WETRIED TRANSLATIONS

[ Translation - Aren ]

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

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Chapter 76

“Erm……Bathroom?”

“You take this long to do your business?”

The person standing before me was Yoon Sanho.

I couldn’t find the words to respond and just rolled my eyes around.

“……Hyung, are you sick?”

“Huh? No?”

Yoon Sanho stepped closer with a puzzled look.

I quickly moved to the side, trying to slip out of the bathroom.

“Ah, wait.”

Before I left there was something I needed to check first.

“……How long have you been in here?”

“……Shouldn’t I be the one asking that? I just got here, but I heard someone mumbling from somewhere in the bathroom. It sounded like your voice, Hyung, but I wasn’t sure, so I thought this place was haunted or something. Phew……”

Fortunately, Yoon Sanho didn’t seem too suspicious of me.

“Why are you watching the broadcast in the bathroom?”

“You know, I was watching it, and then my body was giving me ‘emergency’ signals.”

“Urgh……”

Yoon Sanho made a disgusted face and went to wash his hands.

Alright, I should be in the clear now. Then……

“Hyung, by the way.”

“Hm?”

Yoon Sanho called out to me.

What was it now?

“I saw the broadcast…… Are you okay?”

His tone showed a surprising amount of concern.

“…… I’m fine. Don’t worry about it.”

I tried my best to respond lightly, and swiftly left the bathroom before he could say anything else.

The world was spinning slightly before my eyes.

I really needed some sleep.

* * *

After episode 3 aired, the next week was filled with nothing but practice.

Compared to the previous rounds, where we had to prepare new performances back-to-back, the schedule was much more relaxed.

Our group was restructured exactly as I had planned. Kiwoong, Iho, and I would each take turns in the center position during the chorus.

Kiwoong struggled with the choreography at first but picked it up pretty quickly.

As for me, I only participated in the bare minimum of practice and skipped the late-night sessions.

First of all, I had items.

And more importantly, I was completely exhausted and needed every bit of quality sleep I could get.

Ever since episode 3 aired, my condition had been subtly deteriorating.

[<Needleless Infusion> : Instantly restores 10 stamina points.]

There were some stamina recovery items, but something made me hesitate from using them.

I didn’t really know why, but I had a feeling like there was going to be a price to pay if I abused these items.

That night, I also fell asleep around 11 pm I believe.

When I woke up, it was deep into the night.

For the first time in a while, my body actually felt light.

2:30 am…… At this hour, even the most hardcore gossipers wouldn’t be wasting their time bashing male idols.

At most, Seo Haedun’s hardcore fans and some private accounts would be using me as their personal punching bag, hitting me for fun.

Since the online hate had died down quite a lot at night, my condition had improved significantly.

‘Why didn’t I realize this sooner……?’

So this realization hit me.

If people weren’t talking crap about Ahn Yuyoung at night, then naturally, my notoriety would drop, and along with it the pain would also lessen.

In that case, shouldn’t I just save my energy during the day and practice hard during the night?

To be honest, I was a bit nervous relying on items alone, but I finally had a proper strategy.

Feeling a bit more lively, which reflected in my step, I started to head towards the practice room.

I walked through the dimly lit, cold, and eerie hallway towards the building.

All the practice room lights were off.

I didn’t expect that not a single team was training this late.

Were they all so unmotivated that they would just be handing over 1st place to Chenstin?

Well, this wasn’t a trainee survival show, so I guess it made sense.

They were already debuted idols and ended up as total flops, so they probably had already given up.

In that sense, maybe the producers’ attempt to revive them with cheap drama was doomed to fail from the start……

As I was thinking about this, I stepped inside the building.

And unlike what I had expected, I could hear the faint sounds of a song playing from one of the practice rooms in the corner.

It was our practice room.

I strode forward and pushed open the soundproof door.

“Huh? Hyung?”

“……You’re still practicing?”

It was Kiwoong.

The clock now read 3 am.

There was no one else in the room besides him.

He had to have been training for quite a while seeing that the chest area of his blue t-shirt was completely soaked with sweat.

“It’s already 3 am. Aren’t you going to sleep?”

“Ah, really……? I didn’t realize how much time had passed.”

“How long have you been practicing?”

“Not sure…… But Chanyoung-hyung was the last one to leave around 11.”

“So you’ve been here alone since then?”

“Yeah.”

From 11 pm to 3 am. That was a solid four hours.

Four hours of non-stop dance practice was practically impossible.

Even for a young guy in his early 20s with good stamina, this should be too much.

“Don’t overdo it. If your condition drops before the actual performance, it’ll be a disaster.”

I offered him some genuine advice.

However Kiwoon just pursed his lips looking like he thought I was meddling too much.

“There’s something different to be worried about…… other than my condition.”

“And that is?”

“……The problem is that I’m just not good enough.”

Kiwoong mumbled that as he crouched down on the floor.

I was a bit taken aback by that.

From what I had seen, Kiwoong was definitely not someone who lacked skill.

“If you’re not good enough, then who is?”

“But…… I’m ranked low. 22nd place. That’s almost at the bottom of the ranking.”

“What does that have to do with your skill?”

“If I wasn’t lacking in something, wouldn’t I have placed higher……?”

His expression was calm, but for some reason, I felt seriously bad for him.

There was a serious lack of confidence in his voice. How the hell did he end up like that?

“When you look at Iho-hyung, it all makes sense. He’s an amazing dancer. He’s also great at fan service and puts in a lot of effort…… He’s got all the qualities of someone ranked first.”

“Hmm……”

“And Saemi also has a distinct personality……”

“Hmmmmm……”

“To be honest, when I look at all these incredibly talented idols around me, I don’t even know how well I can compete against them……”

“What are your strengths?”

“Huh?”

Kiwoong, who had been mumbling self-deprecating crap to himself, looked startled at my question.

“My strengths? I don’t really……”

“Then let me ask you differently. Why do you want to be an idol?”

“……”

Kiwoong couldn’t answer right away.

VOV was already in its fourth year since debut, or so I heard.

Four years……

Ah, that must be it.

It was similar to the <Slump> cycle that would come every four months or every four years.

Kiwoong seemed to be an unfortunate case where lethargy, a main symptom of a slump, was now mixed with a huge inferiority complex.

“I don’t really know.”

In the end, Kiwoong gave me a vague answer.

“Try to think about it more. There must have been a strong reason you wanted to do this job when you debuted, right?”

“Looking back now, my goal feels kind of ridiculous. It’s embarrassing even.”

Kiwoong let out a groan, covering his face with his hands.

“What’s there to be embarrassed about? You’re supposed to dream big, like world domination or something.”

“……That was it.”

“Huh?”

“That was it.”

That was what?

World domination?

“When I first met my members, they felt so reliable. I debuted when I was 20, so…… I didn’t really know anything.”

Wait, wasn’t he 23 now?

He still seemed like he didn’t know anything.

But that was completely normal.

How much would a 23-year-old know about life? He would learn as he went and figure it out……

That was a really old-man-like thought, but I couldn’t help feeling bad that Kiwoong had given up so soon.

“Honestly, I thought everything would go well as soon as I debuted.”

Yeah, I thought the same.

I thought everything would work out once I got a job.

“But that wasn’t the case…… There are too many insanely talented people, too many unfair things, and too many things that don’t go the way I want…… I know it all sounds like lame excuses……”

“Hmm……”

“So I started giving up little by little. The CEO told me I should be grateful even for the small support I was getting…… and, of course, he wasn’t wrong. But, to be honest……”

“……”

Kiwoong’s voice started to tremble.

“……I feel embarrassed facing people.”

He ended up burying his face between his knees.

Wait, he wasn’t crying, was he?

“I feel so guilty towards my mom and dad…… My other friends are all in college, having fun, preparing for jobs, studying for the TOEIC or getting certifications…… They’ve all gone to the military already and are working so hard for their future, but what am I even doing here?”

“Do you think this won’t work out?”

“……I don’t know.”

A boy, trembling at the uncertainty of the future……

Kiwoong’s small body looked even smaller today.

And then, I suddenly thought back to when I was 23.

“……”

Surprisingly, I couldn’t really remember that well.

Well, the anxiety one felt in one’s early twenties was all the same. Kiwoong’s feelings were probably similar to what I felt back then if not worse.

Either way, everyone experienced this kind of anxiety. I had to somehow make Kiwoong realize that these were just growing pains.

If I didn’t, this kid would just keep rolling around in self-pity with that tiny brain of his, obsessing over his own destruction instead of actually performing at his best in next week’s competition.

“You’re drowning in self-pity right now.”

“……What?”

Kiwoong lifted his head.

He almost looked like he had just been slapped across the face.

He probably expected me to comfort him since he was this down.

Sorry, but I wasn’t that type of person.

“Kiwoong, do you…… realize you’re overthinking a lot right now?”

“What do you mean?”

“Have your parents ever told you that you embarrass them?”

“No, but objectively speaking……”

“It’s just your own opinion, so how is it objective? Have you ever heard your parents say that themselves?”

“……”

“Kiwoong, just listen to me.”

Even though he avoided my gaze, he didn’t move from his seat.

He looked like he had been hit, but at least he was still listening. I kinda liked that.

“You might not be happy with where you are, but…… Everyone wants to be first place, but only one person can actually be first. Still, it’s far too early to be this discouraged. Your group has only released three albums, right?”

“……How do you know that, Hyung?”

“What? You think I wouldn’t research my competition? I have to win after all.”

I grinned.

“Honestly, I don’t think the most important thing in life is to never fall. I think what matters more is how fast and how strongly you can get back up when you do. Wishing to never fall in the first place…… is just greedy. Or, it means you're just a coward too scared of getting hurt when you fall.”

“……”

“Do you think Iho didn’t fall? You think he was born dancing like that?”

“Were you like that, too, Hyung?”

Kiwoong looked at me with innocent eyes.

I almost ended up laughing.

It was the kind of expression only an innocent kid could make.

“Hey, let’s be real……”

I scanned the room. The surveillance camera was still rolling, but……

I walked right up to Kiwoong and crouched next to him.

Leaning in close, I cupped my hand over his ear and whispered.

“……You really think your group and my group…… are all that different?”

What did the cameras matter? This was something he needed to hear.

Kiwoong stared at me with wide eyes.

“……Haha!!!”

His tense face finally broke into loud laughter.

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