Vrooom…
“……”
In the car on the way home, I fell deep into thought.
I was pondering how Shin PD suddenly suggested I move to a different company… and reflecting on what I overheard earlier between Seo Yoo-jin and Yoo Seol…
“President.”
“Yeah, Ye-rin.”
I turned to Kang Hyung-man in the front seat and shared what I had experienced.
“You know about Na Ah Ah’s main PD, Shin PD, right?”
“Of course. I even greeted him when we filmed Na Ah Ah’s preview together. His name… was Shin Ji-cheon PD, wasn’t it?”
“Yes, Shin Ji-cheon PD. He suddenly asked me today if I was thinking of moving companies.”
“…What?”
Kang Hyung-man’s eyes widened, and he turned around, startled.
Sang-gu, who was driving, also looked at me with a surprised expression.
I raised my hands to calm the two and quickly replied.
“Of course, I refused. But what’s suspicious is… he approached me quite detailedly, saying he would connect me with the president of MS Planning…”
“……”
“It seems Shin PD is trying to hijack me by coordinating things with MS Planning… so I thought I should tell you, President.”
“…Thanks.”
Kang Hyung-man nodded without expression as usual, but I could see it.
There was a deep killing intent lurking behind his eyes.
However, he seemed to want to hide that fact from me, maintaining a calm tone while commanding Sang-gu.
“Sang-gu.”
“Yes.”
“Get the kids to find out about Shin PD’s background and his connection with MS Planning.”
“Got it.”
With a small smile, he looked back at me and said,
“Ye-rin, don’t stress about this any further. There’s only the final left until your debut. Just focus on the stage. I’ll handle this quietly.”
It seemed he thought I kept worrying since we got into the car due to this matter.
I smiled and nodded at Kang Hyung-man’s consideration.
Then I hesitated…
“Thank you, President. And actually, there’s something else I want to say…”
“Go ahead.”
“There’s a close cast member of mine…”
I shared another worry I had with Kang Hyung-man.
Upon hearing this, he asked,
“Could you possibly look into it?”
“Sure, I’ll check that out too.”
He nodded readily once again.
“Thank you, President.”
To me, Kang Hyung-man felt like some kind of superhero.
Whatever worries I shared with him, he would solve it all.
I found him really reassuring and dependable.
“Alright, Ye-rin. Have a nice weekend, and see you next week.”
“Yes, President, thank you for the ride today.”
Vroom…
“Phew.”
After seeing off Kang Hyung-man and Sang-gu, I dragged my tired body home.
Maybe fatigue from the past week was catching up to me, as all I wanted to do right now was lie down and sleep.
As soon as I stepped into the house…
“I’m back.”
“Oh? Oh! Yes, Ye-rin, welcome back!”
“…Hmm?”
I felt something strange.
For starters, the house was a bit messier than last week.
There were some dishes piled up and laundry that hadn’t been folded in the living room.
They didn’t seem to have completely neglected housework, but it didn’t feel like they tried their best either.
‘Well… I expected this. They’ve never lifted a finger in their lives.’
I had already predicted that Dad and Mom would be struggling with housework.
However, besides that…
“Haha… Ye-rin, you must have had a hard time?”
“Uh, please rest quickly…”
“……?”
The way my Dad and Mom were behaving was very awkward. It was as if they were hiding something.
‘Don’t tell me…?’
This strange déjà vu made me direct a sharp voice towards my parents.
“Dad, Mom…! Did you borrow money again?”
“…Huh?”
“I said if you borrowed money one more time, I would never see your faces again!”
That was no joke.
If my parents borrowed money again, I truly planned to avoid seeing their faces for the rest of my life.
Hearing my serious shout, Dad and Mom waved their hands in denial, looking flustered.
“Ah, no! That’s really not it!”
“Mom and Dad are really not doing that anymore!”
“……”
Knowing my parents well, I also had a good understanding of them.
Looking at their expressions… it didn’t seem like they were lying.
It was clear that they hadn’t borrowed money…
“So what is it then? Why are you both so cautious around me?”
“It’s just… we were trying to finish the housework that piled up before our daughter came back, but we couldn’t…”
“…Ah.”
…Was that it?
Well, it seemed my parents had been mindful of me this month.
I guess they thought I would be disappointed seeing such a messy house.
“……”
Thinking that made me feel sorry for my unnecessary suspicions.
I shook my head and rolled up my sleeves…
“I’m sorry for the unnecessary suspicions. A little mess is fine. I can help with the dishes if you want…”
“Ah, no…! Ye-rin! Mom and Dad will take care of the housework! You should rest!”
“Yeah! Our daughter must be tired, so wash up and sleep!”
…My parents fussed over me and pushed me toward the bathroom.
“…Then I’ll leave it to you.”
Feeling their excessive reactions, I tilted my head but went in to shower.
In the past few weeks, my parents had treated me like I was a rich family princess.
It was no wonder they were trying to prevent me from doing any housework.
Whoosh…
After finishing my shower…
“Phew.”
Lying down on the floor of my personal room (formerly Dad’s computer room), my parents slowly approached me from both sides.
“Ye-rin, are you going to sleep here without us?”
“…Last time, I just couldn’t fall asleep, but now I’m not a kid anymore. I have to sleep alone.”
Still, after some time had passed, I seemed to be less bothered, as I closed my eyes and didn’t think about Namgung Soo-ho anymore.
So, there was no need for me to sleep with my parents.
“Alright… it’s regretful, but if that’s what you want, then so be it. Sleep, Ye-rin.”
“But… you’re not leaving?”
My parents nodded but had no intention of moving away from my sides.
Feeling pressured, I asked, and they replied in unison.
“We just want to see our daughter’s face for a bit longer.”
“We’ll stay here until you fall asleep, Ye-rin.”
“Ah… okay.”
“But Ye-rin. While you sleep, can you tell us if anything happened in Na Ah Ah?”
“…Ah.”
“My dear Ye-rin, we’re so curious to know if you’re doing well and if you’re facing any difficulties…”
At Mom’s words, I momentarily paused just as I was about to drift into sleep.
‘Come to think of it, I’ve never shared anything about Na Ah Ah with my parents.’
But still, we’re family… I realized I had been neglectful and told my parents.
“Well then… may I share a little?”
“Sure…!”
Hearing their eager responses, I closed my eyes and slowly began to recount the tales from the first day of Na Ah Ah, from meeting Han Si-woo, Lee Hye-jeong, Park Yoo-jung, Na Han-na, up to how my relationship with Seo Yoo-jin and Yoo Seol changed.
“So, I was with Seol unnie and…”
“Oh, I see.”
As I explained gradually, the drowsiness became harder to resist.
Once I started to slip into slumber, my parents gently patted my head.
“Our daughter… must’ve worked hard all this time.”
“……”
“Now there’s just one more left. Just one more, and you’ll truly become an idol.”
“You’re stepping into a bigger world. I’m sure Ye-rin will succeed there as well.”
“However, is it alright for you to bear it all alone?… Ye-rin, about that…”
My body was exhausted, and my parents responded to my words in a gentle tone.
I lost my last bit of consciousness and sank into sleep…
“Do you have any thoughts about moving to another company?”
“…!”
…I was about to fall asleep when Dad’s whisper jolted me awake.
Clang!
“What do you mean?”
I opened my eyes and sat up, glaring at my dad.
“Why would I move when I’m where I am because of you?”
“…No, I just…”
At that moment, a wave of anxiety swelled up inside, and I felt like the pieces of a puzzle were starting to fit together in my head.
“…Did Dad and Mom receive some call?”
“…Huh?”
“Did someone contact you on your phones and say they’d pay you to help me move to another company or something?”
“W-What are you talking about! I just thought that President Kang’s company might be too small to hold our Ye-rin!”
“Seriously, that’s not true, Ye-rin! We just said that because we were worried about you!”
Both of them looked genuinely upset with tears brimming in their eyes.
While their faces conveyed a feeling of injustice, I couldn’t shake the feeling…
“…Give me your phones.”
How long had I been fooled by their expressions?
It was such a coincidence that the day Shin PD brought up MS Planning, my parents were also asking if I might want to switch companies.
‘Is this really a coincidence?’
The thought of it sent a chill down my spine.
I needed to verify things more firmly, so I snatched their phones and looked through their recent call logs and messages.
But…
“…Huh?”
My parents’ phones were clean without any suspicious contacts.
I thought maybe they got a call from Shin PD or someone from MS Planning, but there was absolutely no record of unknown people on their phones.
So when I hadn’t found a clear piece of evidence, my parents started to cry, feeling truly upset.
“Waaah… it’s really not true, Ye-rin…”
“President Kang’s company lacks the experience to train idols, and we were worried about that…”
“Waaah… we may be useless parents, but to be suspected like this… boo-hoo, it’s so hurtful…”
“Darling… this is all our fault…”
“Waaah…”
I found myself at a loss upon seeing my parents burst into tears.
Using both hands, I gently patted their shoulders and awkwardly started to apologize.
“No… I wasn’t trying to suspect you… I’m sorry…”
“Waaah…”
“Today, the PD suddenly brought up switching companies, so I just got sensitive about it…”
With a serious tone, I expressed my honest feelings.
“Dad, Mom. After I debut this time, I’ll face a lot of temptations in the future.”
“Sniff… temptations?”
“Somewhere, they’ll likely offer me a better deal and ask me to join their company once Na Ah Ah’s group activities end. But…”
“……”
“I really like Brotherhood Planning. I absolutely do not want to switch companies…. So please respect my choice, no matter the temptation. You will, right?”
“Of course, darling…”
“We are always on Ye-rin’s side…”
“……”
How could I find their words so untrustworthy?
Even though they were adults like Kang Hyung-man, my parents made me feel uneasy just by looking at them.
Still…
‘Let’s trust them.’
I decided to trust my parents.
No parent would ignore a child’s earnest plea.
Above all, Dad and Mom had said they would change, hadn’t they?
And…
‘The one holding the decision-making power is me, so what could my parents gain by tempting me?’
Honestly, my parents wouldn’t be that crucial in deciding whether to switch companies.
I may be a minor, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have the right to make my own decisions.
“I’m sorry for today. Let’s put that aside and get some rest now.”
“Waaah, Ye-rin, we’re just so surprised and worried…”
“Can’t we sleep together tonight?”
“……”
Is this really necessary?
Seventeen-year-old Seo Yoo-jin wouldn’t be doing this.
Could forty-year-olds be acting like this?
But…
“Yes, let’s do that.”
That night, feeling guilty for what I had put my parents through, I nodded and ended up sleeping with them.
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