You Promised Me, Mr. Lee San-ha - Chapter 88



Only Noblemtl

Episode 88: A shabby person in a precious place (3)

Other people who have gathered at Jamsil Gymnasium also start taking out their cell phones one by one.

Everyone checked Broken Bullet’s tweet.

[I am retiring now. Mother fuckers. (I am retiring now. Friends.)]

Declaring retirement right before the performance?

You may wonder what in the world is so absurd… … but surprisingly, such cases are not rare.

‘Isn’t this exactly the same as when Moron Five performed in Korea?’

As I tried to recall my memories, an incident quickly came to mind.

September 6, 2015.

The day that ‘Moron Five’, who have numerous domestic fans, held a concert in Korea.

No, to be exact, the day I ‘should have’ done it.

However, an hour before the show, one of the members of Moron Five tweeted that he could not perform due to a neck injury.

There wasn’t even an official announcement made inside or outside the stadium.

What was later revealed to be even more absurd was that the neck injury he had been talking about was not a vocal cord problem, but ‘simple muscle pain’.

‘This has happened in the world of football too.’

On July 26, 2019, an incident occurred that became famous to the entire nation.

The so-called ‘Nal Gangdu Incident’.

Ronaldo, the most popular soccer player of his time.

He didn’t play a single second of the game even though he received a ticket price of over 400,000 won.

Even though the children in the stands were crying and shouting his name.

The sense of betrayal was even greater because he had played the full 90 minutes in the friendly match against China the day before.

‘Why does this always happen when I forget…?’

In the entertainment and sports world, fan service has always been a topic of controversy.

Baseball player Lee Seong-yeop’s statement, “If you sign too many autographs, your rarity will decrease.”

The incident where Ronaldo hit an autistic fan to vent his anger.

Just Beaver’s Yasukuni Shrine visit incident.

The reason this keeps happening may be very simple.

Because they see fans as money, not people.

Why don’t they understand that even when they play useless games like ball games or noise games, they are loved and treated well because they have fans?

‘… … I guess I need to figure out the situation first.’

Of course, if something unavoidable happens, it is natural for the performance to be cancelled.

But this time, there was one part that was strangely annoying.

Why did you use the strong expression ‘retirement’?

And that was with less than an hour left until the show.

I said to Ida, handing her the ticket.

“First, take the ticket and go in with your parents.”

“Are you actually doing this show?”

“I’m going to find out from now on.”

* * *

First, I went to the concert hall office to get a press pass.

While on the move, I recorded the situation on the scene one by one with my cell phone and wrote a brief article about it.

Meanwhile, the office was a veritable meltdown.

There was no room to even step due to the number of reporters who flocked to get a grasp of the situation.

“Was the retirement rumor planned?”

“Was there any friction with the organizers?”

“Has there been any further official statement from Broken Bullet?”

Despite the torrent of questions, the employees’ answers were consistent.

“I don’t know. I don’t know. It’s not under my jurisdiction.”

It didn’t seem like a lie.

In the first place, what would be the reason to sign a contract with a singer who made retirement announcements?

‘There’s nothing to salvage here.’

I went straight to the waiting room.

The moment I took out one of the access cards lying on the table and left the office.

Someone tapped me on the shoulder.

“excuse me…….”

She was a woman I didn’t know.

I thought maybe it was someone I met recently at work, but I can’t remember exactly.

She continued.

“Please bring my pass with you along with the pass you are holding.”

There was another pass attached to the one I was holding.

I couldn’t see it clearly because I was busy taking care of it in the crowd of people.

“Oh, I see. Sorry.”

I gave back my pass and apologized.

The name on the pass was written as [Maeng So-Hyeon].

Maeng So-hyeon said with a sad smile.

“I couldn’t go in because of the people, but since you took mine out for me, I’m grateful.”

Oh, the way of speaking that covers up other people’s mistakes with a joke, which could easily be embarrassing.

I think this is the second time in my life that I’ve seen someone act this cute.

‘The first place winner was, of course, Bae Eun-ji.’

Meanwhile, she started staring intently at my face.

Then he suddenly stretched out his fingers and shouted.

“Huh!? Are you perhaps Senior Sanha?”

What the heck, I’m still the youngest in our company.

Are you my junior from the future?

As I just blinked my eyes, Maeng So-hyeon continued speaking.

“Are you Lee San-ha, a senior from the Korean High School newspaper club?!”

Korean high school newspaper club. Junior. Maeng So-hyeon.

After combining several keywords, my memory was finally restored.

“Oh, are you the freshman who came in my third year?”

“That’s right, that’s right! At that time, my senior was in his third year of high school and couldn’t participate in club activities much. I remember everything. Hehehe.”

I vaguely remember it.

But the image of Maeng So-hyeon in my memory was not like this.

A little more than now… … .

“You used to be fat, but you lost a lot of weight, right? Maybe that’s why you didn’t recognize me anymore?”

I didn’t mean to be so direct, but it’s somewhat true.

It felt like everything had changed except for the gentle impression at the corners of the eyes.

The tight fit of the suit was proof of the effort put in.

I apologized in a serious voice.

“I’m sorry I didn’t recognize you at first glance. But I’m still so happy to see you, my school junior.”

“I’m really okay! No, I like it! This means that my bone-and-flesh diet has been a success, right?”

I didn’t know what to say, so I just smiled.

Maeng So-hyeon nodded her head back at me and spoke.

“Senior, are you going to the waiting room now? Let’s go together!”

Was he originally the type who had no sense of distance?

I don’t remember very well, but I still remember him as a ‘good-natured kid.’

Anyway, I think this is an interesting characteristic of being a journalist.

While doing the same thing,

Although it is a competitive structure,

There’s no particular reason to fight each other.

Rather, it is said that the more friends you have, the easier things become.

Because information sharing is good.

We chatted briefly and moved to the waiting room.

“… … So, did Sohyun also start an internship after applying for a job?”

“No. I just do it as an experiential activity during the vacation season. I came to the entertainment department because I like taking pictures of people… … But, senior! Shouldn’t you start talking more comfortably now? I’m so awkward I could die!?”

“Oh, okay. If it’s uncomfortable, then do that.”

“What are you talking about when you say that and don’t say anything until the end?”

“Oh, that’s right.”

Even though we barely interacted with each other, we were able to converse quite comfortably.

Of course, it was because Maeng So-hyun had such a lively personality.

“Where did I leave off? Oh, right. I originally liked taking pictures of people, right? So just being able to take pictures of celebrities up close is like, ‘That’s it.’ It’s the best job satisfaction!”

“Surprisingly, you have quite a bit of a nerd style?”

“Ahhh-! I want to deny it, but there’s no way to deny it! What do you think of Senior Sanha? Do you think being a reporter is a good fit for you?”

“The work itself is quite enjoyable. … …except for taking pictures.”

“Oh, then next time we meet, I’ll give you the B-cut I took!”

“Getting paid?”

“Hey, but I have a conscience. I’ll give you a discount of about 20% as a school senior discount.”

Before we knew it, we arrived in front of the waiting room.

The reporters who arrived first were pouring questions at the security company employees.

“Have you received anything?”

“What exactly is the performance schedule?”

“Is there any special reason why you don’t come out of the waiting room?!”

The security guards standing by the door answered with troubled expressions.

“We don’t know either. We were just told not to let anyone in or out. And we don’t know English, so we can’t even talk to the gentleman inside.”

A voice that is emotionless and tired.

It seems that the security guards are also tired from unexpected events.

Maeng So-hyeon shook her head and said.

“Ugh, one no-show is tiring out so many people… … .”

I totally agree with you.

If you think about it, that’s what a no-show is like.

The officials say that it is an unfavorable structure that leaves them with no choice but to open their eyes wide and cut off their noses.

My mother also had several instances where she announced that dozens of people would come to a company dinner and then completely cut off contact and disappeared.

But in this case, the situation is much more serious.

Because the scope of damage includes not only performance investors but also audiences.

‘I guess I’ll have to go inside first to at least talk… … .’

As I was nervously looking toward the waiting room, I saw a familiar face among the security guards.

“Reporters, there’s nothing we can do for you here. Please go over there first… … Huh? Sanha, why are you here?”

That’s what I wanted to ask.

I didn’t know I would meet Kim Tae-kyung in a place like this.

* * *

Me, Kim Tae-kyung, and Maeng So-hyun.

In this way, the three of them quietly passed through the waiting room entrance and gathered at the bottom of the stairs.

Kim Tae-kyung said while crunching his smoking cessation gum.

“The world is so small, but I never thought I would run into each other at work. It’s a great meeting place, even for juniors whose names I don’t know.”

“Yeah. I thought you were guarding a government facility or a secret base or something.”

“Those people are usually regular employees and civil servants? Oh my, by the way, I thought I was on a temporary assignment after seeing a performance for the first time in a while, but what the hell is this?”

Kim Tae-kyung’s grumbling causes three people to sigh simultaneously.

At that moment, an idea crossed my mind.

“Taekyung, I have a good idea―”

“Don’t come.”

“Okay. Well, I have a good idea―”

“Sink.”

“Why does it look so sharp today?”

Kim Tae-kyung shook his head, his eyebrows furrowed.

“When you make that face, it’s usually because you’re trying to package a ‘bad idea’ as a ‘good idea’! Do I only see you for a day or two?”

“This time it’s different.”

“So I’m going to reject you a little differently this time.”

Kim Tae-kyung has grown a lot, he even knows how to refuse.

But I had no intention of coming this far to condone his rejection.

“Listen carefully. If we keep doing this, we’ll all get tired anyway. Especially since your precious time after work is being pushed back indefinitely. I can definitely pull that off for you.”

When the topic of leaving work comes up, Kim Tae-kyung also starts to show some interest.

“Keep going man.”

“So, if you could just help me out a little bit, you could just put me in that waiting room―”

“No, no, no. You can’t do that, Mr. Lee San-ha. Make sense.”

Kim Tae-kyung shakes his head and even waves his hands.

Since it is something related to one’s job, it seems impossible to just let it go.

But I have no intention of backing down.

Besides, if things work out well, it could end up being a win-win for everyone.

“Hey Taekyung. Our whole family is here waiting for your performance. My mom used to sing like that because you were her favorite singer since she was young. Can you help me show my filial piety just once?”

“Ah, that kind of… … Do you really think I’d fall for such a lie?! Broken Bullet isn’t even the Trot President Lim Yeon-woong. I heard that singer is a hip-hop artist in America. How would your mother know? I wonder if she would have known if he had said that he was Da-in’s favorite singer.”

… … This is absolutely 100% real.

I had no choice but to take out the spleen I had saved.

“Okay. Then I’ll take care of ‘that’ thing you were always whining about before.”

“Huh? How did you… … .”

“Anyway. Are you going to do it or not?”

Kim Tae-kyung swallowed hard.

Then he turns his head and glances down the hallway.

After putting his head back in its original position, Kim Tae-kyung said.

“… … This is just this one time. From now on, I will never accept a request like this.”

Well, we’ll have to wait and see. Hehehe-