Chapter 9: That Idol, and Me

“You… what happened to your schoolbag?”

It was a refreshing morning. Kang In’s mother looked worried as she watched him finish breakfast and prepare to leave for school.

“Ah, Mom, well…”

Kang In quickly thought of an excuse.

“I was studying at the library yesterday and accidentally left it there. They have a storage area and everything. I’m planning to stop by the library every day from now on. I want to study a little harder too.”

“You actually left your schoolbag there?”

“Yeah. My workbooks keep piling up, and all the kids these days do that.”

“Really…?”

Kang In’s mother continued looking suspicious.

“Uh, Mom. I’m going to be late. I’m heading to school.”

“…Okay. Have a good day.”

Clunk.

“Phew.”

He had barely managed to get away with it.

Leaving his bag behind wasn’t really that strange these days.

Even so, going to school without a bag made his back feel strangely empty.

Kang In slightly lowered his shirt at the entrance and checked the mark engraved on the upper right side of his chest.

13.

He could now regress 13 times.

That was more than enough.

The fact that he could save his uses and accumulate them like this wasn’t bad at all.

Before he knew it, he had arrived at the school gate.

Unlike usual, the atmosphere was unusually noisy.

It felt as though a stream that normally flowed naturally had suddenly become blocked at one particular point.

Especially the female students.

They were covering their mouths and making a fuss while staring at someone.

Kang In naturally pushed his way through the crowd.

Standing in front of the school gate was a handsome male student who was over 190 centimeters tall, with his hair dyed blue.

Kang In immediately realized that this had to be the Kang Taehun Yoo Suyeong had mentioned yesterday.

Meanwhile, Taehun seemed to be enjoying all the attention, standing there with a relaxed expression.

“Hm?”

Before long, Kang Taehun noticed Kang In among the students and made eye contact with him.

“Oh, you.”

Kang Taehun raised a hand toward Kang In.

The students instantly turned to look at Kang In.

“……”

Kang In’s eyes darted around.

With everyone’s attention suddenly focused on him, he felt as though his whole body might explode from embarrassment.

“You’re Kang In?”

The situation was so embarrassing that Kang In quickly walked toward Kang Taehun, but then smoothly passed him and spoke.

“You’re… Kang Taehun? How did you know it was me?”

Kang Taehun quickly followed after him.

“From what Suyeong told me, you looked exactly like the person she described.”

“By the way, what about school?”

“Me? School… well.”

Kang In noticed Taehun casually looking off toward the distant mountains.

It seemed like he had dropped out of high school.

“I already work at a company.”

“A company?”

“Yeah. I’m at some kind of entertainment agency.”

“Oh, so that’s what it was.”

So this guy was probably quite talented himself.

“Anyway, hey.”

A large hand suddenly appeared in front of Kang In.

“I heard you protected Suyeong yesterday. Thanks. You’ve got some guts to stand up to those guys.”

“Huh? Oh, yeah. Well, thanks to you too for coming all the way here.”

Kang In awkwardly shook Kang Taehun’s hand.

A heavy and powerful grip pressed against his hand.

“I heard Kim Hyunsu and Oh Mincheol have been bullying you.”

“No, it’s still okay for now. But are you really allowed to be here?”

“Yeah. I called the company and told them I’d be taking the day off.”

“But… you’re planning to come to my classroom too?”

“I just want to say hello to those guys.”

From the way Taehun spoke, it sounded as though he had known Kim Hyunsu and Oh Mincheol for quite some time.

Kang Taehun walked casually behind Kang In.

As they walked down the hallway, all kinds of eyes followed the two of them.

Rattle.

The classroom door opened, and Kang In quickly took his seat.

The classroom had suddenly become quiet.

The students looked back and forth between Kang In and Kang Taehun as though they were witnessing a completely unexpected combination.

As usual, Kang In could feel an unpleasant stare from behind him.

Kim Hyunsu and Oh Mincheol were obviously glaring at him as if they wanted to kill him.

Kang In deliberately ignored them.

There was no reason to confront them first.

If they picked a fight, he could deal with it then.

“……”

Kang Taehun looked down at Kang In for a moment before raising his head.

“Hey, Hyunsu! Mincheol!”

He raised one hand toward them in greeting.

“Taehun?”

The two looked genuinely surprised.

Kang Taehun casually nodded.

“Come outside. I want to talk to you.”

“Class is about to start. Can’t we talk here?”

Kim Hyunsu seemed wary of him.

“Seriously? Since when did you care so much about following class rules? Come on. Hurry up.”

Kang Taehun, Kim Hyunsu, and Oh Mincheol left the classroom together.

The classmate who had been quietly watching everything whispered to Kang In.

“Are you okay?”

“What’s wrong?”

“Hyunsu and Mincheol looked fucking pissed at you.”

“I don’t know. Something happened.”

“What happened?”

Kang In hesitated over whether he should tell him before finally speaking.

“I was with those guys last night.”

“Huh? Why?”

Kang In felt slightly annoyed.

His classmate might genuinely have been curious, but there was also a strong implication of Why would those guys hang out with you?

“Something happened. It’s hard to explain.”

“Huh…”

His classmate looked completely unable to believe it.

“Hey, and how do you know Kang Taehun?”

“Huh? How do you know Kang Taehun?”

“Look at this guy.”

His classmate stared at Kang In in disbelief.

“That guy is the main vocalist of O-NI, one of the hottest rookie boy groups these days!”

“Oh… really?”

“You seriously didn’t know?”

“Uh… well…”

Kang In had never been particularly interested in idols, so he had never imagined that Taehun was an idol.

Ah, so that’s why he said he worked at an entertainment agency.

Only then did Kang In understand why everyone had been reacting so strongly to him.

Before long, several female students nervously approached Kang In.

“Hi, Kang In. Are you friends with that idol?”

One of the prettier girls awkwardly spoke to him.

She was someone who normally never paid any attention to him, so it felt strangely unfamiliar to have her approach him like this.

“Not exactly. I only met him recently.”

“How?”

“I was introduced to him through someone I know.”

“Wow! You were introduced to him?”

The girls looked at one another and began whispering among themselves.

They seemed to be seriously misunderstanding the situation.

Kang In suddenly decided to take advantage of it a little.

“I helped someone I know yesterday, and apparently they’re friends. He came to repay me by helping me out. He said he was grateful.”

“Wow, really?”

“Is the person you know also an idol?”

Kang In briefly thought of Yoo Suyeong.

Come to think of it, she was pretty enough to be an idol too.

Could Yoo Suyeong also be an idol trainee or something?

“Yeah… maybe? I don’t know the details. She’s not the type of person who talks much about herself.”

“Wow.”

It wasn’t based on any real evidence, but it sounded surprisingly convincing.

Kang In had no interest in idols, so he had no idea that Kang Taehun was actually a fairly famous and popular idol these days.

Since that idol had actually come to find Kang In and was now standing in the same place as him, the story didn’t seem completely unbelievable.

Suddenly, conversations began breaking out all around him.

Before he knew it, Kang In was naturally chatting with the female students.

It felt like a refreshing breeze.

Normally, a situation like this would almost never happen to him.

Ding-dong-dang-dong.

The class bell rang, and the girls said goodbye to Kang In before returning to their seats.

For once, class didn’t feel particularly boring.

Behind the school.

Oh Mincheol swaggered toward Kang Taehun.

“Hey, Kang Taehun. Why the hell are you hanging around with Kang In?”

“Did you mess with Suyeong?”

Tap. Tap. Bam!

Oh Mincheol suddenly lost his balance, and his view spun around 360 degrees.

“…Kgh!”

The huge Oh Mincheol had been thrown to the ground and was now lying flat on his back.

“You guys aren’t even worth using my fists on.”

“Ghk!”

Kang Taehun twisted one of Oh Mincheol’s arms and pressed his foot against his face while looking at Kim Hyunsu.

Meanwhile, Kim Hyunsu stood several steps away with an expressionless face.

“I believe I told you that if you messed with Yoo Suyeong one more time, I’d kill you.”

“Bullshit~ Is this really how an idol is supposed to act?”

Kim Hyunsu didn’t seem intimidated by Taehun’s threatening attitude.

Invisible sparks seemed to fly between Kang Taehun and Kim Hyunsu.

“And don’t touch Kang In either.”

“What? Why that bastard?”

“I said don’t touch him.”

“That bastard screwed us over first!”

Oh Mincheol shouted.

“If you’d behaved yourself, that wouldn’t have happened. I already know everything, so shut your mouth and stay out of this.”

Kang Taehun growled at Oh Mincheol with a frightening expression.

“Hah! Your father is a famous gangster, and you’re an idol who used to be a school delinquent. You really aren’t in a position to say that either, are you?”

Kim Hyunsu put a cigarette between his lips as he looked at Kang Taehun.

Hiss.

“If we open our mouths, your idol career will be over. Are you okay with that? We’ve known each other for a long time, so we’ve stayed quiet all this time, and this bastard doesn’t even appreciate that.”

Smoke poured from Kim Hyunsu’s mouth.

“Then both you and I are finished. Let’s all go down together.”

“……”

When Kang Taehun radiated killing intent, Kim Hyunsu’s eyes narrowed.

There was absolutely no joke in what Taehun had just said.

If he spoke a single word, that entire organization would surely move.

“…Haah, fuck. Can’t even make a joke with you.”

“I’ll say it again. If you touch Yoo Suyeong or Kang In one more time, you’d better be prepared to survive on your own.”

With that, Kang Taehun lifted his foot from Oh Mincheol’s face.

Then he turned around and walked away.

“Ah, fuck!”

Oh Mincheol immediately jumped to his feet and brushed the dirt off his face.

“Hey! Kim Hyunsu, are you seriously going to let this go?”

“……”

Kim Hyunsu silently smoked his cigarette while glaring at Kang Taehun’s back.

“…Hey, Oh Mincheol. We should gather the guys.”

“The guys?”

“Yeah. Let’s have some fun like we used to. Fuck.”

“What about Kang In?”

Kim Hyunsu thought for a moment before answering.

“We’ll deal with that bastard somehow too.”

A little later, during break time.

“Kang In, give me your number.”

With countless students watching, Kang Taehun handed his phone to Kang In.

“Sure.”

Without thinking much about it, Kang In entered his number into Taehun’s phone.

The female students standing behind Taehun covered their mouths and made a huge fuss.

Kang In soon handed the phone back to him.

Kang Taehun looked at Kang In for a moment.

Whenever anyone stood in front of him, regardless of age or gender, they were always busy trying to please him.

But Kang In treated him casually, almost as if he were just an ordinary neighborhood friend.

It felt refreshing.

Kang Taehun smiled.

Idol or not, Kang In simply didn’t care.

There was a subtle aura that came from someone who was confident in himself and strong on the inside.

Soft on the outside, strong on the inside.

Taehun could clearly sense that Kang In was a friend who possessed strength beneath his gentle exterior.

Kang Taehun liked Kang In quite a lot.

“Hm? Why?”

Kang In tilted his head, and Taehun took his phone back.

“Yeah. Let’s hang out with Suyeong sometime. Oh, and here’s my business card.”

It was an elegant-looking black business card.

Silver lettering displayed Kang Taehun’s name along with the initials of the entertainment agency O.R.G.

“If you ever have trouble again, call me.”

“Huh? Oh, thanks. But you’re busy too. I should handle my own problems.”

Kang Taehun smiled broadly at those words.

He seemed to like Kang In even more.

“Alright, I’ll see you.”

Kang Taehun soon left the classroom, and female students immediately began gathering around Kang In.

“Wow! That’s insane. Seriously!”

One of the girls repeatedly slapped Kang In’s shoulder.

The classroom instantly became noisy.

The name Kang In could be heard everywhere.

Meanwhile, Kang In struggled to remain calm under the sudden attention from all the students.

Rattle.

Bang.

Suddenly, an irritated movement came from the back of the classroom.

The noisy surroundings instantly became quiet.

Kang In slightly turned his head.

Kim Hyunsu and Oh Mincheol were visible among the students.

Soon, Kang In met the eyes of the two men glaring directly at him.

Kang In didn’t look away.

He continued staring at Kim Hyunsu and Oh Mincheol.

Meanwhile, Oh Mincheol couldn’t hold back his anger and started moving toward Kang In again.

The students immediately split apart on both sides, almost like the parting of the Red Sea.

Thud.

Kim Hyunsu grabbed Oh Mincheol by the shoulder from behind.

He stopped him and quietly returned to his seat.

“……”

The atmosphere became strange.

To anyone watching, it might have looked as though Kim Hyunsu and Oh Mincheol were now unable to touch Kang In.

It was extremely unusual for those two to swallow their pride and act like this in front of so many students.

The students looked at one another in confusion and began whispering.

Kang In was also extremely puzzled.

There’s no way those two would just sit there like this.

He had no idea what they were planning.

He almost wished they would just attack him openly.

Bzzzt.

His phone vibrated.

For a moment, Kang In thought Kang Taehun might have contacted him first, so he looked down at his phone.

“…Huh?”

But the screen showed a completely unexpected KakaoTalk message.