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Chapter 206: Joy (43)

Enveloping you

Tripping over the imperfect lighting,

Slowly getting closer?

I will be anything,

Whisper sweetly,

For the cold burning moment,

I will smile and speak kindly?

If you like it,

I will always be a fun person,

But,

I\'m not actually that pleasant?

Engrossed in Goh Yoo-Joon\'s song, Joo-Han remarked thoughtfully, “Hmm, it\'s quite different from his usual style. The lyrics have a different vibe as expected."

I agreed, “Yeah, the song has its own vibe, and Kim Jin-Wook hyung lent his magic touch to it."

The music was tailored to fit Goh Yoo-Joon’s image rather than his inherently bubbly personality. It took the form of deep R&B, which suited his voice impeccably. However, he grappled with achieving the perfect vibe right up until the final moments before recording. Anyway, the lyrics were a true labor of love, meticulously crafted with the assistance of Kim Jin-Wook.

Sipping my coffee while observing Goh Yoo-Joon, I then said, “Hey, he really owes me one."

No kidding, it took more effort to create these lyrics than the ones from my solo tracks. In any case, Goh Yoo-Joon\'s voice was truly remarkable. I had long felt that the group\'s upbeat tracks didn\'t fully showcase Goh Yoo-Joon\'s vocal talent, making this solo opportunity all the more valuable. It was a chance for the audience to experience his genuinely well-crafted solo track.

“Yoo-Joon, you can come out now," said Producer Do.

“Are we done?"

As Producer Do gave a nod, Goh Yoo-Joon swaggered off, set down his headset, and stepped out of the recording booth. He asked, “Did you see that? I wrapped up early, all thanks to my stellar voice."

“Must be nice, huh?" I asked indifferently.

“Aren\'t you going to react properly?"

“Too drained to muster up a response." I nonchalantly brushed off Goh Yoo-Joon\'s comments when our manager suddenly sprang up and started to gather our things.

“Have we wrapped up here, Producer Do?"

“Hm? Oh, yes. You guys can head out first."

The manager bowed politely and herded us out of the studio with Producer Do\'s somewhat distracted confirmation.

“We will see you later then. Thank you, Producer."

“Good job, everyone."

“Hey, don\'t push! Thank you, Producer!"

“Thank you!"

Even though our manager was always composed, we were really pushing it with our recording time, and he seemed somewhat panicked. Thankfully, we managed to squeeze it in just before our next scheduled activity.

After dropping Joo-Han off at the practice room, the manager drove Goh Yoo-Joon and me to the KEW Broadcasting Station.

We arrived at the fourth floor of KEW Broadcasting Station. The corridor was flanked by doors, each labeled with the name of a different program produced by the company. The faint glow of the fluorescent lights and the silhouettes of people behind the semi-translucent glass created a subdued ambiance, with everyone seemingly engrossed in discussions about their respective broadcasts, rendering the corridor eerily silent. For us newcomers, this space remained unfamiliar no matter how many visits we made.

We knocked on a door adorned with a sign that read Graduating: Boys’ High School Edition.

“Come in."

“Excuse us for interrupting."

As we peered in, faces familiar from the filming of Graduating greeted us warmly.

“You must be swamped with your recent schedules, aren\'t you?"

“Haha, just a bit?"

“I\'ve been following your work since we last met at the auditorium, and I must say, I\'m a fan of Chronos\'s music. I\'ve been listening to it on repeat."

“Thank you so much!"

There was Director Ra Hee-Ra, the revered Director of Graduating. Despite our last encounter not being long ago, it was evident that Director Ra had become noticeably more haggard. She appeared visibly exhausted, her energy seemingly drained.

The reason behind her condition was all too clear—it stemmed from the incident involving Lee Cheol-Min stealing a wallet. During our last shoot, there was an unfortunate episode where Lee Cheol-Min surreptitiously took the allowance meant for a mission.

“First off, thank you so much for taking the time to come here despite your hectic schedules. The reason I wanted to see you before we start filming is to discuss the issue with the missing allowance from last time."

“Ah, that matter..." As Goh Yoo-Joon hinted at being aware of the full story, Director Ra simply pursed her lips and nodded solemnly. It seemed to be a subject she hated bringing up.

“Sigh. I did pass on the message to Su-Hwan through one of the writers..."

“Yes, we\'ve been informed. It was Lee Cheol-Min\'s doing."

“That\'s correct. Ki-Hoon was the one who discovered it, and Cheol-Min admitted to it right away. We managed to wrap up the shoot somewhat awkwardly, but..." Director Ra wore an expression laden with contemplation. “To be honest, from our standpoint... Well, it\'s quite awkward to discuss this with you, but..."

Having been around the industry for a while, I had a rough idea of what Director Ra was trying to say.

“Well... Uh."

Due to our packed schedules, we couldn\'t stick around until the very end. Therefore, I was not entirely sure how things had wrapped up during the shoot. However, I had a feeling that the incident didn\'t conclude on a high note.

After all, the filming had undergone for quite a while, and the episodes had even been broadcast. Given the show\'s virtual observation format that relied heavily on each student\'s unique charm, the first episode aimed to shine a spotlight not just on Chronos but on every student, helping the audience become familiar with their faces. Thus, if Lee Cheol-Min were to abruptly leave the show, it would undoubtedly raise more than a few eyebrows.

"..."

Silence descended in the meeting room as Director Ra hesitated to bring up the subject. With only two weeks of shooting left, the production team would probably prefer to gloss over any issues and carry on as if nothing had happened. The situation was similar to the phrases often found in articles about celebrities in hot water: “It was an open secret in the industry,” “The cast was already in the know,” and so forth.

However, it seemed Director Ra found it particularly awkward to request such a thing from these young kids, especially to those who affectionately called her Director and looked up to her.

“To give you an idea of how things ended that day, Ki-Hoon wanted to stick with Cheol-Min till the very end."

“Really? He was okay with just letting the theft slide?" Goh Yoo-Joon\'s incredulous question was met with a nod from Director Ra.

“Well, Ki-Hoon didn’t directly say that. His manager told us that they had become especially close, and despite Cheol-Min’s wrongdoing, the manager felt that it would be best if the news of this incident didn’t spread since Cheol-Min was showing remorse. He suggested we film as planned."

“It\'s true they seemed close, but still..."

“Ki-Hoon is an actor after all. There\'s their friendship, and completely cutting out Cheol-Min would mean losing all of Ki-Hoon\'s footage as well. It would be a tricky situation for him and his agency, wouldn\'t it?" Director Ra seemed to be looking for our agreement.

Certainly, the agency must have made such a request to preserve Ki-Hoon\'s screen time since they had been together so often.

\'But is that all there is to it?\'

Something about that day was off. The expression I caught on Lee Cheol-Min\'s face... The silent frustration he harbored toward Ki-Hoon, hidden behind his tough appearance...

Having witnessed that, I couldn\'t take Ki-Hoon\'s gesture of goodwill at face value. I had to remind myself that after this broadcast, a major controversy would erupt—a detail that would go unnoticed by everyone else but not by me.

“And we are in the same boat..." Director Ra carefully explained the production team\'s perspective. “The episode has already aired, and with the chapters already completed and all the footage filmed, reshooting is out of the question."

“Ah..."

“We\'d really prefer to keep this matter among us and continue shooting as planned. So, I\'m sorry, but we\'d really appreciate it if you could act as if you were unaware of this."

Director Ra\'s awkward demeanor prompted me to give her a reassuring smile and nod. “It\'s okay with us. We weren\'t particularly close with him anyway."

Finally, relief washed over Director Ra\'s face, which had been marked by fatigue throughout our conversation. She said, “Thank you. I called you here today specifically to discuss this. It\'s quite a sensitive matter, after all."

There wasn\'t much more to say about the broadcast after that. Director Ra then asked us a few routine questions, like whether we found anything challenging about the shooting or if our schedules were too packed. Then, we wrapped up the conversation with some praise from our manager.

“Thanks for taking the time to come here despite your busy schedules. We will see you at the next shooting."

“Yes! Thank you!"

“Good work!"

On Ki-Hoon and Lee Cheol-Min. From my point of view, it was unclear who was wronged. If that was the case, then Lee Cheol-Min would be the one to reveal the truth, and Ki-Hoon would be the one exposed.

As we made our way to the car, I mulled over the incident and replayed it in my mind. If it had just been a matter between the two of them, I wouldn\'t have been so concerned.

“Sigh..."

“What\'s with the sigh? ...Feeling a bit off, huh?"

“Seems like it."

I vaguely remembered that the controversy centered around one person, but it soon spiraled out into a series of second and third revelations. The public claimed that the entire cast and crew were aware of the situation but chose to turn a blind eye, which cast a shadow over everyone involved.

In light of this, perhaps my role was to ensure the smooth completion of the filming and to seal away Lee Cheol-Min\'s grievances, preventing any future problems. Essentially, even if something were to happen, it wouldn\'t be tied back to Chronos.

At that moment, a simple solution popped into my mind.

As we got into the car, I turned to Goh Yoo-Joon and said, “Hey, I need to talk to you about something."

“What\'s up? Planning a trip abroad?"

“Why would I suddenly discuss going abroad with you? No, it\'s about Lee Cheol-Min."

“He is not here. ...Sorry, what\'s it about?"

“It\'s about the uneasy feeling from the other day. When we had to leave early due to our schedule, I caught Lee Cheol-Min\'s eye..." I methodically recounted the day\'s events to Goh Yoo-Joon.

Goh Yoo-Joon then asked, “Hmm, I always found On Ki-Hoon a bit off-putting, but I\'m not sure. You are saying you just caught a certain look in Lee Cheol-Min’s eyes?"

“Yeah, but imagine if Lee Cheol-Min was actually framed. It would be terribly unfair, wouldn\'t it? What if he was being manipulated for reasons unknown?"

“Huh." Goh Yoo-Joon gave me a look of disbelief.

I was aware that I was not the type to extend such kindness or get overly involved in other people\'s business. However, I needed to empathize with the guy to make my next point.

“So, what do you want to say?"

“Let\'s at least hear his side of the story."

Goh Yoo-Joon\'s look of astonishment deepened. There was no reason for us—who were neither champions of justice nor particularly friendly with him—to extend such a courtesy to him, someone whom we had been at odds with.

However, I gave Goh Yoo-Joon a look that said we had to do this. I didn\'t attempt to logically convince him since my argument lacked persuasiveness. Eventually, Goh Yoo-Joon grudgingly nodded with a look of utmost reluctance.

“Alright. Let\'s hear what he has to say, but don\'t get too involved with their business. They will sort it out themselves."

“Right."

I let out a sigh and turned my gaze out the window. Their business might very well become our business.

The shooting for Graduating was tomorrow. If my hunch was correct, I planned to spend the remaining filming period distancing Lee Cheol-Min from On Ki-Hoon and ensuring they didn\'t stick together.

‘Kim Jin-Wook...’

I had loosely dubbed this the “Become Lee Cheol-Min\'s teacher” plan.