A Contracted Gangster Who Has to Die to Survive - Chapter 105

I glanced at my phone and clicked my tongue.

This… this is true love.

Director Kim’s relentless flood of text messages had my temples throbbing. I pressed my fingers against them and sighed before sending a quick reply: Got it.

He had sent me a comprehensive guide to everything about Choi Taejoon.

From where and who to contact to get his exclusive Blanc de Royal cologne the fastest, to the smallest dietary preferences like how he preferred his risotto with slightly softer rice and how no strong spices, especially black pepper, should be used in meat dishes.

It was an overload of information.

“Why aren’t you eating?”

I looked down at my plate, my appetite nearly gone.

“I… I’ll eat.”

I lowered my gaze to Choi Taejoon’s dish—a herb-crusted pepper steak, the main course of tonight’s meal.

“…I didn’t know you disliked black pepper.”

“What? Who said that? I don’t dislike it.”

I frowned and stared at my phone screen, feeling conflicted.

Seeing my expression, he smirked slightly, as if realizing what was going on.

“If it’s from Director Kim, ignore it.”

“How can I ignore it when he’s sending me a million texts a day?”

On top of that, he constantly wanted updates.

What was Taejoon doing? Where was he? Was everything going as planned?

Director Kim insisted on relaying all his instructions through me and then demanding a report.

This must be how managers feel when dealing with obsessive celebrity fans.

“Eat before it gets cold. I’ll handle him.”

“Ah! No, please don’t! That’s like throwing gasoline on a fire.”

“…Should’ve just let him die instead of saving him.”

“Don’t say things you don’t mean.”

“Who says I don’t mean it? I do.”

Despite his words, he cut up his steak and placed the plate in front of me, taking my untouched steak for himself.

It seemed like Director Kim was right—he really wasn’t eating much of it.

This was my first outing with him since that haunted house fiasco.

A few days ago, I had received one of his short, blunt texts:

“Write down what you want to do.”

It was less of a suggestion and more like an order.

I hesitated before responding.

“Next time, you should write down what you want to do too, Executive Director.”

“Have you decided on a travel destination?”

“Ah… not yet.”

I shook my head as I stabbed a piece of steak with my fork and popped it into my mouth.

“…So, what did you want to do after dinner?”

“Ko… Kono.”

“What’s that?”

“Coin karaoke.”

“…Coin?”

“Wait, you’re not thinking about Bitcoin, are you?”

He looked genuinely puzzled, as if wondering what other coin even exists?

My already-wide eyes stretched further in disbelief.

“…Wait. You seriously don’t know?”

I dramatically turned toward him and waved my hand.

“Excuse me, sir! Over here, please!”

He stopped mid-motion and narrowed his eyes slightly, then slowly approached me.

His expression read: Did you just call me… sir?

“…Who are you calling ‘sir’?”

“Would you prefer ‘uncle’ instead?”

“How old do you think I am?”

“Well, even my uncle knows what ‘kono’ is. How do you not know?”

“…And now you’re using informal speech with me?”

Choi Taejoon’s face darkened as he suddenly leaned in close.

Alright, alright. I get it. He’s telling me to quit while I’m ahead.

“B-but Executive Director, you were the one who said there’s not much of an age gap between us. So… shouldn’t I be allowed to drop honorifics once in a while?”

His intimidating face didn’t scare me anymore.

I simply flashed him a confident smile and added,

“Besides, it’s not like I work for your company.”

“Then stop calling me ‘Executive Director’ too.”

“…In that case… should I call you ‘Master’ since you’re my landlord?”

I had almost said ‘Hyung’ but swallowed the word at the last second.

No way I could say that with that face staring at me.

At the word Master, Choi Taejoon inhaled sharply as if caught off guard.

Meanwhile, behind us, Team Leader Seo coughed violently, trying to disguise his laughter.

“I really didn’t think it was possible… Someone actually confused ‘coin karaoke’ with Bitcoin.”

Muttering under my breath, I shook my head in disbelief.

That was the final straw—Team Leader Seo finally burst out laughing.

Even Choi Taejoon, who had been maintaining his composure, quickly cut in.

“If you’d just said ‘karaoke,’ I would have understood.”

“…Team Leader Seo.”

I turned and saw him still laughing, his brow furrowed slightly as he tried to suppress it.

“Ahem… Yes, sir?”

“Do you know what ‘kono’ is?”

“…Uh. I—I probably wouldn’t know, sir.”

Is that a yes or a no?

“It’s fine. Not everyone has to know. You’ll learn today since you’re coming with me.”

I stifled a laugh and grinned.

I wanted to tease him a little more, but if I pushed too far, he might decide to call off the entire plan and take me home instead.

Unfortunately, the coin karaoke place we found looked… closed.

“Let’s just go somewhere else. This place doesn’t seem to be open.”

“This is just an awkward time of day. We’re only singing one or two songs anyway. Let’s just go in.”

Before either of us could enter, Team Leader Seo stepped forward.

“I’ll check it out first. Wait here.”

As he went inside, I took the chance to lower my voice and whisper,

“…Team Leader Seo doesn’t know about Director Kim, does he?”

Choi Taejoon cast me a brief glance before nodding slightly.

I nodded back and let the subject drop.

Soon, Team Leader Seo returned, looking a little unimpressed.

“They’re open.”

“Great!”

Without hesitation, I grabbed Choi Taejoon’s wrist and dragged him inside.

“Just three songs. Ten minutes at most!”

I knew he had only carved out time for this outing because I insisted.

And the truth was, I really wanted to sing.

Not just anywhere—but in a coin karaoke room.

Taejoon let himself be pulled along without much resistance.

But once inside, he perched on the narrow couch, looking entirely out of place.

“You really like this, huh?”

I hadn’t realized it, but my lips were curved into a permanent smile.

“This is way too small. You could’ve gone somewhere better.”

He glanced around the dimly lit space with a dissatisfied frown.

Narrow corridors, tiny rooms, barely enough space for two people.

Everything was clean, but by his standards, it was still far beneath acceptable.

Besides, a few months ago, when he took over ST Entertainment, he had casually asked me,

“Ever thought about becoming an idol?”

That remark had felt less like an actual offer and more like a criticism.

Feigning ignorance, I replied cheerfully,

“I just really wanted to come here.”

Before debuting with XHD09BF, my groupmates and I used to sneak out to coin karaoke rooms all the time.

It was our favorite way to relieve stress before our official debut.

“Once we debut, we won’t be able to come here anymore.”

“Obviously! We’re going to be so famous we won’t be able to step outside without disguises!”

“That actually sounds exhausting… We should enjoy this while we can!”

We had laughed like fools, dreaming big.

Guys… we never had to worry.

Even after debuting, nothing changed.

No one recognized us.

Even when we entered our own company building, the security guard sometimes stopped us.

Honestly… if I had been reborn instead of transmigrated, maybe I could’ve gone back and fixed things.

At the very least, I could have changed that cursed group name.

I shook off the nostalgia and shoved a songbook and tambourine onto Choi Taejoon’s lap.

“Pick a song. Here’s a tambourine if you need it.”

He barely spared them a glance.

Yeah. Fair enough. There’s no way a ‘cold and ruthless’ character like him would ever shake a tambourine in any novel.

“Oh! Right! Just tell me a title, and I’ll put it in for you.”

“I’ll pass. Just sing whatever you want.”

Even after debuting, I still occasionally snuck into coin karaoke rooms.

And whenever I did, I always sang our group’s debut song.

Of course, that required special requests—most coin karaoke places didn’t have it in their song catalog.

But here?

As I scrolled through the selection, I let out a deep sigh.

“…Seriously? Of all the titles… Why does it have to be called ‘Short-Lived’?”

“…What?”

“N-nothing!”

I quickly waved it off.

As if the group name wasn’t bad enough, our debut song title practically predicted our downfall.

Who in their right mind names an idol group’s first song something that screams DOOMED FROM THE START?

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