Capítulo 39: The Rogues (8): Darkness in Him

"Darkness?" Semin asked curiously. Jinhyun was always so friendly and happy all the time. He only put on a strict persona during their evaluations but other times he was cordially mingling with everyone. She found it hard to believe that he had a dark side to him.

Unbeknownst to them, someone else was eavesdropping on their conversation from outside. Cherry was standing near the ajar door, listening intently.

"He's difficult to read," Sekjong admitted. "He's rarely angry. But when he is, something in him snaps. That's when you'll see it. You'd feel as if he had completely transformed. He doesn't become violent or abusive," he added hastily. "But…he becomes dangerous? Yeah! Dangerous. Because at that moment, if you've done something unforgivable, he will destroy you."

"Did he…did he ever destroy anyone before?" Yoona asked, her voice almost a whisper.

"Well…" Sekjong tried to recall. "There was this one instance when his co-member, Dasom, was being bullied by a bunch of seniors at his school. One day, they locked up the kid inside the school's basement. The other members looked for him all night but to no avail. The basement was hidden well. Finally, they found him there, unconscious."

"When he came around and told them what happened, Mystic Entertainment wanted it to stay hushed. They did not want a scandal with their trainees. The members of EXOTIC were enraged but were forced to stay put. But then, something weird happened."

"What?" Yoona and Semin asked in unison.

"Those bullies got arrested," Sekjong replied. "The police arrested them for selling drugs to other kids at the school. A video was made viral throughout the city. Those bullies were recorded buying drugs from a hooded man on a camera. The guy was wearing a hooded jacket with microphones drawn on it. Deeper investigation showed that they were buying drugs for a long time but this was the first time they were caught. And what was even more strange was that the video was shot way too clearly. It was an obvious setup to expose them."

"What does Jinhyun have got to do with anything?" Yoona demanded.

"Well, at first we didn't make the connection," Sekjong frowned. "But KJ found a hooded jacket in Jinhyun's laundry. It had microphones printed on it. Not just that. A few days prior to that, Ash spotted Jinhyun talking to a police officer. When they confronted him, he merely shrugged and said that the officer was asking about their neighbors. They did not dare to ask him about the jacket because he did not really do anything wrong by exposing those bullies."

"That's not darkness!" Semin said sharply. "He was protecting a friend from bullies! And those bullies were criminals!"

"I'm not saying what he did was wrong," Sekjong stated. "He did what he thought was right. But that's not the point. Point is that when he truly becomes angry, only God can save the object of his wrath. And he did that when he had no influence. But now, he has a large amount of influence in this industry. So imagine what he can do if angered."

Outside, Cherry was comprehending every word. She recalled the night they had saved those kids. He had made a request to punish that woman without any remorse. Most people would stay away from such matters and would not dare to make the request.

But he did. His heart was devoid of any pity or hesitation when putting forth the order. It was as if…

"As if a King was giving out his orders," Yoona said to Sekjong. "He was protecting his friend like a King protects his subjects."

"Sort of," Sekjong said. He then added jokingly, "I wouldn't be surprised if he was an Emperor in his previous birth! They say that people who held high positions in their previous births, carried their traits in the present lifetime too!"

Cherry bemused at the irony of that statement. The more she tried to solve Jinhyun's mystery, the more puzzled she became. Who was he? Was he the cold hearted Seyoung? Or was he the happy-go-lucky Jinhyun? Or was he a bit of both?

"If you only knew," she said out loud and walked away before disappearing.

…..

Jinhyun was typing away on his laptop. He was preparing the format for the next episode along with the sequence. Thankfully, he will have a celebrity judge with him for the next episode, which took off a lot of burden from his shoulders.

His phone rang up. It was his co-judge, Jung Jenna.

"Jenna!" he exclaimed into the phone. "What's up?"

"Hey hon," she greeted flirtatiously. "Are you prepared for our upcoming collaboration?"

Jenna had agreed to appear as a judge on his show if he collaborated for her next album's title track.

"I'm always ready for you," he winked. They had dated in the past for a short while but parted on good terms as friends.

Ever since then, their flirty exchanges have been popular with fans. There was even a large fandom named 'Jinjen' dedicated to them. But they simply remained good friends.

"I'll head over to your new office after my shooting is over," she said from the other end. "We have a lot to catch up on!"

"We do," he sighed. "This whole thing is so exhausting!"

"You need a date, my friend," she announced. "I have this cute stylist. She's twenty seven. Very friendly and sweet. You'll love her."

She sounded hopeful. Maybe he would finally settle down with someone.

"Sorry hun, I'm married to my work," he joked. "And it wouldn't let me go anytime soon."

"Aish, you're such an old geezer!" she complained. "Work and work! You better not be working tonight! I'm taking you out for a drink and you can't refuse!"

There was no room for protests. Once Jenna made up her mind, it was impossible to change it. And refusing her offer to drink was a deathwish.

"Fine," he conceded. "Make a booking at a private club. Otherwise rumor mills will run wild again."

"You got it bae!" she exclaimed before hanging up.

Jinhyun smiled and put his phone down. It had been years since he met Jenna and yet, it felt as if they had hung out just yesterday. He felt excited to meet an old friend again.