Chapter - 64화 "Taeohh-ssi…? No—why are you sitting here in the dark without even turning the lights on?!"
"I'm huuungry… waaaah…"
"…Huh?"
After barely managing to swallow the food stuffed in his mouth, Taeohh answered again.
"Because I'm hungry…"
The scraping-like sound Dansol had heard was just Taeohh's spoon clinking against the bowl as he ate bibimbap.
"They said I have to prep for the new album… and they put me on such an extreme diet, so I hid in here."
"Ah…"
"But… why didn't you go home, Dansol-ssi?"
"Uh… just because. Same kind of reason. But… isn't your manager looking for you, Taeohh-ssi?"
"I turned my phone off so they wouldn't. They'll probably think I went to some club or something and run around looking for me."
It looked like he'd eaten an entire rice-cooker pot—only an empty inner pot and scattered ingredient remnants were left where Taeohh had been.
"There couldn't have been ingredients…"
"Egg, gochujang, and rice is enough. If I'd known you were here, I would've eaten with you."
"No, I'm not hungry yet… I'll just cook ramen later."
Still looking unsatisfied, Taeohh prowled around the kitchen cabinet and said,
"Dansol-ssi, I'm jealous of you."
"…Me? Why?"
"You don't gain weight. And then all of a sudden they said the title track is going to be a ballad… and my build is too big to suit a ballad."
"Ah… but I'm more jealous of you, Taeohh-ssi. You keep putting albums out… We don't even have a full-length album yet."
"Haha. This is starting to feel like we're battling over who's more miserable. Man… it's hard to make a living."
"Seriously… I want to get paid out too."
Taeohh found ramen in the cabinet and started filling a pot with water. Then he heard what Dansol said behind him and nearly spilled everything in shock.
"Gah—! You still haven't been paid out yet? But didn't you even film a drama…?"
"Not even close. For us it's always an overall split… There are a lot of members with no income. No matter how much I run around on my own, it's nowhere near enough. Still… these days the members are doing events too, so… it'll get better."
"Wow… companies like that really do exist… Shouldn't you sue or something? Want an egg?"
"Even suing takes money…"
Taeohh asked with an egg basket in his hands like he was about to dump the whole thing in. Dansol shook his head. Taeohh's face drooped for some reason, and Dansol hurriedly answered.
"…Then just one."
"Okay! I'll eat only today, and starting tomorrow I'm really working out!"
Getting that happy over one egg… Smelling the fragrant ramen, Dansol nodded and slumped forward on the table. Taeohh—who was stirring seasoning into water that hadn't even boiled yet—asked quietly,
"But, Dansol-ssi… why aren't you asking? About me dropping Jisu-hyung."
"…I already know. That hyung is an alpha."
Clang.
At Dansol's words, Taeohh dropped the spoon and the pot lid.
"…How?! I haven't told anyone yet!"
"I overheard it too. Jisu-hyung telling someone else."
Dansol didn't mention he'd heard it at Daesu's place—he didn't want to invite misunderstandings.
"Ha… seriously, there are no secrets in this world. But I'm kind of worried. Jisu-hyung's really popular, right? What if I become the nation's punching bag for dropping him?"
"Come on… that won't happen."
Anyone can become the nation's punching bag? You'd need to have no fans to shield you—like me.
A top-tier idol like Taeohh wouldn't have to worry. No matter what they did, they'd have far more fans than haters.
Bzz.
While that was happening, the phone Dansol had brought into the kitchen and left charging finished powering on, and it started vibrating.
Bzz.
Bzz.
Bzz.
"Huh?"
Did his old phone finally break? With the nonstop buzzing, Dansol walked over.
Cutie Minjae♥
Hyung, is this real? Jisu-hyung is my ult… please tell me it's not true!
{R.O.Match Survival in Island Portal}
Next week's elimination spoiler.
My cousin-in-law's eighth cousin's older sister's younger sibling works as staff on R.O.Match, and next week's eliminated is Han Jisu.
They say Ma Taeohh used all 8 elimination votes and sent him home in one shot. Staff say there's a rumor Taeohh was hitting on Han Jisu, got rejected, and this is revenge before he started coming onto Ju Dansol. Is he insane? It's funny enough that an idol would even hit on a top actor, but who does he think he is, eliminating him?
⤷ …If Han Jisu's gone, what's the point of watching? This isn't a one-day show—can you ruin the program over your feelings? MangTaeohh really living up to being a washed idol, huh.
⤷ Don't get too immersed lol. Since when is Zeus "washed"?
⤷ Compared to Han Jisu's filmography, they are. Han Jisu's recognized overseas too—when Zeus goes abroad, does anyone even know them?
⤷ Are the commenters living in another universe? Zeus is insanely popular overseas too…. Actor fandoms always look down on idol fandoms, same old, but stillㅠ Just watch variety as variety.
⤷ Fact is Ma Taeohh took a shit and now the whole R.O.Match program is shaking.
⤷ This is true. Ugh, if it's not Minseong–Jisu, it's Daesu–Jisu enemies-to-lovers. I was investing and my stock just crashed.
So… the nation's punching bag really can be anyone. Dansol revoked what he'd thought earlier. Even Taeohh, an idol at the peak of popularity, didn't seem free from hate.
"Dansol-ssi! Ramen's done!"
Dansol didn't even hear him. He was staring at the endless hate comments on the portal. Not just the post Minjae sent—other posts already treated Jisu's elimination as a done deal, and the baseless speculation about the reason wouldn't stop.
"What is it? Did something important come in?"
Taeohh had come up behind him without his noticing. Dansol jolted and covered his phone screen.
"Ah… no. It's not that."
Even while Dansol gripped his phone tightly, it kept vibrating with messages from members and friends asking if it was true Jisu was eliminated and why.
"Why are you getting so many messages?"
"Ah… it's not…"
Taeohh eyed Dansol suspiciously as he kept hemming and hawing. Dansol, like someone who'd done something wrong, kept stepping back each time Taeohh moved forward.
"…Could it be, Dansol-ssi…"
Had he seen his screen when he came up behind him? Dansol knew better than anyone this wasn't Taeohh's fault, and he was flustered beyond words.
"I… Taeohh-ssi… it's just…"
"You do it too."
"…Huh?"
"The 'Lonely Ju Dansol Room.'"
"…Ah…"
"There's nothing to be embarrassed about. I've gone in a few times too. Last time I went in and greeted everyone right away, and they kicked me out. Seriously… But you should turn those notifications off. They go off all the time and your battery dies fast."
"…Ah… okay!"
"The ramen's going to go soggy. Let's eat."
Taeohh's manager apparently never imagined Taeohh would be on Chunmong-do when there was no filming, because the island stayed quiet until the next day.
The manager did show up late and made it to Chunmonggak, but before he could grab Taeohh by the collar, filming started earlier than scheduled, and Taeohh's little escape ended quietly.
In that time, the only thing Dansol could do for Taeohh was keep his phone off and not look at what people were saying online.
Maybe, thinking about the years he'd gone through before the regression, it was also the one thing he was most used to doing.
But the real problem started the morning filming resumed.
"Hello! I'm Choi Sapjil from Pickaxe TV, digging up entertainment industry secrets! Today I came to Chunmong-do, where R.O.Match Survival in Island is being filmed! Everyone must've gone crazy over this post…! R.O.Match's popular cast member, Han Jisu…! Ah! Wait—looks like the main PD, PD Choi Mijin, is coming right now! PD! Just a moment!"
"Hey! You bastards! You're not controlling the set?! Hey! Get out! Get out!"
"Ah—wait! I'm Chacha from Entertainment Lab, digging up the industry's secrets…!"
"The fastest entertainment updates—Kkappa Archive—"
"Our crew needs to unload equipment! Move your car!"
"Hey, don't push!"
YouTubers who'd started gathering little by little from dawn had now formed a dense black wall. Among them were even former entertainment reporters.
Photos of the cast—Taeohh and Jisu included—meeting privately had spread online, and the tabloid claim that Taeohh eliminated Jisu as revenge for being rejected had basically become "fact," blowing the situation up.
Because the two had been sitting close together in those photos, YouTubers cropped them into provocative thumbnails and rambled off "theories" like they were truths.
It was a tabloid implying not just cast conflict, but that Taeohh and Jisu had exchanged feelings that went beyond a variety show—so it became a hot topic, no different from a top star dating rumor. And the YouTubers didn't stop there. This time, they'd stormed Chunmong-do itself.
Online chatter—fine. Don't listen, don't look, and it's over.
But if they came in person and camped out like this, like they wanted you to hear it, there was no way not to.
The crew kept trying to contact the island owner to see if they had the authority to block outsiders, but the owner had been indifferent from the scouting stage and basically abandoned the island—and now it seemed they were abandoning the crew too.
The crew was so despairing they wanted to shout the owner's name and curses out at the sea.
"…Am I really going to be ruined by this…?"
From the moment his manager found him, Taeohh had vaguely sensed it was bigger than he thought. Now he was finally seeing it clearly.
"Um… it's still noisy outside, so… today we're only doing indoor filming. PD Choi said to keep the curtains closed as much as possible…"
"…Yeah."
The assistant director stopped Dansol when he tried to open the living room curtains to check outside. As if he'd fought his way through the chaos, Dohyeon came in dragging a suitcase, his hair a mess.
"Fuck, those crazy assholes. I went to the salon this morning for nothing."
"…Hello."
They weren't exactly on greeting terms even before, but their eyes met, so Dansol greeted first.
"What are you even doing here?"
Dohyeon ignored Dansol and instead smirked at Taeohh on the sofa behind him.
"…Sorry?"
"I thought you wouldn't show up… but idols have more guts than I expected."
As he spoke, Dohyeon's gaze swept Dansol up and down.
Taeohh clearly felt the blatant hostility and shot back without backing down.
"Do I have a reason to run? Looks like filming's pretty exhausting for you, hyung. Wow… those dark circles… I guess I'll work hard this week too and send you home."
At Taeohh's words, Dohyeon snickered.
"You don't only run when you have a reason. Situations make people run. Let's see… how long you can hold out."
"…."
He was right. People didn't run only because they had a reason.
Even if Jisu hadn't been an alpha, and even if Taeohh had eliminated Jisu purely by his own will, it still wouldn't have broken the rules—so there was no reason to run.
But public opinion had already turned Taeohh into a criminal.
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Read 87 more chapters ahead on NovelDex!
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