Chapter 124
I hurriedly released the fingers I had been interlocking. Since Gaeul had already seen me like this, I felt it was too late, but I also thought that holding on longer could lead to a more bizarre misunderstanding.
Perhaps feeling a bit disappointed, Yeoreum’s hand, which had been holding mine, tightened slightly, but I half-forced it to break free. Gaeul just watched the scene without saying a word.
“Hem, hem, Gaeul, did you come here after busking? It’s nice to see you in this unexpected place since I always see you at the company.”
As I awkwardly cleared my throat and changed the subject, Yoo Gaeul, who was carrying her guitar bag on her back, stripped away all the warmth reminiscent of a golden retriever and asked flatly again.
“What are you two doing here?”
“….”
Well, this is awkward.
After having a conversation with Yeoreum during my volunteer work at the orphanage, I realized that due to her title of being a national dislike, she might feel isolated compared to other kids since she was excluded from external activities.
So, I added this deviation under the pretext of increasing her input to make her heart a bit lighter, hoping she could focus more on practice. This situation of spending time together watching a concert and sharing ice cream and comments was a result of that deviation.
Fortunately, it seemed Yeoreum took this positively. She appeared brighter than ever and became more active in practice afterwards. Even a diligent girl like Yeoreum seemed to enjoy slacking off during practice hours under the manager’s permission.
However, I also knew this could be seen as special treatment by the other kids.
While I was coping with Yeoreum’s unique situation, I hadn’t created similar opportunities for Gyeoul and Gaeul, who were also diligently participating in practice and doing their best in busking and shooting Girl 100.
That’s why I tried my best not to let the other kids know about this time together.
If they found out, I planned to only mention it when Yeoreum’s image improved, and she could act normally like the other kids.
So finding out about this in such a moment was about the worst way it could happen.
“….”
But the situation had arisen, and rather than pretending I didn’t know or keeping quiet, I had to take care of it. That was the responsibility of a manager overseeing three kids.
It was my responsibility.
As I pondered how to explain without hurting Yeoreum, who felt neglected, and Gaeul, who was likely feeling neglected as well, I overheard Yeoreum, calmly enjoying her ice cream, say with a bored expression.
“I’m on a date, you know?”
“….”
That was like pouring gasoline on a fire that was gradually growing.
*
Even when I occasionally received harsh words from Lee Hyerin or Song Johan, the training room of TwoBear, which was always filled with enthusiasm and warmth under the motto of ‘Let’s try harder!’, now had an unusually cold atmosphere.
This was all because Yeoreum and Gaeul were trying oddly hard to avoid being conscious of each other since yesterday.
O Yuri, who had not been with us long but could clearly sense that the current atmosphere was not normal, cynically asked, “Winter unni, why are those two acting like that?”
“Um… well.”
Maybe it was thanks to the initial commitment to not give up communication to quickly restore teamwork, even if feelings were hurt, Gyeoul had a general understanding of the situation after hearing from both, but she had no idea where to even start explaining.
“So, um…”
Sighing softly at the sight of Gyeoul and O Yuri, Gaeul calmly said to Yeoreum, “Hey, can we talk for a moment?”
Yeoreum, seeming to understand the necessity, nodded without hesitation and replied, “Yeah, of course.”
“Thanks for saying that,” Gaeul said, as if she had been contemplating the content in order to gather her thoughts for this moment.
“First of all, I want to apologize for my excessively heated tone and expressions at the café yesterday. I’m really sorry, Yeoreum.”
Gaeul slightly bowed her head to express her feelings and continued.
“I find it hard to control my emotions when it involves Brother Taeyang… No, it definitely is hard. If that hurt your feelings, I’m apologizing for that now.”
“It’s okay. You don’t have to apologize for that. I’m the same way.”
“Oh, really?”
“I’ll apologize too, unni. Although Team Leader Seon has already clarified, what happened back then wasn’t a date or anything. I just said it like that. It was just Team Leader Seon taking care of my unstable self.”
“Care… right, we all need care.”
“We need to take care of this.”
“…All of us.”
Their tones expressed mutual respect, and there was a consideration to understand each other alongside their apologies. Yet, the more they spoke, the colder the atmosphere seemed to freeze over.
However, despite that, Jin Yeoreum and Yoo Gaeul found it difficult to continue speaking.
In the end, it was Yoo Gaeul who broke the silence again.
“…So, since we’ve both apologized, should we make up?”
“…Yeah, Unni. It’s not really beneficial for anyone to let small matters ruin our emotions and team atmosphere.”
At that moment, Oh Yoori, who was keenly aware of the situation, spoke up.
“…Um, I know it might be overstepping for someone who hasn’t been here long, but there’s just one thing I’d like to say.”
All eyes turned toward Oh Yoori. She spoke with a calm and objective gaze, showing no signs of burden despite the situation.
“I think it’s very good that you’re apologizing and trying to understand each other. Both you, Yeoreum Unni and Gaeul Unni, seem mature beyond your years in that respect. However, as an outsider, it looks like you two are trying to sweep things under the rug without showing your true feelings.”
Han Gyeoul nodded involuntarily. She too had a feeling that ending things like this would feel strange.
“I think we need to be a bit more honest with each other. Since we’re four of us dreaming to debut as TwoBear, we have to see each other for a long time, right?”
““…””
Jin Yeoreum and Yoo Gaeul resonated with her words. So they spoke up again.
“Right. Trying to tie things off properly without expressing what’s really on our minds is just postponing an explosion. And awkwardly enough, it feels like we’re in that situation right now. …So I’ll be a bit more honest.”
Yoo Gaeul recalled the guilt that shimmered over her face but didn’t stop talking.
“I know too. Just like you mentioned, Yeoreum, and what Team Leader Seon said, those outputs we had back then, or sometimes, were just simple things like watching concerts or movies. So what weighed on my mind wasn’t that part. It was the reason behind Brother Taeyang’s actions.”
With all eyes gathered on her, she looked at Yeoreum and opened her mouth.
She opened her mouth while looking at Yeoreum.
“Everyone knows that Brother Taeyang wouldn’t behave like that for no reason, right?”
“….”
“Brother Taeyang doesn’t ignore people who need help, regardless of who they are or what situation they’re in. This means that if we ask for help, Brother Taeyang will find a way to spare some time for us.”
This was an area that everyone here was aware of but had never dared to touch upon.
“Knowing that, we also know the answer. If we want Brother Taeyang’s time, we know exactly what we need to do. However, we probably won’t act on it unless we’re truly desperate. After all, Brother Taeyang has one body and limited time. Naturally, if he’s helping someone, he can’t spend time on someone else. And we know what it means to steal the time of the busiest Brother Taeyang at TwoBear.”
Knowing that Seon Taeyang wakes up every morning to go to work and only gets off well after sunset, and acknowledging that there’s someone out there desperately needing his attention, they accepted the unspoken rule.
Jin Yeoreum didn’t deny any of it.
“Yeah. I knew that, yet Team Leader Seon nudged me to take time for myself. I pulled out my own weakness and asked for help. So that Team Leader Seon couldn’t turn away.”
Jin Yeoreum, who had brought up her vulnerability in front of Taeyang at the orphanage, knew all too well what choice Seon Taeyang would make upon hearing those words. She also understood it could burden Taeyang. Yet, she chose to take his time anyway.
“….”
Han Gyeoul, who was listening to her words instead of Yoo Gaeul, spoke as carefully as possible, unable to find her voice.
“Yeoreum, you… you didn’t have to do that.”
“No, I had to.”
“What does that mean…?”
“Because I like Team Leader Seon.”
““….””
Love can take on many forms.
You might want to receive without giving anything in return, or you could be willing to give everything without expecting anything. But no matter what your value system is, if you love, you inevitably want one thing – to possess that person’s time.
“I just hope that person looks at me a little more.”
And Jin Yeoreum was in love.
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