Chapter 146: Adults Shouldn’t Do That (1)
As soon as I entered the first-floor lounge, a familiar face waved from afar.
It was our first time meeting in person, but since we had seen each other in the Stardust Project videos and talked on the phone several times, her voice felt familiar.
“This way!”
My first impression of Seo Choyoung in person was, how should I put it?
Big eyes and a cheerful, high-energy voice—anyone could tell she was related to Seo Haim.
Would the two of them dislike being told they looked alike?
At that level, even after ten years apart, they’d recognize each other as family.
“Hello, it’s nice to meet you.”
“Yes, thank you for coming all the way here!”
On the phone with Seo Haim, there had always been some rough language, but in person, her personality seemed extremely lively.
Since her younger sibling’s group member had come all this way, her attitude clearly showed she was trying to be as accommodating as possible.
“Yes, thank you.”
“Shall we head up first?”
There were too many eyes in the first-floor lounge to have a serious conversation for long. We decided to continue the detailed talk upstairs.
After exchanging brief greetings, I quietly followed Seo Choyoung as she led the way.
“……”
“Haha….”
While riding the elevator, we just exchanged awkward smiles.
At a glance, it might’ve looked like a celebrity on their way to a magazine interview, but the real topic I needed to bring up today was something else.
Where should I start, and how should I say it?
As I nervously watched for her reaction, swallowing hard,
Seo Choyoung casually broke the silence and asked,
“By the way, why did you come to see me? Did Haim do something wrong?”
Even if she looked bright and innocent like Seo Haim, she was still an adult.
There’s no way she’d believe some excuse like “because I’m interested in fashion” was the real reason I came.
“That’s strange. She’s a bit scatterbrained, but not the type to get into trouble.”
Seo Choyoung, who seemed to have a realistic understanding of her younger sibling, tilted her head and murmured to herself.
After considering a few possibilities, she came to the most plausible conclusion.
“Or did something happen with the team?”
“No, it’s not that.”
Ding—
The elevator doors opened.
Following Seo Choyoung out, I took a deep breath.
I had to approach this as carefully as possible.
I could be misunderstanding someone else’s family situation, and even if Seo Haim’s family really was taking money from her, there was no guarantee her sister didn’t know.
So I had to test the waters first.
“I have something to ask.”
.
.
.
.
“Who’s managing Haim’s money?”
Seo Choyoung’s eyes widened at my question.
Seo Haim was still legally a minor.
Since she earned money at such a young age, it wouldn’t be unusual for her parents to manage it.
And judging by her absent-minded personality, even if she handed over full financial control to her brother, I doubted she’d manage it properly.
Seo Haim, and that brother of hers.
If someone asked for a guarantor, he’d probably agree like a naïve little chick, smiling all the while!
But.
If what I heard was right, the conversation that came through the closed door felt a bit beyond the norm.
That usually cheerful brother was unusually subdued and kept making excuses to the person on the other end of the call.
‘Once I get the deposit this month, I’ll send the rest then. I really… don’t have it right now….’
‘Yes, I’m sorry.’
Ah.
Sure, there are all kinds of family situations in the world, but that’s not something I could even imagine in my own home.
What is this, a loan shark?
Why would anyone be extracting money from a kid?
If they were dirt poor and lacking even basic living expenses, that’d be one thing.
But as far as I knew, that wasn’t the case.
Seo Haim hadn’t shared any more details, so I couldn’t press her for answers.
Still.
Something felt off, and usually, when something felt off, there was a reason.
“She’s probably managing it herself.”
Seo Choyoung tilted her head as she answered.
Her rolling eyes didn’t show any sign of suspicion.
“I didn’t manage it for her… She should have the bankbook too. I opened the account for her, dragged her to the bank myself!”
She really didn’t seem to know.
If even that expression was fake, I had nothing to say, but on the surface, she seemed genuinely clueless about what I was talking about.
It might be overstepping, but….
I had to meddle a bit.
“I think Haim’s brother is sending that money somewhere else right now.”
“…Somewhere else?”
Seo Choyoung’s expression quickly turned serious at my words.
“To where…?”
I swallowed dryly and added,
“Seemed like he was sending it to your mother.”
“……”
“We got quite a bit in settlement money recently. I overheard him saying he sent every last bit. I came to see you because I wondered how much you knew.”
That settlement wasn’t a small amount.
It wasn’t likely that Seo Haim spent it all on a hobby, and her brother wasn’t the type to spend wastefully either.
So it really did seem like most of it went to that ‘mother.’
Seo Choyoung, who had been chewing over my words with a grave expression, cautiously opened her mouth.
“If you say ‘mother’… which one do you mean?”
“Sorry?”
What kind of question was that?
* * *
In Doubles’ recording studio, where title track recording was in full swing.
Seo Haim’s soft vocals rang out refreshingly.
Mayday Mayday Mayday
Something’s wrong, hold my hand.
I feel like I’m drifting on a misaligned timeline.
Wandering through empty space.
“Mm.”
Seo Haim took off the headset and spoke.
“I’ll go one more time.”
It wasn’t bad for a first try, but something still felt lacking.
Seo Haim tilted his head slightly and cautiously offered a suggestion.
“Should I go a bit harder on the ‘Mayday’ part?”
“That sounds good too. Want to try it?”
“Yup, I’ll give it a try!”
Mayday Mayday Mayday
Something’s wrong, hold my hand.
Nod—
It definitely felt fresher and more impactful than before.
The producer gave a thumbs-up and said,
“This is better.”
“Phew, I’m glad!”
As expected from a track Cha Seongbin poured his heart into, the title song was quite a handful.
The chord structure itself was complex, and it never let up.
That effort was meant to be repaid during choreography practice, but not only the choreography — the vocals had a lot of high notes too, making it a tough challenge.
To avoid straining his throat, he kept sipping water.
At that moment,
His eyes caught sight of the phone placed on the shelf.
“……”
Even though it was on silent mode, it kept lighting up with alerts.
After a few text messages, a call came through.
[Seo Choco]
It was his sister.
‘Why’s she calling?’
Seo Haim glanced at the phone and pressed the decline button.
He was in the middle of recording, so it wasn’t a good time.
“Let’s move on to the next part.”
I’m in maze, I’m looking for an exit.
“Let’s do the ‘exit’ part once more.”
“Okay, got it~!”
I’m looking for an exit.
Even during that, the phone kept vibrating silently with incoming calls.
Then a text popped up.
– Hey, pick up.
– It’s urgent, pick up now.
“Just a sec, sorry.”
Maybe something really happened.
They weren’t the type to call each other often, so he started to feel anxious.
Eventually, Seo Haim gave an awkward smile and picked up the phone.
“What is it, what’s wrong?”
“You need to come home right now.”
“…I’m recording.”
Why was his sister acting like this?
Seo Haim frowned, clearly confused.
Whatever it was, Seo Choco was unusually insistent today.
“Then come as soon as you’re done.”
“What’s going on?”
Seo Haim nodded and pressed the phone to his ear.
Judging by her voice, something had definitely happened, but she wouldn’t say what.
“I’ll explain the rest at home.”
Why was she being so scary about it?
Seo Haim stared down at his phone with a reluctant expression.
Anyway, he still had to finish recording.
“Okay, I’ll go again!”
Click—
Even after hanging up and finishing the rest of the recording, the uneasy feeling didn’t go away.
‘I’d better go home and ask.’
As soon as he stepped out of the recording booth, the producer hyung patted him on the shoulder.
“Good job!”
Cha Seongbin, sitting nearby, spun his pen and smiled softly.
“You did well today~.”
“Thank you. Get home safe! See you at the dorm, hyung.”
“Yep, get going!”
As he was heading out, Seo Han, who was next in line, was sitting outside the recording room.
Seo Haim paused in surprise when he saw him.
“You’re recording?”
“No, I’m already done.”
“What? Then you came to see me?”
Seo Haim grinned and threw in a teasing comment.
But then.
Seo Han answered without a moment’s hesitation.
“Yeah, that’s right. Let’s talk.”
“…Huh?”
Wait, he’s serious?
He’d waited outside for about thirty minutes to see Seo Haim.
He didn’t beat around the bush and asked directly.
“Did you get a call from your sister?”
“Uh… yeah, I did.”
Judging by his face, it seemed he still didn’t know the full story.
“She told you to come home right after?”
“Oh! Yeah, that’s right. What, did I do something wrong?”
Seo Haim’s eyes widened in shock, rolling around anxiously.
Thinking it over, something seemed to come to mind.
“Did you tell her I stay up late playing games?”
He had been gaming on his phone until dawn.
In hindsight, he should’ve tattled about that too.
But phone games weren’t the issue right now.
“You can deal with the scolding later, but let me ask you one thing.”
“Mhm~.”
Seo Haim glanced at him uneasily.
“We got our first settlement recently, right? Who manages that money?”
“Money?”
Seo Haim scratched his head, looking flustered.
Now that money was mentioned, he seemed to realize something.
“I manage it… kind of. If I had to say, my mother?”
Right, he had already heard a rough explanation from Seo Choco.
So the ‘mother’ Seo Haim was talking about…
Was the stepmother, after his father’s remarriage.
Whether she was personally kind to him or not, only he could say — but judging by that conversation, it wasn’t hard to imagine the worst-case scenario.
How much had she squeezed out of a child not even related to her by blood?
“All of it?”
“It wasn’t that much, though…”
There’s no way it wasn’t.
That money had landed in his account too — there’s no way he didn’t know the exact amount.
As soon as Seo Haim caught the fierce glare in his eyes, he shrank his shoulders slightly.
Only then did he realize just how young their members really were.
Nineteen — that’s understandable.
But the adults exploiting that… they shouldn’t be doing that.
“It wasn’t that much?”
“Uh… maybe. I did spend a little, though…”
“Then get that little money back.”
“…Huh?”
“If possible, all of it. Every last bit.”
It was only logical.
The more money there is, the more greedy people get.
“There’ll come a day when you want it back, but you won’t be able to.”