SS Chapter 26: A Gentleman's Revenge

TL: FoodieMonster007

The doctor's diagnosis thankfully showed no vocal nodules. It was only accumulated fatigue, and they said he would be fine after a day or two of rest. I, however, did not grant Jeong Seongbin permission to use his precious voice.

spArk's Eternal Leader [When are you hyungs planning to sleep?]. As a result, Jeong Seongbin had to agree to enjoy the civilization of the printed word until his throat was fully recovered.

Our positions of nagging have been reversed, so our great superior seems a bit intimidated…

When you lead subordinates, you're bound to meet a junior who holds their head up stiffly at least once. Endure it. This is the teammate you accepted.

"I have something to check later. While I'm at it, I'll send a text story when Joowoo is on air. Choi Jeho will probably go to sleep on his own."

spArk's Eternal Leader [Didn't you say you have a meeting tomorrow morning?]

"Does that mean I should let Joowoo suffer through an all-nighter all by himself?"

Getting criticized via text was definitely less impactful. Besides, I had nothing to be ashamed of. Even during our busy promotional period, I, Kim Iwol, maintained excellent condition without a single dark circle. The days of being oppressed by Jeong Seongbin, who nagged me to take care of my health, were all in the past.

Now… I am invincible!

I grinned widely at Jeong Seongbin. Then, I pointed to a corner of the sofa and said, "You don't have to worry about your sturdy hyung, Seongbin."

Jeong Seongbin turned his head where my finger pointed. Choi Jeho, having made six cups of quince tea, was slumped over and dozing as if he had done all he needed to do.

"Wake him up, send him to his room, and you go to sleep too. You know that people with unstable conditions have no right to speak, right? If any member comes out to the living room before I go to bed, they're in for an interesting sight!"

Jeong Seongbin squeezed his eyes shut. He dutifully shook Choi Jeho's shoulder, went into the room with the younger members, turned off the light, and quietly clocked out.

It's finally quiet.

The dorm became as quiet as an office with only late-night workers left. Now that I had an environment to focus, I finally felt like reading the document. Maybe it's because I'm away from the company, but my work efficiency isn't what it used to be unless I really focus. I complained about it once and got an earful from Kang Kiyeon, who said, "If your brain is spinning at full speed all the time, are you a person or a computer?"

Still, I can't just slack off, saying my brain isn't working.

The leader's solo album was a major project that would wrap up the first half of the year for spArk. Moreover, it was the first solo album to come from the group. Despite the immense pressure, the innately responsible Jeong Seongbin never once complained about how hard it was while preparing for both the team album and his solo album simultaneously.

Jeong Seongbin's division of labor was thorough. He only discussed the solo project with me or Lee Cheonghyeon. Unless another member specifically asked, he focused so thoroughly on group activities that one might vaguely wonder, 'Was he even preparing for a solo?' But if you looked at the document at night or during waiting times, you could see that a dense forum of communication had secretly opened up.

Jeong Seongbin generously offered his opinions, clearly discerning the line between his own ambitions and the fans' demands. By finding the intersection of these two himself, he was able to easily establish a framework for the concept and direction.

With that, his initial role was complete. The client had submitted his requirements, so now it was my turn.

It was only right to do my best on a project bearing my superior's name. So, for the first time in a while, I went back to basics, as if I were planning spArk's debut album.

Jeong Seongbin had only one request. 'Bring the atmosphere of a previous generation that I haven't experienced.' It was clearer than asking for a 'hot iced Americano,' so I said I understood. I even went to Dongmyo to properly capture the flavor of the times…

I did a lot of research for development. I only referenced the data accumulated from our group activities up to a certain point.

Instead, I used the records of other solo artists more. The internal data from our agency, which began as a company for solo balladeers and singer-songwriters, was a great help.

Regarding 'an idol's solo activities,' I received advice from Polo. That group had several members who had released solo albums, and they all had enough experience to have released two or three of them.

Hellas Polo [I'm sure Seongbin will do well, but] [You can't think of an idol's solo as just 1/n of the group's firepower]

Me [I plan to do my best!]

Hellas Polo [It's scary to think about how much of your best you'll give]

Polo said this in a tone that wasn't scared at all. Now that we were labelmates, and with a director in his team, I asked him to speak comfortably. I barely got him to use informal language, and now he treats me like a very close younger brother. Even if I hadn't regressed… I would have been the younger one anyway. So I quietly accepted reality.

Your sincere junior, Kim Iwol, is doing his best so ruthlessly that he's kicked the leader, main dancer, and maknaes out to their rooms and sent the main vocal out to earn money. I'm sending BubblePops in between, too. I'm trying my best to be a junior who isn't shameful to the seniors who once ruled the idol scene!

The problem is, I don't know if this is going well…!

There's a reason I'm racking my brain, even after planning several albums and seeking advice.

If only the past spArk had ever released a solo album!

In my previous life, not a single member of spArk released a solo album during our seven years of activity. When we barely had enough time between comebacks, a solo was a luxury. We couldn't even appear often as a full group, so there was no way any one of us would be promoting on music shows alone. It was like we used a resource with infinite potential in only one way. I'm not sure if you could wrap that up and call it good loyalty.

I can understand, since the fandom's opinion probably wouldn't have been good, but we tried too hard to stick to the basics when we couldn't even get the basics right.

In other words, it's difficult to deduce things like, 'The Sparklers will like this!' as we did with past group activities. I really have to trust my own brain, Jeong Seongbin's abilities, and the company's support, and throw myself into an uncertain future.

It was a headache, but I decided to borrow the power of collective intelligence to solve the tricky parts gradually.

I stared at the door Jeong Seongbin had disappeared behind. I stretched out my arms and made a frame with my thumbs and index fingers. The friendly-looking door, adorned with a concert slogan and a few Polaroids from the dorm, came into view as if being photographed.

A team leader exhausted by the overwhelming workload needs just one thing. A team member who takes on a share of the work and does their part.

However, were spArk and Jeong Seongbin just any ordinary subordinate and superior? They had overcome countless hardships and boasted a strong loyalty!

Therefore, I judged that it was only proper for a trustworthy servant to show a more excellent attitude of service for the leader, who was enduring one grueling day after another.

The Cave Without a Tiger

Me: [Guys]

[The time has come.]

I woke up the group chat room without Jeong Seongbin, which had been dormant for a long time since our surprise visit to his graduation. One guy was working and three were sleeping, so the number didn't disappear right away, but it didn't matter. As long as we finished our thorough preparations, we could do anything once D-day was set.

Me [This coming Sunday night.]

The carefully chosen auspicious day was delivered to everyone. I had even meticulously calculated the time when Jeong Seongbin would return from his music video shoot and pass out. If we just had him take a red ginseng stick and put him to sleep, it was certain that Jeong Seongbin would sleep soundly, oblivious to everything, while we prepared for the festival.

Me [Let's set up the cameras.]

The curtain rose on the 'I bet the Young Master has been waiting for over 1,000 days?' project.

It was all fun and games when you dressed me in silk pajamas and handed me a doll, wasn't it? I'll make you feel firsthand just how heavy the sin of messing with the eldest hyung is.

spArk's leader, Jeong Seongbin, cherished and loved his members very much. He dedicated a lot of his time to meticulously looking after them.

In the morning, he would wake up before his roommate, get ready, and then wake his friend. During the day, he represented his colleagues in communications with the company and cross-checked everyone's schedule. At night, he checked if anyone was in poor condition or if there were any major issues.

It wasn't much different during their non-promotional period. Even after promotions ended, Jeong Seongbin's care for the members continued. The staff and members tried to stop him, telling him to focus only on his solo preparations, but that was actually more difficult for him.

It wasn't out of a sense of duty. There was no reason to be anxious when he had Kim Iwol, who was flawlessly perfect at work despite making one's heart drop from time to time, and Choi Jeho, who was dependable with anything not involving outsiders. Not to mention Park Joowoo, who had been soaring since 'Genre-Swap', or the younger members who were the team's source of energy. There wasn't a single problem child who would cause trouble just because Jeong Seongbin wasn't looking after them.

Nevertheless, even during times when he was so busy he barely had time to breathe, Jeong Seongbin always paid close attention to whether his hyungs were sitting at opposite ends of the sofa fighting incessantly, whether his friend was hauling sacks of soil up from the parking lot by himself, or whether witness accounts of the youngest members spending ten thousand won on a claw machine had surfaced.

He did this not because he didn't trust them, but simply because he liked that kind of daily life.

Jeong Seongbin's day was all about spArk. He cared for the group all day while awake, so he thought of the team even when he closed his eyes. Dreaming about spArk was no longer a special event.

Just last night, his hyungs, friend, and younger members all appeared in his dream at once. The team members, noisy when alone and even noisier together, were energetic even in his dream.

"Seongbin!"

"Jeong Seongbin."

"Seongbin…"

"Seongbin-hyung!"

"……"

When the five of them called for their leader, Jeong Seongbin would put down whatever he was doing and look up to ask what was wrong. The members who had urgently sought him out, however, simply smiled brightly and said nothing. The moment he saw the brightly smiling Choi Jeho, Jeong Seongbin realized it was a dream.

So far, so good. He even found it a little funny, recalling Kim Iwol's comment that Choi Jeho's destructive power was strongest when he smiled.

Thus, Jeong Seongbin was set to greet another pleasant morning. Even as his consciousness slowly returned while his eyes were still closed, it was supposed to be a day no different from usual, where he would think of spArk and slowly go over the things he had to do once he got up.

However, music he had never heard in the dorm before began to flow from a distance. An unfamiliar aroma wafted from the room, where they only used unscented fabric deodorizer because of Park Joowoo's preference for the colorless and odorless.

What… is this?

It also seemed a little bright. The room was normally pitch-dark before he woke up and opened the blackout curtains. Something was strange. Very strange.

Feeling a sense of deja vu, Jeong Seongbin slowly opened his eyes. A blurry human figure hovered above him. His waking eyes gradually focused. When he was fully awake, his eyes met Kim Iwol's, who was looking down at him with a smile.

"Hyung?"

Seeing the silhouette before him, Jeong Seongbin doubted his own eyes. At this early hour, before his alarm had even gone off, Kim Iwol was waiting, dressed in a full classic suit.