Chapter 53
The following day, my group members and I woke up later than our usual time at 9 a.m.
“Hm...?”
“Ahhhh~”
“Urgggh!”
“Wow...! I slept so well...”
Simultaneously, we felt that we weren’t as tired as before, and our bodies didn’t feel as stiff or heavy as usual. After all the fuss we made in the morning and arriving at the place at 5 a.m., I was surprised that four hours of sleep made us feel so refreshed. And we were able to find out the secret behind this change very quickly.
“Maybe it’s because there’s a big air filter running.”
“And we didn’t wake up because it was too hot or anything.”
“Light-blocking curtains...really make a difference.”
This was the result of the combined change in air quality, a well-functioning temperature system, and a light-blocking curtain that didn’t allow even the smallest ray of light to pass through.
“Tae-Yoon, you look really out of it.”
“...Huh?”
“Hahaha!”
“It feels like a long time since I saw you wake up so late.”
“Tae-Yoon, come here for a bit.”
Snap.
Woon suddenly pushed his phone towards me and took a picture. I didn’t even have the time to feel embarrassed because I was half awake. I shook my head side-to-side and shook away my remaining drowsiness.
I didn’t even think it was possible for me to sleep so well, and it felt like I hadn’t had such good sleep in years. I had been feeling very tense ever since I regressed in worry that someone could suddenly trespass into our shabby lodging place and had been wanting to move to a better place quickly. All these worries kept me awake at night, but I think I was able to sleep peacefully this time because all these worries were settled instantly yesterday.
“Give me a moment.” Dong-Jun then got up and searched the corner of the room and took out a remote controller. Then, when he pressed the remote, the curtain automatically moved.
“Ohhhh!”
“Ahhhh!”
“What in the world?”
“What’s that...?”
Seeing the automatic curtains, we all reacted like an audience on a shooting site. Dong-Jun seemed to have thought our reactions were funny and burst out laughing. Yet, we were too shocked about what we saw next even to notice what he was doing. Through the large windows, we saw a city view that overwhelmed its viewers just by its extravagant appearance.
“This is...amazing...”
Honestly, there wasn’t anything that special about the view. It was the sort of view that one could easily see by looking down from a high-rise apartment.
“But each and every one of the buildings that I’m seeing right now costs a couple of hundred million wons...”
“I can’t wrap my head around it...”
“It’s like we were sleeping on top of a mountain of gold...”
This place was not even in the outskirts of Gangnam but in the dead center of it. As we looked too shocked about what we were seeing, Dong-Jun quickly closed the curtains again.
“Um...let’s see the view next time~” He looked a bit taken aback, and like that, silence continued on for a bit. And before the atmosphere became really weird, Yeon-Hoon spoke.
“Let’s first wash ourselves up.”
“Yeah.”
Following Yeon-Hoon’s suggestion, we decided on our orders for washing up.
“There are three bathrooms. You guys wash up first, and Tae-Yoon and I can go later,” Dong-Jun said and told us the number of bathrooms in the house.
“What, seriously...?” And everyone was impressed again.
***
After taking our showers, we all gathered inside the living room. Since there were three bathrooms inside the house, our preparation time was much shorter than usual. Then, the first thing we discussed was what could be called Dong-Jun’s secret.
“Dong-Jun, um, well...so how did you get a house like this...? Did your parents give it to you?”
Dong-Jun averted his eyes like he was embarrassed. Then, after hesitating for a while, he opened his mouth.
“I know it could sound really annoying, but my parents do have a lot of money...”
“Do they do some kind of business?”
“Rather than a business, they inherited some things from my grandparents...”
“Like...what things?”
“Like a couple of buildings...”
“Then is this apartment also...?”
“Yeah, my grandpa gave it to me for my high school graduation present...”
For some reason, this conversation sounded almost like a court hearing. It was always an uncomfortable topic to hear about someone else’s family situation, but all in all, my conclusion of Dong-Jun’s wealth was this:
‘He's the real deal.’ In my past life, I also got the impression that Dong-Jun’s parents were rich when I met them. They even supported my living expenses before I debuted as a web novelist and paid Yeon-Hoon’s hospital fees. But I didn’t expect that wealth to come down from their grandparents.
‘They have generational wealth.’ They were different from just being rich.
“I’m not a billionaire or anything. Our family just does some investments. Is that enough to answer your questions?”
“Ah, um, sorry. I know this is a bit of a sensitive topic...”
“It’s understandable you are curious. I said I would answer all your questions yesterday too,” Dong-Jun said and averted his gaze. It seemed he was uncomfortable about the situation.
‘I wonder what’s wrong?’ It seemed Dong-Jun had a strange sense of discomfort about being rich, but this was something that I could find out later so I quickly passed over the issue.
“Then, does that mean you manage this apartment?” Woon asked like he was genuinely curious. This question was different from the ones that simply asked about his wealth; it was asked because Woon wanted more information about a living space that we could possibly be using for some time.
Dong-Jun seemed to have caught the intention behind Woon’s question and answered, “Yes, this apartment is in my name and I personally manage it. My parents and grandparents don’t meddle in it either. They said they don’t care what I do with it–whether I leave it out for rent or even sell it for cash.”
Dong-Jun clearly told us the property was wholly his. Thus, Yeon-Hoon asked cautiously, “T-Then would it be all right for us to use this place for a bit before we find a new dorm? It’s of course, okay even if you refuse!”
It was a hard question to ask. Even if Dong-Jun was a co-member, this was his property that we were talking about. It was all up to him to decide. Even if we were in the same group, it wasn’t right for us to beg or demand to use what he owned.
Dong-Jun answered with a smile, “It’s fine~ I was planning to live here anyways~ You can move out after finding a new place or just keep hanging out here~”
Everyone’s faces brightened hearing his answer. But we all knew that we were all relying on Dong-Jun’s goodwill and soon said determinedly. “Thank you Dong-Jun, We will quickly get some money and find a place to stay.”
My members all expressed their gratitude and apologies to Dong-Jun and claimed their intention to succeed. But Dong-Jun simply smiled at them, saying, “Don’t worry about that and use this place as you wish~ I have plenty of apartments besides this one~” Dong-Jun said, probably in consideration of us but the members focused on another point.
“You have more besides this...?”
“That’s crazy...”
Nevertheless, whether we were staying short-term or long-term, this place was going to be our lodging place now. Thus, we began to check around the spaces in the apartment. There were two big rooms, one small room, a veranda, a closet that looked more like a dressing room, and three bathrooms. Whenever we turned our heads, there seemed to be a new space so it was hard to check everything at once.
“Is it necessary for a person to even need such a large space?”
“It will be a hassle to even fill up this space with furniture and goods.”
“Don’t you...just need a TV and dining table...what kind of furniture do people in Gangnam use?”
Dong-Jun burst into laughter again at my group members’ genuine comments. After we looked through the house, there came the boring stuff. First, we needed to call Ms. Seung-Yeon and Hyuna and inform them of the current situation. We thought the call would get too long if Yeon-Hoon did this task, so I did it.
“Yesterday night, crazy fans or terrorists—I don't know who they are, but criminals tried to trespass into our place,” I told them.
—Sorry? C-Crazy fans? Criminals?
“Yes. So, we observed the situation until 4 a.m. and packed up our basic living essentials and moved to an apartment in Seoul that Dong-Jun owns.”
—Dong-Jun has an apartment?
—Since Dong-Jun allowed us to use his place as our new dorm, we are planning to stay here in the meantime.
—Huh? Sorry?
“We are planning to go back to our dorm to take the rest of our belongings. But since the people we saw yesterday could still be there, could I ask you to go to the dorm before us and check the place out for secret cameras and the like?”
—Ah, um, yes!
“Okay then, I will send you a message from our new address.”
—....Okay!
Ms. Seung-Yeon and Ms. Hyuna’s heads were probably in a mess right now since I just dropped a bunch of huge news over their heads and ended the call. Yet, there was no more information I wanted to share, and I thought this was enough for them to take care of the rest.
“Then, should we go practice?”
“Let’s go!”
We got our stuff and got up from our spots. We also didn’t plan to use the same practice room as before.
“I made a reservation from 11 to 11—a complete 12-hour reservation~,” Dong-Jun said.
We planned to use the facility inside the apartment complex. This place had subsidiary facilities that only residents could use and had everything from a gym to a pool. Among these facilities, there was a room that had mirror walls on all sides and was just perfect to use as a dance practice room...
“Is that place really free?” The members asked in astonishment.
“You can’t say it’s free. I mean, the management fee is a lot,” Dong-Jun explained.
“Wow...it’s really nice.”
“This is what you call a practice room.”
“Why do I feel kind of overwhelmed?”
But rather than paying attention to Dong-Jun’s words, my group members appeared overwhelmed by the sight before them. Then, they quickly connected their tablet to the speaker. Seeing how there was a speaker available to use, it seemed the space was really built to be a practice room.
“Okay then! Let’s stretch and match our choreographies~”
“Okay!”
We officially began our practice.
***
Time quickly passed after Siren members moved to Dong-Jun’s place. The rivalry between Siren and Only One’s fans continued as fiercely as ever on the internet, and each of the casts of The Showcase 2 practiced day and night for their upcoming second-round performances.
Some practiced to keep their number one title and others worked to turn over the ranks. Nevertheless, each of the groups poured all their effort and desperation into their practice. And when advertisements called for audiences in The Showcase 2’s second-round performances, more people gathered than before.
The people who had laughed saying that there was a show about doomed idols were now invested in the competition between Siren and Only One and began to keep up with The Showcase 2 more passionately than anyone else. And as the rivalry between each fandom reached its peak, the D-Day for the second-round performances came.
My group members sat and stared blankly at the morning sun. It was 5 a.m. right now, and we were inside the apartment’s practice room, which was available only to residents. Since this practice room was above the surface instead of the basement, we could see the sun rising. We had only slept three hours and went over our dance moves not so long ago. And now, my group members and I were simply staring out the window blankly.
“I think...this is good enough,” Woon said, looking as if he had exhausted everything he had. “Doing anything more than this...is just impossible anyway.”
“Haaaa.”
“We couldn’t have done more.”
The last two weeks, all sorts of things happened; and because of that, we had worked more desperately and intensely than ever. It was because we didn’t want to give a performance we would regret because we didn’t practice enough.
“Let’s go.”
Perhaps, that was why, instead of feeling nervous or scared of the second-round performances, we looked forward to it. We had done all we could possibly do.
“Let’s get first place again!”
“Ahhhh!”
“First place!”
“We can do it, Siren!”
We shouted our cheer and got up. It was time for us to stand on the stage again.
Updat𝒆d fr𝒐m freew𝒆bnov𝒆l.c(o)m