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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: Clash of Opinions (2)
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“Why are you both so quiet? Don’t tell me you were about to throw punches when you’re supposed to be idols.”
A sudden silence fell over the practice room.
“……”
“Did you want to start your careers with a controversy? Are you two the type to take high risks for high returns?”
If so, they shouldn’t be fighting each other; they should be having a nice, long chat with me.
I was contemplating whether I needed to straighten them out until common sense and courtesy were etched into their very spines when Choi Jeho asked.
“If you weren’t going to stop us, why did you intervene?”
“I’m saying I’d like you to change your method of communication. You’re both old enough to express yourselves politely.”
At that, the two clamped their mouths shut.
Knowing their personalities, they would have immediately challenged me if they thought I was wrong. It seemed they agreed with me, at least a little.
“I want you guys to have a healthy conversation. Not use a fight as an excuse to vent your anger.”
“……”
“You too, Choi Jeho. Now that you know Giyeon has a problem, shouldn’t you just ask him what it is? Let’s not let our elementary school ethics lessons go to waste.”
Doused with a bucket of cold water mixed with a lecture from the old days, the two of them sighed. A sign that their will to fight had vanished.
‘If just stopping the fight was enough, I’d leave it at that, but…’
≫ Look at our poor Seongbin, so tired from trying to fix the mood, sipping on an empty cup with Juwoo ㅠㅠ The main dancer line needs to get a clue—or maybe they shouldn't.
└ SparkleCooligan really living up to their name. The live stream’s atmosphere is a total wreck, and they’re just overanalyzing everything and acting all cool and detached.
└ How can they even stan them without some mental gymnastics? lol It was so damn suffocating to watch.
└ You said it was suffocating, but you watched the whole thing? Welcome to the fandom, congrats.
└ Seriously, the mental gymnastics are insane.
Even if my only goal was their successful debut, I still had to spend at least another year with Spark.
To bury this conflict and pretend it didn't happen would be like agreeing to walk on thin ice, never knowing when it might crack.
Besides, the ones butting heads were the two who fought the most within Spark. It was difficult to just ignore it and close the book on the matter.
“If it’s hard to talk after cooling down, then get a third party’s help. Having someone else involved will help you clear your heads.”
“……”
“You’ve all lived in a group for much longer than I have, so it must be harder for you, and you’ve probably put up with a lot from each other. But you don’t want the other guys to walk on eggshells, do you?”
At that, Choi Jeho and Kang Giyeon’s gazes finally turned to Jeong Seongbin’s pale face.
This probably wasn't the first or second time this had happened, and each time, Jeong Seongbin must have somehow stepped in to mediate. It was obvious without even seeing it.
“Well then, I hope you two can reach an amicable agreement. I’m heading back in.”
“You can’t go in.”
“Huh?”
Choi Jeho, arms crossed, looked directly at me and spoke.
“You be the third party.”
*No.* In that situation, shouldn’t you, as the eldest, step up and say, ‘I’ll do it, I’m Spark’s honorary mediator’?
I had no desire whatsoever to get involved in their squabble.
My social battery was already at its limit just from seeing their faces, talking, and practicing with them every day.
Still, I calmed myself and was about to suggest that they handle their own affairs proactively when the system window popped up.
+
[SYSTEM] A ‘New Task’ has been assigned.
▷ Resolve the conflict between members to nip the controversy in the bud (Stick function can be used once).
▷ Reward: EXP (20), Stick function activated.
+
Fucking hell, now I have to solve a squabble between grown-ass kids?
When you have a group of sentient beings, clashes of opinion are bound to happen.
However, the phrase ‘nip the controversy in the bud’ bothered me.
I quickly ran through Spark’s history in my mind.
‘A controversy between Choi Jeho and Kang Giyeon… The attitude controversy was only about Choi Jeho, so that’s out. The personality controversy involved both of them, but they weren’t linked, so that’s out too…’
No matter how much I thought, more and more controversies kept popping up. As much as I was the team's number one slacker, this group was a sinking ship like no other.
I had to admire Jeong Seongbin for leading this dramatic group project for seven years, and Department Head Nam’s daughter for passionately stanning the chaotic Spark for seven years.
If it were me, I probably would have ditched the fandom the moment the controversy about ignoring a member blew up…
‘That’s it!’
It was a controversy that had started about two years after their debut, sparked by the awkward atmosphere between Choi Jeho and Kang Giyeon being caught on camera.
A dispute between coworkers would have ended after a few rounds of gossip…
But the visible distance between Choi Jeho and Kang Giyeon, despite being in the same group, snowballed with every online post.
Eventually, it escalated into a full-blown personality controversy, accusing the older Choi Jeho of looking down on the younger Kang Giyeon—who hadn’t even become the center—and creating a tense atmosphere within the team.
≫ If they’re like that on camera, I can’t even imagine what they’re like off-camera ;;; The cold shoulder is real.
≫ I get it, but they’re not strangers, they’re group members. How can you ignore someone so blatantly? I’m getting second-hand embarrassment.
≫ How many years have fans been defending him, saying he’s just shy? lololol This is the result? So damn disappointing, Jeho.
└ Don’t blame others lolol You all raised him to be like this and now you’re disappointed. Go on and stan your precious Jeho, who thinks his lack of social skills is cute.
Then the online gossip channels jumped on it…
‘Male Idol Rebels Against Seniors, Can’t Handle Military-Style Hierarchy,’ ‘Idol Under Fire for Ostracizing Member… How Could He Do This To His Own Teammate?’
…videos like that ran rampant.
The algorithm pushed them so hard that the doctored thumbnail of Choi Jeho and Kang Giyeon glaring at each other was still vivid in my mind.
And unfortunately, all of this happened right when Spark’s public mentions were starting to spike.
In other words, it wasn’t supposed to surface yet.
‘Why is this happening already?’
It was true that Choi Jeho and Kang Giyeon had been particularly distant right before their debut.
So, timeline-wise, this problem should have surfaced in two years at the earliest, and considering when the issue blew up, it should have been four years from now.
Jeong Seongbin was also suddenly losing his composure.
At that moment, I recalled the notice I’d seen a while ago.
+
[SYSTEM] A ‘Notice’ is issued to the ‘Subordinate.’
▷ Drastically altering the original schedule may result in corresponding disadvantages.
▷ Even if the schedule is moved up, the frequency of scheduled events remains valid, and their timing will be adjusted to fit the new schedule.
+
Shit, it wasn't them taking high risks for high returns. It was me.
Realizing this was all my own doing, my stomach churned. My head started to ache a little, too.
‘It sucks, but what’s done is done.’
With time already scarce, it was better to use even the time I’d spend on regret to find the best possible solution.
I racked my brain, trying to find a positive side to the current situation.
Like all things, even this had an upside.
‘Considering how UA failed to respond properly and set the individual fandoms on fire, it might be better to prevent it from happening in the first place.’
This was better than watching Choi Jeho’s fans and Kang Giyeon’s fans tear each other to shreds.
Of course, that was all under the assumption that I could actually prevent these incidents.
I thought again that I really should have applied to be a manager. If not that, then at least UA’s exclusive confessor.
“Guys, I don’t think practice is what’s important right now.”
“What?”
“Everyone, please sit down. We need to talk.”
An emergency. This was a true emergency.
* * *
Including Park Juwoo, who had been brought over by who-knows-when, we all sat in a circle in the middle of the practice room.
“I don’t think this is something we need to make such a big deal out of.”
Kang Giyeon voiced his complaint.
He seemed annoyed that although he had blown up, he had been trying to handle it, only for Choi Jeho to cluelessly poke the bear, and then for me to fan the flames.
“I said let’s have a healthy conversation. Giyeon, you’re banned from speaking until you cool your head.”
So I decided to just shut him up for a bit. When people are angry, even good words come out twisted.
“Choi Jeho, what part of what Giyeon said bothered you?”
“…It’s not that I was particularly bothered.”
“For the sake of the four of us sitting here trying to listen to you, I’d appreciate it if you’d be honest.”
He tried to gloss it over, so I asked him nicely with a smile, and Choi Jeho flinched.
He didn't have any friends, so he was probably just awkward having a friendly conversation with someone his age. I understood.
“He’s got an attitude with me.”
“What?”
Kang Giyeon reacted the moment Choi Jeho spoke.
The two were sitting across from each other, and it felt like sparks were flying in the air between their gazes.
They really were members who suited their group name perfectly.
I asked in the calmest tone possible to keep Choi Jeho from getting aggressive as well.
“Did Giyeon tell you himself that you get on his nerves?”
“He didn’t, but…”
“Then why do you think he has an attitude with you?”
“Do you really need someone to say it out loud to know they don’t like you?”
In short, he had read Kang Giyeon’s non-verbal cues.
This part was unexpected. Choi Jeho was famous for not caring what others thought and living in his own world.
It was possible his personality had changed while being an idol, but from what I’d seen while living with him, the Choi Jeho I knew was no different from his media persona.
‘For a guy like that to be so conscious of others… that’s unexpected.’
Kang Giyeon, who had suddenly been branded as someone who went around broadcasting ‘I don’t like you’ with his entire body, also had a strange expression on his face.
“There’s something I’ve learned in my short, or perhaps long, life.”
“You’ve lived the exact same amount of time as me.”
*I’ve got more mileage on me than you, kid. About nine years more.*
“I’ve found that explaining what made me angry is more helpful for continuing a conversation than assuming someone’s feelings based on my own standards.”
“It seemed like he wanted to make it obvious he disliked me even from a hundred meters away, so I just set the stage for him to say it outright. Happy now?”
“I don’t dislike you.”
Just as the conversation was about to overheat, Kang Giyeon offered a clarification.
But it was hard to believe him. The look on his face was truly awful.
“We just don’t click. And I have no intention of trying to.”
Kang Giyeon was firm.
“Can I ask why you’ve come to think that way?”
At my question, Kang Giyeon hesitated for a moment before answering.
“Because he doesn’t try to get along with anyone, either.”
