Chapter 221: Stranger (2)

“Hello, this is Mac Fred’s Music Talk Show! Today’s guests are rising stars in K-pop. Welcome, Stardust!”

“Shine bright! Hello, we are Stardust!”

As always, <Mac Fred’s Music Talk Show> kicked off with a booming voice.

Thanks to his many years of broadcasting experience, Mac Fred had always thought of himself as a poker face who wouldn’t let emotions show in front of the camera.

Had it not been for that poker face today, he would have crumbled already.

This was a live broadcast. He needed to get it together.

Mac Fred took a short breath and opened his mouth.

“There are some new faces on the Fred Show. Can we get a quick introduction?”

“Yep!”

The first one to grab the mic was Kang Siwoo.

As the team leader, he had seemed quite fluent in English when they were in the waiting room earlier.

Kang Siwoo smiled brightly and turned to the camera.

“Hello, I’m Kang Siwoo, leader of Stardust. I’ll be handling the smooth interpretation.”

“Wow.”

“Siwoo-hyung is really good at English!”

At his crisp pronunciation, Jin Sehyun exclaimed in admiration.

The rest of the members followed with their introductions, but Mac Fred wasn’t paying attention.

His gaze was fixed on one boy.

It was Do Seohan, the youngest member of the team.

“Alright, shall we hear from the youngest now?”

“Do Seohan, let’s go!”

Finally, Seohan took the mic. It seemed like he’d prepared in advance, as his introduction flowed out effortlessly.

If Kang Siwoo had the more native speaker vibe, Seohan felt more like the product of traditional K-education.

Still, there wasn’t a single stumble in his speech.

“I’m Do Seohan, the strongest maknae of Stardust. It’s an honor to appear on the Fred Show.”

Seohan smiled shyly and bowed his head toward the camera.

“Today, we’ll be performing the title track from our 2nd full album. Also, we… have a new song coming out soon!”

“That’s right. It’ll even have an English-only version!”

“Yes, please give lots of love to the new song coming out this month as well.”

-wow Stardust!!!!!

-Ah I’m watching this American livestream just to see Do Seohan. I don’t understand a word but his face is already entertaining.

-he is so cute

Comments in English and Korean were rapidly flooding the screen.

Meanwhile, Mac Fred was still watching Do Seohan while swallowing dryly.

Eyes flitting around trying to read the fast-moving comments.

Smiling as his older members praised him for nailing his self-introduction.

He looked like a boy just his age.

But still—

‘Something’s bothering me…’

That innocent-looking smile could be genuine, but Mac Fred had to consider the alternative.

More than anything else—

‘You two look really good together. Like a married couple.’

That comment was what kept bothering him.

Of all the possible phrases, why like married?

‘Like a married couple.’

‘Like a married couple…’

Mac Fred kept chewing on those words until he furrowed his brow.

There was no way a young Asian boy from a faraway land could know about his family circumstances.

So what was this unease coiling deep in his chest?

No.

It had to just be a groundless worry.

Mac Fred chuckled briefly, trying to clear his complicated thoughts.

“So a new song is coming. Could you tell us what kind of style it is?”

“Yes. We’re actually revealing the title for the first time here on the Fred Show.”

“Wow, is this an exclusive?”

“We just finished recording it two days ago.”

Cha Seongbin, who took the mic, shrugged and smiled.

“It’s my self-composed track. The title is every summer.”

“Sounds like a summery pop vibe?”

“Exactly. It’s a refreshing track with a tropical house base.”

-Stardust doing refreshing??? K-pop better watch out… Billboard, brace yourself…. Stardust is coming

-Universe Dust really decided to restore order to K-pop;;

-Finally, Dustys who’ve been obsessed with refreshing style got their wish lol starting with me

-I always support you babies

-loveuuu

On the surface, it was a perfectly peaceful interview.

Mac Fred nodded along as if listening attentively to Stardust’s words, but his mind was elsewhere.

“……”

The script in his hand listed the questions prepared for Stardust.

Since the Fred Show was known for its spiciness, not all of the questions were going to be tame.

Especially the last one, which Fred himself had insisted on including.

“What does Stardust’s current schedule look like?”

It sounded like a casual question about their activities, but if the members took the bait, the conversation would turn deeper.

Do the members, including minors, have overly packed schedules?

It was a question that, at its core, carried a dark intention of probing K-pop culture for traces of child exploitation.

“Hmm…”

Mac Fred’s lips shut tightly.

Under normal circumstances, he would have asked without hesitation, but something about it was bothering him.

‘If this gets out, it’ll be bad.’

The cheating scandal of a famous MC.

It could be dismissed as a private matter, but it would definitely become an issue.

But that wasn’t the reason Mac Fred was so shaken.

His wife, Amber, was the only daughter of the president of NBN Broadcasting.

It was thanks to his father-in-law’s influence that Mac Fred even had this job.

This wasn’t something he could just laugh off—his career could be on the line.

So in the end—

Mac Fred put down the question sheet in his hand.

‘Damn it.’

He’d been completely played by that young brat.

With that thought, Mac Fred forced an awkward smile. A faint tremble laced his voice.

“Shall we… watch the performance now?”

.

.

.

.

The stage Stardust had prepared was for the title track of their 2nd full album.

It was a fully live performance.

He had grumbled earlier in the waiting room about post-editing or whatever, but the truth was, no amount of skill would help you survive on this program if you didn’t have real talent.

No one knew that better than Mac Fred himself.

The reruns and YouTube clips might get edited, but the live stage was raw and unfiltered.

Some idols had even gotten caught in live singing controversies right after the broadcast.

So, hopefully these guys would be the same.

With a twisted hope, Mac Fred glared at Stardust as they prepared for the stage.

Especially that pale, dainty-looking boy in the center.

If he were an animal, he’d be a hamster bouncing in place.

How was a kid with those lanky limbs supposed to dance properly?

They looked impressive on the outside, but their vocals were probably a disaster.

That was Mac Fred’s gut feeling, honed from years of hosting the Fred Show—and at this moment, it was also his desperate wish.

But—

As the stage went on… Mac Fred’s brow only furrowed deeper.

‘They’re… good?’

Contrary to his deeply ingrained prejudice, there wasn’t a single flaw he could point out in their performance.

* * *

<Mac Fred’s Music Talk Show>.

It was an unusual broadcast in which Mac Fred, who had always used humor as a shield to subtly provoke his guests, failed to utter a single critical word.

Of course, the outsiders had no way of knowing that.

They were simply delighted to have wrapped up an overseas music talk show safely.

Seo Ian stretched with a smile.

“Whew, today was intense too… I need to go sleep right away!”

“Seo Ian’s single room is so envy-inducing!”

“Still, I think we did pretty well on the talk show today, thank goodness.”

“Yeah, I always get nervous with live broadcasts…”

The members’ steps were light as they made their way back to the waiting room after the stage.

Only Seohan knew that they had thoroughly messed with Mac Fred.

Seo Haim trailed behind Ian, munching on a hot bar.

He’d bought a bunch of American snacks last night and had to eat as much as he could before departure.

“Ian-hyung!”

“Yeah?”

“We’re gathering in your room tonight, right?”

“…Huh?”

At Seo Haim’s innocent question, Seo Ian’s eyelid twitched.

Cha Seongbin, watching this, burst out laughing and added more fuel.

“Hey, is that really a single room?”

“I’ll bring some cup noodles to your room!”

“Cup noodles? Those have to be eaten in Seo Ian’s room.”

“G-Guys, hold on a second!”

“Turns out it was a 7-person room all along~.”

“Wow! What a tight bond!”

The members teased him while planning a coup on Seo Ian’s single room.

Their gleeful banter continued right up until they reached the waiting room.

“I’m coming too.”

“Huhh…?”

Even Seohan, who had been quiet, joined in.

“Man, it really is a 7-person room…”

That was when it happened.

“Huh?”

Their steps stopped at the sight of an unexpected face.

Someone was waiting for them in front of the waiting room.

Seohan turned his gaze with a visibly flustered expression.

It was Mac Fred.

He had no idea how he was supposed to react to this.

Gulp.

Seo Haim swallowed and cautiously raised his hand.

“Hi, Mr. Fred…?”

Mac Fred was waiting in front of the waiting room.

He surely wasn’t there just for a simple greeting—they had already exchanged formalities on set.

Nor did he start with an awkward, unfitting hello.

Mac Fred cut straight to the point.

“I have something to ask.”

“Pardon?”

I reflexively replied in Korean without thinking.

I was about to follow up in English, but judging by his expression, the meaning had probably come across, so I let it go.

It’s kind of unsettling when someone comes up out of nowhere like this.

Especially when they call only you aside into some quiet corner….

It was only natural to be on guard.

“……”

We were a short distance away from the other members.

After a long moment of chewing on his lower lip, Fred finally spoke in a cold tone.

“Like married. What does that mean.”

Like married.

Mac Fred had been mulling over those few words I’d casually tossed out during the broadcast the entire time.

I had expected it but….

‘That much of a hit?’

Seeing how deeply it stuck with him, I guess Mac Fred wasn’t quite in his octopus era yet.

His cheating skills were a bit lacking.

It was surprisingly off-brand for him, and it caught me off guard.

“Uh… hmm….”

What would be the best answer?

Looking at Mac Fred glaring at me with a deadly stare, I was honestly struggling not to burst out laughing.

Where was all that confidence he had back in the waiting room?

Now he was visibly shaking.

Well, I guess he had a lot to lose.

If he had already been caught cheating, it’d be different—but at the very least, he was doing a decent job pretending for now.

I didn’t care about someone else’s family affairs.

All that mattered was that the interview had gone smoothly.

Did I really look like someone who’d fly across the ocean and expose Mr. Fred’s affair to his wife?

She’d find out eventually anyway.

Still, there was no harm in letting him know.

It was basically the same as saying: I’m holding your weakness.

I shrugged and replied.

“Well, just what it sounds like.”

That simple answer, tossed with a smirk, made Mac Fred’s face go ice-cold.

He let out a heavy sigh and ran a hand through his bangs.

“You don’t plan to go blabbing anywhere, do you…”

“I don’t. I’m not interested.”

I cut him off firmly.

“Mr. Fred’s private life is his own business. It may not look great, but ultimately it’s something happening across the Pacific from me….”

To summarize: not my problem.

Only then did Mac Fred inhale properly.

It was obvious he’d run through every worst-case scenario in his head in that brief moment.

The way he wanted to cheat yet still protect his own interests was disgusting—but honestly, dealing with him was exhausting.

So I was ready to end the conversation here.

And also, speaking English the whole time was draining.

“Well, I’ll be going now…”

I turned to leave, but paused for a moment.

Hmm….

I turned my head and stared straight at Mac Fred. My lower lip slowly parted.

“Still, you’d better be careful.”

“What?”

“There’s an old saying in Korea.”

It was in another language, but he might get the gist of it.

I smiled and added:

“When the tail’s too long, it gets stepped on.”

Just so you know.

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