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Join the ServerHe learned b-boying as a hobby and enjoyed his school days more than anyone, then entered university.
To write broader lyrics, he applied to the creative writing department, and around that time he completely changed his style.
The rough rap that ran like a runaway train changed into honest, plain lyrics that used diverse expressions.
When he released music with his changed, more mainstream style, it was a success.
It even entered the rankings of a famous music upload app once.
It hung precariously at the bottom and disappeared quickly, but for an unknown rapper who had never appeared on any broadcast, it was a remarkable achievement.
He thought of it as a turning point and, without really looking into it, applied half-heartedly to an audition program someone around him recommended.
That completely flipped Ye-jun’s life upside down.
“Uh… I don’t get the impact. This isn’t a place where you rap with your face, is it?”
Unfortunately, the program he went on didn’t match his style.
That was the root of the trouble.
And the judge was a rapper famous for speaking bluntly even normally.
Because the judge cursed him out while criticizing him, twenty-two-year-old Ye-jun, who had a nasty temper at the time, got into a huge fight with the judge.
He didn’t care about the result; he thought he had to say what he had to say.
Skill was skill, and why bring up someone else’s handsome face?
[He’s handsome, true lol but I don’t really know rap, is that hip-hop? lol]
[The character is so fresh, Daz’s temper is insane lol]
[Daz did talk sh*t first ㅇㅇ seems like he was jealous]
[If he’s going to do that, he should go on another program tsk tsk]
[With that face he’d be perfect as an idol lol. Why is he in hip-hop?]
[fr just idol rap level lolol]
Ye-jun’s sharp retorts, not backing down, aired safely without edits.
His name even rose in real-time search rankings, and Ye-jun became famous unintentionally.
He was called a lunatic who fought with a judge.
Ye-jun paid attention to a comment with lots of likes on an article about him.
The comment was full of sarcasm, saying that since he was in rap anyway, with that face he’d be a good fit as an idol.
Seeing it, Ye-jun decided to go on an idol survival program.
If they tell you to go, you go.
“Good posture. Try bowing your head once!”
And the result was where he was now.
Ye-jun hid his discomfort well and did the shoot.
They were pictorials he had already shot twice, and he’d been doing shoots for ten years, so it was all too familiar.
That was why he could be more natural than anyone.
His expressions, his poses.
Ye-jun knew himself well.
That his family was good, his proportions were good, that he was handsome.
This was also why he had never once thought about going back to the past.
He had more than enough money, one of the essential conditions for a modern person to live happily, and his looks weren’t lacking for living in present-day Korea.
With everything perfect, there was no reason to turn back time.
‘But why do they keep giving useless chances only to me?’
Ye-jun cursed inwardly and stood up.
“Thank you for your work.”
The pictorial shoot, which had somehow carried a heavy mood, ended.
Beside the manager wiping Ha-hyeon’s sweat, Ye-jun quickly scanned the staff from earlier.
They were still whispering.
He wondered what was in the heads of people who thought wiping a sick person’s sweat was treating them like a superior.
“Hyung, can we go practice?”
“Ha-hyeon, just go back to the dorm and rest. You need to recover by concert day.”
The manager stepped in and wrapped things up.
Since recovering his condition was most important, they decided to send him to the dorm first, and the rest of the members would gather in the practice room and keep practicing.
After changing into comfortable workout clothes, Ye-jun arrived at the practice room, stretched long once, and dug through his pockets.
“Hey. Take the hyungs and practice quietly.”
“Hyung, where are you going?”
“I’m just going out for a bit.”
Jun lightly grabbed the hem of Ye-jun’s clothes as he headed out with his phone.
“Hyung, ice cream when you come back.”
His slightly upturned eyes sparkled.
Twenty-three-year-old Jun didn’t beg for things.
Seeing his bright face after so long, Ye-jun let out a small laugh and asked what flavor he wanted.
“What do you want?”
“I want something expensive.”
He said he wanted something expensive, but in the end he picked a 1,000-won ice cream, a bit pricier than the hard kind they usually ate.
Ye-jun left the practice room and checked his bank balance in the empty hallway.
Since he didn’t have much to spend money on, the amounts with countless zeros had piled up neatly, even aside from the settlement he’d received not long ago.
As Seo Ye-jun, not a first-year idol, but the only son of a major corporation who had grown up receiving love alone in a comfortable family since childhood, he had nothing to feel intimidated about.
‘A person who yells so loud that everyone in the broadcasting station can hear shouldn’t be working as staff.’
In case something big happened later.
If you leave a loose-lipped person at a broadcasting station, there was a high chance they’d become a seed of discord.
Ye-jun made a vague rationalization with a pleased expression and called someone.
Not long after Ye-jun finished the call, the two staff members were fired.
They received the sudden notice without even knowing why.
Since it was contract work, they had to pack their things and leave the station before they could even raise their voices in bewilderment.
Ye-jun thought they brought it on themselves.
Daytime words are heard by birds, and nighttime words by mice.
Of course, Ye-jun could hear both daytime and nighttime words alone.
– So when are you coming home?
It was a call to ask if things had been resolved, but it had somehow turned into a greeting.
Thinking of the secretary who was probably standing beside his father during this call, Ye-jun spoke flatly.
“If I stay here even after the 5th anniversary concert.”
– The 5th anniversary?
The man who had watched Ye-jun since he was very young wasn’t even baffled anymore.
Ah, what is he saying now?
He couldn’t understand it at all, but the man reported honestly.
“He says he’ll come after the 5th anniversary concert.”
The chairman found the family register.
As expected, I need to cut this guy out.
Tomorrow was the rehearsal right before the concert.
He had to wake up at dawn, run on stage, and match the formations.
It wasn’t even 10 yet, but considering rehearsals went all day, even now was late.
“Not sleeping?”
After washing clean, he lay on the bed staring out the balcony window, and someone next to him asked.
When he turned his head, Ji-gu was there.
He was the second youngest after the maknae, but Ji-gu held the important position of main vocalist in REVE.
He had to handle twice as many parts as others at center, and his complexion looked very tired.
“I’m about to sleep. Aren’t you sleeping? You look drained.”
“Hyung’s fever won’t go down. I’m trying to give him medicine.”
The medicine prescribed by the hospital wasn’t pills but powder.
Ji-gu poured the liquid medicine and powder into a plastic cup and shook it lightly in the air.
Looking at the cloudy medicine, Ye-jun slightly frowned.
“That looks bitter.”
“Yeah, it’s super bitter.”
“…Have you tried it? It’s Ha-hyeon’s medicine, why you?”
“……”
Ji-gu stood there looking taken aback for a moment, then went into the room without a word.
Guess he’s feeding it mouth-to-mouth.
Thank goodness the house was well soundproofed; otherwise Ye-jun, who slept in the living room, would’ve nearly suffered all night.
“Hyung. Do you know how to do this?”
“Why aren’t you sleeping either?”
As soon as Ji-gu went in, as if passing a baton, Jun popped out from the room over there.
Ye-jun finally shot up from lying down.
His already sharp face was frowning, which looked quite threatening, but Jun paid no mind and came over smiling with his phone.
“Help me quit this.”
“You can’t even do this?”
“You probably couldn’t at my age either.”
“Am I an idiot? There’s a button right there, would I not find it?”
Seeing where Ye-jun pointed, Jun finally shouted in surprise.
“Oh, it was there.”
As if his business was done, Jun turned around holding his phone with both hands.
“Go to sleep fast, fast. Even if you sleep straight from now, it’s not enough.”
“I’m fine even if I sleep late.”
“Don’t whine about being tired during rehearsal.”
“I won’t.”
After briefly bragging about his stamina that had grown over a year of activities, Jun went straight into his room.
Watching his back as he grew taller, Ye-jun reached out a palm and roughly measured his height.
Jun was a maknae who was hard to read.
His singing and dancing were lacking, but with just his lively energy, he had the ability to brighten the mood on set.
He seemed so bright it looked like a screw was loose, but sometimes he looked like a completely different person.
Just like what Ye-jun had witnessed now.
“Yeah, Mom. How’s your body? Are you recovering well?”
His voice was low.
Ye-jun, who had woken from sleep, carefully pulled down the blanket he’d pulled over his head and slightly opened his eyes in a drowsy haze.
Through his narrow vision, he saw a body curled up on the sofa.
Compared to the voice that was always bouncing around, it was hard to believe it was the same person.
“No, I told you not to say that…. Yeah, let’s go. When you’re discharged, let’s go. I got my settlement, didn’t I? Come on, that part-time pay was ages ago.”
The dry voice popped out into the air.
It seemed to tremble slightly, but overall the tone was dry.
The way of speaking was playful, but there wasn’t a trace of playfulness in his voice.
The adventure continues! If you loved this chapter, There Is a Monster in The Imperial Palace is a must-read. Click here to start!
Read : There Is a Monster in The Imperial Palace
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