Chapter 3.2
Hearing my words, calling Reverb a âfallen group,â Go Ha Ramâs eyebrows twitched. He tried to act indifferent, but it was clear he still had lingering attachment to Reverb.
But what good is holding onto that? Even he, about to enlist in the military, needs to face reality. In a world where the average lifespan is 100 years, working this much should be enough before moving on to something else.
âHey, 12 years is a long run. Most boy groups disband after seven years. If they donât, they just keep the name while everyone scatters.â
I wasnât lying. By boy group standards, Reverb had a long career. Out of nine members, only two had left over twelve yearsâan impressive feat.
âIs that really something to say right now?â
But Cheon Tae Rim, who had approached us silently, seemed to disagree.
âAm I wrong?â
â……â
âDamn it, why is that guy always on my case?â
âWell, because youâre the leader, hyung.â
âGo Ha Ram, are you taking his side too? Fine, then get lost. Iâm heading to the smoking room.â
âAh, hyung, seriously⊠quit smoking already.â
âE-cigarettes donât even count as smoking.â
I intentionally bumped into Cheon Tae Rim as I walked past. The guy was much taller than me, and I didnât want to risk a direct confrontation. Bluffing was one thing, but unlike Tae Rim, whose hobbies included physical activities, I wasnât cut out for fighting.
âHey.â
But Cheon Tae Rim wasnât about to let me go. His large hand clamped down on my wrist with a force so strong I almost let out an embarrassing groan.
âAre you really not going to renew your contract and leave on your own? Are you going to let Reverb disband like this?â
âAm I the only one leaving? Huh? Am I the only one?â
â……â
âGo Ha Ram and you will be the only ones left. Everyone else is ready to hit the escape button. So why are you singling me out? Is it because Iâm the first to go? Whatâs your deal? You donât even like me. If I donât renew and leave, you should be saying, âWow, thank you!â and appreciating it.â
âYou think I donât like you?â
âWhat, do you like me then?â
â……â
âYou hate me. Thatâs why youâre acting like this.â
âSun Ye Jin.â
âJust stop bothering me.â
Though I snapped back sharply, the truth was, I was scared of Cheon Tae Rim.
For starters, he was 12 centimeters taller than me. I wasnât short at 176 cm, but he was 188 cm. With his proportions, he sometimes looked even taller.
Even Go Ha Ram, who had grown to tower over me, still looked like a kid next to Tae Rim. If he were just tall and lanky, it wouldnât be so intimidating, but Tae Rimâs hobby was working out, and his muscular build was on a completely different level than mine.
With such a physical disparity, it was impossible not to feel intimidated. And Tae Rim wasnât exactly mild-mannered. He once made headlines nearly for beating up a fellow member who was caught doing drugs, almost turning into a full-blown assault case.
Normally, he seemed to hold it together, but whenever a member acted out, Tae Rim would reveal his true colors. Even when I was being criticized for my attitude at a fan signing, Tae Rim was the one who scolded me the harshest. Not even the manager said anything, but this guy never let up.
Anyone would think he was the only real idol in the group.
Cheon Tae Rim made me uncomfortable. Sure, part of it was because he could overpower me physically, but the way he acted so self-righteous, like he was the only moral person in the group, really rubbed me the wrong way.
Whatâs so wrong with smoking an e-cigarette in my thirties? Everyoneâs dating on the sly anywayâwhatâs the big deal if you manage not to get caught? It gave me a headache just being around him, with all his rules and judgments.
Of course, I had little interest in dating. Even when the members offered to introduce me to someone, I ignored them all. I’d rather spend that money on another luxury item. To me, dating was the biggest waste of money.
But when Cheon Tae Rim saw that I wasnât dating anyone while the other members were drowning in their flings, he seemed to form some grand delusion. He thought I was as dedicated to idol activities as he was.
Well, I had helped him during the debut survival show, so I couldnât entirely blame him. I had personally vouched for him and brought him into Reverb when he was on the verge of elimination. If he misunderstood, it was my fault.
That misunderstanding, of course, shattered within a few months. By our third year of promotions, I was embroiled in one attitude controversy after another.
I couldnât help it. When a variety show producer kept asking me to do ridiculous things, I refused to participate.Â
Everyone blew it out of proportion, but what was I supposed to do?
