A Failed Idol’s Rise to Bottom - Chapter 12

Sugyeom would have passed it over thinking he had heard wrongly, but when asked again by Igyeom, he knew that couldn’t have been the case.

Igyeom really seemed to think that he and Yuchan had done something last night.

As it was only meant to bait their fans, a strange situation had occurred in which a group member was fooled.

Thinking that Igyeom was much more naive and simple than he had thought, he shook his head.

“Hey, what do you mean what did I do last night?!”

“Then, what did you say earlier?”

“That’s…”

Sugyeom couldn’t say it was to trick their fans by playing into his role as a ‘bottom,’ so he hesitated and didn’t speak.

Even though they were members of the same group, it would hurt his pride to say it in detail.

“It’s just…we hugged and talked that’s all.”

“Hugged?”

“Uh. It just happened like that, but anyway, why should I explain this?!”

While Sugyeom rambled to come up with an excuse, he suddenly questioned why he had to act like he had been caught cheating.

In any case, he and Igyeom were just a business couple, and he didn’t actually do anything with Yuchan.

As he grumbled out of frustration and was about to pass Igyeom, he was blocked again.

“What now?!”

“You’ve never done that with me.”

“Should I?”

Sugyeom was dumbfounded. However, Igyeom showed a serious expression.

Igyeom was silent for a moment as if he was thinking of what to say.

“…We’re official.”

The unexpected answer left Sugyeom speechless.

Of course, as Igyeom had said, the Gyeom-Gyeom couple was an official coupling pushed by the agency. However, Sugyeom didn’t expect he would outright say it.

It was the same in his previous life. Igyeom didn’t seem to care much whether they were an official or minor couple.

“What, you were unhappy?”

“It’s not that I’m unhappy…”

“Okay, I got it. I’ll take better care of you from now on. As you say, we’re an official couple.”

Sugyeom had vowed to faithfully accept his role as a bottom, so it wasn’t difficult for him to put in more effort as an official couple. He winked at Igyeom to signal that he understood.

Igyeom showed a perplexed expression, but Sugyeom, having already made up his mind, didn’t explain further.

“Trust me. I’ll really do everything for you.”

Thump–

Sugyeom tapped his chest and said confidently.

“You’ll do everything for me…?”

“Of course. Cha Igyeom, you just have to trust me and accept what I’m going to do for you.”

Because Sugyeom was an expert in this field.

He thought as such inside while laughing confidently, not noticing the odd change in Igyeom’s expression.

Leaving the speechless Igyeom behind, he exited the conference room triumphantly.

Soon, he felt more at ease after changing into comfortable clothes. The hanbok itself was pretty and well fitted, so it was comfortable, but the fact that it was sponsored and had to be kept clean made it troublesome.

“I can relax now.”

Spilling anything on his clothes was naturally not good, but if he was going to spill something, it was better to spill it on his own clothes rather than the sponsored ones. With such thoughts, he headed to the underground parking lot with lighter steps.

The Director had said he would buy everyone dinner today. Not only that, it was Korean beef. Since it wasn’t an everyday menu, he was full of expectations.

Also, the group was going to receive a rather important announcement at today’s dinner. As someone who had heard it in his previous life, his heart trembled even more because he knew what the content was.

“Why are you so late?”

“I was changing my clothes.”

Sugyeom roughly made something up when asked by Taewon who was waiting in the van. For some reason he felt ashamed to openly talk about the conversation he had with Igyeom.

Taewon nodded without questioning further. He seemed to have believed what Sugyeom had said.

Sugyeom sat next to Taewon in the backseat as if it was natural. Although it was never particularly established, there was an unwritten rule that it was his designated seat.

If he was sleepy, he would sleep on Taewon’s shoulder, and when he was really tired, he would sometimes lie on his side and sleep on Taewon’s thigh.

“Minseong-hyung, do we have a lot of money at our company? Can I eat a lot of meat?”

Sugyeom asked, his eyes shining.

U-PITE’s agency was DP Entertainment, an SME. The agency was so young that U-PITE was their first idol debut.

(Note: SME means Small and Medium-sized Enterprise.)

For an SME, U-PITE was well supported. However, Sugyeom was worried because the company wasn’t so well-off to the extent that he could eat as much Korean beef as possible.

When he recalled the memories of his previous life, naturally he didn’t think the company was poor to the point of stumbling upon buying Korean beef a few times, but it was still beneficial to know about its financial status.

“We’re not using the company’s credit card and the Director said he would pay, so I think you can eat a lot?”

“Wow, that’s awesome.”

Sugyeom smiled contentedly after hearing Minseong’s answer.

Before the Director jumped into the entertainment industry he was originally a gold spoon who ran various businesses with his inherited property. At dinner where Sugyeom’s debut was announced, he had even told him not to worry because he could at least feed him during his contract.

(Note: Gold spoon is someone who is born rich with wealth.)

Since today’s meal was fully paid for at the Director’s own expense, Sugyeom could eat without worry.

As such, he decided to do his best to eat beef and even order Naengmyeon. Though, he hadn’t decided whether to eat Bibim Naengmyeon or Mul Naengmyeon yet.

While he was happily contemplating whether to eat Bibim Naengmyeon or Mul Naengmyeon, Igyeom, who had changed into his regular clothes, arrived.

After glancing at Sugyeom next to Taewon, he sat down in the empty front seat.

“Hyung, are we far from the restaurant?”

“It’s not that far, but considering the traffic jam, it’ll take about 30 minutes.”

“Oh, then I’ll take a quick nap.”

Sugyeom decided to take a nap after hearing Minseong’s answer because he had gotten up early and didn’t get his full sleep.

There wasn’t any preparation in particular. Taking off his shoes, he curled up as much as possible and laid down on his side while using Taewon’s thigh as a pillow.

The strong thigh supported his small head with stability. He soon closed his eyes, smiling contentedly.

“Hyung, stroke my head.”

Sugyeom whined like a sleepy child. It was something he could ask because he believed Taewon would listen.

And as he had wished, Taewon slowly stroked his head. The pleasant touch made him increasingly sleepy. His tired appearance of him dozing off was reminiscent of a cat.

The arrival time was delayed more than expected due to the traffic jam. It was nearly 40 minutes before they reached the restaurant where they had reservations.

“Sugyeom, wake up.”

Taewon shook Sugyeom’s small shoulder.

“Have we arrived?”

Sugyeom, still with his eyes closed, asked in a submerged voice.

Taewon carefully raised him up to a sitting position. As his pink head swayed from side to side, Taewon poked his soft cheek.

“I told you to get up.”

“Stop that.”

“So hurry and get up. We’re going to eat meat, Korean beef.”

Sugyeom, who had whined in a languid tone, opened his eyes to the word meat. Taewon laughed quietly at the primitive, yet simple reaction.

The person who couldn’t get it together and was sleeping a moment ago had moved so fast out of the van that Taewon even wondered if it was the same person.

“Taewon-hyung, hurry up and come.”

At Sugyeom’s urging, Taewon quickly got out of the van. After everyone entered the seemingly large-scale restaurant, the staff guided them to the reserved room.

“Thank you!”

Sugyeom thanked the staff and stepped down from the high shoes he was wearing. As a result, it brought him back down to his original height.

“Hello, Director!”

Upon entering the room, Sugyeom and Taewon brightly greeted the Director.

Although he was called the Director, he was actually the owner and CEO of the company.

The name of the man with neat pomade hair was Lee Seonuk. He was actually in his late 30s but looked young enough to be mistaken for his early 30s.

Wearing a luxurious suit through and through, he was the epitome of elegance. He looked at Sugyeom warmly.

“Sugyeom slept in the van again.”

“Heuk, how did you know?”

“Your hair is flat.”

“Ah.”

At Sugyeom’s embarrassed smile, Seonuk chuckled deeply. It was crisp and calm. A relaxed, mellowness. As a result, Sugyeom became speechless again from the atmosphere that he couldn’t follow.