Chapter 173. Penalty (4)
– …Did I just close the door?
– …Yeah.
“Ahahahaha!!!”
– Siri! Siri, can you hear me? Call Seo Taehyun. Siri! You better be worth your price, damn it!
– How about… just breaking the door down?
– …Doesn’t that screen open?
– Hajin. We’re on the 6th floor.
“Ahah! Ahahaha! Ah! This is too funny! Ahahaha!”
We were in the living room of Joo Eunchan’s house.
The Seo-Joo-Dan trio was rolling on the floor, laughing at the escape room disaster that was captured on the handycam of me and Lee Doha.
“Stop laughing…”
“My stomach hurts. I’ve laughed so much, I think my cheekbones are going to burst.”
“Hyung, can we watch it one more time?”
“Should we connect it to the TV? I think I have the cable to hook it up at home.”
“They’re not even pretending to listen anymore.”
No matter how much I grumbled in frustration, the Seo-Joo-Dan trio, having found the perfect opportunity, were busy mocking me and Lee Doha with the recorded video. As Joo Eunchan actually started to grab the cable to connect the handycam to the TV, I pinned him down with a headlock and said.
“Stop making fun of us, you brats. Can’t you see that Lee Doha is feeling down?”
“…Am I?”
When I pointed my chin toward Lee Doha, who was slumped at the end of the sofa, he responded in a puzzled voice. This guy had the nerve to record his own embarrassing moment and was still completely unbothered!
‘I should have deleted that recording earlier…’
But it was too precious, a golden content opportunity for iTube.
‘Damn this occupational habit!’
Frustrated by my inability to delete the recording and the defeat of having it discovered by the Seo-Joo-Dan trio, I pulled Joo Eunchan’s cheeks, who was still within my grasp.
As Joo Eunchan yelped in pain, Dan Haru, who was sitting on the sofa, grabbed his own cheeks and hid behind Seo Taehyun, as if suffering from PTSD.
Not unlike Pavlov’s dog, Dan Haru seemed to feel Eunchan’s pain as if it were his own.
“Oh.”
“…?”
“Siwoo hyung sent this.”
“Siwoo hyung?”
Seo Taehyun, who had been busy laughing while his two younger brothers were in pain, reacted quickly to Lee Doha’s words. Without a word, Lee Doha tapped on his phone a few times and showed us a gift coupon for ice cream. It was a coupon for two pints, where you could choose three different flavors.
“He said he was sorry he couldn’t come, so he sent it for us to eat after dinner.”
“Huh. But two pints?”
If he was going to do that, wouldn’t it be easier to just send a larger size?
As we looked at him curiously, Lee Doha kindly explained.
“One is specifically for Le Vosha and mint choco.”
At that, everyone but Lee Doha turned to look at me.
“What. Why. You guys are just unfortunate for not understanding the beauty of Le Vosha and mint choco.”
“I can somewhat tolerate the mint choco, but adding Le Vosha to the mix is really crossing the line.”
“Um. I actually like Le Vosha! The sherbet flavor.”
“Yeah, but Haru, you like all 31 flavors, don’t you?”
“Well… that’s true.”
“I don’t care what anyone eats, but can you let me go now, Hajin hyung?”
“No. I’ve got the perfect grip now. It’ll feel empty if I let go.”
“Ugh! It’s heavy!”
Even with just five people gathered, the living room was already a mess.
I was leaning against Joo Eunchan, who was struggling and complaining about the weight, while Lee Doha and Seo Taehyun were already choosing flavors to order ice cream.
As Dan Haru, who was lounging comfortably on the sofa, giggled, he remarked.
“It would’ve been great if the other hyungs could have been here too… I feel a bit disappointed.”
I wasn’t sure if the ‘other hyungs’ he mentioned were Lee Yugeon and Jung Siwoo, who couldn’t make it today, or if he meant all the eliminated trainees from Miromaze. Either way, seeing that Dan Haru was enjoying today made me feel relieved.
‘It’s about time I start thinking of a way to draw out the Chosen Regressor’s personality.’
Should I use the clue I obtained by completing the quest when we debuted?
While I was pondering over this, Joo Eunchan, who had just escaped my grip, tidied his hair and quickly ran to the sofa where Dan Haru was sitting. Hugging a sofa cushion tightly, he exhaled a short breath and said.
“Siwoo hyung is on a trip anyway, so he couldn’t come… I hope Yugeon hyung can come even if it’s late. Should I try contacting him to ask?”
At Joo Eunchan’s suggestion, Dan Haru’s eyes lit up, and he nodded enthusiastically. Joo Eunchan then started poking Seo Taehyun, who had just finished ordering the best combination of ice cream after much deliberation.
“Hmm? What’s up, Eunchan?”
“Hyung, could you try calling Yugeon hyung?”
“Yugeon?”
“Yes. Just to see if he can come later… I’ve never actually called Yugeon hyung before, so I don’t think he’ll pick up if I call.”
Joo Eunchan scratched his neck, speaking in a slightly embarrassed tone.
As expected, both Jung Siwoo and Joo Eunchan seemed to still feel a bit awkward around Lee Yugeon. It wasn’t something that could easily be fixed, considering how distant Yugeon had been all this time, so it was a bit tricky.
‘Come to think of it, Yugeon was the first to leave during that after-party, wasn’t he?’
Even during the wild after-party after the final, Yugeon had left right after dinner with his family.
He claimed it was because of his grandfather, but considering how Yugeon’s grandfather had repeatedly urged him to stay and have fun, it seemed like both Yugeon and the rest of us still felt uncomfortable around each other.
‘And now he’s absent again today. If this keeps up, it’ll be a problem since we’ll have to work together as a team.’
Knowing his situation, I thought it would be nice if he could come later tonight. But Seo Taehyun, who had been asked by Joo Eunchan, shook his head and shrugged instead of pulling out his phone.
“…He’s probably going to be busy during his vacation. Let’s just leave him be today.”
“Is that so? That’s a shame…”
“Anyway, whether we like it or not, we’ll be seeing each other every day once we start working as a team. Let’s just have fun by ourselves today.”
Huh?
‘What’s with him?’
There was a faint shadow on Seo Taehyun’s face when he spoke about Lee Yugeon.
For a moment, I wondered if he had had some kind of conflict with Yugeon… But considering how close they used to be, and how quickly Seo Taehyun’s expression returned to normal, I dismissed the suspicion.
‘If he keeps acting like this after his vacation, I’ll dig into it then.’
As I organized my thoughts, Joo Eunchan and Dan Haru, who were disappointed about Yugeon, started suggesting that they should call Jung Siwoo instead. However, they were all hesitant about directly calling Siwoo, so the ‘video call with Jung Siwoo’ mission naturally fell on Lee Doha.
“I’m not really up for a video call either…”
Lee Doha was a bit flustered by the sudden mission, but he couldn’t resist the desperate looks from the Seo-Joo-Dan trio and eventually video-called Jung Siwoo. Fortunately, it didn’t take long before Jung Siwoo’s face appeared on Doha’s phone.
And the moment his face showed up, Dan Haru muttered absentmindedly.
“Wow. He’s really handsome.”
-Yeah. I hear that a lot.
“Gasp. Hyung. Hello.”
“Siwoo hyung! Hello!”
“Hyung, I miss you~”
It would have been normal for anyone to be taken aback by such an immediate compliment, but Jung Siwoo casually smiled and responded. Dan Haru was startled and quickly bowed his head, while Joo Eunchan and Seo Taehyun waved their hands, greeting him one after another.
What was I doing, you ask?
‘Fans would love to see this.’
Once again, my occupational habit kicked in, and I quickly grabbed the handycam, capturing the scene of the guys video-calling Jung Siwoo.
Standing next to Lee Doha, who was holding the phone like a stiff tripod, the Seo-Joo-Dan trio huddled together like cicadas clinging to an old tree… No, it looked more like a group of small animals gathered around a big bear.
‘This reminds me of a picture from a children’s book.’
Or was it from *P**ro*?
As I tilted my head, feeling a sense of déjà vu, Jung Siwoo continued the conversation with the members in a rather friendly manner.
“Hyung, hyung. What do you usually do during MTs?”
– Well, usually we drink, drink some more, and drink… just drink.
“Gasp. Hyung, did you drink too?”
– No. I didn’t.
Jung Si
woo firmly shook his head, denying that he had drunk anything, and Seo Taehyun quietly admired his self-discipline as an idol. But then, Siwoo added.
– I told them to try to beat me at a game if they wanted me to drink, but they all dropped out after a few rounds.
“……”
– So it was getting a bit boring, but then you guys called, so I stepped out for a bit. Maybe I should have just hung out with you instead.
…R-right.
We all blinked and fell silent at his casual words.
Well, like Seo Taehyun said, he certainly had the self-control expected of an idol, but…
Quietly pressing the stop button on the recording, I made a decision.
‘I shouldn’t mess with that hyung.’
Mom, I’m scared of that hyung….
* * *
After finishing our call with Jung Siwoo and devouring the ice cream that had just arrived, we started getting ready for bed.
Despite making fun of my ice cream preferences, Seo Taehyun had carefully chosen one of the pints to be filled with only my favorite flavors. Unlike Seo Taehyun, who hated mint choco, the rest of us, including Lee Doha, weren’t picky about the flavors, so we could peacefully enjoy our ice cream.
“Gasp. Eunchan hyung. My old toothbrush is gone.”
“Oh, it was too worn out, so I threw it away. Didn’t you bring a new one?”
“Nope.”
“What should we do? We don’t have any spare toothbrushes at home right now…”
Dan Haru, who had gone into the bathroom to wash up, came out looking crestfallen, his eyebrows furrowed. It was just a missing toothbrush, but he looked like a baby bunny knight who had lost a precious pendant filled with memories, so even Joo Eunchan, who had been listening, got up and started fretting.
“I didn’t bring a toothbrush either. Let’s go to the convenience store together, Dan Haru.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yeah. The convenience store is just around the corner. Let’s go.”
As I watched the two youngest members making a fuss over a toothbrush, I quietly stuffed my own toothbrush deep into my bag and stood up. Dan Haru, excited about the unexpected night walk, nodded eagerly at my suggestion.
At that moment, Seo Taehyun, who had just come out of the bathroom with a towel over his head, joined our conversation.
“Hyung, are you going to the convenience store now? Just in case, wear a mask.”
“It’s right around the corner, what’s the big deal.”
“Just 30 minutes ago, there was a sighting of Kim Wonho at a local cafe, and yesterday, Parang and Jaeyoung were caught taking pictures at a coin karaoke bar….”
“Dan Haru, put on a cap. Pull your mask up properly.”
“Okay!”
Mom, I’m scared of him too.
There was no beating Seo Taehyun when he rattled off the latest information like that. I quickly gave in and while Dan Haru put on his hoodie and mask, I pulled out a baseball cap from my bag and shoved it onto my head.
If I wore a mask on top of that, it would just scream ‘Hey, I’m a celebrity,’ so I compromised by pulling my training jacket up to my neck.
“Let’s go.”
“Okay. But hyung, did you really not bring your toothbrush?”
“Uh… I thought I did, but I can’t find it.”
I see, Dan Haru nodded innocently, seeming excited about the unexpected night walk as he bounced ahead of me. I shoved my hands into my pockets and followed behind, keeping an eye on him to make sure he didn’t trip.
Contrary to Seo Taehyun’s concerns, the road to the convenience store was very quiet and still.
On the short path where not even an ant was passing by, I started to think about what I should say to Dan Haru to draw out the Chosen Regressor’s personality.
‘Should I just be blunt and say it? Like, “I know what you’re up to.”’
Was now the time to use the clue I had obtained for tracking the regressor?
Just as I was about to open the system window while watching Dan Haru enter the convenience store with a tinkling sound,
[That won’t do.]
Along with the familiar red text, the world flickered to white.