#20

“President, are you coming with us too?”

“Yes. If you’re all okay with it, I’d like to. Honestly, I’ve never checked out the dorm before, so I’m curious to see what it looks like inside.”

In truth, my main purpose was to check if anything was lacking, but saying that outright felt a bit off…… So, I came up with a reasonable excuse. At my words, Nam Yisol smiled brightly and readily welcomed my visit.

“You can come anytime. The house belongs to you anyway.”

“It may be under my name, but you all are the ones living there. I can’t just drop by as I please.”

“Sometimes, I feel like you walked straight out of a morality textbook, sir. Your real name wasn’t originally Cheolsu before you changed it, was it?”

“As far as I remember, no. But who knows? Maybe I had that name when I was little and just don’t remember.”

At my playful response to his joke, Nam Yisol burst into laughter, looking pleased.

“Wow, our president has a great sense of humor. Seriously, why are you so charming? You’re making people’s hearts race.”

“I’m just grateful that you think so.”

“Oh? Are you treating this like a joke? I wasn’t joking, though.”

I quietly looked at Nam Yisol, who was speaking mischievously with a lifted corner of his lips. Then, slowly, I raised my hand and gently patted his head. His brightly bleached hair felt much rougher than it looked, but the texture wasn’t unpleasant.

“Let’s get going. If we stay outside too long, we might catch a cold.”

“Yees~ Got it~.”

At my gentle coaxing, Nam Yisol pouted slightly in protest but obediently climbed into the van. I made sure he was properly seated before turning back to look at the other Tartarus members.

“Shall we head out now?”

“Um, sir!”

Just as I was about to get the other members into the van since it was cold outside, I heard Manager Ahn Siwon calling me urgently from a short distance away while checking his smartphone.

“What’s wrong?”

“You need to check this out.”

His voice sounded urgent, so I quickly walked over to him. He hastily handed me his phone.

Displayed on the screen was the Bluebird app.

“Sir, what do we do? Bluebird is in chaos right now.”

“Chaos?”

I asked in confusion and looked closely at the app. The post he showed me featured a picture of a familiar building with the caption, ‘This is Tartarus’ new dorm!!’.

“Manager Ahn, don’t tell me……”

“Yes. That’s the place we’re moving into.”

With Ahn Siwon confirming it with a resigned look, I could only press my fingers against the bridge of my nose in exhaustion.

Even though they had been mistreated by President Lee Yongjun, Tartarus was currently one of the top idol groups in South Korea. Every song they released dominated the music charts, they consistently swept grand prizes at year-end award shows, and their domestic and international fandom was enormous.

“They’ve already gathered?”

“……Yes. People are already there.”

The new dorm’s location had been leaked online. That meant countless fans of Tartarus would be gathering in front of it.

“Is there a way to get through?”

“I contacted the staff there, and they said there’s not even an ant-sized gap to squeeze through. Even if we somehow managed to get inside, with fans constantly waiting outside, the members would be uncomfortable, and it would also be a huge nuisance to the people living nearby…… I think it’ll be impossible to move in for the time being.”

A headache was incoming. I let out a quiet sigh. There was no way to forcibly disperse the crowd, so there was nothing we could do.

“President? Manager hyung? What’s going on?”

“Ah, Euiseo! And the rest of you, come check this out.”

Noticing that something was off, Yoo Euiseo approached us with a curious expression. Ahn Siwon quickly held out his phone to him with a look of relief. Seeing this, Jung Hosu, Lee Gaon, Lee Daon, and even Nam Yisol, who had already gotten into the van, gathered around to look at the phone.

“Whoa…… This is insane.”

“So, our fans are already gathered in front of our dorm?”

“At this rate, we won’t be able to get inside, right?”

“Probably not. It’ll be uncomfortable, but it’d be best to stay somewhere else for now. I’m sorry, but I hope you all understand.”

Ahn Siwon clasped his hands together and made a pleading gesture toward the members, his drooping eyebrows showing just how apologetic he felt.

“There’s nothing for you to be sorry about, Siwon hyung. We’re fine.”

“Still, we should have been more careful to prevent the information from leaking……”

“What’s done is done. No point stressing over it now.”

Nam Yisol spoke with a bright smile as if trying to ease the burden on our minds. Ahn Siwon looked at him with teary eyes, clearly touched. Watching the surprisingly close bond between them, I smiled warmly and said,

“Let’s head to Haje Hotel for now. That’s the best option at the moment.”

“Oh, are we really staying at Haje Hotel? One of Korea’s top three hotels? The same Haje Hotel that’s consistently listed among the world’s top ten? Honestly, this might be even better than the dorm.”

Nam Yisol exaggerated his admiration for the hotel, perhaps trying to lighten the mood and relieve our guilt about the situation. Finding his thoughtfulness endearing, I chuckled softly and replied in a warm tone,

“I’ll book the best rooms for you. You can look forward to it.”

***

After dropping off the Tartarus members at the hotel and returning to the company, I worked through the accumulated tasks with the help of Secretary Sung Yoojun. With his assistance, I was able to handle the work at least five times faster than if I had done it alone. Plus, being able to ask questions immediately when I wasn’t sure about something was a huge advantage.

Still, no matter how much help I had received, since I had only started working in the late afternoon, by the time I finished everything and returned home, it was already close to midnight.

“You worked hard today. Please go in and get some rest.”

“Thank you for driving me home, Secretary Sung.”

“I only did what I was supposed to do.”

At my sincere words of gratitude, Sung Yoojun responded with a gentle expression. I watched as he prepared to leave, but then, suddenly struck by curiosity, I impulsively spoke up.

“Secretary Sung, where do you live, by the way?”

“My residence? Near the Tartarus dorm we were supposed to move into today.”

Near the Tartarus dorm…… That was about a 40-minute drive from here, wasn’t it? There wouldn’t be much traffic at this hour, but still, it was quite a distance to travel this late at night. And if he had to come pick me up again in the morning, he wouldn’t even be able to get proper rest.

As I got lost in thought, one idea leading to another, I heard Secretary Sung Yoojun call out to me, looking puzzled since he still hadn’t gotten into his car.

“Sir? Why do you ask?”

“Oh, I just thought it seemed a bit far to go at this hour.”

“It’s fine. It’s not as far as it seems.”

Even though Secretary Sung insisted it was okay, I didn’t feel the same. No matter if it was part of his job, making him drive me home this late and then sending him all the way back didn’t sit right with me…… In the end, after much deliberation, my conscience won over, and I turned to him and suggested,

“Why don’t you just stay over? There are plenty of rooms anyway.”

At my cautious suggestion, Sung Yoojun’s expression turned somewhat ambiguous. Seeing that, I suddenly worried that I had overstepped. Regardless of the situation, I was still his employer, and that might make it difficult for him to refuse even if he wanted to.

“If it’s uncomfortable for you, feel free to decline. There’s no need to feel pressured. I’m only offering because I’m genuinely concerned, but I won’t insist.”

Worried that he might feel obligated to accept just because I was his boss, I quickly added reassurance. At that, Sung Yoojun smiled softly.

“Thank you for the offer. In that case, I’ll gratefully accept.”

Fortunately, there was no trace of discomfort or reluctance on his face. Relieved, I let out a small sigh and took the lead toward the house. Since the parking lot was in the basement, all we had to do was go up the stairs to reach the main living area.

“I’ll use the same room as always.”

“You have a room you usually use?”

“Yes. When things get busy, I’ve stayed over at your invitation from time to time.”

I nodded in understanding at his explanation. It seemed like the in-game Goo Won and I really had a lot in common. The thought was both fascinating and slightly unsettling, making me furrow my brows. Meanwhile, Sung Yoojun gave me a polite nod.

“Then, I’ll head in now. If you need anything, please don’t hesitate to call me.”