Episode 46
While Jaewon had gone to drop off Jiwon, the members gathered at the studio.
Since the housekeeper had arrived for work and could look after Sejin, the members began discussing Kang Seunghwan.
"Wow… I never imagined things would connect like this. I was struggling over how we should report Kang Seunghwan to the company, but since we learned everything because of Jiwon, we can just say we investigated after finding out through him, right?"
At Hwan's words, everyone nodded.
"Yeah, that should work. There's a review period anyway, so I think it'd be better to inform the company about Kang Seunghwan sometime next week… What do you all think?"
Joomin asked the younger members.
"Sounds good. It took Seongjun hyung about a week to investigate too… so telling them next week should be fine."
"Just in case, I'll call Seongjun hyung and coordinate our stories with him."
"Yeah. Hajin, call him and explain things. When we inform the company, we'll have to mention that Seongjun hyung looked into it for us. They might contact him, so it's better if we get everything straight beforehand."
"Okay, I'll take care of it."
"Hyung, are you going to check Jiwon's voice recording?"
At Roy's question, Joomin nodded.
"Yeah. They said it can be checked with a program first, so I'll verify that and then tell the company to do a cross-check. When we explain the situation to the trainees, it'll be better to show them results that were objectively confirmed by the company."
"Well, yeah. If we say we checked it, some of them might claim we're lying because we're close to him."
"For now, I'll tell the company that Jiwon needs to rest for a while. Next week, let's bring the evidence and talk to the CEO and the relevant staff."
"Alright."
While they were wrapping things up, Joomin's phone rang.
"Huh? It's Cheolhwan hyung. Let me pick up, stay quiet."
He answered the call.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Joomin. Jaewon isn't picking up, so I called you."
"Oh, he went out to drop Jiwon off at his house. He's probably driving, so he must not have seen the call."
"Really? How's Jiwon doing?"
"Better than yesterday. We were planning to contact the company, thinking he should take a break for a while."
"I heard the story from Team 2 leader yesterday. They said his condition was pretty bad?"
"Yeah. And we'll give the full details once we confirm everything, but… something bad happened to him. For now, he needs rest. We'll try talking to him once he's stabilized."
"A bad thing? What happened?"
"…I'll explain later. We still need to verify some things."
"You guys? What are you even verifying? Don't tell me you're doing something dangerous."
Hearing Cheolhwan's concern, Joomin laughed.
"Don't worry. How would we be able to investigate anything directly? Hajin met someone at the hospital where Sejin is staying, apparently they adore Sejin like their own nephew. They seem to know a lot about this kind of stuff since they're a businessperson. We're going to ask them to look into it."
"Hmm… Is this someone you can trust?"
"Yeah. You don't need to worry."
"Well, I trust you guys to handle things properly, but if anything happens, tell me right away. Got it?"
"Got it. But hyung, why did you call?"
"Oh, right, my mind's a mess. Remember the childcare variety show I mentioned before? The production team wants to meet us. I'm trying to set up a meeting, and they said they'd like to meet Sejin as well. When are you guys available?"
"Oh, that's the one we agreed to do, right?"
"Yeah. I met them a few times, discussed the details, and signed the contract."
"Well, we don't really have any big schedules right now, so any time should be fine for us."
"Really? They were hoping to meet sometime this week, wouldn't that be too rushed?"
"Not really. If we're going to meet them anyway, this week works. But didn't the format change?"
"Yeah. At first, they were thinking of installing cameras in your dorm and making it like an observation-style variety show… but exposing your home like that is uncomfortable. And the production team wanted more diverse scenes. So now they're thinking of going to another region, setting up lodging there, doing some sightseeing… things like that. Anyway, we decided to talk about the final details in person during the meeting."
"Yeah, filming inside the dorm would be uncomfortable. We're supposed to relax there. And the housekeeper would probably feel burdened too."
"Exactly. When they meet all of you, including Sejin, they said they want to film some footage for the show's opening scene."
"Oh, that reminds me, we were planning to tidy ourselves up when Sejin gets his hair trimmed. I asked Minsu to reserve a spot for us at the salon. Guess we should go before meeting the production team."
"Yeah, Minsu told me. I made a reservation for tomorrow at 11 AM, so I'll send him then."
"Okay. Once you finalize the meeting date with the production team, let us know."
"Sure. And let the others know too."
"Will do. And can you tell the company that Jiwon will be taking a break for a while? Yesterday he said he was quitting and left, but he's not quitting, just resting. If you tell the Team 2 leader, he'll process it that way."
"Alright. I'll talk to him. I'll hang up now, get some rest."
"Yeah. Hyung, make sure you eat lunch."
"Sure."
After ending the call, Joomin relayed everything to the members.
"Oh! Good thing we booked the salon."
"Right? It worked out perfectly."
"Hajin, will it be okay if Sejin comes too? If it feels burdensome, we can tell Cheolhwan hyung and meet without him…"
Hajin laughed.
"Haha, it's fine. He'll be in the main shoot anyway, so it's good if he meets them early and gets familiar with the staff. Besides… wouldn't Sejin get sulky if we left him out?"
"Hahaha! Definitely. He'd pout like crazy."
"Exactly. Then we should make sure Sejin looks extra cute at the salon tomorrow."
"Yeah. And we should clean ourselves up too."
"Wait, does that mean I have to dye my hair?"
Roy asked, startled. He was currently sporting bright blonde hair, so when Joomin mentioned looking "neat," he panicked, wondering if he needed to dye it black.
"No, that's not necessary. Your hair is just blonde, not flashy in style."
"Whew… good."
They continued discussing the upcoming variety show filming as they all headed down to the first floor.
The moment they arrived, they saw Sejin zooming across the living room, riding his little toy car with Bbokdol sitting inside.
Startled, Hajin rushed toward him.
"Lee Sejin!"
Screech!
Surprised by his uncle's voice, Sejin slammed the brakes and stopped the car.
"Huh? Uncle, why?"
"Who told you to drive so fast in the house? What if you crash into the furniture and get hurt? And you're carrying Bbokdol with you, it's dangerous!"
At that, Sejin's lips stuck out in a pout.
Speed was the essence of being a man!
His uncle really didn't understand anything.
"I'm good at driving now! Ddol-i sits still next to me!"
Sejin protested loudly, and Hajin pressed a hand against his forehead.
He should've taken that toy car away long ago. He let it slide because his nephew loved it so much, but he was turning into a full-blown speed demon.
Seeing the two of them, the other three members burst into laughter and stepped in.
"Hajin, Sejin really is good at driving. I've never seen him bump into anything."
"Yeah. I think he drives better than me."
Joomin, who had played the biggest role in awakening Sejin's need for speed by gifting him the car, laughed awkwardly.
He was happy that Sejin liked the gift so much, but it was obvious that Hajin, the guardian, wasn't pleased.
"Sejin, do you like the car that much?"
At Joomin's question, Sejin nodded enthusiastically.
"Yeah! I love it! I can go swoosh-swoosh really fast!"
"I see. Makes giving it to you worth it. But like Hajin uncle said, even if you're good at driving, riding it in the living room can be dangerous. So how about using it out on the terrace instead? If you promise to drive out there, the uncles will move everything off the terrace so you can ride safely. What do you think?"
Sejin paused to think.
The terrace was wide and long, honestly, it was a better place to drive.
If the tables, chairs, and flowerpots were removed, it would become his own personal racetrack.
There was no reason to refuse.
"Okay!"
"Good. Then you're promising your uncles, alright? No more driving inside the house."
"'Okaaay! I'm a man, so I keep my promises!"
"Hahaha. Right. Since you're a man, you have to keep your promises."
After making the promise, Joomin glanced at Hajin.
"Hajin, if we clear the terrace and add some protective padding on the walls, he should be able to ride more safely. I feel bad, maybe I shouldn't have given him the car."
Hajin immediately shook his head.
"Why are you apologizing? He's the problem, not you. Ugh."
"Hahaha. I feel like I awakened Sejin's wild driver instincts."
At Joomin's comment, Hwan and Roy added with laughter.
"He's right. It's hyung's fault. Our Sejin is gonna become the youngest biker gang leader at age three!"
"Hahaha! Honestly, the idea is kind of adorable?"
Even Hajin eventually let out a small laugh before giving Sejin one last warning and stepping back.
With the situation finally settled, Joomin felt a cold sweat trickle down his back.
'Uh… what do I do? I bought another car as a Children's Day gift for Sejin…'
After seeing how much Sejin loved the toy car, he had purchased another one, different model, different color. It was already on its way by courier.
But after watching Sejin get scolded so seriously today…
He suddenly imagined the youngest member, Hajin, grabbing him by the collar and collapsing in shock the moment another car showed up at the door.
'Okay… I'll hide it for now. A few days later, Hajin should have cooled down.'
Having made his decision to secretly stash the new gift, Joomin forced an awkward smile.
After the commotion died down and the members finished eating lunch, they were leaving the kitchen when the front door opened.
As expected, Bbokdol zoomed out to greet the newcomer, and moments later, Jaewon walked in holding the dog.
"Hyung, you're back?"
"Did you talk things over with Jiwon's parents? I'm sure they cried a lot."
"Hyung, you haven't eaten yet, right? If you're hungry, eat first and then talk."
Jaewon sat down on the sofa, still holding Bbokdol.
"Yeah. We talked it out. I'm pretty hungry though, I'll eat before anything else."
"Yeah, go ahead."
He put Bbokdol down and headed to the kitchen to greet the housekeeper.
"Auntie, could I have some food?"
"Welcome back. The boys just put their spoons down... You should've come a little earlier."
"I can just eat whatever's left, just give me rice."
"No, no. I figured you'd be back soon, so I set aside a portion for you. I just need to heat it up. Wait a moment."
The housekeeper quickly set the table, then placed the rice and soup in front of him.
"Shouldn't you eat too, Auntie? Eat with me."
"Shall I?"
She brought her own serving of rice and soup and sat across from him.
They chatted while eating together.
"Thank you for the meal."
"You're welcome. I'll clean up, so go on ahead."
"Yes, thank you."
When Jaewon returned to the living room, Joomin brought him a freshly brewed cup of coffee.
"Come on, tell us already. We were dying from curiosity."
"Yeah, what did Jiwon's parents say?"
Pressured by the younger members, Jaewon took a sip of the coffee.
"Alright, alright. I was going to tell you anyway. Let me drink my coffee."
"Oh, come on! It's iced coffee, you can drink it later if your throat gets dry while talking."
"Wow… fine."
After setting down the cup, Jaewon finally began recounting what happened at Jiwon's house.
"I talked to them, and things went okay. They were upset, of course… but thankfully, they're both very composed people. After listening to everything, they agreed to wait until the company resolves the issue."
"Really? Wow… that's a relief."
"Yeah. That must've been a hard decision for them to make…"
"Jiwon helped too, he explained things himself."
"So you told them everything that happened up until now?"
"Yeah. Jiwon talked about it himself."
Hearing that, everyone felt a heavy ache in their hearts.
They could only imagine how painful it must have been for his parents to hear the truth.
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