Chapter 139:


    We scattered to our rooms to check our belongings. Everything else was fine, but our closets were a mess.


    I also opened my drawer slowly, feeling doubtful.


    “…”


    ‘They’ were gone. All of them. Not a single one left.


    “…”


    “Did you all confirm that they’re gone?”


    Kyunghwa came out to the living room and asked. We all answered with expressions of horror.


    “Everything else is okay, but it seems like that, those are gone…”


    “…”“Those?”


    Kyunghwa frowned and asked.


    “Uh… did you not lose yours?”


    Seon-woo asked nervously. Kyunghwa shrugged his shoulders, as if he didn’t know what he was talking about.


    “What do you mean? Did you lose yours too?”


    “Uh… yeah, I think so?”


    Yi-jun nced at Kyunghwa and answered.


    “What? Am I the only one who didn’t lose anything? I’m fine.”


    “…”


    “Should I be d about this… or not…”


    Yi-jun rolled his eyes and Seong-won replied as if telling him to stop whining.


    “Our underwear is all gone,”


    “What?”


    Kyunghwa’s eyes widened in shock. Then he looked at me and asked.


    “You too?”


    “Yeah, me too.”


    “You too?”


    “Yeah, yeah…”


    While we were away, a thief broke in and stole our underwear. And only Kyunghwa’s was left intact.


    “Why?”


    Kyunghwa twisted his face in a weird way that I had never seen before.


    “Well, we don’t know either.”


    “Are you sure yours is still there?”


    Yi-jun tilted his head, as if he couldn’t believe it. Kyunghwa rummaged through his closet and showed us.


    ‘Hmm…’


    “…”


    ‘What a taste.’


    Even though we lived in the same house, I didn’t really want to know what kind of underwear he preferred.


    We put ourundry in separate bags and didn’t take them out when we used the dryer, so I didn’t know this TMI.


    “I don’t want to know your specific underwear preference.”


    Seong-won covered his eyes with his hands and shook his head faster than anyone.


    “Hey, do you think I wanted to show you?”


    Kyunghwa let out a frustrated scream and vented his anger. The situation was awkward. Of all the things that were stolen, his underwear was the only one that was left behind, as if it was not needed.


    He felt uneasy even without being robbed.


    “Why… why only mine?”


    Of course, he didn’t mean that he wanted his stuff to be stolen too. But he understood the feeling of being bothered. He was already the least popr among the five of them.


    “Everyone, lock your doors well. I’ll change the password right away. And keep the windows locked for a while.”


    As I went to the door lock to change the number, Yi-jun walked briskly to the balcony as if he had something in mind.


    “What are you doing there?”


    I changed the number to a temporary one and followed Yi-jun to the balcony. He pointed at the window.


    “I think they came in through here.”


    Looking at where he pointed, the pipe was indeed easy to climb.


    “Wow…”


    I barely uttered a word of admiration when Yi-jun stretched his leg outside.


    “You crazy bastard, what are you doing!”


    Before I could stop him, he grabbed the pipe and moved his feet like a squirrel. He looked like a thief.


    “Wow, Yi-jun, that looks like him.”


    “What?”


    “That, the burr…”


    He must be a thief. But in Korea, it was more likely that someone who climbed pipes like that was a burr than a thief.


    “He must be a thief.”


    “Yeah.”


    Kyunghwa nodded in agreement with me. In no time, Yi-jun quickly climbed up the pipe again.


    “Hey, be careful, it’s dangerous!”


    Kyunghwa shouted as if he was doing something crazy, but Yi-jun ignored him and reached out his hands to climb the wall like a rock climber. He came back to the balcony.


    “Really… weirdo.”


    Kyunghwa pped his back as if he couldn’t stand him.


    “Oh, this is easier than I thought. We should block this with something like a security window or something.”


    Yi-jun closed the balcony window and locked it.


    “For now… I don’t feelfortable sleeping here.”


    We found the suspected route of the intrusion, but we still didn’t know what they did in the house. They might have installed something like a hidden camera.


    We all felt uneasy, but the problem was the dog and the cat, even if we went to a hotel.


    ‘Actually, the dog doesn’t matter, but the cat is the problem.’


    I raised my hand quietly.


    “I haven’t cleaned up my studio yet, so if you need it, I can take Pposili and Aeongi there for now.”


    Then Yi-jun asked.


    “Your studio is huge, right? Can’t you amodate all five of us?”


    “Oh, yeah. It’s about the same size as an apartment.”


    This twenty-three-year-old… Did he brag about his studio in the meantime?


    It was too luxurious and spacious for a normal studio. It was called a studio, but it was actually a space that could be used as a three-room apartment, with no blocked spaces and only divided by purpose.


    If we had enough bedding, it wouldn’t be a problem to amodate five people.


    “Wouldn’t it be ufortable to live there with five of us?”


    “Well, we slept fine in smaller ces when we filmed the crisis scenes.”


    “Oh, right.”


    I remembered that.


    “So, is it better for everyone toe to my ce? Wouldn’t a hotel be nicer?”


    “I feel bad leaving Pposili and Aeongi in a strange house, and I think it would be better to stay together considering we have to move in the morning.”


    He had a point. I nodded slowly.


    “Ask the manager to buy us some new underwear and pack your stuff and nkets.”


    Now that we had a n, it was time to act. But Yi-jun whined as if he was annoyed.


    “I only wear the brand I’m used to.”


    “Don’t be ridiculous.”


    Kyunghwa pped Yi-jun’s back and pushed him into the room. Was it the work of some pervert with no exnation? I entered the room with a nagging uneasiness.


    I didn’t have any attachment to my belongings, so I packed only what I needed in 10 minutes.


    “The dog just needs a leash. Did you pack the carrier for Aeongi?”


    As I put a harness on Pposili and attached the leash, Seong-won nodded with a load of cat supplies, from litter to a mini cat tower and a hideout.


    “I put it in first.”


    Pposili didn’t care since he wasn’t a real dog, but I was worried about Aeongi. He didn’t seem too scared when the filming crew came.


    I wondered what caused all this fuss. I decided to assume it was either a stalker fan or a pervert.


    “Hurry up and load the car, the manager is here.”


    Maybe because of the situation, or because he didn’t take long to get ready, the usually sluggish manager arrived in no time.


    What a bolt from the blue. It was absurd, but we had to get out of here first.


    “Wow, your ce is this nice and you live alone?”


    As soon as he opened the door and stepped inside, Yi-jun eximed loudly.


    Of course, I had the same thought when I first possessed Cheon Ise. As he unpacked his bags like he was on a trip, AeongI came out of the carrier with a defensive posture and a low crouch.


    “Oh….”


    He gasped briefly. Then Aeongi darted under the bed.


    “Don’t worry too much, he’lle out when he gets used to it.”


    Seong-won fretted as if he was looking at his own child. Yi-jun told him not to worry so much.


    “What if he likes it there so much that he doesn’t want toe out?”


    Seong-won made a nonsense remark. Yi-junughed for once at his words.


    “What a ridiculous thing to say.”


    “Don’t mock me.”


    Seong-won kicked Yi-jun’s calf with his foot and crawled under the bed.


    “He’s really devoted to that cat.”


    If the four members and Aeongi fell into the water at the same time, he would choose Aeong without hesitation.


    Wait…. Come to think of it, people can swim somehow, so isn’t it right to rescue the cat who is afraid of water first….


    A stupid thought popped into my head for a moment. Then the manager rang the doorbell.


    “I’ll open it!”


    Seon-woo ran to the door as if it was his own house and opened it. The manager, who looked pale, came in with a bunch of underwear.


    “I bought these with the young kids’ tastes in mind. What the hell is going on?”


    I wanted to report this to the police, but I had to be careful not to attract attention with something bad as a celebrity, not a normal person.


    What if the fact that the stolen goods were underwear was leaked? I was already participating in apetition program where feedback was reflected in real time, and I didn’t want to be criticized.


    Maybe this was… a good thing. I hadn’t told the members yet, but I brought up the story I had nned.


    “About our dorm. There’s a room we’re not using right now, and I don’t like the location or security, so I’m thinking of moving out altogether. Is that okay?”


    “Huh?”


    They all seemed to like it, but they couldn’t say anything.


    “That sounds good, but…”


    So the problem was whether thepany would allow it. That’s why I insisted on separating thebel so strongly.


    “I’m going to pay the rent anyway, so what are you worried about? I’m thinking of moving to an area where a lot of celebrities live, even if I have to adjust the size a bit for security reasons. Is that okay?”


    Usually, the dorm of an idol group was a quiet house near the agency. Apart from anything else, security wasn’t that important before bing a star, and thepany would try to save money on the neers who were no different from trainees.


    “Huh???”


    Seon-woo looked at me with wide eyes, as if he had never heard of it.


    “Didn’t you know? That’s why I wanted to separate thebel. I wanted to use my moneyfortably when I run it, without looking at thepany’s eyes.”


    “Really???”


    Seon-woo looked around as if he was the only one who didn’t know, and Kyunghwa clicked his tongue.


    “Th, thank you, boss?”


    Seon-woo bowed to me with a bewildered expression.


    “It’s not that big of a deal. The representative will put it under my name for now. But it’s not like I’m starting a separatepany. It’s going to be a subsidiary of W.”


    I guess I could do something if I sold myself as the representative idol.


    But I couldn’t show off the image of sess yet as an idol who gained poprity with passion and effort.


    “Anyway, until everything is settled, let’s just stay here for now.”


    As I wrapped up the conversation, Kyunghwa seemed to notice what I was going to say and pulled out a chair from the dining table and sat down.


    “Sit down if you’re done packing.”


    The unexpected move was over, and it was time to start the strategy meeting for the first shooting before the unit tomorrow.


    “I’ll get the door!”


    Sunwoo dashed to the door as if he owned the ce and swung it open. The manager walked in, his face drained of color, holding a pile of underwear.


    “I got these based on what young people like. What the hell happened here?”


    I felt like calling the police, but I had to be careful not to draw attention to myself as a celebrity. It would be disastrous if the news got out that someone had stolen my underwear. I was already on apetitive show where the audience’s feedback mattered, and I didn’t need any more trouble.


    Maybe this was… a blessing in disguise. I hadn’t told the members yet, but I decided to bring up the n I had in mind.


    “About our dorm. There’s an empty room we’re not using, and I’m not happy with the location or the security. I want to move out as soon as possible. Is that okay with you?”


    “Huh?”


    They all seemed to agree, but they hesitated to speak up.


    “That sounds good, but…”


    The problem was whether thepany would let us. That was why I had pushed so hard for separating ourbel.


    “I’m going to pay the rent myself, so what’s the worry? I want to move to a safer area where a lot of celebrities live, even if it means downsizing a bit. Is that okay with you?”


    The usual dorm for an idol group was a quiet house near the agency. Security wasn’t a big issue before we became famous, and thepany tried to save money on us, treating us like trainees.


    “What???”


    Seon-woo looked at me with wide eyes, as if he had never heard of this.


    “You didn’t know? That’s why I wanted to split from thebel. I wanted to use my money freely, without having to worry about thepany’s opinion.”


    “Really???”


    Seon-woo looked around, as if he was the only one out of the loop, and Kyunghwa snorted.


    “Uh, thank you, boss?”


    Seon-woo bowed to me with a confused expression.


    “It’s no big deal. Thebel will still be under my name for now. But we’re not starting a separatepany. We’re just bing a subsidiary of W.”


    I figured I could pull this off as the leader of the group.


    But I couldn’t act like I had made it big yet. I was still an idol who had worked hard and earned the public’s favor.


    “Anyway, let’s stay here until everything is sorted out.”


    As I ended the conversation, Kyunghwa seemed to catch on to what I was going to say next and sat down at the dining table.


    “Come on, sit down if you’re done packing.”


    We had finished the unexpected move, and now it was time to start the strategy meeting for our first shoot as a unit tomorrow.