Chapter 260: Santa, Please Take Care of Rudolph (2)
The ringing tone continued for quite a while. Cha Seongbin only answered the phone after some time.
He wasn’t as quick-witted as Jin Sehyun, but he wasn’t completely clueless either. After a short cough, he spoke calmly.
“Yeah, hyung.”
* Did Kang Siwoo catch you?
Kang Siwoo, standing right beside me, shook his head vigorously.
I swallowed dryly and replied confidently.
“No. I escaped safely. I’m on the 4th floor right now… but apparently I can’t leave until I finish this bean pod thing.”
* Ah, really?
“Where are you going now, hyung?”
Was that… natural?
I glanced at Kang Siwoo, and he gave me a pleased smile.
That totally sounded like small talk and very natural!
* Me?
Cha Seongbin asked back from the other end.
Fortunately, he answered immediately without hesitation. His tone didn’t sound particularly suspicious.
* The next location is our company.
“Hyung, you’re going to Doubles?”
* Yeah. That’s how it turned out~.
Nice.
I clenched my fist while screaming internally.
Tricking Cha Seongbin is surprisingly easy.
I smiled and added casually.
“I’ll follow soon.”
A friendly reply came from the other end.
* Yeah. Come to the company cafeteria quickly.
Huh?
“Hyung, are you hiding in the cafeteria right now?”
* No, I’m not hiding there. But you might end up there~.
I blinked slowly.
The moment I sensed something strange, I thought I should quickly hang up.
But—
Cha Seongbin was faster.
* Siwoo, catch him quickly.
“…!”
* Lies just pour out every time he opens his mouth. Where did he learn that from?
Crap.
I have to run…!
“Seongbin-hyung knew—”
* You two enjoy a nice meal together in the cafeteria~.
“Where do you think you’re going, Do Seohan.”
“Ah!”
At the same time, Kang Siwoo grabbed me by the back of the collar.
.
.
.
“Do Seohan still can’t beat me.”
Cha Seongbin clicked his tongue lightly with a cheerful smile.
The maknae was indeed clever for his age, but when it came to lying, he still lacked experience.
Things like that improved through experience.
But the maknae who had lived such an honest life probably never had the chance to gain that kind of experience.
Seohan’s suddenly sly tone gave it away immediately.
Anyone could tell that was a lie.
Whenever Seohan was in a disadvantageous situation, he tried hard to act calm—but it was fairly obvious.
They had already been together for two years, hardly ever separated.
By now, they knew each other’s tendencies inside out.
Cha Seongbin shrugged and spread his palm widely.
Then he added proudly.
“Do Seohan is right here in my palm.”
No matter how much the maknae tried to think things through, some things simply wouldn’t work.
“I can see exactly what card he’s trying to play. I read it all.”
“Ah, really?”
“Yes. It’s completely obvious.”
The staff waiting nearby were trying to suppress their laughter.
Cha Seongbin shook his head.
“So how dare you try to trick your hyung, Seohan.”
Not a chance.
Cha Seongbin stared straight at the camera and swallowed.
“Seohan, you’re going to the cafeteria~.”
---
[Today as well, Stardust’s year-end self-content full of trickery]
It’s a Christmas self-content, but there’s absolutely no warmth to be found.
Do Hamster trying his best to trick the eldest hyung and Seongbin refusing to fall for itㅋㅋㅋㅋ
The moment it was mentioned, he got dangled and dragged away by Kang Siwoo.
Honestly all of this happened because Mam-Seohan failed the pronunciation mission….
Also why is Seohan messing up the bean pod pronunciation so cuteㅠㅠ
* The two Rudolphs betraying each other and the spectator Santa
└ Spectator Santaㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
└ Kang Siwoo just needs to capture them anyway
└ I’m surprised Cha Seongbin was so rational. If I were him, the moment Seohan started talking about bean pods I’d have zero suspicion and spill everything like “yeah yeah I’m going to the recording room!”
└ Obviously… our maknae must be fed at a luxury restaurant….
* As expected the only one who’s serious about Do Hamster is Kang Siwoo. He was actually going to let him go at firstㅋㅋㅋㅋ
└ If Seohan said he’d go to the cafeteria he’d probably even give up his own restaurant reward
└ What about Seongbin?
└ He might even take away what Seohan already has……
└ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
└ Is he a maknae killerㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
└ “Seohan, you’re in my palm~”
* Thank you Doubles for giving the pronunciation mission in the middle…. I’ve replayed Seohan’s bean pod mission dozens of times….
└ 2222 It’s too cute
└ This is the first time I’ve heard our kid mumbling like thatㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
└ Normally his pronunciation is clear unless he’s sulking, but he panicked and started mumblingㅋㅋㅋㅋ
└ “So the unsh… unsh… bean pod…”
└ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ so cuteㅋㅋㅋㅋ
└ Every time I see Do Seohan I want to put him in my pocket (180 cm)
You wouldn’t think he’d become an adult next month.
In his final self-content before adulthood, he was showing off all the cuteness he could.
“Do Seohan is a baby….”
Even though his parenting difficulty level was max level, he was overly perceptive, very smart for his age, and good at backstabbing… still, a baby.
Anyway, the fact that he was cute never changed.
Dusty Han Yooyoung scrolled with a pleased smile.
Only Episode 1 of the self-content had been uploaded so far, but since it was something Doubles released after a long time, she was already looking forward to the next episode.
They would probably upload the next one within this week, right?
Tap tap tap.
Han Yooyoung quickly typed on the keyboard and posted something in the community.
[When is the next self-content episode coming?]
Doubles hurry up and upload it.
You’ll release the final episode before Christmas, right?
Ding—
Ding.
As soon as she posted, comment notifications poured in.
Fans waiting for the self-content just like her.
* Since it was filmed in advance it’ll probably all be uploaded before Christmas
* Yeah they will!!! Please upload it quicklyㅠㅠㅠㅠ
* Christmas? I’m watching our kids’ self-content at home
* But Doubles might be busy now. The company probably flipped upside down
└ ???
└ What does that mean?
└ What the hell
└ Wait…?
└ I just saw it;;
“Huh?”
At that moment, a strange comment appeared under her post.
Han Yooyoung pressed the back button and moved to the Entertainment section.
She scrolled and read only the titles of the posts.
[What kind of disaster is this]
[If the subject is that person, this is surprising]
[Wasn’t his image good???]
[Huh? His physiognomy didn’t look corrupt at all, what happened]
Dusty Han Yooyoung unconsciously frowned.
The entire page of the community was filled with similar posts.
Among them, the most unsettling one caught her eye.
[Since they’re in the same agency, this makes me uneasy…. It’ll be okay, right?]
Even the Stardust-only community, which had been peaceful just moments ago discussing self-content, now had a strange atmosphere.
Same agency?
Image?
“What are they talking about?”
Han Yooyoung exited the community with a serious expression.
“I have a bad feeling.”
As expected—
Suspicious keywords had already appeared on JjaekJjaek’s real-time trending list.
* Doubles Trainee
* Trainee Management
* Choi Yeonwoo Drugs
The moment she read the third keyword, Han Yooyoung’s expression turned cold.
Her hand instinctively clicked the keyword.
Before she became a Stardust fan… she had long been a fan of Doubles idols.
So she knew that name very well.
Choi Yeonwoo, the main vocal of Tiple.
Seo Ian’s role model and a pillar-like senior in the same company.
That member, famous for his good image—
His name had appeared in an article that should never have mentioned it.
[Doubles Trainee says “Hey, Choi Yeonwoo did it too” during livestream — Tiple’s Choi Yeonwoo under investigation for drug allegations]
“…What the hell.”
A quiet curse slipped out of Han Yooyoung’s mouth.
---
A dim background.
A man wearing a gray hoodie leaned against a bed’s backrest and smirked.
His face wasn’t known to the public, but as expected from an idol trainee, he had striking visuals.
Hwang Jiwoon, a second-year trainee at Doubles.
Even though he was a private trainee, his handsome face had slowly begun gaining him fans.
Before joining Doubles, he had also been listed in the debut lineup of a mid-sized agency, so his recognition was relatively high for a trainee.
An unfamiliar voice asked him.
“So what you said earlier—is that true?”
“What? Marijuana?”
Hwang Jiwoon brushed back his yellow bangs with his hand and asked back.
The words coming out of his mouth were serious, yet the smile never left his lips.
“What are you talking about? I didn’t do drugs.”
“You said you did.”
“Is marijuana even a drug, you idiot?”
Hwang Jiwoon laughed loudly and waved his hand dismissively.
What he added next was even more ridiculous.
“Damn. That’s medicine.”
“Stop talking nonsense.”
“Doesn’t Doubles crack down hard on that stuff?”
“They probably don’t. There are truckloads of celebrities doing drugs and not getting caught.”
The yellow-haired trainee swallowed and smiled slyly.
“Choi Yeonwoo didn’t get caught either.”
“What, marijuana?”
“….”
“Seriously?”
The name he had just mentioned was the famous idol vocalist from the same company.
This time even the person on the other end of the phone sounded startled.
The voice asked roughly.
“That guy used drugs?”
“Yeah. Doubles is probably clenching their teeth trying to cover it up right now.”
“Wow, that’s crazy… how is he not getting caught?”
“Right? Damn, this is what being a big company feels like.”
The leaked secret livestream of two trainees.
It was only a one-minute video—
But a conversation that should never have been revealed had surfaced into the open.