07. Flag (4)
What day is it today? I counted the days while turning my stiff shoulders.
Let's see.... Oh, it's the 26th. I pressed my eyes, which were heavy from lack of sleep.
'How much time is left until the end-of-month evaluation? Was it 3 days?'
As I walked down the hallway while counting the time, something soft was stepped on. I looked down and saw a person lying face down like a corpse on the floor of the water purifier hallway. So what I just stepped on was... a person's arm.
"Fuck...."
The guy who had fallen let out a strange sound. That curse and the back of his head sounded strangely familiar. The guy who felt my gaze turned his head.
"...You're here?"
When Lee Aram saw me, he cursed with his eyes as well. I crouched down and poked Lee Aram.
"Hyung, what are you doing here?"
"I was going back after drinking water and my legs gave out and I fell. Why."
I sighed deeply at the annoying answer. He didn't even do that much for a while, but he's already tired. These days, kids' stamina is really bad.
I ran my hand over the floor and poked Lee Aram once more.
"The floor is cold, hyung. You should go practice."
"You're a mean kid.........."
He's mean to himself, but he's talking to others. Even if you give him some leeway, he still has to go to his personal practice and leave work.
Lee Aram squirmed for a while and then frowned. I got up and held out my hand to him.
"Take it and get up."
"Are you giving me medicine?"
[병 주고 약 준다. Meaning: To make trouble and then give help. Literal Translation: Give a disease, then give medicine]
Lee Aram, who slapped my hand away, ended up getting up on his own. He then did some stretching and walked ahead of me. I clicked my tongue and went into the practice room. Most of the team members had already arrived and were warming up. The atmosphere was still not lively, but it wasn't like a rink of thin ice like before.
"You're here?"
"Yes, everyone came quickly. Shall we make a light formation?"
".....Okay."
After persuading Choi Min-woo, the team members followed me like a team leader. It would be correct to say that no one but me is stepping forward. Anyway, the important thing is that I lead the practice.
I played a song for my team members, who are grim for some reason. Loud music flows from the speakers.
One and two, three and four. I looked in the mirror and practiced over and over again.
"Minwoo hyung, I think you're about half a beat late. Let's go again."
"Okay, I'll be careful."
"It's not Ta-an-ttan; it's ttan-ttan. Junghyun hyung, please hold the beat in the middle. Let's go again."
".........uh."
"Jinwoo hyung, you just stepped out about half a step. Let's go again."
"Huh? Uh... sorry."
"I'm sorry. The arm angle is down about 3 degrees."
"Let's go again."
"....."
"Let's get our timing right when we come down. Let's go again."
"The route is a little crooked. Let's go again."
"Let's go again."
"Let's go...."
"Let's..."
"Stop! Let's stop! Just take a break!"
As I mechanically shouted 'Let's go again', Choi Min-woo stood with both arms up. His arms and legs shook like an aspen tree [tremble teee].
"Let's just rest for thirty minutes... no, fifteen minutes."
"Oh, really?"
Choi Min-woo, who was not satisfied with the situation, got the short break he wanted. The team members lay sick on the floor of the practice room as if they were waiting.
"Ugh, I'm dying. I slept for five hours last night."
"... Me too. I feel like I'm going to throw up if I move."
I drank water from a water bottle while listening to the conversations of my team members. Choi Minwoo looked at me intently and asked curiously.
"Aren't you tired?"
"Ah... It's hard, but I'm used to it, so it's okay."
Maybe it's because I've been living this life repeatedly since a long time ago, but it wasn't that painful even if I was tired. Practice has to be repeated until it's satisfactory, and there's no time to sleep during the promotion period.
I've said this before, but if Yoo Young's physical strength wasn't this bad, I would have squeezed it out more.
I smiled silently. Kim Jung-hyun laughs at me, as if something about bothers him.
"Familiar? I don't know if he's out of his mind. He must be exhausted."
At the sarcastic words, Choi Min-woo came in between me and Kim Jung-hyun.
"Junghyun, calm down first...."
"No, I haven't said anything yet."
"We don't have much time left until the end-of-month evaluation. Let's try our best. You don't want to regret it after the evaluation, right?"
"....."
At Choi Min-woo's words, Kim Jeong-hyun fumbled his fingernails with a nervous look on his face. He even broke out in a cold sweat.
It looks very bad. Are you sure you're okay? As I stretched out my upper body and looked at Kim Jung-hyun's complexion, someone came up and grabbed my shoulder.
".....They asked you to come to the meeting room of the New Development Headquarters."
A trainee who seemed to have been sent on an errand spoke calmly. The atmosphere in the practice room suddenly becomes cold.
I looked around and saw my teammates looking at me with eyes full of hope.
"Hey, go quickly. They're calling you."
"Okay. We have to go to training soon anyway, so let's end it here."
"...Is today education day? I really feel like throwing up, guys."
"Don't throw up here, go to the bathroom."
It's not just about sending it willingly, it's about being desperate. The third guy in particular looked like he was in desperate need of a break.
'Now that I think about it, education... There was such a thing.'
The 'education' that the team members were talking about meant regular character education once a month.
It's not that they're doing anything grand; it's just that they're providing basic moral and character education to the ears, but whatever. Trainees were required to attend, so after lessons and practice were over, everyone had to gather in a large lecture room.
'I think attitude was also included in the score when receiving education.'
For the moral subjects, a formal external lecturer was brought in to give lectures, but character education was in the form of Lime employees taking turns giving speeches one by one.
Thanks to this, the trainees wrote this time as 'education' and read it as 'entertainment employees' complaints.'
"You can go to the meeting room and then go straight to the lecture room."
Lee A-ram waves his hand as if he is annoyed. It's a shame that practice ends here, but it can't be helped.
As I nodded, my teammates were visibly relieved.
"Then I'll go first."
After saying hello to my teammates, I walked out of the practice room.
'I haven't done anything particularly scandalous so far... Is the background investigation completed?'
I walked down the hallway trying to find a reason to call me, and quickly arrived at the meeting room of the New Development Headquarters. When I knock and enter the room, I see the staff member sitting there.
'Wow, are you doing that on purpose?
Why do they make employees sit in the front? I'm fine, but if I were an ordinary trainee, I would have been scared as soon as I came in.
There was a face I didn't recognize next to him... but at first I thought it was just another employee.
I bowed and said hello, then sat down on the chair and asked.
"Why did you call me?"
"Don't be nervous. It's just a quick interview."
The employee in charge tilted his head and checked various things on a piece of paper. It seemed like it was an interview site, but I tried not to pay any attention to it.
In a quiet space, the staff member spoke calmly.
"Hmm... Yoo Young has a surprisingly clean private life."
...Isn't it too obvious that you investigated the background? Even if it were a background investigation, it would be something like checking the birth certificate or social media.
I nodded my head, hiding my expression as much as possible. What could come out? Not only Yoo Young's body but also I've been careful not to leave any blemishes.
'At this rate, I don't think there's any need to call and talk.'
The conversation after that was nothing but meaningless talk. I killed time by correcting and answering appropriately.
"Are you having a hard time or experiencing any inconveniences these days?"
"Nothing in particular."
"Yes. If anything comes up, please contact me right away."
The only person who usually deals with me is the employee in charge of me, who keeps looking at the unidentified man. I quietly observed the man's behavior. He was wearing a neat blue suit with no blemishes and an expensive watch that gave off a strong presence.
"Then I'll stop here for today. Let's keep fighting in the future."
"Thank you."
I left the meeting room with a brief greeting and stretched. The man didn't say a word until the end. Who is he? As I pondered the man's face, I noticed the back of a head that I had seen somewhere.
First of all, it wasn't Lee A-ram, and where had I seen him before...........
"Oh, cup ramen."
I remembered. That guy was the cup ramen I had seen next to the water purifier.
Hearing my voice, Cup Ramen shrugged and turned around. When our eyes met, he opened his eyes wide and shivered.
Before I could finish speaking, Cup Ramen ran towards me in a hurry. His face was grimacing and didn't seem to be happy.
"Oh, hello. Good morning."
"Yes, it's a good 'dinner'."
"Yes, how have you been? Oh, I'm Baek Han-gyul from Class B."
I continued the conversation and observed his expression. He somehow started talking, but even he seemed to find this situation awkward. Since he was a guy whose emotions were clearly expressed on his face, it was easy to read his reaction.
"Well, I was grateful back then."
"No. That's possible."
I understood his feelings for eating cup ramen in secret while eating the company-provided meals. There wasn't even a single dressing on the salad. Honestly, I ate it secretly too.
'Even current idols don't control their eating to that extent unless they have to build up their bodies.'
But since he was struggling like that, it felt like there was some kind of... secret. Oh, maybe.
"...Was the person who ate ramen the day before yesterday also Baek Han-gyul ssi?"
"Huh, when did you see me?!"
Just by looking at it, it looks like you need to put your eyes down, so you can respond as you poke it. He kept talking diligently while making light gestures, like he wanted to appeal to how solid Ramen was.
Let's stop teasing him.
"I'm kidding. My name is Yoo Young, and I'm 18 years old."
"Please speak comfortably. I'm 17."
After the introduction, Baek Han-gyul bowed his head politely and showed great friendliness. To be exact, he was very approachable.
"I'm really scared.... I'm scared of the New Development Headquarters."
"Really?"
"Yes! Just a while ago, I was eating a snack and looked up, and the staff member stared at me silently, so I screamed right there."
At this point, it was hard to tell who was stronger between New Development Headquarters's crackdown and Baek Han-gyeol's sloppiness.
I couldn't hide my expression and looked at him. Baek Han-gyul either didn't notice or was ignoring me and continued to speak stubbornly.
"I've been suffering for a while, and now the staff member appears in my mind when I eat snacks."
How much suffering did you have?
I swallowed a hollow laugh. Objectively, Baek Han-gyul's body shape wasn't bad. In terms of the fit, it was neat and just right?
But maybe because this guy was so persistent, New Development Headquarters also seemed to have a temper. It's likely that one of the two would give up, but he's really great.
"You've worked hard."
"Right. So you have to keep it a secret."
"But don't kids who go to school eat school lunch?"
Baek Han-gyul turned his gaze to my question. He pretended to walk naturally, but I could see it clearly. He's shaking now.
'Well, he's a big kid now.'
I brushed it off like that and didn't bother to ask any more. If you think about it, this industry where they only feed kids grass to manage their weight is strange.
"By the way, do you know who's in charge of education this month?"
"This month... Oh, it's Team Leader Lee Ki-ho."
When I naturally changed the subject, Baek Han-gyul answered proudly. He seemed happy that the conversation had moved away from cup ramen.
'Team Leader Lee Ki-ho...'
He was a former manager and quit after getting high blood pressure. I held back a sigh as I listed the words that described him. Why are they all anxious words?
Baek Han-gyul added with a gleam in his eyes as if to support it.
"That team leader really talks a lot. He nags me a lot, especially. He even finds out when I eat snacks the most."
"That team leader really talks a lot. Especially nagging. He even found out about my snacks the most."
Oh, oh.......... I see.
I nodded absentmindedly, pushed by his momentum. Baek Han-gyul paid no attention to my reaction and reported to me everything about Team Leader Lee Ki-ho, such as how scary he was, how he moved like a ghost, etc.
"Anyway, he's a unique but good person."
".........Yeah, thank you for telling me."
I became anxious because of that. I smiled faintly as I looked at Baek Han-gyul.
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