Chapter 189
Sitting in the office with my hands on the keyboard, I was blankly staring at the ceiling when I heard a knock.
After rubbing my dry face and trying to look somewhat presentable, I told her it was fine to come in, and Oh Yoori walked in holding beer in both hands.
“Are you seriously not trying to hide it anymore?”
“Well, I had been hiding it until now. Of course.”
“…I should’ve just gotten rid of Oh Jin-woo’s mini fridge.”
“Cleaning up can wait; let’s just eat something first.”
I sighed heavily but accepted the can Oh Yoori handed me and took a sip.
I looked completely messed up, but without that, I wasn’t sure I could keep my sanity.
Seeing my face, Oh Yoori shook her head and said,
“Seeing that face, Winter Unni must have done something reckless.”
“…Did you know?”
“I didn’t know she’d throw herself at you so boldly. But I did find out that Autumn Unni and Summer Unni promised to date Teacher Taeyang. I don’t know what the future holds, but I’m sure it’s a total mess.”
“….”
Part of me felt a cold sting, thinking, ‘Why didn’t you tell me earlier?’ But I also realized that even if I’d known beforehand, I couldn’t have stopped it.
Even if I’d found out, the location and timing would just have changed. Honestly, it was a relief that it wasn’t on the rooftop or in a small plane.
“So, did you promise to date Winter Unni once your contract ends?”
“…Yeah.”
Oh Yoori let out a hollow laugh at my deflating answer, saying sarcastically,
“Three out of four members of a girl group promised to date their manager at the same time? Haha, they say the entertainment industry is like a mad jungle or animal kingdom, and here I am, experiencing it! …Is this the norm?”
“…No way, if this were the norm, I wouldn’t even have stepped into this industry.”
“Right? I mean, how many people like Team Leader Seon exist in this world?”
“….”
Sipping on our non-alcoholic beers, we both sighed until Oh Yoori suddenly exclaimed as if she just remembered something.
“Wait, it’s all because Team Leader Seon was flirting like crazy! You’re supposed to charm them moderately, not like you’re breathing!”
“When did I ever flirt with anyone? Am I crazy enough to hit on underage idols?”
I protested. I am not a lunatic.
Sighing, Oh Yoori replied,
“Sigh… So you’ve been living like this all along? Looking back, this entire situation is all Team Leader Seon’s fault! With that face! Doing everything you can! Clinging to them, showering them with love! And the trauma building in your heart? Just ripped apart like it’s nothing! How is that not flirting?!”
“I’m devoted to everything! Clinging to my side, asking for everything like it’s gold and jade! But when it comes to the trauma in my heart, I’m tearing it out and destroying it from the root! How is that not flirting?!”
Her intense reaction made me feel a bit skeptical, but I cautiously retaliated.
“Well… that’s something an adult should naturally do. Anyone with ability and heart would act like me, right?”
Oh Yoori sighed in frustration, thumping her chest.
“Why is that the same line coming out here? Do you think there are actually more than two crazy self-sacrificing people in this world?”
…Or maybe there are? With so many people in this world, there has to be at least one.
…Or not.
“And it’s not like I’m handsome. I’ve been called greasy or looking like I have a disease so many times.”
“When did you hear that from whom?”
“…Uh, I mean.”
Before my regression, I probably heard it the most from the idol I was managing, Seri, right?
…Come to think of it, she did say that persistently every time she saw me.
What’s up with that? Did she really hate me that much?
Eh, even though we parted ways on a bad note after the company went under, our relationship wasn’t that bad, so she wouldn’t have said it without reason. Right?
Wasn’t she just suggesting I should self-reflect and take care of myself?
In the last cycle, she was one of the few people I could positively recall, and I didn’t want to think negatively of her.
“I’ve heard that from a supposedly trustworthy kid. Since I have no answer with my face, she told me to meet someone I wouldn’t have to look at.”
“…”
“How am I supposed to flirt with kids who are about 10 years younger than me? If I did that, it’d be so trashy that everyone would run away.”
Oh Yoori looked at me, holding her head, muttering something like, ‘No matter how I see it, it feels like I’m being gaslit.’
No, that can’t be. Why would Seri gaslight me? I mean, there’s probably something to lose.
“Forget it. Let’s just leave it at that for now. Whatever the cause, the situation has already occurred.”
“Okay, that’s what I wanted.”
So, while we wrapped up the suspect search, the overwhelming situation was still unresolved.
As we stared at the daunting reality with our heads together, she asked.
“Do you have a plan? Or maybe a guideline?”
“I don’t have a plan, but I do have a guideline.”
“There’s nothing, but there’s a policy.”
“What is it?”
“Breaking all the promises.”
“…Wow.”
Oh Yoori, who was stunned by my words, blinked in confusion.
“Are you really going to do that?”
“Of course! Am I supposed to keep this insane relationship going with the three idols and date all of them after our contracts end? What would it be, four of us dating together?”
I wasn’t planning on it, and I didn’t think the kids would want that either.
What? It’s not a public good, how could people date like that?
Before talking about five years from now, just considering the positions of idols and managers makes this current relationship nonsensical.
“But you could just pick one and date that person, right?”
“That’s how we got into this mess! Now, if I suddenly say I love one person and act like the promise with the other two never existed, do you think that would lead to some kind of peaceful resolution?”
Oh Yoori seemed to share that thought and nodded.
“Of course, that wouldn’t work.”
“Right.”
“That would put Team Leader Seon in a position that isn’t a joke, he could get hurt.”
“That’s… huh?”
Why would there be bloodshed?
“But, Yoori, blood means…”
“So, how exactly are you planning to break these promises?”
“Um, well. If I say right now that the promises never existed, …I might end up facing the worst situation I can imagine. So, I can’t do that.”
The image of Gaeul, still laughing with the sunset on her back, and the sight of Yeoreum, caught in an NPC bug, repeatedly confessing her love, wouldn’t leave my mind.
I really thought that depending on the choices I made, those kids could be put in danger.
…Gyeoul might be cute compared to those two, but her spontaneous actions were no joke either.
“So, what should we do? Honestly convincing them wouldn’t make them back off quietly.”
“I need to make those kids realize that they can’t move forward positively in this relationship.”
“That sounds attractive, but how do we do that?”
I brought up what I had thought out for Oh Yoori, who tilted her head.
“I’m going to treat those kids with extreme professionalism. I don’t think it’s the case, but to avoid any misunderstandings of flirting…, I’ll completely exclude emotions in our interactions.”
“…Are you seriously ignoring me and not even saying hello first?”
“No way. That’s negative. What I need to do is approach this with a purely professional attitude, neither positive nor negative.”
Oh Yoori was stroking her chin, seemingly calculating something in her head.
After finishing her mental math, she spoke seriously.
“Well, it doesn’t seem like a completely hopeless method. The risks aren’t that high either… Right now, it seems like all the older sisters are too emotionally charged. Just stopping the escalation wouldn’t be a bad idea.”
“Yeah, besides, even though they’re going through this situation, Gaeul, Yeoreum, and Gyeoul are all wise kids. Experiencing this distance could help them objectively assess the current situation. If we keep going in this direction, it’ll only lead to a disaster with no positive outcome for anyone.”
At that moment, Oh Yoori seemed to catch something and raised her hand to ask.
“Wait, did you say ‘creating distance’?”
“Yeah, creating distance. There’s nothing quite like it for objectively judging and reflecting on the situation.”
“…Is that really okay?”
“What’s not okay?”
Oh Yoori, visibly anxious, started sweating lightly.
“Can the older sisters handle that?”
I spoke with conviction.
“I mentioned the term ‘negative.’ Again, I’ll avoid those difficult negative experiences for the kids. It’ll always be professional. I’m not going to speak poorly; I’ll keep the consideration for their feelings and states.”
“But what if they can’t handle even that?”
“Yuri, I think you’re underestimating those three kids a bit too much.”
Han Gyeoul, Yoo Gaeul, Jin Yeoreum.
All three kids were strong and had righteous hearts. They each overcame significant sadness to become the hottest idols in this country, and that strength made it possible.
“Trust those kids. They’re not the type to crumble over this.”
“…”
After hesitating and pondering, Oh Yoori nodded as if she reached the same conclusion.
“That’s true. Right. They might have their moments of too much love, but they’re not weak.”
She then smiled lightly, confident.
“Surely, it won’t escalate to this level, will it?”
*
And the next day, I immediately started creating distance.
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