"Were you… upset?"
Upset?
Hearing Baek I-hyeon respond with a tone that sounded almost pitying, I was struck speechless again.
He locked a kid in a storage room, and now he's talking about being "upset."
"…You really haven't changed."
Twisting the situation however he pleased, taking no responsibility for the messes he caused—that was exactly the Baek I-hyeon I knew.
Still self-centered, still incapable of seeing anything but himself.
"That goes for you too, Yu-ha. From what I've seen."
Even when replying to something barbed, he spoke like that—as if it were nothing. I stared at him without answering, unable to grasp what he meant, and then he said something unexpected.
"That trainee—Kang Hyun-jin, was it? You helped him?"
"...."
"I heard his condition was almost beyond recovery during the short-form filming. But thanks to that, he stood center in the short-form, and then looks like he gave it up for the main stage."
"…Hyun-jin hyung is the best choice for center. No one could show it better."
"Haha, what are you talking about… You could've done it too, easily. If that weren't the case, your short-form clip wouldn't have blown up the way it did. If you'd been center, your team's stage would've been great too."
With a light, almost amused smile—like he truly didn't get it—Baek I-hyeon tilted his head.
"Same with the parts. You're ranked first right now, aren't you? Then why weren't main vocal or center yours? Even sub-1 went to someone else. You stepped back."
"And why exactly do I need to explain that to you?"
"Oh, of course, you don't. I just… wondered."
"...."
"It made me think you're not as desperate as people say."
The way he smiled as he said that made me draw in a long breath to force the irritation down.
"It just seemed like your old habits coming out again. You always let things slip through your fingers when you were a kid."
"…Slip through my fingers."
I quietly repeated his phrasing. Let it slip?
And the reason he framed my choices like that.
Then suddenly, I couldn't help but laugh—an incredulous little breath.
Because if anyone had "picked up" what I supposedly "let slip," it was him. Hearing that bastard talk like this was almost funny.
While I was thinking that, Baek I-hyeon continued in that light, storytelling tone of his.
"Always yielding, letting go, not wanting anything for yourself… It was your worst habit as a kid. And I figured that's how it was this time too. Not taking what should've been yours."
"For someone who benefited from all that, you sure talk a lot…"
I muttered the words under my breath, unable to hold back the bitterness. He burst out laughing—bright, easy, almost affectionate. The lack of any malice somehow made it feel even more disgusting.
"Haha, true. I did benefit the most from that. I'm still grateful to you, honestly."
"There's nothing to be grateful for. I didn't yield anything. You took it."
"…Took it, huh."
For the first time, his expression changed. The gentle smile vanished, replaced by something briefly thoughtful. Then he looked at me and admitted it calmly.
"You're right. You didn't yield it. So I did think about it—whether I should just leave you behind back then. But if you came out too early… your foster parents might've changed their minds."
"...."
"They really liked you, you know. Even when you wouldn't come out to meet them because you were shut in that room, they kept giving you chances. Even on the day they left the orphanage with me, they kept looking back until the end."
"Ha."
I couldn't hold it back this time. I laughed. His tone—like he was talking about some harmless old memory—was too calm, too casual.
I remember.
How the foster couple who adopted him had liked me a lot. How they'd expressed interest in adopting me first. And the things he used to say on the days they visited with gifts:
—Yu-ha, you'll listen to me, right?
And the familiar confinement in the storage room.
There was no time to understand what was happening. I didn't even know prospective adoptive parents were visiting. I only knew that whenever they came, I was shut in the storage room—and inside that, into the cramped wardrobe.
The only reason I stayed still in that suffocating darkness, curled up like I was playing hide-and-seek, was this:
—You waited a long time, didn't you? Let's go now.
At night, Baek I-hyeon would come to get me.
—My little brother.
In an orphanage where no one had siblings, where no one had family, he called me his brother, played like we were precious to each other.
And whenever we ended that "game," he became even gentler.
—Let's get adopted together and become real brothers. I'm I-hyeon, you're Yu-ha. Our names sound alike—if we share a last name, people will think we're real siblings.
—What if the adoption doesn't work out?
—Then I'll come find you after I become an adult.
He'd say things that were nothing but dreams to a child—promising he'd come back for me, no matter what, even if he left first.
That was why I played along with that twisted game.
Because I believed someone would come to get me one day. That Baek I-hyeon would open the door and take me out.
But he didn't. In the end.
The game ended as neglect. No one came. I waited endlessly in the locked storage room.
And when I finally got out… Baek I-hyeon had already been adopted.
All that remained were a few toys he'd gotten from the couple and given to me. And the neatly discarded traces of his belongings.
That was all.
Maybe he really forgot, I thought for a moment.
Because he wore the face of someone completely unaffected.
"So you locked the kid you called your little brother in a storage room for two days…"
And to that, Baek I-hyeon said:
"Oh, it was two days? Hm, well, before I left I did tell another kid where you were. Maybe the teachers didn't get the message."
So casually. As if watching a fire burn across a river.
…I want to hit him.
Of course that kind of unhinged thought flashed through my mind.
How could it not? The bastard who trapped a six-year-old and stole his adoption chance was now standing here with this attitude.
My fist tensed for a moment, but I breathed out slowly, shaking the tension from my shoulders. I couldn't hit him.
Not now.
A trainee who punched a far-senior sunbae? I'd be done for.
Wrecking my life over this bastard—once was enough.
Holding back the curses and the surge of violence rising to my throat, I spoke quietly.
"…Just tell me what you want. Why you called me."
"I just wanted to say hi. We'll be seeing each other often now, right? Since we're sunbae–hoobae again, I thought I could help you if there's a way."
"Help? With what?"
"Well… maybe we start with selling our childhood story? If I say we grew up in the same orphanage, that alone would get you meaningful votes."
But the moment he said that, whatever patience I had left snapped clean through.
"Shut up. Try pulling that crap and I'll expose the storage room story too."
"...."
Baek I-hyeon blinked—wide-eyed, startled, like he had never imagined I'd react this way.
A soft murmur of awe followed.
"Yu-ha… don't tell me you never said anything to the production team?"
"...."
"Oh, don't tell me…"
To think he could be this stupid.
That was when every last thread holding my temper together finally frayed. I didn't even bother with formal speech anymore.
"Why are you saying this now? Forget helping—why are you even looking for me after all this time?"
"You really don't trust me, do you? I just happened to see you by coincidence, and I thought maybe I could help. Like when we used to help each other when we were kids."
Help?
Not steal, take, rob—but "help"?
Swallowing the words burning up my throat, I forced down my anger and asked:
"Stop twisting things however you want. I'm starting to get irritated. I know better than anyone what kind of person you are. Just tell me your real motive."
"Don't take it the wrong way. There's nothing else—just familiarity. I just want to be close with my little brother again."
"...."
"Once I became an adult, I realized how close we were back then. I just thought… maybe we could become family again."
"…Ha. Forget it."
At that, I no longer felt any reason to stay in that room. I'd entertained him enough; all that was left was to walk out and never look at this bastard again.
I turned and grabbed the doorknob.
"We're going to be eating from the same pot anyway."
"…What?"
"Oh… you really haven't heard anything yet?"
I turned back toward Baek I-hyeon. He lifted the corners of his eyes in a smile.
"It means you and I are both going to need each other. And honestly, you might be the one to gain the most. You know that, right?"
"...."
"You totally tanked this round."
With that, Baek I-hyeon picked up his cue cards and stood. It was almost time for the results to be announced.
***
"The first place in this round goes to… Team 'National Phantom Thief.' Congratulations."
"Wooooo!!"
"Oh my god, oh my god…! Everyone worked so hard!!"
As Baek I-hyeon announced it, the total votes we received appeared on the screen. The trainees hugged each other, and Kang Hyun-jin looked completely stunned.
And no wonder.
「Total votes: 850」
1st place: Kang Hyun-jin (Center) — 300 votes
Hyun-jin had taken more than a third of the total votes. He wasn't just first in the team—he was first among all trainees.
The vote count was shocking, but the team members didn't look surprised. Hyun-jin had created much of the choreography and shaped the team's overall concept.
No one could match his charisma on stage.
To the members who performed alongside him, this result felt natural. But Hyun-jin himself clearly hadn't expected it.
"Hy—hyung…?"
"A–ah…"
Tears burst out of him suddenly.
As soon as he saw the results, the tears came rushing out, and Hyun-jin frantically ducked his head, wiping his face as if even he couldn't believe it.
Everyone was startled—not just our teammates but all
A celebrity floating above the clouds.
That had been his image until now—someone who didn't build deep relationships, never showed weakness, perfect in every way. Seeing him, the supposedly flawless trainee, suddenly break down in sobs as team 1st place—that stunned both trainees and staff.
"Trainee Kang Hyun-jin, you look very surprised. Can you share your thoughts?"
"Ah, yes, yes…"
Hyun-jin took several deep breaths, trying to stop crying. He accepted the microphone with trembling hands and hesitated.
"...."
He looked at the screen, then at the teammates standing around him, disbelief still on his face. Then he finally began to speak slowly.
"…First… first, thank you to the idol makers who voted for me. I… really didn't expect a ranking like this…"
He paused again as emotion surged. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he continued.
"I had no confidence in myself… and I spent the whole training period in despair, thinking this round might be my last chance… But my teammates—my brothers—they gave me the opportunity. That's the only reason I could finish. I could never have done this alone… they believed in me…"
"Hyung…"
"Hyung, take your time…"
Even the teammates watching him began to tear up. They had seen firsthand how hard Hyun-jin had struggled throughout the competition, and they knew he meant every word.
"…I know how precious these votes are.
When he finished, the trainees applauded. I handed him some tissues I'd gotten from a staff member. Hyun-jin, who had been wiping his face with his sleeve, looked at me and quietly accepted them.
"Then, thank you all for your hard work in the third round."
At Baek I-hyeon's closing line, the staff called "Cut." I looked up at the screen once more as the trainees began slowly exiting the set.
「5th place: Won Yu-ha (Vocal 3) — 57 votes」
My vote count—second from the bottom.
And then, as I looked away from the screen, my eyes met Baek I-hyeon's.
He had been watching me the whole time. When our gazes locked, he flicked his eyes toward the vote screen, then smiled.
A smug, see that? kind of smile.
The kind that made my blood boil.
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