CHAPTER 31: A BAGGAGE

"GARAM-SSI, congratulations on getting discharged from the military."

Garam smiled shyly and bowed. "Thank you, Sunbae1-nim."

***

That felt awful.

Garam was informed by Shin Geon earlier that Song Sihyuk was on his way to his apartment, but he didn’t expect the Alpha to get there that fast.

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Song Sihyuk wanted to ask who the hell that bastard was, but he realized that could wait. "Where’s Lim Garam? Did he go to the hospital?"

Maybe it was a bad idea to come here alone.

After cleaning his own wound, he took a shower and changed into his pajamas.

They’re from a hip-hop boy group from a big company and were at their peak when my group debuted.

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But that brat isn’t the violent type.

Am I really nothing without Sihyuk Hyung’s support?

That was how he met AJ and Kwang Jun from the group CHAMPIONZ.

Lim Garam had a sharp tongue, yes.

"Hyung, stop it," Kwang Jun said, smiling apologetically at Garam. "It’s not Garam’s fault that he’s the least popular member of their group. Don’t be too harsh on him."

Aigoo.

"Do you not need to go to the hospital, brat?"

As expected, the Alpha already knew what happened.

"Yes, sir. It happened in a salon, after all."

Song Sihyuk looked surprised at first, and then he burst out laughing.

"I don’t know how to throw a punch."

"Are there witnesses?"

Is this bastard still bitter that we beat his group and won both the Best Artist and the Album of the Year awards last year?

"Apology?" AJ asked, confused. "Why would I need to apologize—"

Since he had free time that morning, he went to the salon to get a haircut.

"No, sir. Lim Garam-nim insisted on going to his apartment to hide his injury from his group members."

Song Sihyuk raised his head, his brows furrowed. "My calm and gentle Lim Garam got into a physical fight?"

And Garam?

My wife bought an apartment last year as an investment.

Yes, he shaved his head before he enlisted. But, in just half a year, his hair grew longer than it usually did. He hadn’t decided what to do with his hair yet for his upcoming solo debut, so he decided to get it trimmed in the meantime since the bangs were poking his eyes already.

There goes my plan to rot in bed all day.

"PRESIDENT SONG, I just got a call from Shin Geon-ssi. Apparently, Lim Garam-nim got into a physical fight with a senior idol."

Garam avoided the Alpha’s gaze because he wasn’t done with his confession yet. "Sunbae-nim was actually taken to the hospital because he bled a lot."

"Sunbae-nim, thank you for the advice," Garam said, smiling. "I’ll buy my dongsaengs something tasty later."

"Come in, Hyung."

I’m stuck in the dorm these days...

Garam had always known that he was the least popular among the group since he only excelled in singing.

To be honest, he was feeling awkward because he wasn’t close to the sunbaes that he was with.

"Say that again, you fucking bastard!"

Jung Han bowed his head politely. "I understand, sir."

"Who the fuck punched my wife?"

***

Haaah.

Well, he would start preparing for his solo album next week. But that was it. Other than the brand deal from Song Sihyuk’s cousin, he really didn’t get love calls from PDs and advertisers.

"I think Sunbae-nim should also buy your members something delicious later as an apology."

"Was Lim Garam hurt?"

"Aigooya."

What?

How childish.

He wanted to sleep, but now he had to entertain his uninvited guest.

And it became apparent now that they were doing solo activities.

Ouch.

Tsk.

"Don’t get sad, Garam-ah. It’s normal that not all members have equal popularity in a group," AJ said in a mocking tone. "Just go and buy your dongsaengs something delicious later. You should thank them for carrying your career."

"Because your dreadlocks will surely cause another controversy, Sunbae-nim," Garam said, pointing at AJ’s hairstyle. "When will Sunbae-nim learn that wearing dreads to look like a "gangster" just to fit your hip-hop image is inappropriate?"

Ah, right.

Aigoo.

"Lastly, I want you to dig all the dirty stuff you could find about the bastard who punched my wife. I’ll deal with him later," Song Sihyuk said, getting up and grabbing his jacket. "For now, I’ll go and comfort my wife."

"Your face is your livelihood, so you should have been more careful," Song Sihyuk said before letting go of Garam’s face. "Did you fight back?"

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"YOU SHOULD have come to me instead of sulking here all by yourself."

"So, I threw a chair at Sunbae-nim."

Kwon Jigu is busy being a mentor in a hit survival show, Finn is often flying for fashion shows, and Lee Eunsang is gaining more experience as an idol-actor.

"It’s just a busted lip, Hyung— I’ll live."

"Yes, sir," Jung Han answered politely. "According to Shin Geon-ssi, Lim Garam-nim was punched in the face."

It’s not like I can accuse Geon Hyung of being a snitch— it’s literally his job to report my every move to Sihyuk Hyung.

"I haven’t seen much of you lately, Garam-ah," AJ, the Korean-American main rapper of the CHAMPIONZ who had gotten into several controversies before for cultural appropriation, said while smiling in a not-so-nice way. "It must be nice to be carried by your younger group members, huh?"

***

"It was AJ from CHAMPIONZ, sir."

"Deal with the witnesses and make sure that this won’t get leaked to the public. If the reporters have already caught a whiff of what happened, then make sure they won’t publish the news. I don’t care how much you have to pay— I want everyone to keep their mouths shut about this incident."

AJ smirked haughtily. "Don’t mention it—"

But Song Sihyuk remained standing on the porch, and then he grabbed Garam’s face gently. "Why did you already treat your wound? I was hoping to earn some brownie points by putting ointment on your wound myself."

Senior/Upperclassman.