Idol Revive: If I Don't Debut, I'll Disappear-Chapter 347: Mr. Min (2)

"Um, Mr. Min Beom?" Rayen repeated.

Right after hearing Rayen, Mr. Min's eyes teared up. "My name is not Min Beom..."

Rayen blinked.

'Eh? It's not?'

He glanced at Gil who was at the corner.

'Didn't Gil say his name is Min Beom?'

Gil seemed to have realized his mistake and avoided his gaze.

'This guy... Wait...'

As a thought suddenly came to him, Rayen's forehead creased.

'I do remember that Mr. Min has a longer name. And it's quite funny as well.'

Mr. Min finished what was on Rayen's mind. "My name's Min Min Ho."

Right. That was the name. Rayen even made fun of his name because it definitely mismatched its owner.

Mr. Min walked away and settled himself at the corner of the room, crying woefully as though he was wronged.

"U-Uh... Sorry, Mr. Min," Rayen said to try to comfort him.

But it was of no use. Mr. Min continued to cry. "I understand. People do tend to neglect me and forget I even exist. I understand..."

'Well... I feel even more sorry now.'

This was Gil's fault! It was he who nailed the impression that Mr. Min's name was Min Beom, to the point that Rayen forgot that his name was actually Min Min Ho!

Rayen glared at Gil and glanced at Xu Jiji. The two looked at each other for a while before shifting their gazes to Yeo Haru.

Since Mr. Min's name was not Min Beom, then... the person who tried to save Haru before was actually a different person.

Well, the world is too large for a coincidence like that to happen too. There are 8 billion people on Earth, and there was no guarantee of ever meeting the same person in two lifetimes.

Realizing this, Yeo Haru also dropped his weird gaze toward Mr. Min.

Minutes later, Mr. Min finally ceased crying. He wiped away his tears, but a pout still remained in his lips.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Min," Rayen apologized once again.

"Don't anymore, please. Hearing you apologize is reminding me of it."

"....."

The club members sat down with their club adviser awkwardly.

"But actually, how did you know the name Min Beom?" Mr. Min said.

"You're familiar with someone named Min Beom, Sir?"

"Well, yeah. He's my son."

"....."

Hearing that answer, the three Minstrels blinked.

'I'm taking back what I said earlier. The world is actually so small.'

Yeo Haru then opened his mouth. "Um, did your son attend X Middle School?"

Mr. Min glanced at Yeo Haru in mild surprise. "How did you know?"

"Oh." Yeo Haru's eyes brightened the moment Mr. Min confirmed his question. "Someone I know attended there."

Mr. Min also let out a hearty laugh. "They actually remember my son, huh?"

"Why?"

"Well, he um, inherited some of my traits," Mr. Min responded. "You know it."

"....."

'Of all things to inherit from you, it had to be your unique presence.'

But no one said that aloud.

"The truth is I decided to be this club's adviser because of my son."

The members all pricked their ears toward Mr. Min as soon as he said that.

"How come, Sir?"

"Well, you see, Jilseo's way of opposing Jay also moved me."

"Gil opposing Jay?" Yeo Haru glanced at the person in question

Scratching the back of his head, Gil laughed. "He's talking about when I snatched the grand finale slot from Elite Club."

That almost ended against their favor, though.

"Yeah. That's it!" Mr. Min said. "I was so moved when Jilseo slapped him with money. That dog believed he could manipulate everyone with his money and connections, but Jilseo bribed Ms. Jin with more and shut him down! Your club truly has so much potential!"

Slapped with money? Bribery? Shut Jay down? Just how did Gil acquire their grand finale slot?

"Haha..." Gil looked away.

"But how is it related to your son?" Yeo Haru asked, shifting the topic back.

"Oh. My son attended X Middle School with Jay."

Yeo Haru nodded, staring at him with large eyes and pressuring him to continue speaking.

"W-Well, it's my son who has a beef with Jay."

Yeo Haru nodded again, still staring.

Mr. Min avoided his gaze and glanced around the whole room. Seeing the window binds and the door closed, he leaned in closer toward them.

"This matter shouldn't reach outside this club, okay?"

Everyone nodded in response.

"Jay killed someone before."

"....."

Well, that's no news to everyone except for Gil.

"Really? Then, how come he could still teach here?" Gil asked, intrigued.

"He only indirectly contributed to the death of a student."

"You mean..."

"Yes, he bullied the kid." Mr. Min sighed. "It was a pity for that kid. He was supposed to become an idol trainee too. That's what I heard from my son."

Yeo Haru's intense gaze toward Mr. Min wavered. He turned his head to the side. From the corner of Rayen's eyes, he could see that Yeo Haru's ears had turned red.

'Is he embarrassed?'

"My son always told me about Jay's indiscriminate bullying. As a parent myself, I'm also afraid of Beom getting bullied and went to the school to appeal for this. But it was no use."

Once again, Mr. Min let out a sigh. "Those teachers, really... What a waste of their education. They couldn't even teach one child to behave properly. If I was his teacher, I would have spanked him until his butt bled!"

"....."

Rayen recalled the scenes during his Team Ranking Penalty Mission. When the scenario changed, the students and the teachers would always mention wanting to spank Seo Jayu.

So, did that wishful thinking come from Min Beom's impression of his father?

How would Mr. Min react if he witnessed the scene as the teachers taught Paper Jay a lesson with dozens of spanks in the butt? Would he be elated?

Mr. Min wasn't done yet with his story.

"But then, to my horror, years later, the very same hateful kid became an assistant teacher in the school where I am teaching! What a bad twist of fate!"

Out of anger, Mr. Min slapped the table with his palms.

"He's become my co-worker, so I couldn't just spank him out of nowhere! And worse, he always did whatever he pleased because of his connections! I've always endured! But when I saw Jilseo slapping him with real money, I thought this would be my chance to teach that guy a lesson."

After finishing his words, Mr. Min leaned on his chair. As though he finally let out all of his grievances, his posture became even more relaxed.

Story time was over.

Mr. Min also just came over to the club room to take a look, but had something else more to do in the faculty and had to say goodbye.

Rayen had informed Gil of what to do from now on, and so he no longer had any reason to stay.

After a while, together with Xu Jiji and Yeo Haru, they left the school. Zi Xu had waited for them outside the campus in the agency's van.

When they entered and sat in their spots, Zi Xu immediately drove off to their dorm. Rayen couldn't help but glance at Yeo Haru. The latter was silent until now.

Xu Jiji also noticed this and asked, "Hey, are you fine?"

Yeo Haru nodded. "I'm fine."

"I thought you were about to cry when Mr. Min retold your story in the club room."

"I-I'm not!"

"Then why did you turn red before? Weren't you holding back your tears?"

"Geez! I'm not!"

"Then why?"

"Do I have to tell you everything?!" Yeo Haru said in annoyance.

"But I'm curious."

"....."

"If you won't tell me, I'll no longer lend you my homework."

A wave of panic flashed through Yeo Haru's face. "What? No!"

"Then, tell me."

Yeo Haru bit his lips, unwilling, but eventually, he gave in.

"I was embarrassed, okay?"

"Embarrassed?"

Rayen listened in on the youngest members' conversation with interest. Zi Xu also curiously glanced at them through the mirror.

Yeo Haru continued, "Mr. Min kept saying it was Jay's fault that I died, but actually..."

Xu Jiji tilted his head, waiting for his answer.

"I... I slipped accidentally."

"You slipped?" Xu Jiji confirmed. "By yourself?"

"... Yeah." Yeo Haru's face was now fully red.

He tried to hide his face by leaning on his backpack on his lap.

Finally satisfied, Xu Jiji stopped inquiring. It should be enough teasing Yeo Haru.

Zi Xu also sensed the awkward atmosphere and feigned a cough. In consideration of Yeo Haru, he tried to switch the topic.

"Guys, do you know House of Idols?"

Rayen glanced at him through the rearview mirror. "I've read a post about it. Why?"

"Well, the former Director—I mean, the head manager informed us that you'll be enlisting there."

'What? Enlisting?'