Chapter 125: EARLY RETIREMENT
"ARE YOU feeling better now, Garam-ah?"
Garam nodded awkwardly.
It wasn’t like he was feeling awkward because his group members were staring at him— he just felt embarrassed that his friends were treating him as if he were a fragile glass after finding out that he was pregnant.
To be fair, he kind of fainted a bit after announcing his pregnancy.
Gong Hanseo caught him before he fell, and then the leader brought him to his old room.
Garam immediately woke up in less than a minute, but his group members acted like he had fainted for a long time.
But his group members did let him rest for an hour.
That helped because he felt refreshed after waking up.
Just look at me now.
Garam was lying on the bed, covered in a warm blanket.
They’re actually treating me like an elderly person.
"I’m okay, Hyung, kids," Garam assured his group members. "I said I’m pregnant— I didn’t say I’m sick."
"But I heard male Omegas get really weak when they’re pregnant," Lee Eunsang said worriedly while Finn and Kwon Jigu nodded eagerly in agreement. "Plus, you looked really pale earlier, Hyung. We thought you were going to faint."
Oh.
"Don’t worry— I’m well taken care of," Garam assured his group members once again. And then he paused for a moment, gathering his courage to ask: "Are you not mad at me? I got a sponsor behind your back. And I never told you anything about it until today..."
His group members looked at each other as if they were talking through their eyes.
In the end, the younger ones all looked at Gong Hanseo— the oldest among them— as if they had chosen the leader to be their spokesperson.
"Actually, we’ve talked about it while you were taking a rest."
Oh.
"Garam-ah, what are you planning to do now that you’re pregnant?"
Ah.
I have made up my mind about what I need to do next, but it still hurts...
"I’m going to leave the group," Garam said, lowering his head because he was too ashamed to look at his group members. Plus, he felt like he would burst into tears if he saw their faces. "I decided to keep the baby, so I can’t continue with the activities anyway. As you already know, male Omegas become physically weak from the beginning of our pregnancy up to the day we give birth. And I don’t want to be a burden to you. That’s why I decided to just leave the group. I don’t want to drag you down with me."
A silence ensued.
And then...
"We’re leaving the company, Lim Garam."
Garam lifted his head, shocked by what Gong Hanseo. "Hyung...!"
"We’ve already talked about this, Garam-ah," Gong Hanseo said. "We know you’d rather leave than group than bring harm to us."
Oh, no.
The thing he tried to protect— he destroyed it with his own hands.
His heart was then filled with heavy guilt.
As a result, Garam couldn’t help but burst into tears. "I’m sorry. Because of me, your career will suffer..."
"Hyung, don’t cry," Lee Eunsang said, obviously panicking. "We’re not blaming you!"
"That’s right, Hyung," Finn said while handing a handkerchief to Garam. "We know that none of this was your fault."
"But that’s not true," Garam said between sobs while using Finn’s hanky to wipe his tears. It was no use, though. After all, his tears just kept rolling down his cheeks. "You should also be mad at me for getting a sponsor behind your back. I won’t blame you if you thought I was looking down on you, that I didn’t have faith in us, that I had to get a sponsor."
"Hyung, we know you more than you know yourself, though," Kwon Jigu said gently. "We know that you got a sponsor not because you didn’t trust us, but because you were desperate to help us succeed. You didn’t tell us because you were afraid that we wouldn’t understand. That’s the only part that we’re sad about. You bottled up everything when you could have relied on us."
"Well, to be fair, I don’t think we could have helped you if you told us because we were all powerless back then," Le Eunsang added. "But it would have been nice had you shared the burden with us. Having said that, we still understand."
"It must have been tough on you, Hyung," Finn added softly. "I’m sorry. We didn’t know you were suffering all these years to protect us."
Aigoo.
Garam burst into tears once again.
This time, it was because he was touched.
I didn’t expect them to be this understanding...
"The kids are right. We feel bad that you suffered alone while protecting the group," Gong Hanseo said. "And that’s exactly why it doesn’t feel right to continue the group without you, Garam-ah. After all, if it weren’t for you, we would have been no one."
"But I don’t want you to ruin your career because of me..."
"We said we’re disbanding— we didn’t say we’ll stop being idols."
"Huh?"
"We want to leave the company because it’s clear that the new CEO is a danger to us. That’s why it’s better for all of us to leave together and find a new company," Gong Hanseo said, smiling. "Better yet, start our own company. Of course, we’ll fight for the right to use our group name. It’s our brand, after all."
Oh.
Garam blinked slowly. "I didn’t think of that..."
"And this is why it’s important to share your burden with us, Hyung," Lee Eunsang said teasingly. "Five heads are better than one."
Right.
Garam nodded firmly. "I acknowledge that."
"We need to prepare to fight the new CEO if we want to leave together. After all, we still have a little less than a year left on our contracts," Finn said in a serious tone. "We already know that our new CEO is a scumbag, so he won’t let us go easily."
Finn cursed, but nobody scolded the kid.
We all hate the new CEO, after all.
"Let’s gather evidence of what that scumbag tried to do to Lee Eunsang and Finn," Gong Hanseo said, cursing the new CEO, too. "Let’s use that to negotiate."
"That’s a good plan. But in case it’s not enough, please let me use my in-law’s power," Garam said. When his group members looked at him worriedly, he explained. "I’m sure my Omega father-in-law will help us if I ask him."
***
"SONG DONGHWA? That bastard did that to your group members? Hah. Why is that kid acting high and mighty?"
Garam almost choked on his tea. "Appa, you’re older than CEO Song?"
"I am," Lee Donghwa nodded. "I’m at least five years older than that bastard, if I remember correctly. Why?"
"I thought CEO Song was in his early sixties already..."
Lee Wonjae burst out laughing.
Garam was relieved that it seemed like Lee Wonjae wasn’t fond of Song Donghwa.
He brought up the topic while he was having dinner with his Omega father-in-law.
"Dear, I’ll help you get rid of that bastard even without flatteries."
"No, for real, Appa. Well, to be fair, Appa looks younger than your real age," Garam said. He was telling the truth— Lee Wonjae didn’t look like he was already in his fifties. His Omega father-in-law could still pass off as someone in his forties. "Plus, CEO Song Donghwa is ugly. I know it’s bad to judge someone by their appearance. But his bad personality matches his face..."
Once again, his Omega father-in-law laughed out loud.
"That’s true, dear. Even I couldn’t believe that he was related to my husband when I first met that kid."
Right?
Sihyuk Hyung’s aunts and uncles are good-looking people.
"Anyway, do you need my help in leaving the company that’s now being managed by Song Donghwa?"
"Yes, Appa," Garam said, nodding. "We have a feeling that CEO Song won’t let us leave the company easily, especially since we still have time left in our contracts. And, even if he lets us go, we won’t be surprised if he launches a smear campaign to ruin our reputation."
It was normal for entertainment agencies to ruin their former artists’ reputation so that other companies wouldn’t take them.
Yeah, the idol industry is hellish like that.
"Appa, our group is planning to re-debut," Garam said carefully. "I’m not sure if I’ll still be a part of that group, but I want to protect my members."
"Why aren’t you sure if you’re going to re-debut with your friends? They want you to stay, right?"
"Yes, but I can’t keep my son a secret forever. Fans don’t like it when their idols get married and have children. Our group has only been around for five years, so most of our fans won’t probably accept my situation. And I don’t want to affect my members’ redebut."
Garam told his group members that he would re-debut with them.
But, honestly, he only said that so that they wouldn’t worry about him.
It’s a plan that’s too good to be true.
Lee Wonjae looked at Garam with pity in his eyes. "Garam-ah..."
"I’m fine, Appa," Garam said, forcing himself to smile. "I’ll be fine as long as I can protect my precious members."
***
GARAM slept all day.
He couldn’t help it.
All he did recently was sleep, eat, and sleep again.
When he woke up, it was already nighttime.
And only then did he see Gong Hanseo’s message.
<"Garam-ah, can we meet? Just the two of us. As the two oldest members of the group, I think we need to talk.">
Oh.
Garam immediately sent a reply to Gong Hanseo.
<"See you later, Hyung.">
***
SONG SIHYUK raised an eyebrow when Jung Han came knocking on the door, when it was already past midnight.
He won’t do this unless it’s an emergency.
"Sir..."
"Just spill it already."
Jung Han took a deep breath before reporting: "Lim Garam-nim met up with Gong Hanseo, just the two of them..."
What the fuck?
Song Sihyuk clenched his jaw tight and spoke through gritted teeth: "At this hour?"
***
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