ID Chapter 6

4 AM. I woke up alone while everyone else was asleep. I woke up early to warm up my voice for the music show recording at 9 AM and to sort out the food I received at the fan signing event a few days ago.

As I gathered the food into my bag and got ready to leave, I heard a creak. It was Jae-yi.

“What are you secretly doing again?”

He looked neat, as if he hadn’t just woken up. That bastard is just handsome twenty-four hours a day.

“Oh, just warming up my voice. Why are you up?”

“At this hour?”

“I usually wake up early during promotions. I asked why you woke up.”

“…What’s all that in your bag?”

“Food. Well, I’m leaving. Go back to sleep.”

“Practice room?”

“Yeah.”

“I’m coming too.”

I can’t understand why this guy has been like this lately. I reluctantly accompanied Jae-yi to the practice room, a place I hadn’t even intended to go.

I pressed the passcode for the practice room on the second floor of the building and turned on the lights. As I opened the door to the empty practice room, a good idea popped into my head.

“Ah, I’m going to the recording studio. To warm up my voice.”

“Warm up here?”

“Because that place is soundproof.”

“I’m coming with you.”

Jae-yi fumbled and put on his discarded coat.

“Let’s just stay here.”

“…Okay.”

Practicing together intimately for two hours was, in its own way, exciting. But separately, I’d warmed up my voice so much there was nothing left to warm up. More than anything, I needed to throw away the food waste rotting in my bag, but that bastard Jae-yi was staring with wide eyes in the middle of the practice room… I didn’t know what excuse I could use to leave with my bag.

“Do we wake up at 6?”

“Yeah.”

“Shouldn’t we wake the members?”

“You wake them.”

That bastard Jae-yi replied coolly and continued his sword dance practice. Watching him practice, I truly thought, ‘He’s not called a “Motioner” of “transcendent idol-level” for nothing.’ Every single movement was imbued with aura, making it feel like watching an old martial arts movie, and anyway, despite being that bastard, he was incredibly cool.

“Alright, then I’ll go wake the members.”

“Why are you taking your bag?”

“……..”

Does that bastard have eyes in his ears too…? I put down the backpack I was holding. Sigh.

Pondering another way to dispose of the food waste, I went up to the room. The members were already all up, washed, and had brushed their teeth. Everyone was surprised when I told them Jae-yi was in the practice room.

“I knew you were diligent, but what’s up with that bastard?”

“I don’t know. What kind of wind blew him in? Let’s go.”

Watching them pack their bags, I got worried about the backpack I’d left in the practice room, so I went down first. Han-sae requested that I come with him, accompanied by curses, but I ignored him.

Bang, I opened the practice room door, and that bastard Jae-yi was unzipping my bag and looking through its contents. No, he was trying to take something out. For a moment, it felt like the whole world froze. In a panic, my aura shot out first.

“No! Don’t eat it!”

The aura glowed red and enveloped Jae-yi.

Gasp, gasp.

I rushed over, snatched the backpack Jae-yi’s hand had touched, and threw it far away.

“What are you doing? Why are you secretly looking into someone else’s bag?”

“…Why are you getting so angry?”

“Because you’re touching someone else’s things! I told you I don’t like sharing gifts!”

What if I had come down even a little bit later? What if that damn bastard Jae-yi had torn open the homemade bread bag he’d picked up and taken a bite? A chill ran down my spine. At the same time, my legs gave out. It’s really fortunate. I’m glad I found it in time.

“Hey… are you… crying?”

“I’m not crying, you son of a bitch.”

My voice came out completely cracked, making my vocal warm-up all night seem pointless. Jae-yi easily dissipated the aura I had created, then looked at the backpack lying far away, and then back at me.

“Do you hate sharing food with me that much?”

“……..”

It’s not that. I don’t even think that’s edible.

“I’m a bit greedy about food. So don’t touch mine. I clearly told you last time.” I had said it like a declaration when all the members were gathered. Han-sae was openly annoyed, but the other members accepted it as my personal preference. Han-sae also soon moved on, thinking, “Oh, he’s just like that.” That’s why I’ve been able to prevent the sharing of food gifts until now.

Especially Jae-yi, who is normally very strict about personal boundaries, so I never thought he would open my bag. No… I was wrong. Jae-yi must have been hungry from his sword dance practice, and since I told him there was a lot of food in the backpack, it was natural for him to open it. It was all my fault for being careless.

Jae-yi sat in front of me and leaned forward to meet my gaze.

“Ira.”

“……..”

“Alright. I’m sorry. I won’t touch it again.”

You don’t need to be sorry to me. You were just hungry and tried to eat a little of your friend’s food.

“…Uh, be careful in the future.”

“……..”

“The members will be down soon. Then let’s all go eat breakfast together. Want to go to the 24-hour haejangguk place up front? It’s been a while, I’ll treat.”

Jae-yi stared intently at me. His indigo eyes were deeply sunken. I met his deep gaze, which seemed to pierce through everything, with a gentle smile. Jae-yi nodded slightly and stood up.

Soon, the members burst in. That clueless idiot Han-sae barked about why only the two of us were practicing. I don’t know what Yadan, who rarely shows changes in expression, thought, but Mun seemed to have noticed the heavy atmosphere between Jae-yi and me.

As I took Han-sae and Yadan to the haejangguk place, Jae-yi and Mun seemed to be having some conversation, keeping their distance behind us. Was it about me? Like, ‘I’ve never seen such a greedy bastard before.’ Suddenly, recalling what happened earlier, I started to laugh. Where in the world is there such an idiotic bastard who would even use aura to prevent someone from eating his own stuff? It was so funny that I couldn’t stop laughing.

From the first day of our comeback, our schedule for three weeks was already fully packed. Music show recordings, broadcast interviews, radio, variety shows, cultural programs… even double live performances. Thanks to that, four days had already passed since our comeback, but I still hadn’t been able to dispose of the poisons from the fan signing event. Carrying them around in my backpack continuously felt uneasy, and I was tired of constantly worrying that someone might eat them, so I finally decided to use my last resort.

“Alright, recording begins. Everyone, please take your places!”

A staff member shouted. We, who had been huddled together, followed Mun into the set. Just before going up, I quietly called for our manager, Yong-jun. When I gestured for him to lean his ear, he bent down on his knee.

“My backpack in our waiting room, it’s the food I received at the fan signing.”

“…Okay, I’ll secretly dispose of it during the recording.”

Yong-jun is one of the few people who knows about that incident. As soon as the recording began, I saw Yong-jun quietly slip out. This was the second time he was taking care of it for me. He seemed to feel sorry for me even though it wasn’t his fault, so usually I handled everything myself.

“Ira, I’m sorry. Let’s keep it a secret from the others.”

“……..”

It wasn’t his fault that he said that. I understand everything now.

When he said that, his face looked as if he had aged 30 years, and his eyes were swollen, but at that time, I was not in a state to recognize such things. I had poured out words of resentment at him.

Since then, a deep chasm has formed between him and me, one that can never be bridged again. He feels sorry for me, and I also feel sorry for him. But in fact, he doesn’t need to feel sorry for me. I want to tell him this, but I still don’t have the courage. It must be proof that I’m still immature.

The name of this program, which Endorphin always appears on whenever they make a comeback, is ‘Endorphin’. It’s a cultural and variety show that provides information about our body’s health, and since the name is the same, the director, writers, staff, our own staff, and even the fans all feel a sense of closeness.

Today’s topic was Auraology. Which fruits are good for Soul Aura, which vegetables are good for Motion Aura… which combinations work well, and which have negative effects. To learn about such things, a mukbang was inevitably required. I was excited when I received the script earlier and saw there was a mukbang. I’ll eat deliciously.

“Today’s guests are those we adore because their name is the same as our show. The essential element of life, Endorphin, all five members are here~~!!”

“Hello, we are Endorphin!!”

There were only three doctors on the panel, and no audience, so there was no cheering.

“And in addition to our regular panelists, the three Kim, Yi, and Park teachers, we have one special guest invited today. He is the world-renowned Aura Adapter, Teacher Kwon Su-han~!!”

“Whoa!!!”

Clap, clap, clap. We applauded enthusiastically. As per the script.

A man in a perfect suit walked out from behind the stage. Rather than a doctor, he looked more like a businessman… and a rather shadowy one at that. He was very tall and handsome, a cool beauty with a rather cold impression. His face seemed familiar, and since he’s world-renowned, I must have seen him somewhere.