Chapter 157:
Chapter 157
You’ve been doing well?
“Grandson, why don’t you come to Seoul for the holiday?”
“I don’t want to. I don’t do ancestral rites at my parents’ house anyway.”
“Why not?”
“Whenever my relatives see me, they ask me how much money I make and tell me to give them some if I earn a lot. They say things like that.”
They were not asking for a loan, but demanding a handout. It got worse after Awi’s overseas popularity increased and he was featured in the news as a ‘post-media’ star.
Idols make a lot of money when they succeed, right? What’s the point of having a good family if you can’t even give them this much? They even had the audacity to ask him to pay for his cousin’s study abroad fees.
“Those rotten bastards.”
Shin Soon-ja’s expression turned sour. But her hands were calm as she peeled a tangerine. She put a piece of tangerine in her grandson’s mouth and said,
“Doesn’t your father stop them?”
“Dad tries to stop them, but it’s no use. They find out my number and keep calling me. They think I’m a money vending machine or something.”
“You didn’t give them anything, did you?”
“Of course not.”
How else would his father, Jo Ho-chul, declare that they should not go anywhere for the holidays? Contrary to the rumors on the internet, Jo Tae-woong’s parents gave him his bank account as soon as he became an adult.
‘Don’t ever lend money to anyone who asks. Your mother has already paid for all your insurance, so you don’t need to pay for anything else.’
‘Don’t be a guarantor either. Don’t buy anything for anyone who asks.’
Those were the words that Jo Tae-woong’s parents had earnestly told him when they handed over his bank account. Jo Tae-woong suddenly remembered when he received his first settlement.
‘Be careful with your money, guys. Especially if someone asks you to lend them something, or join something. Huh? Buy some stocks, buy some cryptocurrencies, ignore all of that. Got it? The more famous we get, the more scammers will try to get us.’
When they were dancing with joy with their arms around each other’s shoulders, Ian suddenly said that with a serious face.
‘Ian said something similar too.’
At the time, the members had said, ‘You ruined our mood! Take responsibility!’ but they didn’t ignore him.
Later, when Awi’s global popularity was reported in the news, he received countless calls from greedy people. Then he had called Ian a ghost. A shaman.
He seemed to know better than the other members who had lived in America. Jo Tae-woong chuckled.
“Grandma, do you have anything for the holiday? It’s market day today.”
“Shall we go to the market later?”
“Okay. I’ll help you with the cooking, grandma.”
Jo Tae-woong rolled up his sleeves already. Shin Soon-ja gave him various tasks and praised and encouraged him regardless of how well he did.
That method seemed to work, as his enthusiasm increased day by day. It was a good sign.
“My grandson knows how to help with cooking?”
“Just tell me what to do? I learned from Joo-young.”
“That friend who is good at housework? Really?”
Actually, he learned how to avoid accidents in the kitchen, but he still improved enough to use low heat instead of high heat.
“You say friend, but when are your friends coming?”
“Friends? Who? Our members?”
Why would the members come here? Jo Tae-woong looked at Shin Soon-ja with a puzzled look. Shin Soon-ja laughed awkwardly.
“Oh dear, I made a mistake.”
“Why would the members come?”
“You don’t need to know.”
“What is it? Oh, grandma, are you hiding something?”
Jo Tae-woong rubbed Shin Soon-ja’s shoulder and pressed her for an answer. Suddenly, he heard a car sound from afar and it got closer and closer. A celebrity van that was never seen in this village stopped in front of the gate.
“Is this where Tae-woong’s grandmother lives?”
“It’s pretty big. We can all sleep here.”
Kim Joo-young and Ian got out first and looked around. They felt their minds calm down in the open rural environment without any tall buildings.
“What a waste.”
“Why are you wasting it, Jin-hyuk?”
Lee Joo-hyuk smirked at Park Jin-hyuk. Kim Hyun sneered and lifted one corner of his mouth.
“Him? He brought a tent because he wanted to bet on sleeping outside if there was no place to sleep.”
“Wow, awesome.”
“Hyung! Are you crazy? It’s winter!”
Park Seo-dam frowned at Park Jin-hyuk’s disappointed expression. Park Dong-soo, who had driven the car, opened the trunk and took out the luggage one by one.
“An outdoor tent, huh? Guys, take care of your health. The moment you get sick, my life span decreases.”
“Yeah. Dong-soo hyung, be careful with your health. You have an important thing ahead of you.”
Park Dong-soo flinched at Ian’s reply. Should I stop teasing him? Ian turned his head away and whistled.
“You…”
“Are you here?”
Shin Soon-ja opened the front door and greeted the members. Jo Tae-woong put on his shoes and went out, staring blankly at the members.
“Hello, grandmother!”
“Oh my, you have such nice voices.”
The members shouted cheerfully and bowed their upper bodies. Jo Tae-woong came out dragging his crumpled sneakers and stood in front of Ian.
“What are you doing here?”
“I came to have fun.”
“Without telling me?”
“Why? It’s fun, isn’t it?”
Ian answered with a nonchalant face. Jo Tae-woong let out a frustrated sigh. He wasn’t unhappy that the members came, but Ian’s calm face looked especially shameless.
Shin Soon-ja approached Ian. Ian bent his upper body so that the short Shin Soon-ja didn’t have to look up.
“Are you the friend who called?”
“Yes, I’m Choi Ian. Nice to meet you.”
Jo Tae-woong widened his eyes and looked at Ian. He even called his grandmother, but he didn’t say a word to him? Ian ignored his heated gaze and held Shin Soon-ja’s hand with both hands.
“You’re very handsome~”
“It’s cold outside, why don’t we go inside?”
Ian looked back.
“Dong-soo hyung! You go ahead.”
“You have a lot of stuff. I’ll help you.”
“You’ve been driving for a long time, hyung. Just go inside. Tae-woong will help me.”
They sent Park Dong-soo and Shin Soon-ja inside first, and the members grabbed the stuff they brought with both hands.
“Why do you have so much?”
“I thought we would need blankets if we all sleep here. I also bought some meat and seafood.”
“Oh, meat, but are you going to sleep here?”
“Of course, it took us more than six hours to get here, do you think we can go back without sleeping? Grandma said we can stay for a few days.”
“It took you more than six hours? Crazy, Dong-soo hyung must be exhausted.”
Jo Tae-woong elbowed Ian’s side.
“But how did you get my grandma’s number?”
“I asked your mom.”
“My mom?”
Ian nodded his head.
Mom knew too! I was the only one who didn’t know! Jo Tae-woong felt wronged. It felt strangely sneaky and yet pleasant that they kept it a secret from him. Kim Joo-young, who was standing on Jo Tae-woong’s left, gestured toward the van.
“Why? Don’t you like it? You like surprises, don’t you? No? Then let’s go back.”
“Who…”
Jo Tae-woong relaxed his stiff expression and smiled brightly. It was a good time to come, since he was bored with poor data reception and rare counseling sessions.
“Did I say I don’t like it? Come on in.”
Jo Tae-woong took the lead and opened the front door. His bright expression made Ian and Kim Joo-young look at each other and shrug their shoulders.
“Oh, Hyun-jik hyung won’t need his tent for sure.”
“Tsk.”
“Wow, look at that green molding, not even cherry.”
“Isn’t it cool? This is retro, the latest trend these days.”
They noticed things that looked like Jo Tae-woong’s belongings here and there. On the living room floor, there were snacks like tangerines and sweet potatoes filled in a basket. He had been worried that he was having a hard time in the countryside with few counseling sessions, but he seemed to be doing better than expected.
“That’s right, manager? What is a manager?”
“Well, you can think of me as someone who manages and assists them.”
“All of them? That must be hard~”
“Oh no, it’s not. It’s my job. But I’m not sure if our kids are bothering you too much.”
“It’s okay. The more grandchildren, the better. Our manager, Dong-soo too, sleep here.”
Park Dong-soo hesitated and nodded his head repeatedly. Shin Soon-ja was full of energy and could walk without a cane or bending her waist, but he still felt awkward to bother an old lady.
“Grandma, if you have any work to do while we’re here, please let us know.”
Lee Joo-hyuk sat between them.
“It’s okay, my grandson did everything for me.”
“That’s right, I did everything.”
Jo Tae-woong puffed up his chest proudly. Park Seo-dam looked at him with doubtful eyes and sat next to Shin Soon-ja and spoke sweetly.
“What did Tae-woong hyung do?”
“He helped me a lot with the housework. My grandson is very good at work.”
Shin Soon-ja smiled warmly and looked at Jo Tae-woong. The members’ eyes also turned to Jo Tae-woong. Jo Tae-woong answered as if he had been waiting for it.
“I roasted sesame seeds, cleaned the farming tools like hoes, and unclogged the sink and the toilet.”
“What? You did?”
“Wow.”
“That’s awesome… I mean, that’s amazing.”
Kim Hyun toned down his words, conscious of his grandmother. The members looked at him with surprise, and Jo Tae-woong lifted his head.
“Did he do well?”
“Yes, he did well.”
The members exclaimed in awe. They were not being considerate of Jo Tae-woong’s illness, but genuinely impressed. He was the type who did well when asked.
“Wow, that’s amazing.”
“From now on, Jo Tae-woong is responsible for our dorm toilet if it gets clogged.”
“But our dorm is new and the water drains well.”
“Anyway.”
Jo Tae-woong ignored Park Jin-hyuk’s teasing and gave a hollow laugh.
“So, you’ve been doing well?”
“I’ve been doing well. What did you do while we had no work?”
“I helped with the next group’s songs, did some photo shoots…”
Shin Soon-ja quietly watched their conversation.
She had heard from her grandson that they were all fine, but she wondered if they were just being nice to her grandson and actually had a bad attitude.
She was worried that someone might secretly bully him because he had come here with a mental illness.
She didn’t know how vicious the internet trolls were, so she naturally suspected his friends or agency staff.
‘What a needless worry…’
When she met the members face to face, they all looked bright and friendly, and she felt relieved.
It must have been hard for them to come to this remote place instead of going home for the Lunar New Year holiday. Shin Soon-ja put her hands on her knees and stood up briskly.
“You rest comfortably, I have to make food for my grandsons.”
“Who wants to go to the market with me?”
Jo Tae-woong followed his grandmother and stood up quickly, and Ian and Park Seo-dam also got up.
“I’ll go with you.”
“Wow, I haven’t been to a market in a long time. I want to go too.”
Jo Tae-woong took out a basket from the kitchen cabinet and handed it to Ian.
“You’re the luggage shuttle.”
“Yes, sir.”
Ian obediently took it. Jo Tae-woong carefully wrapped his grandmother’s scarf around her neck and opened the front door.
Park Seo-dam hooked his arm around Shin Soon-ja’s. Shin Soon-ja forgot what she had said about him being a troublemaker and smiled broadly.
“Oh, I get to link arms with my grandson.”
“Let’s go, grandma.”
Park Seo-dam grinned brightly. He had lived with his grandmother, so he knew what grandmothers liked.
“We’ll be back soon, so just relax!”
“Okay, bring back a lot of delicious things.”
The front door closed. The remaining members Lee Ju-hyuk, Park Jin-hyuk, Kim Hyun and Kim Ju-young looked at each other and smirked wickedly.
“They’re gone.”
“They’re gone.”
They slowly got up and rummaged through their luggage bags.
“Guys, I have something to do too.”
“No, Dong-soo hyung, you just rest.”
Lee Ju-hyuk grabbed Park Dong-soo’s shoulder as he tried to get up with them.
Kim Ju-young took out a new pair of rubber gloves from his bag. There was a strange force in his appearance.
The other members followed him and put on rubber gloves. Kim Ju-young lowered his voice on purpose.
“The house cleaning begins.”
The members with rubber gloves nodded solemnly.
New n𝙤vel chapters are published on fre(e)webnov(l).com