Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols
SS Chapter 58: Homecoming (2)
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TL: FoodieMonster007
The youngest members remained asleep even after they stopped at a rest area. Choi Jeho stretched to wake himself up, and Kim Iwol went to buy drinks. Park Joowoo and Jeong Seongbin bought sotteok-sotteok and sausages for their younger members, their hands completely full.
"Mom, those guys eat a lot!" a passing child shouted.
The cute voice made Park Joowoo turn his head without thinking. The child, after making eye contact, ducked his head and ran to his mother. The woman, who appeared to be the mother, bowed her head repeatedly to apologize. The two rest-stop bandits waved their hands to signal it was fine. Trying not to startle the child, they looked away and hurried to the car.
"Did you steal the skewers or something? Why're you running back in such a hurry? What if you fall?"
"We almost gave a child a threatening memory…"
"…In that case, you should have run."
Kim Iwol was easily convinced by the short explanation. Jeong Seongbin put paper cups under the skewers to catch dripping ketchup, then handed one each to Lee Cheonghyeon and Kang Kiyeon. The younger members rubbed their sleepy eyes, woke up, and dazedly ate the skewers. Park Joowoo found the sight amusing. He forgot his own snack and took pictures nonstop.
After the long drive, they arrived at a small pension reportedly near a beach. Strangely, there were no cameras inside. Park Joowoo, who had been certain this was for filming their own content, felt a little flustered.
Did they want to come play in the water…?
If that was the case, they should have rented a pool villa or gone to the East Sea. The sea he had seen on the way was full due to the high tide. It was highly unlikely they would float a flamingo tube in a place where the water would recede again at night.
A quick glance at the luggage revealed no water-play equipment. It looked like the camping gear his uncle had once taken out. To please his nephew, who was reluctant to go outside, his uncle had set up camping chairs in the living room. He had even handed him a wooden chopstick with a marshmallow on it.
The image of the members grilling meat over a charcoal fire does suit them better.
A chuckle escaped him. Maybe it was because Kim Iwol had screamed so much about a deserted island. When he thought of the group, a rugged, wild image came to mind instead. If Kim Iwol knew what Park Joowoo was thinking, he would have a fit.
"Joowoo, how's the motion sickness?" Kim Iwol asked with ghostly timing.
Park Joowoo felt fine, perhaps because he had rested and slept on the way.
"I don't think I'll get motion sick like before anymore…"
"Hmm?"
The nausea and stuffiness he felt whenever he got in a car, especially in the back seat, were like motion sickness. Long car rides were hard for Park Joowoo. When it was severe, he would actually feel nauseous.
However, these incidents had decreased significantly after visiting the columbarium. Unlike Kim Iwol, who could not drink caffeine, Park Joowoo's problem seemed to be the kind that resolving trauma could improve. The fact that he was fine even while cautiously trying the back seat proved it.
"You never know, though. We have to get in the car again later, you know? Let me know if you need motion sickness medicine."
No matter how much Park Joowoo insisted he was fine, Kim Iwol was full of worry. Choi Jeho, the driver, had also mentioned putting motion sickness medicine in the glove box. Park Joowoo always carried it himself, but they were as consistent as ever.
"Why…? Are you planning to take me to a remote place and leave me there…?"
Park Joowoo joked with a serious face. Kim Iwol replied sternly, "How could we do that when Seongbin would have to sing all the high notes alone without you?" In the end, Park Joowoo could not hold back his laughter and burst out laughing.
After a simple dinner at a nearby restaurant, spArk got back in the car. The outside grew dark as the road became narrower. Park Joowoo gazed out the window. The scenery had become eerie before he knew it.
"I think Iwol is really going to abandon me…"
"What are you talking about, Joowoo."
"Cheonghyeon, are there any snacks left? Can you give me some to sprinkle on the way…?"
"Hansel and Gretel? You're going to sprinkle snacks on the way?"
Someone told him not to say such horrible things. He was not genuinely worried. Being left alone after an outing was no longer a source of fear for Park Joowoo. If the members really did that, he would just chase them to the dorm and demand to know why. He was sturdy enough for that, so it was fine.
The unfortunate event of Park Joowoo being kicked out of the car alone did not happen. The members applied the bug repellent Kim Iwol handed out and wore mosquito-repelling bands, leaving no one out. After getting out of the parked car, they all took the luggage from the trunk. The air was hot and humid outside the air-conditioned car. It was also damp and salty. He could not see well in the dark, but the sea seemed close.
Lee Cheonghyeon and Kang Kiyeon spread out mats, using the car's auxiliary light to see. Two large mats created enough space for all six of them to sit. After weighing down the edges with bags, Jeong Seongbin gestured for Park Joowoo to sit beside him.
"Does anyone want sparkling water?"
"Me!"
Kang Kiyeon took drinks from the cooler and handed them out. A refreshing fizzing sound escaped as Lee Cheonghyeon twisted a bottle open.
Various other items appeared besides the drinks. A camping fan and ice packs helped them cool off from the heat. Their preparation was flawless.
"Choi Jeho, let's turn off the car lights."
"Sure."
The moment the car lights went out, the surroundings became pitch black. The night sky seemed brighter than the ground.
The sky was unobstructed by trees or tall buildings. It was so vast it seemed endless. The ocean Park Joowoo had seen from the plane was also vast, but it eventually met land. The sky had no boundaries. Some parts were slightly bright, while others held a deep blue hue.
With few clouds, stars appeared one by one against the transparent space. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he saw more and more stars. They eventually became too numerous to count, like a field full of stars.
…It's like the Milky Way.
Park Joowoo stared blankly at the sky, lost in thought. It was incomparable to the night sky he used to watch all night from his window, a sky that had lost its light to the city's glow.
The stars filling the sky looked as if they would pour down at any moment. Just like that shooting star falling right now, and the other one following it.
"…?"
Park Joowoo rubbed his eyes. Stars were really falling from the sky, one after another.
He had never seen a shooting star, even after standing by the window for so long. Others saw them by chance and made wishes, but for the desperate Park Joowoo, no miracle ever came, no matter how long he waited.
But just now, he had seen two shooting stars, something he had never seen in his life, and even now…
"Oh, there goes one!" Lee Cheonghyeon shouted, as if to confirm it was not Park Joowoo's delusion.
"Is it because we came a little late? They're not falling like rain."
"Just seeing this many is amazing. It's my first time seeing a shooting star."
"Jeho, have you ever seen a shooting star?"
"This is the first time I've ever gone anywhere just to see stars."
Everyone looked at the sky. Some members even lay down. No one had their phone on. The only light source was the ember of the mosquito coil burning on the ground.
"…Did we come here to see this?" Park Joowoo asked.
Kim Iwol smiled and replied, "We came here to 'show' you this."
Kim Iwol's hands rested on Park Joowoo's shoulders. The pressure made Park Joowoo's upper body lean back slightly.
The sky he faced when he lifted his head was still vast and filled with countless stars. If he held his breath and waited, they would draw an arc and disappear through the Milky Way, like popcorn popping from a container.
"They said we could see a meteor shower around this time, so we did a lot of research to bring our Joowoo here. We missed the peak time, but still."
"Because of me…?"
Park Joowoo remembered Lee Cheonghyeon and Kang Kiyeon sleeping soundly the entire way. Choi Jeho, who had driven for nearly half a day, lay stiffly on the mat. Kim Iwol had constantly been by his side, ensuring the car did not take a wrong turn and that Choi Jeho was comfortable driving at night. Jeong Seongbin had asked about Park Joowoo's condition every hour.
The other members were busy too, even if he was the only one with solo activities. They all had their own work.
Park Joowoo himself had only hoped to have dinner with the members today. These busy people…
"Of course."
"……"
"Because we wanted to welcome you back in the way you'd love most."
Kim Iwol remembered a dream Park Joowoo had mentioned long ago. Park Joowoo had grown up enough that it was okay for the dream to fade, but Kim Iwol still wanted to cherish that feeling from back then.
"A while ago, you said you were satisfied just recording and performing with the members. That's why I said you never know what the future holds."
The eldest member really had a good memory. Park Joowoo felt the kindness in that memory. It felt like Kim Iwol had listened so well because he held affection for him.
"Whether you want to try something new on your own, or dream a different dream. Even if you want to take a break and hide somewhere, we'll always be by your side."
The things Kim Iwol said were all things the past Park Joowoo had feared. He had feared being isolated or becoming an outcast for carelessly saying what he wanted.
"Because you love singing with us."
But Kim Iwol was telling him not to worry. This must be what it felt like to have a home to return to after a long journey.
A shooting star fell in the distance, its long trajectory landing on the ground. Park Joowoo no longer wanted to go somewhere far away. He could finally look at the scene before him without any other thoughts.
That night, Park Joowoo received five handwritten letters. It was the best gift for Park Joowoo, who loved the members' affection more than anything.
While the other members slept, Park Joowoo sat by the pension window and read the letters, which were filled with dense text.
"To Joowoo, who will forever steadfastly walk a path the world may not understand because you are pure and upright, able to empathize with another's sorrow and become more indignant at injustice toward a colleague than yourself, even while possessing the most brilliant talent in a society busy devaluing others and unable to empathize with their pain, I send this with a promise to be with you for life. Kim Iwol"