Saturday afternoon, on which hung the fate of Mr. Pyeong, owner of a life cheaper than a tire.
With Ha Hyun and Namgung Hyun flanking me on either side, I arrived in front of Café Jellies.
I'd planned to bring Ha Hyun from the start, and I dragged Namgung Hyun along for use in holding Go Yeon-gyu down, by force if necessary, should he show any sign of bolting.
However tough he is, he can't beat three against one, right?
Because of that, Seo Seo-jun made a fuss saying he wanted to come too, but Namgung Hyun diligently stopped him, saying 'Go Yeon-gyu doesn't really like noisy things, so it's better to go with as few people as possible.'
And he let only Ha Hyun and me in on the real reason, quietly.
"I know Min-seong-hyungnim isn't the type to care about this stuff, but still, leaving him alone feels like we're leaving him out, and that's kind of not cool, you know."
Ha Hyun and I agreed with that opinion too, so in the end, only the three of us headed to the meeting place set in advance.
When I walked into the café escorted by both wings, a man sitting at a window seat entered my view right away.
A handsome man with an overall slender build and the corners of his eyes turned up slightly like a cat's, giving him a sensitive, cold impression. He was exactly the same as the Go Yeon-gyu I knew.
Standing out even from this distance—being a celebrity really isn't for just anyone.
Heading to the counter, the two wings and I quickly ordered three drinks and approached the seat where Go Yeon-gyu was.
A moment later, Go Yeon-gyu spotted the trainees and his eyes went wide.
He must have thought only Ha Hyun was coming, so it'd be flustering for three people to come crowding in.
Ha Hyun and I sat across from Go Yeon-gyu, and I sent Namgung Hyun to the seat next to Go Yeon-gyu to prevent an escape.
"...Ha Hyun."
"We haven't seen each other since you left the company, so it's been almost three months. Have you been well?"
"Shameless."
"Still, it's been a while, so let's not be prickly and start with a hello, Yeon-gyu."
Even though Go Yeon-gyu, now a rat trapped in a corner with nowhere to go, glared hard at Ha Hyun, Ha Hyun stayed calm, as if it were no big deal.
When I looked inside the mug in front of Go Yeon-gyu, his drink was already down to the bottom.
How long has he been here?
We'd arrived ten minutes early ourselves, so I had no idea how early that guy had come to have already finished it all.
...Ha Hyun's momentum had been that scary, admittedly.
Anyway, it looks like a fight will break out if I leave them like this, so let me cut in about now.
"You're Go Yeon-gyu, right?"
"You seriously have to ask? Did you get even dumber in the meantime?"
Go Yeon-gyu, his brows fully scrunched, answered as if spitting the words at me. When he talked at length, it showed that his Korean pronunciation was still a little awkward.
"Don't talk rough to someone you're meeting for the first time today."
"It's not the first time, that's Baek Ji-hyuk."
"Calling a hyung 'that'?"
Neither of them had given an inch the whole time. Are these two really on good terms?
I shifted my gaze and met Namgung Hyun's eyes. The guy seemed to catch my intention immediately, because he nodded and then started chattering in a bright voice.
"Now, now. Both of you calm down~ This isn't Ji-hyuk-hyungnim, he's a different person! He does look a little like him, right? It's easy to mix them up!"
"A little like him? That?"
Go Yeon-gyu stared holes into me with eyes like he was looking at something unclean, then turned his head away.
"Can't look at that sh—tty mug for long. I'll get cursed."
He sure swears slick. Is it my imagination, or was his pronunciation especially good just now?
"So why'd you call me? Say it quick. So I can go home quick."
"I won't take much of your time, so don't worry. First, I apologize for calling you out by force like this. There's something I want to propose to you, whatever it takes."
"A proposal? What is it?"
Since I'm someone he's meeting for the first time, he'll at least use polite speech with me, huh. Should I be grateful for this?
I took a yellow document folder out of my bag and held it out in front of Go Yeon-gyu.
"What's this?"
"Read it and you'll see."
There'd be no need to read the contents out to him.
As far as I know, this guy handled Korean fluently enough by high school that he had no trouble reading or writing it.
That's how he could write lyrics too.
Go Yeon-gyu turned over the folder's cover and recited the contents with a subtle expression.
"'Debut Team A (Working Title) Reorganization Plan'....... Why are you showing me crap like this?"
"Turn to the next page too."
The guy's brows, as he turned to the next page with a suspicious expression, slowly began to twist.
"What is this? Why is my name here? Don't tell me this proposal......."
"That's right."
I confirmed it lightly, then added.
"I want to put you, Go Yeon-gyu, in the debut team. How about it, interested?"
At that, Go Yeon-gyu sneered openly.
"Do you think I would be? No."
"Why not?"
"Do I have to say it for you to get it?"
"If you don't say it, I won't know. It's not like I can read your mind."
"Hah."
Go Yeon-gyu let out a hollow laugh as if he were flabbergasted.
"Why would I go into a place where that bastard Baek Ji-hyuk is? Not unless I'd lost my mind."
"There's no Baek Ji-hyuk. Read it carefully again."
I pointed with my finger at the part where the members' names were listed.
"Go Yeon-gyu, Namgung Hyun, Seo Seo-jun, Cha Min-seong, Pyeong Seol-han, Ha Hyun....... Wait, why isn't he here?"
Go Yeon-gyu checked again as if he couldn't believe it, then raised his head.
"Where'd Baek Ji-hyuk go? Pyeong Seol-han? Who's this guy?"
"That guy ditched the debut team and ran off a while ago. Nobody knows where he went. And Pyeong Seol-han is my name."
"Why is your name here?"
"Why else? It's here because I'm a debut team member. I came in as Baek Ji-hyuk's stand-in, for now."
The moment I finished speaking, Go Yeon-gyu made a face like he was looking at something genuinely revolting.
"Baek Ji-hyuk left and a Baek Ji-hyuk came in? What kind of sh—tty......."
"I'm not Baek Ji-hyuk, though."
"You're the same!"
"Does looking alike make you the same person?"
Just then, the café employee called out the number on our receipt, and Ha Hyun came back with the drinks. Go Yeon-gyu, who seemed to be simmering down his anger during the brief break in conversation, spoke with his arms crossed.
"Whatever. When I graduate from school, I'm going back to where I used to live. So find someone else."
"What? You never told us that."
"Why would I? To the lackeys who'll be all ha-ha-ho-ho with Baek Ji-hyuk?"
Namgung Hyun, sitting across, diligently held back Ha Hyun, who looked ready to raise his voice right away.
Good thing I brought Namgung Hyun too. If not for him, all hell would have broken loose by now.
"Lackeys~ Still, that's kind of a harsh way to put it. Don't tell me that's why you haven't been answering us all this time? Because we're debuting with Ji-hyuk-hyungnim?"
"Yeah, it is. What's the point of contacting you? I'd just hear how you like that bastard Baek Ji-hyuk."
Looks like he sulked because it galled him that his friends were getting along with his enemy.
If I let that out of my mouth he'll get even more worked up, so I'll just keep it to myself.
"What are you going to do after you go back to where you used to live?"
"What do you mean, do? I'm going because that's my home."
"So there's no reason you absolutely have to go back."
I sucked up my share of iced Americano, which Ha Hyun had brought, through the straw.
This bland taste, like dirt mixed with water. I missed it.
"I know you were on bad terms with Baek Ji-hyuk. So I understand you getting pissed off at seeing a similar face and saying no before anything else, but I have no intention of butting heads with you like Baek Ji-hyuk did. If anything, I'm fairly fond of you."
"Fond of me? What do you know about me?"
"For example... 'Dawn.' A really good song."
The moment that name came out of my mouth, Go Yeon-gyu scrunched his brows hard.
"Dawn? Ah, the one Jeong Ru-i sunbaenim sang? What does that have to do with Yeon-gyu?"
"Because it's a song Go Yeon-gyu made."
"Uh... Yeon-gyu made what?"
Namgung Hyun showed an unexpected reaction. Don't tell me he had no idea at all.
It seemed he hadn't told the people around him that he'd made it.
"I like 'The Logic of Chance' too. Actually, that one's more my taste. It was interesting that it borrowed an upbeat rock sound Jeong Ru-i sunbaenim didn't usually try."
"How do you know that?"
"I have my ways."
Ways you couldn't even imagine, of course.
"How was it when you made those songs?"
"How was what?"
"It was fun, right?"
Go Yeon-gyu's shoulders trembled faintly.
It must have been fun.
Because one of the things Hayden often said was 'I'm happy every time I make a song.'
"Aren't you thinking of continuing to write songs from now on?"
"No. It was just a hobby to begin with. I only gave them songs because the company begged so much."
Who knows. The guy I know stopped treating it as a hobby.
Go Yeon-gyu hadn't aimed to be a singer-songwriter from the start.
If I remember right, the guy's dream had been to be a violinist, and then he took a liking to writing songs and changed his career path.
I'd thought it was quite a radical career change, but who knew there'd been a stretch of trainee life in the middle.
Though it makes me wonder how humiliating it was to quit after being pushed out by Baek Ji-hyuk, if he never once mentioned it himself.
"Don't you think it's a talent too wasteful to keep as just a hobby? I'd like you to keep growing in this direction from now on."
Without taking my eyes off Go Yeon-gyu, I tapped the document folder with my finger.
"If you'll join the debut team, I plan to ask the company to create an environment where you can take part directly in album production."
This would be approved easily.
If a trainee were acting like a slacker, sure, but it's rare for anyone to dislike one volunteering to work more.
On top of that, Go Yeon-gyu was the very person who'd worked on a song for his own company's artist and gotten good results with it, so they had every reason to welcome it and none to dislike it.
"If you need someone to make songs, it doesn't have to be me."
"It has to be you. I have no intention of making this offer to anyone other than you."
"Why?"
"Because I like your songs."
It's not a lie. I actually liked Hayden's songs quite a lot.
Being an entertainment reporter doesn't mean I remember who worked on every song. Do you think reporters are all-powerful?
Even so, the fact that I remembered the songs Go Yeon-gyu worked on in detail must mean his songs left that strong an impression on me, doesn't it?
I think I also once got a pretty good impression of Hayden himself, not just his songs, but why was that again?
Maybe because I've seen so many people in my life, I can't quite remember.
"From hearing just one or two."
"You're someone with the talent to draw people in with just those one or two songs."
Considering his reactions until now, I'd expected him to snap at me not to say creepy things with a face that looked like Baek Ji-hyuk's, but the guy was unexpectedly quiet.
Go Yeon-gyu, who had been silent for a while, picked up the document folder and asked.
"...Can I take this and read it?"
"Of course. I wrote down everything in there about what kind of group I want to make with this lineup, so read it slowly and think over my proposal carefully."
When Go Yeon-gyu got up from his seat, Namgung Hyun tactfully stepped aside to make way for him.
Before the guy completely left the table, I made a light request.
"Whether you accept or not, answer the kids' calls from now on. Wouldn't it be too much of a waste to lose all your good friends because of one person you hate?"
Go Yeon-gyu looked blankly my way for a moment, then left the café just like that without answering.
In PLUTO's discography, there was an album where public expectations dropped after Baek Ji-hyuk announced he wouldn't take part because of his acting activities.
But surprisingly, a masterpiece worthy of being called a PLUTO hit came out of that album.
The guy who made that masterpiece, 'Orbit,' was none other than Go Yeon-gyu.
According to an interview done at the time, work on 'Orbit' came about because Go Yeon-gyu sent PLUTO a love call first.
Considering that was a song released in their sixth year of activity, Go Yeon-gyu must not have been able to let go of his attachment to his friends even by then.
Having finished our business, the two wings and I polished off the rest of our drinks and went back to the practice room where Cha Min-seong and Seo Seo-jun were.
After finishing self-practice that went on into the night, Ha Hyun, checking his cell phone, flinched in surprise at the screen.
"What? Ha Hyun, what's wrong?"
"Ah, I got a message from Yeon-gyu."
The guy showed the screen to the trainees.
"He says he wants to join the debut team."
As he said it, Ha Hyun truly looked happier than anyone, and more sincerely so.