9. Hong Ui-rim (1)
“Hwaaa-am…” (Yawn)
Ding-dong-daeng-dong.
After the bell rang, a boring homeroom session followed. I couldn’t help but yawn.
Even if I’m 17 years old right now, my soul is 29. Training with 10-year-old kids was fine, but sitting through classes with them was a nightmare.
At least I’m lucky the school I attend is Banyi Arts High School—a specialized school where many celebrities go. If I were doing this at a regular high school, I wouldn’t have any stamina left.
Anyway, today is Friday. I could finish school at 3 PM and go home. Of course, most of us, including me, go back to the agency instead of home…
“Dismissed!”
“Thank you!”
Banyi Arts High was about a 10-minute walk from the dorms. Since the area was filled with entertainment agencies, it was the perfect location.
Right next to it was Banyi Arts Middle School… and the younger Willow-is from our company went there. That included Hong Ui-rim, the member who would later become the proud main vocal of Hexad Carmit.
I saw him over there, trudging along in his middle school uniform.
‘Should I go act friendly?’
Thinking that, I walked quickly toward Hong Ui-rim. But then, checking his worry level out of habit, I was shocked.
‘Wh-what? Why is the number so high?’
Floating above Ui-rim’s head as he walked weakly was a number over 30.
To begin with, Ui-rim wasn’t the type of guy who suited words like “trudging” or “weakly.” Even though he was the youngest, he had a very strong personality. He was the type to talk back and argue logically even with the oldest member, Ga Du-in, who is five years older. He’d make points so correct that you couldn’t even argue back.
‘For a guy like that to have a worry level of 30?’
— Ding!
[Quest: Tell Me Your Worries!! (4)]
A member’s condition is strange…. Shall we check it out?
▶ Resolve the member’s abnormal condition
Deadline: By midnight, December 22, 20XX
Reward: My Baby is Good (lv.1)
A new quest appeared. The reward is “My Baby is Good”… the skill names are really starting to remind me of when I was raising my nephews.
Let’s see… the member with the “abnormal condition” must be Hong Ui-rim right in front of me.
“Ui-rim!”
The boy walking ahead turned around.
“…Yeon-oh Hyung.”
“Huh? Hey, why are you sweating so much?”
Is he sick?
Up close, Ui-rim’s face was noticeably pale, and he even had cold sweats on his forehead. Even if the weather was warm for the season, it was still winter…
However, when I tried to touch his forehead, Ui-rim brushed my hand away.
“I’m fine. It’s nothing.”
“Nothing? You’re literally dripping cold sweat.”
“I said I’m fine. Don’t worry about it and just go your way.”
At that moment, his inner thoughts popped up above his head.
[Aw, geez… why is this Hyung doing things he never used to do? He used to have zero interest in other people.]
My past karma was coming back to haunt me. I could only give a bitter smile. But even if I hadn’t cared in the past, I couldn’t just pass by when he looked this sick. Especially since he was our precious future main vocal.
‘But seriously, he looks really unwell.’
I started walking beside him to match his pace. This allowed me to observe him more closely…
Ui-rim’s condition seemed much worse than a simple glance suggested. He was the type to never show he was in pain, yet he was occasionally grimacing. Even without reading worry levels or minds, anyone could see he was a sick patient.
But there was no mention of Ui-rim being sick in my diary… Why? Where does it hurt?
I used the ‘Speak Honestly’ skill.
“Ui-rim, your face looks really bad. Where does it hurt?”
“…My stomach hurts a bit, but it’s okay. I threw up at school, so I’ll feel better now.”
“You threw up? Did you eat something wrong?”
“I just had the same school lunch as the other kids…”
Inner thoughts appeared over his grimacing face.
‘My stomach really hurts… this is bad. If anyone finds out, they won’t let me take the vocal lesson…’
But why the vocal lesson?
…Ah!
I mentally slapped my knee as a memory came back. Today was the day Jeremy Todd, who was visiting Willow Ent, was scheduled to give a final vocal lesson to the Willow-is before leaving for another city.
At this point in time, he hadn’t yet become a world-renowned singer-songwriter, but… the chance to get a lesson from a singer with such unique vocals was rare. It was natural for Ui-rim to be conscious of it. He was the most ambitious and passionate about his skills among all the members.
I understood why he was trying not to show his pain even if his body wasn’t holding up.
‘But…’
To resolve the “abnormal condition” quest, he definitely needed to go to a hospital and get medicine. But this guy had no intention of going to a hospital right now.
This won’t do. It was time to use my newly acquired skill, ‘Mother’s Hand is a Healing Hand.’ If not now, when?
I activated the skill while speaking softly to Ui-rim, who was silently walking toward the company.
“Ui-rim, you look very sick, let’s go to the hospital. We can just go quickly, Ui-rim.”
“Ui-rim,”
“Ui-rim?”
As I called his name repeatedly, his face eased up slightly—perhaps due to the skill’s effect. It was definitely working. It’s funny to call this a side effect, but once his condition stabilized a bit, he started acting stubborn again.
“What if they tell me to get an IV drip?”
“…Huh?”
“Last time I went to the hospital for a stomachache, they told me to get a drip. I hate that because it takes too long.”
He must have had one before. True, IV drips don’t finish quickly… But if he’s vomiting and has a stomachache bad enough to expect an IV, isn’t that enteritis (stomach flu)? If it’s bad enough to make him vomit, he must be suffering a lot right now.
“Even if it takes time, it’s better to get a drip and stop being in pain.”
“No, maybe it’s because I threw up earlier, but I feel much better now. I’m going straight to the company.”
“I’m telling you, if you’re throwing up, you need medicine.”
“I said I’m fine. I know my body. It’s okay.”
Because he felt temporarily better, no persuasion worked. I couldn’t exactly tell him it was only because of my skill… this was tricky.
‘I should have used the skill later.’
It felt a bit ridiculous to think that while he was hurting. Regardless of what I said, Ui-rim kept walking stubbornly toward the company.
‘How on earth do I convince this guy…?’
However.
The closer we got to the office, the paler Ui-rim’s face became. Eventually, he looked as white as a sheet of paper.
“Ugh…!”
As soon as we reached the office, Ui-rim covered his mouth and ran to the bathroom. The nausea was coming back.
Startled, I followed him into the bathroom and found him grabbing the toilet, vomiting violently. He threw up so much that eventually, he was just bringing up water.
‘This is really serious…’
I couldn’t delay any longer. I spoke firmly to Ui-rim, who was now completely drained of color.
“This is not okay. You have to go to the hospital. If you leave this alone, something bad will happen.”
“But I have to take the class… You said Jeremy Todd is teaching today.”
Ui-rim muttered in a much weaker voice. He looked like he had no energy left after vomiting.
‘Even the tough Hong Ui-rim is still just a 16-year-old kid.’
I patted his shoulder. I could feel a slight fever, which made it clear he needed a doctor.
“Anyway, you need to rest today. Why don’t you tell your parents and go to the hospital?”
“My mom and dad aren’t home. They went to Jeju Island yesterday and won’t be back until Sunday.”
…Of all days, his parents were away. Since he’s an only child, he probably has no other family around.
“Then let’s go to the hospital first. Maybe you’ll feel better if you at least take some medicine.”
“But…”
“I’ll go with you. If it runs late, I’ll ask the other Hyungs to record the lesson for you.”
Ui-rim hesitated, then finally nodded. We headed to a hospital near the office.
“It’s enteritis. You have symptoms of dehydration, so get an IV drip before you leave.”
At the doctor’s diagnosis, Ui-rim looked at me with uneasy eyes, as if he had expected this. To be worrying about a lesson while being this sick… honestly…
I followed him into the treatment room. While he was getting his IV, I called the other Willow-is. In times like this, the meticulous Han Ji-hyuk was the right person to call.
[Hello? Yeon-oh? Hurry up, the lesson is starting.]
“Hyung, the rap class is taking Jeremy’s lesson together too, right?”
[Yeah, it’s Jeremy Todd’s lesson, so we have to. Where are you?]
“I’m at the hospital because Ui-rim is sick. They say it’s enteritis.”
[Enteritis? Hong Ui-rim?]
“Yeah. So I have a favor. Could you ask the company to record or film the lesson for us?”
I asked Han Ji-hyuk to record the lesson and also called the staff member from the Rookie Development Team who manages the Willow-is to explain the situation. Then, I sat down next to Ui-rim.
Ui-rim was staring blankly at the ceiling with glazed eyes. Lying there with an IV, he looked really sick. He actually is the youngest, but seeing him like that made him look like a total child. He works hard at everything but is so stubborn that he never listens…
Come to think of it, his personality is exactly like my fifth nephew, Da-bin. Da-bin really had a temper too.
“Hyung… don’t stay here, go take the lesson. What a great opportunity Jeremy Todd’s lesson is…”
Ui-rim mumbled as he gradually got sleepy. Watching him, I felt a bit of a pang in my chest. Is this arrogant, “I’m-the-center-of-the-universe” kid actually being considerate and telling me to go to class?
“Don’t blame me later for missing the lesson…”
“…”
Good grief, even while lying there all sick and weak, he still knows how to say annoying things.
***
Since his parents weren’t home, I had no choice but to bring Ui-rim to the Willow dorms. He had regained some strength after the IV, but I couldn’t send a sick kid home alone.
I laid Ui-rim down on my bed and went back to the office for the next lesson. However, I was met with Han Ji-hyuk’s panicked face.
“Yeon-oh…! What do I do?”
“Huh? Why?”
According to him, he had borrowed a camcorder from the company to film the lesson. He saw the battery was low, so he plugged it into power and started recording. So far, so good… but then, it seems the cable was loose and fell out, and the camcorder died in the middle of the recording.
“Ugh, I should have checked it one more time!”
Ji-hyuk sighed deeply, blaming himself. Next to him, Ga Du-in made a chic comment.
“I was wondering why a dead camcorder was sitting on top of a tripod.”
“Hyung! Then you should have told me!”
“I didn’t think I needed to ask. Maybe I should have. Well, what can we do now?”
…I told Ui-rim not to worry because I’d have it recorded. What do I do? Han Ji-hyuk, his face crumpled with guilt, said restlessly:
“I’m really sorry. I should have kept a better eye on it.”
“No, Hyung. It already happened, nothing we can do. Don’t blame yourself too much. I feel bad for Ui-rim, but…”
“It would be great if Jeremy could do one more lesson before he leaves in a few days.”
“How much was recorded? Is there anything we can use?”
We were standing there in despair, holding a camcorder with less than 10 minutes recorded… and in the meantime, Kang Su-woo was talking in his usual stream of consciousness.
“Did Jeremy say he’s going to Busan tomorrow? Wow, lucky him. I want to go on a trip to Busan too.”
Hearing that, Han Ji-hyuk and Ga Du-in lightly scolded him.
“Hey, Kang Su-woo. Are you going to keep interrupting with random talk?”
“Yeah. We’re talking about the video recording right now, why bring up a Busan trip, man?”
…But at that moment, I suddenly jumped up at Su-woo’s words. Right. The chance isn’t completely gone yet.
“That’s it! Jeremy is leaving tomorrow! He’s still in Seoul today!”
I grabbed Ga Du-in.
“Hyung! You got Jeremy’s contact info, right?”
“Huh? Oh, I did. But why?”
