Chapter 137: Temptation
The red camera light entered my sight.
I took a slight breath before calmly opening my mouth.
“First of all, today is the first broadcast of ‘Dance in the Night,’ and I’m honored to be the first winner.”
The start was smooth.
Gulp—
I swallowed and flashed a faint smile toward the camera.
“I want to thank the live audience for making me the winner, and it was an honor to share such a great stage with you, senior.”
“Kyaaaaaak!”
“Waaaaaah!”
Sung Jihoo nodded and turned to me, a pleased smile hanging on his lips.
It wasn’t just empty words—if it hadn’t been for this program, I might never have had the chance to stand on the same stage as my idol.
Should I say that I learned a lot?
There were many things I sincerely felt grateful for toward my senior.
After giving my thanks to Sung Jihoo, there were others I couldn’t leave out.
This time, my gaze turned toward the audience.
“Today, our members came to this place.”
Their faces, disappointed because I hadn’t made a mistake, were shown on screen.
The bond between Stardust was this strong.
Among the disappointed members, Cha Seongbin waved a sketchbook and smiled brightly.
[I want to eat Hanwoo ><]
Although Cha Seongbin was holding it, the comment was clearly written by Seo Haim.
As soon as the camera caught him, Cha Seongbin hurriedly flipped to the next page of the sketchbook.
[Congratulations on winning, Seohan!]
Just when it seemed heartwarming….
[I did the arrangement.]
It was a twist that didn’t go against expectations.
MC Lee Hwan, who read the message, burst out laughing.
“Ah, one of your members is appealing that he was the one who did the arrangement….”
“He’s really good.”
“As expected, the genius composer acknowledged by Seohan. Is the income profitable?”
“Yes, I always support my brother’s royalties.”
It was already well-known that Cha Seongbin wrote good songs.
I heard he had been receiving offers here and there to write songs lately.
Still, I wished he would only write for us for now.
Especially since we were in the middle of pulling together tracks for a full-length album, I didn’t want to lose such a precious talent.
Anyway.
[Stardust Fighting!]
I couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight of my members brightly raising their sketchbooks.
And finally….
I looked around at the familiar slogans held by the audience and shouted with energy.
“I love you, Dusty!”
Clink—
The sound of glasses clashing rang out refreshingly.
It was a company dinner arranged by the agency to celebrate ‘Dance in the Night.’
The Hanwoo I won as a prize would be eaten later, and as soon as filming ended, we decided to have a dinner party at a nearby Hanwoo barbecue restaurant.
Including the managers, quite a number of people filled the seats.
The noisy overlap of voices felt exactly like a company dinner should.
“Now!”
Manager Lee Jaeyoon suddenly stood up and shouted in a booming voice.
“Though he isn’t here with us… let’s thank the CEO for providing us with such a plentiful meal….”
“Shall we shout for Doubles?”
The managers were already excited among themselves.
I wasn’t sure when he had become so close with Tiple’s manager, but the two of them clinked their glasses side by side.
Next to them sat Jin Sehyun, who was recording a video message to send to the CEO.
“For Doubles!”
“For Doubles!!”
“Kyahhh—.”
With the toast finished, the atmosphere grew even more lively.
It was hard to believe they were only drinking water with such high tension.
Since they had to drive, they couldn’t drink alcohol, so that was how it turned out.
“Wow, this looks delicious.”
“Please, help yourself.”
I wondered what kind of tension they would have shown if alcohol had been involved….
I didn’t have to look far.
“Senior, I personally really love Tiple’s songs. Ha, I have to write such a masterpiece once before I die.”
“Ah, thank you. It’s an honor.”
“My favorite Tiple song, you see, was ‘Everything’ from the last album’s included tracks, ah, that one was so good….”
Cha Seongbin kept bowing his head as he poured beer into Sung Jihoo’s empty glass.
As far as I knew, that hyung had only drunk about three shots of soju.
He looked like he could handle several bottles, but he was actually quite weak against alcohol.
“Ah, and senior!”
“Yes?”
“I want to know the secret to how Tiple managed to last so long!”
Cha Seongbin, who was always talkative, spoke even faster than usual today.
“Hahah… hah…. Seongbin, sit down.”
“Uuung, okay~.”
Then there was Ha Junseo, who just kept smiling.
“…….”
And Kang Siwoo, whose expression had become unusually serious.
Judging by their faces, it looked like they were about to raid a gang.
Weren’t they just drinking beer?
I had no idea why they were giving off strong liquor vibes.
“Mmm, the meat is delicious.”
Of course, there was also Seo Ian, the strongest member of Stardust, sipping somaek as if it were just a soft drink, without even a change in expression.
As expected, Sundubu was quietly strong….
Pour—
From the table beside them, I poured Chilsung Cider into an empty beer glass and drank quietly.
Not only was I underage, but I also didn’t like alcohol in the first place.
It was a little disappointing that I couldn’t join that crazy tension….
At the table near the door, three underaged members sat together.
We clicked our tongues as we watched our hyungs get more and more drunk in real time.
“Who’s the drunkest right now?”
“I think it’s Junseo-hyung.”
“Something wrong with Siwoo-hyung?”
“He just always gets serious when he drinks.”
The one who stayed relatively normal, just more high-spirited than usual.
Cha Seongbin smiled as he placed a nicely grilled piece of meat on a plate.
“For the kids who can’t drink, eat a lot and grow big~.”
“Hyung, why can’t you drink if you’re an adult?”
“Jin Sehyun. Don’t hit me with facts~.”
“Do better.”
“Sss, I won’t give you meat?”
Sung Jihoo, who had been quietly watching the scene beside Manager Lee Jaeyoon, murmured softly.
“It kind of… feels like raising kids.”
“It’s even more like that if you see us often.”
Crash!
Just as the words left his mouth, one person caused trouble.
It was Seo Haim, who happened to be making a sacol (cider-cola) instead of somaek.
Immediately, everyone started chiming in.
“Ah, you don’t have enough mixing experience.”
“Haim, what’s with all that foam?”
Cha Seongbin clicked his tongue as he looked down at the glass more than half-filled with foam.
Regardless, Seo Haim took a sip of the sacol without any damage.
“How’s the taste?”
“The carbonation is… double!”
“The sugar must be double too.”
Stardust in the wild.
Jin Sehyun, never one to miss a chance, cut in.
“PT teacher would cry if he saw this.”
“Hey, Seo Haim, weren’t you making abs?”
“Hanwoo is protein, so it’s fine!”
“Was soda protein too?”
“Wait a second.”
Amidst the nonstop chatter, Seo Ian quietly raised his hand.
“There’s something I want to do….”
All ten pairs of eyes turned his way.
“Mm?”
He had been drinking the most quietly, but thanks to alcohol, Seo Ian had gained a bit of courage.
Seo Ian’s lips carefully parted.
“Shall we… take a picture?”
“A picture?”
It seemed he wanted to capture the company dinner with Sung Jihoo in a photo.
Of course, his favorite Choi Yeonwoo wasn’t there, but since he had always been a Tiple fan, it made sense.
Sung Jihoo widened his eyes, then laughed.
“Sounds good.”
“Should we post it on JjaekJjaek?”
“That’s a good idea too.”
Before we knew it, the dinner turned into a commemorative photo shoot.
Manager Lee Jaeyoon waved his hand, calling the members over.
“Come on, everyone, gather quickly.”
“Seohan, come over here.”
“Siwoo-hyung, pull him closer!”
The members huddled together.
Everyone hurriedly made V-signs with their fingers.
Leader Kang Siwoo spoke out cheerfully.
“Okay—one, two, three!”
Click, the sound rang out, followed by a booming voice.
“Cheese!”
[Doubles’ company dinner photos uploaded]
Looks like after Dance in the Night ended, Sung Jihoo and Universe Dust had a group dinner.
Sung Jihoo must take good care of them, everyone looks comfortable.
The underaged ones all sitting together in the corner are so cute, lol.
Junseo’s face turned red, maybe he drank alcohol.
The group photos are insanely cute ㅠㅠ
-Ah Heung-Junseo lololololol he looks even more like Heung after drinking alcohol ㅠㅠ lololololol
└Seriously, who gave him that nickname, lololololol
└Ha Junseo had those sharp clear eyes, but once alcohol went in, they just turned blank.
└Even that is cute.
└22222222222
└Maeng-Junseo.
└Maeng-Junseo lmaooooo.
└Forever suffering Heung-Junseo….
└But Heung and Maeng actually feel kind of similar.
└Ah lololololol you’re right.
-I wonder what Universe Dust’s alcohol tolerance is.
Didn’t fans ask once during a live? But there’s still no official answer, right?
└Yeah yeah yeah.
└Someone please ask during a fan signing, I can’t go.
└I feel like it’s Kang Siwoo > Cha Seongbin > Ha Junseo > Seo Ian.
└Judging by this picture, Junseo seems like the weakest lololol.
└Kang Siwoo looks like he could drink strong liquor by the bowl without getting drunk.
└But in the photo, doesn’t he look drunk?
└He doesn’t look drunk, just serious.
└Kang Siwoo, do you have family trouble at home?
└Lololololol nah he looks drunk.
└Yeah, he’s drunk ㅠㅠ ah lolololol.
-I want to see the maknae line drinking.
└It won’t be long, our babies will be adults soon.
└Don’t say crazy stuff like that.
└I can’t lose Baby Haim ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
-I don’t care about the others, but if Seohan drinks, I’d be shocked.
Our Hamjji… as an adult?
Unimaginable.
└Do Seohan, be underage forever ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
└But at the same time, I am curious lololol.
If Do Hamjji gets drunk, I bet he’d just fall asleep like fainting.
└I want to see Do Seohan all flushed from alcohol.
└Or he could unexpectedly have a strong tolerance.
└Do Seohan, soft on the outside, strong inside ㄷㄷㄷㄷ.
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The next day, at the music broadcast waiting room.
Just last night, after drinking heavily at the dorm, Jeong Wonjae groaned as he slumped into a chair.
“This hangover is insane.”
A teammate clicked his tongue and scolded him.
There was a prerecording for the music show the next day, so how could he drink so much?
“Hey, I told you to drink moderately.”
“Ah, I just felt like drinking.”
After being utterly defeated by Sung Jihoo & Do Seohan’s team yesterday, I couldn’t help but crave alcohol.
That was why I pushed myself past my usual tolerance.
“It’s fine, it’s fine. Once I get on stage, I’ll be completely fine.”
I tried to clear my head with some cold water, when a hyung from a close group walked into the waiting room.
It was Lee Juhyung from Fisher, a group of similar seniority.
Lee Juhyung tapped Jeong Wonjae on the shoulder and spoke.
“Hey, come out for a second.”
“What do you have to say. Just say it here.”
“I said, come out.”
“Ugh, annoying….”
Though grumbling, Jeong Wonjae obediently followed him out to the hallway.
His sluggish steps from the hangover dragged him to the end of the corridor.
Jeong Wonjae frowned as he turned to Lee Juhyung.
“Why did you call me, hyung.”
Lee Juhyung of Fisher glanced around suspiciously, then stealthily slipped his hand into Jeong Wonjae’s pocket.
“Hey.”
It was a move that looked suspicious to anyone.
Jeong Wonjae furrowed his brow and reached into his pocket.
After fumbling around, his hand caught something.
“What is this?”
It was a business card.
Plastic Surgery Director, Park Hanseok…?
Lee Juhyung whispered in Jeong Wonjae’s ear.
“You know, that thing I told you about before.”
“What?”
“This place is neat with their work and trustworthy. Lots of celebrities go here. It’s reliable, that’s why I’m recommending it.”
“…….”
I realized a beat too late what he meant.
“It was f***ing good. On a whole different level, man.”
At those words, Jeong Wonjae’s face stiffened slightly.