MDQ Ch 35
by Lulu“Alright, Hyunwoo. Now, can I hear how you know me?”
Answering that question wasn’t difficult. This time, I answered honestly.
“I’m… your fan.”
“Wow, that’s surprising. It’s not easy to run into one of my fans. There’s barely anything known about me.”
I nodded.
“Is that your dream, then? Do you want to write lyrics or compose?”
“…”
It wasn’t that I wanted to—I was already doing it. Unable to answer truthfully, I kept silent. Kang Kimoon seemed to take my silence as a yes.
“Then you’d need to keep up with school life, too. If you’re staying here for a month, what about your classes?”
“School? I graduated a long time ago.”
“You’re not a student?”
“I’m twenty-eight.”
“What?”
For the first time since we met, Kang Kimoon looked genuinely surprised.
He didn’t seem to believe my age. Since I knew it was because I looked young, I didn’t feel bad.
“I thought you were so young, that’s why I spoke informally… Sorry. Turns out we’re the same age. If you want, you can talk casually too.”
Since I had known Kang Kimoon’s age from the start, I didn’t react much. If his informal tone had bothered me, I would’ve corrected it right away.
“Yeah.”
“If there’s anything else you want to ask, go ahead.”
“Do you still write lyrics?”
That was what I was most curious about.
Kang Kimoon was still called a genius, but he hadn’t been working on songs recently.
At that, he answered clearly, “A slump. That’s why I came back home. People say this place is isolated, but I like it.”
I nodded in agreement.
When I first came here, I only thought of it as secluded, with the sound of crows echoing around.
But during the day, the village looked nothing but beautiful.
Low houses, green fields, mountain ridges with graceful lines… a continuous scene like a painting.
Of course, sometimes the crows still cried out, but that was just a bird’s call.
It was far better than the voices of people condemning me.
Most of all, the people here were incredibly kind. I was especially grateful to the ladies, whose kindness had moved me to tears.
That’s why I really liked this place. I could even understand why my brother had suggested coming here. If he were alive, I would’ve come with him… That was the one regret.
Spending time in Omyeon-ri, I felt like even the slump Kang Kimoon spoke of could be overcome.
Still, it was hard to believe that even a genius could fall into a slump. He had always written songs so effortlessly that words like slump or failure didn’t seem to fit him at all.
“Hyunwoo. I don’t know what you’ve been through, but I hope you can calm your heart here too.”
Kang Kimoon never once asked about my story. I thought that was his way of being considerate.
“Yeah, thanks.”
The conversation fell quiet for a moment as I expressed my gratitude. Then Kang Kimoon’s phone, left on the table, started vibrating.
He glanced at the number on the screen and frowned harshly. Without hesitation, he rejected the call.
“You’re not going to answer? If it’s because of me, I can go to my room.”
“No, it’s not because of you. It’s just annoying.”
“…”
“Lately, reporters have been calling a lot.”
At the word “reporters,” my heart dropped. My chest pounded at a ridiculous speed.
In my head, I saw both Park Saebit’s mischievous face and the CEO’s harsh glare pressing down on me.
“Can I… ask why?”
“You said you’re a fan. Do you really not know?” He asked playfully, then continued right away, as if he hadn’t expected me to answer. “Recently, there was an issue about plagiarism.”
My hands, resting under the table, trembled like aspen leaves. Cold sweat spread across my tightly clenched palms.
I looked at Kang Kimoon with anxious eyes.
[Title: I want to quit Archon Entertainment…]
They work us like dogs, but at least it’s a big agency and I’ve been holding on because one of the artists is my bias… But this latest article is seriously unfair.
The atmosphere among the managers is no joke right now;;; It feels like everyone’s about to resign at once. Some don’t even believe the “power abuse manager” article.
That manager who suddenly quit was actually known for having a really good personality.
Abusive? No way. If anything, he was the one being mistreated.
Honestly, I think the CEO and artist who buried someone with old-fashioned power abuse and slander deserve to be blacklisted.
[Title: I saw JYH]
He suddenly showed up in front of XX Hospital, scared me half to death.
But what shocked me more was that he saved a guy from almost getting into an accident.
And that guy looked like Hyunseok-nim ㅠㅠ
Wasn’t he the one they kicked out, saying he was an abusive manager? Then why was JYH acting like that?
And Hyunseok-nim didn’t even look well…
What’s going on, really?
⌞ Hyunseok-nim is really being wronged…. I sometimes post about him, but seriously, this is unfair ㅜㅜㅜㅜ I even have some proof of it. Maybe Jung Yohan also knows he was falsely accused, that’s why?
⌞ Anyway, seems like JYH is still close with his manager. Otherwise, why would he act like that so openly when there’s a scandal going on?
⌞ Archon Entertainment has a lot of rumors lately.
⌞ Like what???
⌞ (image.jpg) taken from Blind
⌞ What???? Mass resignation???? Aren’t the company now screwed??? And weren’t they about to renegotiate contracts??
⌞ But why aren’t the members saying anything at all while all this is happening? So were they really abused, or what??
Right after the power abuse manager scandal broke, Given’s dorm was like walking on thin ice.
Like Jung Yohan, Kang Junhyuk and Seo Seoho hadn’t known about the article in advance.
Thinking it was ridiculous, they went to the CEO, but all they got was a warning to stay quiet if they didn’t want to suffer losses.
With their contracts up for renewal, it was the first time the normally cautious CEO had shown open hostility.
And so, the two returned to the dorm. However, two days after the scandal broke, neither Jung Yohan nor Park Saebit had returned.
Even Lee Hyunseok was missing. No matter how many times they tried, all they got was a notification that his phone was off.
However, the only consolation was that, two days later, the abusive manager article had mostly faded away.
A top celebrity’s dating scandal that broke that morning had pushed the story aside.
Kang Junhyuk thought that at least now his phone, which had been ringing nonstop for two days, had finally quieted down.
“Seo Seoho, what do we do? Are you going to renew?”
“Fuck, I don’t know. This is such bullshit. What the hell? What could our manager hyung have done for the CEO to go nuts like that? No one in their right mind would leak that kind of article.”
Even as he cursed, Seo Seoho felt his chest sting. He himself had recently accused Lee Hyunseok falsely and made things hard for him.
‘But I only did it because I wanted hyung to stay as our manager instead of becoming an actor. I didn’t leak anything to the press.’
He had even prepared a gift from D brand as an apology. It was Lee Hyunseok’s fault for disappearing without accepting it.
If Lee Hyunseok had sent a message asking for help, Seo Seoho would’ve helped without hesitation.
Sure, it might’ve caused trouble with his contract renewal, but he couldn’t just let Lee Hyunseok suffer.
But annoyingly, Lee Hyunseok had only gone silent.
“It feels like the Park Saebit plagiarism case and our manager hyung are connected. That’s why this whole mess blew up…” Kang Junhyuk let out a sigh as he voiced his suspicion. “Ah… So what’s going to happen with my solo? I can’t even reach Park Saebit or Jung Yohan. This is driving me crazy.”
Kang Junhyuk had the same thought as Seo Seoho. If Lee Hyunseok had reached out first and asked for help, he would have stepped up—albeit reluctantly.
Of course, it wouldn’t have been unconditional help. He would’ve demanded Lee Hyunseok write his solo lyrics in exchange.
But Lee Hyunseok wasn’t answering at all, and that only made him more frustrated.
Just as Kang Junhyuk let out yet another sigh, the front door of the dorm burst open.
Both he and Seo Seoho turned immediately, clinging to the hope that it was Lee Hyunseok.
But it wasn’t—it was Jung Yohan.
“Jung Yohan?”
With a frighteningly expressionless face, Jung Yohan opened his mouth, “Kang Junhyuk, Seo Seoho. I won’t be renewing my contract. And I’m quitting Given as well.”
“What? Are you saying you’re leaving the group?”
Jung Yohan answered without hesitation, his voice flat and unwavering, “Yeah. That’s what I came back to say.”