LGHTNOVELBOOK C6
“Hyung, if you keep doing that, the door’s going to hit you again.”
Cha Yul chuckled, squinting his eyes as he chewed and swallowed a slice of bread with jam. The sudden burst of historical drama speech he’d been using earlier had completely disappeared. It seemed like his speech patterns changed randomly depending on his mood.
“When did I ever get hit?”
Hwi-geon adjusted his posture and gave a dry laugh.
“You got hit, like this!”
“Ah! Cha Yul, you better get over here!”
Hwi-geon jumped up from his seat as Cha Yul smacked him on the back and bolted off to his room. Because he quickly locked the door like a squirrel, all that echoed in the living room were the sounds of knocking and Hwi-geon’s annoyed shouting.
“By the way, does anyone in the group like cooking?”
“Hmm?”
Unbothered by the commotion, Si-chan, cheeks puffed out with bread, only widened his eyes instead of answering. At nineteen, he was right in the middle of a growth spurt, no matter how much he ate, he was always hungry. A few slices of bread and a bit of egg wouldn’t be nearly enough.
“……Take your time chewing. Should I toast some more?”
“Mmhh. Ahf bant s eht raimh.”
Sihan shook his head side by side while brushing the crumbs off his hands. The way he chewed with full cheeks made him look just like a hamster.
“You’re having ramen?”
It seemed he was pleased that someone could perfectly understand that jumbled speech, as he smiled with his eyes softly crinkling.
After draining a glass of milk in one go, Sihan let out a “Puhah~” and sprang to his feet. Following his movements, Kang Moon saw him naturally take out ramen and a pot from the cupboard.
“Aren’t you going to get scolded again?”
“It’s fine. You can eat a lot in the morning.”
He even started humming while filling the pot with water.
It would be nice if he ate something a bit more nutritious. Come to think of it, Kang Moon himself had been obsessed with snacks rather than proper meals during his school days.
“Oh right, what were you asking earlier, hyung?”
Si-chan asked as he turned his head, pouring in the last bit of seasoning after turning on the gas stove. Kang Moon stood up to clear the plates and asked again.
“There are a lot of utensils, and the fridge is clean too. I was wondering if someone here likes cooking.”
Si-chan, leaning against the counter while waiting for the water to boil, briefly froze before speaking again.
“Ah~ that’d be Hwi-geon-hyung.”
Jackpot. Even his hobbies are perfect?
While Kang Moon inwardly celebrated, Si-chan’s voice, as he dropped the noodles into the boiling water, oddly lacked its usual energy. No matter how unaffected someone acted, it couldn’t be easy to accept that one of the members closest to them had completely lost his memories.
He’s the type who’s bad at hiding his emotions.
Adding another piece of information about Si-chan to his mental notes, Kang Moon quietly stacked the dishes in the sink. In moments like this, it was better to wait and let someone process things on their own than to force a conversation.
“You little punk, get over here.”
“Ahh! You said you weren’t going to do anything!”
“Do you fall for it every time?”
After a bit of cajoling, Hwi-geon came back to the table dragging Cha Yul by the scruff of his neck. Cha Yul’s face was full of unjust resentment and betrayal.
“Come on, hurry up.”
Still held by the back of the neck, Cha Yul was pushed toward Si-chan and Kang Moon. It seemed Hwi-geon had made a deal, apologized in front of the others, and let him off.
“Please, take my life.”
“Stop joking. Do it properly.”
“I’m sorry. I won’t mess around at the table again.”
Cha Yul bowed deeply. Hwi-geon smirked, a corner of his mouth lifted in satisfaction.
“Good. That’s your 472nd apology.”
“Why are you even counting that! That’s creepy!”
Cha Yul shuddered and shook himself off, prying Hwi-geon’s hand off his neck. Hwi-geon laughed as he grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge.
“You two get along well, huh?”
“As if. I’m just humoring him.”
At that, Cha Yul leaned close to Sihan and stuck his head out , making a retching sound. In response, Hwi-geon wordlessly raised his middle finger while twitching one eyebrow. Despite looking aloof and stoic, he was clearly a guy in his early twenties and somehow that was charming too.
“…He’s got me good.”
Indeed. Now Kangmun could only see everything Hwi-geon did as charming. He forced himself to hold down the smile creeping up his cheeks again.
“What?”
“Nothing. Forget it.”
As Kang Moon laughed it off, a door that had been slightly ajar swung open, and Ho-jae wandered out. His hair looked like a bird’s nest, sticking up wildly as if he’d had a great sleep.
“What’s with everyone gathered like this…”
“H-Ho-jae hyung! Want some ramen too? I’ll give you one special bite!”
Just as Si-chan was about to slurp up his freshly made ramen, he cut off Ho-jae’s words. Ho-jae glanced between Si-chan and the ramen, then snorted.
“Nah, I’m good.”
He ruffled Si-han’s hair with his large hand, then stood by the fridge. As he pulled out a bottle of sparkling water, a familiar quest window popped up in front of Kang Moon’s eyes.
Ding!♬
Go to the dance practice room with Cha Yul.
[Confirm]
Kang Moon now calmly pressed the confirm button. Sticking to the main quest was the surest way to safely reach the end. And if he was lucky, he might learn a bit more about Hwi-geon too.
“Yul-ah. If you’re okay with it, can you teach me the choreography?”
“Huh? Me?”
Cha Yul, who had been nervously fidgeting and glancing at Hwi-geon, blinked wide at hearing his name. But he quickly brightened and jumped to his feet, face flushed with excitement.
“Of course I can! Let’s go right now, hyung! No time to waste!”
His face looked just like a kid who had been told they were going to an amusement park. Kang Moon didn’t quite get why asking for help with practice made him this happy. He smiled slightly arching his eyebrow at the sight that was both cute and a little funny too.
“Let’s Wash up first. It’s 7 now, we can leave at 7:30.”
“Okay! Ho-jae, I’m using your bathroom!”
Without waiting for a reply, Cha Yul dashed into Ho-jae’s room. It was his way of letting Kang Moon use the large bathroom in the living room comfortably while he used the bathroom attached to Ho-jae and Hwigeo’s room.
“He’s so excited.”
Ho-jae grinned and took a swig of his sparkling water. For some reason, even Si-chan, with ramen in his mouth, couldn’t help but smile too.
“…?”
A small question lodged itself in Kang Moon’s mind.
***
“We’re heading out first! We’ll meet you there later.”
“Okay.”
Once they stepped outside, the midday sunlight scattered down on them and the weather of Mid-March, which was just starting to feel warm, greeted them.
“Is the practice room far from here?”
“Not really. About ten minutes on foot?”
He added that it’d only take five minutes if they ran, but Kang Moon ignored that. No need to get sweaty before practice. Cha Yul didn’t seem eager to run either.
“Have you heard the song?”
“Hmm… No.”
“Yeah, I figured. You’ve been out of it since yesterday.”
In truth, Kan Moon had tried to find the file on his phone but failed. Before leaving, he skimmed a score lying on the desk, but with only the music knowledge from school, it didn’t help much.
“By the way… Thanks for making breakfast, hyung.”
“I said it’s no big deal.”
“Still, I liked it. Hehe.”
Cha Yul exaggeratedly swung his arms as he smiled. Kang Moon tilted his head in confusion. Were these guys close or not?
While chatting idly, they arrived at their destination. Kang Moon had expected a shabby place since the agency was small and unknown, but the building looked decent. Was the CEO rich?
“Oh…”
Hearing the office was on the 3rd floor, and the practice room was in the basement. Cha Yul pushed the elevator button and smirked as he saw Kang Moon’s curious expression.
“Nicer than you thought, huh? I was surprised, too, the first time.”
“Yeah, I mean…”
It felt like his thoughts had been read, and Kang Moon mumbled awkwardly. His gaze wandered with the slightly awkward attitude and stopped on a floor guide with the words ST Entertainment.
“Why ST? Does it stand for something?”
“It’s the CEO’s name,Joo Sang-tae.”
“Sang-tae… Oh.”
I thought that name had some great meaning but it was just the initials of a representative name. He wanted to ask what W.A.IN meant too, but kept his mouth shut.
As they got off at B2, a large glass door stood ahead. When Cha Yul entered the code, the translucent door slid open. When he went inside he saw hallway with one door on the left and three on the right. There was even a small rest area.
“That’s the vocal room, and this way is the dance studio.”
He pointed to each door, then pushed open the one on the left. A wall-sized mirror reflected their images, and their footsteps echoed in the wide, empty room.
“Leave your bag here. Just a sec!”
He sat Kang Moon on a sofa and darted to the speaker. As soon as he fiddled with his phone, music began to play loudly.
Kang Moon closed his eyes to listen. The sound was surprisingly sophisticated for a rookie idol debut track.
[Drawn to you, standing at the end of this road—]
As the chorus hit, a vivid stage bloomed in Kang Moon’s mind. Refreshing yet neat outfits. A catchy melody that stuck in your head. A hook so addictive the you couldn’t help but hum along after hearing it at once
[You rise on your toes and erase the line in front of me—]
Perfect group choreography. Unique visuals highlighted in every camera angle. Fans cheering with light sticks. Previews flooding social media. Detailed fan analyses.
This was a debut that would go down in K-pop history.
There was no way this would flop.
Kang Moon’s mainstream-loving heart was convinced. The debut song of W.A.IN had that distinct “taste of capitalism.”
“Good song, right? That’s our debut title.”
Cha Yul’s face was glowing. The confidence and anticipation made him look even more charming.
“If you keep practicing, the song will come back to you fast. Shall we start, hyung?”
“Wait. I have one thing I’m curious about.”
Kang Moon suddenly recalled a phrase he’d seen on the status window.
“Is our concept… delinquent?”
“How’d you know?! Did Hwi-gun-hyung tell you? It’s a love story about a delinquent who turned his back on the world…”
“AARGH!”
As soon as he heard it, Kang Moon furrowed his brow and cringed instantly, scrunching his face. What kind of 90s fanfiction nonsense was this! He closed his eyes in despair, thinking that if this continued he would end up with a “Cool Water cologne”.
He had to do something about this concept first. The visuals were good, the song was great. They just needed the right strategy.
“Yul-ah. You trust me, right?”
When Kang Moon asked seriously. Cha Yul’s eyes widened and stared at him.
“Of course I do…?”
Kang Moon, who had been staring blankly, raised a corner of his lips.
Now he understood why the quest was to “go to the dance studio” instead of “practice choreography”.