Meanwhile, seeing Cheonghyeon like that, Gwangyeon was deep in thought.
Of all the rumors about Cheonghyeon circulating in the entertainment industry, the “third-generation chaebol” theory was by far the most famous.
The rumor that there was a third-generation chaebol in East had existed since debut.
The first reason was that, not long after debut, the rookie idols shot commercials the kind only hugely popular actors would normally do.
The second was that at the peak of their popularity, when the usual sasaeng (obsessive fans) problem flared up as it does for popular boy groups, they shook off the sasaengs and brazenly continued overseas promotions on a private jet.
Anyone can buy a foreign car, but a plane is different. Even the parking fees would strain all but the heaviest fortunes.
In Korea today, the only people who own private jets are a few chairmen from chaebol families.
For that reason, the rumor that there was a third-generation chaebol in East spread pretty widely in the industry. But if you asked, “So who is the chaebol heir?” no one could answer for sure.
Leaving out Yunwoo, whose ordinary upbringing was widely known, you were left with Sikyung, Hando, and Cheonghyeon… and the reason was simply that almost nothing about those three’s family backgrounds was public.
Because there was so little known, people in the industry merely speculated that Cheonghyeon, who seemed to have neither talent nor flair, might be the rumored chaebol heir.
To top it off, the time when Cheonghyeon enlisted overlapped with a period when a popular actor had been caught trying to dodge the military and was getting pummeled by public opinion.
That actor ranted that the public wouldn’t say a thing when politicians’ or chaebols’ children used tricks to avoid service, but only went after easy prey like entertainers and right then, Cheonghyeon entered the army.
The public merely regarded him as an idol who, even while promoting, had made up his mind and gone to serve. But in the industry, most people went, “As expected….”
In truth, although Cheonghyeon had lived a perfectly ordinary life, not a single classmate remembered him. A misunderstanding with no way to correct it kept swelling in size like that.
While Gwangyeon’s mind was spinning like this, Isaac, for his part, had simply no thoughts at all. Back when he lived in the palace, there were almost no people who could force Isaac to answer aside from three people: the emperor, the empress, and the crown prince.
Another prince might have watched the great nobles’ faces, but Isaac, with his presence so faint, rarely had occasion to encounter the powerful.
Thanks to that, he could grow up like a little emperor of the Ivory Palace.
Moreover, Isaac was used to placing others beneath him, so there were few occasions for him to greet anyone first. For Isaac, greeting was something to receive with benevolence, not something he did.
Smiling wasn’t something he was used to, either.
Who goes around grinning idly in the imperial palace? Although the current Cheonghyeon, into whose body Isaac had entered, used to beam at all hours.
That, however, was not something the current Isaac knew.
With small misunderstandings piling up like that, they finished exchanging names and got down to discussion.
“To begin with, our president says the top priority is erasing the dating-rumor image with Yang Dohyeon, so he’d like to show as much lovey-dovey behavior with Mr. Cheonghyeon as possible. The image would be like a lovable college couple. From there, we want to push an image of Yeonhee as a freshman who’s just graduated high school and entered college. She has fantasies about romance, but knows nothing about dating. Since Yeonhee debuted very young, that image plays well.”
It seemed AKA had taken a considerable hit from the dating rumor. Before the fans with pseudo-romantic feelings could all leave, they intended to make the fans empathize with Gi Cheonghyeon, to give them the feeling of dating Yeonhee, and thus win them back.
“If Cheonghyeon comes on too warm and attentive from the start, it could feel forced, so as Mr. Gwangyeon says, that freshman-couple vibe would be good. Kids who’ve just come of age, doing that fresh kind of romance….”
This body is twenty-five. Fresh romance, seriously? Isaac grumbled inwardly.
Even if only nominally, in the empire he’d had a fiancée.
Only after they spent nearly six hours drafting a synopsis and lightly matching beats with Yeonhee did the meeting finally end.
“Then we’ll be in your care.”
“Yes. See you next time.”
During work the manager had led the conversation professionally, but seeing Cheonghyeon show signs of fatigue, he went back to fussing as before.
“You must be exhausted, right? Let’s hurry back to the dorm. By now the members will all be there.”
Hearing that made Cheonghyeon even more tired. Right now he didn’t want to deal with anyone. He just wanted to collapse and sleep.
With a frown between his brows, Cheonghyeon got in the car.
Even Isaac had never experienced “fresh romance.” How could he know whether he preferred younger or older, lively or quiet women, without ever dating someone?
In the empire, Isaac’s network had been extremely limited. He didn’t know any young noblemen well, nor had he attended many social parties.
The very relationships called “friend” and “lover” were unfamiliar to him… and now a fresh college couple? He’d rather they asked him to play a hero who slays a dragon.
True, he had a fiancée, but they’d barely even spoken.
To the present Isaac, peers in equal relationships were all unfamiliar. If only he’d remained a prince, he’d have been more comfortable still…
He could treat the manager or president like senior head attendants, which made them relatively easy to handle. But the members and Ko Yeonhee were a bit different. His body was dead tired, but the thought of having to see the members upon arriving at the dorm kept his eyes from closing.
What on earth was he supposed to do with them? What does one even do with people one’s own age?
“Cheonghyeon, we’re here. Let’s get out.”
When the manager, having parked, turned and called, Cheonghyeon stirred as if just waking.
“Okay.”
He staggered out of the car as if he might drop from sleep any second. He’d just act tired and head straight for his room.
Whenever something came up that he wanted to avoid, Isaac had a habit of making full use of his faint presence.
When his mother dropped by the palace to make him take some foul-tasting medicinal herbs, he’d lie quietly on the bed without a sound, and both attendants and mother often failed to find him.
And when his older brother killed all the other siblings, Isaac had his face pressed to the floor, trembling under a reception-room chair. And what was the result? He’s stubbornly alive like this now.
Thinking of the past, he stepped into the dorm and saw the members’ faces. At that moment, all three looked straight at him at once, and Isaac hesitated.
Realizing he could no longer get away with the invisible-man tactic, he simply couldn’t ignore them and head directly to his room.
What to do?
“Cheonghyeon.”
As the standoff continued, Sikyung, the leader, called his name with a gentle smile, like approaching a small cat with a “I won’t hurt you.”
But the cat pondered briefly and then said boldly: Get lost.
“I’m tired.”
So what if he was no longer a prince? What did it matter if he stood out to others? Here, there was no mother to force nasty decoctions down his throat, no terrifying brother to lop off the heads of half-siblings.
He really was tired, so couldn’t he just say so honestly? Feeling noticeably lighter, Isaac headed for his room.
Click.
With that, as Cheonghyeon swept past, the four men left in the living room stood there in a daze.
Even though the boiler was turned up and the room was toasty, it felt like a cold wind was blowing through.
“Hyung… you said Cheonghyeon told you he wasn’t being bullied.”
“I mean, he definitely said that, right? I—I don’t really know either…. Maybe he’s mad because he had a schedule right after being discharged today. No, he must just be tired.”
“I even set the table so we could eat with Hyeoni hyung….”
Clutching his apron, Yunwoo looked on the verge of tears. A moment later, at the dining table where the manager and the three members sat together, no one spoke.
Each lost in his own thoughts, they just picked at the food in silence. The normally chatty manager, watching the members’ faces, just shoveled down rice. Including the prettily prepared portion for Cheonghyeon.
Once in his room, Cheonghyeon headed straight to the en-suite bathroom and washed up thoroughly. Catching a glimpse of himself in the mirror mid-shower, he found his reflection quite to his liking.
When he didn’t smile and simply looked, a cool air emanated from him, and that point pleased him most.
If you give too bright an impression at first, people tend to think you’re easy to handle. It was the first lesson he’d learned from his mother, who had served in the empire’s inspection bureau: never smile without cause.
It was useless now while he was an idol but essential once he entered society and held public office. In a society without ranks, a gentle-smiling newcomer looked even more like an easy mark.
He was tall and everything else pleased him, but maybe because he was an idol, the body was too thin. This kind of stringy muscle isn’t even muscle. Having lived seeing only the muscular bodies of knights, Isaac didn’t care for Cheonghyeon’s straight, slender build.
You even did your military service. Why does your body look like this?
Back when he’d been Isaac, he’d been much slighter than now but the saying that tadpoles forget they were once tadpoles isn’t common across times and places for nothing.
Still, Isaac liked the new body—no, his original body—quite a bit.
Finding black hair instead of blond awkward, he kept touching it, then hurriedly dried off as he began to feel chilly. Wearing light sleepwear and toweling his hair, he felt very strange. He’d never once dried his own hair…. Awkwardly moving his arms, he blotted the moisture from it.
At that hour, having finished eating and showering, Hando turned and headed for Cheonghyeon’s room.
He wasn’t planning to bother a kid who was already exhausted by asking, “Are you sure you’re okay?”
He just felt he wouldn’t be at ease unless he saw his face. Was he sleeping by now?
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