I accessed the pre-installed banking app.

'It should have been deposited by now.'

I heard yesterday that the payment money would come in.

In fact, the contract was made to be settled quarterly, but last year, the company was in a mess, so the payment was temporarily suspended under the condition that the legal interest rate was attached.

So now, in April, last year's payment and the payment for this year's first quarter were deposited all at once.

If I was an ordinary office worker, this would have been a gap to sue the company but no one was in a hurry to get the payment right away and the contract period was long so it passed without much noise.

But no one hates money.

Thanks to that, on Monday, April 22, as soon as our schedule ended, I was not the only one immediately looking at the payment.

"Gasp!"

I heard a gasp on the bed beside me. It was Bae Sejin.

'The amount must be big.'

I thought that would be the case. Our results were good, and we even had a concert.

'Still, it doesn't really feel real.'

I slowly swiped the main account of the app and checked my new account.

And doubted my eyes.

//TN: Around 1 million USD

'...1.1 billion?'

1.1 billion??

A sum, that could not be touched even with organ trafficking, was hovering on the screen.

"..."

I was speechless.

Was it possible to earn this amount of money after working for nine months?

It was true that I toiled without sleep while under a lot of pressure. And looking at it in the long run, it was also the accumulated amount of hardships since .

However, receiving 1.1 billion was a scary deal since there was too much left over.

'No matter what, 1.1 billion is... beyond my imagination.'

I thought I should check the balance sheet. I checked the opened email I received from the company.

I wondered how the email address was leaked as there were a whole bunch of weird emails but after roughly filtering through them, I was able to find the bank statement email.

I quickly skimmed through it.

"...Phew."

1.1 billion was correct.

And I also found out the cause.

'There's no trainee fee.'

This meant that the company's pre-investment costs had not been set. Thanks to this, the net income was settled as soon as the profit was generated.

Albums, events, advertisements, music streams, concerts...

In addition, the copyright fee was quite high due to us taking a large part in the production.

'Kim Raebin should have received more.'

Just then, I could hear a scream in the next room. Kim Raebin seemed to be on the phone. Perhaps someone in his family called in surprise.

'It's a mess.'

It was normal to panic with that amount. It still didn't feel like my own money either.

"Did, did you see it?"

Bae Sejin spoke with a blushed face. He must have meant if I had seen the payment money.

"...Yes. Just now."

"With this much, I could buy a house in Seoul, right? A loan, if I take out a loan..."

It depended on what kind of house it was.

However, Bae Sejin seemed excited as the initial achievement of his plan to buy a house with good security was quickly approaching.

But the calculation was wrong.

"That's the amount before taxes."

"Oh ...huh?"

"The tax rate will be high because it is a large sum, so don't think about spending it all, and be sure to consult with a tax advisor before filing your comprehensive income tax report in May."

"....Oh, okay."

Bae Sejin blankly affirmed, then sat back down on his bed.

He seemed to have returned to reality. And I also came to my senses while advising Bae Sejin.

"I thought you would be familiar with salary payments, hyung."

"It's the first time I've been paid this amount..."

Bae Sejin buried his face into the hamster body pillow. He has been putting it to good use since a while back.

"Wh-what's going on...?"

Even Seon Ahyun, who was in the shower, heard the noise and stuck his head out of the bathroom.

"Checking the payment."

"Ah, aha."

Seon Ahyun smiled in relief. He didn't seem to be very curious about the amount.

"Do your parents manage the money?"

"Uhhuh! I- I get an allowance..."

Considering the last time when he gave me a department store gift card as a birthday present, that allowance seemed to be quite a high amount.

'Come to think of it, I haven't even used that gift card yet.'

As soon as the award ceremony season ended, we prepared for the concert and the new album so I immediately forgot about it since it was another promotion period.

'Tomorrow morning... hmm, I don't have a schedule.'

For the next two weeks, including weekends, that was the only time I had free time during the day.

Let's double-check first.

"We don't have any schedules tomorrow afternoon, right?"

"Y-yeah! That's right. How so...?"

"I'm going out for a bit."

"...Shopping? Or to the bank?"

Bae Sejin intervened. He seemed to have guessed since I said I was going to go right after receiving the payment.

I nodded.

"Yes. Shopping."

"...Then do you want to go together? I have to stop by the bank too."

"Uhm... That would be a bit..."

"What?"

I stroked the back of my neck.

"I'm thinking of going to a dessert shop."

"...?"

"At... about seven places."

"...??"

* * *

So the next day on Tuesday. I got to roam around downtown Seoul leisurely by myself.

...Or at least, I was planning to go around by myself, that is.

"M-moondae-ya, isn't that the blue sign?"

"I think you can drop us off at the first alley on the right, sir."

Looking at them, it was like the two guys had tails attached to them. Seon Ahyun and Kim Raebin had delightedly tagged along.

...Well, that's what happened.

For reference, Bae Sejin came along and was dropped off at the bank. It was beneficial since we would save the taxi fare.

'But now I don't have to worry about taxi fares anymore.'

It felt a bit strange not having to worry about money after so long in my life.

And soon after, the taxi driver pulled up to the first destination.

"Okay, we've arrived~"

"Thank you."

As I got out of the car, the two with twinkling eyes in the backseat, quickly followed.

"W-will it be delicious?"

"I'm looking forward to it."

It didn't look very common for three men wearing masks and hats to go into a specialty dessert shop... Well, whatever.

'There aren't many people on the streets.'

It was probably because it was 9:30 am on a weekday.

The two members and I entered the newly opened store as the first customers.

"Welco... Gasp!"

"Hello."

And as soon as our eyes met, we were discovered. I already felt it before, but it seemed like masks were useless now.

"Uuh, uh... Whoa, wow... I like to listen to your songs a lot."

"Thank you. Please wrap one for each type of dacquoise."

"Yes, yes?"

"Please pack everything for each flavor."

"Ah, ah, yes!"

I was sorry but I didn't have much time.

I exchanged handshakes and autographs for the packaged dacquoise.

"Uhh, huck."

...Still, I was glad that they seemed to be happy.

Then I looked back at the two standing there in bewilderment.

"Aren't you guys going to pick?"

"Ah!"

The other two also gave a handshake and chose the dacquoise.

I went straight to the checkout counter.

"I'm paying together."

"Ah, yes!"

The two started to panic.

"I-it's fine!"

"If we sort by the amount of payment then it would be more correct for me to pay... I mean, I'm not trying to be condescending, that, I meant that it's fine..."

I grinned.

"It's okay. I'm the one who wanted to go out."

"Hyung..."

"M-moondaeya..."

If it was Cha Yujin or Keun Sejin here, they would have shamelessly just eaten it, but these two were sitting here feeling touched.

The two smiled as they were handed the packaged dacquoise.

"Th-thank you for the food!"

"Thank you."

And as soon as we came out of the shop, Kim Raebin realized something.

"Ah, I have to buy a birthday present for my older sister."

"It's okay for you to choose it slowly. Since there are still many shops left."

"Yes?"

The two blinked their eyes.

"That, di-didn't you already pick it out s-since you bought from here?"

"I thought you had many options in case you didn't like this..."

"Not really."

I shook my head.

"I'm going to buy from all seven places."

"...!!"

And I really did.

So by noon, both of them ended up sitting in the taxi limply.

I organized the boxes and put them down at my feet.

All seven of them. I purchased everything successfully. I had already tasted them one by one.

There was an unexpected situation where someone came running at us while waving the album and I gave them a hug but things went smoothly.

'It was a close one at the last place.'

The person, who made eye contact with us at the cash register, had screamed very loudly, so as soon as we received the macarons, we just greeted them and ran away from the store like thieves.

"A-are we done...?"

"Yeah. We're done."

"Huaahh..."

Seon Ahyun melted down. He seemed to be tired from meeting so many people.

I had told him to go back to the dorm in the middle of this, so I didn't get why this guy, who didn't even eat a lot of sweets to take care of his body, kept following me.

'Is it because he didn't want to feel excluded?'

Due to Seon Ahyun's personality, it might be that he didn't like going back by himself after going out with a group of people.

In any case, the fact that he insisted on following me during break time... was something I was grateful for, regardless of efficiency.

"Are we going home now?"

"Yeah. Let's go."

I took the taxi back to the dorm.

And instead of going up together to the dorm after arriving, I only left the desserts with them.

"Tell the ones in the dorm that you can share it."

"Uh, huh?"

"I just remembered something I had to do."

I sent the two guys home and got into a taxi.

Then I gave the navigation again.

"The department store?"

"Yes."

After finishing my business, I returned home about an hour later.

Diriring-

When I opened the front door and went in, I met Cha Yujin's eyes in the living room, who was stuffing his cheeks with dacquoise.

"..."

"It's delicious! Thank you!"

"Well... sure."

Since he didn't gain weight and liked sweets, he was the right person for the desserts.

"Which is the most delicious?"

"This one."

The strawberry macarons. I memorized the name of the store on the wrapping paper.

"Thanks for the snacks, Moondae-ya."

"You didn't use us as a smoke screen for this because you got a girlfriend, right? Hyung believes in you~"

"Are you crazy?"

After saying hello to Ryu Chungwoo, I slapped the giggling Keun Sejin on the back and went back to my room.

Across Bae Sejin, who was reading a book in bed, I could see Seon Ahyun crocheting at the desk.

"M-moondae-ya, did you finish your business well?"

"Yeah. And this."

"Uh, hmh?"

I held out what was in my hand.

"It's a bit early, but... it's a birthday present."

"Uh, huhh!?"

Seon Ahyun was startled. Bae Sejin raised his upper body while jumping up.

"It's Seon Ahyun's birthday...?!"

"N-no, it's not...?!"

It was like a skit as the two of them got flustered side by side.

"It's in two weeks but I won't have time to go out before it so I'm giving it now."

"Ah..."

Bae Sejin lay back down in relief.

Seon Ahyun nodded his head strongly.

"I-is that so. Thank you...!"

"It was nothing."

...Let's not tell him that I used the department store gift card he gave me for that gift.

"C-can I open it?!"

"Of course."

Seon Ahyun immediately opened the package.

And he froze as he saw the coat.

"...! I-isn't this too expensive..."

"It's not."

The guy who gave me the gift card was saying something like that.

I put another shopping bag from the department store under the bed. The size of the shopping bag was large so it took me quite a while.

I wondered if I should have taken Seon Ahyun with me and regretted it briefly but it couldn't be helped since I bought it already.

Bae Sejin glanced at me.

"What's that?"

"A gift."

* * *

And on that Sunday in the early morning, TeStar's last music show pre-recording was going on at the broadcasting station.

TeStar's fans, who arrived at the scene, were given a huge box one by one.

"...??"