Chapter 306 : The One With More to Lose Is the One Who Loses
Chapter 306: The One With More to Lose Is the One Who Loses
Knowing, yet pretending not to know.
Being beside someone, yet pretending they weren't there.
I thought that was consideration.
It had already been three days of quietly watching Kang Siwoo's mood.
By now, I was certain.
“Hyung, let's talk.”
I couldn't just leave things like this.
Whatever had happened over the past three days had drained the confidence from his eyes, and his slumped shoulders were completely devoid of energy.
When someone was visibly wasting away right before your eyes, how long could you just sit back and wait?
At my words, Kang Siwoo looked startled.
“Me?”
Apparently, he thought he hadn't shown it.
Sorry, but at this point, even Haim-hyung would've noticed.
How could anyone not notice when he was walking around carrying the weight of every worry in the world?
Letting out a dry laugh, I said,
“Yeah. I wanted to talk about your condition.”
“Uh.... Sure. Go ahead.”
In the end, I successfully managed to get some time alone with Kang Siwoo.
Thud.
I followed him into his room and closed the door.
Swallowing dryly, he carefully watched my expression before awkwardly speaking.
“What is it? What's going on?”
“I think I should be the one asking that. Did something happen?”
Kang Siwoo fell silent.
“I....”
“Did you meet those people?”
It wasn't hard to guess.
The Taewoon Group family he'd gone to meet.
Whatever this was, it had to involve them.
At my heavy question, Kang Siwoo lowered his head.
“Yeah. It's a family problem.”
Running both hands over his face, he let out a deep sigh.
“Haa....”
His mouth had gone completely dry.
Part of me wanted to let him rest instead of pressing him further, but I figured I'd already given him plenty of time alone over the past few days.
“It's complicated. Even if the members knew, it wouldn't change anything... and honestly, it's already beyond my control.”
“But we still need to know.”
“...That's true.”
A deep shadow of defeat settled over Kang Siwoo's face.
After moving his lips wordlessly for quite some time, he finally forced the words out.
“...Seohan.”
Instead of answering, I simply looked at him.
Frowning, Kang Siwoo cautiously continued.
“If things get really bad... should I leave?”
“What?”
Even I was stunned by that.
Wasn't that way too extreme?
“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”
“My family background.”
“It'll probably come out soon.”
Kang Siwoo squeezed his eyes shut.
“My sister said she'll expose it herself.”
“...Someone from Taewoon Group?”
“Yeah.”
“She may only be half my sister, but still.”
“For what reason? No... never mind.”
“I think I already know why.”
She probably couldn't stand seeing her half-brother succeed.
Her father's illegitimate son.
If she didn't see him as a thorn in her side, that would be stranger.
I couldn't say I completely failed to understand.
But...
The person who deserved blame wasn't the one sitting here.
As always...
The arrows of criticism always flew toward the weaker target.
“I don't think we can stop it this time.”
Rumors about Kang Siwoo had already been circulating quietly throughout the entertainment industry.
Stories like:
Stardust's Kang Siwoo is Taewoon Group's illegitimate son.
Doubles is desperately trying to cover it up.
Those kinds of dark rumors.
But if it wasn't just anonymous gossip anymore—
If it became an official article spread across the entire country...
The weight of it would be incomparable.
“Stop it....”
Could we?
Even I wasn't confident enough to finish the sentence.
At the very least, Kang Siwoo's future was something I knew nothing about.
The Kang Siwoo I remembered had been eliminated from Starf.
He'd probably lived an ordinary life.
At the very least, he'd never become someone the public paid attention to.
Like me...
He would've quietly blended into the crowd.
As though he weren't even there.
But in this life...
We debuted together.
Kang Siwoo became an idol.
And because he now stood under the public spotlight, even a small piece of gossip could drag him down from where he stood.
“What will happen... if this gets out?”
He couldn't help imagining the worst.
Swallowing, Kang Siwoo forced himself to speak calmly.
“If it looks like it'll hurt the team...”
“I'll leave.”
“Hyung.”
“This is exactly when we're taking off.”
“I don't want to become dead weight.”
“Our team doesn't only have me who could be leader.”
It seemed Kang Siwoo had already reached his conclusion.
It had taken him three whole days just to bring this up.
Even then...
These weren't words someone could say lightly.
Because the hyung I knew...
Loved this job more than anyone.
“If the public reaction isn't too bad...”
“I'll shamelessly stay.”
“But I don't think that'll happen.”
The guilty party was someone else.
But someone still had to take responsibility.
The public would criticize Taewoon Group at first...
Then quickly redirect all that anger toward the easiest target.
A handsome young celebrity with an easy face to tear apart.
There couldn't be a better scapegoat.
If this exploded...
Could we withstand public opinion?
Even if we stubbornly pushed forward...
Could Kang Siwoo's mental state survive it?
He was a strong person.
But even the strongest people could be shattered by relentless criticism.
Lowering my head, I quietly spoke.
“I always thought this would come out someday.”
“There are no eternal secrets.”
“Yeah.”
“That's true.”
“But... now's a little too soon.”
“What?”
Kang Siwoo looked up.
“Hyung.”
“You still have to be our leader.”
“No matter how I look at it, you're the only one qualified.”
“Well... Seongbin-hyung could—”
“Him?”
Kang Siwoo swallowed.
Apparently, even he couldn't convince himself that the fragile sunfish was suitable.
His voice trailed off.
“Junseo-hyung....”
“Rejected.”
“Hey. I'm not joking.”
“Neither am I.”
Kang Siwoo had to remain Stardust's leader.
Preferably...
For a very long time.
Because our delicate alien prince...
And our even more delicate sunfish rapper...
Were both utterly unqualified for the position.
Looking directly at Kang Siwoo, I asked,
“What's her name?”
“...Huh?”
“The sister who threatened you.”
His expression clearly asked why I wanted to know.
Awkwardly clearing my throat, I added,
“Just curious.”
“Kang Hyeyoung.”
“Ah. That person.”
Kang Hyeyoung of Taewoon Group.
This time...
Kang Siwoo was lucky.
Because she had far more to lose.
.
.
.
Reporter Lee Doyeon's office.
Smiling brightly, I placed a premium cookie gift set onto her desk.
“I came to ask you for a favor~.”
“Sorry, but I'm sensitive right now.”
...Wait.
What was with this freezing atmosphere?
Reporter Lee Doyeon never even looked away from her monitor.
Carefully swallowing, I cautiously asked,
“Did something happen with my hyung?”
“What happened?”
“Oh, a lot happened!”
“Seriously!”
“Can you do something about your brother already?!”
Whoa.
Reporter Lee Doyeon suddenly jumped to her feet, startling me enough to take a step backward.
Wait.
Did they already break up?
It wasn't time for that yet.
“I told him for an entire month that there was a movie I wanted to see!”
“And on opening day he tells me he has to work overtime.”
“Has he completely lost his mind?”
“How can someone be this clueless about a woman's feelings?”
Thankfully...
They hadn't broken up yet.
“Seohan.”
“When you date someday, are you going to do the same thing?”
“I'm an idol, so I don't date....”
“You can still imagine it!”
Reporter Lee Doyeon pounded her chest in frustration.
“If I imagine it....”
“If you imagine it!!!”
“My hyung's trash.”
Since I needed something from her today, I decided to agree.
Reporter Lee Doyeon nodded vigorously, looking completely refreshed.
“Exactly!”
“Even you think so as his younger brother, right?”
“My hyung's always kind of been like that.”
“No, at this point....”
“He doesn't have another woman, does he?”
“Hmmm....”
I shook my head.
The answer slipped out before I realized.
“With that personality?”
“Right, with that personality....”
“Wait.”
“Then why am I even dating him?”
“Because your personalities are similar?”
“......”
Oops.
I really needed to make a good impression today.
Clearing my throat, I hurriedly tried to recover.
“I hope you'll take that in a positive sense.”
“...Are you joking?”
“Let's just focus on the good parts. Haha.”
Grinning, I gestured toward the premium cookie set.
“It's about time your blood sugar dropped anyway.”
“How about having a bite while we talk...?”
Reporter Lee Doyeon still looked annoyed, but she didn't refuse.
Opening the box, she picked up a chocolate cookie.
Apparently she really had been low on sugar.
Nibbling on the cookie, she glanced at me.
“The fact that you're taking this long to get to the point tells me this must be something important.”
“Yes.”
I didn't bother hiding it.
I couldn't trust Reporter Lee Doyeon one hundred percent.
But among all the reporters I knew...
She was still the most trustworthy.
Lee Dokyung was doing well in the entertainment industry now, and she no longer had any reason to hold a grudge against Kang Siwoo.
Whatever issues there had once been between them had long since become a thing of the past.
“I need you to look into something.”
“Digging into people's backgrounds isn't exactly my specialty.”
“Oh.”
“So you want me to investigate it for you?”
Reporter Lee Doyeon let out a dry laugh.
“Hm....”
“I wonder if your brother even knows his little brother goes around doing things like this.”
“He probably doesn't.”
“Exactly!”
“He still thinks his little brother is innocent.”
“It's ridiculous.”
Maybe it was because this was my second life.
Compared to an ordinary twenty-year-old...
I was definitely better at this sort of thing.
More accurately...
You had no choice if you wanted to survive in a jungle like the entertainment industry.
Scratching my head, I carefully watched Reporter Lee Doyeon's reaction.
Fortunately...
She actually seemed to be in a fairly good mood.
If I handled this well, she'd probably grant my request.
Tilting her head, she asked,
“So what is it?”
I searched through my phone and pulled up a photo.
A flashy sign.
According to the map, it was a club located in Cheongdam-dong.
“MASTERY.”
“Have you ever heard of it?”
“A club?”
“Not really my scene.”
“So I wouldn't know~.”
Unexpected.
Lee Dokyung seemed like he'd absolutely love places like that.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Ah.”
“It's nothing.”
“You reacted exactly how I expected.”
“Hah.”
“That's funny.”
I hurriedly waved my hands.
Reporter Lee Doyeon laughed in disbelief before asking,
“So why is this club important?”
This woman was always serious when it came to exclusives.
Her instincts as a reporter had already picked up the scent.
A club.
A place filled with alcohol.
Young men and women in the prime of their lives.
Luxury everywhere.
And for certain clients...
A place more secretive than anywhere else.
Where the smell of alcohol lingered trouble inevitably followed.
The same was true for MASTERY, located in Cheongdam-dong.
My lips slowly parted.
“They arrange sponsorships there.”
“What?”
The story I was about to tell was a secret from the underworld that no one really wanted to know.