translation by mourningmoor
Early January, the awards season was finally winding down.
And as expected, L.I.T swept the Rookie Awards at every ceremony.
Two major incidents had a significant impact on L.I.T’s uncontested dominance in the Rookie Awards.
The first was the spread of rumors that the MBS lighting accident was orchestrated by MuteSeven’s Kim Wooyoung to sabotage L.I.T’s year-end stage.
The police declared it an “accidental incident,” but no one believed it. Because HS had expelled Kim Wooyoung.
And the second, Jung Yoobin of MuteSeven held a press conference to expose HS’s Director Kim Chanyeong.
The main point was that he had Kim Wooyoung steal Kang Ichan’s laptop when he was an HS trainee, and then released Ichan’s songs under the name Who's M. Who's M was a faceless composer, and in reality, didn’t exist.
When people started questioning Who's M’s identity, Director Kim Chanyeong called Jung Yoobin and asked, “What if you became Who's M?” Jung Yoobin claimed he couldn’t participate in such evil deeds and decided to expose the truth.
It was all nonsense.
When Kim Wooyoung tipped off the press about Who's M’s misdeeds, Jung Yoobin hijacked the story. Given Jung Yoobin’s powerful connections—his father being a member of the National Assembly—it’s possible he received a counter-tip from the press.
In the end, Kim Chanyeong took the fall for everything. The accident was also perceived as a heinous act to silence Kang Ichan, who was demanding his songs back.
“Damn it.”
I threw my phone after reading the article.
Gyuhyung, who was driving, glanced at me through the rearview mirror.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. Just annoyed.”
Everything was annoying.
I wondered what the source of this annoyance was, and it was probably this: the unsatisfying conclusion to achieving my goals.
Achieving goals. In other words, I had accomplished everything I set out to do in this world.
I successfully debuted L.I.T, fulfilling Kang Ichan’s first wish.
I moved the dorm to a decent place and paid off all of Ichan’s debts.
L.I.T’s latest mini-album was a hit, bringing in substantial royalties, and with the revival of Ichan’s copyrights taken by Who's M, I also received a significant settlement from HS.
This meant my bank account had grown considerably.
<573,978,000 won>
Considering that when I first saw Kang Ichan’s bank account, it was a three-digit number, this was a monumental improvement.
So, I was now on my way to Samcheok to fulfill Kang Ichan’s final wish.
<Buying a house for my poor mother.>
After successfully wrapping up promotions for the second mini-album, Producer Pyo gifted us three days of vacation.
Stingy, really. If you’re going to give us a vacation, it should be at least a week, not just three days.
Still, the members were all satisfied and returned to their respective homes yesterday.
Left alone, I went to the bank.
I converted a substantial amount of money into a check and did some thorough shopping.
Gyuhyung called this a triumphant return.
Not only was I returning alive, but I was also bringing back gifts, so my mother would be happy.
But what do I do with this? Kang Ichan is already dead.
I sighed involuntarily.
I couldn’t pretend to be her dead son, nor could I tell her the truth that I’m not really her son.
It was complicated, and my heart felt uneasy.
“Hyung, you’re not just going to drop me off and go back to Seoul, right?”
“Yeah. If you get kicked out, I’ll have to take you with me. How can I just leave?”
The probability of getting kicked out was close to 70%. But I couldn’t just live pretending not to know, so I needed to tie up loose ends with Kang Ichan’s mother.
“No running away?”
“Right. I’ll see my mother for the first time in a while and stay the night. I’ll have to come back tomorrow to pick you up anyway.”
At least that’s a relief. Having this black bear by my side.
Once I hand over the prepared money envelope to Kang Ichan’s mother, it’s all over. With that, all the conditions for leaving L.I.T will be met.
Leaving L.I.T… huh.
My mouth felt a little bitter.
“We’re here.”
Lost in thought, I didn’t realize the car had stopped.
Looking out the window, I saw a small house with the words <Guesthouse> written in red.
“Is this Kang Ichan’s… house?”
“Wow, are you suddenly referring to yourself in the third person? Is this Ichan’s house? What’s with this?”
Ha, is this black bear getting cheeky now?
Without responding, I got out of the car.
With a somewhat heavy heart, I looked at the house in front of me.
Kang Ichan’s house. It felt strange.
Should I even be here? I devoured the son of this house.
Guilt tightened around my throat.
Then it happened.
“Why are you here?”
A voice suddenly rang out, and I turned around.
A thin middle-aged woman. Her large eyes without double eyelids resembled Kang Ichan’s. At that moment, my heart felt heavy.
She must be Kang Ichan’s mother.
“Go. You’ve come to the wrong place.”
Her cold and gloomy expression was exactly like Kang Ichan’s.
I didn’t know how to respond, but my mouth moved on its own.
“I’m not dead, you know.”
I wanted to assure Kang Ichan’s mother. That Kang Ichan was alive and well. That she could finally break free from the family trauma of men dying when they became singers.
The owner of this body, Kang Ichan, desperately wanted that. To save his mother. So he could rest in peace.
“I’m alive and well.”
For a moment, Kang Ichan’s mother let out a hollow laugh.
“You’re alive and well, doing what you want. That’s enough.”
Then she brushed past me and opened the door to the guesthouse.
“You’ve confirmed I’m alive, so you can go now.”
Without looking back, Kang Ichan’s mother went inside and closed the door.
“Mom!”
I shouted as the door was closing. Then something hot pressed down on my chest. I realized that the word “mom” carried such weight for humans.
“I wanted to call you mom too.”
Fortunately, the door didn’t close completely.
“Everyone calls their mom, and I wanted to call you that too.”
Everyone calls their mom, mom. It was fascinating how they all mentioned their moms in their Rookie Award acceptance speeches. My mom died in an accident when I was three, and Kang Ichan was estranged from his mom, so I wondered who I should call… I even agonized over it.
And I was curious.
Do moms really know everything about their children?
So I wanted to ask.
“If Kang Ichan, no, if I hadn’t become a singer, what should I have done?”
I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately.
What should I do after leaving L.I.T?
How should I enjoy my freedom outside the confines of Blade Entertainment?
What should I do to live like a human?
“When I think about it, maybe I’m just a person who can’t do anything else.”
But I couldn’t find an answer.
I thought there must be a reason why I ended up in Kang Ichan’s body in this world, and why Kang Ichan was a singer.
“If mom knows, tell me. What should I do besides being a singer?”
But Kang Ichan’s mother said nothing.
We stood there for a long time, separated by a door.
I thought maybe it was time to leave.
I don’t know how much time passed.
The closed door slowly opened.
“You were shining so brightly.”
Kang Ichan’s mother reappeared.
“It was good to see you shining.”
Her voice was tinged with emotion.
“Your dad and your brother would be happy too. You finally resolved their regrets.”
Her eyes were also red.
“A dazzling singer.”
Sniffling, Kang Ichan’s mother had already made up her mind. She was stronger than I thought.
“Do it. Be a singer.”
Without shedding a single tear, she proudly accepted her son’s decision.
“I didn’t know, but you looked happiest on stage.”
Despite declaring estrangement, she had been keeping up with L.I.T’s stages. Well, Kang Ichan, who was estranged from his mother, also couldn’t stop worrying about her.
In the end, like mother, like son.
“If your dad or brother could have been on stage, they would have been happy too.”
Now wearing a more composed expression, Kang Ichan’s mother opened the door wide and gestured inside.
“Come in and eat.”
Then she cautiously added.
“If it gets too late, you can stay the night.”
She even gave a faint smile to Gyuhyung over my shoulder.
“Gyuhyung, you stay too.”
Gyuhyung beamed and stepped into the guesthouse’s yard.
“Yes, ma’am. I’ll stay.”
Gyuhyung answered in a booming voice.
He didn’t forget to bow deeply at a 90-degree angle.
“Thank you.”
* * *
Things got even more tangled.
It was L.I.T’s last schedule before I left.
Appearing on writer Jeong Haeseong’s new variety show, <Hotel Ohana>.
This nearly ten-day schedule would mark my farewell to L.I.T.
I didn’t say goodbye to the kids.
Well, it might be tough at first, but they’ll manage well as a four-member group. They’re strong kids.
I also handed an envelope to Kang Ichan’s mother before leaving.
[Mom. I wanted to buy you a house, but I found out you already bought this one. Use this to pay off the loan.]
After much deliberation, Kang Ichan’s mother finally accepted the envelope.
With that, the mission was complete.
All that was left was to return to Seoul and head to the TVH building, but then a VJ showed up at Kang Ichan’s house in Samcheok.
They said the filming location for <Hotel Ohana> was in Hawaii, and I had to leave for Hawaii immediately.
Gyuhyung handed me a suitcase.
[Sorry I couldn’t tell you earlier. You can go to Hawaii like this. I packed the essentials. Make sure you have your card and passport.]
There was no time to question what was going on.
I was immediately led by the VJ into a taxi, taken from Samcheok Station to Seoul Station, and then to Incheon Airport.
Every bewildering moment was captured by the VJ’s camera.
Writer Jeong Haeseong.
Is this woman a complete scammer?
A month ago, when I met writer Jeong Haeseong at TVH for a pre-interview, she smiled brightly and explained the program.
<Hotel Ohana>. They said they were opening a pension somewhere in Ganghwa Island, but it was all a smokescreen. Hawaii? Then the cast must be a lie too.
A foreboding feeling crept up my spine.
And the source of that foreboding feeling became clear the moment we arrived in Hawaii.
Because the person waiting for me at Honolulu Airport with a Hawaiian flower lei in hand was none other than…
“We meet again, hoobaenim.”
Damn it. It’s Noah.