Genius Idol’s Strategy to Conquer the Entertainment Industry

Chapter 245

I stood quietly with a bodyguard in the deserted hallway, waiting in silence. Before long, two people came out together.

“You must be tired, sorry to keep you waiting.”

Seo Moon-gyeol apologized in a calm voice when he saw me.

“It’s okay.”

I responded, trying to read his expression to see what he had heard inside.

This time, I couldn’t tell.

If reading Seo Moon-gyeol’s expression was usually difficult, now it felt nearly impossible.

Even if I asked about the knee condition I had briefly heard about earlier, I had a strong feeling he wouldn’t give me a proper answer.

Instead, I lowered my voice so that Seo Moon-gyeol, who was walking ahead, couldn’t hear, and asked Gwak Sang-hyun, who was trying hard to hide his distress.

“Hyung, is Moon-gyeol hyung’s knee really bad?”

“What?”

[Gwak Sang-hyun is trying to gauge whether you heard the conversation or not.]

Gwak Sang-hyun seemed to judge that I hadn’t heard anything and responded with a generic answer.

“It’s not serious enough for you to worry. The doctor said we should just monitor the condition for now.”

After saying that, Gwak Sang-hyun glanced at Seo Moon-gyeol’s composed back and let out a long sigh.

Whether it was his knee or something else, there seemed to be a serious issue with Seo Moon-gyeol’s body that couldn’t be resolved overnight.

Seeing my face, Gwak Sang-hyun spoke.

“Don’t just worry about Moon-gyeol; you need to be careful too.”

“Me?”

“Yes, you. You’ve been lucky so far, but you could get hurt in the future. Be careful. Don’t let something like today happen again.”

Although I admitted that today’s incident was my fault as I had already reflected on it, Gwak Sang-hyun’s words felt like he was saying I shouldn’t do any dance moves that might strain my body, not just reckless ones like today’s.

“But the doctor said earlier that my body is suited for such things. Isn’t it a waste not to do something I’m good at?”

“If you’re only going to hear what you want, why go to the hospital?”

I calmly explained to the exasperated Gwak Sang-hyun.

“No, I’m not saying I’ll do it recklessly. I’ll practice first in a safe environment.”

Gwak Sang-hyun’s expression softened slightly at my words, but he still seemed unconvinced.

“Fine, fine. If you want to see your hyung get old, do as you please.”

“Hyung doesn’t like it that much?”

“No.”

“Why not? Isn’t it good if I do well?”

“Your body isn’t something you can replace; it’s a lifelong asset. Using it recklessly without considering the future is foolish.”

Gwak Sang-hyun seemed to value long-term health over maximizing one’s stage potential as an idol during their prime.

Among our members, only Ban Yo-han might somewhat agree with his thinking.

“What if there’s something more important than living comfortably later?”

“What could be more important than that?”

The fundamental difference in our values made our conversation go in circles.

At that point, I ended the conversation with a “You’re right.”

Gwak Sang-hyun, understanding that members have their own ambitions as artists, didn’t push further.

I know there are many things in this world more valuable than existing meaninglessly.

Seo Moon-gyeol probably thinks so too.

Wanting to leave behind traces of intense existence is perhaps our instinct.

* * *

Instinct is instinct.

Worried about Seo Moon-gyeol, who was keeping his mouth tightly shut, I looked up information about knee joints on my phone on the way back to the dorm.

Idol joints

Idol health

Joint health

Knee joint surgery

Joint health supplements

There wasn’t much good news.

Once damaged, it’s hard to recover completely.

Even if we’re young and fine now, we might suffer from arthritis later and have trouble climbing stairs.

Dancers retire earlier than others because they wear out their bodies when they’re young…

Ultimately, it seemed clear that even with modern medicine constantly advancing, restoring a deteriorated joint to its original state was nearly impossible.

‘But I have a blessing.’

After a long time, I decided to reread the description of Grace, the skill I frequently used.

[Class Skill 《Grace》 – If you sincerely wish for the well-being of the target, a special and gracious miracle will be bestowed upon them.

Your core is incomplete. The skill’s effectiveness is reduced. It cannot intervene in major injuries and illnesses that significantly impact life and death.]

The skill description, which hadn’t changed from before, was still as vague and unfriendly as ever.

What I knew about Grace was that it was my only class skill, it wasn’t advisable to overuse it, and it wasn’t recommended to use it on others.

Moreover, unlike other skills that had clear penalties like accumulating fatigue faster, Grace didn’t come with specific usage conditions.

‘Hey, I have a question.’

Thinking it might be related to the manager’s core, which was one of the job change conditions, I tried calling Larry.

[The manager currently assigned to you is out on fieldwork.]

……The only response I got was this one simple message.

‘They say even a dog’s dung isn’t available when you need it.’

Since he was out working, I couldn’t complain.

Was the automated system displaying this notification now?

‘What is a core?’

I tried asking on a whim, and an answer came back.

[The information you wish to know is not accessible with your current security clearance.]

So even Larry couldn’t tell me?

Meanwhile, the car had arrived at the dormitory parking lot.

I was about to unbuckle my seatbelt as we neared the spot where Gwak Sang-hyun usually dropped us off when I suddenly looked ahead and shouted in surprise.

“Hyung, in front!”

“!”

Screech!

Gwak Sang-hyun, startled by the people who suddenly jumped in front of the car, urgently hit the brakes almost simultaneously with my warning.

The sudden deceleration made me feel queasy as my body lurched forward.

“Ah, these crazy people really need to know their limits…….”

A group of sasaeng fans stood blocking the car, each holding a camera or a phone.

For a moment, I was speechless at the absurdity of the situation.

“Wow… Did those people just intentionally jump in?”

“Seems like it.”

Even Seo Moon-gyeol, who rarely got surprised, looked flustered.

Luckily, the car was moving slowly because it was in the parking lot, so we could stop in time.

If we had been going any faster, it could have been a disaster.

There was no way, but it felt like I made direct eye contact with one of the sasaeng fans through the heavily tinted window, sending chills down my spine.

As the car came to a halt, one person, who had fallen and was still on the ground, seemed to worry Seo Moon-gyeol, who tried to get out of the car instinctively. I stopped him.

“Hyung, don’t go. Stay here.”

“But the person…”

“I saw it. They didn’t get hit. They’re fine.”

Actually, I wasn’t entirely sure because of the limited view, but there was no sensation of hitting someone with the car, and if it had happened, Gwak Sang-hyun would have been the first to jump out. It was more likely that they were pretending to be hurt to draw us out.

“If someone was really injured, the other sasaeng fans wouldn’t just stand around.”

‘It’s plausible, considering these people.’

Seo Moon-gyeol seemed to understand my point as he saw the sasaeng fans knocking on the windows and aiming their cameras, indifferent to the person lying on the ground.

At that moment, Gwak Sang-hyun, who was probably more shocked than us since he was driving, turned around and earnestly instructed us.

“Raon is right. We didn’t hit them, and it’s not our fault, so don’t get out no matter what happens. Stay here!”

“Okay.”

After making us promise repeatedly not to get out, Gwak Sang-hyun got out of the car with the bodyguard.

For a while, there was a heated argument between Gwak Sang-hyun and the group of sasaeng fans.

The person who had been lying on the ground stood up perfectly fine and even tried to swing at Gwak Sang-hyun.

Fortunately, the bodyguard stepped in just in time, or else he would have been hit, making my heart pound.

Meanwhile, one fan kept trying to approach the car, and we remained tense despite knowing the doors were locked.

Seo Moon-gyeol, leaning his head against the window on the opposite side of the sasaeng crowd, looked incredibly tired as he watched Gwak Sang-hyun with concern.

“Hyung.”

Seo Moon-gyeol turned his gaze to me, as if asking why I was calling.

“Are you really okay?”

“Yeah.”

“Really?”

“I’m fine.”

But it was clear that Seo Moon-gyeol was not just physically tired; he seemed unusually worn out, which worried me even more.

울면안댕성 [When are you coming back?]

Just then, I got a message from Gyun Seong-ha, and I asked him about Seo Moon-gyeol.

나 [Hey]

나 [Does Moon-gyeol hyung have any injuries?]

If Gyun Seong-ha, who was very interested in Seo Moon-gyeol and shared a room with him, didn’t know, then Kang Ji-woo or Ban Yo-han wouldn’t know either.

Contrary to my hope that it was nothing to worry about, Gyun Seong-ha’s responses were unexpected.

울면안댕성 [?]

울면안댕성 [Why all of a sudden?]

울면안댕성 [Did you hear something bad at the hospital?]

울면안댕성 [Hey]

울면안댕성 [What’s going on]

울면안댕성 [What is it???]

It seemed like he had no idea what was going on.

I really didn’t know what to do.

* * *

And before we knew it, Orca’s comeback day was rapidly approaching.