Chapter 17: The Art of Subtle Eavesdropping

As soon as Seo-woo completed the quest, a new prompt appeared before him, shimmering with an ethereal glow:

"Do you want to unlock information about the future of Lighthouse after their comeback?"

[Yes] [No]

Seo-woo's mind raced. He understood the weight of this decision. Knowing the future could mean the difference between success and failure—not just for Lighthouse, but also for him and Hye-sung. If something were to go wrong, he needed to be prepared. After a moment's hesitation, he took a deep breath and selected [Yes].

Suddenly, a wave of dizziness overwhelmed him. His vision blurred, and the world around him spun violently. Seo-woo closed his eyes, trying to steady himself, but the sensation only intensified. It felt as though he were being pulled through time itself.

When he finally opened his eyes, he found himself standing in a dimly lit room. The walls were lined with soundproof padding, and recording equipment was scattered everywhere—clearly a studio, but not one he recognized. His heart raced. Where am I?

Before he could make sense of his surroundings, he heard raised voices echoing off the walls. He turned towards the sound and saw Lee Hye-sung arguing heatedly with another man. The stranger's face was twisted in anger, his fists clenched tightly.

Seo-woo tentatively stepped forward, intending to intervene, but he realized something unsettling: neither man acknowledged his presence.

Am I... invisible?

He reached out, trying to touch a nearby chair, but his hand passed through it effortlessly. It dawned on him—he was merely a spectator, a spirit in this eerie vision of the future.

"What do you mean you lost the track, Si-hyun?" Hye-sung's voice trembled with fury, his eyes blazing.

The other man—Han Si-hyun, Hye-sung's supposed assistant—looked defiant, yet there was a flicker of fear in his eyes. "It's not my fault! You were the one who didn't secure the files properly. Don't blame this on me!"

Seo-woo's brow furrowed in confusion. Lost track?

Hye-sung's patience snapped. He lunged forward, grabbing Han Si-hyun by the collar and slamming him against the wall. "You think I don't know what you've been doing? You've been leaking information—selling us out!"

Si-hyun's eyes widened, but he quickly masked his fear with indignation. "What are you talking about? I would never—"

"Bullshit!" Hye-sung interrupted, his voice raw with emotion. "You sold Lighthouse's comeback track, Dandelions, to another artist! You betrayed us!"

Seo-woo's eyes widened in shock. Dandelions? That was supposed to be their main track. If someone else released it first, Lighthouse's entire comeback would be compromised.

Si-hyun shoved Hye-sung back, his eyes darkening. "I did what I had to do! You were never going to make it big with them anyway. You're incompetent!"

Hye-sung's knuckles tightened, and without warning, he swung his fist, landing a brutal punch across Si-hyun's jaw. The impact echoed through the studio, a sickening crunch that made Seo-woo flinch.

"You son of a—" Hye-sung roared, going in for another strike, but then—

The door burst open, and the two members of Lighthouse rushed in. Their eyes were red-rimmed and filled with despair. Tears streaked their cheeks as they hurried to pull Hye-sung away.

"Hyung, stop!" Eun-jae cried, his voice cracking. "Please, this won't fix anything."

Yu-ki grabbed Hye-sung's arm, his normally calm demeanor shattered. "We'll figure this out. Please... don't do this."

Hye-sung's body trembled with rage, but seeing the pain etched on their faces, he slowly released Si-hyun, who crumpled against the wall, clutching his jaw.

Seo-woo's heart clenched at the sight. So this was the future? Lighthouse's comeback was ruined, and their main song was stolen. It was a catastrophe—a betrayal from within. So Lighthouse didn't have their comeback. Seo-woo's mind raced. I can't let this happen.

He needed to warn Hye-sung. Maybe, just maybe, he could prevent this disaster from unfolding.

But before he could take another step, a familiar wave of dizziness hit him. The room spun once more, the figures before him blurring like a fading memory.

Seo-woo snapped back to reality, gasping for breath as if he'd surfaced from a deep, dark ocean. His surroundings slowly came into focus—the warm, inviting space of Hye-sung's apartment.

He blinked, disoriented, as he took in the scene before him. Lee Hye-sung was standing in the living room, speaking quietly with Choi Min-ho. The atmosphere was tense, Min-ho's piercing gaze briefly flickering toward Seo-woo, making his heart stutter.

Seo-woo instinctively flinched, turning sharply toward the kitchen, desperate to avoid further scrutiny. He hurried inside, grateful for the warm, bustling energy emanating from the two young men preparing a meal.

The duo glanced up, smiles breaking across their faces.

"Hey there, Bi-yong!" the cheerful one called out, waving a spatula like a conductor's baton. "Hungry?"

Seo-woo gestured his index finger and put it to his mouth, saying, "Be quiet." Then, the cheerful guy covered his mouth with his left hand.

He managed a smile, the adrenaline still coursing through his veins. "A little," he admitted, trying to mask the lingering unease.

The other member, with a more laid-back vibe, offered a small smile. "I'm Jang Yu-ki," he said, handing Seo-woo a plate of freshly sliced fruits. "And this loud one is Kang Eun-jae."

Kang Eun-jae grinned wider, his eyes twinkling with mischief. "Nice to meet you! We've heard a lot about you. Didn't expect our mysterious songwriter to be this... unique."

Seo-woo chuckled softly, the warmth of their welcome easing his nerves. "I guess I'm full of surprises."

As they worked together in the kitchen, Seo-woo stole glances back toward the living room, where Hye-sung and Min-ho stood. The vision of the disastrous future replayed in his mind.

I have to do something, Seo-woo thought, determination hardening in his chest. I can't let this happen to them.

Yet even as he resolved to change their fate, a chill ran down his spine—Min-ho's eyes still lingered on him, sharp and calculating. Did Min-ho suspect something, or was it just paranoia creeping into Seo-woo's mind?

Only time will tell. But for now, Seo-woo knew one thing—he had to protect Lighthouse and Hye-sung, no matter what.

In the kitchen, Seo-woo, Eun-jae, and Yu-ki worked together to prepare a simple yet hearty Kimchi Fried Rice (Kimchi Bokkeumbap) with a side of rolled omelet (Gyeran Mari). The scent of stir-fried kimchi mixed with sesame oil filled the air, making their mouths water.

"Ah, this is the best smell in the world," Eun-jae said, dramatically inhaling the aroma of the sizzling rice.

"I swear, you fall in love with food more than music," Yu-ki teased, flipping the omelet effortlessly.

Seo-woo chuckled, enjoying the lighthearted banter. But his attention kept drifting toward the living room, where Hye-sung and Min-ho sat, their expressions serious and voices low.

Seo-woo narrowed his eyes. What are they talking about?

Desperate to eavesdrop, he grabbed a broom and pretended to sweep the already spotless floor, inching closer to the conversation.

Hye-sung's voice was tense. "...so I officially resigned from Dawn Entertainment. I couldn't take the backstabbing, especially from Kwon Joo-hyuk."

Seo-woo's ears perked up. Kwon Joo-hyuk? That name was familiar—a music producer from Dawn Entertainment and the husband of Ahn Hyuna, a famous actress.

As he absentmindedly swept, he tried to process this information. Wait, wasn't Kwon Joo-hyuk one of the hidden antagonists in the novel? The one who...

He was so lost in thought that he didn't realize his broom had now reached Choi Min-ho's expensive designer shoes.

A long pause.

Then a dangerous voice rumbled above him.

"What... the hell do you think you're doing?"

Seo-woo snapped out of his thoughts and looked up—only to see Choi Min-ho glaring down at him, his piercing eyes filled with disgust and mild horror.

Seo-woo froze.

Oh.

Oh no.

Min-ho lifted his polished shoe slightly, watching a small speck of dust fall from it as if Seo-woo had committed a crime against humanity itself.

"You." Min-ho's voice was sharp enough to cut glass.

Seo-woo gulped.

"S-Sorry," he blurted, immediately bowing at a 90-degree angle like a guilty intern caught slacking off.

Min-ho slowly turned back to Hye-sung, wrinkling his nose in distaste. "Seriously? This is the kind of help you hire now? A clueless janitor who sweeps my damn shoes?"

Seo-woo's eyelid twitched.

Oh, this—this bastard!

He gripped the broom handle tightly. His rational side screamed at him to back off, but his petty side? Oh, his petty side refused to let this go.

"Excuse me," Seo-woo said sweetly, flashing the fakest customer service smile known to mankind.

Before Min-ho could react, Seo-woo deliberately lifted the broom and—

DUSTED HIS FACE.

A perfectly executed swipe of the broom bristles went straight across Choi Min-ho's perfectly groomed jawline, leaving behind an invisible yet deeply insulting touch of non-existent dust.

Silence.

The room dropped to a dangerous temperature.

Eun-jae and Yu-ki, who were about to take a bite of their omelets, froze mid-air. Their chopsticks trembled.

Hye-sung? His soul left his body.

Min-ho's jaw clenched, his dark eyes narrowing into something that could end Seo-woo's bloodline.

"What did you just do?" Min-ho asked slowly, his voice a whisper of impending doom.

Seo-woo, still holding the broom like a weapon of mass destruction, straightened his back and smiled.

"I was just doing my job, sir."

Min-ho's left eye twitched.

"Oh? Is provoking me part of your job?"

Seo-woo tilted his head, feigning innocence. "No, but being an uninvited guest and wasting Lee Hye-sung's time doesn't seem like part of yours either."

The temperature dropped further.

Choi Min-ho, a CEO feared across the industry, stared him down like a lion ready to pounce.

Ryu Seo-woo, a former singer turned father turned part-time eavesdropper, refused to back down.

Both men locked eyes, tension crackling between them like an old-school Western standoff.

Yu-ki, still frozen with his chopsticks, slowly leaned toward Eun-jae.

"Hey," he whispered. "Should we, uh... separate them?"

Eun-jae, not breaking eye contact with the drama unfolding, whispered back: "Hell no. I wanna see how this plays out."

Meanwhile, Min-ho turned to Hye-sung, expression blank.

"Fire him."

Hye-sung, now drowning in stress-induced sweat, had never wished to disappear more in his life.

He looked between Min-ho, his former boss, and Seo-woo, his life-saving composer.

Who the hell was he supposed to side with?!

Just as Hye-sung opened his mouth, the doorbell rang—an unexpected lifeline from the heavens.

"Oh! Someone's here!" Hye-sung immediately shot up, nearly tripping over himself to answer the door.

Seo-woo, taking the distraction as a small victory, casually leaned on his broom, smirking in satisfaction.

Min-ho? Still fuming.

As Hye-sung pulled open the door, Seo-woo's smirk vanished instantly.

Because standing right outside was a man Seo-woo never wanted to meet face-to-face.

Han Si-hyun.

The same assistant who would soon betray Lighthouse and ruin their comeback.

Seo-woo's heart dropped.

For a moment, Han Si-hyun and Seo-woo locked eyes.

And then—

Han Si-hyun smirked.

(Seo-woo: Why do I keep attracting life-threatening situations...?)