Chapter 121
Behind the final concert stage of Girl 100, Oh Yoori, wearing thick round glasses and a baseball cap pulled low over her hoodie, spoke to me.
“I heard some news.”
“What kind?”
“That Eunbyeol unnie got a job at Team Leader Seon’s company.”
“Did Eunbyeol tell you?”
“Yeah, we’ve kept in touch ever since.”
“That’s nice. Having someone to talk to is important.”
Seo Eunbyeol, despite her cheerful demeanor and outgoing nature, had a very limited circle for emotional connection. She seemed approachable, but deep down she struggled with intense self-loathing, shying away from showing her true self and trying hard to present only the good parts of her.
Right now, even with her mother, whom she used to open up to, she probably felt too much pressure to say she had no one to confide in.
In the last episode, I had played that role, but now I felt it would be better for Oh Yoori to take on that role.
“Yuri, you also have a bit of a prickly personality, so you don’t have many people you can talk to either, right? Get along with Eunbyeol unnie. She seems like a good person.”
“Is it really okay?”
“Hmm?”
Oh Yoori looked at me with a clear gaze, free of her usual red contact lenses, showing a hint of concern.
“…I’m really glad that Eunbyeol unnie found a position, but is Team Leader Seon okay with it? Isn’t it too much?”
“Too much? Why do you think that?”
“Well, the conditions that were granted to Eunbyeol unnie seem really generous. She’s getting a salary while doing this simple job that even a newbie can handle, and they encourage her to study at university or explore her career with plenty of freedom. I can’t tell if it’s a job or a retreat.”
But that salary wasn’t even a lot…
“You might not understand since you’re still young, but companies that operate with a long-term vision do a lot to support their employees’ personal development. This is just a similar case.”
“Still, it feels like they created a position that wasn’t needed. It’s quite a stretch to say that the company created that position for Eunbyeol unnie.”
“…That’s true.”
“Then that burden would have fallen on Team Leader Seon. Why is he doing this? Eunbyeol unnie is just someone to him, right?”
…Well, that’s how it may look to others. It’s a memory only I hold.
Even if it’s just a one-sided memory and feeling, I didn’t want to pretend it didn’t exist.
I thought that Seo Eunbyeol shouldn’t even have had me in her life, so I hadn’t sought her out. But I realized that wasn’t a perfect judgment, hence this approach.
However, I knew that saying this would be hard to understand unless it came from Yeoreum, who had experienced the same regression. So instead, I chose a simpler response.
“I just wanted to.”
“Just?”
“Yeah.”
“Yeah.”
Oh Yoori, who was staring at me in amazement, muttered softly, “…You’re really consistent, Taeyang,” and then changed the subject with a gentle smile.
“By the way, did you hear? Older Sister Gyeoul is the center for this final concert.”
“Do you think I only heard? It was all over the broadcast. Do you really think I wouldn’t check the shows you and Gyeoul are in?”
Previously, the center was determined by viewer votes, but due to the voting manipulation controversy, viewer voting was banned. Now, Girl 100 had to find another way to choose the center. And the other method they chose was pretty simple.
“Recommend someone you think should be the center.”
It was a vote among the trainees.
“Han Gyeoul.”
“Han Gyeoul? Okay, next.”
“….”
“Next?”
Even when Enji, the judge and dance master, asked again in confusion, the trainees didn’t mention additional candidates. Realizing something, Enji broke into a small smile and changed the question.
“Hmm… Then, raise your hand if you agree that Han Gyeoul should be the center.”
And every trainee raised their hand.
“Alright, the center for this final concert is decided to be Han Gyeoul. Work hard, Gyeoul.”
In front of the quick decision, Gyeoul couldn’t maintain her previously established concept of being the arrogant genius from the broadcast.
“…Me?”
“She had a cute expression of disbelief while still not accepting reality. It wasn’t just me who thought so; the audience reaction was also positive.”
Lately, as I’ve been getting closer to Gyeoul on a personal level, I sometimes wondered if it was just me who found her cute, but thankfully, it didn’t seem like it was just me.
“…But it’s a pleasant misunderstanding that all the trainees agreed. It seems that Gyeoul was perceived positively among the trainees as well. I was really worried about how she’d adjust among unfamiliar people, but it’s a relief.”
“However, because of that center decision, I heard Older Sister Gyeoul has been feeling burdened today and was looking for Team Leader Seon since this morning?”
“I was just thinking that might happen, so I wanted to come early and give her some encouragement, but I’ve ended up being late.”
Oh Yoori, realizing this, exclaimed with surprise.
“Oh, now that you mention it, you came later than usual today, didn’t you? Usually, you arrive well before the recording starts, get your face in next to Older Sister Gyeoul, and then move on.”
“Yeah, but this time I had a bit more to do. It was difficult to find the time.”
She asked with a hint of confusion, “You have a lot to do? You didn’t mention being busy when you were juggling manager duties and being called by Kim Seon-ye.”
“You didn’t mention that even having two bodies would be insufficient when there’s so much work, right?”
“At that time, it wasn’t that I wasn’t busy, it was manageable, but now that our TwoBear is seriously preparing for debut, time management is getting tighter.”
“…Debut.”
“Yeah, debut. That’s what we’ve been running towards all this time.”
“….”
Oh Yoori started to glance at me repeatedly, as if she was recalling something.
Looking at her, a fundamental question about the current situation popped into my mind.
“Speaking of which, Yoori, why are you here? You could’ve dropped out halfway and not come, right?”
While there was a small event planned for the eliminated members of Girl 100 to cheer from the audience seats, it would only make things uncomfortable if someone who left the broadcast like Oh Yoori was there.
Officially, she had voluntarily left, so I guess she was invited.
Perhaps feeling awkward about answering, Oh Yoori trailed off in her speech.
“Well, I just wanted to see Older Sister Gyeoul’s face, check out the stage, and also see Team Leader Seon while I’m at it…”
“Oh really? Then enjoy and head back safely.”
“….”
Oh Yoori hesitated at my casual farewell, quickly took off her hoodie and hat, loosened her hair, and struck a pose that she thought looked pretty.
“…I heard from President Cheon that TwoBear is thinking about a girl group with four members.”
“And?”
“I also heard that three of them, including Older Sister Gyeoul, are confirmed, but there’s still one spot left.”
“….”
“Then, a talented, capable, and popular person like me must naturally catch your eye, right? I’d like to give you an opportunity to recruit a talented person like me to Team Leader Seon! We are experiencing a rush of calls on the consulting line! Hot item Oh Yoori requires the use of the automated ordering phone! Book now!”
Having attempted self-promotion like that, Oh Yoori struck a sexy pose, as if to punctuate her point.
…I’ve been wondering since last time. Does she think a middle schooler pulling off that pose will work?
“….”
By the way, from the way Oh Yoori is acting, it seems she already knows I’m going to make a recruitment proposal.
I guess President Cheon left some hints when they met last time.
…Ah, President, couldn’t you hold back a bit? I was going to do it myself.
In fact, I was considering her as the last member.
Maybe she’s aware of it, which is why Oh Yoori’s attitude seems a bit lacking in urgency.
And that mindset isn’t what I wanted.
Knowing what drives her behavior, she just seemed cute, but I worried that such an attitude could hinder her activity. While it was a shabby thought for an adult, when dealing with Oh Yoori, our TwoBear needed to appear as the ones receiving her, not the ones asking for her.
In order to manage Oh Yoori, who’s got the unpredictability of a wild card, you need enough influence to blow the manipulation controversy out of the water.
So, I decided to playfully poke at her habits with a cheeky remark.
“By the way, Yuri, your attitude is a bit too confident, isn’t it?”
“…Yeah?”
“Let’s be honest, you are talented and pretty good-looking. But is there really no alternative to you? And do you think I can’t find someone to fill that role?”
“…”
“It’s true you have buzz around you. But that’s not just a good thing, is it? You’ve suffered a lot of image damage with the public controversy, Kim Seon-ye’s video correction, and your voluntary withdrawal. To be honest, I think that buzz you mentioned is going to be seen negatively.”
Oh Yoori’s negative buzz couldn’t hold a candle to Jin Yeoreum, who had achieved nationwide dislike, but I exaggerated it anyway.
“Moreover, the fact that your relationship with Flower is still seen negatively is a huge issue. Just think about the lawsuits or demands they might throw at you… Ugh, my head hurts just thinking about it. The President seems to think positively about you, but I’m feeling hesitant about bringing you on board.”
“…”
“And here you are, casually bringing up the hiring while I’m trying to think of how serious your situation is. Selecting four people is a decision that will determine the fate of the whole TwoBear crew. I don’t want to choose someone so lighthearted; I want someone desperate.”
At this point, I wondered if I had scared her enough, and when I looked at Oh Yoori, she asked nonchalantly.
“What does that desperate attitude look like?”
Seeing her demeanor, I felt like I needed to be harsher. So, I said cruelly.
“Hmm… you should at least be prepared to kneel and lick my feet for me to get it, you know?”
Oh Yoori glanced at my feet and muttered in a voice barely audible to me.
“…For a reward, I guess.”
“…Huh?”
Just as I was about to ask her what she said, she spontaneously dropped to her knees and started untying my shoes before I could react.
“Wait, what are you doing…?”
As I tried to push her away, I hesitated, thinking I might accidentally hurt myself, and in the meantime, she had already taken off my socks and was waving her tongue around like a pro.
Startled, I sat down and blocked her face with my hands, but Oh Yoori just licked my hand and said.
“If you pick me, I’ll lick your feet every day. No, I’ll give you a tongue bath all over your body! Just trust me, Oh Yoori!”
…I messed up. Please, cut me some slack.
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