Chapter 321 - 11.13
"WRONG! YOU MISSED THE BEAT AGAIN, DON\'T WASTE MY TIME!" a dance instructor yelled at Jay, who missed the beat of his new song. The dance instructor yelled at Jay over and over as he continued missing the beat.
Jay was also surprised by his ability. He wondered how he could miss such a simple beat. What happened to him today?
"I\'m sorry, coach. I will try harder!" Jay said.
"Don\'t try harder! You will only infuriate me more! All you need to do is to follow the beat! What the fuck is wrong with you!" the dance instructor was fuming out of rage. Jay could only accept the scolding because he was the one at fault.
The song started again, and Jay continued his practice.
The rest of the members were watching at the side. They were also surprised that Jay Hyung could miss such a simple beat, and his dance looked really stiff. This was not like their Jay Hyung at all. He was a dance machine when they were practising alone.
"Why does Jay Hyung look so stiff?" Taesa asked.
"Yeah, his move is so disorderly all of a sudden. I wonder if something is wrong with him," Taeyang added.
"Maybe he got too nervous. Because we are usually practising as five without any dance instructor. Jay Hyung is usually enough for us as both choreographer and dance instructor, right?" Kyong tried to find a reason.
"Yeah, maybe," Taesa nodded in agreement.
They were currently watching Jay Hyung on his first practice with the dance instructor. Turned out, the CEO and Mr. Lee Yongsun already discussed the song choice. It was a new song filled with rap and a singing verse in the chorus. The chorus was relatively easy to sing, so it wouldn\'t be a trouble for Jay, who was a rapper.
But Jay kept on messing the dance for no apparent reason, which infuriated the new dance instructor.
"Hyung, what do you think?" Kyong asked Han, who was silent the whole time.
"Hm… maybe he needs rest," Han replied.
[Why do I have a suspicion that something was not right with Jay. No matter how tired he is, he wouldn\'t miss a simple dance sequence like that.]
[Pupa: Something is definitely not right here, based on the background, Jay is a dance machine. In the future, he will be one of the best idol dancers of the generation. This is simply unscientific.]
[My gut feeling that Lee Yongsun had something to do with this.]
[Pupa: What do you mean?]
[I think Lee Yongsun is not a regular man.]
[Pupa: But there is no magic in this world, there is also no lead to magic use in Lee Yongsun\'s background. I don\'t think that is possible.]
Just before Yunyu wanted to talk with Pupa, his phone vibrated, and he got a text from someone he despised and feared the most, Mr. Lee Yongsun.
*Mr. Lee Yongsun: Do you want to see something interesting?*
*Mr. Lee Yongsun: Eyes on your friend, Im Jaehwa.*
Han darted his eyes immediately on Jay, who still danced on the beat.
"Aaaargh!" Jay screamed all of a sudden. He fell on the ground while holding his knee.
"Hyung!" Kyong, Taeyang, and Taesa yelled and surrounded Jay Hyung, who was grimacing in pain. The dance instructor came first to check the condition, and he frowned.
"What did you do? How could you dislocate your knee like this? God, call the ambulance now!"
Haneul felt blood was drained out of his body the moment he heard that. He was petrified that he couldn\'t move his leg at all. Another text appeared on his phone.
*Mr. Lee Yongsun: See what I can do with your group member? Come here soon, so you can sign the contract.*
Han accompanied Jay until the ambulance arrived. Jay clenched on Han Hyung\'s arm, "Hyung, I\'m sorry for disappointing you!"
"No, you did not. Don\'t be too dramatic. You just got hurt a bit," Han smiled and rubbed Jay\'s hair to pacify him. Once the ambulance arrived, Jay begged Han Hyung to accompany him.
"Hyung, please come with me, please…"
Han shook his head and released Jay\'s hand from his arm. "I still have to work. Kyong, Taeyang, and Taesa will accompany you. Don\'t worry, you will be alright."
The ambulance drove away to the hospital. Han watched as the ambulance got further and further from his sight. He walked silently to the same park, waiting for the same man to take him to Lee Yongsun.
When the man arrived he just gave a firm nod, signaling Han to come with him to meet Mr. Lee Yongsun in his mansion, just like before.
***
Haneul knocked on the familiar door until there was a response from inside, "Come in."
Han opened the door, he saw Mr. Lee Yongsun was sitting on the sofa, still smoking a cigarette, and the room smelled like a cigar. Han braced himself and stepped in. He approached the man who looked like a devil himself.
"Did you see what I do to Im Jaehwa?" Lee Yongsun asked.
"Sir, what did you do to Jay? I am sure that he doesn\'t dislocate his knee like that," Han asked courageously. He knew that he was facing an unknown danger right now. Because his intuition told him that Mr. Lee Yongsun was not a regular human.
But at the same time, Pupa said this world has no magic.
"I just showed you something that I can do, including tampering with his brain, his motion, and his body. Don\'t you see how he messed up such a simple beat for an unknown reason? That is because I did something to tweak him," Lee Yongsun replied nonchalantly.
Han was silent. His eyes didn\'t leave Lee Yongsun at all. Although he was scared, he wanted an answer to his question.
"Who are you, Mr. Lee?"
"..."
"Did you have some sort of supernatural power, Mr. Lee?" Han asked.
"That doesn\'t matter," Mr. Lee Yongsun replied with a chuckle. He took a contract from a drawer beside the sofa and put it on the coffee table. "That is the contract. You may sign it now."
"… what if I don\'t want to sign it?"
"Have you seen what I can do to your group and group mates? I can tamper with everything, including their lives. Do you want to see their hopes crushed because they got bullied on social media? I can do much more than that, but I\'m making it easy on you, in case you might piss your pants right now, haha," Lee Yongsun replied with a bad joke.
A joke that made Haneul shivered down to his spine.
"Sir, at least… can I read the content of the contract first?"
"Do you want Im Jaehwa to die out of a heart attack now? I can make it happen," Lee Yongsun said. He puffed out the smoke from his mouth and laughed, like a devil who laughed over human\'s misfortune.
"Don\'t make me wait, I dislike someone who cannot think fast and decisive. It shows an incompetence," Lee Yongsun said. "You can leave now if you want. But you know everything is not simple when dealing with me, right?"
[Pupa, oh god, I think I really am going to piss myself here. Lee Yongsun is so scary. I feel like I\'ve faced the devil himself.]
[Pupa: You can pee here, maybe it will release the tension.]
[THAT\'S NOT HOW YOU PACIFY SOMEONE!]
Han slowly approached the coffee table with the contract on it. He saw no pen or quill, just a small razor.
"Where is the pen?" Han asked suspiciously.
"There is no pen. Use the razor to cut your finger, and sign the contract with your blood. Just put your bloody finger anywhere you want," Lee Yongsun answered.
Haneul took a deep breath. If he had a choice, he would have left this place right away. But when Lee Yongsun threatened to kill Jay with a simple heart attack, he felt that Lee Yongsun was not playing around.
Han braced himself and cut his index finger with the razor. He winced and stared at the contract, a contract that would lead to something dangerous.
But he didn\'t want anything to happen to Jay or his other members.
Han placed his bloodied index finger on the contract, and notification immediately rang up from Pupa.
[Pupa: Ding! A Hidden Plot has been triggered! Contract with the Devil!]