“I don’t think I did anything to make myself out to be an enemy, but I feel like you hate me like one. Isn’t it obvious that I would be curious about the reason why as the person suffering?”

So let’s hear it.

“If you know the reason, are you going to change?”

“It’s not like I’m some stand-up person. Of course, I should change if it’s something I feel is a problem.”

To be honest, it was a lie that even dogs wouldn’t believe since I wouldn’t be persuaded no matter what he says.

No matter how much I thought about it, I didn’t think I did something to warrant his actions against me.

The Team 2 Leader revealed a ridiculing smile.

“How can I like you? When you have no manners as a baby chick.”

Calling me a baby chick again. He should treat me as a chick transitioning into a chicken.

“You constantly overstep your position. When I lend you a hand to help you out, you try to screw me over instead. Everything you do after joining has been an eyesore, so how can I like you?”

As expected, I couldn’t accept it.

From what I could recall, he already began hating me when I refused to become Sung Dowon’s proposal and became an eyesore since the incident with Son Chaeyoung and Teacher Shim Kyungtaek.^{2} He couldn’t wait to devour me when I refused his shitty proposal of joining Team 2 and managing Son Chaeyoung.

It only worsened with Nam Joyoon.

At this point, I should be the one with the grudge.

Wasn’t that normal?

“Is that all? You were trying to stab me in the back by stealing away one of mine. Showing off by keeping Jijoon next to you.”

His voice was resolute and full of malice.

“Aren’t you the one plotting against me with ill will?”

“Ill will?”

“You have something against me because of Nam Joyoon.”

He observed my expression as he nonchalantly shrugged.

“No? The mishap with one of Nam Joyoon’s movies last year. You think that I had something to do with it. How outrageous. Looking into it, it seems that there was some trouble between him and the director on site.”

I felt like I was counting down.

Three. Two.

Barely managing to keep my reason intact, I said,

“Ah, that movie? It’s great that we got out of it. I went to see it when it released, and they edited it so much that it wasn’t the plot I originally knew. Since its budget was 10 billion won, 3.5 million people needed to watch it for them to break even. I guess around 300,000 people did?”

My ticket was included. I watched it three times. Once with Nam Joyoon, and twice on my own. It was when I was low on energy because of Making Film. My exhaustion washed away like I had taken a nutritional tonic whenever I watched it.

“Since we filmed Alive after that, so it turned out to be a blessing now that I think about it.”

The Team 2 Leader’s expression gradually distorted.

Like he did before, I shrugged and said,

“Also, I think you are misunderstanding something here. I never plotted to steal Mr. Seo Jijoon from you. I don’t know why you’re so certain of that. Mr. Seo Jijoon simply came to congratulate me at the party. We at least have that much of a friendship.”

I would have flinched if he had brought up Song Inho instead of Seo Jijoon.

Since it was true that I wanted Song Inho.

However, it wasn’t simply because I wanted to stab the Team 2 Leader in the back. If it was, I would have acted already. There wouldn’t have been a need for me to repeatedly think about how I could bring Song Inho over without breaking my relationship with the Team 2 Leader.

If Song Inho wasn’t suffering from being in Team 2, if he adjusted well in that team, and if the Team 2 Leader didn’t hate me… If there weren’t circumstances that rationalized this action, I would have ripped out that desire by its roots.

I was excessively cautious of ‘bad deeds’.

“You weren’t plotting against me?”

“I had no plans to.”

As soon as I replied, the Team 2 Leader snorted. He looked like he didn’t believe me one bit.

“Ah, you really didn’t?”

“I didn’t. But you keep making me think about it.”

I said. My insides began to boil again.

Pausing, the Team 2 Leader glared at me. Returning his gaze, I said,

“Like you said, there has been some friction since Joyoon hyung’s matter. That’s why I hope you wouldn’t take action against Joyoon hyung, Neptune, or Songha again.”

“What?”

“I would like to work in peace if possible. I’m lacking energy even if I’m pouring my all into my work. I don’t want to waste it by fighting. I also don’t want to be life-or-death grudge with you either. So…”

“Hey.”

The Team 2 Leader, who was so menacing that it seemed he would wring my neck, suddenly smirked.

“Do you think my eyes have gone blind because people around me have been saying my discerning eye has gone down and such? Is your face one that wants to make peace with me? It’s one that wants to properly face off against me. Your face looks like you’re about to ignite a fuse.”

My face looks like I’m about to ignite a fuse?

I checked my lips with my hands. I was smiling. This wasn’t something I would be smiling about while listening, yet when did I start smiling?

My heart throbbed strangely.

I didn’t know whether it was because of my anger at the Team 2 Leader or because of some strange sense of expectancy.

I roughly rubbed my lips, then I got up and said,

“If that’s how you see it, then you just need to not ignite the fuse.”

The Team 2 Leader didn’t reply.

He simply gave an unpleasant smile.

*

“One, two, three!”

“Hello! We are Pretty, Pretty, Pretty Girls!”

The goldfish must have bowed fifty times on our way to our waiting room. They greeted whoever we came across, whether that was a celebrity or staff member. Even at the wall. Chief Lee Taeshin was similarly hyped.

Most received their greeting, but other girl groups sometimes looked at them in dissatisfaction.

Neptune and I had been the same.

“Hello, Chief Jung!”

“Hey, it’s team leader, team leader.”

“Oops! Hello, team leader!”

A familiar boy group came over and greeted me. I greeted them back. I greeted other celebrities, managers, and staff as well while introducing Pretty Girls.

I continued down the hallway and knocked on the VIP waiting room.

-Who is it?

The manager, who stuck his head out the door, opened the door wide when he saw me. The main MC of the day, Park Taepyeong, looked back with an annoyed face.^{3} A welcoming expression flashed across the same crabby face as in the past.

“Oh, who’s this?”

“It’s been a while.”

I greeted him and pushed Pretty Girls’ backs. They had frozen in front of one of the top MCs in the country. Jung Jae started off with a ‘Hello!’ before their repeated chant echoed in the room.

“Please take care of us!”

“Oh, my ears! Don’t ask me to take care of you and just do well on your own!”

The girls stiffened at his irritated reply.

I felt the girls in Chief Lee Taeshin’s care as I sat down next to Park Taepyeong and said,

“Please go easy on them today. This is their first time on a public network talk show.”

“Ah, damn it. I’m sick and tired of managers coming in and asking me to take care of their celebrities! But do I really need to take care of newbies like them? Rookies are supposed to learn after being edited out and stuff!”

Park Taepyeong exaggerated while placing his feet on the table.

I said,

“Last time, when you asked me to connect you to Songha for a speed quiz…”

“Hey! She didn’t answer a single one correctly!”

“But it was entertaining. I also saw how you thanked her on social media.”

I coaxed him, not so much that it was unpleasant. Soon, Park Taepyeong’s gaze alternated between me and Pretty Girls. Then he signed and asked,

“Oh, okay. This industry runs on favors like this. Are you going to be on set the whole time?”

“No, I came over after pushing another schedule back. I wanted to greet you when I heard you were the MC today.”

“Then give us a reaction. I’ll try to give the girls a boost while talking about you.”

“Thank you.”

“We will work hard! We will give it our all!”

Yoon Sol shouted at the top of her lungs. The other girls bowed without thinking as well. Maybe it was because they all had clenched fists, but rather than a girl group, they looked like a gang.

“Hey, you’re the one who showed off that imitation on Making Film, right? Don’t do that, people are going to change the channel.”

“I have been preparing an imitation of Ch-Team Leader Jung Sunwoo…!”

Oh Yeondu and Lee Hwain poked Yoon Sol’s sides. Park Taepyeong chuckled,

“Do that. The worse it is, the better.”

^{1} Commonly referred to crystal-like beads found in cremated ashes of Buddhist monks.

^{2} It’s been a while but Shim Kyungtaek was Lee Songha’s acting teacher who Son Chaeyoung worked with to make Lee Songha quit acting.

^{3} He was the MC of Star Manager in the past.