Secretly Married to a Chaebol Alpha
Chapter 31: A BAGGAGE

Chapter 31: A BAGGAGE

"GARAM-SSI, congratulations on getting discharged from the military."

Garam smiled shyly and bowed. "Thank you, Sunbae¹-nim."

To be honest, he was feeling awkward because he wasn’t close to the sunbaes that he was with.

Maybe it was a bad idea to come here alone.

Since he had free time that morning, he went to the salon to get a haircut.

Yes, he shaved his head before he enlisted. But, in just half a year, his hair grew longer than it usually did. He hadn’t decided what to do with his hair yet for his upcoming solo debut, so he decided to get it trimmed in the meantime since the bangs were poking his eyes already.

That was how he met AJ and Kwang Jun from the group CHAMPIONZ.

They’re from a hip-hop boy group from a big company and were at their peak when my group debuted.

"I haven’t seen much of you lately, Garam-ah," AJ, the Korean-American main rapper of the CHAMPIONZ who had gotten into several controversies before for cultural appropriation, said while smiling in a not-so-nice way. "It must be nice to be carried by your younger group members, huh?"

Aigoo.

"Hyung, stop it," Kwang Jun said, smiling apologetically at Garam. "It’s not Garam’s fault that he’s the least popular member of their group. Don’t be too harsh on him."

Ouch.

Garam had always known that he was the least popular among the group since he only excelled in singing.

And it became apparent now that they were doing solo activities.

Kwon Jigu is busy being a mentor in a hit survival show, Finn is often flying for fashion shows, and Lee Eunsang is gaining more experience as an idol-actor.

And Garam?

I’m stuck in the dorm these days...

Well, he would start preparing for his solo album next week. But that was it. Other than the brand deal from Song Sihyuk’s cousin, he really didn’t get love calls from PDs and advertisers.

That felt awful.

Am I really nothing without Sihyuk Hyung’s support?

"Don’t get sad, Garam-ah. It’s normal that not all members have equal popularity in a group," AJ said in a mocking tone. "Just go and buy your dongsaengs something delicious later. You should thank them for carrying your career."

Aigoo.

Is this bastard still bitter that we beat his group and won both the Best Artist and the Album of the Year awards last year?

How childish.

"Sunbae-nim, thank you for the advice," Garam said, smiling. "I’ll buy my dongsaengs something tasty later."

AJ smirked haughtily. "Don’t mention it—"

"I think Sunbae-nim should also buy your members something delicious later as an apology."

"Apology?" AJ asked, confused. "Why would I need to apologize—"

"Because your dreadlocks will surely cause another controversy, Sunbae-nim," Garam said, pointing at AJ’s hairstyle. "When will Sunbae-nim learn that wearing dreads to look like a "gangster" just to fit your hip-hop image is inappropriate?"

"Say that again, you fucking bastard!"

***

"PRESIDENT SONG, I just got a call from Shin Geon-ssi. Apparently, Lim Garam-nim got into a physical fight with a senior idol."

What?

Song Sihyuk raised his head, his brows furrowed. "My calm and gentle Lim Garam got into a physical fight?"

Lim Garam had a sharp tongue, yes.

But that brat isn’t the violent type.

"Was Lim Garam hurt?"

"Yes, sir," Jung Han answered politely. "According to Shin Geon-ssi, Lim Garam-nim was punched in the face."

"Who the fuck punched my wife?"

"It was AJ from CHAMPIONZ, sir."

Song Sihyuk wanted to ask who the hell that bastard was, but he realized that could wait. "Where’s Lim Garam? Did he go to the hospital?"

"No, sir. Lim Garam-nim insisted on going to his apartment to hide his injury from his group members."

Ah, right.

My wife bought an apartment last year as an investment.

"Are there witnesses?"

"Yes, sir. It happened in a salon, after all."

"Deal with the witnesses and make sure that this won’t get leaked to the public. If the reporters have already caught a whiff of what happened, then make sure they won’t publish the news. I don’t care how much you have to pay— I want everyone to keep their mouths shut about this incident."

Jung Han bowed his head politely. "I understand, sir."

"Lastly, I want you to dig all the dirty stuff you could find about the bastard who punched my wife. I’ll deal with him later," Song Sihyuk said, getting up and grabbing his jacket. "For now, I’ll go and comfort my wife."

***

"YOU SHOULD have come to me instead of sulking here all by yourself."

Tsk.

Garam was informed by Shin Geon earlier that Song Sihyuk was on his way to his apartment, but he didn’t expect the Alpha to get there that fast.

There goes my plan to rot in bed all day.

After cleaning his own wound, he took a shower and changed into his pajamas.

He wanted to sleep, but now he had to entertain his uninvited guest.

Haaah.

"Come in, Hyung."

But Song Sihyuk remained standing on the porch, and then he grabbed Garam’s face gently. "Why did you already treat your wound? I was hoping to earn some brownie points by putting ointment on your wound myself."

As expected, the Alpha already knew what happened.

It’s not like I can accuse Geon Hyung of being a snitch— it’s literally his job to report my every move to Sihyuk Hyung.

"Do you not need to go to the hospital, brat?"

"It’s just a busted lip, Hyung— I’ll live."

"Your face is your livelihood, so you should have been more careful," Song Sihyuk said before letting go of Garam’s face. "Did you fight back?"

"I don’t know how to throw a punch."

"Aigooya."

"So, I threw a chair at Sunbae-nim."

Song Sihyuk looked surprised at first, and then he burst out laughing.

Garam avoided the Alpha’s gaze because he wasn’t done with his confession yet. "Sunbae-nim was actually taken to the hospital because he bled a lot."

***

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