Chapter 184:
Chapter 184
What? Are we the perpetrators?
The members greeted Ian, who entered the practice room proudly with two trophies from the Art Awards.
What is this?
Oh, hes here, hes here.
They brought a red blanket from somewhere and laid it on the floor, pretending it was a red carpet.
Congratulations on the award!
Wow, what a surprise.
The members sang a congratulatory tune with their mouths and gathered around Ian. They even set off small fireworks that came with the cake. Ian laughed and accepted their hospitality.
When did you prepare this?
The exhibition hall where the awards ceremony was held and the agency in Apgujeong were not far apart, so the members didnt have much time to prepare.
The members lit the candles on the cake they bought hastily near the agency and pushed it in front of Ian.
We expected you to win the award.
Youre not the only one who can guess well.
Hyung, blow out the candles. My arm hurts.
Ian heard Kim Hyuns words and blew out the candles. Then, Park Seodam, who was holding the cake, turned around quickly.
Cake! How are we going to eat this?
Dont we have leftover chopsticks from when we ate cup noodles?
Wow, its been a long time, cake.
The mood changed from celebration to eating in an instant, and Ian exclaimed in vain.
Excuse me?
Chopsticks here!
Wow, I was just low on sugar.
Hey, Ian, come and eat too.
Ian pointed at himself with his index finger and uttered in dismay.
Am I being used?
Used? Thats too harsh.
Dont ignore our sincerity.
Lee Juhyuk and Kim Hyun said that while tearing the wooden chopsticks and tasting the cream of the cake with happy faces.
Dont pretend youre not.
Ian chuckled. They prepared with care, but when they actually did it, they acted like they didnt. This was how the members congratulated him.
Ill just have a bite.
Wow, is that a bite, Jinyuk hyung? Isnt that a whole bowl?
Wait a minute, Im the main character, right?
As Ian was about to join the members and eat the cake, a short notification sound rang from his phone, indicating that an important person was calling.
Ill take a call for a moment.
Hey, were sincerely, huh? Congratulating you, and youre taking a call?
Youre sincerely eating the cake, arent you? Park Jinyuk looked at Ians face, which had risen sharply, with cream on his cheek.
Who is it?
My mom.
You have to answer your mom.
Park Jinyuk quickly changed his attitude and opened the practice room door. Ian came out to the hallway and answered the video call from his parents.
(Son!)
Yes, mom. Dad is there too. How have you been? How was the trip?
(We came back well, we just got home. It would have been nice if you came with us)
(Son, congratulations on the award!)
Ian, who was about to mention the award first, widened his eyes.
How did you know? You said you just got home.
(Theres a way to know.)
They shouldnt have had time to look up the internet when they just got home Did the article go up that fast? Ian tilted his head.
(Are you, are you hurt anywhere?)
No, Im fine. I dont get sick easily, you know.
(Im glad youre healthy.)
After a long conversation with his parents, Ian met the Fever members on his way back to the practice room.
Ian hyung!
Oh, hi.
Congratulations on the award!
Thank you.
The news must have spread in the company already. Ian received their congratulations and entered the practice room with a light heart.
Are you back?
Ah, you pigs. You ate all the cake.
You should have come sooner.
The cake with one spoonful left was the last bit of conscience from the members. They had devoured the cake and were admiring Ians trophy.
This isnt real gold, is it?
Of course not, do you know how much gold costs these days?
Still, it looks pretty fancy. Some of our music show trophies were broken, remember?
Dongsoo hyung glued them back and displayed them in the hallway.
The cake box in the middle of the practice room looked pitiful somehow. Ian swallowed the remaining cake in one bite and pushed the box to the corner.
Jo Taeung, who had finished looking at the trophy early and was lying on the floor resting, turned his head and looked at Ian.
Didnt you say your mom and dad went to Switzerland? Did they arrive home?
Yeah, they just got home Wait a minute.
How do you know that? And mom and dad? How do you know they went to Switzerland?
Jo Taeung smirked as he read Ians expression.
Didnt you know? Im the son your parents gave birth to with their hearts.
Crazy.
When did that happen? Ian asked with his expression, and Jo Taeung answered proudly.
They introduced me to the law firm, remember? I called them when I came up to Seoul from my grandmas house. To thank them and say hello.
Oh, a man who knows his manners.
That name is Jo Taeung.
Park Jinhyuk and Kim Hyun chimed in from the side.
Ian sighed as if he was amazed by Jo Taeungs shoulder shrug.
How did you get my parents contact information?
I got it when we did the monthly evaluation. Its basic, isnt it?
Crazy.
No wonder his parents knew everything about Ians schedule. He thought his parents were good at internet searches.
Well, whatever. You also contacted my mom before.
That was to surprise Jo Taeung at his grandmas house, not to know every little thing about his parents.
As Ian still couldnt erase his uneasy expression, Jo Taeung made a strange face as if he thought of something fun.
Speaking of which, should we go check that out when Kim Juyeong comes the day after tomorrow?
What?
The apology letter.
The members lifted their heads at his words. They wouldnt give them any mercy, but they had no reason to stop the apology letters sent by their legal representative.
There were quite a few apology letters from the people who had fun writing malicious comments on the internet, but when the punishment came close, they panicked.
Dont you want to know what the people who cursed at us wrote?
Thats a bit
Im curious, but
Ian was curious too.
They wouldnt be all the malicious commenters. There would be some who couldnt be caught, but he wanted to see how desperate they were.
But then well also know what the malicious comments were, right?
Are you guys okay with that?
At Lee Juhyuks words, the members looked at each other and shrugged as if they didnt care. Even Jo Taeung, who was most affected, looked fine.
Then lets go if Juyeong agrees. We can also greet the lawyer.
We have to start practicing now.
Ian had brought the trophy, but he had no time to rest. It was the longest hiatus since their debut. The members hurried to practice for the upcoming schedule.
They got up quickly and started stretching while chatting.
Im curious about the apology letter. What did they write?
They wont write anything like what they did, how theyre reflecting, and what theyre doing to prevent it from happening again, right?
Theyll just whine that theyre young students and their parents will kill them if they find out.
Or theyll ask for mercy because they have young children?
So predictable.
****
Hey, another one came out.
Where, where?
Ill read it to you. Our family is a recipient of basic living assistance, and I stabbed a dagger in the hearts of my parents who only look at me because of a thoughtless comment. Please, if you could spare me just once
Pfft!
The members held back their laughter as Park Jinhyuk recited mockingly.
What, are we the perpetrators?
What the hell do they want?
The members of Awi had visited the law firm office in Gwanghwamun during their lunch break.
It was a sudden request, but the law firm had cleared a large conference room for the members. On the desk, there was a thick stack of apology letters from the offenders.
There must be some people who havent been caught yet.
And those people wouldnt stop writing malicious comments. Ian scanned the pile of documents in front of him with a bored expression.
Why do they all sound the same?
Hey, another divorce.
Hope you have a family feud.
Most of the apology letters appealed to emotions. They said they had single mothers, they got divorced because of this, or their job search was hindered by this.
Dont look too closely, guys.
Kim Myung-jin accompanied the law firm while Seo Su-ryeon and Park Dong-su went on their honeymoon. He was worried that the members might get hurt again by seeing what kind of comments the offenders had written, so he was kicking his feet behind them.
Can I shred these?
The members were fine, unlike Kim Myung-jins concern.
Yes, we already made copies and we sent the same ones to the judge.
At the secretarys words, the members carefully put the apology letters into the document shredder on the wall.
Jo Tae-woong smiled broadly. The sound of the paper being shredded was pleasant to hear. He felt ashamed that he had been hurt by these peoples words.
Hey, are you okay now?
Yeah.
Ian looked at Jo Tae-woongs face and bowed slightly to the secretary.
Thank you for making time for us, even though youre busy.
Dont mention it, youre our client. If you really feel sorry, how about taking some pictures of our employees who are pretending not to look but peeking in?
Awis popularity was evident in the law firm. When the secretary lifted the blinds of the conference room, some employees who were standing up and watching pretended not to and went back to their seats.
Let me take a picture of you first.
The members laughed at the secretarys words. They gladly agreed to take pictures and went out of the conference room to sign for the employees.
You can post it on MyStar.
Yeah, make the malicious commenters tremble.
No!
Kim Myung-jin hurried over and apologized to the employees. He was trying to minimize the exposure before the comeback, especially since Jo Tae-woongs surprise return was at stake.
Im sorry. Can you please post it on SNS after our kids comeback?
Kim Myung-jin was sweating profusely to resolve the situation, when someone called Ian.
Ian.
Mr. Ji, Mr. Jeong.
The person who called him was Ji Woon-jo and Jeong Yeon-jae, lawyers who were friends with Ians father and college classmates.
Is this the first time since you signed the contract with the law firm?
Yes, how have you been?
Were so busy, were dying.
Ji Woon-jo lawyer whined.
They had a lot of experience at the law firm Seo and Woo, and they were the ones who willingly agreed to the request of Ians parents.
As soon as they received the contact, they came to the agency and signed the contract, and they were sending the complaints to the offenders quickly.
Thank you so much. I was going to buy you a meal anyway
Never mind, how can we take a meal from our nephew.
Jeong lawyer waved his hand.
No, I feel uncomfortable. Do you have time tonight?
Tonight? Ji lawyer, what do you think?
Ji lawyer and Jeong lawyer looked at each other.
I happen to have no schedule today.
Me too. Then shall we get a meal from our successful entertainer?
Ian laughed.
Ill treat you to something expensive.
He was curious about something. It was a good opportunity.
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