WETRIED TRANSLATIONS

[ Translation - Aren ]

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

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Chapter 3

Turning back time a little, back when I was in the hospital room.

Wearing a padded jacket (probably the manager's), I started gathering information from Chae Ire.

“Ire, where are the other members?”

“Well. I can't seem to get in touch with them. I mean, after the CEO said those things this is, well……” 

“Those things?”

“Don't you remember, Hyung? We're getting disbanded.”

“Are you saying this is something Kim Kyosik, I mean, the CEO just decided on his own?”

“Yes. It's because of the clause written in the special provisions of our contract. It stated that if we weren't able to make any profit, we wouldn't have any rights over the group either. To be honest, all seven of us were blindsided by this. We were all surprised by seeing you tremble so much, Hyung……”

Chae Ire bowed his head.

Their group got duped with a fraudulent contract. I couldn't help but let out a sigh.

“That's why the CEO got so agitated. He was afraid that his image would be tarnished by news of that fraudulent contract coming to light.”

“Yeah, well. But that contract is still absolute…… I can’t blame them.”

“How long has it been since you became unable to contact the members?”

“Has anyone contacted you, Hyung? I haven't heard from Baekgyeom-hyung for over a month.”

Ah, so that was why one of the notoriety keywords was ‘No contact’.

It seemed like I needed to solve these issues one at a time.

* * *

Back to the present.

Kim Kyosik still seemed pretty confident.

He had no idea who I really was, and just thought of me as some stupid idol that he could trick to his heart’s content.

“Doesn’t the special provision state that I’m free to decide over the fate of the group, if you can’t guarantee to bring in any profit?”

“A-ah, indeed. Mr. CEO.”

I lowered my gaze, pretending as if I would give up on this matter.

“Let us do this fair and square out in the open then.”

“What do you mean?”

“I will get a third party involved. In a few days I will contact a reporter and submit a certain article. Are you going to hire a lawyer?”

“Can you even afford that?”

Kim Kyosik glanced at me, seemingly astonished by my words. 

“If I can’t, I’ll have to make it up somehow. Like now for example.”

“What?”

“If you say that the clause is legally binding because it’s written in the contract, then it seems like I would have to seriously question the intentions behind adding this kind of special provision to it.”

“You?”

“Yes, that’s right. Ah, we shouldn’t forget about what happened back in AA Entertainment before you became our CEO either, right? To beat our wealthy CEO…… I’ll need to put in everything I have, don’t I?”

“……Looks like you left your soul in the river when you fell in the water.”

Wow, color me surprised. How did he know?

“You get what I mean, right? I’ll act exactly like a water ghost would.”

I smiled softly as I said that.

These patient clothes sure fit this situation well. Like something out of a horror movie.

“Mr. CEO. I know that you plan on launching a new boy group…… However, if you try to remove an embedded stone recklessly, the whole cave might collapse on top of you later on.”

Kim Kyosik looked at me with widened eyes.

His reaction showed that he didn’t expect me to know.

And naturally so. This was supposed to be highly confidential information after all.

“……Hey, you should stop putting your nose where it doesn’t belong.”

“It’s not like I found out about this because I actively tried to, I just happened to hear others talk about it.”

“……”

“I have ears too, you know? I just pretended like I heard nothing.”

Sorry, to be honest, I actually didn’t know anything about this.

However, I knew that around May 2022, Kim Kyosik would hand over the current ZU Entertainment to Kidder Entertainment and serve as their co-director.

I also knew that they would debut a completely new boy group, Teen Adder, that would do incredibly well.

I wrote an article about all that.

“Mr. CEO, I’m not asking for anything big.”

“……I’m just asking you to not throw us away. Remember? You said you would send WEEKANIZ far up on the Billboard charts, right?”

“Come on, stand up, hey. What if someone sees us like this……”

Embarrassment was evident in Kim Kyosik’s voice.

The reason for that was because I fell to my knees before him.

“Why should I care about that? I’m just that desperate……”

“Hey, you punk, seriously……”

“I’m not even asking you to greatly support us. Song and choreography? I’ll take care of that. Baekgyeom will produce it. Planning? We’ll do all that. So please just don’t disband us.”

“……Say something that makes sense. How are you going to do all that?”

Alright, now.

One, two, three.

Now!

I quickly got up and brushed the dirt off my knees.

I tried to put a refreshing smile on my face.

“Just give us 20% of what you have invested in the new boy group you’re making.”

“Why? How can I trust you?”

Him asking ‘Why’ was a pretty good sign.

That meant that he was open to negotiations at least.

I felt relieved that my persuasion seemed to have worked quite well.

If not, Ahn Yuyoung might have ended up getting treated like a real mental patient……

“Of course, you can trust me.”

“And what if I simply can't?”

“Then we can just get a third party involved.”  

“Are you threatening me?”

“I'm just returning in kind here.”

“…….”

“Mr. CEO. You published an article recently, didn't you? Just yesterday in fact.”

I handed Kim Kyosik the article I had kept open on the phone.

It seemed to have been written by a reporter he knew.

He manipulated the narrative in a way that made it seem as if WEEKANIZ were the ones to blame for this.

Seriously……

It was written in a way that one couldn’t help but think that all the members were total assholes.

It was no wonder that the keyword ‘Power abuse’ was on the list of notorieties.

“No matter how easily swayed the public opinion is…… Isn’t this a bit much?”

As my voice became increasingly sharp, Kim Kyosik’s voice rose in response.

“Do you have any proof for that? Proof that I did that?”

“Well, if you put it that way, then I would have to say ‘no’, but......”

At that moment, I discreetly showed him a photo that had just been sent to me. 

Kim Kyosik’s face distorted again.

“I also have an amazing scoop here. Aren’t you curious when this will be leaked?”

That picture clearly showed me kneeling before Kim Kyosik.

It was a photo that seemed like it had been taken only a few minutes ago.

That was why I came here wearing only the hospital gown.

“Did you plan to do this from the start? Were you planning to screw me over?”

“How could I? I just……”

This was almost a done deal. Come on, look at this sad expression of mine.

“All I want is to safely fulfill the contract period scheduled to end in the second half of 2023. Is there anything more important than the stage to a performer? Look, I even risked my life for this.”

“Of course, the fact that you, Mr. CEO, tried to drop your pants and underwear during one of AA Entertainment’s drinking parties saying that you need to relieve yourself, well…… That’s completely unrelated to that, right?”

“Who is your source?”

Quite the dramatic dialogue, wasn’t it? Could this be made into a movie or something? Possibly.

But then again, Kim Kyosik, he wouldn’t be the protagonist of that movie.

……Not that I wanted to be that either.

However, since I somehow turned into a type of main character already, wouldn’t I have to survive until the very end to complete it?

I just smiled with my mouth slightly open.

“Well, as long as you stay put……”

‘If you stay put, my future self might tell you?’

“Oh, please ask for a revision of that article right now. Our lives are on the line here after all. That way we can settle this amicably. Three hours are enough, right?”

I glanced towards the bench across from me. There was no trace of anyone sitting there.

<Did the photo turn out okay? I’m waiting at a nearby cafe.>

The only thing that remained was Chae Ire’s cute text message.

After taking a look around, I contacted Chae Ire.

―Hyung! Are you done?

I heard a lively voice coming through the cell phone.

“Yeah, things ended well thanks to you. You’re good at taking pictures, you know?”

―I’m pretty observational as well, haha.

“Haha……”

―Should I head to the west fountain park you mentioned, Hyung?

“Yeah, let’s meet up there.”

That was it, but he……

He didn't seem the least bit surprised or tried to stop me even though I said I was about to meet up with the CEO.

For some reason, I felt a chill run down my spine.

Pretending like I was heading towards the hospital’s entrance, I made my way towards the west park.

Chae Ire was already there, sitting on a bench.

He smiled when he saw me.

“Hyung~ was the operation successful?”

……(So far) he seemed to be on my side.

Hmm. Well then.

I thought it might be a good call to reveal some of my cards.

I casually sat down next to him.

Then, after a quick glance, I opened my mouth.

“……Do you know what partial amnesia is?”

“Oh, I know that. Main characters from those morning dramas get those every three weeks!”

“I need your help.”

“Help with what? Were you cast for a morning drama?”

Seeing Chae Ire’s wide open eyes, I could tell……

Shit…

They were filled with ‘curiosity’. 

Those eyes practically sparked with curiosity.

It was that ‘I’ve been so bored, but finally there’s something interesting going on’ kind of look!

“Wait, I’m not joking, okay?”

“……Seriously?”

Only after I looked at him with a completely serious face did Chae Ire show some semblance of focus.

“……To be honest, I can’t really remember how I ended up in the hospital.”

“That’s…… because you made a very extreme choice, Hyung.”

“……I figured, but I can’t remember where or at what time I did it, and most importantly, why. I don’t have the slightest.”

I actually left out the most important piece of information.

The fact that ‘there’s a different soul in this body’......

But if I brought that up…

Things might not end with just some jokes about being cast for a morning drama.

In the worst case…… I might never be able to take off this hospital gown.

First, I should get him to help me.

“Hmm……”

Chae Ire pouted his lips slightly, seemingly thinking about something.

“To be honest, Hyung.”

Ooh, it looked like he tried to tell me something. I should listen carefully.

“……I don’t know either.”

“Eh?!”

This time my eyes were the ones to widen in surprise.

Did this damn group not even have a fucking clue what communication was?

Weren’t they even that close?

That meant I was screwed!

“Hyung never said anything to me after all……”

“Huh.”

Sorry, let me take that back.

……Ahn Yuyoung, that damn brat, didn’t you fucking know what communication was?

“The other Hyungs, me included, probably also don’t know. Hyung, you were always someone who liked to deal with everything on your own……”

‘Liked to deal with everything on his own’.

……Meaning he was timid yet stubborn.

That guy seriously had all kinds of bad qualities, huh?

“Haah……”

I felt lost again.

I buried my face in my palms, sighing, as I wiped over my face.

“……How much don’t you remember?”

“Honestly, sometimes people who should feel familiar to me seem like strangers.”

People like Chae Ire for example……

“Me too?”

“……A little, at first?”

Damn it.

I continued to talk with my face buried in my hands.

“I feel like I should meet up with the other members, but I don’t want them to find out about my current state.”

‘Because they would 1000% run off if they did.’

“I can’t be 100% sure that we can continue our group activities, but I feel like I should meet them at least.”

[Warning! If you do not succeed in completing the main quest, the program will shut down!]

I get it, I get it!

I was just saying that for Chae Ire to hear.

(But I’m actually not sure if things’ll work out.)

Looking away from the noisy status window, I glanced between my fingers and saw Ire sitting there holding his chin.

……Wait, wait.

Ah, that little rascal.

Wasn’t his expression kind of strange?

“……Got it. I’ll help you, Hyung.”

“Really?”

“But I can’t do everything for you from start to finish though.”

“Why?!”

“The other Hyung’s might notice your state.”

……While frustrating, he had a point.

As I thought.

I didn’t even know where or how the other members were.

If I kept talking about having partial amnesia and what not……

They would definitely think that there was no more hope for our group.

No idol would want to work with a leader who had completely lost his touch!

“I’m all for our group's continuance.”

“Good, thank you……”

“If you need any help, please let me know. You have my contact information, right?”

As he said that, Ire lifted his butt from the bench. Eh?

“Wait, where are you going off to?”

“I have to work some part time jobs these days. Shooting for weddings.”

“Huh……”

I was right now in a really tough spot, you know? Ire, this wasn’t some kind of game.

Well, it kind of was……

Well, anyway, at this point, there was only one thing I could do.

I had no other choice but to trust Chae Ire, who was slowly disappearing from my sight.

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