Chapter 5: Reality and the Boardroom

“Why?”

“After talking to him earlier, I do not think a few words are going to break his delusion.”

“Then let us play along?”

“What if his delusion gets worse?”

“We will just have to make sure it does not.”

“I am not saying go along with everything, just point out the contradictions one by one.”

“That is what I found works best.”

Han Hoseong recalled Zenon’s face at the moment all three calls had failed.

He looked like a child abandoned by his family.

It must have been upsetting for Zenon, but admitting reality always comes with pain.

“True.”

“There is no need to nitpick and fight about it.”

“If he spouts nonsense again, let us just act like we did not hear.”

Seol Itae said this in a tone that suggested he was avoiding Zenon because he found it disgusting, not because he was scared.

“I do not know about that.”

Moon Haeil got up abruptly and went into his room.

Lee Jujin muttered, looking at the door that slammed shut.

“I need to get in too……”

“Surely he did not lock it?”

“No, it is just…… how do I get through that atmosphere?”

Lee Jujin grumbled that he had lost all his sleep for today.

But the one who actually needed to worry about a place to sleep was Han Hoseong, not him.

“I will sleep in the living room.”

“Why?”

“Did Zenon kick you out?”

“No, nothing like that.”

“I just feel uneasy sleeping in that room with the magic circle.”

“And it smells bloody.”

The HIGH-5 dorm had three rooms.

The big room was used by Lee Jujin, Moon Haeil, and Seol Itae.

The small room was used by Zenon and Han Hoseong.

The last room was used as a clothes closet and storage, so the only place to sleep was the living room.

“Ah…… what do we do.”

“You are having a hard time, hyung.”

“Do you want to sleep in our room?”

“No, I am fine.”

It was called the big room, but it was cramped for three men.

If he piled in too, he would be choking on the carbon dioxide the four of them breathed out all night.

“I will get you a blanket.”

Without being asked, Lee Jujin scurried off like a squirrel.

A moment later, a scream came from the room: “Eek!”

“……He must have seen it.”

“Probably.”

Han Hoseong and Seol Itae exchanged bitter remarks.

Meanwhile, Lee Jujin came back with the blanket and looked at them with wide eyes.

“What…… what was all that?”

“Told you.”

“I did not think it would be that bad.”

“Wow…… I thought I was in a haunted house.”

“Did you hurt your foot?”

“There were broken mirror shards rolling around.”

“Sh*t, I could not see them with the light off.”

“I just did a mine sweep down there.”

Lee Jujin handed the blanket to Han Hoseong and patted his chest.

“You must have been scared too.”

“……I am not as scared as you having to deal with Zenon’s tantrums.”

His gaze as he looked down at him was pitiful.

Maybe it was because of their difference in age, or maybe it was just Han Hoseong’s pride as the older one kicking in.

He muttered awkwardly.

“No, it is nothing.”

“……Let us just get some sleep.”

“You guys must be tired too.”

“Yeah.”

“Rest well.”

Lee Jujin and Seol Itae slipped into the big room, glancing back at Han Hoseong in the living room with concern.

Han Hoseong stretched his legs out on the sofa as if to prove he was fine.

A moment later, he heard a soft click as the door shut.

“……Phew.”

Only then did he let out a sigh.

But the uneasy, stifled feeling in his chest did not go away.

He pulled the blanket over his head and lay down, but sleep was out of the question.

He tossed and turned, grinding his teeth, and before he knew it, it was almost dawn.

Woo Yeongchan opened the door of his room and came out.

“Oh, you are awake?”

Han Hoseong, who had been lying on the sofa, raised his upper body.

Woo Yeongchan did not want to admit it, but Han Hoseong had an annoyingly handsome face even right after waking up.

Objectively speaking, Han Hoseong was the best-looking person Woo Yeongchan had ever met in his life.

If a face was a sign of a person’s character, Han Hoseong would not even commit a minor offense, let alone a serious crime like kidnapping.

And that was not all.

Apart from his face, Han Hoseong’s whole impression was decent.

His eyes were so clear it almost made you uncomfortable.

Especially because his gaze clearly read, ‘Are you back to your senses now?’

“I am telling you, I am Woo Yeongchan.”

“Ah……”

At Han Hoseong’s sigh, Woo Yeongchan answered with a sneer.

He was just as flabbergasted by this situation.

No, he was the one most despairing.

Despite what Han Hoseong thought, he really was Woo Yeongchan.

Everything he had told the men yesterday was the truth without a single lie.

He had somehow become a completely different person overnight.

He did not know how it happened, but it was a total mess.

“Now that I think about it, I remembered one thing.”

“Who Kim Jeguk is.”

“Did your memory finally come back?”

“There was a kid named Kim Jeguk in my high school.”

Han Hoseong could not hide his disappointment.

Woo Yeongchan continued anyway.

“We were never in the same class.”

“We did not have any mutual friends either.”

“But he was kind of famous, so I had heard his name.”

It was Zenon, who had debuted back when they were in their second year.

Even if HIGH-5 was not a well-known group, an idol was still an idol.

It was enough to become a topic of conversation at school.

“Which high school did you graduate from?”

“Jaebin High.”

“Ah, Jaebin High.”

Han Hoseong nodded.

He was probably thinking, ‘Well, Zenon’s school is Jaebin High, that is true.’

“If you do not believe me, search it.”

“You will find something online about me graduating from Jaebin High.”

Han Hoseong slowly reached for his phone.

Woo Yeongchan did not care whether Hoseong believed him or not and let himself get lost in thought.

There really was no connection between him and Kim Jeguk.

From the entrance ceremony to the graduation ceremony, they never spoke a single word to each other, and they had never even accidentally bumped into each other.

In fact, it was rare to even spot Kim Jeguk at school.

Because he was absent a lot, busy with his entertainment career.

‘So there is no reason he would hold a grudge against me.’

Was this something Kim Jeguk had done?

Or was it just some weird natural phenomenon?

He kept turning over a question with no answer in his head, and it started to ache.

He was irritably running his fingers through his hair when Han Hoseong spoke while looking at his phone.

“Oh, this Woo Yeongchan guy is from Jaebin High too?”

“I told you.”

“You did your research thoroughly.”

“……”

Woo Yeongchan glared at Han Hoseong, then snapped his head away.

He acts as if he has got paranoia; he would not believe a single word I say.

But if he were in the other person’s shoes, he would probably be the same.

This was not something any sane person would believe.

‘I should have just kept the possession a secret.’

It would have been better to pretend he was Kim Jeguk and slowly look for a solution.

He had not done that yesterday because he was too confused, but from now on he had to be careful.

For Woo Yeongchan, who had lived his whole life without paying attention to what others thought, it was an incredibly irritating situation.

When he spat out a curse, Han Hoseong said firmly.

“Stop swearing all the time.”

“If it becomes a habit, it will be a big deal.”

“What big deal?”

“Am I a kindergartner?”

“Even elementary schoolers swear these days.”

“Idols do not.”

Han Hoseong brushed him off and stood up from the sofa.

“Now that you are awake, let us get ready to go out.”

“Where?”

“The company.”

“We need to tell the CEO about your situation.”

“It will just be you and me for now.”

“……”

It was not an appealing suggestion.

It was obvious that even the CEO would not be any help to him.

But since it looked like he would have to live as Kim Jeguk for a while, he needed to set things straight with the people around him.

“Go wash up and change your clothes.”

“Do you know where your clothes are?”

“No.”

“Right……”

With a deep sigh, Han Hoseong went back into the room.

After a moment, he came out with clothes and underwear, holding them out.

“You…… know how to wash, right?”

“Do you think I am an idiot?”

“Then we are fine.”

Han Hoseong said it in a carefree tone.

Woo Yeongchan stared at him and snatched the clothes.

Telling someone, “I went to sleep and woke up in someone else’s body, and I happen to be a fourth-generation chaebol” was an extremely awkward thing.

Woo Yeongchan was doing it for the second time in his life, something he never wanted to do again.

And he was doing it with a clear head.

“So this kid…… ugh.”

Jang Sihyun, the CEO of Sosori Entertainment, was rubbing his brow, then stopped and looked at Han Hoseong.

He was earnestly hoping that Hoseong would say “It is a joke.”

But Han Hoseong just nodded.

“It is exactly as you heard.”

“……No.”

“If he was possessed by a demon, we could at least use that as a concept.”

“The whole country knows we were poor.”

“Now he is insisting he is a gold spoon?”

“Of all things, Kangmun?”

“Unbelievable.”

CEO Jang had founded Sosori Entertainment seven years ago.

At the time, he had started the company with big dreams, but reality was even harsher than he had expected.

The first group he had debuted with high hopes went under without a trace, and HIGH-5 kept sinking like a submarine just as it was about to surface.

In the meantime, Sosori Entertainment’s coffers, which had been shallow from the beginning, became even more depleted.

Naturally, CEO Jang’s personal wallet had also grown thinner.

But those days were behind them now.

These days, money was pouring in so much it overflowed.

But if the very person who was supposed to row the boat was in that condition, there was no way things would work out.

CEO Jang suddenly remembered his real estate mortgage balance and made a pitiful face.

“Why of all things Kangmun?”

“We could use a CF deal from Kangmun right now, but instead we are about to get sued by them!”

“Calm down, CEO.”

“A nobody idol blurting out nonsense is not enough for them to bother filing a lawsuit.”

CEO Jang frowned.

His expression seemed to say, “What the hell is that nonsense?”

Woo Yeongchan ignored it and leaned back deeply into his chair.

“I am not going to say any of this anywhere else now.”

“I do not want to be seen as a madman.”

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