Chapter 167

There's something strange about Kang Ichae.

"Ichae-yaa~, let's eat. I brought your favorite hamburger!!"

"..."

No matter how much I try to coax him with food.

"Hyung, hyung! Do you want to play a game? I charged it for you. Jiwon said it's okay for you to take a break, Ichae hyung!"

"...No...."

Even if I try to force him to play a crazy game.

"Ichae Kang, um... do you want to go for a walk?"

"...No...."

No matter what I try, he refuses.

"...Should we go practice?"

"...Okay."

At least she responded to the word "practice."

Seong Jiwon looked at Kang Ichae with a worried expression.

We practiced for a while, but suddenly Kang Ichae ran forward and turned off the music, saying it was awful.

"No, no, no, no, this is not it!"

"..."

What's wrong?

Things were going well, weren't they?

Everyone looked at her in shock as Kang Ichae fell to the floor of the practice room again.

"Ah!! I'm going crazy because I'm worried about myself!!"

"..."

Ding!

[Is he finally going crazy?]

That's what I said.

"...Should we just leave him alone for now?"

"Yeah, let's do that...."

Besides acting listless and then suddenly becoming energetic, there was a new pattern that emerged.

He would lock himself in the company's recording room or his room, wearing headphones and working on something with bloodshot eyes. And occasionally, he would cry.

"I'm so tired.... I want to cry...."

"..."

There was no doubt that there wouldn't be a single tear on the keyboard.

After a few days of quietly watching hk. we left Kang Ichae in his room and had an emergency meeting in the living room.

While the members whispered with their voices lowered, I pointed fiercely at the room where Kang Ichae was.

"Does anyone know why that bastard is acting like that?"

"Didn't we agree to talk quietly?"

Kim Seonghyeon looked puzzled.

But if he's struggling and begging for attention like that, wouldn't it be right to respond to his expectations?

I scanned through the members, and Jung Dajun raised his hand.

"Dajun! Weren't you defeated in the promotion match?"

"Seonghyun, are you playing a game right now? And even if Kang Ichae loses, just laugh it off and move on. That doesn't seem right."

The members fell silent at Kim Seonghyun's testimony. Then, Sung Jiwon quietly raised his hand and spoke.

"Jiwon. he's acting like that because he's not satisfied with his skills."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"...Yeah, sorry. It seems like it's nothing."

Seong Ji-won muttered with a gloomy expression, but something bothered me.

"Since when did this start?"

"Two days ago... To be exact, 47 hours and 23 minutes ago!"

"By that time, we were filming, right?"

No, we're almost done with filming.

As I reminisced, I sighed.

"Just stay here for a moment."

"Okay~"

The culprit is already a hundred percent certain.

It's the work of Cheongbeom, Lim Hyeonsu.

"I've never seen Kang Ichae complain about being tired before."

"Should we do something to change the mood, like going to a theme park?"

"Dajun, not what you want."

The members were still buzzing about Kang Ichae, so I stepped out of the noisy living room and made a phone call from the corner of the veranda. I heard the dial tone and it connected shortly after.

[The adorable and pretty genius composer, lim Hyeonsu, has answered the call~.]

"..."

From the beginning, I felt like I knew why Kang Ichae and he got along so well.

"Haah...."

Without saying a word, I just sighed, but lim Hyeonsu seemed to already have a guess and chuckled happily.

[Hey~, how's Ichae?]

"What did you do to Kang I-chae?"

"I just sent his one song as our disciple."

He's not a disciple.

As I got more frustrated, I finally brought up the main point.

"Just because you sent him one song, Kang Ichae acts like that? There must be something more."

"What's wrong with Kang Ichae?"

Lim Hyeonsu, who noticed that my annoyance was reaching its peak, added with a still playful tone.

"I told you. Among the unreleased songs, there was one that was too good, so I played a short part of it for Kang Ichae. That's all."

But why did you trust Kang I-chae with an unreleased song?

Im Hyeon-su mainly worked with large entertainment agencies. He often produced for WH Entertainment's idols in particular.

There was a possibility that he would be in charge of High Five's song for this final competition as well.

"Could it be a High Five song?"

Even though there was one thing that was certain about lim Hyeonsu, I wondered if she really did that,

"..."

Lim Hyeonsu, seriously....

"I've had enough, seriously. I was momentarily possessed. It's so petty.... Cheongbeom is completely out of her mind."

"You jerk."

Anyway, let's try to do something about this. If he keeps acting like this right before the final competition, we won't be able to use him."

Lim Hyeonsu burst into laughter.

"Hahaha, you really don't get it, do you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Hey, don't you have any idea why he's feeling so down right now? No one can help him. It's a problem that only Kang Ichae can solve."

"..."

"In my opinion, the song was really well chosen. If he listens to it, Kang I-chae will feel a bit bitter."

"...Kang Ichae?"

"There aren't many people who understand my songs as well as he does. The more he understands, the wider the range he can hear."

Is this the world of a composer or something?

I still didn't fully understand, but listening to Im Hyeonsu's words helped me make some sense of it.

So, Kang Ichae listened to lim Hyeonsu's song and felt the limits of his talent, which is why he's acting like that. That's roughly what she's saying....

"Nonsense."

I sighed again, realizing that I couldn't follow the nonsense going on in the culprit's head.

"Why did you send it then?"

"he's my disciple."

"Enough with that. If it was chosen well, he should be happy on his own. Why did you have to send it to Kang Ichae?"

"Well, Seo Hoyun, you know. I'm in a slump. Kang Ichae can feel that and read my mood, damn it."

"..."

"But, have I ever felt like that? The moment when I believed I was the best."

Lim Hyeon-su murmured bitterly.

"And I faced a huge reality check."

She said with conviction.

"He's not the type to end up like me. No, he shouldn't. So, before it becomes uncontrollable, he needs to set her direction."

To make it a little easier for her to navigate the difficult path that she has already walked. To correct Kang I-chae's arrogance and make him strive for more than just the present. That's why she sent him the song.

I couldn't completely understand an action born out of affection, so I muttered with a furrowed brow.

"But still, right before the final competition, why?"

"Ahaha, sorry for playing a trick on you. But isn't it in these hardships that heroes are born? That's how it goes in comics, right?"

Hardships, my foot.

Lim Hyeon-su, who was amused by my reaction, said with a sing-song tone.

"It took me over six months to recover while sharing love in California. I wonder how long it will take for Kang Ichae. I'm really curious~."

"he just wanted to have fun. Don't use other members as an excuse."

["Seo Hoyun doesn't know what love is, that's why he's so prickly~?"]

"...."

Damn it, that woman from California.

As I listened to lim Hyunsoo's voice, completely recovered and babbling away, memories of the days I struggled in Korea flooded back, and I rubbed the back of my neck.

"I'll buy you a drink later, ugh. Don't be mad, Hoyunie."

"I'm already mad."

And without listening to the rest of his words, I hung up the phone. As I absentmindedly reached for my pocket, I lowered my hand and let out a deep sigh.

"Ugh."

Mozart and Salieri, my foot.

This is what they call 'anxiety over trivial matters.'

But there's one thing lim Hyunsoo doesn't know.

That guy is 'Kang Ichae.'

***

There wasn't much time left until the final competition.

After hanging up the phone and organizing my thoughts, I quickly decided to handle things swiftly.

"Ichae, let's talk."

"...."

Entering the room, I took off Ichae's headset and spoke. Sitting in the chair almost as if he were lying down, Ichae, who was sitting in a slump, whimpered like a withered flower.

Kim Seonghyun, who received my signal, quickly helped Ichae up.

"Why~? I'm in my teens, let me be…."

His nonsense continued, but he seemed to lack energy.

Seeing this, Sung jiwon glanced around anxiously.

"I heard from the composer."

"...!"

In Ichae's eyes, which had been turned away, there was a flash of determination.

I brought a small stool and sat in front of Icha.

"What's the problem?"

For a long time, Icha clenched his lips tightly and bowed his head deeply.

"...I don't want to do it."

"...."

At that moment, I reflexively turned my gaze towards Kim Seonghyun. He happened to be looking at me too.

-You too?

-Yeah.

Sung jiwon, who grew up under his grandmother's care, and Jung Dajun, who was raised as an only child, were deeply lost in thought, but Kim Seonghyun and I, with siblings of our own, immediately understood the source of Icha'es reaction.

Right now, Icha was in a 'sulky' mood.

He was throwing a tantrum.

It was the same urgency as not wanting to go to school, not wanting to go to taekwondo class, not wanting to light the incense for tomorrow's memorial service, and so on.

When something subtly bothers you, irritability surges, so you throw a tantrum first and see how it goes, adopting the same tone and facial expression.

Kim Seonghyun's expression came to a similar conclusion. We met eyes and nodded in agreement.

-Here we go.

-Yeah.

At times like this, there was a special measure.

"Oh, really?"

I said, crossing my legs and resting my chin on my hand.

"In that case, don't do it."

"...Huh?"

"If it's difficult, then don't do it. You've worked hard."

Even though they're just kids, they know that they're doing something wrong even as they throw a tantrum.

So, even if they throw a tantrum, if the other party suddenly changes their stance and agrees that what they're saying is right, they can't help but feel a little embarrassed.

Looking at Ichae now, I was reminded of young Seo

hojin.

He used to cry and fuss for days about not wanting to go to school, not wanting to go to taekwondo practice, or not wanting to light incense for tomorrow's memorial service. But when I told him not to go if he really didn't want to, he would sob and reluctantly go to school, muttering about how I never listened to him and how terrible I was. Later, he would come back home with a sulky expression, holding a Pikachu pork cutlet.

'He was so cute back then.'

Memories, huh.

Anyway, while the tantrum was justified, there was one thing that bothered me.

'This is Ichae we're talking about.'

The guy in front of me wasn't ten-year-old Seoho Jin; he was quick-witted Icha. He probably suspected that I knew he was exaggerating and throwing a tantrum.

'He was subtly checking earlier too.'

Throwing out bait and waiting for a reaction, Ichae blinked in confusion.

"Huh?"

And then, he seemed genuinely startled, forgetting that he was throwing a tantrum and looked at me. That's when I was sure.

'This kid….'

It wasn't that he was flustered at being told to stop; he was genuinely surprised because he thought I had been fooled by his acting.

It was so obvious that even he himself couldn't ignore the fact that he was throwing a tantrum.

By now, Sung jiwon had roughly grasped the situation and smiled faintly, while only Jung Dajun, who seemed to have regained his energy when Icha's expression changed, brightened up.

But stopping here would be pointless.

Kim Seonghyun stepped forward to give him a boost at the right moment.

"It's o-kay, Ichae."

"...."

"I. Re-spect. You. Too."

Kim Seonghyun, with an acting grade of E-, was almost like a veteran actor.

With his firm and steady words, even Jung Dajun looked at him oddly.

"...Ah."

For a moment, Ichae couldn't close his mouth, then he brushed his hair back and burst into a forced laughter.

"…I momentarily forgot that this guy is an actor."

Ichae shot me a sulky look.

I responded with a pretty answer to his expectations.

"Wow, attention."

"...You can be annoying sometimes, hyung."

"Thanks for calling me 'sometimes.'"

Ichae pushed out his lips and propped his chin up with both hands. Still, he tapped the floor with his toes as if he still wanted to throw a tantrum in front of the other members.

"Well, I don't know… It's the first time I've felt this wall after listening to the composer's song…."

This statement was likely true.

However, knowing Ichae as I did - not that he's everything, but he's a guy with a very strong sense of values who believes that as long as he and the people he cares about are happy, it doesn't matter if he's in a slump - I judged that he wouldn't shake up his daily life this much even if he was in a slump.

Furthermore, as someone who unintentionally saw various aspects of Ichae, I distinctly noticed an alien part about him.

'Considering what happened in Japan, he's like a nobleman.'

If he were truly overwhelmed to the point of being speechless, he would probably remain silent, and the atmosphere around him would change drastically.

'At that level, it means he still has some room to spare.'

While contemplating whether to satisfy him by matching his mood and still sulky demeanor or to ignore him altogether, Jung Dajun approached Ichae.

"Ichae, you know."

"What?"

"It's better not to care about what others think."

"…!"

We all looked at Jung Dajun with astonishment.

"I felt the same way this time. During the performance competition… I was so immersed that I couldn't see anything around me."

The youngest blushed slightly under the scrutiny of everyone's gaze.

"So, don't compare yourself to others. As you always say, it's important to enjoy what you're doing."

The youngest hit the nail on the head.

It seems that Jung Dajun's sincere advice got through to Icha, who was throwing a tantrum.

I refrained from chuckling beside him.

Finally, a belated response came from Icha.

"Yeah."

Jung Dajun smiled slightly.

Anyway, Hyeonsu was right. It's true that he felt his own wall.

"Let's eat."

The rest was up to Ichae himself.

Just as Jung Dajun did.

"…Sigh."

With a sigh, Icha reluctantly finished the meal served at the table and eventually returned to his room after emptying three bowls.

The guy, now with a serious expression, diligently scribbled something on paper with a pen, only to finally turn on his laptop hours later without a hint of laughter and kept the screen open until the sun rose again.

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