A Failed Idol’s Rise to Bottom

RrrRrrRrr–

Sugyeom smiled awkwardly after he looked around the strangely quiet breakfast table with his big, dilated eyes.

“Hey, I just repeated what our fans had said. Why the long faces?”

Feeling uncomfortable, he immediately gulped down a glass of water.

It was strange when he thought about it. He had teased Igyeom, so he couldn’t understand why the others had become quiet.

The silent Taewon, Hansol, and Yuchan showed strange expressions when he looked at the three again.

It was somewhat awkward, but in any case, he thought it was better to pretend not to be aware than to make the atmosphere more strange by asking.

“Thank you for the meal.”

“…Eat it with kimchi.”

Igyeom, who had been quiet, held out a plate of neatly cut kimchi. It was full of leaves, and for Sugyeom who liked that more than the white part of Baechu-kimchi, it could be said that it matched his taste. He smiled with satisfaction at the appearance of the kimchi that seemed to have been prepared for him. After quickly picking it up with his chopsticks and putting it on top of the Tteokguk, he spooned a mouthful of the broth into his mouth.

“Heuk, delicious.”

The milky broth had a deep flavor. The chewy Tteok that was soaked well in the broth was also delicious.

But most importantly it was good because it wasn’t hot. Sugyeom’s tongue would hurt when he ate hot food, so he usually ate such food without knowing the taste. Now he could easily taste the unique flavor of the Tteokguk.

He contentedly savored the Tteokguk with his mouth closed.

Although he was the last to wake up and was still eating, the other members who had already emptied their bowls didn’t get up from their seats.

“But Sugyeom, why did you wake up so early?”

“Eh, it’s eleven now…what.”

“You must have been tricked by Igyeom again.”

While responding politely to Taewon, Sugyeom became speechless as soon as he saw the clock in the kitchen pointing to eight o’clock.

He glared at Igyeom resentfully, however Igyeom simply shrugged his shoulders without refuting.

Taewon abruptly laughed when he saw Sugyeom fuming but still eating the Tteokguk.

“Sugyeom is so cute.”

“Don’t tease me.”

“But I’m not? I mean it.”

Taewon showed an expression as if he had been victimized, but Sugyeom still didn’t release the look of distrust in his eyes. However, he put off questioning Taewon for the time being. Now, there was a separate person to deal with before Taewon.

Sugyeom’s fierce gaze shifted to Igyeom.

“Why did you wake me up so early?”

“It’s the first day of the new year, so you should eat Tteokguk in the morning.”

“Isn’t it morning until 12PM? Eleven is still morning!”

As someone who liked to sleep in, Sugyeom was frustrated that he had woken up early in the morning on a day he didn’t have anything scheduled.

Since Igyeom was responsible for most of the cooking at the accommodation, it was natural to be on time when meals were served. However, no matter how much he liked to eat, sleep came first in the morning. That being the case, on regular days he would choose to sleep in rather than eat breakfast.

“But you’re eating so well.”

“It’s because it’s unfair! It would be a waste of my morning sleep! I’m going to eat two bowls because I’m upset! Scoop me another bowl!”

Sugyeom needed it to cool down while he ate.

Instead of arguing with Igyeom further, he aggressively spooned the Tteokguk into his mouth.

* * *

The hanbok photoshoot for the official fancafe and press release were under way.

Sugyeom wore his prepared pink hanbok without complaints. If it was his previous life, he would have said that it was too much since his hair was pink. This time around he obediently listened to what Songha, the noona who was in charge of styling, had chosen.

He wore a white Jeogori and a light pink Baeja with flower decorations. The pants were a light mint color.

After looking at himself in the mirror, he turned his eyes to the other members.

While everyone wore white Jeogori, the color of their Baeja and pants varied.

Taewon wore a black Baeja with gray pants. Igyeom wore a navy blue Baeja with yellow pants, and Hansol wore a light green Baeja with navy blue pants. Finally, Yuchan wore an ivory and sky blue Baeja with dark blue pants.

He was the only one with a soft neutral color. In any case, he would be positioned in the middle anyway, so it wouldn’t particularly stand out.

And, as was instructed by the director of the agency, for important cases such as pictorials, he was always to be in the middle. In terms of height and visuals, it was the most logical decision.

“Sugyeom dressing up is really fitting.”

After looking Sugyeom up and down, the stylist Songha clapped with a satisfied expression.

Sugyeom smiled bashfully even though he didn’t know what was particularly fitting.

“The others don’t look as good as you in these bright tones. Well, Yuchan has fair skin so it would look good, but he’s so big and tall that it doesn’t feel cute.”

Seeing Songha shaking her head with the expression of regret, Sugyeom smiled awkwardly. It was hard to refute her words.

“But why does our Sugyeom look so small like a fairy today?”

Sugyeom was familiar with Songha’s teasing comments. She would make casual remarks about Yuchan and him similar to how the fans would. Therefore, although the silly praises themselves were fine, the content was the problem. There was an inexpressible bitter reason for why he looked short today.

“…I can’t put insoles in my Gomusin.”

“Ah.”

Songha covered her mouth with her hands as if she was shocked. Sugyeom smiled bitterly at her exaggerated shocked reaction.

Although the Gomusin had its own heels, he would definitely be shorter than usual considering that his everyday shoes had both heels and insoles.

As his mood soured, he glared at the other towering members nearby.

“It’s fine. They said you’ll be bowing and sitting down anyway.”

“Yeah.”

Songha’s words weren’t a great comfort to Sugyeom who felt that the matchup was fundamentally disproportionate. Nonetheless, he decided to agree roughly.

“Then, I’ll head to the set first.”

“Okay. Be careful not to spill something or get anything on your face. Understand?”

“Yes. I’ll be careful.”

After replying, Sugyeom quickly left the waiting room and headed to the set.

Once on set, he looked at his surroundings.

Taewon and Hansol, who he had a good chemistry with, were still preparing. Igyeom was in the final stages of preparation when he saw him earlier in the waiting room, but he didn’t seem to have arrived on set yet.

As such, he stood alone without a partner.

Maybe because of the heat from the lights, but he was feeling thirsty. And although he wanted to eat ice cream, there were only drinks on set. Just as he was about to go get a beverage, he remembered that he was dressed, so he made a compromise with water because it would be troublesome if he spilled the beverage.

Soon, he approached the ice box containing water. Then Songha, who had come out of the waiting room at some point, remarked ‘our fairy is walking instead of flying,’ causing his cheeks to be dyed red with embarrassment by the teasing.

“Oh my, what fairy this, fairy that.”

“What, you do look like a fairy.”

As Sugyeom grumbled, he raised his head in surprise at the voice that had come from the side. The culprit who had said such embarrassing words was none other than Yuchan.

“Can you even say that with a straight face?”

“Of course. I can. Were you getting water?”

“Ehm. Do you want a drink?”

Yuchan had certainly changed. Not only during the morning, but even now he had taken the initiative to talk to Sugyeom. In the past, he wouldn’t have taken the initiative even if Sugyeom was right next to him unless it was something special.

Hiding his pleased smile at the youngest’s change, Sugyeom moved to open the ice box.

However, Yuchan was faster. He opened the ice box first and took out a bottle of water. Then, using a cap puncher hanging next to the ice box, he punctured a hole in the cap.

Sugyeom was clumsy and would easily spill water, so he would always drink using a straw to prevent spills when he was dressed.

Contrary to him, Yuchan had a clean and meticulous personality and would rarely spill even if he drank a whole bottle.

As Sugyeom watched and wondered why Yuchan was drinking with a straw, he suddenly held out the water to him.