From Thug to Idol: Transmigrating to a Survival Show

"Minjun," Grandma finally snapped. "That is not how you respond to your elders."

Minjun turned away from the two of them, his arms crossed in front of his chest.

June sighed and shook his head, sensing the tension in the atmosphere. With that, he stood from the hospital bed. He brought out Minjun's favorite candies and placed it next to the injured kid.

"Here," June softly said with a smile. "I know you like eating these when you're upset."

Minjun continued to ignore June, but the latter kept a small smile on his face.

Grandma shook her head and massaged her temples. June walked over to her and gave her shoulders a light squeeze.

"Relax, Grandma," he said in a comforting tone.

"I just—I just don't know what to do anymore," she defeatedly stammered.

June pursed his lips, also sensing that Minjun had only gotten worse. June knew the little kid had always been the spawn of satan, but he was a sweet one. Now, he was just…cold.

"Don't think about it too much," June said. "I think Minjun's just going through something."

The two of them spoke in whispers, so Minjun wasn't able to hear them.

Grandma sighed, her shoulders slumping.

"Do you think he'll get better?" she asked.

June glanced at Minjun and didn't respond. In the end, he also didn't know when and how to let Minjun open up to him.

"I hope so," June said in the end.

"Grandma, peel me some apples," Minjun said, causing the older woman to beam. Having his grandson act like a little master was definitely better than him not asking for anything at all.

June smiled at their interaction.

"Well, I think I have to go now," he said.

Grandma smiled. "Have a safe travel. Make sure to wear your mask and cap at all times."

June nodded, placing his mask back on.

"Call me when something happens, Grandma," he said, walking over to the door.

"Get well soon, Minjun," he added before leaving the room.

As expected, Minjun didn't reply to his farewell.

For a moment, June stood outside his door, his gaze settling on the knob. He wanted to do something about the situation, but he didn't know the exact steps to take.

June was about to leave when he heard someone clearing their throat next to him.

He turned to the side in surprise, only to see Lena leaning against the wall and looking at him with a serious expression.

"Ma'am?" June warily asked, straightening his back.

She chuckled, yet the aura of power coming from her didn't diminish.

"We're not in the workplace. You don't have to call me 'ma'am,'" she said.

"Miss?" June tried his luck.

"Lena," she responded. "Just call me Lena."

"Alright, Ms. Lena," June said, not comfortable with calling her just by her first name.

Lena shook her head in defeat. "So stubborn. Now I see why mom says you're similar to Minjun," she muttered, so June wasn't able to hear her.

"Sorry, what was that?" he asked.

She waved her off. "It's nothing," Lena said. "Do you have some time?"

June froze, feeling a chill in his spine. "I thought you had some work to attend to?" he asked, not really wanting to be alone with her.

"It could wait," she said. "For now, I need to talk to you. Come."

Lena started walking away, coaxing June to follow her. June pursed his lips and followed the charismatic lady. For some reason, she just made it seem like June couldn't refuse her invitation.

Lena and June arrived at the hospital's cafeteria, and Lena quickly picked a bunch of snacks and paid for them at the counter. June looked at the black card she was using and shook his head.

Minjun's family was really loaded.

"Let's sit here," Lena said, sitting in an isolated booth in the cafeteria.

June stiffly sat in front of her, obviously uncomfortable with the set-up.

"June, right? My son talked a lot about you back then," Lena started, taking a sip of her iced americano.

June nodded. "Yeah, that's me."

"And you're an idol?" she asked.

June once again nodded.

"Interesting," she said. "You don't give off that vibe."

June frowned in confusion. "What do you mean?" he asked.

Lena shrugged, leaning against her seat.

"I don't mean anything bad about it. I meet a lot of idols in my line of work, and most of them have...softer and brighter auras."

"And mine?" June asked.

Lena didn't respond and just stared at him for a while.

"Yours is…dark," she said, her expression twisting into something incomprehensible. The two of them stared at each other for a while, the tension heightening in the air.

The other passersby didn't even dare glance toward their way because of the powerful auras they were emanating.

"But that's not why I asked you to come here," Lena said, quickly snapping the tension.

"Why did you ask me to come here then?" June asked out of curiosity.

"You care for Minjun, right?" she suddenly asked.

June nodded with sincerity. He was annoyed by the kid when he first met him, but June couldn't deny that he grew to love Minjun. Now, he genuinely thought of him as his little brother.

"Do you know what happened with him?" Lena asked.

June let out a sigh. "He hasn't told me anything," he honestly answered. "I've also been quite busy since I've just debuted. If there's someone who knows about his situation, shouldn't it be you?"

Lena's expression softened, a sense of guilt in her eyes. However, it was gone in a split second, and her charismatic gaze returned.

"I had Minjun when I was very young," she said. "I was 18, to be exact."

June wasn't too surprised about that. Lena looked really young to have a son as big as Minjun. It just meant she must have had him when she was young, too.

"I was a young girl with a lot of dreams, and although his father and I tried to make our relationship work, I couldn't deny there was an underlying resentment between the two of us," she continued.

"The careers we both dreamed of came to a halt because of Minjun's addition. Don't get me wrong," she quickly added. "I don't regret it one bit. Having Minjun was one of the happiest moments of my life. It still is. However, my dream lingered in the back of my mind, and I didn't want to let it go."

"In the end, I chose my own happiness," she said. "His father and I separated to live out our separate dreams, and Minjun was in the middle to witness it all."

"I know I'm not the best mother," Lena sighed. "I'm not even close to being a good one, but I care a lot about my son. He's the person I love the most in the entire world. I never want to lose him."

June continued listening to Lena's story, but he was suddenly distracted when he saw a shiny bald head at the corner of the cafeteria.

Mr. Klin?

June rubbed his eyes to check if he was hallucinating or not. However, as he opened his eyes, the janitor suddenly turned around, now revealing someone with very luscious hair.

"Huh, strange," he whispered.

It was already the second time he felt like he had seen Mr. Klin.

Once during the 'Quiz God' filming, and right now.

Was he imagining things because he missed the bald janitor?

"Are you listening?" Lena asked, snapping June out of his thoughts.

June shook his head and finally faced her.

"What was that?"

"Are you willing to take on the mission?" she asked.

"Mission?" June clarified.

"Yes," Lena responded. "You're the only one who could help me."