isn't that enough?
Then a message from Eun Hae-sol popped up.
[Hehehee!]
It was an emoticon of an alien winking with sparkling eyes.
This one again?
[Jeong Eun-ho]
Hae-sol, buy a new emoticon.
[Song Yu-bin]
ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
[Baek Si-woo]
ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
[Cha Jae-hyun]
Hae-sol, check your gift box. I put an emoticon in there for you^^
Eun Hae-sol went quiet after that.
Then Song Yu-bin burst out laughing.
"What's so funny?"
"The comments here are too cute."
At his words, I checked the comments.
- Heat heat!
- Leave streaming proof ♥
- What's the 12 o'clock ranking?
└ 90th! Up one spot.
- Let's hold the charts!
- Ta-fans leaving streaming proof, drop your usernames for first 3 gifts~
└ DIENchairmanbaldhead/streaming proof
└ BreathofBunda/streaming proof
└ Eternalmyhalftone/streaming proof
└ OctopusGameWinner/streaming proof
└ Closing~
Seeing the fans chatting in the comments made me smile without realizing it.
There were a few pathetic trolls, but they got reported and deleted in seconds by the fans.
Looking at the comments, I said,
"I'm really grateful. Knowing someone's cheering for us like this."
"Me too."
It felt like just yesterday we were chasing the vague dream of becoming idols...
Yeah. With people loving us like this, what obstacle couldn't we overcome?
If we give it our all, we can achieve anything.
"Let's work like mad and pay them back. Got it?"
"Yeah, hyung."
The chat buzzed then.
[Eun Hae-sol]
Hyung, you free later?
[Eun Hae-sol]
You didn't forget you're helping me practice dance, right?
Right. I'd promised to help Eun Hae-sol practice. What a hassle.
[Jeong Eun-ho]
Practice room at 6.
* * *
Inside the DIEN practice room.
I opened the door to find Eun Hae-sol waiting for me.
White t-shirt, black training pants, and a thin bomber jacket over it. He was totally absorbed in his smartphone.
Knock knock—
I tapped the wall, and only then did Eun Hae-sol look up.
"Hyung, you're here."
"Yeah. No tardiness today—you actually came early and waited?"
Eun Hae-sol cleared his throat awkwardly.
"Let's practice."
Eun Hae-sol stood, took off his jacket, and set it on the floor.
"Why do you always dress so lightly?"
"I don't get cold much."
He looked like he'd topple over with one poke, so not getting cold was surprising.
"Stretched yet?"
"Nope."
"Then let's do it now."
I interlaced my fingers and stretched my arms out. As I tilted my head side to side, pressing firmly—
Riiing—
My phone suddenly rang.
'No way.'
I grabbed my smartphone in a hurry. Unknown number on the screen.
'Who is it?'
It started with 010, so probably not spam.
'Kwon Hee-yul?'
I answered immediately.
"Who is this."
Nothing but silence from the other end. Growing impatient, I asked again.
"Who is this?"
"..."
"I said, who is this!"
In the silence, a hesitant voice finally spoke.
"You're not Kwon Hee-yul, are you?"
Click—
The call dropped right then.
'This is him. Kwon Hee-yul.'
I dove into the call log and went to redial the incoming number.
"Hyung, wait."
Eun Hae-sol grabbed my hand.
"What? Let go."
"Don't call back yet."
"I said let go."
"What if it's voice phishing?"
"What're you talking about? What kind of phishing calls like this?"
I shook off his hand and reached for the call button, but Eun Hae-sol snatched the phone.
"What the hell?"
"Hyung, just think for a sec..."
"Give it back."
As I reached out, Eun Hae-sol backed away with a troubled look.
"Give it back, I said!"
"Get a grip!"
His shout made my outstretched arm slowly drop.
"Where'd you get the idea this is Kwon Hee-yul? You're a celebrity now, an idol. What if it's a sasaeng?"
Oh. Hearing Eun Hae-sol snapped me back to reality.
"You're right."
I couldn't help but laugh. What had gotten into me?
There was no guarantee this number was even Kwon Hee-yul...
I'd been so fixated on him that I hadn't thought straight.
'Totally lost it.'
Pathetic. Letting Eun Hae-sol see me like this.
"Whew..."
I took a deep breath and slapped my cheeks hard with both hands.
'Get it together, Jeong Eun-ho.'
Still felt dazed. Eun Hae-sol eyed my expression and asked,
"You okay now?"
"..."
"You can't reach Kwon Hee-yul, right?"
"Yeah. Tried calling today—said it's not in service."
Eun Hae-sol looked at me with worry. I was used to his blank, prickly face; seeing him concerned felt strange.
I forced a smile.
"It's fine."
"Huh?"
"I'm a seven-year trainee. You know how many come and go? This is just everyday stuff."
"But you said you two were really close."
"Yeah."
We'd spent seven years together, so of course we were. For it to vanish in an instant felt so empty.
I'd subconsciously known relationships like that could snap the moment one of us didn't debut.
I'd thought me and Kwon Hee-yul were the exception. That no matter where we ended up, we'd always be together...
I gave a bitter smile.
"Let's just practice."
I headed to the audio setup. Behind me, Eun Hae-sol's worried voice followed.
"Should we skip practice? You don't look good."
I chuckled. What a funny guy.
"Don't worry about me—focus on you. Song Yu-bin's sorted, so now they'll hound your dance skills."
"...I know."
"Then good."
Hand on the play button, I looked at Eun Hae-sol.
"Show me your dance first, then I'll give feedback. It might be harsh— you won't run, right?"
"Yeah."
As soon as he answered, I hit play. The intro kicked in, and Eun Hae-sol's dance began.
I scanned his moves, noting spots needing feedback.
"Huff, huff..."
Song over, he bent at the waist, breathing hard.
"How was it?"
"Better than before, but still lacking. You know that, right?"
Eun Hae-sol nodded.
"No magic fix from a few practices."
"..."
"But with effort, we can clean up the moves. From now on, details."
"Details?"
"Yeah. Like limb angles and positions. Nail those, and the dance looks way sharper."
I stood next to him and demonstrated a front kick.
Eun Hae-sol watched intently, hands clasped.
"Angle has to drop like this. Get it?"
"Yeah."
"Now you."
He kicked forward.
"Again!"
We drilled timing the details to the beat.
"Five, six, seven, eight. Again!"
His dance sharpened visibly with each rep.
How much time passed? Clock said 9 p.m.
"That's it for today."
Eun Hae-sol finally stopped and collapsed to the floor.
"You improved a lot."
Not empty praise. Still rough, but way better than the start.
"If you could do this well, why start off so bad?"
Eun Hae-sol gave a wry smile.
His attitude had improved, but he was still hard to read.
"You can nail the music show stage, right?"
At my words, he smiled faintly.
"Yeah."
Good. I'll trust him.
No clue what'll happen on music show day, but I'll pull every trick to clear the quest.
* * *
A few days later, in the SCS Music Bus hallway. That's where I ran into someone unbelievable.
Standing right in front of me was...
"Kwon Hee-yul?"
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