Chapter 13
Boom!
Cheon Jong-hoon slammed the marble table with all his might.
“Am I jealous of that guy? This is Cheon Jong-hoon we’re talking about!”
It was an intense emotional expression uncommon for the usually arrogant Cheon Jong-hoon.
“I’ve never failed to achieve the goals I set for myself. If I wanted to be number one, I became number one. If I wanted results, I got results. I’ve gotten everything I wanted!”
He shouted like a beast facing off with an intruder, “Me? Jealous? Don’t kid yourself. I’m the one people get jealous of, not the other way around!”
Cheon Aram, who watched Cheon Jong-hoon’s fury with interest, smoothly switched the atmosphere like a skilled actor in a one-man show.
“Right, what you say makes sense, oppa.”
The changed vibe felt like a sycophant trying to sweet-talk.
“Anyway, that man is just a job seeker, and you’re the heir to the SS legacy, right? Even if he has some lame talent, can he really close the gap?”
That was a side of Cheon Aram that Cheon Jong-hoon had never seen before.
“Cheon Jong-hoon is a man who will reach the peak, and that guy is just someone destined to crawl on the ground. It’s an unchanging truth, don’t you think, oppa?”
Even he, who disliked flattery, was almost seduced by those sweet words.
It was a spectacle simply because it came from Cheon Aram.
Thanks to her, Cheon Jong-hoon spoke as if enchanted.
“Crawl on the ground? No, that guy doesn’t have that kind of talent.”
“Really? Isn’t it just that he has keen insight? He’d make a good scout. But that’s about it, right?”
Cheon Aram spoke sweetly, scratching Cheon Jong-hoon’s itch for validation.
“One of the sharper knives in the drawer. That’s where it ends. He can’t even compare to you, who was destined to be the lord of the SS.”
Cheon Jong-hoon shook his head.
“Insight cannot simply be reduced to ‘having a good eye.’ It requires expert knowledge in the field, an innate sense, and quickness not to miss the trends.”
It wasn’t a talent that could be dismissed so easily.
“But that’s okay for now. If that’s the only talent he has, maybe you could use him as a handy tool, like you said. But he’s a genius in a different way.”
Cheon Jong-hoon denied it, but the jealousy he felt towards Seon Taeyang wasn’t just about his insight.
It was about the ability to elevate a trainee, hanging onto bad habits like a pile of useless junk, to the level of passing his aesthetic standards in just six days.
It was the very ability known as producing, a field where Cheon Jong-hoon was more confident than anyone else.
“Are you saying it was only possible because of Gyeoul’s exceptional talent? There would certainly be some influence. There’s no way a talentless kid could keep up with that schedule.”
“Of course, there would be influence. An untalented kid couldn’t have followed that schedule.”
Cheon Jong-hoon’s eyes were no longer on Cheon Aram.
He was looking at Seon Taeyang from his memories.
“But it can’t be done with just talented kids.”
It was something only possible with the best creators working together.
“Judgment, leadership, analytical skills, precise knowledge of music and dance, the ability to visualize and calculate a completed image. Above all, the intuition to see talent. All of it is required.”
Cheon Aram asked with a hint of confusion.
“If that’s the case, don’t you have that talent too, Oppa?”
“….”
Cheon Jong-hoon couldn’t answer.
“Wow.”
Cheon Aram fully understood from his silence.
The talented Cheon Jong-hoon deemed that he couldn’t do it.
This directly meant that Seon Taeyang possessed a talent that was beyond his grasp.
“That guy will definitely reach the peak someday. And he will surely draw his blade to topple me, because right now, I’m the one closest to the peak.”
Cheon Jong-hoon still recalled the gaze Seon Taeyang had when he looked at him.
Eyes that seemed to not understand why this was impossible.
Eyes that looked at a genius suspecting the crime.
It was a familiar gaze.
A look that Cheon Jong-hoon often saw in others.
“This isn’t just about what kind of disposition he has. It’s the fate of someone with talent that sticks out like a sharp needle. He will surely reach the peak.”
Cheon Jong-hoon shuddered slightly as he spoke.
“I have no hobby of raising someone who will stab me with a blade.”
Just as Cheon Jong-hoon climbed to the throne, so too would Seon Taeyang move that way.
Because he was capable of doing so.
“Hmm… I get your point. After hearing your story, it seems like a judgment you can fully make from your perspective.”
Cheon Aram nodded in agreement with Cheon Jong-hoon.
However, there was a different main point.
“…But you know, for whatever reason, you let that man named Seon Taeyang go, right?”
Cheon Aram playfully twirled her fork like a magician, then poked at a snail.
“So can I have him?”
Cheon Jong-hoon’s brows furrowed at Cheon Aram’s provocative words.
“Are you sure you understood everything I’ve said? Do you think I’d happily give my permission for that?”
Cheon Aram smiled sweetly.
“We’re not rivals, Oppa. We’re family. Wouldn’t it be better for me to manage him rather than that clueless guy sharpening his blade?”
“You and that guy aren’t suited for each other.”
“In what way?”
“You have a knack for sniffing out bad intentions in people who approach you with selfish motives.”
That was a chronic condition and a talent inherited from her grandfather.
The ability to distinguish a person’s impure intentions with supernatural olfactory senses.
The ability to distinguish impure intentions only through supernatural scent.
If this were a chaotic era, it would be an ability fit for a king of a nation, but for the person involved, Cheon Aram, it was not a pleasant ability at all.
It created distress akin to suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Under the strict conditions of her ability, most people smelled bad.
While food and the environment could be changed, people could not.
Because of that, she had to give up on typical human relationships since birth.
“Well, that’s right. If I’m next to someone with a dirty mind, the stench makes me feel nauseous and sends chills down my spine, making it hard to breathe.”
Cheon Jong-hoon remembered Cheon Aram’s childhood when she frequently ended up in the emergency room because of it.
“I must say, it’s a strange symptom. She can tolerate dirt but can’t stand a dirty mind.”
Cheon Aram playfully covered her mouth with her hand as if she had forgotten.
“Oh, family is a different story. Don’t worry about it, Oppa.”
Cheon Jong-hoon raised an eyebrow in suspicion but nodded and replied.
“In the end, that guy just used a talented kid for his own gain. Asking SS for help was in the same context. This is completely detached from the person you wish to be.”
The Seon Taeyang that Cheon Jong-hoon spoke of seemed just like that.
“So you won’t get involved with him. He’s just an ambitious person, the kind you find everywhere. There’s definitely a strong stench coming from him.”
“…I don’t know; I don’t find your words entirely believable, Oppa.”
“Are you saying I’m lying? I’ve never lied to you throughout my life.”
“That’s true. You don’t lie to me, but how many secrets have you hidden? You say it’s something I don’t need to know.”
Just as Cheon Jong-hoon understood Cheon Aram, she understood him as well.
“But my gut is telling me that you’re hiding something about that person.”
Cheon Aram’s aura shifted from that of a sweet shady character to that of a famished snake.
Cheon Jong-hoon felt pressured, as if he were the prey.
“What reason did that person give?”
“…What reason are you talking about?”
“The reason for wanting to join SS.”
Cheon Jong-hoon stared at Cheon Aram silently.
She locked eyes with him, then chuckled and said.
“If you don’t plan to say it, is it okay if I find out myself?”
Cheon Jong-hoon glared at her with annoyance and set his utensils down, standing up.
As he buttoned his coat, he said, “Do as you wish. Anyway, the only person who can satisfy your aesthetic standards of cleanliness is probably Seo Soo-yeon.”
“I think so too.”
Cheon Aram whispered while bringing a sliced snail to her mouth.
“But this time, I hope I’m wrong.”
The cramped foldable dining table in our home was laid out with popular delivery foods like chicken, tteokbokki, pizza, and even a cake.
All of it was bought with Grandfather Gyeoul’s money.
Gyeoul raised a toast with orange juice while sticking candles in the cake, celebrating the joy of passing.
Older Sister wore a face that showed her embarrassment towards the ruckus but still joined in.
It was the attitude of an adult.
Neither Nana nor Older Sister were the types to celebrate occasions like this.
Birthdays would just slip by, and you’d think, “Oh, right, my birthday happened three months ago,” and that was it.
When I revealed such experiences, Gyeoul said,
“I’ve never done it either since I don’t have friends! But I really wanted to try!”
…Oh, Gyeoul.
It felt awkward to put candles on the cake after that comment.
Still, there was something hard to overlook.
“Let’s skip the birthday celebration fireworks. It could bother the neighbors.”
In this apartment, made with cheap materials and offering no sound privacy, even those small fireworks could be considered a nuisance.
Gyeoul sulkily set down the fireworks.
“…Okay.”
While we weren’t looking, Older Sister silently threw something she had in her hand into the trash.
Glancing over without acting like I was watching, I saw it was the birthday celebration fireworks.
…Older Sister, you were actually enjoying this.
I quickly changed the subject for the sake of her honor.
“By the way, what about your accommodation?”
“…Huh? Accommodation? Since I passed, isn’t the company supposed to provide it?”
I wanted to point out that thinking an amateur trainee would get accommodation was quite naive.
However, luckily for Gyeoul, at this time SS, being a top three agency, had started providing accommodation for trainees coming from outside the area, so it wasn’t entirely wrong.
But that was the story for those who had signed contracts.
“You haven’t signed a contract yet, right? You only agreed to short-term training.”
“…Didn’t I pass?”
“Almost, but not officially. You need to complete the short-term training to fully pass. The company needs to see what kind of person you really are, otherwise they can’t feel secure about the contract, right?”
There were too many people who looked super diligent during the interviews and tests but showed a weird side once they became trainees.
“So you’re doing short-term training before the contract. It’ll probably be at least a week to a month before they start discussing the contract, so I asked. You’ll need to figure out some accommodation while you’re living in Seoul during that time.”
Gyeoul’s eyes shook as if she hadn’t even thought about this.
Eventually, she glanced at me and Older Sister before kneeling and bowing her head.
“Just one month. No, please let me stay for just one more week!”
“Get out of our house!”
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