Genius Idol’s Strategy to Conquer the Entertainment Industry

Chapter 221

After resolving the issue with Ban Yo-han, whether it was reconciliation or compromise, the incident of Ban Yo-han losing his ring became a hot topic among the members for a while.

“Wow, Ban Yo-han. Wow.”

“Let’s stop this already.”

“I can’t believe you actually lost it. I didn’t think you were that foolish… I’m really disappointed.”

“Stop it already…”

“Seriously. How could you lose a ring so carelessly? If that person hadn’t found it, it would’ve been lost forever.”

“Ha, guys, it’s not like that…”

Ban Yo-han, looking somewhat wronged, waved his hands in denial, but it was useless.

“What do you mean it’s not? From now on, don’t even take your ring off when you shower. Wear it all the time.”

“Yeah, you should reflect on this for the rest of your life.”

“That’s not enough. Sew the ring to your finger as a lesson. Or glue it.”

“Kang Ji-woo, you just hate me, don’t you?”

But Ban Yo-han, who wasn’t the type to take things lying down, didn’t just accept it quietly.

Ban Yo-han, having had enough of the teasing from the members and even the company staff for a few days, tried to baffle everyone with his slick talking skills.

“Hey, did I really lose it? No! On Raon found it, didn’t he? Do you think anyone would find it for you if you lost something? Do you think this was a coincidence? No! It was fate! In the game terms they use, this ring is a rare item with a modifier like ‘Blessed with Miracles and Luck’.”

“There’s no such item in ‘Runes’.”

“We wouldn’t lose a perfectly good ring in the first place.”

Right. No matter how simple-minded our members might be, surely they wouldn’t fall for such an obvious scam.

At that moment, I realized that the person who should have been the loudest in rejecting Ban Yo-han’s nonsense was silent.

Both Gyeon Seong-ha and I turned our heads to look at Kang Ji-woo.

“A ring… If I lost it in front of my house, would our youngest pick it up and bring it to me…?”

“…”

“Please, hyung…”

At least one person fell for it.

Not just fell for it, but Kang Ji-woo looked longingly at Ban Yo-han’s ring, which I had found for him.

Even Seo Moon-gyeol, whom I had trusted, was now looking at Ban Yo-han’s ring with slightly different eyes.

‘Why would they envy this?’

Were they envious of the rarity of finding a ring that had been dropped in a river and then discovered in a restaurant’s fish dish shortly afterward?

Fortunately, Gyeon Seong-ha was trying to keep our silly hyungs in check with a stern tone.

“Surely you’re not serious? If it ends up in a fan’s hands, it’ll be a disaster.”

“Then maybe I could lose it inside the house? Someone would find it anyway… But Ban Yo-han, don’t even think about touching my ring.”

“Hey, I wouldn’t even think about it. If I pick up your ring, I’ll send it straight to Haenam by courier.”

“How could you be such a jerk…!”

“At this point, Ji-woo hyung doesn’t seem much different from Yo-han hyung, considering he’s seriously thinking about such things.”

At Gyeon Seong-ha’s cold remark, Ban Yo-han burst out laughing.

“Right? He and I are the same.”

“But it’s weird for someone who actually lost something to laugh like that.”

“I’m glad but also sad to see Seong-ha’s sharp tongue has gotten even sharper lately…”

“Can you stop treating me like a child with that weird tone… Let go of me!”

Kang Ji-woo’s angry voice was muffled as Gyeon Seong-ha grabbed his cheeks with both hands and squeezed.

“So, aren’t we practicing?”

“Yeah. Let’s stop messing around and practice.”

Even during our off-season, we practiced regularly, but due to recent events, we had taken a break, leaving our bodies stiff and our senses dulled. We had gathered in the practice room today with the intention of starting anew.

After finishing the group practice with focus, we dispersed for individual practice. Kang Ji-woo called me over.

“Didn’t you say you were visiting Young-min hyung at the hospital later? Let’s go together.”

“No. I want to go alone today.”

“Alone?”

Because Kang Ji-woo practically shouted with an excessively loud voice, the members, who were practicing separately, stopped and looked at me like meerkats.

“No, I mean I’ll go with the security guards.”

It seemed like everyone returned to what they were doing, but I could feel their ears were still perked up, listening.

“Why can the security guards go but not me? I’m worried about Young-min hyung too, and I want to visit him. Why do you have to go alone?”

“Hyung, I usually don’t say this kind of thing, but…”

“Yeah.”

“You’re really tiring…”

“That’s true.”

Gyeon Seong-ha, who was choosing music nearby, nodded.

# Chapter 221

In the end, I managed to leave for the hospital after promising Kang Ji-woo about seven times that we’d definitely go together next time, sealing it with a pinky promise, a stamp, and a signature.

I had already heard from Gwak Sang-hyun, who regularly checked on his condition, that Lee Young-min was spending most of his time asleep these days, and I might not even find him awake when I visited.

“He’s been sleeping so much it’s strange. They did some tests to check if something was wrong, but they didn’t find anything unusual. I think all the stress from managing finally caught up with him.”

Gwak Sang-hyun added with a sigh.

“When I talked to him briefly while he was awake, he said he’d go down to his hometown and rest for a while after being discharged. But honestly, I don’t know if he’ll continue working as a manager after what he went through. If he quits, I wouldn’t blame him…”

I resisted the urge to tell him that Young-min becoming our manager was just a cover job and that he shouldn’t feel any guilt, thinking it might make me look heartless.

However, when I entered the hospital room, I found that, for some reason, Larry, disguised as Lee Young-min, was wide awake.

“Hyung, you’re awake.”

“Yes. It’s been a while.”

Lee Young-min pretended to be clueless.

Since I had something to discuss with Larry privately, I turned to the bodyguards standing behind me.

“Sorry, but could you wait outside? I need to talk to Young-min hyung privately.”

“Understood.”

“Thank you.”

“No problem. It’s our job, so you don’t need to apologize.”

After the bodyguards left, the only ones remaining in the quiet room were Larry and me.

For a moment, there was a sudden whiff of burnt smell, and then Lee Young-min, or rather Larry, spoke in his distinctly ambiguous manager’s voice.

“There are no ears to listen, so speak freely.”

“What’s with you being awake?”

“I had a feeling you’d be visiting today.”

“Feeling, my foot. You knew everything.”

Even though I didn’t know the exact method, it was clear that Larry, while acting as Lee Young-min, could see right through my condition.

Otherwise, it wouldn’t make sense for him to rescue me at such a perfect timing.

“Thanks for helping me out last time.”

“Surprising. I thought you’d curse me for unnecessary actions.”

“What do you take me for?”

“Wouldn’t it have been more beneficial for your plan if you got hurt instead of me?”

That was true.

There’s a big difference in the attention between a manager getting hurt and a famous singer getting hurt.

“If you knew, why did you do it?”

“Because it helps my plan if you’re intact.”

“And you went on about our plan last time.”

“Haha. Manager 2320 Zero would prefer if you didn’t know about your healing abilities.”

“Doesn’t he already know? He’s the one who informed me about the job change.”

“Did you forget that job changes require a core? For a human like you to get a core, you’d need mine. I barely gave you enough to save your life from the harmful substance, so he wouldn’t suspect that I gave you enough for a job change. No, he’ll never know. And when the time comes, that will strike at his weakest point. I’m already looking forward to seeing his face then.”

“I see…”

After watching the sleeping Young-min for a while, I had forgotten how tiresome Larry’s rambling could be, even more so than Kang Ji-woo.

“So, you’re saying that he’ll attack me again like he did with Seo Ju-won or Oh Hyun-jin?”

“Of course. While the climax will be when you reach the top, given Zero’s situation, he’ll target you whenever he gets the chance.”

Having obtained my answer, I asked something else.

“What do you think of my actions back then?”

I had been thinking about it for a while, and it seemed like the reason the members, especially Ban Yo-han, were angry was because of my actions that day.

But from my perspective, blessed as I was, their anger didn’t make much sense to me.

Honestly, if it had been Ban Yo-han in my place, I believed he would have acted similarly in that situation.

So I was curious about how he would react if I told him, ‘I had a card that would let me recover quickly even if I got hurt.’

But since I couldn’t reveal my blessing to Ban Yo-han, I decided to ask Larry, who knew about my abilities.

“It doesn’t mean much to me, but I think it was a brilliant moment of determination for you to take revenge on True. It was the best action you could take with the card you had. Not everyone can act on such knowledge, and that deserves special credit.”

However, contrary to Larry’s generous praise, I immediately realized that something was wrong.

Larry was insane.

His standards were far from those of a normal person, evidenced by the fact that he had taken pictures of me being strangled right in front of him, assuming I wouldn’t die.

But wasn’t I, who had voluntarily fallen down the stairs thinking it’d be okay because of my blessing, just as abnormal as that crazy guy?