Episode 126
On the balcony of the accommodation assigned by TwoBear, four girls—Han Gyeoul, Yoo Gaeul, Jin Yeoreum, and Oh Yoori—were gazing outside, completely unconcerned by the late hour and the chilly wind.
They were waiting to see Seon Taeyang leave after escorting them back from practice, which had extended late into the night due to the weekly evaluation the next day.
They were huddled together, peering out at Seon Taeyang as he walked toward the parked car.
At that moment, it was unclear whether Seon Taeyang sensed their gazes or simply wanted to capture the scene of the accommodation one last time, but he turned his head toward the balcony where they were. And then he spotted the four of them.
With a face that might have looked a bit debauched, he flashed an unexpectedly warm smile and waved slowly.
Winter and Summer eagerly waved their hands at him. Gaeul hopped around, waving her hands like a little kid. Yoori shyly hid her face but still waved her hand.
It seemed his gaze found their antics amusing, as Seon Taeyang chuckled aloud and waved back a little before getting into the car and driving away. Yet, despite his departure, they remained on the balcony.
Jin Yeoreum broke the silence, staring blankly at the spot where he had just been.
“One day, you know… these kinds of relationships will come to an end. Either one of us will end up with Team Leader Seon or maybe someone completely different.”
It was a continuation of the conversation they had not finished that day.
“…Can I even accept that?”
“Even if you can’t accept it now, Gaeul unni, you will eventually have to. Honestly, there’s no other way. If Seon Team Leader’s heart leads a certain way, then what can we do?”
“…I guess that’s true.”
Jin Yeoreum hung her head in defeat at the overly realistic remarks.
Meanwhile, Winter, who had been staring at the spot where Taeyang had vanished, spoke up.
“…For me, the thought that Teacher Taeyang might dislike me is really scary. So I’d rather things stay just like this.”
“But they will change. Team Leader Seon has his life too. He’ll fall in love someday… maybe even get married. So I didn’t want to just sit around and wait until then.”
“I feel the same way. I don’t want to just remain as a fleeting connection for Brother Taeyang… So, what should we do?”
Keeping close to them despite the cold wind, Oh Yoori spoke carefully.
“I’ve been thinking about this, and I hope you don’t mind me sharing my thoughts.”
“Sure, Yoori, go ahead.”
“I understand your feelings of impatience and not wanting to fall behind. Honestly, I also had thoughts like, ‘Am I going crazy before debuting?’ But, feelings aren’t that easy to sort out. I’ve been a bit crazy myself, unable to get my heart in order.”
“Did I go crazy thinking about debuting?” I mean, it’s not like you can just sort your feelings so easily, right? I’ve done some crazy things myself because I couldn’t sort my feelings out.
“…”
“But you and I both don’t want Team Leader Seon to hate us, right? I’m not mad enough to put everyone in TwoBear in crisis over personal favors… at least not yet.”
“…Not yet, huh.”
“So, there’s only one answer. We hide it instead of enduring it.”
“Hide it? Yoori, what does that even mean?”
When Gyeoul questioned the odd nuance of the word, Oh Yoori shivered slightly from the cold breeze and replied.
“You just have to pretend to be a little kid who’s simply craving attention, not a woman. And express that favor as just simple closeness instead of romantic feelings. After all, it’s the same goal to leave positive emotions in Team Leader Seon’s heart, which might even get us deeper into their feelings in the process, right? It’s the opposite of the usual ‘I did it because you seemed like my daughter.’”
“Doesn’t that sound a bit criminal?”
“Gaeul unni has already committed that crime.”
“…I’m sorry.”
“The metaphor’s a bit off, I admit. ‘I did it because you seemed like my dad…’ Isn’t that a good shield? Considering Team Leader Seon’s personality, they’d probably welcome it rather than be offended!”
Gyeoul, lost in thought, finally asked.
“…How long do we keep that up?”
“Until they see us as a woman, not a child…”
As if she felt that wasn’t enough, Oh Yoori tilted her head slightly and added.
“Until that person doesn’t feel a sudden confession as an attack or anything.”
*
The weekly evaluation wrapped up.
Even though it’s the same regular evaluation held every week, we at TwoBear always participated with passion and thorough analysis, seeking improvements.
But today, the focus and analysis were even more intense because of the unique significance it held.
This was the first evaluation specifically analyzing the picture we would see when Oh Yoori, the last member, joined in. Plus, it was the first evaluation since James Oh officially joined to take on the producing role. Essentially, we were finally able to think and assess what the complete picture looked like.
“First off, I want to ask what you think, James.”
After a moment of pondering with a tablet in hand, Cheon Aram’s question prompted him to respond.
“The quality is much higher than I expected. I already knew that trainee Oh Yoori was an exceptional trainee with both talent and effort during the Girl 100 process. However, Jin Yeoreum and Yoo Gaeul truly gave me an unimagined misjudgment.”
“Misjudgment?”
“I considered Han Gyeoul’s talent to be a top-tier talent that only a select few possess. To put it simply, I thought of her as a genius, and that word doesn’t even do her justice. But because of that genius, I was also worried. I believed that Han Gyeoul’s charm could overshadow the other trainees, making her shine alone.”
“I thought she was an ordinary talent. However, because she’s such a genius, I also worried. I believed that Han Gyeoul’s charm could overshadow other trainees, making her shine all on her own.”
Well, I had the chance to see Girl 100 up close as a judge, so it was understandable that I’d feel the impact of Gyeoul’s talent firsthand.
Even now, the overwhelming support rate that Gyeoul received at the end showcased just how exceptional her talent was, and how well that resonated with the viewers.
“Originally, stars tend to shine brightly, so from a commercial standpoint, it’s not a bad thing. Especially for an agency like TwoBear that lacks a prominent name, such a marketing strategy might be a suitable choice. However, from a producer’s perspective, treating an idol group purely as a project can be seen negatively… but it seems that was an unnecessary worry.”
Seeing the kids together, Cheon Aram seemed to have guessed the reason and offered a slight smile as she asked him.
“What led you to think that way?”
“Well, there are two more geniuses here who won’t fall behind Han Gyeoul.”
“…Wow.”
It’s true that someone like James Oh wouldn’t miss recognizing their talents. But the fact that such a renowned figure acknowledged them as geniuses definitely sounded good.
Cheon Aram, Lee Hyerin, and Song Johan all seemed satisfied by James Oh’s glowing praise, wearing proud smiles like a dad’s. Even Seo Soo-yeon was subtly smiling.
I asked the question that needed to be asked on their behalf.
“So, how did the team look?”
Upon hearing that question, James Oh set down his tablet and looked at me.
“They could debut right away!”
*
“In that sense, we’re going to decide on a group name.”
The four trainees, who had been wondering why all the staff from TwoBear gathered together, seemed to nod in understanding.
Amidst that, Oh Yoori asked,
“But why did you call us? Can we participate?”
“Of course! Naming your group means you should definitely participate. Even if you don’t have ideas, it’s fine to just express your agreement or disagreement with others’ suggestions.”
Cheon Aram looked around at the other staff.
“Feel free to share your thoughts. I have something in mind too. The voting will be anonymous, so don’t worry. Oh, and the person who suggests the selected name will receive a prize, so keep that in mind.”
“What’s the prize?”
“My affection?”
“….”
“Just kidding. It’s two VIP tickets to the concert of Seo Ji-hak, the ‘Ballad Prince.’ You could resell them for 80, but seriously, don’t sell them. Got it?”
“Just don’t sell it for real, okay? You get what I mean?”
Anyway, maybe it was because everyone was craving the product that they started to share their opinions little by little.
“How about Love&Peace?”
“That’s been a thing since the Cold War. Feels a bit old-fashioned, don’t you think?”
“Girl Revolution?”
“…Gyeoul, how about we try to get away from the red a bit?”
“I think it’s not bad at all, actually?”
“Alright, let’s keep it for now.”
“…Is my sense of humor weird?”
“How about ViVaDi?”
“Soo-yeon, what does that even mean?”
“Visual, various, distance. If I were to paraphrase, it would be something like ‘the varied distances of vision.’ And ViVaDi kind of reminds me of Vivaldi, the composer for the four seasons. Coincidentally, all our kids have names symbolizing seasons, right?”
“Hmmm… okay, let’s keep that.”
“Speaking of seasons, what if we just go with ‘Seasons’?”
“But even if we set other kids aside, Yuri doesn’t really fit with the seasons, does she?”
“…Actually, Yuri’s birth name is…”
“AAAH! Team Leader Seon, that’s a secret!”
“…What the heck is her birth name?”
“How about Suncheiser?”
“…Older Sister Gaeul, we agreed to keep that hidden.”
“Class4 is…”
“I’m good with Twenty…”
Once the discussion got rolling, everyone started throwing out names one by one.
It didn’t seem like they were saying them just for the sake of the prize; it looked like everyone had at least one name floating around in their heads.
As the whiteboard filled up with names and no one was saying anything more, I finally spoke up.
“How about Poseconds?”
“Poseconds? If you take it literally, it means 4 seconds? Team Leader, what does that mean?”
I looked at each of the kids and said with a smile, “1 second for Yuri, 2 seconds for Yeoreum, 3 seconds for Gaeul, and finally 4 seconds for Gyeoul—just 4 seconds is enough time to fall for these kids.”
Feeling proud of my witty remark, I turned back to the kids, only to find them in complete silence.
“‘….’”
…What’s going on? Why is nobody saying anything?
The reaction was strange. I thought I’d come up with a really good name that would get a positive response, but instead, everyone at TwoBear just sat there silently.
Hoping for someone to say something, I made eye contact with each of them, and I noticed Gaeul, Gyeoul, and Yeoreum all blushing and avoiding my gaze.
…Is my sense of humor really that bad?
Seeing their reactions, Oh Yoori let out a small sigh, almost defeated.
“…So this is what happens when Taeyang acts like that, huh?”
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