Chapter 21

Chapter 21

So full

Jungwu lay across the top of a wooden box.

This was the storage area of the shopping mall, and compared to the chaos outside it was relatively quiet and peaceful.

How did you find a place like this?

This is already my 3rd time setting up an event here.

Soochan plopped down next to Jungwu and handed over a canned coffee.

Jungwu, its so nice chatting with you while working again. It sure makes time fly.

My joints hurt. Who is Yulhwi anyway? And why am I doing this?

But you said her gentle smile washes away all your worries.

Im not so sure about that now. What good is an idol when my body is in pain?

The singers are on their way to the prep room. Most of the heavy lifting is done so all we have to do is some light menial tasks and watch to your hearts content.

Okay

Jungwu rubbed the warmed up can of coffee against his cheeks as he asked,

How much longer do we have left on lunch?

1 hour and 30 minutes.

Wow, we still have plenty of time after rushing to eat our food. Let me just nap for half an hour then.

Here?

Jungwu yawned loudly.

I told you, I had to stay late too many times. I get so sleepy at random hours. I just need to pass out for a little while.

Soochan clicked his tongue when he saw Jungwu immediately close his eyes.

If you sleep like that your face will freeze. Do you want me to get you a hotpack?

Ooh, thank you. Soochan is such a great worker~

Jungwu was starting to slur and appeared to be drifting off to sleep already. Soochan shook his head as he left the storage unit.

Not too long after, he returned with two hotpacks and put them inside of Jungwus jacket. Although Jungwu was moved around, he was like a corpse and did not wake up.

Overtime? Wow, he must really be living like a normal member of the society.

Soochan checked his time and then said,

Ill be talking to the Director. Ill come wake you up when its time.

There was no answer from Jungwu who had already fallen asleep.

Ouch, hot.

Jungwu felt hotness coming from somewhere around his chest and patted himself to find the source.

The two hotpacks were in the middle of giving off intense heat.

Hey, Soochan, you almost burnt m

He was in an empty room all alone.

Jungwu sat up and took a look around. It was a dark and quiet storage space filled with products. He didnt think of this earlier, but he could have frozen to death sleeping in here.

He checked his cellphone for the time. It was 1:15 pm and luckily, his break time was not over yet.

His friend who had left him with a long cold can of coffee and two hotpacks was nowhere to be found.

But why was I so tired?

The exhaustion he felt earlier was not something he could overcome with willpower. It was the second night in a row when he had fallen asleep as if passing out, making Jungwu worried if he was ill. He patted himself down to check.

Im not in pain anywhere. I wasnt like this even a week ago.

He could only suspect his symptoms to be a side effect of AF-12. But Doctor Moon had confidently declared that there was no such thing and went as far as to guarantee compensation for damages.

Jungwu resolved himself to give her a call after he is done with the part-time job here and picked up the canned coffee.

Cold.

He was just thinking that he prefers a warmed up can of coffee during winter when his eyes fell on the hotpack that was still giving off warmth.

Of course, he was able to immediately understand the chemical process of how the hotpack produced heat.

A reaction between fine powder of iron and oxygen

It was not all that different from the process of forming rust. It was just that it happened at a faster rate than usual, creating heat in the process. The mixture of salt and activated carbon in the solution further accelerated the oxidation reaction.

Jungwu stared at his palm before turning to look at the hotpack.

Its usually warm for about half a day, right?

He wondered if it was possible to speed up the reaction even further and heat up the canned coffee. Jungwu placed one of the two hotpacks on his palm as an experiment.

Hya hya, gather, dust stars.

Half-jokingly, he gathered as many free electrons in the storage unit as he could into the hotpack.

Because of the free electrons kinetic energy, slight current began to run through the iron powder.

Great, good job! Keep going!

Perhaps his wish got conveyed? The free electron that was already swirling in the hotpack in his hand began to move even more rapidly.

Ouch

The heat became too much to bear with his hands, so Jungwu placed the hotpack on top of the wooden box.

Wow, it works.

With just a rough estimate, it seemed like it became 3 to 4 times hotter. Impressed that his hotpack reached temperatures fit for a heater, Jungwu placed his can of coffee on top of the hotpack. With this kind of temperature, it would be enough to heat the can and a bit more.

Stardusts, I didnt realize that you guys would be so useful. Great work. But.

They worked hard, but it wouldnt be good if they built up static electricity, so Jungwu quickly chased them all away.

It would have taken just 3 minutes for the can of coffee to be sufficiently warmed on the supercharged and improved hotpack, but the door to the storage unit opened up on the other side.

Jungwu assumed that the person would be Soochan and turned to look, but he froze in place.

It wasnt his friend, but a small and slim young lady with a guitar slung around her back.

She put her ears against the inside of the door and listened to the sounds coming from the outside. Once she verified that there was no one else around, she quickly climbed and sat on top of the product boxes to the side.

Who is it?

Jungwu decided that he needed to make his presence known to the lady who seemed to be oblivious to the fact that he was there, so he stood up.

Is it that thing?

The hotpack left behind by the staff member. Amazingly, the hotpack was warming up the entire space like a heater. Now that she looked at it, she thought back to what he had said earlier.

Just in case, she plucked the 1st string. Isul shook her head after listening to the clear sound of the string. 1st and 2nd string were the most common strings to break, but it hadnt been long since she changed the string; how could it rust already?

Ah well.

She grinned when she recalled being taken aback to hear that the man had never heard her hit song before. It was possible. No matter how famous or popular a song was, it couldnt possibly be loved by everyone.

Duru-ting

She messed up a note.

Did I really get that upset?

She shook her head to deny it when her cellphone gave notification of an incoming text.

[Hey Isula, where did you disappear to?]

It was a text from her manager Sungjae Ji.

She had no choice but to escape from her designated prep room due to the fact that it was right next to TOTs. The seven member all girls group that debuted last year is currently at the highest rank for their ability to mindlessly chat away.

When she thought of them sticking to her from morning until evening saying sunbae sunbae~ she had no choice but to escape to this place before the rehearsal began.

[Im in the product storage unit. Please come quietly without alerting the TOT.]

She sent a text and resumed practicing her song. She was scheduled to play a minimum of four songs. She would need to sing additional songs if the audience demanded an encore, so she needed to focus much more than other events.

Knock knock.

The music stopped with the polite knocking on the doors.

Isul, are you here?

The door opened, and a late thirties and rather sly looking man peeked inside.

There you are.

Manager Ji entered and closed the doors behind him before walking up to Isul.

Hey Isula, couldnt you just send TOT girls away if they bother you?

Isul smiled, knowing that TOT had not a shred of malintent, and shook her head.

Sunbae shouldnt do such things.

She had been the same at her debut. She completely and utterly understood the desire to stick next to her esteemed seniors and endlessly talk about music.

Isul you are too considerate for your own good.

If thats so, then you could just take care of me, you know?

Are you hinting that Im somehow not?

I wouldnt dare.

Manager Ji took a glance around the dark storage unit and shook his head.

How could I tolerate having Isul practice in such a place. If your fans find out, theyll lynch me to death. In such a cold

He was about to continue when he noticed that it was warm around Isul. He made a puzzled look.

Its nice in here. Does this shopping mall have heaters in their storage units?

Isul paused from drinking water she took out from her guitar case and pointed at the hotpack.

Its probably because of that hotpack.

The manager made a quizzical look as he reached out to grab it when he flinched and withdrew his hands in a hurry.

What the hell! Why is it so hot?

Is it that bad?

Its crazy how hot it is.

I did hear that it was a special hotpack.

Who said that? A fan?

The manager poked it out of curiosity and yelped in pain.

Ah, he warned me not to touch it.

Its an amazing product. We should use this thing instead of a mini heater. Please ask that fan, where he got it from.

Isul recalled the man she had just seen.

Dont know the name.

Hell come when you perform.

No, I mean mine.

The manager looked at her without understanding.

Isul took a moment to recall the man she had seen. Although he said some peculiar things, his eyes were clear, and his actions were earnest.

Man. Curiosity.

Words she had forgotten about.

What am I thinking, about an event staff.

But the subtle imbalance she felt in her heart, she didnt dislike it. For a singer/songwriter, emotional stimulus was absolutely necessary; she remembered her Sunbae Sangun Yi say to her.

Manager, prepare a spare string for the guitar please.

*

2 PM, TS Mall Mini Concert Rehearsal stage.

Chief Director Mujin Kim spoke into the loudspeakers.

We will now begin. Please have the first participant enter the stage. Sound, light, and special effect team, in your positions.

A dozen or so staffs raised their thumbs to indicate they were ready.

Director Kim!

The Public Relations staff ran up to Mujin who was going over the list of participants and preparing the setlist for the first group.

We received a call that Girlfriends will arrive late. They were on their way from Gimpo international airport, but there seem to have been an accident somewhere in between, and the cars are backed up for miles.

Their estimated time of arrival?

About 40 minutes late.

Then please go request Isul Yoon ssi to go first.

Mujin calmly gave the order and swapped the setlist for 3 and 4.