Chapter 12: The Reclaimed Stage

When the car finally pulled up in front of the house, Im Chan-hyung spoke.

“If you get any more calls, I’ll handle the extra details. You really worked hard today. Take a break for now until everything’s settled.”

“Yeah. I’m counting on you.”

“You don’t have anything tomorrow except for your workout, right?”

Taeha, who had been feeling awkward the whole ride home thinking about tomorrow’s plans, replied with a sigh.

“No, I have plans.”

“Yeah? With who?”

“The members.”

“……The members?”

“Frisia. The members.”

Taeha had to bite his lip to keep from snapping as he answered.

“Ugh, it’s so cringey. Frisia, seriously, Frisia!”

Frisia was the name of the Idol group Kang Tae-ha had debuted in.

It meant that they wanted to become beautiful and fragrant idols like the freesia flower, and also carried the meaning of being free and (760) wise young people.

Even from the group name, it was an obvious, rookie-style naming.

“They must have really been out to ruin our lives.”

He could say this now, but maybe it was a blessing the group’s activities ended before they became known.

With planning skills like that, if their careers had gone on any longer, it would have just racked up more debt.

“Oh, that hyung. He still keeps in touch with you a lot, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Didn’t you say most of them live far away, so you hardly meet up?”

“This time, Alex hyung is coming to Korea just to see the members… That’s why we’re gathering, I guess.”

“You guys are really close.”

“I know, right.”

That was the problem.

Im Chan-hyung had only reunited with Kang Tae-ha as adults just six months ago.

As for Kang Sojeong and his family, they’d drifted apart since high school.

So, if there was anyone who had actually kept in close contact with Kang Tae-ha recently, it was the Frisia members.

“Im Chan-hyung or Kang Sojeong can’t even compare to how much I’ve changed… Well, it can’t be helped.”

But more than that, he was worried about what they’d talk about when they met.

“With these guys, we’re not going to talk about work, just reminisce about the old days.”

He felt uncomfortable, like he’d be awkwardly tagging along with other people’s memories.

“Let’s just stay as quiet as possible tomorrow, as quiet as I can.”

After all, Kang Tae-ha was always the quiet type, so it’d probably go unnoticed on that side.

“Alright, have a good time.”

“Yeah. You get home safe, too.”

***

The next evening.

“Why are a bunch of grown men meeting up at a place like this?”

Taeha thought to himself as he walked into the Family Restaurant.

He usually met friends at BBQ joints, so the venue felt unfamiliar.

“Alex hyung came all the way from America, shouldn’t we at least have Korean food?”

In the end, even though he’d planned to stay quiet, he couldn’t help but say that aloud.

“Korean food? To a guy who runs a Korean restaurant in Koreatown?”

“Huh?”

“Yeah, Taeha. I wanted to come here. We used to come all the time back when we were trainees. There’s no chain like this in America, so I missed it.”

Alex, the rapper from their group who was also a Korean-American, had taken over the family business and now ran a Sundubu Jjigae place in Koreatown.

It was already popular, but with the rise of Hallyu and the Food craze, he’d been rolling in money for the past few years.

The other members were also doing pretty well for themselves.

The Lead Vocal had bounced around different agencies, but eventually returned home and was now working as a Vocal Instructor.

The member in charge of Dance was now a Dance Trainer in Gyeonggi New City.

And the Leader, who had managed to cover vocals, rap, and dance, graduated from university and landed a job at a large company.

Since all their families were relatively well off, they never had to worry about debt, and so they were able to quickly find their own paths.

“That’s partly why Kang Tae-ha could pay off his debt before enlistment, right?”

Some of Taeha’s debt had been quietly paid off by the better-off members.

“Come to think of it, even if Kang Tae-ha wasn’t lucky in other ways, he had good people around him.”

Just from the fact that they’d helped him pay off his debt, you could tell the Frisia members were exceptionally kind guys.

Pure-hearted boys who wanted nothing more than to sing, dance, and be loved on stage.

Even as they grew older, their true natures didn’t seem to change.

“But still, isn’t this a bit much? We’re not kids, so why…”

After leaving the Family Restaurant,

Taeha felt himself getting a bit worked up at the next stop: an ice cream shop.

His vision was filled with colorful, flashy decor.

“Did you pick your menu? Taeha, hurry up and choose.”

“What’s the point? Taeha’s definitely going to get Twinkle Sweet Strawberry. He loves that one.”

“That’s right.”

And so, Taeha ended up sitting in front of the very sweet strawberry ice cream, regardless of his own will.

He usually only drank Americano—couldn’t even stand sweet things—so this was the worst dessert for him.

As if the heavy pasta meal wasn’t enough, now he had to eat this super sweet ice cream.

But it was hard to flat out refuse.

After all, these were the Frisia members he’d lived with for three years, and this was their own little trip down memory lane.

“Still, why do I have to sit here eating ice cream with these dudes?”

He sighed inwardly and took a small spoonful of Twinkle Sweet Strawberry.

But then,

“What the…?”

Maybe the old Kang Tae-ha’s tastes were still lingering in his body.

It was actually more edible than he thought.

The sweet, sticky flavor was oddly addictive, and Taeha found himself taking another spoonful.

As he was about halfway through,

The members, who had been chatting among themselves, suddenly turned their attention to Taeha.

“Taeha, how have you been these days?”

“Yeah. Is your acting career going well?”

The Leader asked carefully.

The way they all looked at Taeha, as if they’d been waiting for this, their eyes shining—it was obvious they’d been holding back their curiosity until now.

Taeha was the only one among them who still hadn’t managed to find his footing.

He was the youngest, and without any help from home, he’d had to shoulder everything alone—it was no wonder he struggled to settle down.

To the others, Taeha was like a little brother they worried about.

So after he finished his military service, they’d suggested various jobs, and when he confessed he’d been offered an acting role, they all gave him advice.

It was thanks to them that, even after so many setbacks, Taeha hadn’t completely shut himself off from the world or given up on life.

Taeha smiled gently.

“It’s going better than I thought.”

“Really?”

The members’ eyes grew wide at his positive answer.

When Taeha nodded, they exchanged glances, visibly relieved.

“Kang Tae-ha, you really do have a gift for making friends.”

Even though their situations had turned out better, they, too, had tasted bitter setbacks.

Maybe that’s why they were more anxious than anyone that Taeha might stumble again, and they sincerely wished for his success.

“It’s just a small role, but I already finished filming a Netflix project…”

“Netflix?”

“Wow, then I’ll be able to watch it in America! What if our maknae ends up a global star?”

Taeha waved his hands at Alex, who was in awe.

“No, it’s really just a minor part.”

“Still, a role is a role. What’s the title?”

“Critical Point. It’ll probably come out this summer.”

“Huh? I’ve heard of that! Isn’t Han Yun-seong in it?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s awesome! You’re already off to a great start!”

Even if it was only a bit part, the members seemed thrilled just knowing Taeha had started his career as an actor.

Seeing his friends genuinely happy for him, Taeha felt warmth in his chest.

‘If I get confirmed for Heureojeo Itdeon Saramdeul, I’ll have to tell them first.’

“Taeha, if you hit it big, you won’t ignore us, right?”

“Come on, hyung. You think Taeha’s that kind of guy?”

“You never know with people, you know.”

“Please. You were the one planning to ignore us if you got famous as a singer at another agency, weren’t you?”

“No, I wasn’t!”

“By the way, Taeha, your face looks brighter than ever.”

“Yeah. I think you’ve gotten even better looking. We’re all just regular guys now.”

“Taeha was always the visual center, and hyung, you just got average looks, admit it.”

“Hey! Really…”

While they were all noisily bantering among themselves, Alex suddenly shouted cheerfully.

“Taeha’s got good news, so we should go celebrate! Let’s get going!”

The members all chimed in with Alex and jumped up from their seats.

By then, the ice cream was long gone.

“Are we finally going out for drinks?”

To keep his liver in good shape, Taeha had been trying to stay away from alcohol, but on a day like this, one drink wouldn’t hurt.

Thinking about finally getting to drink again, Taeha grinned and followed his friends.

And then,

– Kkeu daegiyeogi, jinan sarang ihi hi ga siga doeeo eoeo!

The place they arrived at was a karaoke room.

As one of the members sang with all his might, Taeha absentmindedly shook a tambourine and thought,

“Wow. Their favorite songs haven’t changed at all.”

It was ridiculous to be at karaoke stone-cold sober, but at least since they’d all once debuted as idols, they could sing well, so it wasn’t so bad.

Of course, the member working as a Vocal Instructor was outstanding, and even the Leader, now a regular Workplace employee, was great.

He must get lots of applause at company parties and workshops.

“Hey, Taeha, why aren’t you picking a song?”

“Me?”

Taeha had sung at karaoke with colleagues before, but always after drinking.

Singing when tipsy was one thing, but he had no confidence to perform sober.

“Let’s hear that solo practice song you used to sing! You’ve got to dance, too!”

“Huh?”

Before Taeha could protest, the members picked the next song.

As the song number flashed on the screen and the title appeared, Taeha was appalled.

He knew the song, but it was a hit Idol song he’d never imagined actually singing.

Boom, boom, boom, boom.

The upbeat intro blasted out.

Resigned, Taeha grabbed the mic and stepped to the center.

He couldn’t just pour cold water on the heated mood.

“Whatever. Here goes nothing.”

With the same determination as when he first woke up after transmigrating and acted, Taeha started to sing, and again, he was surprised.

– Today’s star is you! It’s you, we!

“You’re good!”

He could even dance.

His body remembered all the choreography.

“I used to have two left feet!”

As he grew older, he’d realized he was best suited to a desk job and had given up, but as a kid, he’d dreamed of being like this at least once.

Singing well, dancing well, and with good looks—the life of a true popular kid.

“Man… This is actually fun.”

When the members all cheered and joined him with the choreography, Taeha’s excitement grew.

***

In the end, they sang and danced for a full three hours, using up all the extra service time the karaoke owner kept giving them.

“I can’t remember the last time I had this much fun.”

Since starting work as an assistant writer, he’d always been chasing deadlines, so it had been ages since he’d just had a good time without thinking about anything.

“Yeah. As long as I’m alive, I should have fun. Do whatever I want.”

Feeling that his second life was finally worth it, Taeha stood at the Bus Stop waiting for the bus.

And just then, an ad panel on the 179 Bus stopped in front of him caught his eye with a familiar phrase.

“This is…”