Episode 45: Hyun-jong’s a Scary Guy
I should’ve warned Woo-ya that GraceOne is an unspoken taboo.
But seeing Seung-ah and Ah-hyun belting out their song, maybe I’m overthinking it.
Even if my GraceOne fandom got out, the Free Sense girls probably wouldn’t care.
Still, no need to fully out myself as a stan.
Part of why I’ve kept it under wraps is to avoid making the Free Sense girls feel overshadowed, but also because my motives for joining the company could look shady.
These days, what guy doesn’t like GraceOne? I’ll just pass it off as being a casual muggle fan.
And since we’re under the same company, denying it too hard would look weird.
★ Cheerful Idol Fan Dictionary ★
Muggle: A term for the general public who aren’t fans or stans of a specific idol.
Facing Jin-ah, who was peering up at me like a ghost from under a blanket, I explained why Woo-ya said that.
“No, it’s just that we had a video call with GraceOne at the company. Team Leader Lee Sook-young introduced us to thank me for stopping that acid attack.”
Jin-ah pressed, “Then why does Woo-ya think you like Min-young unnie? Was there something suspicious?”
Why’s she digging so hard?
Woo-ya, hyped like she’s gossiping about a friend’s love life, chimed in. “Oppa’s face totally changed when he talked to Min-young. Hearts shooting out of his eyes!”
Ugh, have some tact…
Jin-ah shifted her gaze from Woo-ya to me, probing further. “Is that true? Did you grin like a horse, showing your gums and neighing?”
“No way, it wasn’t like that.”
“Oppa was all flustered, stuttering, face red!” Woo-ya added.
“Hey, what, am I supposed to cry in front of someone thanking me? I was the same with all the members, not just Min-young.”
Jin-ah straightened her tilted head, nodding with conviction as if she’d heard enough.
“You do like Min-young unnie. And you were a fan from the start.”
Why? How?
Did I let something slip?
Caught off guard, I missed my chance to argue.
Jin-ah snorted lazily. “Hyun-jong, you’re a terrible liar.”
“Why are you ganging up on me?” I laughed, trying to brush it off.
She explained her certainty. “You never call people by their names casually. Strangers always get a ‘-ssi.’ You called us ‘sunbae’ at first. Even with celebrities, you say ‘so-and-so-ssi’ or ‘-nim.’ But you just said ‘Min-young.’ Someone you’re not close with. That’s proof you’ve been a fan.”
What the—?
I thought she was just fishing, but she’s got a whole logic-based deduction.
“Come on, that’s a stretch. You’re basing it on that?”
“It’s not just that. Woo-ya also thinks you like Min-young unnie. If two people see it, you didn’t hide it well.”
“Alright, I like them. Who doesn’t like GraceOne these days? I was into ‘Sonyeosonyeo’ in the army.”
“No, no. It’s not just casual celebrity liking. There’s something more. That’s my conclusion. You’re not the only one with good instincts—women’s intuition is the truth.”
As Jin-ah’s sharp, relentless sleuthing continued, Seung-ah and Ah-hyun finished their song.
After the karaoke machine’s “you’ve had quite a party” score comment, the sudden quiet hit. Ah-hyun looked at us.
“What’s going on?”
“Hyun-jong’s a spy,” Jin-ah said.
“Huh? Why?”
“No, what spy?”
“He’s managing Free Sense while secretly stanning GraceOne. Sneaky.”
“Oh, come on…”
Seung-ah, fresh from dancing and grabbing a water bottle, asked, “For real? Oppa, you’re a GraceOne fan?”
“Just liked them a bit in the army.”
“Pfft, it’s soju!”
“Idiot, it’s water!”
“Ugh, thank you…”
I tried to pivot using Seung-ah’s soju mix-up, but Ah-hyun didn’t bite.
“Who’s your GraceOne bias?”
“Min-young unnie,” Jin-ah answered.
“Really? Min-young’s your friend, right? Hook me up with a video call.”
Wait—Jin-ah’s close with Min-young?
Mentioning a video call suggests they’re pretty tight.
I looked at Jin-ah, surprised.
Ah-hyun, equally shocked, continued, “Oppa, you didn’t know? Min-young’s the one who got Jin-ah into our company.”
“What? Seriously? So the ‘neighborhood unnie’ you’re close with was Min-young… ssi?”
“Yeah. Min-young unnie even mentioned you.”
“What? What’d she say?”
“Because you stopped the acid thing, she asked if you were our manager oppa.”
“Oh… got it.”
“I hyped you up big time. Said thanks to you, we could release another album.”
So that’s why.
During the GraceOne video call, I thought it was odd Min-young was so friendly compared to the others.
She already knew about me…
Min-young knew about me!
My facial muscles were itching to go wild.
I bit down on my twitching lips, forcing a neutral expression.
Grabbing the water bottle, I took a sip…
“Ugh, it’s soju! Blech!”
“Pfft, haha! Idiot!”
As I chugged the plain water, my eyes met Ah-hyun’s, who was squinting at me suspiciously.
It was the look of someone who’d caught a whiff of something fishy.
When I averted my gaze, she let out a dramatic gasp.
“Whoa… chills.”
“Huh? What? What?” Seung-ah asked, startled.
The other girls, thinking something big was up, turned to Ah-hyun.
With the tone of a girlfriend cornering her boyfriend after he went radio silent, she grilled me.
“Oppa, you do like GraceOne, right?”
I mumbled, “Uh… I mean, what guy doesn’t?”
“Did you join our company because of GraceOne?”
“No.”
I answered at lightning speed, but that made it even weirder.
At this point, any response would’ve sounded off.
The moment GraceOne became the topic, I was already a fish in a net.
A detective’s grim smile spread across Ah-hyun’s face, like she’d nabbed key evidence.
“You stopped that acid attack at GraceOne’s fan sign because of a dream, right? If you’re dreaming about them, doesn’t that mean you were already a fan? And even if I had a vivid dream, I wouldn’t have thought to go there…”
She’s not wrong, logically speaking.
The other members nodded, agreeing with her.
I hadn’t done anything bad, but I felt like a family traitor.
The vibe wasn’t heavy or hostile, though—the girls were just enjoying my panic.
“Hyun-jong’s a scary guy. He joined the company to see Min-young unnie,” Jin-ah declared, delivering the final verdict.
Ah-hyun, reveling in the teasing, added with a playful jab, “Aww, you must’ve been so disappointed when you heard you’d be with us instead of GraceOne. Right? If you’d been their manager, you’d be a successful stan… Sorry we got in the way, oppa.”
“Hey, it’s not like that. Why are you guys doing this?”
“You weren’t even in the industry before, right? That means you joined for GraceOne. Case closed.”
Ugh, why is this such a big deal?
At this point, I wondered if it’d be easier to just come clean as a stan than endure this childish roasting.
Seon-yu, who’d been coolly observing, tossed in a prim comment. “GraceOne really is huge. Even among my class’s boys, hardly anyone disliked them. They must look really pretty to guys. Or maybe it’s because they have so many members.”
Woo-ya, citing her sister Yoo-kyung, added, “Girls love them too. My sister was obsessed during their audition show, watching live, voting, going wild.”
“Really? I didn’t think GraceOne was that pretty…” Seon-yu said. “Who’s the member oppa likes?”
“Min-young, apparently,” Woo-ya answered.
“Min-young… Oh, her…”
Seon-yu, scrolling through Min-young’s photos on her phone, looked unimpressed, as if the hype didn’t match the reality.
Muttering dismissively while lazily swiping, “Hmm, so this is oppa’s type…”
“Yeah, oppa likes cute girls,” Woo-ya teased.
“She’s cute, but not my style. Our unnies are prettier.”
Come on, even if it’s team loyalty, dissing GraceOne’s visuals?
I thought my loyalty had shifted to Free Sense, but Seon-yu’s snark sparked a childish rebellion in me.
If it were anyone else, I’d have clapped back, but it’s Seon-yu, so I held my tongue.
Swallowing my petty frustration, I noticed Seung-ah staring at me with a wistful, misty-eyed smile.
Slurring from the barbecue’s soju-beer and now karaoke’s “fake soju,” she spoke.
“If oppa’s really a GraceOne fan and joined the company to be their manager… I think that’s kinda amazing.”
“What are you on about now?”
“No, really. CEO Kim offered to move you to Team 1, but you turned it down. That’s… so touching…”
Yes, exactly, that’s the point.
Finally, someone nailed it.
Face-reading is science.
Seung-ah, recognizing my passion for Free Sense, had that wise-old-dog vibe, like she was strolling in sync with her owner.
“Thank you so much for being our manager,” she said.
“Aw, come on… Stop it.”
“No, I’m not drunk. All our members really like you, oppa.”
“Yeah, I like you guys too. That’s why I turned down GraceOne to stay with you.”
“I’m not drunk, okay? This isn’t the alcohol talking.”
She’s drunk.
Went from zero to smashed in minutes.
The fake-soju mix-up must’ve been the final blow.
“But ever since you joined, it’s been, like, too good to be true. So many happy things keep happening.”
“What did I do? It’s all because you guys are awesome.”
“I’m not drunk!”
“Yeah, you’re totally sober,” I humored her.
“Do I look drunk to you?”
“Nope, not at all.”
“Ah-hyun, am I drunk at all? Am I?”
“No, you’re 100% drunk. Time to stop.”
“For real? Maknae… oh, wait, Jin-ah’s not the maknae anymore. Jin-ah, do I look drunk?”
“Yes.”
“Seon-yu, our real maknae, am I drunk?”
“Uh… maybe a little…”
“Really? Guess I’m drunk then… Hehe, guys, your unnie’s drunk…”
Seung-ah only admitted it after polling everyone except Woo-ya.
Clinging to Woo-ya’s waist, she cooed, “Woo-ya, let’s do great things together, okay?”
“Yes, unnie. I’ll do my best. I’m good at cleaning and cooking. I’ll make you lots of tasty food.”
“No, no, don’t do anything! Unnie will handle everything—just practice hard!”
Drunk Seung-ah’s cuteness and confidence were cranked to 200%.
“Guys, you know I really love you, right? I might be a flaky leader, but I’ll work super hard. Jin-ah!”
“Yes?”
“Want unnie to do a handstand? I’m great at handstands.”
Out of nowhere…?
“She’s such a drunk mess,” Ah-hyun groaned.
Jin-ah, unfazed, asked, “Did you wear a pretty bra today?”
“Huh? Wait… what did I wear today…”
Seung-ah tugged at her crop top to check her bra, then chirped, “Oh, it’s fine, it’s fine! Doesn’t matter today!”
“Then do the handstand,” Jin-ah egged her on.
“Okay!”
“Jin-ah, why are you encouraging her? Unnie, don’t. It’s dangerous when you’re drunk,” Ah-hyun scolded.
“Ah-hyun, am I drunk?”
“I told you, 100% drunk!”
“Are you annoyed I keep repeating myself?”
“Ugh, I’m not annoyed!”
“Even if others hate me, you can’t. We’ve been through so much to get here, right? We promised to be good to our younger members, didn’t we?”
“I’m not annoyed! Let’s sing already. We’re at karaoke, not a chatroom.”
“Then give me a kiss.”
Seung-ah puckered up as a pledge, and Ah-hyun, eager to move on, gave her a quick peck to humor her.
I whispered to Jin-ah, “Is Seung-ah always like this when drunk?”
“Yeah. This is her happy-drunk mode. If she drinks more, she’ll cling to me and Ah-hyun and cry.”
“Oh…”
“There were a few close calls, but we dodged them.”
“We’d better sing quick.”
“Oppa! Our lovable manager oppa!”
“Uh, yeah?”
“Sing for us!”
“I’m terrible at singing…”
“Then I’ll sing, and you dance!”
“I’ll stick to singing.”
Meanwhile, Ah-hyun picked a song and hit start.
Feeling sentimental, she chose a ballad.
As the soft intro played, Seung-ah stepped forward, beckoning me.
“Oppa! Come here!”
“Why…?”
“Hurry up!”
“Hyun-jong, just go along with her. If you don’t, she’ll cry,” Jin-ah warned.
“Ugh, fine…”
At the front, I grabbed a tambourine and awkwardly shook it to the ballad’s beat.
Seung-ah suddenly hugged my side.
“Hey, whoa…”
“Blues time, blues time!”
“What, we’re not aunties and uncles at a dance hall…”
Her soft, warm touch hit me.
I froze, hands raised in surrender, debating whether to shake her off.
Jin-ah, watching, shook her head.
“Just go with it.”