translation by mourningmoor
Then, PD Pyo also nodded his head.
“Then, the response…?”
“It’s not like there’s only one or two fake photos, right? It’s not like it’s an affair scandal or something made up with photoshopped images.”
To be honest, it’s not like there haven’t been fake photos before.
Photoshopped images of the members in suggestive situations, or weird edits with other groups.
As our popularity grew, such incidents became more frequent.
Did the company respond every time?
No, they just ignored it, saying it would disappear on its own.
Then, it should be the same this time, right? It’s not even a real fake photo.
“This will probably disappear if we just leave it alone.”
In situations like this, pretending not to know and staying quiet is the wisest move. It’ll just blow over after some noise.
Especially since this photo isn’t a scandal, it won’t harm the team.
“Is there anything else?”
With a nonchalant expression, as if it were nothing, I slowly got up from my seat.
“Then, I’ll work.”
It really shouldn’t be a big deal, but strangely, my fingertips were tingling.
I clenched my fists tightly and glanced at the kids.
“What are you doing? You guys get up too. We have work to do. Work.”
Then, the kids, looking at each other, slowly got up from their seats.
“Yeah. We have work to do.”
Leaving the kids, who were sneakily watching my reaction, behind, I left the company.
* * *
Kim Chanyeong, who was holding the steering wheel, glanced at me through the rearview mirror.
I tried to ignore it, but it was impossible, so I met his gaze.
“What? Say it out loud, Director-nim.”
Since earlier, a faint smile kept bubbling up, piercing through my lungs.
“Is there something you’re hiding? Why do you keep watching me?”
Then, Kim Chanyeong, shaking his head as if it were nothing, looked away from the rearview mirror.
Then, he parked the car in front of a nearby phone store.
I said to Kim Chanyeong, who was quietly following behind.
“Your artist lost his phone, but you’re not even asking anything? Where did you lose it? Are there any photos that shouldn’t be seen? Shouldn’t we report it? Let’s get a new one right away.”
I stopped walking and turned around.
“Isn’t that what you should normally say?”
At the sudden question, Kim Chanyeong blinked and then nodded.
“You’re right. I was so surprised that I forgot.”
“Ah, you forgot?”
I let out a snort and then fell silent again.
At the phone store, I bought a new phone and reactivated it with my old number.
As soon as I turned it on, messages started pouring in endlessly.
“Why are there so many?”
My old phone had disappeared along with Kang Ichan’s body when I crossed the dimensional gate. The goddess reconstructed Kang Ichan’s body but seemed to have forgotten about the phone.
It had been a year since the phone disappeared.
There were countless calls and messages piled up.
As I scrolled through the messages with my finger, Kim Chanyeong swallowed dryly and glanced at me sideways.
“What?”
Since earlier, he’s been like a puppy that needs to pee, looking like he has something to say.
“What, did you send any weird messages while I was gone? Ah, here it is. A message from Director Kim Chanyeong.”
I shook the message window from Kim Chanyeong.
Then, Kim Chanyeong’s expression crumpled as if he were in trouble.
“You even left a voice message?”
Judging by the date, it was the day after I disappeared.
“What should we do? Should I listen to it? Or will you tell me, Director-nim?”
Kim Chanyeong, with a faint smile, let out a long sigh.
“Kang Ichan. Want to have a beer?”
* * *
Kim Chanyeong emptied two bottles of soju, and I emptied two cans of beer.
Whether it was because he was drunk, Kim Chanyeong held onto me and started rambling about his life.
From when he first started as a manager to when he was kicked out of HS, his life had been quite eventful. Then, he said something really funny… no, really heartwarming.
“Hey. My… my life was really shitty, but meeting someone like you gave me a new life.”
He seemed slightly drunk from the two bottles of soju.
“You changed my life like magic. Like, magic.”
Kim Chanyeong, emphasizing each word, smiled.
“A talented person who reached out to even a bad guy like me and genuinely embraced me.”
In the past, I would’ve peeked into Kim Chanyeong’s thoughts with my mind-reading ability.
I didn’t have to listen to all the messy details, didn’t have to ask, and could easily judge people. So, I didn’t really understand the weight of words.
I didn’t try to understand the weight or value of words, nor did I care much about them.
But now, it’s different.
I think I understand the power of words.
“You’re not just a mage to me, you’re a hero.”
Mage, hero.
At Kim Chanyeong’s words, a hollow laugh escaped me.
“So, Director-nim… your memories weren’t erased at all?”
“Yeah. They’re all intact, man.”
Was Kim Chanyeong’s tone always like this?
So straightforward, rough, and yet so deeply affectionate?
“How could you even think of messing with my memories? How did you capture me like this?”
How could such words be so sad, so painful?
“How am I supposed to live without those memories?”
Is this what human emotions are like?
“You bastard.”
At Kim Chanyeong’s tearful curse, I also let out a faint laugh.
It’s the first time I’ve felt good after being cursed at.
“But why did you pretend not to know?”
We ended up drinking another bottle of soju and a can of beer, relying on alcohol to exchange our true feelings.
“The demon king said you wanted it that way.”
That’s right. I wanted the people I love to live ordinary lives.
I wanted this world to remain peaceful, as it always had been.
“You wanted me to forget you.”
I didn’t want them to know about the existence of other worlds, or that beings with strange powers could cross over and threaten our peace.
I was willing to risk everything to prevent that from happening, so I just wanted them to be happy.
“You wanted me to erase your existence and live well.”
I nodded at Kim Chanyeong’s words.
“That’s right.”
“So, I pretended in front of the demon king. That way, you’d feel at ease. I lived like that for a whole year.”
The demon king explained why I had to leave and what would happen to my body if I crossed the dimensional gate.
He also said I could never return.
So, in despair, I drank a lot. I left a voice message while drunk.
I couldn’t bear it anymore, so I quit Blade Entertainment and went to the countryside. I lived the past year farming like that.
“But when I woke up one morning, I was lying in my Seoul apartment. To make matters worse, PD Pyo suddenly called and said they found you… and told me to come to Paris immediately.”
Aside from the fact that I came back alive, time had been rewound to a year ago, which was very confusing.
“I rushed to the company and found out it was a year ago. I was so shocked.”
“But why didn’t you say anything?”
“The moment I saw your face, the past year flashed before my eyes, and I couldn’t speak. I thought, ‘Screw it, I’ll just start over,’ so I didn’t say anything. I thought you’d figure it out eventually.”
In the end, the demon king’s mental magic didn’t work on Kim Chanyeong.
Because of that, Kim Chanyeong, who had all the memories of that year, was still in a daze after being reset.
I wondered why the demon king’s mental magic didn’t work on him, but I think I know the answer.
“It’s good. I was actually thinking about revealing my identity to you again.”
I poured more soju into Kim Chanyeong’s glass.
Then, Kim Chanyeong, who emptied his glass in one go, smiled brightly and said.
“Welcome back. My artist, Kang Ichan.”
“I’m glad too. Thank you for waiting a whole year. My manager.”
* * *
It seems like I talked with Kim Chanyeong for quite a long time.
After dropping off the heavily drunk Kim Chanyeong at his place, I stopped by the playground near the dorm for a bit. Sitting on the creaky swing, I scrolled through my phone messages again.
Then, I couldn’t help but chuckle as I read through a year’s worth of messages.
I knew it.
Roa
Hyungnim. I miss you.
Roa sent countless messages saying he missed me.
Maknae
Chani hyung.
I still can’t believe you’re gone.
Are you really not coming back? No, right? You’ll come back, right? I’ll wait.
Jaewon just kept repeating messages saying he’d wait.
Hanjoon sent exactly ten messages in a year. From start to finish, they were all curses, and Siu kept typing and deleting before accidentally sending just ‘Iㅊ’.
A whole year. A whole year.
I just laughed and kicked my feet to move the swing.
It felt like swinging would make this fuzzy feeling less ticklish.
“It’s done.”
* * *
He said he was going to work, but Ichan, who went out with Director Kim Chanyeong, didn’t return to the company until late at night.
LIT members, gathered in the practice room waiting for Ichan, looked at each other with uneasy eyes. They had sensed something strange during the earlier meeting.
“I think Ichan noticed something, right?”
At Hanjoon’s words, the other members all nodded.
“Hyungnim. Shouldn’t we tell Ichan hyungnim first?”
“I guess we should, right?”
The members nodded again this time.
When Ichan disappeared with that crazy mage at the Paris concert venue, Noah manipulated their memories. Then, as if by some agreement, the whole world erased Ichan from their memories.
Overnight, they became a four-member boy band, and they finished the tour without Ichan. None of them brought it up first, but they all knew.
That Ichan’s memories, at least for the LIT members, hadn’t been erased.
They spent a year like that.
That time wasn’t hell because they believed Ichan would return.
And Ichan did return.
On the day Ichan returned, the members talked for the first time.
They shared the chaotic memories of the past year and comforted each other.
Then, they rushed to the airport, hugged each other, and cried.
It felt like they were being compensated for the pain of the past year.
“But what should we say to hyungnim?”
Roa, swallowing dryly, cautiously brought it up.
“Should we say that Noah sunbaenim’s magic didn’t work on us?”
“That’s right.”
Hanjoon, nodding, carefully shared his thoughts.
“I think it’s because of this.”