Save a Failed Idol’s Life

Chapter 61. Do I Have to Go This Far? (1)

I almost turned around reflexively, but I couldn’t take my eyes off the two-way road that continued ahead.

No one was coming right now, but it was raining and I had to stay focused in case someone came from the opposite side.

Should I ask if they’re filming right now? 

I kept glancing back nervously, checking on Seong-won’s condition.

He seemed to have calmed down a bit since earlier, but he still held a lukewarm plastic bottle and a cold cat in his hands.

It seemed impossible to ask Seong-won if he was okay with being filmed from behind.

“…”

Instead of continuing the conversation, I quietly closed my mouth. 

I had turned off my personal mic a long time ago, so there was no sound to use. 

Even if they filmed, it would only be a short clip in the interview scene without any sound.

It was best to keep my mouth shut when I couldn’t tell if this situation was being recorded or not.

“We’re almost there. If you’re having a hard time, get off. I’ll talk to the others.”

I gestured to the PD behind me.

“Let’s get off.”

The PD nodded his head, shrinking his body. 

I could see Seong-won sitting inside the window, but everyone’s eyes were on me as I got off empty-handed.

“Um…”

Should I ask them to turn off the camera for a moment? 

I stared straight at the main PD behind the camera lens and made a scissors sign with my hand.

“PD-nim, I’m sorry, but can you please turn off the camera for a moment?”

“What?”

Kyunghwa, who had been sitting close together on the floor until a moment ago, asked me what I was talking about.

“Camera first.”

“What are you trying to say, Ise-ssi?”

The PD gestured with his hand, covering the camera lenses with a cover.

“We went to the hospital. But they said they were too young and there was no chance, so they couldn’t do anything.”

“Ah, wow…”

Everyone looked at me with hardened expressions and asked.

“Then what do we do?”

I sighed and glanced at the car.

“I told him to come out when he felt better.”

“Ah…”

After a brief silence, Seon-woo finally opened his mouth.

“Seong-won-hyung, you must want to be alone right now, right?”

Seon-woo’s eyelashes fluttered over his wet eyes. I hesitated and couldn’t answer right away.

“Maybe?”

Then Kyunghwa intervened calmly.

“Stay still. Seong-won needs some time to calm down right now.”

I thought the phrase ‘life is like a second chance’ suited this guy more than me.

Of course, he seemed to have a hard time mentally and subtly cared about the other members, but still.

Something… It wasn’t because he was meticulous and caring by nature. 

I wondered if he had some circumstances that made him have a strong sense of responsibility since he was young.

‘Even if he does… It’s not something I can dig up.’

Anyway, thanks to Kyunghwa’s intervention, Seon-woo didn’t rush to comfort Seong-won and turn the already troubled guy upside down.

Then, with a click, the passenger seat door opened and Seong-won ran out.

“Huh.”

“Uh, what do we do…”

Everyone was watching Seong-won and trying to figure out what to say. At that moment, Seong-won shouted loudly.

“Quick, bring me some formula! And some warm water!”

Seong-won ran to the living room with only a cat wrapped in a towel, without a plastic bottle in his hand.

“Huh? Uh-uh!”

Surprised, Yejun ran to the kitchen to make some formula without even checking the cat. Fortunately, there was some water left that he had boiled to drink today.

“I’ll be right back!”

While Yejun was making the formula, Seon-woo hurriedly filled a new plastic bottle with water.

“Ouch, hot…”

“Be careful. You not getting hurt is the priority.”

“Uh-huh…!”

Seon-woo looked like he was about to cause an accident, so Kyunghwa followed him and nagged.

“Plastic bottle! I’ll bring it right away!”

Seon-woo ran to the living room with a plastic bottle that was slightly warmer than human body temperature.

The cat, who had seemed to have no strength to live when they went to the hospital, was breathing heavily.

“Just a moment… It might be too hot… Let me wrap it with a towel…”

The three grown men crowded around the cat, raising its body temperature, and Yejun brought the formula.

“What happened? Is it better?”

“Ah, what were you throwing up while making those noises? Now you’re even crying.”

Seong-won quickly showed me the contents of the crumpled tissue he had stuffed in his pocket. 

There were traces of something that looked like a rubber gasket, chewed up beyond recognition.

“How on earth did you swallow this…?”

It seemed like his mother had abandoned him because this thing was blocking his stomach and making him sick.

“Meow-! Meow-! Meow-!”

As Yejun squeezed a little milk on the back of his hand and let him smell it, the cat started to meow as if he was hungry.

“That’s right, that’s right, eat slowly.”

As the cat reluctantly started to suck on the bottle, everyone sighed in relief.

“That’s a relief…”

“That vet was totally crazy… No, never mind.”

Kyungwha almost blurted out a curse, then quickly glanced at the staff.

“Huh?”

The camera that had been covered with a cloth until a moment ago was now filming us clearly.

“PD-nim, are you filming right now?”

I got up from the floor and walked over to the staff and asked. The PD answered without changing his expression.

“No, I covered it up earlier because I thought the situation was bad. But now it’s better. We have to film if we can.”

He had even taken care of the filming angle in the meantime.

His attitude of taking it for granted irritated me.

“So you’re going to keep filming?”

“Well, yeah, we have to edit and upload this week’s episode right away. Do you know how many hours we’ve wasted? We have to film something to fill the time, do you want us to just sit still?”

“Well, at least until the situation settles down a bit…”

Then he snickered. The PD treated me like a child and laughed.

“Lee Se, you don’t know anything about broadcasting, do you? You had a sweet taste a few weeks ago with the direct shot, don’t you know what people like? A bit of stimulating material, emotion, and fun…! This is a chance to catch all three, are you going to miss it?”

And then he patted my shoulder with his hand, as if to comfort a naive kid.

“Lee Se, I know you’re scared and worried right now. But we’ll take care of everything and make it look good. Anyway, the final version will be reviewed by your agency, do you think I’ll send you something that will get me scolded?”

As he said that, his mouth curled up, and I felt a chill. I looked behind me and everyone was busy taking care of the cat, and only Kyungwha was looking at me.

‘Come over here and stop arguing with the staff.’

Kyungwha’s eyes seemed to say that. What nonsense. Even if we lose today’s footage, do we have to send this out?

[- I’ve been active for five years, but I’ll lose my fandom if I don’t have any content.]

[- We have to send something out so the fans have something to consume. What do we have, a few music videos from 20 years ago?]

[- WePlanet is reallyㅋㅋㅋ… I didn’t expect anything, but they can’t do their job and they’re discriminated against by other groups… I’m having a reality check, what about our Clingies?]

If we stop filming now, it would be like crossing a point of no return with the staff.

You guys are getting paid by me, aren’t you? Should I push you?

That was what the original Lee Se would have thought, but I couldn’t say it out loud.

I had to see these people’s faces again and again in this narrow entertainment industry.

‘…How long would it take to find new staff?’

The production team we hired now was also people we got through connections.

If we flipped over because of a conflict during filming, we would lose face with Kang Yugeon who introduced us.

I was the one who paid the money, but I couldn’t do anything. I told them to say ‘I can’t do it because Lee Se will go crazy’ if they didn’t want to do something.

I couldn’t even say a word of protest at this moment.

“…”

As I said nothing, the PD gestured for me to move.

“Lee Se, turn on the mic. We’re going to shoot again.”

Damn it. I clenched my teeth without showing it.

***

The filming continued until the scheduled schedule was finished. 

The observation camera didn’t turn off either, and the interview went on as usual.

I was worried if Seong-won could handle the interview normally, but fortunately he came out in front of the camera bravely.

A handsome person’s face wouldn’t go anywhere even if it was swollen with tears, but… This was too much.

In the end, the staff brought a hot pack and he started filming with it on his face.

“Are you okay?”

Seong-won, who came back with a silent face, looked for the cat first.

He had been with him for five years, and even longer if he counted the trainee days. No one complained that he looked at the animal before the person.

“He’s sleeping well. Look at his belly, it’s so plump.”

Yejun said thankfully that he didn’t need to stimulate his bowel movements manually after a month.

Instead of the yard, we brought in a cat litter box and a basket for sleeping in the bedroom. That’s when I remembered that we hadn’t eaten properly.

“Now that he’s okay, let’s fill our stomachs too.”

We couldn’t eat poorly today either. We brought basic seasonings and all kinds of food from the dorm.

I smiled awkwardly in front of the surveillance camera.

“I hope Seong-won feels better, so I brought out my secret weapon.”

It was none other than a tomahawk steak. I had smuggled four ice packs in my bag without the manager noticing. It wasn’t a very meaty cut compared to its weight, but it had the best visual appeal.

“Wow, how did you hide this?”

“Wow, can we grill this? Me too!”

Yejoon ran over with his eyes sparkling, even before Seong-won. This guy was second only to Seon-woo when it came to appetite. It was almost pitiful.

“Wait a minute. You go and light the charcoal over there.”

As I removed the tendons and fascia from the meat so it would be tender, Yejoon jumped out with enthusiasm.

He soon came back with the barbecue grill ready.

“The fire is up!”

I seasoned the meat generously and took it to the grill.

“Did you bring foil today? How about we roast some potatoes?”

“Oh, good idea.”

While Yejoon and I ran around like crazy to make up for the wasted time during the day, Kyunghwa and Seon-woo stayed by Seong-won’s side.

The cat seemed to have passed a critical point, but I still didn’t feel he was healthy. What if he didn’t make it through the night?

Everyone was showing their utmost care for Seong-won, who had barely calmed his mind.

Meanwhile, the meat was sizzling nicely. Now it was time to carve the flesh from the bone and grill it again until it was hot inside.

I sliced some butter and rubbed it on the meat chunks, then turned around and shouted.

“Get the table ready, we’re going to eat!”

Maybe a hearty dinner would give us some energy.

I felt more strength in my hand holding the meat tongs than usual.