The atmosphere in the car was like a freezer.
Not because of the temperature, but because of the mood.
‘This is bad.’
Ryu Cheongwoo wasn’t snapping at anyone or acting unreasonable, but he was definitely not in his usual state.
Let’s take a look at what happened in the waiting room at the music show a few hours earlier.
-“Hyung, have some snacks! Eat a lot!”
-“Sure.”
That was it.
Without any gestures or expressions, Ryu Cheongwoo just sat on the sofa, squeezing a stress ball in his hand.
After that, no one dared to bother him, and the room became eerily quiet.
Although there was filming starting early tomorrow morning, everyone kept their mouths shut, knowing they could return to the dorm early for once and have dinner there. Usually, they’d be happy, but not today.
And me? Well, I wasn’t a talkative person to begin with, so I just focused on checking the buzz online.
‘The situation’s mostly settled.’
[New Angles of Ryu Cheongwoo Fan Cam]
[Not an Attack — Ryu Cheongwoo Clarifies]
Once the clarifications spread, comments like “Of course, it wasn’t what we thought” began to surface, and the tension started to die down.
However, some people still clung to the narrative that his behavior was ‘disappointing’… but that was inevitable.
The reason Ryu Cheongwoo was in this state wasn’t entirely because of the online controversy, though.
Even when we arrived at the dorm, the atmosphere was the same.
“I’ll head in first.”
“Okay!”
As soon as dinner was over, Ryu Cheongwoo went straight to his room, clearly planning to sleep right away.
Click.
The door closed, and once Ryu Cheongwoo disappeared, sighs of concern and awkward smiles spread around the room.
Bae Sejin murmured grimly.
“…Honestly, it makes sense that he’s angry.”
“You’re right!”
“Do you think Cheongwoo hyung is really upset? He was just trying to protect us… he did a good thing….”
Seon Ahyun spoke anxiously.
Of course, everyone kept their voices low because Ryu Cheongwoo had gone to bed, but the worry was palpable.
“Well, from the company’s perspective, they’re probably wondering, ‘Why didn’t he just dodge the guy instead of pushing him?’ The criticism must’ve weighed heavily on him,” Geon Sejin said, pretending to sympathize.
That’s typical of him.
I put my empty bowl in the sink and spoke.
“Cheongwoo hyung has been way too accommodating toward the company.”
If he had been difficult or had a temper, he probably would’ve just repeated ‘Sorry’ over and over. But since he was responsible and easygoing, people took advantage.
“How about we give him some space to rest? If anything comes up or we notice something strange, we’ll let the company know immediately.”
Most of the others nodded in agreement.
“That makes sense.”
“…Yeah!”
Bae Sejin looked especially serious, probably because, without Ryu Cheongwoo around, he saw himself as the next in charge. I felt like telling him it wasn’t worth the energy.
“Once he rests, he should start feeling better, right…?”
“Yes, rest is the best way to recover. We’ll have to support Cheongwoo hyung a lot during this promotion period.”
“Right.”
“Let’s all go to bed, then.”
The short discussion concluded with the decision not to burden Ryu Cheongwoo further.
It was a reasonable and considerate approach, but it didn’t address the root of the problem.
‘This can only go so far.’
No one expects any of the managers to handle the tasks that Ryu Cheongwoo had been doing. The chief manager will probably pass it off to the first manager, and we all know how that will go.
Eventually, they’ll subtly dump everything back on Ryu Cheongwoo, and if things go wrong, it could blow up.
‘At best, he might just punch someone out of frustration.’
I needed to find a way to prevent that from happening—either replace the manager or get them to shape up.
‘And I have to keep an eye on how well Ryu Cheongwoo recovers mentally.’
If anything major happens during our promotions, we’re in trouble. We’re pulling in 400,000 people right now, so a setback would be a disaster.
For now, I decided to keep a close eye on Cheongwoo tomorrow, even if he seemed fine.
But I didn’t need to wait until tomorrow to see how things would turn out.
“Before today’s variety show shoot, we’re stopping by the beauty salon. Any specific requests?”
“No.”
Ryu Cheongwoo’s condition hadn’t improved since yesterday.
He even glanced at the first manager like he was just an object, walking past him without a word.
‘I’m scared!’
‘Quiet.’
Even when Cha Yujin tried to whisper, his voice was too loud. I pushed him aside and got into the car, sitting close to Ryu Cheongwoo on purpose.
‘Let’s see how he’s doing.’
Ryu Cheongwoo wasn’t acting uncooperative or giving rude answers. It just felt off because he was usually so cheerful.
‘…If I think about it, this is kind of how I usually am.’
That thought made me feel a little weird.
Anyway, I seized an opportunity and casually asked him as we were getting out of the car.
“I’m buying drinks. What do you want, hyung?”
“I’m good.”
He didn’t look good at all, but fine.
“COKE! COKE!”
Cha Yujin, of course, shouted his vote for a soda.
The rest of the team gave me a look that said, ‘Nice try, brave effort!’ But this wasn’t an effort. It was just part of the process.
And then, the next day.
“Cheongwoo hyung.”
Without saying much, I handed him a freshly squeezed juice.
“I’m good.”
“Think of it as getting some glucose. We barely got three hours of sleep.”
“…”
It seemed like he didn’t even have the energy to argue. He took the drink and sipped it.
Then his eyes widened.
“…! It’s too sweet.”
Of course, it was. I had asked them to add extra sugar and syrup.
I had applied the sugar-high technique we used on Cha Yujin during *The Business*. It’s a simple and effective strategy.
“I thought it tasted good.”
“…Hmm.”
In the end, Ryu Cheongwoo finished the drink.
He probably didn’t want to expend the energy to argue, and it didn’t seem like he had the willpower to resist the sugar hit.
As he drank faster, his face started to regain some color, so I figured my plan had worked.
I threw in another question.
“How are you feeling? I’m especially tired this time around.”
“Yeah. It feels like I’m not recovering as quickly.”
“Right.”
It was definitely burnout.
For the first time in days, Ryu Cheongwoo started talking more naturally. Maybe the sugar had kicked in, boosting his energy.
“It seems like liquid glucose works after all! I feel a little more energized!”
“Yeah, seems like it.”
Even Kim Raebin, who couldn’t hide his relief, jumped in, and Cheongwoo reacted with his usual gentle expression.
This is working better than I expected.
I stroked my chin.
‘…He’s the type to relieve mental stress through physical action.’
It wasn’t enough for him to just rest. His body needed positive stimulation to feel refreshed, which would also help clear his mind.
“Hmph.”
It’s a hassle, but there’s no choice.
‘I owe Ryu Cheongwoo, after all.’
I pulled out my phone and started searching for a location.
* * *
The next afternoon, we finished filming a weekend variety show where you get dropped into a pool if you mess up the lyrics of a hit song.
In other words, we all ended up in the pool.
“Ahhh!”
“You’re so dead!”
“Why did you bring Testa on the show just to dunk us, MC Tongtong!”
In the end, everyone ended up soaked, and after being dried off with towels and blow dryers, we finally piled into the van.
I was utterly exhausted.
‘I just want to take a bath when we get back….’
But we had another schedule.
It wasn’t a fixed schedule, so it was more flexible in terms of timing and content.
This time, it was a W-Live broadcast.
We had squeezed it into our free time, and since we could adjust the content if we were too tired, it wasn’t a big deal.
However, this time, we all agreed to do it properly, instead of just filming at the dorm.
Well, all except Ryu Cheongwoo.
“We’re doing it in an hour, right?”
“Yes, we’ll head out now~”
Testa quickly fell asleep in the van on the way to the location.
Normally, Ryu Cheongwoo would have asked where we were headed, but he stayed quiet and slept too.
So, when we arrived at the location, he was caught off guard.
“Where is this…?”
The members surrounded the surprised Ryu Cheongwoo, grinning and spreading their arms out.
“Today’s W-Live location is… a shooting range!”
“Ta-da!”
“…!!”
It was a large airgun shooting range in the heart of Seoul.
It was the place I had searched for yesterday.
“Hyung, you seem to enjoy shooting
, but we haven’t had much time for hobbies lately. So, we figured you could have some fun this way!”
“Have fun! Play with us!”
“…”
Ryu Cheongwoo looked like he’d been hit in the face with a surprise.
But soon, his expression softened with a hint of gratitude.
“…Thanks, guys. This should be fun.”
“Hehe.”
He seemed genuinely moved.
As expected, it worked well.
Finally, after days of holding back, Cheongwoo’s considerate side began to emerge again.
“Are you sure you’re okay? You must be tired. Doing something this physically intense so late at night… isn’t it a bit much?”
Bae Sejin averted his gaze.
“…I just thought it looked fun when we were filming the music video. We all wanted to try it, so don’t worry too much.”
“Y-Yeah, it looks fun…!”
“Haha, okay. Got it.”
“Hmph, hmph.”
It was funny seeing the guy who was the most excited about this acting like it was no big deal.
“Then, let’s pair up and do a ‘Beat Ryu Cheongwoo’ challenge for W-Live!”
“No holding back! No mercy!! I’m going to win!”
Ryu Cheongwoo smiled for the first time in days.
“Think you can beat me? You can team up in groups of three if you want.”
“Wow, hyung’s underestimating us.”
For the record, his confidence wasn’t misplaced.
Not even an hour later, Bae Sejin and Kim Raebin’s team had been thoroughly defeated, with a double-score gap.
-LOL ????????????????
-“Why did you even try this?”
-“Let’s just pretend we didn’t see that.”
-“So cute ????????????”
That was the general reaction from the real-time comments.
Meanwhile, Ryu Cheongwoo’s performance only improved as time went on.
“Whoa.”
“…How is he that good?”
Watching a former archery gold medalist dominate among regular civilians became an endless source of amusement for fans.
“Since Cheongwoo hyung already used a gun in the music video, we should’ve expected him to have an advantage!”
“…That was a musket, and this is a rifle, so they’re not the same thing.”
“Gasp.”
“The musket evolved into the rifle after some modifications, according to the staff…!”
“See! So, this isn’t our fault. We did great! It’s just… another double-score!”
“Oh no.”
As this playful banter continued, I quietly kept shooting.
Bang! Bang!
While I didn’t score as high as Ryu Cheongwoo, I did better than most. Seon Ahyun and I were the ones who got closest to his score.
-“Hey, he’s actually pretty good.”
-“Not bad.”
-“When is Testa going to the army? Hurry up and enlist, lol.”
-“But look at the atmosphere!”
Given the setting, there were some comments about military service, but overall, the W-Live was a hit, combining laughs and thrills.
“See you next time~”
“We’ll be back soon!”
After the usual closing comments, everyone, including the staff, was completely worn out.
“Ugh.”
“No regrets…”
“That was fun! Let’s go again!”
Well, everyone except Cha Yujin.
While the staff were cleaning up, the idols had a moment of downtime.
That’s when Ryu Cheongwoo made his move.
“Here, drink this.”
“Thanks.”
Now that he’d enjoyed the shooting and won the competition, his mood had visibly improved. He had even gone to a convenience store and bought drinks for everyone.
Then, as he handed me my drink, he casually started talking.
“I heard from Ahyun that you suggested coming here.”
Someone couldn’t keep their mouth shut, huh?
Before I could respond, Ryu Cheongwoo spoke again, this time more directly.
“Thanks. I feel… much better.”
“…”
I opened the can he handed me, the sound of carbonation hissing as it escaped.
“Feeling refreshed now?”
“Yeah.”
That’s all that matters.
Without saying much else, I took a swig of my zero-calorie soda. As Ryu Cheongwoo opened his bottle, he continued speaking in a calm voice.
“To be honest, it wasn’t that big of a deal… but I felt strangely worn out.”
“…”
“Maybe it reminded me of when I quit archery.”
Wait, is he really talking about this?
I guess the shooting range really did the trick more than I expected.