Chapter 97
It was purely coincidental.
The fact that the water cooler near the training room was undergoing a filter change, and the choice to take the emergency stairs for a workout while heading upstairs to fill up water, all of it was just a coincidence.
“…Don’t worry. Even though you’re just a trainee, you’re still twenty years old. You’re not a rookie, so if someone catches a whiff of it, just say you two had a moment. It’s not like this is your first rodeo, right? I’ll handle all the setups, so you don’t have to worry about that part.”
And as a result, Oh Yoori overheard the cryptic conversation that Ban Seong-cheol, the manager from Flower Entertainment, was having on the phone.
“…”
The more she thought about what the manager said, the more sinister it seemed.
Trainee, rookie, got a whiff, had a moment. Setup.
Yoori was young, but she wasn’t completely oblivious to the world.
She could fully grasp what kind of implications those word combinations carried.
Especially when the speaker, Ban Seong-cheol, who was supposedly the son of some company president, looked down on the trainees with a disdainful gaze. That made it all the more loaded.
Among the words, one stood out.
“…Twenty?”
That word lodged itself in her mind, making it hard for her to continue thinking.
Even as she returned to the training room, still lost in thought, someone called out to her.
“Yuri Yuri, how’s it going today!”
It was Seo Eunbyeol, who had recently become suddenly close.
“Hmm? What’s up? Not practicing today? Got something on your mind? I’m a great listener; should I lend an ear?”
“…”
Seeing that cheerful face, Yoori recalled.
In this company, there was only one trainee who was twenty years old—Seo Eunbyeol.
A creepy shiver ran down Yoori’s spine, making her feel uneasy.
“…Um, Eunbyeol unnie.”
“…Huh?”
With Eunbyeol pointing at herself in confusion, Yoori nodded her head, and Eunbyeol excitedly exclaimed.
“Wow! Yoori called for me! It’s been six days since I practiced impersonations outside because I was too loud and disrupted your focus. What is it? What is it? Do you really have something on your mind? Spill it all to your big sis!”
“…Well, can I just ask one question?”
“Of course! Ask me anything.”
Oh Yoori, seeing her excited expression, felt a tail of curiosity swirling in her mind.
“Did something happen with Manager Ban Seong-cheol?”
As soon as she finished speaking, Oh Yoori felt the training room grow cold, almost as if the air had turned to ice.
Maybe it wasn’t just her imagination. In that brief moment, Seo Eunbyeol’s previously animated face had gone completely blank.
“Nothing happened.”
Her response was remarkably quick and decisive.
“Absolutely nothing.”
…
It was as if she had anticipated this question long before.
*
Since then, Oh Yoori began her investigation into Ban Seong-cheol during her free time in the training schedule.
Of course, her research wasn’t exactly professional, limited by her youthful innocence.
However, it wasn’t without its merits.
We lived in an age overflowing with information. Moreover, it was a world where people generously divulged their personal details on social media without a second thought. Even if one didn’t share details themselves, stopping others from sharing about them was impossible. It was a time when social circles inevitably led to leaks.
And Ban Seong-cheol was someone who needed to be social and open with information, being part of the entertainment industry.
“Seong-cheol? That guy’s schedule? Well, I think he’s out on business today…”
“What’s his feedback style like? Honestly, aside from being a bit gloomy and annoying, he doesn’t seem to have anything special, I guess? Oh, speaking of which…”
“Has Manager Ban ever made any demands? Why are you asking that? …Huh? You want to know about the evaluation criteria? Well, it’s not like I can’t tell you anything… now that you mention it, he did have some unique requests…”
Listening to his stories was pretty easy.
Of course, there were curious glances about why she was asking, but thanks to her usual fervor for learning and diligence, most people opened up after a little persuasion.
Bit by bit, following the stories, she collected information, weaving a web to get closer to Ban Seong-cheol and understand him better.
Her investigation wasn’t just verbal.
Ban Seong-cheol was quite active on social media. He frequently posted about news related to Flower or boasted about his luxury items, showcasing a hearty upload frequency. Despite this, he subtly avoided mentioning information about his parents or any personal details. However, doing so wasn’t enough to prevent his information from leaking. If he really wanted to keep everything under wraps, it would have been better for him to just delete his account.
But he didn’t, and that opened up opportunities for Oh Yoori.
He had many people around him: followers, witnesses, and business connections, with information scattered like fragments among them.
To avoid any future problems upon her debut, Yoori diligently searched social media, blogs, and cafés to gather every bit of information on Ban Seong-cheol.
Thus, Oh Yoori collected overlapping testimonies, evidence, and information.
Though the mass of information was large, it was messy. Taken piece by piece, it seemed meaningless, but when pieced together, it formed a complete picture—if only a select few could connect the dots.
Coincidentally, Oh Yoori was one of those rare talents who possessed the reasoning, analytical skills, and deduction abilities to infer that picture from those fragments. During her investigation, a bit of luck also happened to join her side.
As a result, Oh Yoori reached the secret that Ban Seong-cheol was hiding by her own efforts.
“….”
He used to be a former sponsor broker.
*
Ban Seong-cheol had a father who ran an entertainment venue known as a room salon, which had ties to organized crime.
It seemed impossible to view that separately from him.
…No, considering his past and the conversations they had over the phone, viewing it separately would be not just complacent but downright foolish.
He definitely didn’t join Flower with the mindset of an ordinary office worker; there had to be some ulterior motive… like making connections, perhaps.
And the target he was likely aiming for was Seo Eunbyeol.
As soon as Yoori made that judgment, she organized the investigation materials for easy understanding and set off to find Seo Eunbyeol.
“Wow! Yuri yuri! You came looking for me? I’m touched! What’s up?”
“I found out the truth about Ban Seong-cheol.”
“….?”
“Please look at this material.”
And Oh Yoori showed her the information about Ban Seong-cheol displayed neatly on a small tablet PC.
Eunbyeol showed the materials related to Ban Seong-cheol.
They were somewhat lacking, not good enough to be used as evidence in court, but at least they confirmed that Ban Seong-cheol was definitely a dangerous person.
Yoori had organized the materials as best she could, but she thought that Eunbyeol might still find it difficult to understand, so she explained it in as simple a way as possible, adding footnotes along the way.
When that long explanation finally finished, Eunbyeol turned to her and spoke up.
“I already knew.”
“…Huh?”
As Yoori struggled to process Eunbyeol’s sudden response, Eunbyeol wiped away even the slightest warmth she usually showed and spoke again.
“I knew everything already.”
Silence fell.
This silence resembled the recent daily routine they had shared.
Even when they were focused on their training in the same space, they maintained that silence, absorbed in their own practices.
But even though the form was the same, the feeling then and now was entirely different.
“…….”
It was unnerving. Unpleasantly so.
Breaking the silence, Yoori finally managed to speak calmly but firmly.
“If you knew, that must have made it even harder. It’s okay. Just cutting off someone like that is enough. I’ll help you.”
“I don’t need any help.”
Upon hearing Eunbyeol’s response, Yoori bit her lip lightly and refocused her thoughts, speaking carefully.
“You must have been flustered. It probably wasn’t easy to talk to anyone. I understand that. It’s not something I’m proud of, but I’ve had similar experiences… though maybe not quite as serious. Still, I understand that feeling. So don’t worry, I haven’t told anyone.”
“Yuri.”
“That doesn’t mean there’s no solution. I have a plan. First, it’s most important to safely get out of this company, so let’s start…”
“O-Yuri.”
“I’ll help you. Don’t think too hard about it; just tackle one thing at a time in front of you. It’s not too late even now.”
“I’ll say it again. I don’t need any help.”
“I said I’ll help you!”
She couldn’t hide her heated breath from her strong emotions as she looked at Eunbyeol. Eunbyeol met her gaze and spoke firmly.
“I don’t need it.”
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.
