𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐈𝐬 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐎𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐏𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐲 ―𝐝.𝐨.𝐝

Chapter 5

[ Cho Seungmin's POV ]

Idol training was tiring.

But I was already here, so I had to go until the end.

And that's because Father said I can't go home unless I succeed.

He was angry I was taking a break from work as 'J,' the leader of a sub-group from his construction corporation.

'Construction company' was just the public facade of my father's business. He's the head of a mob that uses their strength for construction in the day and drug dealings in the night.

My group didn't deal directly with the drugs. Despite my strengths, my father doesn't trust me not to make a mistake.

So I lead a group of four people to deal with everything else, including cutting off loose ends, wiping out competitors, and other typical undercover work. B's good at computer stuff, while C and D work with me on the physical work.

That's probably why my stamina is a lot better than other people's.

While everyone was knocked out from the first two days of lessons, I stayed awake at night and talked with my group through Morse code. We weren't allowed to have our phones, and I couldn't talk with a loud walkie-talkie. 

Instead, I brought a light that couldn't be seen without special glasses, and I would flash it out the window my bed was next to. There would be at least one person that was in the mountain waiting for my message. It was a stroke of luck that one of our hide-outs was close to this dormitory.

We would talk about how I should go about showing certain skills for more footage, where the cameras are throughout the building, and random talks such as how their days have been.

It's just that...my conversations would end shorter than I'd expect them to. And that was because someone in my room would always come back at dawn to sleep.

The person from the karaoke place was practicing surprisingly hard for the apathetic look he had on his face. 

I knew it was for dancing. He was placed in the beginner lesson. As for vocal lessons, I knew he was doing fine. We were in the same advanced class, and he would get lots of praise.

"Hyungnim, you're back," I whispered once I heard the door open.

He trudged in and nodded his head tiredly.

I took off my glasses and watched quietly as he rummaged through his belongings for his towel.

He was really skinny for a twenty-year-old. He was also shorter, 177 cm, about.

The training clothes hung loosely on his frame as he went into the bathroom to shower.

I put the glasses and flashlight back in the hidden pocket of my bag and laid down again to sleep.

But a soft voice woke me up.

"Cho Seungmin," Moondae hyungnim called out. He had come out of the shower and was laying in his own bed now.

"Yes?" I responded.

There wasn't an answer for a long while. I decided to speak up quietly again.

"Hyungnim, everyone is asleep, and the cameras are off. You can say anything."

The cameras turn off automatically at 3:00 AM to save battery. That's why I talk to my group past then.

"...Right," Park Moondae finally said. I could hear him shifting in his bed before he continued, "You said that you joined because of me. I wanted to ask what you meant."