Cheating way through to Stardom chapter 61- Reaction

I was holding my smartphone and blinking my eyes. It was then. Suddenly, I heard a ringtone.

I looked at the screen and immediately answered. It was my sister.

“Cha Dowon! What are you doing!”

“Oh, I forgot. Sis! I debuted.”

“You should have told me beforehand!”

“It just happened….”

“I tried hard because they said the idol drenched in the rain was handsome, but I almost threw up when I saw you!”

For a moment, I had nothing to say.

‘That’s typical of her.’

Well, it would be the same if it were the other way around.

‘If she appeared in a magazine as a beautiful doctor, I’d probably throw up too.’

She kept grumbling.

“That was live, right? There was lightning striking everywhere, are you okay? Did any of your members catch a cold? More importantly, Minjae! Why is Minjae there!”

“He’s a member of the group.”

“A dog doing idol work! The world must be crazy!”

I smiled bitterly.

‘Indeed, the world has gone mad.’

Minjae being a celebrity was understandable, but being in the same group was definitely crazy.

‘Did I start this madness from the beginning?’

Am I the crazy one here? For a moment, I was speechless.

“It’s really strange. Everyone around me is talking about you.”

“It’ll keep happening. You’ll probably get used to it.”

“You’re being cocky. Shut up, Cha Dowon.”

“I only speak the truth.”

She sighed over the phone.

“You need to be humble now that you’ve debuted. You’ll slip if you’re not careful.”

“Who in the world is as humble as I am?”

“Shut up! Still… I must admit, I didn’t realize.”

She whispered softly.

“You’re good at dancing.”

“I practiced a lot.”

“You’re really not sick, right?”

“I’m perfectly healthy.”

“Do your best. I’ll do my best too.”

“Don’t overdo it with your studies.”

That was a real concern.

‘She doesn’t complain even when things are tough.’

Honestly, after our mother passed away, it must be hard to soothe her heart.

The world was too burdensome for my sister, who had just turned 20.

‘How did she endure it in the past?’

Why couldn’t I be her support back then?

“I’m hanging up.”

“Okay.”

The call ended. I put my smartphone in my pocket.

“Was it your sister?”

“Yeah. She probably watched my debut performance since it’s getting a lot of attention.”

Lee Seungjoon’s eyes sparkled.

‘Damn, I shouldn’t talk about my sister in front of him.’

Lee Seungjoon spoke in a bitter tone.

“Would my sister have liked it too?”

“Of course, she would have.”

Oh, damn.

‘This is getting awkward.’

Seungjoon smiled a little.

“Yeah, probably.”

“Do you want to eat something?”

I stood up abruptly.

“I’ll get something.”

I needed to feed him and put him to sleep quickly.

I hurriedly left the room. Despite his appearance, he was a sensitive teenager.

‘From now on, I’ll take my sister’s calls outside.’

He must miss her a lot.

I sighed. Still, I thought I should at least get him a snack, so I went to the kitchen and found Minjae there.

‘Oh, damn.’

The person I least wanted to see was there. Minjae was drinking water.

“Do you need something?”

“I was going to get something to eat.”

He had just washed up, and water was dripping from his hair.

“Why are you out here?”

“Uh, I was thirsty?”

He had a separate fridge in his room, and it was always stocked with bottled water.

‘Let it go.’

He probably just wanted to come out.

But I was already too late. Minjae started to explain himself, which I didn’t want to hear.

“I couldn’t sleep.”

Ah, I see. So you do have nights when you can’t sleep.

‘Don’t you fall asleep anywhere, anytime?’

He put the glass on the table and said.

“It doesn’t feel real.”

“What doesn’t?”

“We’re getting popular.”

What nonsense.

“It’s still a long way to go.”

The debut performance was getting attention. Judging by the atmosphere, Director Joo and the planning team seemed very busy. The manager told us to brace ourselves for a flood of schedules.

‘But is this really it?’

Barely a bowl of soup had entered my starving stomach. I’d get hungry again soon. I didn’t want to get sentimental without even chewing on a piece of meat.

“Minjae hyung, your goal isn’t to be a slightly popular idol, right?”

I smiled faintly, but Minjae didn’t smile back.

He looked at me with trembling eyes.

“You’re not the kind to be satisfied with this.”

I still remembered.

Before the regression, he had once said while eating the army stew I made.

-Dowon, I want to be greater. I want everyone to know about me.

Wherever I go, I want people to recognize me.

What did I say back then?

‘I feel the same. The goal is always far away, though.’

Why are you acting weak now?

“Yeah, I guess I do have a lot of ambition.”

“Well, so do I.”

“Dowon, I just….”

Minjae spoke cautiously.

“I’m just glad I have you to rely on.”

For a moment, I couldn’t hide my expression.

‘What nonsense is this?’

What did I just hear? Rely? Minjae?

“Who do you mean?”

“Of course, you.”

Suddenly, I felt nauseous. I took a deep breath, trying hard to calm down.

‘Right, well. I did nag you to make good songs.’

Considering the Vita incident, he could think that way.

‘Stay calm.’

How can I use this? It wasn’t bad. It was actually advantageous for me if he thought that way.

I smiled brightly.

“We’re on the same team.”

Even if I wanted to kick you in the gut, I can’t right now. It’s laughable, but if one team member messes up, our stock price plummets.

“Well, I’m glad to be on the same stage as you too.”

Suddenly, I remembered the past. When we were in a financially precarious theater company, I had told this bastard.

– Someday, I want to stand on the same stage as my brother. I know. It’s impossible. But maybe I can at least be a backup dancer?

Damn it.

‘How naive I was.’

To hope for something like that from a guy like him.

Kang Minjae scratched his cheek with moist eyes. It looked so shy that it was even more irritating.

“He’s busy from tomorrow. Let’s go to sleep.”

“Uh, okay. Hey, Dowon.”

He leaned in close.

“I enjoyed it too. Being on stage with you.”

A small laugh escaped me.

‘You’re hilarious, Kang Minjae.’

Kang Minjae kept scratching his cheek as he spoke.

“Keep believing in me. I’ll be a good brother to you.”

Wow.

I clenched my fist tightly.

‘I’d rather trust a passing dog than trust you.’

Something hot surged within me, but I suppressed it.

An old memory came back to me.

– Dowon, I’ll take responsibility for you.

I had believed him. So innocently.

I exhaled deeply. I was burning inside, but I didn’t show it.

I repeated the same words from back then.

“I trust you.”

Yeah. The old me trusted you like a fool.

‘Until you hooked up with my girlfriend and danced away.’ (TL: So their conflict was because of a girl?)

It was only then that I realized his true nature.

Foolishly, it took me until the very end to figure it out.

Kang Minjae smiled brightly in front of me. I grabbed my rising fist with my other hand.

“Let’s rest now.”

“Sure.”

My insides were boiling. I returned to my room and closed the door.

“Dowon?”

My fingers trembled slightly.

Oh, right. Lee Seungjoon was in the room.

“I saw something I shouldn’t have.”

“What was it?”

“Even shit would be more beautiful than that.”

Well, let’s say the past changed for the better. Even so.

‘Kang Minjae is still Kang Minjae.’

I sighed deeply. Lee Seungjoon stared blankly at me but didn’t say anything.

‘At times like this, I appreciate his silence.’

As I lay down on the bed, I spoke.

“Sorry, no snacks tonight.”

“It’s fine. Let’s just sleep.”

Unnecessarily considerate, that guy.

I closed my eyes and sleep overcame me.

The image of my pre-regression self flashed and then disappeared.

My immature and foolish past self.

Damn it.

Do you even know how much I want to strangle you?

‘Never again, Kang Minjae.’

Sleep took over. I quietly fell asleep.

***

“Schedules are piling up~”

I was having breakfast when the manager walked in dancing. I looked at his shaking belly and asked,

“You look healthy.”

“Business is booming! Isn’t it exciting? How about this? It’s a rumba dance.”

I turned my head quietly. His dancing was a terror attack early in the morning.

“Good morning, everyone! Woo-hoo~!”

Lee Seungjoon looked away and said,

“Ugh, my stomach…”

You’re struggling to watch this, huh.

I quickly got to the point to stop his dancing.

“Please stop dancing. So, what’s up?”

“First, we’re going on ‘Eternal Classics’.”

Clang-

There was a sudden noise of something falling off the table.

It was clearly Kang Minjae’s spoon, so I ignored it.

“Whose special feature is it? They do it by artist, right?”

“It’s Kim Sangseok, known for his poetic lyrics!”

Thud-

This time, it sounded like someone had fallen. It was obviously Kang Minjae, so I didn’t turn around.

‘Kim Sangseok, huh? That’s a big one.’

I remembered watching clips of it on video sites in the past.

Everyone was so impressive that I kept gasping in awe.

As expected, the manager said,

“It’s divided into two parts, and they pick a champion twice.”

Aha. Of course.

Then Kang Minjae shouted from the floor,

“Kim… Sangseok!”

I stared at him.

‘This guy likes Kim Sangseok’s songs.’

Before the regression, he used to play his rearranged songs a few times.

– I always wanted to be on the Kim Sangseok special, but our group wasn’t popular enough back then to even mention it.

You must be happy to be on it now.

I turned back to the manager.

“Is it confirmed?”

“Of course. And that’s not all. Woo-hoo!”

The manager started dancing rumba again. It was painful to watch, so I lowered my eyes, and Yoo Hajin asked,

“The regular idol show?”

“That too.”

Ki Jaeyun shouted right away,

“I always wanted to be on that idol show!”

I drank water and asked,

“What’s that idol show?”

“It’s a show where all idols appear! Two teams come out and compete in weird things!”

A program with blatant rivalries.

‘Distasteful, but probably fun.’

If I win, that is.

“There’s that, and we’ve got three more interviews and a lot of events.”

It sounded like the company was going to make a lot of money.

“And the important thing is!”

The manager wobbled his belly while dancing again.

“We’ve secured spots on four music shows!”

Oh, my stomach feels uneasy.

Yoo Hajin smiled and said,

“Are we changing in the hallway again this time?”

“They’ll give us a waiting room.”

“Then it’s manageable. It’ll be easier for the stylist, too.”

Ki Jaeyun said,

“But are we really getting popular? The comments on our music video are increasing, but it doesn’t feel real.”

I agreed with that.

‘Well, I still feel like it’s before the regression.’

Even though our position changed, it didn’t feel real.

“You guys are totally popular! Completely! Oh, one more thing, don’t overdo it on social media! If you get into a scandal, it’s a headache!”

Oh, I see.

‘I need to be careful about that.’

“Be cautious with followers too! It’s okay to follow other celebrities, but never follow fans.”

There’s that too.

“You guys are idols. Remember, you give dreams and fantasies to people around the world. Fans aren’t curious about the real you. They’re curious about the idol version of you.”

It’s all about image management.

‘Well, that’s true.’

Whether it’s the sincere me or the honest me.

“Who wants to see a person’s true self? Of course, people want to see a polished version.”

The manager pointed at each member with his finger.

“A considerate leader, Yoo Hajin!”

Yoo Hajin smiled brightly.

“A musical genius, Kang Minje!”

Kang Minje was squatting down, picking up a spoon from the floor.

“A stoic and well-built rapper, Lee Seungjoon!”

Lee Seungjoon scratched his arm, getting goosebumps.

“A lively, active, and humorous Ki Jaeyun!”

Ki Jaeyun pouted, looking dissatisfied.

“I don’t like that image! Give me a cool one!”

“And finally, the youngest at the top! The sensible yet crazy acting genius! Cha Dowon!”

It sounded like a promotional slogan.

Yoo Hajin stood up with his bowl of rice and said, “The overall image is a bit tacky. It doesn’t feel like the 21st century.”

Oh, a sharp observation.

I smiled and said, “Well, they say classic is the best.”