Save a Failed Idol’s Life

Chapter 169:

“I’ve set up the living room like this for the party.”

Kyunghwa and Seong-won, who were good at crafts, had decorated the living room with a festive atmosphere. Hwijin exclaimed as he looked around.

“Wow, did you guys do this all by yourselves?”

“Yes, our members are good at making things, so we did it quickly.”

Shim Naru also entered the living room and glanced around. He poked a balloon with his hand and met my eyes.

‘Did he think about what I said last time?’

Honestly, I didn’t expect him to have any serious reflection or introspection.

I just wanted him to think about why he was so obsessed with getting the most attention and winning. People can’t live by their goals alone, they have to think about their reasons too.

If he didn’t want to do that, he should just live as he pleases. Having ambition is a good thing, it means he has a will for a better future. But he should use it wisely.

I don’t know if he knew how much I was thinking about him, but Shim Naru avoided my gaze and smiled brightly. He took out the housewarming gift he had brought.

“I prepared this personally. I heard you guys were used to cooking for yourselves at the dorm.”

What Shim Naru handed me with a cute and lovely face was none other than a cat character waffle maker and a colorful (I couldn’t tell if it was a cat toy or a magical girl wand) flashy cat toy.

‘He picked something that suits him.’

It wasn’t made by a professional kitchen appliance company, but it looked flashy and pretty. It seemed like it would break after using it a few times.

The cat toy also looked more aesthetic than quality.

“Wow, I’ve seen this on YouTube. That’s it, right? The one that’s popular on Shorts these days.”

“Ah, yes. That’s right. Have you seen it?”

“Don’t tell me you’re going to burn something weird in the kitchen again.”

“I’m not just burning things.”

As Yi-jun showed interest in what Naru had brought and filled the airtime, I calmly prepared the ingredients and caught everyone’s attention.

“Can you turn off the local broadcast for a moment and look over here?”

Bang bang, I tapped the bottom of the stainless steel bowl and made a loud noise. Six pairs of eyes, excluding the production staff, looked at me.

If Climax was a seven-member group, I would have had to lead this many people. It’s already hard enough with Kyunghwa’s help, but seven people…

And if there were foreigners, the difficulty of control would be even higher. Hwijin suddenly seemed admirable.

‘It’s better to have fewer people.’

There were only five of us, but we had friction over part distribution. If there were nine, it would be a mess. I added a little sympathy for Hwijin and continued.

“First of all, I’ve soaked the rice well for today. I’ve also chopped the vegetables and prepared them, so we just need to stir-fry them. I’ll introduce the ingredients I’ve prepared and then start.”

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As I introduced the ingredients in the bowl one by one and proceeded with the mini class, the rest of the cast looked at me with curiosity.

‘They look like kindergarten kids.’

They were a bit too big to be kindergarten kids, but they were not familiar with cooking. They were all adults… Well, there was one minor, but he was still a young adult. Nothing would go wrong…

Underestimating the cooking novices, I started the main course.

And exactly 30 minutes later, I had to revise all my prejudices so far. I had experienced first-hand how powerful six moving time bombs could be.

“Wait a minute! That’s already cooked, how long have you been boiling it?”

“Uh… I put it in when hyung was stir-frying the meat.”

“Why on earth???”

“Isn’t it too chewy? I like it a bit soft after boiling.”

“No, it will get soft anyway when you simmer it with soy sauce! Hold on… Hwijin hyung, what are you doing? There’s a fire there right now!”

“Huh? Oops, I think the fire caught on the part that was sticking out of the pot…”

“Don’t touch it with your hands! Turn off the fire first, and don’t pour water on the burner…!”

‘…’

I should have just done it all myself.

It would have been a hundred, no, a thousand times better to do a show of how fast I could make seven servings of food by myself, like the TV program I did before.

It was too late to regret it. I looked at the portable burner that was vibrating with a gas smell and burnt smell with a soulless eye and tapped my forehead.

“Everyone, stop cooking and sit quietly on the sofa.”

As I laid down the law with a long sigh, they all put down whatever they were holding on the table and got up one by one.

“Can I… wash my hands?”

Hwijin looked sorry and embarrassed, as if he wanted to hide somewhere, and asked nervously.

I didn’t know it when I did the filming for the crisis center last time, because I only helped with some simple labor and did most of the food preparation myself, but Hwijin was… a worse cook than I could imagine.

He not only confused sugar and salt and poured two spoons of salt into the meat stir-fry that should have been sweetened, making it an inedible waste of food. He also managed to set fire to the vegetables.

Usually, it’s hard enough to burn the vegetables that stick out a bit, but he literally made flames flare up.

And vegetables have moisture, so it’s hard to catch fire…

How did he do such a difficult thing that even if I asked him to do it, he couldn’t? It was a mystery to me.

“If you’re not going to set fire to the bathroom…”

“I’ll be careful!”

“Yes…”

I opened the door to the balcony wide open with a pale expression, cleaning up the damp burner.

It was winter, so a cold wind blew in, but I didn’t care. The smell of burning was so strong in the corner of the house that the cold was nothing.

Aeongi, who was curious about what was going on in the living room, sneaked out of the living room and shivered at the sudden cold wind.

“Wow.”

As I was clearing up the ruined results on the table, Shim Naru seemed interested in the cat and approached Aeongi.

“Can I touch it?”

He asked as if he was asking for my permission, so I pointed to Seong-won with my chin.

“Ask Seong-won.”

Then, Seong-won, who received the baton, tilted his head and answered.

“As long as Aeongi doesn’t run away… I washed my hands earlier, so it doesn’t matter…”

“Well, then I’ll just pet it once!”

Was it because the camera was rolling? Seeing Naru trying to maintain his cute youngest position by appearing in the same cut as the animal, I felt bitter.

“Coocoo, can I pet you once?”

The moment Naru tried to show his cutest side and reached out to Aeongi.

“Meow-.”

With a single gag, Ayeong darted into the innermost corner of Seong-won’s room and climbed up to the top of the cat tower.

“Huff…”

“Puff…”

While everyone else was desperately holding back their laughter, Naru’s face twisted with wounded pride.

“So, so haughty~. That’s cute too, but…”

He was hurt inside. I could tell even without him saying it.

Everyone turned their heads and tried to stifle their chuckles, but only Seong-won looked satisfied as he peeked into the room.

I wish they would hurry up and leave.

I didn’t realize it when we filmed the crisis scene… It was different to make the main dish myself and have the others chop or wash the vegetables, and to crowd around the gas burner and cook with fire…

A person who can grill meat well may not be a good cook…

I regretted it too late and waited anxiously for the shooting to end.

“Okay, that’s a wrap!”

As soon as the slate clapped, the tension was gone and I felt drained.

“Good job, everyone!”

“Thank you for your hard work~!”

There were only two more people. I thought it would be easier with more hands, and we would finish quickly… I was wrong.

Thanks to them, we got some comic and fun scenes, but the house was a complete mess after the shooting.

“We’ll help you clean up.”

With a sincere apology on his face, Hwijin helped me with the living room cleaning, while the other members took care of the room tidying to prevent any lost accidents or fur balls from escaping outside.

Soon, the staff left and only the Climax members, Hwijin, and Naru remained.

“…Uh, I’m really sorry for making you work so hard today, and even more because of me…”

“No, don’t worry about it. We got enough footage and it was fun to shoot.”

Hwijin looked awkward and nervous, while Naru clearly had his attention on the cat.

Was he that upset that he couldn’t pet it earlier? Aeongi, who had come out to the living room, naturally approached Seong-won and snuggled in his arms.

He seemed to be bothered by being compared to Seong-won in terms of skills.

He knew that the cat was just being affectionate to its owner, but he couldn’t take his eyes off them.

‘I always feel this way, but he’s such a kid… They’re all kids. They’re only 19, but they act even younger.’

It was the same before. I could see through his thoughts so easily that I didn’t get angry, but just… I felt a bit sorry for him, but it wasn’t a pleasant sight.

Seong-won seemed to feel the same way, as he glanced at Naru with a slightly uncomfortable expression and put Aeongi down from his lap and headed to his room.

I wondered what he was thinking, but he came back soon with a stick-shaped snack in his hand.

“Cats don’t usually like strangers. Maybe it’s because of the smell of cosmetics.”

“Cosmetics?”

Naru tilted his head and asked, his attitude strangely passive, maybe because he was rejected by the cat.

“Yes. They’re territorial animals, so they don’t like people who smell strong. And I don’t mean weird smells, but even things like perfume or cosmetics that humans find pleasant, they hate them…”

Naru sniffed his wrist. He had wondered why there was a scent of air freshener since the start of the shooting. He must have sprayed some perfume before he came.

“Do you want to try giving them a snack?”

He had looked satisfied when the kitty had coldly refused him earlier. But seeing him so gloomy now, he felt sorry for him.

At Seong-won’s suggestion, Naru’s eyes lit up and he quickly nodded.

“Yes!”

It was the first time he saw Naru’s face, which looked like a high school student, with a faint smile on his lips.

The others seemed to have the same idea, as they watched Naru with trembling hands offer a snack to the cat.

“I didn’t put anything weird in it. You can just eat it.”

Now Naru looked like he was about to cry. Amidst everyone’s anticipation, the kitty slowly crouched down and approached Naru.