MDQ Ch 1

My brother had always dreamt of becoming an idol.

I never once laughed at or dismissed his dream because, unlike me, he could sing well and dance even better.

He was also good at studying, and he had great relationships with his peers. Sometimes, I thought he wasn’t even human.

To me, my brother was a godlike presence.

The brother who excelled at everything was a pride of mine and our family. I liked my kind older brother, and I firmly believed he would become an idol loved by everyone.

But…

My brother left this world at the age of seventeen, far too young.

The cause was a traffic accident.

He had seen a drunk driver about to hit an elderly woman, and in trying to save her, he himself was hit and passed away.

Our family couldn’t come to terms with his death.

Even months later, my mother, who kept searching only for him, eventually succumbed to depression and ended her own life. My father, having suddenly lost both his son and wife, was on the brink of losing his mind.

Meanwhile, I… had no choice but to pretend everything was fine. I knew I wouldn’t be able to hold on if my father left me too.

I thought, at least I must hold myself together and protect my remaining family. Surely, my brother in heaven would want me to do the same.

So, smiling as if I had forgotten my brother’s death, I kept telling my father that those who are still alive must continue living.

But my father only criticized me.

“Hyunseok, have you already forgotten your brother’s death? You terrible boy.”

He treated my attempts to appear cheerful as madness. He had no understanding at all of why I behaved that way.

In fact, my father had hardly ever understood me.

Whenever I lagged behind my brother in anything, my father didn’t love me as much.

I didn’t resent my father because I loved my brother as much as he did. I understood my father’s love for him and willingly accepted his favoritism.

Even knowing I wouldn’t be loved, I couldn’t leave my father’s side like a child craving unconditional parental love.

Even knowing I wouldn’t be rewarded, I devoted myself to my father, wishing for him to smile again.

But even when we traveled together, ate delicious food, or bought expensive things, my father remained depressed.

The time he spent staring blankly into space only increased.

As I worried about what more I could do, I noticed my father’s gaze fixed on something.

A spark appeared in his otherwise vacant eyes. Like a ray of light piercing through gray clouds, a unique gleam shimmered in his eyes.

What was it? What could he be seeing that made him so delighted?

I followed my father’s gaze.

On a department store’s large screen, a male idol group’s performance played. My father couldn’t take his eyes off them, despite having never shown interest in entertainers before.

The reason was obvious.

At the same time, a single tear slid down from the shining, flickering eyes of my father, a long-yearned-for name escaped his lips, “Hyunwoo-ya…”

Lee Hyunwoo. That was my brother’s name.

It was then that I realized that one of the idol members resembled my brother.

Not in exact appearance, but in the atmosphere he gave off—eerily similar to my brother.

My father demanded to know who the idol was and asked to see more of their videos. Suddenly, I was tasked with researching them.

I didn’t mind. This was the first time my father had shown interest in anything at all.

Their group’s name was ‘Given.’

And the member my father was most interested in, the one resembling my brother in aura, was Jung Yohan.

“Hyunseok, if Hyunwoo were alive and became an idol, he would look just like that, wouldn’t he?”

I agreed with my father.

Since that day, as I watched Jung Yohan’s videos together with my father, it became all the more real to me that Jung Yohan gave off a similar vibe to my brother.

He drew attention effortlessly, even without trying. A mysterious vibe lingered every time he was silent. His exceptional wit and quick perception of situations reminded me so much of my brother.

My father was completely captivated by Jung Yohan and Given, almost as if under a spell. He even joined their fan club.

Because of that, life finally began to return to my father.

Watching every single stage of Given without fail, he would habitually say, “I wish I could meet Yohan at least once before I die.”

That wish became the turning point. I, who had no particular dreams, wanted to fulfill my father’s wish, who had lost his wife and son early.

Not only my father, but I too wanted to meet Jung Yohan, who had a similar aura to my brother.

So, as soon as I graduated from university, I joined Archon Entertainment—the very company Given belonged to.

After countless trials and errors, I finally became Given’s manager.

And three years later…

* * *

In front of the brilliantly decorated stage, four men shone even brighter than the lights as they danced and sang in perfect synchronization.

It was truly a flawless performance. Even their breathing seemed to blend into the music.

As soon as the stage ended, cheers erupted. Calls for them came from every direction. Everyone present seemed to fall under their spell.

But did those cheering fans know?

That the dazzling, almost fantastical image on stage was entirely different from their real selves.

Those four men were members of Given.

The group I had been managing for three years.

And this dreamlike performance was the final stage of their third full album.

Having completed the stage perfectly, the members returned to the waiting room, panting. At the same time, their previously gentle atmosphere shifted dramatically.

The first to speak was Seo Seoho. He threw the water bottle he had been holding to the floor and shouted, “Damn it, Hyunseok-hyung! Didn’t you properly check my outfit? I said I hate messy attachments. Why is there so much lace? Do you want me to curse on stage?”

Seoho ripped off the laces dangling from his arms and neck in frustration.

I hurriedly picked up the lace that had fallen to the floor.

“Sorry… I checked them, but I thought that much would be okay.”

Seo Seoho was the main rapper of Given with a deep, attractive voice.

Despite his cold-looking face, he often showed a puppy-like charm, earning him the nickname “Seo Puppy.”

But in reality, he was a “mad dog.”

He couldn’t tolerate even the slightest imperfection and was quick to anger. From my perspective, it bordered on anger management issues.

He had hidden this true self from the public for five whole years.

Perhaps he vented his anger on his manager a lot so he could keep up appearances at other times…

In any case, Seoho intensely disliked anything dangling on his outfit.

Both the stylist and I were careful about this, but sometimes, like today, we failed to prevent Seoho’s wrath.

‘Seoho, but you were late today, weren’t you?’

He had left without notice for personal reasons and only arrived at the studio just before it was time to go on stage.

Because of that, he hadn’t had time to check his stage outfit beforehand.

If only he had come early to inspect it, we could have coordinated it properly.

Then, Seoho’s chilling voice rang out, “Hyung, it’s been three years. You should know exactly what I want by now.”

“Got it. I’ll be more careful from now on. And I’ll tell Eunjung-ssi again, so don’t worry about it.”

I had to handle it before Seoho yelled at the innocent stylist and she quit.

Over the past three years managing Given, we had gone through ten different stylists. If this one quit, Given might have to perform without a stylist.

“Be grateful that I’m letting this slide this time.”

“Yeah, I’m really sorry. Here, want some chocolate? Sweet stuff always makes you feel better.”

Like a habit, I pulled out imported chocolate from my bag. It was Seoho’s favorite.

“…”

Seoho took a big bite and fell silent. The boy who usually only spat out harsh words finally closed his mouth.

Watching Seoho eat chocolate while wearing his lace-torn, ragged outfit made me sigh.

‘It looks like we’ll have an encore stage today… I need to call Eunjung-ssi quickly to fix this torn outfit.’

But at that moment, another member called for me.