Chapter 68: Equivalent Exchange
After the stalking incident, Enbin moved to a new residence. Instead of the open Han River view that was vulnerable to drone attacks, he chose a place surrounded by sturdy walls.
“Is this it?”
“Yeah. Center Forest.”
It was a small villa complex located on the outskirts of Samcheong-dong, a residential area where high-ranking political and business figures lived. Despite being a small complex, the price was comparable to that of a penthouse.
“May I see your ID?”
“Did you have an appointment?”
The security at the entrance was tight.
The security guards asked Ko Gyeongmin and Muyoung for their IDs and started checking something. Since it was a place where many celebrities lived, they were very thorough about security.
“You’ve been verified. Thank you.”
“Thank you for your hard work.”
The villa complex was so deep inside that it took a while to get there from the main gate. Muyoung gaped at the incredible landscaping and looked around. The officetel he was living in now was also a great place, so he thought he wouldn’t be surprised by much.
“This must be the most expensive place to live in our country, right?”
“Is it that expensive? Wow. Enbin must have made a lot of money.”
“Usually, the agency takes care of this kind of thing. They rent it.”
“Oh, I see. That’s good. Still, it’s something. Hyung, let’s make a lot of money and move here too. Okay?”
Ko Gyeongmin just laughed at Muyoung’s innocent words. That’s good. If you become a top star in Korea, a house like this won’t be a problem. You could even buy a huge mansion in America, far away.
“Oh? It’s Enbin.”
“I’ll come pick you up tomorrow then.”
“Yes. Thank you!”
Ko Gyeongmin exchanged a nod with Enbin and immediately turned the car around. Muyoung waved at him lightly with the bag on his back.
Vroom-
“Enbin-ssi!”
“What’s with the bag?”
“Pajamas, toiletries, and sleeping socks…….”
“There’s a lot of this stuff at home. I told you to come with nothing.”
“Aww. Still.”
He was planning to stay there altogether.
Since he was a very busy top idol, there were almost no times like this when he was free. You’ve got to take advantage of it when he’s around! Enbin picked up his bag and took the lead.
“But you look really good.”
“Is it obvious? Moving here makes life bearable. I don’t see any sasaengs, and my activities ended recently.”
“The one where you got first place on a music show? It was so short?”
“Yeah, just the broadcast appearances. The other stuff is still going on. Once I complained to the company, they started to accommodate me pretty well. Like they say, every cloud has a silver lining. It’s actually gotten a bit easier because of that stalker.”
Maybe it’s because he showed that he could quit if he wanted to. They moved him to a top-notch residence and scheduled his activities in a way that wouldn’t strain his health. That’s why you need to tighten discipline once in a while.
“What about the members?”
“Only Romin and Ciwon hyung are here. Hyung is working, so you won’t be able to meet him.”
The house had to be really big.
As Muyoung stepped into the entrance, a man with faded pink hair approached him with a bright smile.
“Hello. You must be Muyoung hyung, right? I’ve heard a lot about you.”
“Oh. Hello. Mr. Romin.”
“Speak comfortably. Come in!”
He was friendly and kind.
True to his nickname, Golden Maknae, he was also very handsome. They gathered around the living room table and exchanged brief introductions.
“I’m doing well at the academy that hyung introduced me to. But since I moved here, it’s been hard for the director to come, so I’m taking a break now.”
During the hiatus, he lived separately, but he moved back into the dorm when he resumed activities. Since it was acting training he was doing in secret from the company, there was nothing he could do.
“Does the director teach you well?”
“Yes. It’s just that I can’t keep up. Haha.”
Muyoung drank the beverage in front of him and asked straightforwardly. Enbin had probably given him a heads-up already, but it was still polite to ask directly.
“It’s just that I’m planning to audition for a drama this time. The PD said my image is really good, but I can’t sing, so it’s a no-go.”
“Singing? Is it a condition that the OST actor has to sing?”
“I’m talking about a musician.”
“Oh. Then that would be a problem. The song has to be part of the OST. But it would probably work out fine? These days, the machines can fix things pretty well.”
Muyoung just laughed.
It was because that “probably” didn’t work out that he came here asking for help. Enbin said something to Romin quietly.
“But this guy is a pro when it comes to acting. He’s never failed an audition he’s been to so far.”
“Really?”
“I haven’t done that many yet. Bin-ah, that’s just wordplay. That much is true.”
“What do you mean? It’s true. You got the role in Late Night Pocha by pushing out Lee Hijun, and you also got a drama cameo right away, remember? Director Jin Gyeongmun’s work too.”
Whoa. His information-gathering skills are surprisingly impressive. I don’t remember telling him that much? When Muyoung looked surprised, Enbin just nodded, saying he had his ways.
“Anyway, your audition success rate so far is 100%, right? Romin, help him out a bit. Our maknae was actually an aspiring actor.”
“Oh, really?”
Romin smiled shyly, looking embarrassed.
Wow. He’s really pretty. His fans would go crazy if they saw him.
“So you two should exchange some tips or something. I’ll listen in from the middle.”
He playfully set them up.
Filling in what each other needed was the purpose of today’s meeting. Romin, crunching on an apple, made the first suggestion.
“Hyung. Why don’t you sing a song for us?”
“Oh. Should I?”
He needed to see the level to figure out how to prescribe the treatment. Since it was a short-term challenge, he would have to teach him a lot of tricks instead of the fundamentals.
“Well. Embarrassing as it is, I’ll give ‘Hold On’ a try. Ahem.”
“Whoa. Go for it.”
In front of the original singer? What kind of guts does he have? Enbin laughed incredulously and nodded. But there was something he didn’t know-
“Hold on. I’ll ask you for one more chance↗.”
Muyoung chose that song because he didn’t know any other songs well. He had just heard it last night, so there was nothing better. Muyoung sang as seriously as he could, doing his best.
“But↘ why↗ is it that you↗?”
Very seriously.
Then, somewhere, the sound of a plastic bottle falling was heard.
Thud-
“Wh-what is this?”
It was a combination of “What is this?” and “Who are you?”. It was Ciwon, who had come out to get a drink while working. He was so flustered that he even stumbled over his words.
“Huh?”
Muyoung, who had been singing with his eyes closed, finally checked Romin and Enbin’s faces. Shock, astonishment, and laughter he couldn’t hold back.
“Pffft! He’s crazy! Ha Muyoung!”
“Wow. There really are people who sing like this in the world.”
“You were serious just now, right? You sang that with all your heart?”
It was an instant reversal.
During his training days, he had met a truckload of people who seemed to have no talent at all, but this guy was definitely the best among them.
“This is hopeless, isn’t it?”
Enbin wiped away his tears and made the diagnosis. ‘Hopeless.’ Bang bang bang! Muyoung scratched his head in dismay.
“It shouldn’t be like this.”
He really wanted to catch that sparkle.
While Enbin rolled around holding his stomach, Romin pondered for a moment, fiddling with his pen.
“But your vocalization is good, though?”
Maybe it’s because he’s an actor? His breathing isn’t off either. It’s just that his pitch is terribly off.
“And hyung, you only heard this song for the first time yesterday, right?”
“Huh? Yeah. How did you know?”
“I was next to Bin hyung when he was texting you. When he said he was congratulating you on your activities ending a month ago with this song, I thought, ‘Wow, he’s so cut off from the world.’”
He didn’t mean it in a bad way.
It’s just that he’s a person who’s free from media influence.
“But how did you memorize all the lyrics so accurately?”
“I did it like I was memorizing lines, and it worked.”
“Hmm. Really?”
Tap tap tap. Romin tapped the table with his pen. Maybe it was because ‘Hold On’ didn’t fit his vocal range. First, he needed to select a song that would maximize his voice tone.
“Do you have a preferred genre, by any chance?”
“Trot? I like it.”
“……Do you know how to play any instruments?”
“I once got a perfect score on the recorder…….”
Hehe. He seems to shrink every time he speaks.
Muyoung laughed awkwardly and scratched his cheek.
“Muyoung-ah. How about looking for a different role? It’s not like there’s only one drama in the world.”
“Uh-uh. I don’t want to.”
“You’re so stubborn.”
Enbin shrugged his shoulders and looked at Romin. It was true that it was a bit daunting. Finding a song that suited him was the first challenge. Finding the situation quite amusing, Ciwon, who was about to go into the studio, sat down on the sofa.
“If you teach this guy how to sing over here, what about you, Romin?”
“I decided to learn acting. Muyoung hyung is an audition powerhouse.”
“We-well, not to that extent.”
“You two met at just the right time. A couple of newbies.”
“Newbies?”
In response to Muyoung’s question, Ciwon nodded toward Romin.
“Show him.”
“Ah. We-ell-”
And then he rummaged through his bag and pulled out a short scriptbook. It was probably the material he got from the director. The BV logo was stamped prominently on it.
“I heard that K is releasing a miniseries this time, so I’m planning to apply for it.”
“I got an offer for it, but it didn’t fit, so it fell through.”
Enbin chimed in.
Since it was something he was doing in secret from the company, he couldn’t gather information through them. So he was picking up crumbs next to Enbin like this.
“It’s the role of the male lead’s younger brother. Enbin told me about it, so I’ve set up a meeting, but I haven’t been able to meet the director much because of my activities. Time is slowly freeing up, but it’s this week.”
From what he heard, it was the role of a very immature and flirtatious younger brother. So he had been practicing with the most similar work that had been broadcast so far.
“Oh. This is fun.”
The quintessential immature male lead,
He was criticized for being too much back then, but looking back now, he was the worst of the worst. But with a handsome actor and a stimulating storyline, the viewership ratings were a huge success.
“Show us.”
“Ah. Yes. Ahem.”
Romin cleared his throat and began to recite the lines.
Huh? That……
“Hey. Why are you crying? I didn’t cheat on you. Cheer up. Koonchi koonchi koonchichi!”
I’ve seen that somewhere before. It was the terrible acting that Enbin showed him for the first time. No, actually, it was much worse than that. Enbin covered his mouth, trying to hold back his laughter. Ciwon also chuckled and muttered,
“He’s crazy. No wonder the company is against it.”
“Hyung! Aren’t you working?”
“Where else can I see something this strange? I’ll play for a bit and then go.”
While the three of them were bickering, Muyoung picked up the script.
That mysterious ‘koonchi koonchi koonchichi’ was a kind of serenade prelude for the sulking female lead.
“Muyoung-ah. Show us too.”
Enbin was almost in tears, laughing.
His expression, which seemed too happy to be funny, looked annoyingly blissful.
“Um. Hey. Why are you crying? I didn’t cheat on you. Cheer up.”
Muyoung acted while looking directly at Enbin sitting across from him.
He came in strong without any warm-up, but his delivery of the lines was very smooth and natural. Ciwon, who had only heard about his singing ability, was very surprised and looked at him.
Everyone has their own strengths, I guess?
“Koonchi koonchi koonchichi. Nana, look at me. You, stop crying and smile. You!”
“……?”
“……!”
He even winked playfully, as if showing off his aegyo!
Muyoung finished the lines perfectly. Since it was such a famous OST, the melody just stuck in his mouth naturally. But the expressions of the three men were a bit strange.
“What’s wrong? It’s acting. Acting.”
Was that a bit too much?
No matter how you look at it, it’s not pleasant to see two adult men winking at each other, right? Muyoung sniffled and closed the script awkwardly. Enbin and Romin shouted at the same time,
“Do it again!”
“Wh-what?”
“The song you just sang!”
“Song? Oh. Right. Song. Song……?”
Whoa? It was then that Muyoung realized.
The song that was embedded in the lines. It flowed smoothly without any hiccups. And-
“You just sang very ‘normally’ right now. Do you realize that?”