Chapter 359

After the live stream, POX Entertainment faced intense backlash.

— Oh, I knew something was off. There’s no way Han Seungbeom would agree to something that all his fans would hate LOLOL

— Yuda posted a selfie saying he was 5 minutes away from a meeting, but the notice was uploaded 20 minutes after that photo. No way… did they really put out the notice in the middle of the meeting without even a proper discussion? Why… why are they handling things like this?

— You can totally tell they were thinking, ‘ Well, even if he’s the chief producer, he’s still just an idol and young, so he wouldn’t know anything beyond the stage ’, and just went ahead doing whatever they pleased. What’s the point of the A&R team and Pantheion working their asses off when the rest of them just go and dump crap all over it?

— You should know your place before you act. Look at Han Seungbeom, do you really think someone like him would back down over something like this?

└ At that time, Muses were absolutely furious, so the chat was completely flooded with curses lol. Han Seungbeom definitely must’ve read them too, but he just kept smiling so beautifully, without even a flicker of change in his expression. That’s when I thought, wow, there’s no way anyone can win against this guy ……

— Han Seungbeom is seriously smart. If he had whined and tattled to the fans about being treated unfairly, it would’ve blown up into a huge mess and made him look incredibly thoughtless. But instead, he just coolly had the notice revised and stepped back. He knew the fans would pick up on what really happened anyway, even if that’s all he did. No wonder he’s the leader

└ Sometimes… when I look at Seungbeom, I can’t help but wonder if he’s really a rookie

— At the last concert too, the Captain tried to give out free fandom-colored seat cushions for everyone, but the company handled it so terribly that they almost ran out of stock. And then, using the excuse that they couldn’t provide them for all seats, they tried to sell them instead, but Sseungbeom caught them red-handed. The whole thing was straight-up comedy.

└ Whichever company ends up taking him better be thoroughly prepared, mentally. Isn’t he basically on the blacklist already? hahaha

└ No worries. The one who’s going to deal with him is Lee Saehwa

└ Ah. Ha.

It seemed like the company was expecting me to step in and calm the fans’ anger, but I pretended not to know anything about it until the end. If a specific employee had been singled out and getting attacked, I might have taken some action. But since the criticism was directed at the company as a whole, I actually thought it was something necessary.

‘They only seem to get that fans hate something after getting cursed out hard.’

I didn’t feel guilty.

Had the company done its job properly, they wouldn’t have been harshly criticized, even if it became known that they had ignored our opinions. They brought it all upon themselves.

‘Don’t ever mess with me again.’

I’m not sure whether they simply decided not to mess with the guy with a nasty temper for no good reason, or if they were just being cautious because public opinion was extremely negative, but after that, the company started prioritizing my opinions, and the concert preparations went smoothly.

While practicing with the members for quite a while, I noticed they were looking pretty exhausted, so I immediately stopped the music and spoke.

“Let’s take a ten-minute break.”

At that, all the members except Woo Kangwon collapsed onto the floor with groans.

“Ughh, I’m so tired.”

“I’m hungry.”

And then, seeing me standing there perfectly fine and looking into my laptop, they clicked their tongues in disbelief.

“Why does Leada never seem to get tired? What am I lacking? Why can’t Zen Nagi do it like Han Seungbeom ?”

“Actually, if it were really because of lacking muscle mass, Hyung would be the first to get exhausted…….”

“It’s because your mind is weak.”

“There we go again.”

As I casually ignored the noisily chattering guys, Do Yuda, who had been watching for a chance all day, quickly approached me with his phone in hand.

“Hyung, if you have some free time, could you please help me film a short-form video?”

“…A short-form video? Do it with your friend. I’m busy.”

“It’s only fun when there’s a serious person like you, hyung. If it’s left to someone like Nagi Zen, everyone just goes, ‘ Well, that’s just how they are ‘, and moves on.”

If it’s just a challenge video, the two of them could simply have fun together, so why on earth would he specifically need a serious person? I couldn’t really understand the reasoning, so I just brushed off what he said and waved my hand dismissively.

“Then go ask Lee Hwayoung.”

Kids, play among yourselves.

I’m busy.

“Nicholas-hyung never does anything he doesn’t want to.”

“I don’t really do stuff I don’t want to either.”

“Tsk! You really don’t know anything. If you know the trick, you’re actually way easier to deal with, hyung.”

“…Trick?”

In all my life, this was the first time I’d ever heard someone call me easy .

When I tilted my head in confusion and asked, Do Yuda answered in a triumphant tone.

“When someone arrogantly talks back and asks why not after you initially say no, there’s no way you’ll do it, hyung, even if it kills you. But if they just say they understand and then sit quietly in a corner looking all sad and pitiful, you soften up and end up doing it.”

No, what on earth kind of statement is that?

I was so dumbfounded I couldn’t say a word. It absolutely wasn’t because I had no comeback.

I really can’t tell if this guy’s smart or just a fool.

“I’m going to start dancing now, so you can just do your work here, hyung, okay? Got it? You absolutely must not turn around or stop me.”

“…Okay.”

Although I felt slightly suspicious of Do Yuda’s earnest request, I couldn’t resist his persistence and gave a nod. At that, Do Yuda, who had positioned a mirror so that both of us were reflected in it, came to stand beside me. Then, facing the mirror with his back toward the camera, he spread his legs shoulder-width apart like he was about to do a squat and bent his waist slightly.

And the moment the song started playing, I couldn’t believe my ears.

[“Hello, how have you been?”]

[“These days, I’ve been having more and more sleepless nights thinking about you.”]

Why would that kind of heartfelt love song need an audience, and why would it require a stance like that?

Just as I was having that ominous thought, the pitiful melody reached its climax and Do Yuda, still in that same position, suddenly started shaking his butt.

‘St-stop…….’

[“My poor love, I’m sorry I couldn’t let you go”]

Before I had a chance to resist, my eyes were drawn to the sight of a round butt moving intensely up and down in the mirror, and I froze in shock.

Twerking to a ballad? What kind of bullsh*t is this now?

Even if Do Yuda hadn’t insisted that I mustn’t turn around, I still wouldn’t have. I had no desire to witness that nightmare with my bare eyes.

[“I miss you so muuuuch”]

“Seungbeom-ssi, do you have a moment to talk…….”

Just as I was losing control of both my gaze, which kept drifting toward Do Yuda’s butt, and my expression, which was filled with contempt, the manager opened the practice room door and walked in.

“Eek.”

Then, upon seeing Do Yuda’s unrestrained butt, he flinched and took a step back.

But his surprise lasted only a moment. He quickly approached me with a calm expression.

As if he hadn’t seen a thing.

“Sorry to bother you while you’re resting, Seungbeom-ssi. I had something to ask you about the tickets.”

Is he seriously not going to say anything?

Even after seeing that?

As if to voice that very question, I glanced over at Do Yuda, but the manager kept his eyes fixed on me, as if there were something beside him he absolutely must not see, and continued with his question.

“Um, Gong Seonghwa-ssi from Raize contacted us through his agency. He was asking if there might still be a seat available in the guest section.”

Indeed, to be the manager of those two fools, Pat and Mat, I suppose you shouldn’t even bat an eye at something like this.

His spirit was fortitude. With my mind turned numb from watching Do Yuda’s dance, that was truly the only thought I could manage.

“Seungbeom-ssi?”

“Oh, I’m sorry. That was just too shocking ……. Could you repeat that?”

“I just wanted to confirm whether it would be okay to allocate a ticket to Gong Seonghwa-ssi. He seems to want one.”

“Out of nowhere?”

‘…Gong Seonghwa? Why him?’

At last, Gong Seonghwa’s name registered in my head, and I tilted my head to the side in confusion. Why would a guy who doesn’t care about any group other than Prism suddenly take an interest in Pantheion’s concert?

As I rested my chin on my hand, wearing a doubtful expression, the manager sneaked a glance at me and cautiously asked, “By any chance, did you know the members of Prism might be coming to the concert?”. The unexpected mention of ‘ Prism ‘ made me flinch for a moment, but I quickly collected myself and answered calmly, pretending nothing was off.

“…No, I didn’t know.”

“A little while ago, a daily vlog was posted on Prism’s official channel, and it included a scene where they all went to an internet cafe together to get tickets for Pantheion’s final concert. I figure that probably had something to do with it.”

No, where the hell do those crazy guys think they’re going? And without even telling me?

I immediately took out my phone and texted Lee Chise, “ Are you guys coming to Pantheion’s concert? ”. And in less than 30 seconds, a reply came back.

[PRISM’s Lee Chise-sunbaenim: Of course! ^0^]

[PRISM’s Lee Chise-sunbaenim: ( Cha Woon slumped over a desk in despair .jpg)

Woon-hyung almost couldn’t go because he completely failed at ticketing, but luckily he managed to snag a canceled ticket lol]

It looked like Gong Seonghwa’s hunt for a ticket had nothing to do with Pantheion. It was just a ploy to run into Prism one more time.

‘That kid’s really consistent.’

The reason they didn’t ask me was probably because they thought it wouldn’t work even if they did.

‘I don’t really like giving out invited tickets just because someone’s a celebrity.’

Actually, Prism’s concert gained a reputation for being accessible only through ticketing because I had insisted from the outset that ‘ no guest seats would be provided to anyone except family ’. Well, considering those Prism guys don’t have much family to invite and barely any friends, even if we had set aside tickets, it wouldn’t have made much of a difference.

Ahaha!

Ha…….

‘…It’s not funny.’

So, they must’ve thought I wouldn’t set aside any tickets for the Pantheion concert I was preparing either. Funny how they seemed to know me so well, and yet, not at all.

‘Prism’s members are my family. There’s no way I wouldn’t give them tickets.’

“…….”

A bitter taste lingered in my mouth. I hesitated, unable to type a reply right away, then slowly moved my fingers.

[Cancel the tickets. I’ll give you guest seats.]

Then I said to the manager, “Please decline politely. We set the rule from the beginning not to give tickets unless it’s for someone we know personally. He’s not arrogant enough to be unreasonable, so if you explain it properly, he won’t take offense and will understand.”

“Ah, yes! Then I will do so.”

“Also, could I get five guest tickets?”

“Huh? Seungbeom-ssi, I thought your family wasn’t going to attend…….”

“Now that word has gotten out that Prism-sunbaenims will be coming, I thought it’d be better to separate the seating to prevent any safety incidents. Besides, Pantheion has been indebted to Prism-sunbaenims in various ways.

“Ah, I see. I suppose that can’t be helped. Understood. So, that’s five additional tickets, right? I’ve already set one aside for your aunt.”

At the manager’s words, seemingly trying to double-check one last time, I almost nodded absentmindedly but then stopped reflexively. It was because Seo Yuseong’s face came to mind.

“You, are you seriously not planning on meeting the members?”

When I cautiously brought it up some time ago, Seo Yuseong nodded without an ounce of hesitation. Watching him so firmly declare that he had no intention of seeing the members until I came back to life, I was filled with an indescribable feeling of anxiety and unease.

‘That might be the last time we can all be together.’

I was afraid that if I disappeared like this, Seo Yuseong might never return to Prism. Feeling that familiar fear once more, I barely forced my firmly closed mouth to move.

“…Could you possibly set aside one more ticket? I’m sorry for mentioning it so late.”

“Of course! There are still some seats available, so you don’t need to worry too much. But who are you planning to invite?”

The manager, perhaps worried that I might invite a girlfriend, asked that question with a hint of anxiety in his eyes. In response, I shook my head, clarified that the person was male, and smiled softly as I answered.

“…He’s just, someone who’s important to me.”

.

.

.

And after practice, I went to meet Han Seungbeom’s aunt.

“…It’s been a while.”

Now, I only have a little time left.

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Translator’s Corner:

Imagine the chaos in Sera fandom when Prism finally uploaded a (current) full group vlog but it’s them buying tickets for juniors’ concert ….. also it’s funny how they all managed to get one ??? like this group is truly competitive

Anyway I just checked NU and was shocked to find out I haven’t even managed to do 15 chapters this month … and July is nearing its end … I really felt like I did nothing for the whole month …… sorry for the laziness, I guess I’m kinda losing spark for life in general, but let’s try to go back to current daily update now ……

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