WETRIED TRANSLATIONS

[ Translation - Aren ]

I'm a Reporter, Please let me get off the Stage

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Chapter 29

“……”

In the dead of night, when most people are asleep, at 2…… 48 am exactly.

“Is it good?”

“Yes. Makes staying up at this hour worth it.”

Baek Gyeom replied with his cheeks puffed out.

The spacious practice room was rather chilly.

Thanks to the ‘amazing’ central heating system of the building, the boiler wouldn’t run at night.

The only thing we were left with was the dim glow of the old incandescent ceiling light.

It had been so bad actually that I had to cutely beg the building owner to let us keep this light turned on all night.

Why, you ask?

Because apparently, the CEO hadn’t paid this month’s utilities.

This was just ridiculous…… I didn’t even tell the other members about it because it was that ridiculous.

Instead, I just swiped a stand heater from the empty CEO’s office and set it up in a corner of the practice room.

Sanho said something about that earlier.

He said he saw someone warming food on the lid of one of these heaters in an old drama his parents used to watch……

How strange……

I was neither Yoon Sanho’s mom or dad, but for some reason I felt like I had seen those drama’s as well.

Could it be that there was some sort of ‘generational gap’ between me and Sanho, even though we weren’t that far apart in age?

……I felt a bitter taste spreading in my mouth.

Well, anyway.

Right now, the members were gathered around the heater, boiling five packs of ramen on a portable gas burner, enjoying its warmth.

The sight of them huddled together, scooping ramen into paper cups to eat, looked strangely pitiful to me.

But they seemed to see it a bit differently.

There was a peculiar light in their dark eyes.

Like excited college freshmen on their first group retreat.

Is this what youth looked like……?

The saying “You should embrace hardship while you’re young” perfectly fit this sight.

“Hyung, have some too.”

Ire, who looked even paler this late at night, scooped up some broth into a paper cup and called me over.

The spicy, savory smell of ramen made my mouth water.

“……No, I’m good. If I eat at night, I’ll feel bloated all day the next day.”

“Woah…… Are you sick or something?”

“No, rather than sick…….”

Baek Gyeom, noisily slurping his noodles, suddenly spoke up.

What now?

“……It’s some lingering condition.”

“……No one respond to him.”

“Hahaha.”

Sharp little brat.

Did he just look through me?

It only added fuel to the fire that was already lit in my mind.

Honestly, eating now wouldn’t actually harm my body that much.

It would just taste good, that’s it.

Yuyoung’s body was five years younger than my real one, after all.

When I was that age, I would even eat wallpaper if I got hungry enough.

I could probably chew through steel without any problem……

Actually, the problem wasn’t of a physical nature.

It was mental.

I simply wasn’t in the right headspace to just sit here eating ramen from a paper cut with them, reminiscing about all the nostalgic group retreats I went on, way back.

I couldn’t stop worrying about our upcoming appearance on <Ultimate Idol>.

“Sanho, eat something. You’re probably starving after practicing all day.”

“……I’m fine. I can't eat anything right now. I need to manage my swelling.”

“Swelling?”

When I asked, Sanho let out a small sigh.

He seemed deeply troubled by something.

“Yes. I swell up easily. If I eat ramen and go to sleep, I won’t even be able to open my eyes properly tomorrow. And I’m really sensitive to salty food…… If I don’t get the swelling right away, it’ll turn into fat…… which could mess me up for the recording day.”

“I see.”

Yoon Sanho. I thought of him as an irritating kid (Though he didn’t really do anything particularly irritating……) who was nothing but self-absorbed.

Turns out…… He had this surprisingly professional side to him.

I heard that pretty people care more about these kinds of things, so he really fit that stereotype to a T.

Still, for someone like me, whose life depended on each and every members’ skill and popularity, I appreciated his mindset.

After finishing his long explanation, Yoon Sanho examined his face in the small mirror hanging in the practice room, before sighing softly.

“The whiteheads on my forehead just won’t go away……”

“That’s because you’re not getting enough sleep. They say beautiful people sleep a lot.”

Slurping down the broth, Baek Gyeom threw some words of comfort or maybe praise to Sanho.

Moreover, what he said was so outdated that I seriously started to question his actual age.

“Anyway guys. There’s less than a week left until the recording for our first performance on <Ultimate Idol>. Practice is important, but so is managing your condition. Let’s cut down on overnight practice and make sure everyone gets at least five hours of sleep starting now.”

“Sometimes it’s easier to not sleep at all.”

Tae Oh spoke up.

“……And that’s how you die young.”

It was a sincere warning.

I kept thinking about how I could create a decent stage with these kids……

The biggest concern of all was, of course, ‘money’.

The 20% investment that our current agency promised had already been almost used up for song production.

Completing the song wasn’t the end of the process.

In fact, this was just the ‘start’ of our ‘comeback’.

There were so many things left to consider, starting with hair, makeup, styling and other expenses for promotion……

Once the recording for <Ultimate Idol> begins we would be moved into that shared dorm.

We would at least be able to save some money on basic outfit expenses during that time, since they would provide us with uniforms.

But what about hair, makeup, and coordination for the stage concept?

And stage costumes?

‘……Looks like I’ll have no other choice but to take on some debt in the end.’

The system never told me that I couldn’t take on debt to fund our activities after all.

Should I reach out to that stylist I helped out before……?

Wait, but what if that would lead to more dating rumors?

My worries deepened even further.

“Isn’t there someone with amazing connections in the hair, makeup, and styling industry we could use?”

“Yuyoung-hyung, Yuyoung-hyung.”

“Hm?”

I felt something warm press against my side where I was slumped on the floor.

At some point, Ire had crept closer and sat right next to me.

Sitting with his knees pulled up to his chest, he looked at me.

“Hyung, do we need to find someone for hair, makeup, and styling?”

“Huh? Ah…… Yeah. I guess. Sorry, I didn’t realize I was saying that out loud.”

His tone was cheerful, but I suddenly regretted it.

Did I just air out our financial situation to the youngest who barely understood how the world worked?

I couldn’t help but laugh awkwardly, like a dad caught fighting with his wife right before their youngest child.

But Ire didn’t seem to care at all.

No, rather, that expression he was wearing seemed strangely familiar to me.

It was the same expression he had worn that time I asked him for help. Oddly excited, his eyes clearly gleaming with interest!

“I know someone…… How about we try reaching out to them?”

It was a good suggestion, but given WEEKANIZ' current unfortunate situation, I couldn’t just accept this without thinking.

I could only respond cautiously.

“……Sorry. To be honest, we’re pretty tight on funds right now. If it’s too expensive or something, we might have to go into debt……”

“You can just use me as collateral.”

“……What do you mean by that?”

“I could ask my relatives for a family discount. Want me to see how far down I can get the price?”

“……What?”

Huh, what did he just say?

“Just trust me, Hyung.”

……Now that I think about it, Chae Ire said something while we were talking to that producer before.

He talked about his dad.

Right, this kid……

“You…… you’re rich, right?”

“Hahaha! Hyung, what’s with that phrasing? Sounds like something right out of a cheesy drama.”

Chae Ire let out a refreshing laugh that felt completely out of place in this basement practice room filled with the lingering scent of ramen at 3 am.

* * *

“Oh my, Ire!”

“Noona, it’s been a while.”

“Well, well…… I thought you’d sworn to never come back to our shop! What changed your mind?”

“Hey…… I just didn’t want to trouble you. You’d treat me so well just because I came around.”

“Of course. Come on in. Goodness, you're so adorable. I thought you quit being an idol and went to work under your father considering that you never really show up on TV!”

What?

‘Under his father?’

Suspicious. How very suspicious.

Chae Ire……

Was this kid living a life even more dramatic than mine, where I suddenly ended up possessing the body of an idol randomly forced to prepare for a comeback?

“Please keep this a secret from my father. You know how much he hates this kind of thing. I’ll get into trouble.”

“I know, I know. Don’t worry, Noona will keep her lips sealed. My goodness, you’ve grown so much that I barely recognized you! The last time I saw you was when you graduated middle school. Remember?”

“Of course, Noona. I’ll visit you more often from now on.”

“You’d better! Noona was starting to feel a little hurt, you know?”

The woman, who appeared to be in her mid-30s and was probably the store owner, couldn’t hide her excitement from the moment we arrived.

Eavesdropping on their conversation I could gather that she was Chae Ire’s cousin.

She ran this high-end shop, but had apparently seen Chae Ire not visit even once.

Judging by how high-end this place was, it probably had a lot of idols visiting though……

It seemed like Chae Ire had deliberately avoided coming here.

Looking at the two of them, it seemed like the difference in their age made them appear more like an aunt and her nephew.

Did he possibly do that because he felt uncomfortable about the owner of this place immediately rushing out every time offering all of her services for free.

Should I call it sweet consideration or plain naivety……

To someone like me, who had been clinging to dreams of inheriting an 8-story building in Gangnam from some distant relative, this didn’t really seem heartwarming to me.

Wasn’t this kid a little too fortunate for his own good?

These days one didn’t really see idols rising from humble beginnings anymore.

It definitely was because kids like Chae Ire existed.

The three-story hair and makeup salon, tucked into an alley in Nonhyeon-dong didn’t really look like anything special from the outside.

However, stepping inside revealed a very well-managed, upscale establishment.

The door wasn’t left open for walk-ins, so this place kind of seemed like a private shop (which is pretty common for celebrity makeup salons, anyway).

Unlike normal salons, where staff members were scurrying around busily all the time, this place exuded calm and order.

A large, sparkling crystal chandelier hung in the center, while the warm winter sunlight streamed through floor-to-ceiling windows designed in a way that no one outside could look in.

This shop was very spacious.

Almost…. like a wedding hall.

For someone like me, whose idea of getting a haircut meant dragging myself into some hair salon close to the subway station after work, paying 20,000 won to just get my ends trimmed or whatever, this was the first time I actually encountered a proper ‘studio’, so I couldn’t help but be absolutely amazed. 

If one got their hair done in a place like this every day, of course one’s ego would shoot through the roof.

“Everyone, have a seat. Today’s just a test run, right?”

“Yes. We can discuss things while showing you the materials for our comeback concept, and do a rehearsal to match the mood.”

“Alright. Ah, Yuyoung-ssi, nice to meet you! I’m the director of this place, Chae Nanhui.”

“Ah, yes, nice to meet you. Thank you very much for…… Erm……”

I trailed off mid sentence.

Originally, I was planning on saying something like “Thank you very much for helping us’. 

But wait, wouldn’t that make it sound as I was shamelessly expecting to get some freebies here?

I didn’t really want to add another social faux-pas to the collection, thank you.

Not that I could afford to pay for full hair and makeup services including on-site touch ups at this high-end store for the duration of the whole recording day……

“Haha. I can hear the gears turning in your head. Don’t worry about it. Ire said he’d put his body up as collateral.”

“Ah, Noona. Why’d you say it like that?”

“What? It’s always better to have everything settled clearly to avoid any trouble later, don’t you agree, Yuyoung-ssi?”

“Ah…… Haha. Yes, that’s true. Thank you very much.”

“Then, this way.”

……He used his body as collateral?

Chae ire, this kid……

‘Is he about to enter some kind of arranged marriage or something……?’

Not knowing that my mind was brimming with ridiculous, spiraling thoughts, Chae Ire just smiled brightly and pushed me toward the shampoo station.

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