Save a Failed Idol’s Life

Translator: MarcTempest

Editor: NicoleTempest

Chapter 10: Cheon Ise and the Trash (2)

“Wow, when did you get here? You look like a mess, bro.”

I was crouching in the corner of the bathroom, looking for the bleach, when I looked up.

‘This kid has no manners.’

Fortunately, I could tell who he was at a glance.

‘He must be Son Seong-won.’

[Name: Son Seong-won – Age: 22]

[Skill]

[Buff: – Activates a stable vocal correction effect at the level of a recorded song when singing]

-Usage point: 30pt

Son Seong-won, the main vocalist of the boy group Climax.

He had a bad reputation for his uncontrollable mouth.

He was the most worrisome trash among the others.

“If you have time to pick a fight, why don’t you help Seon-woo with the cleaning?”

I didn’t have the energy to deal with him right now.

Instead of arguing, I turned my eyes to look for the bleach again.

“Why? I’m not here to clean.”

Seon-woo was a good guy who would obediently follow whatever I told him to do.

But this guy was hard to talk to.

“The dorm is too dirty. We share this space, so we should clean it together.”

Then Seong-won smiled with a smug face. His eyes curled up like a cat.

He was smiling, but his bleached hair and fierce expression made him look like a villain. I didn’t feel like he was smiling at all.

Seong-won confidently pointed to his bed in his room.

“I don’t use the living room. I keep my bed clean, so that’s enough.”

I lifted my head to follow his finger, and his bed was indeed the only tidy spot.

“Can’t you just help Seon-woo a little?”

“Why should I?”

It was obvious that talking to him would be a waste of time.

“I’ll clean more. Don’t fight…”

Seon-woo, who had come over to my side, looked flustered.

“That’s enough. Seon-woo, it’s not a fight, so go finish what you were doing. I’ll make lunch for you when the groceries are delivered later.”

I ignored Seong-won’s provocation and headed to the kitchen.

I threw everything that was inside out.

The airtight containers were too smelly to use, so I thought it would be better to throw them away.

‘Let’s start with cleaning this.’

I soaked a cloth in diluted bleach and wiped the fridge thoroughly.

Before I knew it, Seong-won came over and looked down at me.

“Why?”

I was still in the exploration phase, so I asked him cautiously.

“Can I be honest?”

What did he want to say?

I had a feeling that nothing good would come out of his mouth.

“No.”

‘If I say no, will he really stop?’

I ignored him and turned my head.

“That’s funny. Did you take the wrong medicine? Why are you acting like someone else? You weren’t like this before, bro.”

‘Why are you asking me when you’re going to do it anyway?’

I kept wiping the cloth without any reaction.

“If you don’t want to help, go to your room.”

Then Seong-won twitched his lips with a pretty face and added.

“That’s weird. What made you clean, bro?”

I had nothing to say.

But this was an idol dorm.

I couldn’t just call a professional cleaner, could I?

Well, the old Cheon Ise wouldn’t have thought of cleaning anyway.

He would have been lucky if he just sat and ordered things around.

“I just thought, since we agreed to discuss what to do from now on, I wanted to start fresh with a clear mind.”

That was a lie I made up on the spot.

Of course, he wouldn’t buy it, the sensitive and picky mouth of horror.

“You? Were you like that before, bro?”

He kept calling me bro, but his tone was clearly mocking.

There was no point in talking to him. I said what I would have said if I were the arrogant Cheon Ise.

“If you don’t want to help, get lost.”

Son Seong-won flinched. I felt him being surprised.

“… You sound like yourself now, bro. I thought you went crazy.”

He licked his lips for a while and then went back to his room.

‘What kind of brainless bastard is he?’

The other two said they had schedules, so they should be fine on the surface.

I only met two of them, but I was already tired.

I wondered how much more chaotic it would be when all five of us gathered.

‘What am I going to do with this?’

If it was a solo play, I would have been confident to do it perfectly.

But group activities were essentially teamwork. I had to go with them unless I dropped out as a solo.

By the time I finished cleaning the fridge, Seon-woo came over nervously.

“Bro, I cleaned the living room, too…”

Did I have to be grateful to this cooperative guy?

I sighed inwardly and straightened my back.

Then the doorbell rang, announcing the delivery was complete.

“Let’s get rid of all the trash here first.”

“Okay!”

Seong-won didn’t seem to expect any cooperation.

I went up and down the stairs five times with Seon-woo, clearing the trash.

“Ah, it looks like a human’s house now.”

I felt full satisfaction as I filled the empty fridge with the new groceries.

“It’s so clean!”

Seon-woo smiled brightly and marveled at it.

He was… cute even when he was fat.

I scanned his body with displeased eyes, covered with fat.

“I’ll make lunch for you. Do some home training and sweat it out.”

“Okay…!”

Seon-woo’s eyes sparkled at the mention of lunch.

‘How did he become an idol when he likes to eat so much…’

I felt sorry for Seon-woo and barely remembered what he looked like when he lost weight.

My head dropped instantly.

‘He should be a celebrity with that face.’

The fans who saw his face would be happier if Seon-woo was a little unhappy.

“What, are you making lunch yourself?”

Seong-won popped out and asked, leaning his elbow on the kitchen door.

I answered bluntly.

“Yeah. Something that doesn’t make you fat.”

“Then make mine too.”

I thought it would be safer to give him the kind of answer Cheon Ise would.

“Why should I?”

Then he gave me a lukewarm answer.

“Then why are you doing it for him?”

“He needs to lose weight fast, you know.”

“Do I not need to manage my diet?”

“You’re not in a serious condition right now.”

“Why are you discriminating against the members? I could end up like that in a moment if I let go of my management.”

‘…This kid is a brainless mess.’

I was sincerely glad that Cheon Ise was young and healthy and had no chronic diseases.

“I’ll make yours too, so please shut up and stay there.”

Seong-won smirked and walked back to his room, having achieved his goal.

“Don’t mind Seong-won hyung, he always talks like that, bro…”

He was so gentle and friendly compared to him…

I felt grateful to Seon-woo. But that emotion didn’t last long.

I was disgusted by the sight of his triple chin.

“You… lose some weight.”

“Okay…”

That was the end of it for now. I started to make a chicken breast salad.

I deliberately chose the vegetables that were not mixed, but each in a lump.

There was an advantage of convenience when buying mixed. But the mix had a lot of tasteless things to reduce the cost.

In other words, it meant the taste was poor.

“I don’t like salad…”

That was because he only ate diet salads, not really delicious salads.

“Wait and see. I’ll make it delicious for you.”

It was time to show him the recipe that I was proud of, thinking of using it when I made a diet food brand someday.

I prepared the dressing with yuzu soy, which had a low calorie and a refreshing taste to whet the appetite.

‘Good, the sauce has a good balance of sweetness and saltiness.’

The sauce was a combination of the refreshing and sweet taste of yuzu sauce and the salty taste of soy sauce base.

It was a taste that could enjoy the charm of sweet and salty even if he didn’t like salad.

I sprinkled the dressing lightly to make it evenly delicious, diluted it with a little water to reduce the viscosity, and sprinkled pepper.

I seasoned it a little salty, and it was just right for my mouth when I adjusted the concentration with water.

If I had time, I could make the dressing myself…

“…”

A fat retriever sitting quietly at the table, staring at the counter.

And one who crawled out of his room again and looked at his phone with a sour expression, as if he was protesting.

I needed to make something quickly and feed them.

‘Let’s prepare the chicken breast.’

Chicken breast was better fresh, but the key to dieting was consistency.

It wasn’t my goal to eat healthy for a day and feel proud.

I tore open a frozen chicken breast pack and poured it into the pressure cooker.

I filled it with enough water to barely cover the meat.

I added various spices, garlic, green onion, and bay leaves and closed the lid.

‘It smells good already.’

The taste of the chicken breast depended on whether I added some seasoning or not.

If I had to eat it anyway, it was obvious that the delicious one would be more satisfying.

I snorted lightly and set the timer and put the pot on low heat.

“Do you have to do all that?”

Seon-woo slid down from his chair and peeked over my shoulder at the induction.

“It’s better to cook it than to eat it like dog or cat food, right?”

I hadn’t seen anyone who succeeded in dieting by boiling chicken breast for the first time in their life.

Delicious food had a great impact on human happiness.

“How much longer?”

As a strange smell of chicken broth leaked out of the steam hole, Seon-woo became impatient.

“It’ll be out in 10 minutes, so go back to the table.”

I pushed Seon-woo away and started to trim the vegetables.

The stem part of the leafy vegetables was nutritious and crunchy.

But it was also the main reason why young men rejected salad.

‘Let’s trim them neatly in advance. It’s a bit of a waste to throw them away.’

I removed the hard and bitter stems. I soaked the broccoli in water with baking powder to remove the impurities and steamed it lightly.

It was because I wanted to preserve the nutrients as much as possible.

The main ingredients were leafy vegetables that didn’t taste bitter, broccoli, and tender boiled chicken breast.

‘I wonder where the chickpeas are every time I see them.’

I sprinkled chickpeas and nuts to add some texture and the taste was perfect.

I checked that the chicken breast was cooked and quickly blanched the short pasta in boiling water.

‘Just plating and… done!’

I laid the leafy vegetables and broccoli on the bottom like the salad sold at famous shops.

I sliced the moist chicken breast and stuck the short pasta in it. It looked decent.

I grated some black pepper and put the dressing in a small bowl separately.

I handed Seon-woo and Seong-won the same amount of bowls.

“Wow, it looks delicious! It’s like the salad from the store!”

It was a recipe that minimized carbohydrates and maximized protein and dietary fiber.

Seon-woo grabbed the fork and rushed in as soon as he put down the bowl.

On the other hand, Seong-won still looked suspicious and glared at the bowl.

“Why?”

There was nothing wrong with the food. Why did he keep making that face?

I looked at Seong-won with a displeased face.

“Because it’s weird.”

Why did he pick a fight again?

I muttered ‘inner peace, inner peace’ in my mind and calmly straightened my back.