ID Chapter 22

Today, a Sand Singing Stage was scheduled, so I woke up before dawn. I crammed the food items I received at yesterday’s fan signing event into my backpack and arrived at the waiting room. While the members were getting their makeup done, I asked Yong-jun hyung to dispose of them. Yong-jun hyung frowned, which surprised me. Should I try to do it myself from now on?

My stomach was burning, my head ached, and I was in terrible condition. At times like these, I needed to look at a chick fan’s post. I turned on my phone screen, and a message window blinked.

Kwon Su-han [I’ve scheduled it for tomorrow at 2 PM. Don’t eat anything after midnight.]

[OK C U TMR]

We had this conversation before I came to the waiting room, but one more message had arrived afterward.

Kwon Su-han [O.O./]

?? What does that mean?

[What are you talking about?]

Kwon Su-han [What do you mean?]

[See you tomorrow]

The person who usually replied instantly suddenly stopped talking. Unable to contain my curiosity, I called him. Surprisingly, his ringtone was our current title track. After two measures, a very displeased voice answered the phone.

-…Why.

“What did you send? What did you think it meant?”

-…I thought it was an expression…

An expre… Crazy… Puhuhuh. I tried to hold it in, but I burst out laughing.

No, what kind of person is this? He’s not even that old…

-Stop laughing, will you?

“Kk-puhuhuh. Ah, insane. So, you sent a waving hand emoji to me?”

-…I’m busy, so I’ll hang up now.

“Kwahahaha. So funny, really.”

-Hanging up.

“Yes, kk-kuhuhuhu.”

Click. The call disconnected, but I couldn’t stop laughing. Imagining him with that cold-blooded face, frowning between his eyebrows, meticulously tapping O.O./ made me worried I might laugh even during the performance.

“What’s so funny that you’re laughing like that?”

Gasp. You scared me.

Jae-yi, who was getting his hair done in front of the central mirror, was suddenly standing in front of me. Only then did I look around and realize everyone was looking at me. They all had fond expressions, like watching a newborn baby laugh for the first time. Even our second manager hyung was filming with a camcorder.

Han-sae, with his forehead exposed and no eyebrows, chuckled, saying it had been a long time since “he” laughed like that. I snatched the manager hyung’s camcorder with lightning speed. Han-sae looked terrified as I approached him with an evil grin. I shoved the camera in his face.

“Fans, look. Han-sae has no eyebrows! You might not have known with his hair down usually, but look! Look at this miserable idol who shaved off his own eyebrows a week ago!”

“Hey. You, you son of a…!!”

“The eyebrows you’ve been seeing weren’t Han-sae’s real eyebrows…!! Han-sae oppa’s forehead is a bald mountain!!”

“Hey. Stop it now. I was wrong. Oh, come on…”

“Ira, stop teasing Han-sae. Don’t pick on people’s weaknesses…”

“Hyung, you’re worse!!”

After getting Han-sae’s surrender, I chuckled and returned the camcorder. Mun hyung, Yadan, the managers, and the staff were all laughing.

When I returned to the sofa, Jae-yi was seriously looking at something, and upon closer inspection, it was my phone.

“Hey, that’s my phone.”

“Yeah.”

“…You’re pretty bold, aren’t you?”

“You’re even KakaoTalk-ing with Kwon Su-han?”

“Ah, give it back.”

“Look at mine.”

Jae-yi handed me his phone. I was tempted for a moment, but I didn’t take it, just in case there was anything related to that incident in his conversations.

“Give it back quickly, okay? No KakaoTalk inspections!”

“Really?”

“Of course it’s real, why would it be fake?”

“…….”

Jae-yi realized I was genuinely refusing and gave it back. He looked annoyed, but he couldn’t get angry at me, and with the camera rolling, he couldn’t even swear. His frustrated face was somehow cute.

The Sand Singing Stage, set against a desert backdrop, was three times the area of the Sky Singing Stage, incredibly vast. LED screens were everywhere, and the audience came prepared with binoculars.

As I tied the laces of my Land Shoes, I suddenly wanted to check their storage. However, because there had been an incident once before, I hesitated to open them, fearing that checking other shoes would be dismissed as sensitive paranoia.

“Hey, Ira. Check your shoes.”

Just then, Jae-yi spoke loudly and approached.

“You need to check if they’re properly charged this time.”

“Oh? It’ll probably be fine.”

“That’s how big accidents happen.”

“Yeah, yeah, check them carefully.”

“That bast… that guy still doesn’t check them in advance, even after something like that happened. If it were me, I would’ve just bought specialized shoes, even if I didn’t get permission.”

“Ira hyung sometimes gets daring in strange ways.”

After the members each said something, my worries felt useless. Had I developed paranoia about paranoia?

Perhaps finding my stillness frustrating, Jae-yi knelt down on one knee and carefully placed my foot on his palm. It was a ticklish carefulness that could only be described as truly precious.

“This side is fine. What about the left?”

“…….”

“This side is okay too.”

Jae-yi carefully checked the storage, gently placed my foot down, and stood up. He extended his hand, and I instinctively grabbed it, letting him help me up. Jae-yi didn’t let go of my hand and led me backstage. He only released it a minute before our final standby. Feeling restless, I stroked my warm palm, which still carried Jae-yi’s warmth, and my eyes met Mun hyung’s. Mun hyung, who had been looking serious, smiled awkwardly when our eyes met, and that embarrassed smile looked just like mine.

This time, our title track was a desert-themed song, so we paid even more attention to the Sand Singing Stage. The choreography, which involved gliding across the desert like skating on ice in Land Shoes, then sinking and emerging as if stepping into a swamp, was tough but exhilarating to perform. This time, Yadan’s performance involved him being enveloped in Motion Aura, submerging into the sand, and then awakening from it. His performance, buried hair and all, then digging himself out, received huge cheers. Jae-yi’s performance, as always, was a sword dance. Each powerful stomp sent sand flying everywhere. People watched his intense display, captivated.

Ira sang, navigating through the illusions of lizards and cacti, and in the latter half of the song, created an image of towering waves. High waves that reached the third floor of the concert hall’s audience seats, an overwhelming ‘whoosh’ of wave sounds, and white crests crashing against the sun-drenched sand desert. And a refreshing, high-pitched song.

Cheers filled the concert hall.

After the stage ended, the members returned to the dorms, but Ira had a collaboration scheduled with main vocalists from other teams, so he had a short practice session. Although Ira was the youngest in both age and seniority, the hyungs, whom he had met a few times informally, treated him warmly. Yozen hyung from Skiboard even joked.

“Don’t practice too hard, just take it easy~ You sing too well.”

He’s a really funny hyung. But Ira’s throat felt scratchy from inhaling too much sand…

When Ira returned to the dorms after his schedule, the members were gathered in the living room, playing an online combat game on two laptops. Seeing Yong-jun hyung holding a camera, Ira understood. Mun hyung and Jae-yi were in the middle of a bloody duel. Ira put down his bag and sat next to Han-sae.

“Ira, you’re here? Did practice go well?”

“You worked hard. Did the hyungs treat you well?”

“Oh, they treated me well. What are you doing? Gaming?”

“Yeah, but I can’t beat Jae-yi. Is this guy a professional gamer or something?”

“He’s always been a ‘god-tier controller.’ I’ve never beaten him either.”

“Well, you’re Ira, so…”

“What about me? What do you mean? What do you mean!!”

As Ira vehemently tackled Han-sae, who was only teasing him after he came back from work, Mun hyung made a sound of surprise. Looking at the screen, it seemed Jae-yi had made a momentary mistake. But he quickly recovered with god-like dexterity. “Ooh,” an exclamation of admiration burst even from the second manager hyung, who was filming.

In the end, Jae-yi won that round, and then Ira and Mun hyung’s match followed. Ira was miserably defeated. Next, he went against Yadan and lost in just three minutes.

“Hey, why are we playing this game? Isn’t it really boring?”

“He calls it no fun because he’s losing. Haha.”

“Just wait. I’ll wash up, come out with a refreshed mind, and beat you all.”

“Not scared at all~~!”

Right… even if Ira were the members, he wouldn’t be scared. I hate games…

Ira went into his room, quickly washed up, and changed his clothes. In the meantime, he saw a call from his mom, so he called her back.

-Ira.

“Yes, Mom. What is it?”

His mom’s voice sounded worried, making Ira concerned.

-Well, it seems Yi Min has hit puberty…

“Considering Yi Min’s age, that’s likely. Did something happen?”

Thinking the conversation would be long, Ira sat on the bed. In the meantime, Jae-yi opened the door without knocking. Instead of closing the door and leaving after seeing Ira on the phone, he closed the door, came in, crossed his arms, and leaned against the wall. Ira was utterly dumbfounded.

-His school grades aren’t good, so your dad and I were worried about it. But then last night, he declared that he would participate in the Aura Ball League (a ball sport competition using aura)!

“..Aura Ball League… did his rank go up without me knowing?”

-If it had gone up, would I be calling you? It’s still the same. But he insists he’ll participate no matter what, saying it’s not like there’s no precedent. He even joined a club at school and applied to participate without us knowing.

“He’d need a guardian’s signature, wouldn’t he?”

-He forged it. I’m truly speechless.

Oh wow…

-He doesn’t seem to listen to us. Since he followed his hyung well, could you try to talk some sense into him?

“Mm, I’ll try my best to talk to him. Don’t worry.”

-Sorry to bother you when you’re busy. You’ve lost so much weight, please eat well. Your mom is worried sick.

“Yes. I’ll eat well. And the kids all said what you sent was delicious. Thank you.”

-No need to thank me. The frozen bone broth I sent will arrive the day after tomorrow.

“Again?? Oh, please rest a bit.”

-I’m sending it so you can eat and gain weight. Please eat a lot.

“Got it. Are Mom and Dad eating well too?”

-Worry about the person who needs worrying. How to deal with your dad’s belly fat.

After exchanging a few more greetings, Ira hung up the phone. Jae-yi, who had been listening silently, opened his mouth.

“Yi Min is doing aura sports?”

“Yeah. I’m going crazy. Why is he doing this?”

“It’ll be tough… What was his rank again?”

“F. An F-class Motioner.”

Jae-yi fell silent for a moment. Ira understood too. The average rank of Aura Ball League participants is A-class. Ira brought up Yi Min’s number on his phone and asked.

“Why did you come into my room?”

“Because the kid who went to wash up was silent.”

“Now that you know I’m fine, please leave.”

“It’s so entertaining when you talk to your brother, why would I leave when something this fun is about to happen?”

That damn Jae-yi…

Hoo. Ira took a deep breath, didn’t forget to glare at Jae-yi, and made the call. After five rings, a low voice said, “Hello?” It seemed his voice had changed in the meantime.

“Yi Min, it’s been a while.”

-……

“It’s your hyung. Ira hyung.”

-…I know.

Ira briefly explained that he had heard from their mom.

Ira could see Jae-yi trying to suppress his laughter. He couldn’t help it. When dealing with his brother, who was seven years his junior, Ira became cautious, and his voice became full of pretense.

-So Mom told you to persuade me.

“Huh? No, not exactly that, but I’m also worried,”

-I wondered why you were calling of all things.

Yi Min lowly cursed, “Fuck.” Ira was so surprised that his butt lifted about 30cm off the bed. Yi Min cursed… Yi Min cursed…!!

-Why? Is it funny that an F-class is going to the Aura Ball League? I guess it’s worth laughing at, since hyung is A-class. An A-class Souler, after all.

Yi Min. There’s an S-class Motioner right next to me… It’s not on speakerphone, but Jae-yi probably can hear.

Besides, even an S-class Souler can’t participate in something like the Aura Ball League, what is he even saying?

“It’s not that, it’s just such a dangerous sport… I’m worried in many ways… wouldn’t it be better to study a bit more and gain a lot of experience before making such a choice?”

-This is one of those many experiences. And I’m busy right now.

“Ah… then I’ll call you later. When do you have time?”

-Don’t. I’m definitely going to join the Aura Ball League.

“..Yi Min, think about Mom and Dad… how worried they must be, huh?”

-Mom and Dad’s talk is always noisy, and hyung, you just eat your food properly.

Click. The call ended. Ira didn’t have the courage to call back, so he turned off the screen. Mom and Dad must have had expectations of Ira, what should he do?

As Ira sat dejected, a hand gently stroked his head. Jae-yi wore an enigmatic expression.

“It’s strange how you find your own younger brother difficult. Usually, if there’s a big age gap, the hyung would keep a tight rein on them.”

“I have to handle him carefully, he’s in his second year of middle school. How old was your sister? Since she’s a girl, you probably don’t have to keep a tight rein on her, do you?”

“She’s three years younger, but… well, she just gets quiet in front of me.”

Jae-yi shrugged. Well, this guy was the kind of person who could make others fall in line (?) just by standing still.

“You’re no help, you punk. Let’s go. The others will think it’s strange.”

“Let them think it’s strange.”

Jae-yi took Ira’s arm and made him sit on the bed.

“Is there anything you want to eat for dinner tomorrow?”

“Why are you trying to feed me so much lately? What are you going to do by fattening me up?”

“Even if I wanted to do something, I wouldn’t, so just tell me what you want to eat.”

“What do you want to eat?”

“Tell me what you want to eat.”

“Tteok-mandu-guk.”

It just came out of Ira’s mouth without thinking. He must have wanted to eat it.

“I’ll make it, so don’t eat out; eat at home.”

“..Okay, thanks.”

That Jae-yi, he must have seen the message earlier and known Ira had plans with Kwon Su-han tomorrow. Ira wondered if he was trying to be possessive, but then realized it was absurd. Why would he be possessive? Neither of them liked Ira anyway.

Ira was worried that Kwon Su-han would also try to feed him something after the health check-up. Hmm… Ira would just have to enjoy both meals.