WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Chen

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Incarnation of the Malevolent Star ◈

Chapter 45: Part 1 - Whispers of the Dark Brother (45)

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#45.

After wrapping up another day's schedule, the Truffle Candy members gathered at their lodging to chat.

"Ah, today was so nice too."

Ye-seul, the third-oldest member, sat on the edge of the bed and stretched her arms and legs.

The girl group's lodging was a cabin-style accommodation within the cultural experience complex.

It was quite inexpensive for this kind of place, but it was still somewhere they could never have stayed on the company's dime.

They had parked at the campground, but they were using this lodging for promotional purposes, of course.

The cultural complex had provided free accommodations to the province's hottest internet broadcasters and their entourage.

For the members of a small-time girl group, it was a string of luxuries unlike anything they had experienced before.

Yesterday had felt like a genuine hanok stay.

Today, it felt like staying in a log cabin surrounded by nature.

"Haaah..."

Ye-seul, who had just said how nice it was, let out a whine.

"How are we ever going to adjust when we go back? I feel like I'll cry the moment we walk into that cramped lodging."

So-rin, the second-oldest member, smacked her on the back.

"Ow! Why'd you hit me?"

"Just enjoy the moment! Don't darken the mood for no reason! If we can't enjoy it, we're the only ones losing out!"

"...You're right."

Mi-na, the youngest, watched her unnies with a smile.

"That kid Onik was really good at creating moments for the broadcast again today."

So-rin nodded.

"Seriously. Yesterday and today, every moment we spent talking and hanging out was fun. It was easy for us to get plenty of screen time too. You can tell someone who'll succeed from the start."

Earlier, So-rin had revealed that she was a Hanwha fan, only for the rural boy to tell her, "Then we're enemies!"

Today, she had grabbed the shoulders of the boy who showed off his uncanny talent at the ballpark and shaken him back and forth.

「Onik! Why are you a Lotte Giants fan?! It's not too late! Switch over to the Hanwha Eagles! Switch now and become the future of our team! Lead Hanwha to a championship!」

「I can't! The Lotte Giants and I are bound together by our loyalty to Lotteria's Classic Cheeseburger!」

「What kind of loyalty is that supposed to be...?」

「If you want to take me, tell Hanwha to acquire Lotteria first! And even after they acquire it, they can't change the sign! They can't discontinue the Classic Cheeseburger either! And they absolutely have to keep the restaurant in our town! Until then, I won't change my mind, not even over my dead body!」

「Why do you like that burger so much?! Other franchises have cheeseburgers too! If you become a pro athlete, you'll be able to eat premium handmade cheeseburgers every day!」

「I refuse! A loyal subject does not serve two kings, and Jo Onik does not serve two cheeseburgers!」

「Why not?!」

When he played with the adult amateur baseball club, the rural boy was far from a mere tagalong.

Every ball he hit flew deep for extra bases, while every ball he threw slammed into the catcher's mitt with a heavy thud, terrifyingly fast.

Even players with long amateur careers were left in awe, pitchers and batters alike.

The batters, in particular, were awestruck.

「Wow, this is... Good lord. Does it make sense for a first-year middle school kid to throw a ball like that? I couldn't even think about hitting it!」

「No joke, he really should go pro. If he doesn't, it'll be a loss for the whole country...」

「I don't get why he refuses to have his speed measured. Is he worried it'll become a hassle? Maybe he has no interest in baseball?」

「At his age, with that kind of skill, his future is really something to look forward to. I thought he was exceptional from watching YouTube, but actually facing him, ha. All I can do is laugh.」

「You can laugh? I'm having an existential crisis. I knew baseball was about talent, but... Ah, what's the point?」

Even their catcher-cum-designated hitter shook their head.

「Even the weight of the ball is different. I flinched every time it hit my mitt. Ah, even lowballing it, those are benchwarmer-level pitches for a pro team.」

「What? Have you ever even caught pitches from an active pro?」

「It's just an expression! Anyway, they were pitches that made you think someone could die if they got hit! Setting aside the power, his control, putting that kind of fastball exactly where he wants it in the glove, is already at a professional level!」

When there was someone with shining talent like Onik, though in truth it was very dark, the people around him could secure their own screen time simply by reacting well.

That made the entire broadcast richer.

There was more than one reason why Onik and Legal Hunter's channel was doing so well.

The situation at the archery range had been similar.

There, they filmed one of the main segments of the Onik Uncle and the Hapless Chief channel, Beat Onik!

Everything had been arranged with the range staff beforehand.

It went beyond simply arranging it. The staff had also agreed to play along as part of promoting the facility, at the strong urging of someone higher up.

Onik and Legal Hunter formed one team, four staff members formed another, and the four girl group members formed a third. They competed for points, each person shooting two rounds, or ten arrows.

Of course, a match under equal conditions would not have been possible.

To balance things out, Truffle Candy's target was set at twenty-five meters, while the staff team's and Onik's team's targets were placed at the standard distance for Korean traditional archery, one hundred and forty-five meters.

They used modern archery targets rather than Korean traditional archery targets.

In truth, a target at twenty-five meters was not much of an advantage for ordinary Korean traditional archers.

They usually focused only on lofting arrows at distant targets, so even those awarded the title of master archer by the Korean Traditional Archery Association often found close targets more difficult to hit.

(It was not that they could not hit them. Their accuracy simply dropped.)

That was one of the reasons the Korean Traditional Archery Association drew criticism.

For idols holding a bow for the first time that day, though, it was certainly an advantage.

Onik, who had brought his own bow to the match, put every arrow in the nine-point ring or higher, leaving the staff stunned.

If the target had been alive, his arrows would have been even more accurate.

The terrifying talent given to Onik revealed itself most sharply when he killed something living.

「No, hey, does this even make sense...? Onik, you could enter an international archery competition with a horn bow and win gold...」

The staff member had only meant it as praise, but competing internationally was something Onik was truly considering.

He did not want to serve in the military.

His reason for not wanting to enlist was fundamentally different from everyone else's.

...The military was an environment where it would be terribly difficult for a frightening boy to restrain his jet-black urges.

If not for that, Onik would have wanted to experience military service.

Unlike the Korean Traditional Archery Association, which was somewhat cliquish and had a strict hierarchy, the modern archery association was very open to outsiders joining its ranks.

That made it suitable for the frightening boy to rely on for a while.

Athlete Kim Ok-geum, who had muscular dystrophy, first picked up a bow at the age of fifty-three and was selected for the Paralympic national team only a year later.

There was also Joo Jae-hun, who raised cattle and shot arrows in a cattle shed before becoming a national team athlete at thirty-two.

Those cases proved it.

In principle, it was also possible to enter international competitions carrying a horn bow made by the Master Bowyer.

The Olympics only permitted recurve bows, and a horn bow was a type of recurve bow.

(That was true only in principle. There was always a gap between theoretical possibility and what was actually possible.)

Winning a medal with a traditional bow that had neither a sight nor a stabilizer would cause an enormous commotion.

Truffle Candy's third-oldest member, Ye-seul, said, "Boss was unexpectedly good with a bow too. I was surprised."

So-rin agreed.

"Right. It's only because we're comparing him to Onik. If Onik hadn't been there, Boss would have been the best, wouldn't he? Even the range staff were amazed, saying he was no ordinary shooter."

Everyone in a clan village was practically related, and Legal Hunter had grown up in such a village, treating the Master Bowyer as a highly respected elder.

There was no way he had never shot a bow while growing up.

In Korean traditional archery, as long as an arrow struck anywhere on the large target, it counted as a hit.

That might seem like a loose standard, but it was not at all when one considered that the target stood one hundred and forty-five meters away.

Olympic archery targets were only seventy meters away, less than half that distance.

That was why Onik, who put every arrow into the nine-point ring or higher on an archery target at one hundred and forty-five meters, was the abnormal one.

The range staff, many of whom were hobbyists, had not been horrified for no reason.

Even by Joseon-era standards, this was divinely inspired skill that surpassed a master archer and merited the title of divine archer.

Legal Hunter showed off an unexpected charm by placing every arrow he shot into the target. (Though fewer than half of those arrows scored even a single point.)

Mi-na said, "Honestly, wasn't the campfire the best part? I never thought portraits of the Kim family's three generations would show up there. Hehe."

At the campfire, the day's final event, Onik and Legal Hunter carried out the bold performance of placing portraits of North Korea's Kim family's three generations atop the firewood and setting them alight.

They had printed the photos and put them in frames.

「Um, Onik. Is this really okay...?」

「Why wouldn't it be okay? They're bad people! Grandpa taught me that!」

「Ah, your grandpa...」

Mi-na, who could not help being sensitive to controversial matters as a girl group member, quietly nodded.

That made it hard for unnecessarily touchy people to pick a fight.

What could they do? A child who was still a minor had learned it from the grandfather he respected.

And that grandfather was the only son of an independence fighter and a war veteran recognized as a person of national merit.

Even the small number of strange people who ignored all that and hurled insults would probably curse the grandfather or Legal Hunter, not the boy.

「Noona was just impressed. Onik, you're invincible in so many ways.」

The viewers filled the chat with laughter and agreed.

「All right, let's sing!」

Cheerfully calling out as his shadow stretched before the blazing flames, Onik began an unexpected little dance with Legal Hunter.

「Our wish is reunification♪ Even in our dreams, our wish is reunification♬ With all our devotion, reunification♪ Let us achieve reunification-♬」

Somehow, the reunification they sang about did not feel like peaceful reunification, but armed reunification through a northern advance and the destruction of communism. Still, it was fun.

The viewers laughed, and the girl group members laughed too.

It was something that made them laugh again whenever they thought back on it.

Starting with Mi-na, pleasant giggles spread through all the girl group members.

"Come to think of it, Sera unni."

"Yeah?"

"When we were busking earlier, you were hitting high notes better than usual. What happened? And when did you get so close to Onik?"

Ye-seul chimed in at So-rin's question.

"Right. I've been wondering too. Just yesterday, you were gloomy like you were on your period, then after one day you were completely different. You played so well with the kid, and even sang totally differently. It was almost confusing. Tell us what happened."

Mi-na joined in without a word, pressing her for an answer with her eyes.

With all three younger members demanding an answer as one, Sera gave a slightly troubled smile and scratched her cheek.

"As for the singing... I don't know. I was surprised too. Maybe it's because I feel much more at ease."

Though she did not show it, Sera herself had been shocked while busking.

The truth matched her own diagnosis.

How could someone suffering from intense stress and pressure, physical exhaustion, chronic malnutrition, and a lack of motivation possibly perform at her full ability?

People were not steel that grew tougher the more it was hammered.

After eating well, sleeping well, and above all relieving so much stress through her conversations with the rural boy, Sera recovered her own ability on today's little stage, an ability she had not known she possessed, or rather, had forgotten.

‘It felt like I'd gone back to the old days.’

There had been a time when Sera, too, had been considered a promising trainee at a decent agency.

It was simply that this industry was not one where talent alone brought success.

Without good timing and good people at one's side, no amount of talent and hard work could prevent failure.

Even debuting put someone in the top one percent.

"Why do you feel more at ease? It has something to do with suddenly becoming close to Onik, right? Right?"

At the youngest member's sharp questioning, Sera considered what to do, then decided to reveal only part of the truth.

‘Hmm. I want to talk with Onik alone again... If I wait for everyone to fall asleep like yesterday, there won't be much time left. And after today, there won't be an opportunity for a while...’

The time she had spent talking quietly under the night sky with the rural boy last night had truly been healing for Sera.

For the twenty-three-year-old idol from the gray city, that feeling of healing had been especially precious.

To someone worn down by excessive stress, the sense of refreshment was almost addictive.

Once she had experienced her heart thawing like snow, her subconscious kept asking for it again. Could she not have that experience one more time?

‘It's strange that I can depend on him this much after only a day. Well, I must have been that desperate.’

It was not simply that she felt better after pouring out the stories she had kept locked inside.

She could only feel at ease because the other person was an exceptionally kind and special boy.

It might have been nice for all the younger members to join her for an honest conversation as well, but then it would have been difficult to bring up deep, dark things like suicide.

After organizing her thoughts, Sera nodded.

"That's right."

"Oh?"

"After you all fell asleep yesterday, I couldn't sleep at all, so I went out to look at the stars. I happened to run into Onik then, and we talked for a while."

"Ooh?"

Mi-na blinked.

"A secret meeting with a boy ten years younger on a late moonlit night? I told So-rin unni not to commit crimes, but was the real dangerous person someone else in this group? Should I start preparing to leave our group?"

"Pfft. It wasn't like that."

"Then what was it?"

"It felt more like I was getting counseling. I talked about the company and honestly told him about how hard things have been for our group. While I was at it, I told him about my personal life too."

"Huh? You had such a heavy conversation with a kid? Someone you met for the first time yesterday?"

"Onik isn't just any kid, though."

"Well, that's true... Still, isn't it strange?"

"You think I knew from the start that I'd end up bringing up such heavy things? We just somehow ended up having a serious conversation. But when we talked... he was much more mature and thoughtful than he looked."

"Really?"

"He said he'd help us."

"Help us? How?"

"He said he'd try to persuade Boss. So we could become semi-regular members on Onik and Boss's channel."

"What?"

Mi-na blinked, then asked again with confusion in her voice.

"W-w-wait, really? Can that happen?"

So-rin and Ye-seul's eyes widened too. Before her younger members, Sera shrugged.

"Who knows? He only said he'd try."

In truth, he had said he would use the privilege of being a minor to throw a fit, but there was no reason to repeat that part exactly.

Having quietly waited for an opening, Sera decided this was the moment and casually rose from her seat.

"So, I'm going out for a moment to see Onik."

"Huh?"

"I want to finish the conversation we didn't get to finish yesterday. I want to ask whether he's started persuading Boss, and if he has, how it's going."

"Uh, um... Okay. Go? Have a good time?"

Swept along by their eldest unni, who smoothly wrapped up the conversation, Mi-na and the other two nodded without thinking.

Even though, if everything Sera had said so far was all there was to it, there would have been nothing strange about all four of them going out and talking together.

"..."

The three left behind exchanged glances in the awkward silence that had suddenly fallen.

#

The frightening boy asked the idol from the city a serious question.

"Noona. Is someone who drives another person to suicide a murderer, or not?"

Footnotes:

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