Chapter 110
After Oh Yoori stopped her tears and calmed down sufficiently, I asked her.
“So, what are you going to do now?”
“…Are you talking about cleaning up the mess I made?”
“Rather than calling it cleaning up, it’s more about asking what you want to do.”
She seemed to take my words as a demand for responsibility and spoke with a dark expression.
“I’m not planning to ignore it. If I’ve caused a problem, I have to take responsibility. Just like Team Leader Seon and Ms. Ye Han-na want, I will do my best to take the initiative from Girl 100 and wrap this up positively with Older Sister Gyeoul.”
What I wanted to ask was not that.
“That’s not about what you want to do. It’s more about how you should respond in a way that would help us. I was asking what you want. If you want to sever ties with broadcasting and explore a different path, you’ll need a plan for that, and if you want to continue in the entertainment industry, well, you need a suitable response for that too.”
Even though she achieved the goal of saving Seo Eunbyeol from Ban Seong-cheol’s grasp, life doesn’t end there.
She has to make a choice for the days ahead.
“You can choose anything. You’re still young, and countless possibilities are open to you.”
Honestly, I felt like she could dive into exam prep right now and do well.
Smart and beautiful, she could become anything she wanted.
“The important thing is your will.”
Oh Yoori tilted her head at my words and replied.
“That sounds like you will help me no matter what I choose, but am I misunderstanding that?”
“Nope, you got it right! You thought I’d come this far and just run away saying ‘not my problem’? Have you forgotten what kind of person I am?”
Then she bowed her head and fiddled with her hair, mumbling, “Yeah, that’s the kind of person Team Leader Seon is.”
“But I don’t think I should be the one to say anything to the culprit who messed up the original plan, do you?”
“Come on, let’s forget the past. Let’s live looking towards our future.”
Oh Yoori asked playfully.
“Hmm… Hehe, so have you forgotten about the things that happened with me too?”
Once again caught off guard, I playfully patted Oh Yoori’s small head and said.
“Why do I feel like the more I try to remember, the more annoyed you get?”
“For me, this incident turned my life upside down, but if that person sees it as just one of those forgettable moments, wouldn’t that be a bit disappointing?”
“From my perspective, it was a life-changing event, but that person probably thinks of it as just one of those forgettable moments. Isn’t that a bit disappointing?”
“…I guess this was my fault. I’m sorry.”
Oh Yoori, caught off guard by my apology, grabbed the hem of my shirt and tentatively said while glancing around.
“Ah, I’m sorry… But isn’t this more polite than the old days when you used to speak informally?”
“That’s true; back then, informal speech was the default, and you didn’t even call me Team Leader Seon, just Seon Taeyang.”
“Yeah, I guess so. Yoori, you were a kid who learned manners?”
“No, what do you remember about me that makes you say that?”
“A middle school first-year who caught the early stages of middle school syndrome?”
“….”
“Well, that’s an objective evaluation. You might want to ask the people around you how you used to be.”
…Honestly, I think that middle school syndrome still isn’t completely gone.
Oh Yoori blushed bright red and avoided my gaze as she said,
“Let’s forget the past.”
“Agreed.”
She turned the topic.
“So, let’s talk constructively now. Like what we need to do for the future of Girl 100 and how we can benefit from it. That’s what I really want to discuss.”
“You want to stay in the entertainment industry?”
“Yes, I do. Giving up because of this would feel like losing to Ban Seong-cheol.”
That’s a great attitude. Yoori, let’s show that jerk what successful looks like.
“Alright. So, what do you think will happen since the controversy didn’t just hit during the finale as we originally planned but is happening now?”
“There are several possibilities, but first, the power struggle with writer Ye Han-na is going to heat up.”
“Exactly. If Ye Han-na was quietly forming factions until now, it’s going to boil over into the open. But there’s no need to view this situation negatively.”
“Right. There’s really no need to see it as a bad thing. In fact, this situation might actually help Ye Han-na gather her forces. If she’s plotting a rebellion while the kingdom is stable, people would hesitate to get near her, but if the kingdom is crumbling, it feels completely different.”
That was a good metaphor. Ye Han-na was about the second in line to the throne, opposing PD Kim Seon-ye, the owner of Girl 100.
“But the truth is, this has introduced a tug-of-war with PD Kim Seon-ye, which wasn’t part of the original plan.”
“True, originally we would have gathered people below the surface until the finale and then flipped things upside down. Still, there’s definitely a clear advantage here.”
“Is it really okay, Team Leader Seon?”
Unlike Oh Yoori, who was calmly staring at the door, Seok Hyun-woo couldn’t hide his tension.
“Hyun-woo, there’s no need to worry. Just think of it like this: ‘I’m a detective who has caught a criminal.’ Just create a relaxed atmosphere, and that’s enough. You don’t even have any lines, right?”
“…That doesn’t seem like an atmosphere that’s easy to relax in, though?”
I wasn’t irresponsible enough to put an inexperienced person in a tough role.
It wasn’t that he was an irresponsible person who would assign an unreasonable role to someone without experience.
The role Seok Hyun-woo took on was a light one that didn’t require much acting skill.
But if that was his mindset, then there was nothing that could be done.
“Since you feel that way, Hyun-woo, I guess we’ll have to manage. Yoori and I will figure something out, so just keep an eye at the door,” I said.
“Ah… no, I’ll try my best to not fall short,” he replied.
“Great! Even if it’s not perfect, just give it a relaxed shot. It’s a bit strange, but no one will really mind. It’s not like this is a movie; if you act a little awkwardly, who’s going to call you out? They’ll just think you’re nervous or something.”
Seok Hyun-woo nodded in agreement, then asked me,
“…You said he’s a detective, right? The one who catches and brings in criminals?”
“If it’s hard to get into that, you can think of him as a task force leader capturing a traitor who betrayed the organization. It’s a similar sensitivity to grasp.”
“Task force leader… task force leader,” he muttered, as if that term made it easier for him to immerse himself in the role.
He seemed determined to give it a go.
Now I was no longer worried. He was the type to always exceed expectations, so he would definitely pull his weight.
“So, are you okay?” I asked.
“Me?”
“Yeah, Oh Yoori, I’m talking to you. Honestly, if you look awkward like Hyun-woo, that’s a big problem. The negotiation itself could fall apart! But being a hostage isn’t exactly an easy role, right?”
“Well, I’m aware of that. The role I have to play now is not an easy one, especially since it involves emotional depth.”
With her pink pigtails swaying, Yoori said confidently.
“But Team Leader Seon, you know what kind of person I am, right? If I’m really committed to acting, there’s no one I can’t fool.”
Fair enough, if I couldn’t trust someone with acting potential rated S, then how many people on Earth could I trust?
“Right. Then, I’ll just rely on you.”
“Yes! I’ll be captured futilely and become a slave stripped of my human rights. Let’s do that, Master! Oh dear!”
“….”
What was I supposed to say if a middle school student threw a line like that?
Pretending I didn’t hear Yoori, I took out my smartphone to check the time, when a message popped up in front of me.
[Send the vote-rigging girl, Kim Seon-ye, to hell and carve out the rotten flesh of Girl 100 to seize control and shine Han Gyeoul!]
[Reward – Perfume of Allure (Increases appearance potential)]
…What does it matter if my manager’s looks go up?
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