Episode 68
Sitting in the passenger seat, Gyeoul was shaking nervously, her teeth chattering, and she cautiously broke the ice.
“…Teacher Taeyang, have you reconsidered? No matter how I think about it, I believe Gaeul or Yeoreum would do a better job than me.”
Oh dear, our little nerd.
When Gyeoul first mentioned that, I approached the situation carefully. I felt sorry for her lack of confidence stemming from her trauma. After all, she’s carrying that burden.
So, I logically laid out the reasons why she should participate in Girl 100. The repetition of that was no burden at all.
But seriously, that’s something you can only do for a day or two.
Trust me a bit, Gyeoul. I need to drag you along. But what am I supposed to do if you act like this until the recording day?
So I started my extreme persuasion tactic, as if anything goes.
“Gyeoul, why would I want to send you here instead of Gaeul or Yeoreum?”
“Because I’m the only one who will end up looking foolish on camera, allowing me to trick the production team into thinking I’m an entertainment character and create dramatic contrast on stage?”
…You know that perfectly well, so why say that?
“That’s part of it, but the more important reason is much simpler.”
“…What is it?”
“It’s because you’re simply the best.”
“…?”
Gyeoul kept shaking as she looked at me.
“The best?”
Her gaze was filled with uncertainty and a hint of hope.
“…Are you saying that from an objective standpoint? Or is it your subjective view as Teacher Taeyang?”
As she glanced at me with a spark of realization, she started to wilt.
“…Ha ha, of course, that must just be empty flattery. I’m sorry.”
It seemed Gyeoul knew that was excessive praise. I wanted to say she’s the best objectively, but I worried it might be interpreted as a mere morale booster.
Finally, I decided to let loose a bit.
“Everyone has a hard time seeing things objectively. Even if they claim to see things objectively, their accumulated experiences and knowledge differ, leading them to evaluate things based on their subjective view of objectivity.”
“….”
“In that sense, from my perspective, Gyeoul, you shine the brightest.”
Gyeoul froze up.
No more shaking.
“Am I the best in Team Leader Seon’s eyes?”
“Is Team Leader Seon the best?”
“Yep, you’re the best. That’s my objective and subjective opinion.”
“…Am I the best in Teacher Taeyang’s eyes?”
Winter blushed deeply, then suddenly turned pale again, trembling her hands.
And she muttered in a voice too quiet for me to hear.
“…That shouldn’t be… I need to help Older Sister Gaeul.”
She looked more unstable than ever.
No, I threw that compliment to ease the tension, so why is she getting worse?
Did extreme praise just raise the pressure?
Realizing this wouldn’t do, I parked the car and went into the café to buy Winter her favorite banana mocha cream frappuccino.
Since I had set off with a two-hour buffer before the recording, I had plenty of time.
“Eat up, Winter. Sweet things tend to relieve tension a bit.”
Winter carefully accepted the frappuccino and spoke with more clarity than before.
It seemed like she had calmed herself a bit while alone in the car.
“I’m sorry, Teacher Taeyang. I swore I wouldn’t show this side of me anymore… Even though you believed in me, here I am being negative again; I feel like such a fool.”
Winter hid her slightly trembling hands and looked into my eyes as she spoke.
“I’ll change from now on. I won’t be the timid and dependent Han Gyeoul anymore. I’ll be the talented girl that Teacher Taeyang believes in, someone who can manage without burdening you. So I can take care of Older Sister Gaeul and Yeoreum better.”
“It’s okay even if you don’t manage things alone.”
“…Huh?”
Why is the person next to me trying to handle everything alone?
You only need to hold yourself up when no one is around.
“I can’t manage everything either. I struggle with various things, and it’s normal to leave the cleanup to the President or Soo-yeon.”
When Gaeul joined us, and during the negotiation with Jin Baek-ho at Jinkang, it was their help that got us organized like this. Relying on myself to handle everything was arrogance I only dared to have right after my return. I’m not that great of a person.
“So let’s lean on each other a little. If I lean, Winter, you push me back up, and if you slide, I’ll lend you my back. We’ve been doing well like that until now, haven’t we?”
“…That wasn’t me doing well. I was just leaning on you.”
“Because you leaned on me, we got this far.”
Winter, you were my beginning.
“Do you remember when we first met? Back then, you said you needed someone to push you. Looking back now, I think I needed someone like that too.”
“Gyeoul, I told you I needed someone to push me. Looking back now, I think I needed that person back then too.”
“After meeting Gyeoul, I strangely started getting dragged around and then met Cheon Aram, Seo Soo-yeon, Gaeul, Yeoreum, Hyerim, Seok Hyun-woo, and Song Johan.”
“I changed after meeting them, I couldn’t change, and I didn’t change.”
“And that’s how I ended up as the person I am now.”
“If I hadn’t met Gyeoul right after my regression, I wouldn’t have had any of these encounters.”
“And I would surely have become a twisted person, lost in a strange compensation mentality, wanting to rise above others.”
“I might have earned a little more money, but I wouldn’t have been a sight for sore eyes next to anyone.”
“I like the person I am now. And the reason is that I met you.”
Gyeoul stared at me blankly and said, “Teacher Taeyang needs to be happy.”
Her candid words brought a smile to my face.
How could I hate a girl who says something like that?
“Thank you.”
I carefully stroked her hair so it wouldn’t get messed up.
Gyeoul, feeling my touch with her eyes closed, whispered softly, “…I’ll make sure of it. I promise.”
*
“How was the intro interview?”
“Ah… I think I didn’t say anything controversial.”
“Good, then you did well.”
How much amazing entertainment value can you show in a simple scene where you go into the hallway alone, express your enthusiasm, and say, ‘Choose your girl’?
As long as you didn’t mess up or throw a fit, that was enough to be successful.
“But there were a lot more cameras than I expected, so I was a bit surprised.”
“When it goes live, there’ll be even more.”
“…Wow.”
That was the most deflated exclamation in the world.
“But you’ll be able to do well when it actually goes live, right?”
“Me?”
“Yeah, you.”
From what I’ve seen, Gyeoul was pretty strong in real situations.
“You’ve never been nervous in moments where you needed to dance and sing. Like with Cheon Jong-hoon’s interview or at the orphanage.”
She awkwardly twirled a strand of hair with one finger, looking a bit shy.
“When I dance or sing, it feels like I don’t see the gazes of others. …No, I see them, but it’s like they don’t feel like people to me?”
Gyeoul said it nonchalantly, but that mindset was actually a really good way to overcome stage fright.
But that was a really good way to overcome stage fright.
“Does it look like I’m talking to a potato, just like people who often stand on stage say?”
“It’s not a talking potato; it just looks like a 2D character.”
“…Oh, right, impressive.”
I felt something was a bit different, but if they were okay with it, who was I to judge?
“But the moment I dance or sing, I still get nervous just the same!”
“Hmm… well, let’s just see them as 2D characters during normal times when we’re not dancing or singing. Then we shouldn’t get nervous.”
“…Uh, I’ve never consciously tried that before?”
“If you’re already doing it unconsciously, a slight trigger will be enough. Don’t overthink it; let’s give it a shot with me as the target.”
“Ah… okay. I’ll give it a try.”
Gyeoul seemed to take my words seriously, narrowing her eyes to glare at me.
She looked focused, but in a cute way.
Either way, she didn’t seem to look too tense.
I thought it might be somewhat effective, so I asked,
“How is it?”
“…You’re handsome.”
“…Oh, right, thanks.”
Gyeoul, I appreciate it, but sweet-talking a 16-year-old just makes this old man feel awkward.
Just then, the waiting room door burst open.
It seemed another trainee and their manager assigned to this waiting room had come in.
“Hello! I’m Han Gyeoul from TwoBear Entertainment!”
Gyeoul reflexively bowed at a perfect 90 degrees like she was trained for it.
Her reflexes were so impressive I wondered if she had a talent for sports.
At least, I felt satisfied that I wouldn’t hear any complaints about her lacking manners.
I followed her lead, turned my head, and greeted them simply.
“Hello. I’m Seon Taeyang, the team leader at TwoBear Entertainment…”
As I was politely introducing myself, I suddenly froze.
There was a face I would never forget.
“Haha, nice to meet you. I’m Ban Seong-cheol, the manager of Flower Entertainment, accompanying trainee Oh Yoori this time. I look forward to working with you.”
It was Ban Seong-cheol, who had achieved a 1st place contribution to hitting me on the back of my head in the last round.
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