Chapter 166

“Yes, yes… I understand.”

“No, that’s right. Yes. It should be that way.”

“Okay, then I’ll head out.”

Manager Oh Hyun-soo, who came out of the Head Office, took a deep breath.

“Ah…”

Suddenly reminded of the cigarette he had put out, Manager Oh Hyun-soo left the Shock Entertainment building and headed to a nearby convenience store.

“One Mase Light, please.”

And he requested the cigarette he used to enjoy in the past.

“Excuse me?”

“Oh… the name changed, didn’t it? That one. Moebius Light. And a lighter too, please.”

After receiving the cigarette and lighter, Manager Oh Hyun-soo made his way back to the rooftop of the building.

He pinched a cigarette between his fingers and lit it.

After a long time, the smoke made him cough a little, but he quickly got used to it and took a deep drag.

“Ugh… Ah…”

It had already been seven years since he quit smoking.

Back when he was still a road manager, the first unnamed girl group he managed was the reason he quit smoking, as the kids would complain about the smell in the car, and he had stuck with it since then.

“Huh… Mase is being forgotten too…”

He recalled the convenience store part-timer.

She didn’t understand what Mase was.

It made sense, given that it had been over ten years since the name changed.

Sure, there were still part-timers who recognized Mase, but it felt like the once-popular Mild Seven, the world’s number one seller, was also becoming a forgotten name.

Celebrities and idols were like that too.

No matter how famous they were, with time, they get forgotten one by one.

Of course, nameless idols wouldn’t even have names to be forgotten.

But still, as a manager, he remembered.

The first girl group he managed.

They had all gone their separate ways, living their own lives, but he still remembered, having spent every single day with them for 365 days a year.

And the smell of cigarettes still served as a kind of perfume for him.

“Now, every time I smoke, I’ll probably remember other kids too… Ugh… Ah…”

Having finished the cigarette, he hesitated for a moment before pulling out his phone.

Instead of calling the Seven’s dedicated road manager, Joo Da-hong, he called Seven’s leader, Hana.

“Hey, Hana. Are you in practice right now? Oh, really. Did you eat? Oh, Da-hong bought you food. Got it. I need to talk to you. Can you bring the kids… No, just you come to the third-floor meeting room for a moment.”

It felt complicated to face all the members at once.

*

Since the moment he called and said he had something to say, he had been expecting this conversation.

“Yes, it’s fine.”

The cigarette smell from Manager Oh Hyun-soo was just a reassuring factor.

“I’m… sorry to you all.”

And in fact, he had seen this coming for a while.

It was something that had been planned.

“…No, it’s not your fault, Team Leader. It’s a company matter.”

As an adult and someone in a supportive role, the manager tried to hide his emotions, but his expression revealed all his turmoil.
The manager was trying to hide their emotions in a supporting position for the members, but their expression revealed all the confusion inside.

“I’ll try to talk it over well.”

“Yeah, I’m sorry… Since this is the last time, let’s all do our best until the end.”

Seeing that, Hana smiled for now.

“Don’t worry too much. I’m sure everyone knew.”

*

One evening, it was supposed to be a late-night practice at the company, but for some reason, Hana unni finished evening practice early and returned to the dorm.

The members quickly changed out of their sweat-soaked practice outfits and relaxed.

Everyone was smiling lively at the rare break, but there was an uneasy smile somewhere.

Hana gathered the members together.

We sat in our respective spots in the living room.

Hana, trying to hide her bloodshot eyes, smiled brightly and said, “Guys, since this is our last concert, let’s prepare hard until the end.”

One by one, even the members’ unease faded away.

“Huh…”

Pure emotions flowed from Ye-eun’s innocent eyes.

Once the wave started, it quickly grew and became infectious.

Some were quiet and sentimental.

Some were drenched at the neckline of their T-shirts, like a burst dam.

I went to the bathroom and splashed water on my face repeatedly.

That day, it was particularly hot for early spring.

We, the members, were notified by the company that we wouldn’t have any extensions, with only five days left until the concert and less than two weeks until the contract ended.

Even though we had anticipated parting, there was far too little time to prepare our hearts.

*

The next evening, after finishing practice, we headed towards the dorm.

But Ye-eun insisted on staying in the vocal room stubbornly.

“You go ahead. I’ll come to get you later.”

I decided to wait for her.

The members understood my serious expression.

“I’ll wait too…”

“It’s okay. Unni, just go to the dorm and rest, alright?”

“Ugh…”

About an hour later, I knocked on Ye-eun’s vocal room.

—Knock knock.

“I’m coming in.”

When I opened the door, I saw her intensely studying the song with marks all over the lyrics.

Once she saw my face, she shyly looked down again to avoid eye contact.

“Unni, shall we take a break now? Your throat might get hurt for no reason. The rehearsal is in two days, so be careful.”

“Yeah…”

It wasn’t a very serious tone.

Ye-eun was strangely fixated on the lyrics.

I sat down on the chair next to her.

And I reached out my hand.

“Hand.”

Though her eyes remained on the lyrics, Ye-eun willingly gave me her hand.

“Ye-eun unni.”

When I called her name, the round-eyed, swollen-faced unni finally looked at me.
Unni finally looked at me.

A day had passed, but it felt like I was about to cry again.

I stared intently at Kim Ye-eun Unni’s face, which had moisture all over it, and finally spoke.

“The song is sad, right?”

“Uh-huh…”

Kim Ye-eun Unni replied with a hoarse, cracked voice.

“See, you’re going to wear yourself out before the concert.”

This time, she nodded her head as if to hide her voice.

But it didn’t matter since I had already heard her cracked voice.

Still, it was quite cute.

“The weather is nice, let’s walk a bit before heading home.”

Kim Ye-eun Unni shook her head.

She pointed to the lyrics with her finger.

I took her hand and got her up.

“It’s more fun to play during exam periods.”

With that, we left the vocal room and stepped out onto the streets.

It was already getting dark as the sun had set, so there weren’t many people passing by.

In the late evening, Kim Ye-eun Unni, wearing sunglasses and a mask, looked like a child suffering from celebrity syndrome.

She was probably just trying to hide her puffy eyes out of embarrassment.

We walked quietly along the street.

It was a road filled with memories over the past year and a half.

That’s a quiet café that Gong Chae-rin Unni frequently visits.

There’s a hot pot place that I started going to just because I pretended to like it.

Over there is a convenience store where I usually stock up on energy drinks.

And right here is the street where Hana Unni shot the first teaser for her YouTube channel “What Do You Want to Do Today.”

Also, it was just part of the usual route I walked to work and back.

It was still early March.

The night air hadn’t lost the chill of winter, but the sky was clear.

It was a good night to see stars even in the city.

I actually liked days like this quite a bit.

“Unni, take off your sunglasses and look over there.”

Kim Ye-eun Unni hesitated for a moment before taking off her sunglasses.

Her eyes looked less puffy now than earlier.

“Look, can you see the star triangle? That’s the Winter Triangle, with the brightest one being Sirius, Betelgeuse above it, and Procyon to the left.”

I pointed out the constellations that were faintly visible between the buildings.

Gemini, Taurus, the Charioteer, Orion.

The reason I liked stars was pretty simple.

I could say it’s because I’m a star, but there’s a lighter reason.

“Stars are like a signpost that past and future people, from the West and East, can recognize anytime and anywhere. It’s a shared experience for everyone. That’s why I really like stars.”

In a way, it sounded awkwardly sentimental, but the bright stars in the clear sky didn’t make it feel strange at all.

Then, Kim Ye-eun Unni quietly opened her mouth.

“What do you think of our team…?”

I awkwardly laughed.

“Well…”

After glancing at my expression, Kim Ye-eun Unni answered herself in her still cracked voice.

“I… I really like it…”

“Really? I’m sure the unnis will love it.”

“And you…?”

“I like it too.”
My answer had two meanings.

First, I felt good that Unni likes me.

Second, I also like our team that much.

As the mood turned a bit sentimental, I lifted my head from the stars and walked down the road.

Unni Ye-eun, following behind, asked:

“Why, why… do you like it?”

“I don’t know, it’s just good. Does it need a reason?”

But it seemed Unni Ye-eun had some thoughts of her own.

“I… do.”

She murmured her answer softly:

“When someone can’t do it, I help them feel better. When they do well, I happily congratulate them. And they work hard right from the start… Most importantly, our members let me do whatever I want, even while being organized…”

Then her whispering voice said,

“I really, really like it.”

Her quiet voice rang out in the chilly night air.

“Oh, I see.”

“Yep.”

In the crisp night air, it sounded unusually clear.

“But good teams usually are like this, right? There’s no discord. You’re just lucky, Unni.”

So I wanted to avoid getting too sentimental, as always.

Unni Ye-eun pouted her lips and put on her sunglasses.

We walked silently to our dorm.

Still, I spoke one more line.

“This is my way of showing affection. Teasing.”

So that means Mom, Dad, and Do-ah are all getting pranked every time.

“…Yeah.”

Then a question arose in my mind.

What did it mean for Unni Ye-eun to be able to clearly state why our team was good?

How deep were her feelings?

*

Upon arriving at the dorm, I quickly showered and got ready for bed.

With the concert approaching, managing our condition and going to bed early was vital.

As I headed to the bedroom, this time, Unni Sara was pouting.

“…Hug me too.”

“Okay, Unni, come here.”

Unni Sara, who had been emotional all day yesterday, was as stirred as Unni Ye-eun.

Feeling sorry for her, I offered a corner of my bed and embraced her.

“Shall we sleep together today?”

“Yep!”

Meanwhile, Unni Chae-rin sat lonely, reading a book while wearing headphones.

“I want to hug Unni Chae-rin too~”

I said in a not-so-loud voice.

“Should I?”

Pretending to think for a moment, Unni Chae-rin came over to my bed.

If she were listening to music with her headphones on as usual, she wouldn’t have heard me, but her cute appearance made me smile.

Despite everything, even though I called them Unni because of their physical age, they were still like younger girls to me.

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