83 – Like Brother, Like Sister (7) Yoon Suyeon stood up from her seat.
At that, Im Yeonji let out a small sigh.
"Suyeon."
She carefully called Suyeon's name and grabbed her wrist. It was so slender. Im Yeonji's hand trembled as she held on.
In response, Yoon Suyeon answered briefly.
"I'm just going to go talk."
"…Okay. Yeah."
At Suyeon's firm voice, Im Yeonji released her. She wasn't going to fight, right? She'd grabbed her wrist out of anxiety, but it was hard to imagine Suyeon fighting with anyone.
They had only been close for about a year, but in that entire time, Im Yeonji had never once seen Suyeon get angry. No—she had never even seen her raise her voice. Even when someone mentioned her brother's singing, at most she had only stiffened slightly.
Still, just in case, Im Yeonji stood and followed Yoon Suyeon. Together, they headed toward Jeong Jinhoo—the source of the voice.
"So basically, don't believe most of what you see on TV. It's all image-making."
"Ooh."
Whether he didn't notice or didn't care, Jeong Jinhoo kept insisting on his "Yoon Hajun is all hype" theory. At his words, the kids around him voiced their admiration.
Yoon Suyeon's brows knitted tighter.
Then she reached him.
"What did you just say?"
Her voice was sharp.
Jeong Jinhoo frowned at her tone.
"What?"
"I'm asking what you just said."
Her voice was honed to a point, her brow twisted as if she were openly saying, I'm pissed. Jeong Jinhoo's voice dropped a notch.
"Uh… I just said you shouldn't believe everything that comes out on TV."
"Before that."
"What, you mean me talking shit about Yoon Hajun?"
"Who are you to talk shit about him?"
What is she? Did I do something wrong?
Jeong Jinhoo couldn't understand why Yoon Suyeon was coming at him like this.
Maybe because it was such a rare sight, the people around them turned to look.
Jeong Jinhoo and Yoon Suyeon were already famous among the practical music department first-years. First place and second place. Who was better. Students compared them all the time.
No one had heard them sing yet, so it was impossible to judge. But in terms of evaluations, Yoon Suyeon was rated far higher.
It was only natural.
Jeong Jinhoo was considered obnoxious because of his uniquely rude way of speaking and arrogant expression, while Yoon Suyeon was loved for her kind attitude and gentle manner of speaking.
"And who are you? Some kind of Yoon Hajun fan?"
"No. I'm his younger sister."
At her words, the area went quiet. The students who had been admiring Jeong Jinhoo looked awkward, and even Jeong Jinhoo himself looked flustered.
To think Yoon Suyeon was Yoon Hajun's younger sister.
"Who are you to talk shit about my brother? Hype? Have you ever seen my brother making music? Have you seen how hard he works, how much recognition he's gotten for it?"
"…I can tell without seeing."
Immature pride would not let a seventeen-year-old apologize easily. Instead, Jeong Jinhoo tossed out excuses, trying to rationalize what he'd said.
"What can you tell?"
"Does that even make sense in the first place? If he was that good, he'd already be getting offers from everywhere."
"He already signed with a company."
"…Then his grades should be good. He's in the even-numbered class, right?"
"He gave up his written grades because he's making music. And he's getting the Successful Student Scholarship instead."
Jeong Jinhoo ran out of words.
In the first place, he really had no right to say anything—he'd talked shit about someone's brother right in front of their younger sister.
He'd only been making excuses out of pride. But now even those excuses were blocked. So what did he do next?
"Fuck! What's it to you!"
He snapped, raising his voice.
At Jeong Jinhoo's sudden shout, Yoon Suyeon flinched—
"Who are you to talk shit about people and judge them however you want, you pathetic loser!"
She didn't back down. She shouted right back.
And so, Yoon Suyeon and Jeong Jinhoo argued for a while. What began with him insulting Yoon Hajun devolved into a childish emotional spat.
"You only got in as second place, anyway."
"I sing better than you!"
Eventually, it turned into a battle of pride.
Their fight only ended after a teacher came in.
§ § §
"She fought?"
Suyeon did? With who?
"Yeah. They said she argued with a kid in her class, Jeong Jinhoo."
"What—did she get hurt or anything? No, no. First I should call—"
"It's fine. There wasn't any physical fighting, just an argument."
At Seo Chaerim's words, I let out a breath of relief. Thank God there was no physical fight.
More than that—Suyeon getting into an argument.
It was hard to picture.
Lately she'd gotten a bit more playful, but Suyeon was still an incredibly kind person. The type who couldn't inconvenience others, who couldn't be greedy.
For her to get angry and argue with someone.
"What did that bastard Jeong Jinhoo say?"
It was obvious he started it.
Did he try to hit on Suyeon or something?
"They said he talked shit about you."
"What?"
"He talked shit about you."
…Should I be relieved he didn't hit on Suyeon?
So Jeong Jinhoo talked shit about me, Suyeon heard it, and she got mad.
"Suyeon didn't get punished or anything, right?"
"Since it was just an argument, it ended with a warning. But since it was between the top student and second place, it sounds like the first-years are talking a lot."
"That's only natural. If Han Goyo and Kang Seonghun fought, the second-years would go crazy too."
"That's true. Anyway, it started because he insulted you, but I guess it turned into a pride fight. Later they were seriously arguing about who sings better and all that."
"Why would it even go that far?"
"Right? They're still kids, so it's childish—"
"Suyeon sings way better."
"…"
Seo Chaerim looked at me like I was the same as them.
What? That bastard insulted me and argued with Suyeon—why would I think well of him?
No matter how good he was, Suyeon was better. Period.
"Anyway, that's how it is. I figured you should know, so I came to tell you."
"Thanks. But how did you find out?"
"I had something to do, so I went to the first-year classrooms."
"…You weren't going there to try to recruit Suyeon or Jeong Jinhoo, were you?"
When I frowned slightly, Seo Chaerim laughed.
Yeah. She went to recruit them.
"You'll get reported someday. As a suspicious person."
"Don't worry. Teachers like me."
"Yeah, yeah. But is that why you came to tell me?"
"I came to tell you this, and also to talk about the outsourcing."
"Hm, outsourcing? Isn't that something I choose on my own?"
At my words, Seo Chaerim nodded.
"Basically, yes. But the CEO is going to recommend one person. Be careful about that."
"Who?"
"Kim Hanol."
"Hm."
If I worked on Kim Hanol's new song, it would look good for the company. The first song he released right after transferring, worked on by the producer they were calling a genius.
The PR team would have plenty to promote. They could pull out a lot of related content, too.
"Sunbae, do you dislike the CEO?"
"No. He's my uncle—why would I dislike him?"
"Then Kim Hanol?"
"Yeah."
So it wasn't the CEO she disliked—it was Kim Hanol. From Seo Chaerim's perspective, it made sense. Keeping Kim Hanol around wasn't much help and only hurt the company. And Seo Chaerim valued the company more than anything, so he was probably an eyesore.
"I'll think about it."
Seo Chaerim nodded.
§ § §
After school ended, I went home. I changed clothes and headed to the living room, where Suyeon greeted me with a sulky expression.
"Why are you so sulky?"
"Something happened."
I already knew why from Seo Chaerim, but I didn't act like I did. She might feel embarrassed.
Instead—
"You know the event's coming up soon, right?"
"Yeah."
It was mid-April. The freshman concert was in early June, so there was only about a month and a half left.
"Your brother's going to make you a song. Is that okay?"
"Of course. I'd welcome it no matter what."
"Good. Then let's get first place."
"Yeah, yeah. I will. I'm definitely getting first. Especially Jeong Jinhoo. I'm not losing to him."
"Jeong Jinhoo… the top student?"
"Yeah. There's this obnoxious guy."
Suyeon didn't hide her anger. He really was obnoxious—picking a fight with her and all.
Now I understood why Lee Jiyoon asked me to make him lose.
"Don't worry. You sing better than him."
"Yeah, I think so too. I've never heard him sing, but there's no way he sings as well as Goyo unni, right?"
"That's true."
Thinking back to Jeong Jinhoo's singing in my previous life, it wasn't bad. You couldn't enter Seolwon Arts High as first place that easily.
But it wasn't good enough to compare to Han Goyo.
At best, a weaker version of Taeyoung.
And that was exactly why Jeong Jinhoo got so stressed. He talked trash about Kim Taeyoung, got caught, got cursed out, and even had to write an apology.
Sigh. Pathetic bastard.
"I'm going to crush him at the event. Just watch. How dare he talk shit about other people."
Suyeon ground her teeth as she muttered. I watched her with a pleased expression, then let out a small hum.
Somehow, it felt like I was seeing myself in Suyeon.
Was it my imagination?
§ § §
"I heard the first-year top student and second place fought. If it's first-year second place, isn't that your little sister?"
The next day, as soon as I got to school, Kim Taeyoung came up to me and said that.
"That's true, but how do you know?"
"It's a rumor."
"It spread all the way to the second-years?"
"There are only about eighty people in the practical music department per grade. And the teachers are talking about it too."
Maybe because there weren't many people, rumors spread fast.
Kim Taeyoung asked with obvious interest, "So why did they fight?"
"That Jeong Jinhoo—the top student—talked shit about me, and Suyeon got mad."
"He insulted you? Why?"
"I don't know that part either."
"What kind of guy is that?"
Clicking his tongue, Kim Taeyoung continued with an annoyed look.
"I guess it turned into a pride fight. They said they were arguing about who sings better."
"Top student and second place pride fight… The event's soon, right?"
"Yeah."
"Then they'll settle it there. If you need help with anything, tell me. Chorus, whatever—I'll help with anything."
"Huh? Why would you?"
"She's your sister. And he insulted you—how could I let that slide? She's my future composer."
Why am I your composer? I'm Suyeon's composer, you punk.
Still, I appreciated Taeyoung's intention, so I nodded.
After that came class, then lunch. I ate, then headed to the practice room, where Han Goyo was waiting.
Ever since she confessed she was debating whether to go on Singer Star, Han Goyo had been stuck in deep thought. Was she thinking about signing with mm Entertainment, or Singer Star?
As I wondered that, Goyo walked up to me.
"If you need help with anything, tell me."
"Huh? Out of nowhere?"
"I heard about your sister."
…Why is everyone suddenly like this? Anyone would think they'd been in a full-on brawl.
Jeong Jinhoo insulting me was the trigger, but in the end, it had become a pride fight between first-years. That was all—so why was everyone overreacting?
"I said some harsh things to your sister, but I dislike that top student even more."
"Uh-huh. Okay."
"If you want, I'll even record chorus for Suyeon."
"No, no. There's no need for that."
Even without Han Goyo's chorus, Suyeon's own strength was enough to crush Jeong Jinhoo. Suyeon was grinding her teeth and practicing, and I was composing with everything I had.
"Thanks for worrying."
"It's nothing."
Han Goyo fell silent for a moment.
Then she looked at me and said, "Because it's something related to you."
She spoke while blushing slightly.
She'd been like this before—and now too. Lately, she was kind of cute.
I let out a small chuckle.
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