The eventful fourth mission was successfully concluded with Lee Danbi’s challenge and Baek Kiryang’s growth.
The team results were finalized without major surprises: our team took first place, Do Yuda’s team came in second, and Nagi Zen’s team placed third. If there’s anything noteworthy, it would be that our team became the team with the highest number of votes in the history of all previous seasons’ competitions.
It seemed that the production team’s absurd mistake, coupled with the trainees’ level-headed response, created a compelling narrative that the audience found appealing.
‘Well, it might have been because the Top Two were in the same team.’
As soon as the competition results were announced, I made a quick exit, using the excuse that I had something to attend to. However, at times like this, there was always at least one person who would sneakily follow behind me.
“Han Seungbeom.”
‘Today, it’s Lee Hwayoung.’
Whenever someone suddenly called out “
Han Seungbeom
“, nine times out of ten, it was Nicholas Hwayoung Lee.
Already foreseeing what was about to happen, I turned around indifferently.
“Why?”
“Now that the competition is over, I can’t pretend not to know anymore.”
‘As expected.’
I knew it was coming. This childish young master had an unnecessarily good memory and deductive reasoning. His personality remained the same as always.
“The arrangement was slower than your usual work speed, you said it was simply because you wanted to adjust as much as possible to the new members, but I don’t think so.”
Lee Hwayoung looked straight at me and opened his mouth.
“From the very beginning, you had prepared a total of four arrangements in case Baek Kiryang or Lee Danbi failed. When the production team asked you separately at that time, they were asking which of the four files you wanted to play.”
“…….”
“Am I wrong?”
As I quietly listened to Lee Hwayoung’s speculation, I awkwardly laughed at the last question that was thrown. Then, scratching my head, I spoke.
“…Are you just looking at me all day?”
“Answer me.”
“You’re so smart that it puts me in a difficult position. But you also lack the common sense to be easily fooled, don’t you?”
Lee Hwayoung tightly shut his mouth as if he was unhappy with the joke about his lack of common sense. Despite it not matching his deductive ability, I couldn’t help but chuckle at the childish reaction, which was more fitting for his age, and then I spoke up.
Even if he didn’t glare at me like that, I was going to explain it properly since he had worked so hard to deduce it.
“I’m not just the leader of Baek Kiryang-hyung and Lee Danbi. I’m the leader of our entire team. I can’t put my members at risk just because I’m confident in my decision.”
“Then why did you hide it from us?”
“People tend to grow the most when there’s nowhere left for them to escape.”
“You……”
Watching Lee Hwayoung’s face turn pale with shock, I felt a strange sense of satisfaction. It was a kind of payback for making me flustered during the competition.
I let out a hearty laugh, feeling completely refreshed.
“Still, if the two people who did their best find out about this, their sense of accomplishment might decrease.”
Then, I forced an arm around Lee Hwayoung’s shoulder, who looked like he had chewed something awful, and whispered in his ear.
“So, let’s keep this a secret between the two of us. Okay?”
***
After finishing my conversation with Lee Hwayoung, I finally managed to escape and walked down the long hallway into the empty waiting room. I was there to meet the person who had been watching Baek Kiryang from the audience seats throughout the competition.
“Thank you for coming. I thought you might not be able to make it since I contacted you so suddenly.”
As I casually greeted him, the man sitting in the waiting room chair stood up and returned my greeting.
“Thank you for inviting me. I heard from the PD. Seungbeom-ssi asked for me personally, right? I had another appointment, so I stopped by their place for a bit and then hurried over here.”
“I hope I didn’t disturb your busy schedule.”
“Not at all. I’ve been on a break since I just returned to Korea the other day, so I’m free now. The visit was for personal reasons.”
The person I was talking to was Baek Kiryang’s older brother, the pianist Baek Kiheon.
I had asked the production team to invite Baek Kiryang’s older brother to the competition venue. Baek Kiheon readily accepted the invitation and watched Baek Kiryang’s performance from a secluded corner of the VIP seats.
There was a reason I specifically invited Baek Kiheon, whom Baek Kiryang felt uncomfortable with, to this place.
‘People must finish things properly.’
Ideally, the perfect ending would have been Baek Kiryang’s parents saying something like, ‘
After watching your performance, we can see how sincere you are. From now on, we’ll support your dreams’
, and they reconciled like in a comic, but that was just wishful thinking.
‘Reality is always brutal.’
Apparently, Baek Kiryang’s mother left without even watching his performance.
The only area she was forbidden from entering was the waiting room where staff and contestants came and went. If she had wanted, she could have watched the performance from the VIP section of the on-site evaluation audience. It was truly disappointing yet realistic news.
And perhaps Baek Kiryang had expected this, as he muttered, “
It’s fine. I’ve stopped caring about my parents’ approval now
“.
However, I held a different view from Baek Kiryang on this matter.
No matter how much he sought me as someone to rely on, I couldn’t completely fill the place of his family. Just as I had leaned on Seo Yuseong, Baek Kiryang also needed someone to lean on.
‘I think he was lying when he said it was fine.’
If the only family Baek Kiryang had were people like his parents, it might have been better for him not to have any at all. But fortunately, I found a clue that his older brother, Baek Kiheon, might actually be a pretty decent person, so I invited him here.
“…….”
I studied Baek Kiheon’s face as he stood in front of me.
‘…They look alike. Especially the eyes.’
Even in photos and videos, I could find quite a few resemblances to Baek Kiryang, but seeing him in person made it unmistakably clear they were brothers. Baek Kiheon, with a face similar to Baek Kiryang’s, used his features in a completely different way, exuding a relaxed demeanor as he asked.
“Why did you invite me? If you’re friends with Kiryang, there’s no way you’d like me.”
“…….”
Baek Kiheon spoke as if Baek Kiryang hated him intensely. However, I had heard Baek Kiryang’s side of the story, so I knew that their relationship had gradually grown distant due to their parents’ comparisons and favoritism. Before that, they had been quite close.
When the silence was getting awkward, I opened my mouth.
“You seem to be the only family member who truly cares about him. No matter how much I stay by his side, I can’t replace his family’s presence. Kiryang-hyung needs you, pianist Baek Kiheon.”
“…How can Han Seungbeom-ssi be so sure about that? I’m the reason Kiryang had such a lonely childhood. And I’m also the one who revealed the family relationship that Kiryang wanted to hide so badly.”
Baek Kiheon, as if testing me, listed all the reasons why Baek Kiryang might hate him.
I found myself getting increasingly bored as I listened to Baek Kiheon.
‘Given that we both have younger brothers, how can I possibly pretend not to understand this?’
He was clearly wearing an expression of someone who cared about his younger brother, so how was I supposed to believe such nonsense?
If he was going to tell tell such a blatant lie, he should have either declined my invitation or, even if he came out of courtesy, just watched the performance half-heartedly. He was watching so intently, as if he were at his child’s school play, and yet he was pretending they were on bad terms.
I sighed softly and opened my mouth, “At first, I also thought it was a form of bullying. I assumed that pianist Baek Kiheon shared the same values as Baek Kiryang-hyung’s parents, and that he would be the kind of person who would isolate someone to strengthen the relationships within the rest of the family. But as we worked together on the competition stage, I started to feel that something was off.”
“…….”
“The reason Baek Kiryang-hyung decided to abandon his former self was because of your revelation.”
Baek Kiheon had a very calm expression on his face in response to the words I had spoken.
Seeing that, I muttered “
As expected
” to myself, and then continued speaking.
“You revealed it on purpose, out of the hope that Kiryang-hyung wouldn’t be controlled by your parents.”
‘I’m not sure if that was the best approach, though.’
“….Haha, it seems like Kiryang has befriended someone who’s really quick-witted.”
Baek Kiheon burst into laughter upon the words that fell one after another, shook his head as if he couldn’t handle it, and made lighthearted remarks. Then, after lowering his gaze for a moment, he reluctantly opened his mouth.
“…Seungbeom-ssi, do you know how ridiculous it is that I have to hide the existence of my family?”
“…….”
“As for me, I didn’t care whether Kiryang pursued classical music or popular music. Even if he couldn’t live up to our parents’ expectations and kept getting into all sorts of trouble, my little brother is still my little brother.”
What Baek Kiheon was saying was exactly what I was thinking, so I nodded in agreement. Although my younger brother was rude, and his younger brother was timid, I felt that our hearts were essentially the same.
But Baek Kiheon, who had no idea what I was thinking, didn’t stop and continued.
“When I returned to Korea after finishing my performance, I found out that my father had called the program that Kiryang was appearing on to demand that he leave. I was furious. So, for the first time in my life, I yelled at my father.”
“…It seems like your parents are very strict. Were you alright?”
“No! I wasn’t alright. I’m twenty-eight years old and I ran away from home, haha! Thanks to that, I’m now doing everything I want for the first time in my life. By now, my father is probably looking for me, not even realizing the darkness under the lamp
1
. After all, they can’t live without me.”
‘Aha, that’s why he’s wearing those clothes.’
I glanced down at the clothes Baek Kiheon was wearing and immediately understood. Perhaps sensing my gaze, he grumbled in a joking tone, “I like this, so don’t look at me like that”, and then opened his mouth again.
“Kiryang has always been a soft-hearted child since he was young, always trying to meet our parents’ unreasonable demands. But rather than wasting his life like that, it’s better to boldly disappoint them and give up.”
“I see, so that’s why you did something like that.”
“Yes, I want Kiryang to live the life he truly desires, not one that’s been planned out for him like mine. I don’t regret my life now, but I can’t say I’m entirely happy either. I wasn’t as brave as Kiryang.”
“…….”
“So, please take good care of him. My little brother, please stand by his side and help him so that he can live a life much better than mine.”
Baek Kiheon asked me to take care of his younger brother with a very serious expression. I smiled mechanically, my conscience starting to prickle as I listened to him, and replied.
“Yes, I will. That’s what I was planning to do from the beginning … but there’s something I haven’t told you.”
“Yes?”
“I don’t usually lock the door, and I don’t talk about personal matters. Kiryang-hyung, stop eavesdropping and come in.”
“…….”
As soon as I finished speaking, there was a
thud
sound from behind the door. As Baek Kiryang slowly appeared, Baek Kiheon’s mouth dropped open as he looked at me. I turned my head away, playing dumb.
‘Stop with the nonsense, both of you, and just reconcile properly.’
“Hyung, I’m sorry…….”
Baek Kiheon couldn’t bear the fact that his younger brother had heard everything he had said so far, and his face turned bright red, as if he was about to explode. I tried my best to hold back my laughter as I watched him.
‘Where did the poised and confident pianist go? It’s all an act.’
“…Did you hear everything?”
“…Yes.”
When Baek Kiryang hesitantly nodded, Baek Kiheon scratched the back of his head in embarrassment and shouted in a resigned manner.
“Aaaaah! I thought I should be honest with you at some point, but … so what I wanted to say was, well!”
Baek Kiheon, who had been creaking like a broken machine, put his hand on his younger brother’s shoulder, took a deep breath to calm himself, and then spoke.
“You are the bravest person I know.”
“…….”
“Even if our parents don’t support you, I will always be supporting you … So, go ahead and pursue your dreams more freely than anyone else!”
Baek Kiheon, who uttered those words, was not dressed in the formal suit that people were used to seeing him in. Instead, he was smiling brightly while wearing a t-shirt from a rock festival.
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Translator’s Corner:
“The darkness under the lamp” from
It’s dark under the lamp (등잔 밑이 어둡다)
, means “
What you may think is far away is actually right in front of your eyes
“.
The lamp here refers to the oil lamp that was used in the past. Back then when there was no electricity, the light of the lamp itself was bright enough to illuminate a room. However, the area under the lamp is dark because of the shadow from the light, especially the shadow of the lampstand. That’s why the saying “it’s dark under the lamp” is often used when you can’t find (or overlook) something that’s right next to you.
English equivalent would be “right under your nose”. ↩︎
Personally, I think you guys should write apology letter to Baek Kiheon for judging him too fast….
And this chapter concluded Baek Kiryang’s arc! Next is a little … idk, break time ? arc before the final. Oh, you’re going to love the next chapter~