Damn it. Are you aware of what your fans have done? I nearly burst out with insults, but after a few deep breaths, I calmed down and replied with as much composure as I could muster.
"Yes, what is it?"
-I called to apologize for what happened that day.
I was annoyed. Yeah, it's nice that you called to apologize. That’s not something to be scolded for. But do you even know what I'm dealing with right now?
"It's fine, you don’t need to apologize to me."
-Aren’t you going to accept my apology?
What kind of person is this? Do you think I have to accept your apology just because you offer it? I bit my lip and said,
"Look here."
-Yes, I'm listening.
"Today, your fans came to my house, yelled at my mother, and even vandalized the gate. I'm cleaning up the graffiti your fans left. Do you think this is a situation where I can pleasantly accept an apology?"
-So you're not accepting my apology?
"I’ve accepted it! You've made it, so that's enough, right? I'm hanging up now. Oh! And manage your fans properly!"
I hung up the phone and turned it off. Just thinking about it made my blood boil.
After cleaning up the graffiti, I came back home and unfairly snapped at my mother.
Why should my mother apologize to those people? What did she do wrong?
"Mom! Why are you groveling to those kids? Why are you apologizing when your son hasn’t done anything wrong!"
"No, Jeong-hoon, Mom is..."
My mother felt sorry, and my brother didn't come out of his room, noticing the mood.
Everyone in the house is watching me. I'm sorry. But right now, I'm too angry.
Skipping dinner, I was scratching my head in my room when the doorbell rang.
“These damn people.”
If it’s another visit from fans, I'm ready to curse them out. I opened the door furiously, dragging my slippers.
“What now......”
It was Seongcheol outside.
“Why are you here? There's no schedule today.”
“Boss, what have you done?”
“What do you mean?”
“Look at the news... It's flooding in.”
“What news?”
“Just look at this. I tried calling, but your phone was off. I had to come show you.”
He shows me headlines on his phone.
"Jeonghoon Ban, Assaulting Fans?"
"Put Away the Phone! Video of Jeonghoon Ban Throwing a Fan's Phone"
"Yonghan's team tried to apologize, but no response"
"Yonghan tells Ban Jeonghoon to manage his fans better"
"Yonghan's fans furious, demand immediate withdrawal from all programs"
"Fixed program PDs consider Ban Jeonghoon's departure"
Ha, I assaulted someone? Refused to apologize?
Is moving away a hand holding a phone an assault? How dare they not accept my apology?
I finally exploded.
“Screw it, I'm done.”
“What?”
I handed back the phone.
“Call the PDs, cancel all schedules.”
“But Boss.”
“Just do it.”
“They already called, saying to take it easy for a while…”
“Good. So I don't have to go tomorrow?”
“That's the plan for now. But Boss, if you don’t explain…”
“Forget it, I don’t plan to. Come to the office from tomorrow.”
“…”
“I appreciate your hard work, and sorry for being sensitive today. I’ll buy you a drink later. Now go.”
“Okay…”
I turned and went back inside, collapsing on the bed and staring at the ceiling.
“What have I been wasting these eight months for?”
Thinking about Seongcheol's visit, I turned on my phone.
Over fifty missed calls, mostly from Seongcheol, some from Youngju.
I called Youngju.
“Hey, Youngju. Sorry, my phone was off.”
-Are you okay?
“Hmm, sort of.”
-Yonghan was on the radio today.
“What? What did he say?”
-He said he tried to apologize to you but you refused and got angry about managing fans. There’s news saying he’s furious because you assaulted his fans.
“That crazy bastard.”
-What happened?
I explained everything. Youngju got even angrier than me.
-What the hell? Who dares to mess with your mom? These damn people! Stay put. I’ll handle this!
Somehow, her anger calmed me down.
Emotions reversed.
Now Youngju was angry, and I was calm.
Youngju, possessed by a swearing grandma, kept cursing for over 20 minutes.
-That son of a… thinks he’s something. I’ll see how he acts when they beg you to come back.
“Might as well rest. How’s work on your end? Any impact?”
-Just two cancellations from entertainment companies. We’re fine with our overseas orders for the next decade. Don’t worry.
“Good to hear.”
-What about your home address being exposed?
“Not sure what to do. Seeing Mom bowing her head today made me furious. If it happens again, I might lose it.”
-I’ll send some bodyguards over. How about going somewhere quiet to cool off?
Hmm, bodyguards?
A year ago, I would have been uncomfortable, but after Italy, it seems a good idea.
“Okay, I’ll take your offer. If anything happens to Mom or my brother, I’ll go crazy.”
-Got it. I’ll arrange it for tomorrow. Where will you be?
“I’ll think about it and let you know.”
-Take this time to rest. You’ve held up well for eight months.
“Yeah, let’s take a period of reflection.”
-Reflection my foot. You need to have done something wrong to reflect. Just think of it as taking a break.
“Got it, I’ll call you back.”
-You have to let me know where you're going, okay?
"Yes."
After ending the call, I threw my phone onto the bed and lay back down, wiping my face with my hands.
"Yeah, I'm too exhausted. Let's rest, Jeong-hoon."
I closed my eyes, trying to sleep.
But sleep doesn't come easily.
The image of my mom apologizing to Yong han's fans and to me keeps haunting me. And my brother, too afraid to leave his room.
I think they didn’t eat dinner because of me.
Quietly getting up, I sighed and muttered to myself.
“Apologies should be mended with beef, tonight's dinner will be beef, yeah.”
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