These lewd things are idols?: Episode 54

Episode: 54

As I finished showering and dried my hair with a towel, I spoke up.

"Seri, can you help me with my hair?"

"Sure. Da-young, where's the hair dryer? Who used it last?"

Hee-ju quietly raised her hand.

"Me."

Just then, Min-seo also raised her hand.

"Oh! It was me, unnie! I showered first this morning with oppa. I'll bring it from my room."

Hee-ju nodded slightly in realization.

"Ah."

She must have gotten confused because we had sex last night.

"Hey, so you two still haven’t showered? Hurry up and wash up. Just because you're staying home doesn't mean you should be dirty."

"What the heck? You're one to talk! Weren't you lying around after sex without showering until you had to go meet your friends?"

"Alright, alright. No need to get all worked up. Someone might think you're already going through menopause. If you want to become an idol, you shouldn't lose your temper so easily."

"You must’ve heard what was said outside."

While we bickered for a moment, Seong Seri plugged in the hair dryer and gently dried my hair.

Usually, I do it myself.

But today is a rare outing.

"What hairstyle should I give you?"

"Hmm. Nothing too bad, just whatever you feel like."

"Then I'll go for the trendiest style."

"Okay."

Seong Seri nodded and started working on my hair, looking a bit excited as she asked another question.

"Do you want me to pick out your outfit too?"

"Yeah, pick out something for me. Lately, I’ve only been wearing suits whenever I go out."

"That suit is getting old. It's expensive though, right?"

"Hye-eun bought it for me. It cost 5 million won. And I make sure to get it cleaned properly whenever I can, so it still looks sharp."

"Who's Hye-eun? Ah, do you mean actress Han Hye-eun?"

My three younger sisters, sitting on the couch, looked over at us.

"Has Seri unnie never met Hye-eun unnie?"

"Nope. Not even once."

"Oh, I guess I haven't met her that often either. But I thought Hye-eun unnie would visit the team leader often."

I thought so too.

I assumed she’d visit during shoots, asking to have sex from time to time.

"We occasionally exchange messages, but very rarely. She seems to be focused on her filming these days. No news is good news, right? If everything's going well, it’s usually quiet."

"True. Anyway, your hair is done. How does it look?"

Seri asked, handing me a mirror.

I nodded in satisfaction.

"Good. Who’d think I’ll be turning 30 next year? Damn, I’m definitely getting ID checked with this."

"What are you talking about? It’s not that extreme, oppa. But if you dress up neatly, you could easily pass for early 20s. Your skill is unbeatable though."

Then, Seri checked my closet and let out a disbelieving sound.

"What the heck? These clothes are all worn out. They suck. Honestly, you'd be better off wearing the suit."

"Wearing a suit to meet friends is too much."

"Buy some clothes! What do you even spend your salary on?"

"I spend it taking care of you guys! And sometimes I send a little allowance to my parents, too."

"Is the team leader’s salary that low?"

"It is! It's ridiculously low! It’s practically volunteer work!"

Why do people in management work for just a year before quitting or moving on?

Of course, it’s because of the terrible pay.

Even though I’m a team leader.

Because I’m an interim team leader, my salary is still low.

"When the CEO tried to give you a gift back then, you should've accepted the foreign car and sold it."

"Are you crazy? How could I sell a gift? Besides, if I'd accepted that foreign car, the maintenance costs would’ve bankrupted me."

"That’s tragic."

"Which is why you all need to succeed soon. Then we can move out of this cramped dorm and into a luxurious penthouse or apartment."

"We’ll still live together there, right?"

"Hmm. I don’t know?"

I really didn't know, so I answered honestly.

At that moment.

The atmosphere suddenly turned icy.

"I... I said I don’t know! Seriously, how could I know what will happen by then? If you all become famous, there might be tons of paparazzi following you around. If I’m constantly hanging around your dorm or never leaving, what would people think?"

"They’d just think we’re friends with benefits. Let’s go public. Let’s reveal we’re friends with benefits."

"The entire country would be in an uproar. I'm not a god; I can't handle that."

["Who knows."]

At my words, Seri quietly muttered while carefully choosing my outfit.

"Maybe we shouldn't succeed after all?"

The other girls subtly nodded in agreement.

Seeing that, I shouted.

"Hey! Don’t be ridiculous! The whole point was to succeed, and we've worked so hard for it until now."

"……."

Even though the mood didn’t improve, I let out a deep sigh and said,

"Fine, if you really hit it big, I’ll live next door. Happy? Just earn enough money to make that happen."

"Okay. Deal!"

"I recorded that just now. The team leader never lies, so we believe you."

"Me too!"

I couldn’t help but let out a dry laugh. If anyone saw this, they’d think we’ve already made it big. These girls haven't even debuted yet.

“All done. Looks good, right? Oh, wait. Stick your face out; I’ll apply some sunscreen.”

“People would think you’re my mom.”

“I’ve done your hair, picked out your clothes; might as well go all the way.”

“Thanks.”

“No need to thank me.”

Seong Seri applied sunscreen to my face and tugged on my cheek with a smile.

“Whoever raised you did a good job! Look at how handsome you are, Hyun-woo. Who made you so pretty?”

“Mom did, mom! Hey! Stop it! I’m an adult.”

“Hehe. Oh, right. I have a luxury watch I don’t use anymore. Want to wear it?”

“No thanks. Wearing something like that would make me too nervous to even drink.”

Standing at the front door, fully prepared to go out, I said, “I’m heading out. I might be late, so don’t wait up.”

“Okay, got it.”

“Take care, Team Leader.”

“Yeah, sure.”

Smelling the perfume Seong Seri sprayed on me, I headed to Shinryong University Station, feeling a mix of nervousness and excitement about seeing my friends again.

These weren’t high school friends. They were friends from Shinryong University’s Materials Engineering Department.

[Park Yeon-hee, B]

[Jeon Joo-yoon, C]

[Park Baeng-song, C]

While riding the subway, seeing various people, it was clear that younger kids still had that youthful vibe. You could easily tell who was a high school student and who was a college student. They probably don’t even realize it themselves.

‘Damn, 29 isn’t old at all. So why do I feel so old?’

Even though I’ve been living with idol trainees, taking good care of my skin, working out daily, and even benefiting from the "blessings" of certain activities, reality still hits hard.

“Did you get the item?”

“Not yet.”

When I looked in the mirror earlier, I thought I still looked young. But standing next to this high schooler playing a mobile game, I suddenly felt ancient.

“Ahem!”

Back in my day, the most popular mobile game was 'Fruit Pang'.

[Frendship beer – Our Friendship ♡ Forever]

But when I finally met my friends at the bar we frequented during our university days, I realized that I was the youngest-looking one.

When I saw my friends, who were already drinking beer with fries before I arrived, I barely recognized them.

“Oh! Kim Hyun-woo’s here. Kim Hyun-woo!”

“Wow, you came looking so sharp. As expected of Kim Hyun-woo.”

“Yeah, he works in the entertainment industry, after all.”

I sat down, feeling a bit dazed as they welcomed me so warmly.

“……”

It took me about 30 seconds to finally say something.

“Did you guys time-travel here separately? Why do you look so old? Why is your skin so cracked? And, Jonghak, where did all your hair go? Why are you bald? I was so shocked I had to look away for a second.”

If anyone saw them, they’d think we were 39, not 29. Why have they aged so much?

“Well, you know, we haven’t really taken care of ourselves. Life’s just been so busy.”

“But still, losing your hair?”

When I asked my friend, Seo Jonghak, who had completely shaved his head, he smiled in a way that you’d only see at a temple and laughed softly.

“Well, I work at a food company, and it’s actually better for hygiene management.”

“What kind of crazy person shaves their head for hygiene?”

“It was going to fall out anyway.”

“Come on, you could’ve taken Propecia or gone to a hair loss clinic. I’m not trying to criticize you; I just feel bad.”

“It’s fine. I don’t have money for that anyway.”

As we added another round of draft beer and caught up, I suddenly realized that we were really about to turn 30.

“Hey, Hyun-woo, it’s good to see you again. It’s been a while, right? Has it been two years since we all gathered like this?”

“Yeah, it’s been two years since the four of us got together like this. Everyone’s been busy with job preparation and stuff.”

“Do you know what everyone’s been up to?”

I shook my head.

“No idea. I just know that everyone’s working. If they weren’t, we wouldn’t be able to meet. We kept quiet out of consideration for those who were still job-hunting.”

“Right. I’m working at a fashion company.”

“Oh, a fashion company.”

“Jonghak works at a food company, as I mentioned earlier.”

“Yeah.”

“And Kanggyu here just opened a cafe. He’s the cafe owner now.”

“Oh wow, a cafe owner. I drink coffee a lot. Oh, right, I didn’t mention that I got promoted to team leader.”

“What?! Team leader?!”

My friends were all surprised, but they clapped sincerely and congratulated me.

“Congrats, seriously.”

"Looks like Hyun-woo's made it the furthest. So, are you treating us today?"

"Being a team leader doesn't mean much when my salary's still peanuts. This industry is ridiculously stingy."

"Hey, at least as a salaried worker, you have some peace of mind. Running a business feels like riding a rollercoaster every day."

"Oh, because of sales?"

"Yeah."

Meeting up with old friends after so long was definitely enjoyable.

It had been such a long time since we last saw each other that the topics of conversation were endless.

'In dramas and novels, people always end up fighting at reunions, but there's no chance of that here.'

Well, none of my friends are the kind of people you'd see in a novel anyway.

No second-generation chaebols.

No high school queens.

I wasn’t exactly friends with those kinds of people.

"Man, it really feels good to see everyone after so long. Let's try to meet up more often if we can."

"If we have time, sure."

"But seriously, isn't it funny that none of us who graduated from Shinryong University's materials engineering department ended up with jobs related to our major?"

Food company.

Cafe owner.

Fashion company.

And me, a management team leader.

As I made that comment, my friends laughed and responded.

"Hey, did you hear? Shinryong University is completely gone now."

"What? Seriously? Damn, that sucks. How many years has it been since we graduated and now it's disappeared?"

"I guess they couldn't get any new students."

"Wow, damn. There were way too many universities in Korea to begin with."

"Hey! But thanks to that university, we at least managed to graduate."

"Dumbass, what's the point of graduating when none of us are working in jobs related to our major?"

"That's true too."

Not really listening to what anyone was saying, we all started chattering excitedly.

With drinks flowing and this group getting together for the first time in ages, memories from our college days inevitably came flooding back, making the atmosphere even livelier.

"Wow, Jonghak, your head is seriously so... smooth."

Smack, smack.

As I slapped my bald friend's head with my palm, Seo jonghak smiled good-naturedly and allowed it.

"Hit it as much as you want! Damn, being bald has to have some perks, right?"

"Puhahahaha!"

One after another, we all burst out laughing as we took turns slapping Seo jonghak's bald head with our palms.

"Excuse me, gentlemen."

"Yes?"

"Could you keep it down a bit? Please be quiet."

The student sitting at the table next to us, who looked like a college kid, said that, and we immediately bowed our heads.

"Yes, sorry about that."

Being told to quiet down didn’t make us angry, shocked, or flustered.

It was understandable.

We’d all done our military service and had experienced working in society.

The only slightly disappointing thing was that we had purposely chosen a university district because we thought it would be okay to be a bit loud.

But that was only a minor regret.

We lowered our voices and resumed our conversation.

"Hey, I guess we really are getting old."

"Times have changed in just a few years. Back in our day, college bars were full of people playing drinking games and going wild. You could hear the noise from the streets."

"Well, with the university gone, it's no surprise things have changed. Haha."

But looking around, there were tables much louder than ours.

Yet nobody seemed to be telling them to quiet down.

'Well, I guess it’s understandable since we were at the table next to them.'

I let it go without much thought.

There was no benefit to picking a fight over it.

This was a rare chance to hang out with my friends, so why not just enjoy the night?

But then...

"Did you hear that? As soon as they were told to quiet down, they just clammed up. So pathetic, haha."

"Hey, don't do that. Can’t you see they're just a bunch of old losers? It's kind of sad, isn't it? No women with them, just drinking alone. And hey, aren't you not supposed to make fun of bald guys?"

They must have thought we couldn’t hear them because they covered their mouths with their hands while talking.

But their voices were obnoxiously loud, so we heard every word clearly.

They were laughing and chatting as if they were bragging.

"Ignore it. Just ignore it."

"Yeah, just let it go. Let's have a few more drinks and then head somewhere else."

My friends, too kind to a fault, said that as they raised their glasses again.

"Hey, Hyun-woo?"

But I, still holding my empty glass, was staring intently at the table next to us.

"What are you looking at, old man?"

At that moment, I seriously considered throwing the glass I was holding right into that jerk’s face.

But suddenly, the atmosphere around me brightened.

"Oppa! We're here!"

Out of nowhere, the members of Always appeared. I quickly put down my glass and forced a smile.

"Oh, you’re here. Come, have a seat."

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