translation by mourningmoor
“Long time no see, Gaeul-ssi?”
Startled, Gaeul turned around.
It was him. Kim Chanyeong, Kang Ichan’s new manager and an executive at HS Group.
“Ah, you scared me.”
Since Gaeul had previously been under HS, she didn’t find Kim Chanyeong particularly intimidating. She spoke in a pouty tone, as if he were still her manager.
“Why are you sneaking up on me like that? At least make some noise.”
Kim Chanyeong let out a dry, cold laugh.
“Funny. Shouldn’t I be the one surprised? This is our waiting room, you know.”
Only then did Gaeul realize the situation, her face turning pale.
She didn’t know what to do, her light brown eyes trembling.
“What were you planning to do in an empty waiting room?”
“I, I was just…”
Unable to continue, Kim Chanyeong glanced around. Then, he lowered his voice.
“You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to. I don’t need your explanation.”
He stepped closer and roughly grabbed her wrist.
Instinctively, Gaeul realized he was trying to check her ring.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Director-nim.”
If Kim Chanyeong knew about the ring, he must also know about Kang Ichan’s true identity.
“I just came to leave a note. I have something to say to Kang Ichan-ssi.”
She unfolded her hand to show a crumpled piece of paper.
“Oh no, it’s all wrinkled. I got scared because of you, Director-nim.”
It was a carefully chosen piece of paper, too.
As Gaeul sniffled, Kim Chanyeong smirked and released her wrist.
Then, in a sarcastic tone, he joked,
“Lee Gaeul, are you crazy? You’re thirty-two. Ichan is twenty-one. Do you really think it’s appropriate to secretly pass notes like this?”
What does he think I am?
Gaeul rolled her eyes and pouted.
“It’s not like that.”
They weren’t particularly close, but they had always gotten along well. There was no way Kim Chanyeong would misunderstand her like this. He must be testing her, trying to figure out why she approached Kang Ichan.
So, she gathered her courage.
“I have something to say. About the ring.”
The ring. It was a taboo word among Circle members.
Talking about the ring to an outsider meant inching closer to execution.
Gaeul was risking her life for this.
Her lips trembled slightly.
Kim Chanyeong’s eyes narrowed bitterly as he looked at her.
“What, why? Do you want to get rid of the magic circle too? Or are you planning to cause trouble?”
“So, you know about it too, Director-nim?”
She had expected this. She noticed when he tried to check the ring.
This makes things easier. Seeing her face, he’ll probably talk to Kang Ichan on her behalf. Kang Ichan and Director Kim Chanyeong seem to have a good relationship.
“Director-nim, then could you tell Kang Ichan-ssi…”
“No.”
She was about to ask him to deliver the note to Kang Ichan, but Kim Chanyeong cut her off without even listening.
“I can’t take your side.”
“Director-nim!”
Does this guy have mind-reading powers? She hadn’t even said anything, yet he already knew.
“Please help me.”
“No. I can’t burden Ichan anymore. Just do as he says. Then nothing will happen.”
He then firmly stated that the decision was up to Ichan.
At that moment, the space around them seemed to warp, and a strange energy filled the air. It was the kind of energy she only felt when the Master appeared during the Circle’s year-end gatherings.
Startled, Gaeul gasped for breath, and in that instant, Kang Ichan appeared behind Kim Chanyeong.
“Huh.”
The rumors were true. Kang Ichan could freely use magic that even the Master could barely manage.
No, the energy she felt was even stronger than the Master’s.
“Director-nim. Do you want to stop, or will you just stay?”
“I’ll stay.”
“You might feel a little dizzy.”
“I know.”
They were exchanging words she couldn’t understand, and then the space twisted again. Startled, she dropped the note she was holding, but instead of falling to the ground, it remained suspended in mid-air.
“Wh-what is this?”
It was one astonishing event after another.
She looked up from the note and saw Kang Ichan slowly approaching.
“I stopped time. I want to talk with Lee Gaeul-ssi for a bit.”
Kang Ichan reached out and picked up the crumpled yellow note.
He unfolded the wrinkled paper and quickly read the message.
“This makes things easier.”
He showed her the note.
Kang Ichan-ssi, please help me. Help me escape the Circle. I’ll do anything you want.
It was her handwriting, carefully written on the paper she had chosen last night, her hands trembling as she pressed down hard. Kang Ichan bit his lip and tilted his head slightly.
“You want to leave the Circle? Are you serious?”
She nodded.
She was serious. In fact, she had regretted receiving the magic circle almost immediately.
Although she had chosen it because she wanted to return to Korea, she felt like she was cheating, and even her successes didn’t bring her joy.
“In exchange for wearing the ring, I was given the ‘right to never be rejected.’ Since then, I’ve never failed an audition. That’s how I’ve maintained this position.”
A hollow laugh escaped her.
She had spent nearly eight years relying on the ring.
Even if she made mistakes during auditions, she never failed. Even if she messed up during performances, she wasn’t hated. Instead, others became her shields and took the fall.
She hated it.
“It felt like cheating, and I hated it, but I couldn’t say anything. I was too scared of execution.”
Kang Ichan nodded at her words.
“Even without that ring, Lee Gaeul-ssi, you would have succeeded. My aesthetic sense tells me so. And with that kind of heart, you don’t need something like a ring.”
Kang Ichan’s lips curved softly.
At that moment, even though time was supposed to be stopped, the door burst open, and Doyoon walked in. But something was off. His eyes were red.
Kang Ichan looked at Doyoon with a hint of pity.
“This time, it’s Doyoon?”
“I put defensive spells on all the bodies I liked, but what can I do? This one is the best among them.”
Kang Ichan shook his head as if he couldn’t be bothered and turned his attention back to Gaeul.
“I’ll remove the ring. I’ll also erase your memories, Lee Gaeul-ssi.”
“My memories…?”
“All memories related to the magic circle will be erased, so your guilt will disappear too.”
At that moment, the yellow note in Kang Ichan’s hand began to disappear, as if it were burning from the edges.
“Live freely, forgetting everything. I’m showing mercy because you’re a good person.”
She wasn’t without worries. If this failed, what would happen? It would be a lie to say she wasn’t scared of this situation. But she wanted to trust Kang Ichan. Gaeul swallowed hard and nodded.
“I’m ready.”
“Before I destroy the magic circle and erase your memories, I’ll quickly read your memories. Is that okay?”
“Yes.”
“Then let’s begin.”
At Kang Ichan’s signal, Doyoon’s body approached and held her head. A hot energy surged into her.
Startled, she opened her eyes wide, and Doyoon spoke.
“Don’t be scared. I’m just putting a barrier around your body. If Jess fails and fire breaks out, everyone else will be severely affected. Only you should burn.”
Gaeul’s eyes trembled like a candle in the wind.
Kang Ichan frowned.
“Why do you have to say that? It’s just a precaution, and I won’t fail, so don’t worry.”
Then, a cold wind seemed to blow from somewhere.
As Kang Ichan touched the ring, it turned to dust and scattered.
It was a more special experience than the day she first received the magic circle. She even thought it wouldn’t be so bad to be executed like this.
As the ring disappeared, she felt as if she could hear Kang Ichan’s voice in her head.
‘Rest for a while.’
Sleep overwhelmed her.
* * *
It was the day <Music Sketch> aired.
Since it was a late-night program, she hadn’t expected much, but as soon as the broadcast ended, fans rushed to the community to gush about it.
It was as if they were competing to see who could gush the most, and the posts were overflowing with embarrassing praise. But for us, reading our fans’ gushing was one of our joys.
“Wow. Chani hyung. Someone said you should be enshrined in a museum.”
“A museum?”
At Jaewon’s words, the kids crowded around.
“Yeah. They said you can do everything—sing, dance, compose, write lyrics, your face, your talk skills—so you should be designated as a first-class cultural heritage and preserved in a museum.”
“Wow. Kang Ichan. I’m jealous.”
Hanjoon nudged my shoulder.
Then Jaewon added another comment.
“Hanjoon hyung, instead of being jealous of Chani hyung, why don’t you go to the Yongsan District Office tomorrow?”
“Yongsan District Office?”
“A fan here said they’ll meet you in front of the civil complaints office tomorrow. To file a marriage registration.”
Everyone burst out laughing.
“It’s a relief that the fans reacted well since we had such a good time.”
We had all been nervous about appearing on <Music Sketch>, but we ended up having as much fun as we were nervous.
Even Yoon Yiho, who had been somewhat skeptical at first, quickly opened up and eventually treated us like friends.
Just looking at the fans’ reactions, you could tell how Yoon Yiho had been that day.
OMG. At the beginning, I was so mad at Yoon Yiho I could’ve died. The way he looked at the kids was so biased. I wanted to jump into the TV and grab him by the collar.
└Me too. But I forgave him because of how his expression changed in real-time.
└Right. At first, he had hawk eyes, but later it was all heart eyes♡♡
Did he look down on our kids because they’re young idols? Then he realized they’re not to be underestimated, huh?
└Yeah. Yoon Yiho is famous for looking down on idols. Remember how he treated Register last time? Even though they’re HS kids, it was pitiful.
└You think he only treated Register like that? He’s done it to every idol he’s invited. I was so worried, but our kids were the exception. ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
At that moment.
Yoon Yiho, whom we had exchanged numbers with that day, called immediately.
“Huh? It’s Yoon Yiho sunbaenim?”
When I picked up the phone and showed the screen, the kids’ eyes widened in surprise.
“What’s going on at this hour? Answer it quickly.”
Hanjoon gestured for me to pick up.