Chapter 80

Episode 80

[You have been selected as an appropriate target. The ‘Memory of Possibility’ will be used.]

Having checked that message, Gyeoul’s consciousness began to fade as if she were being sucked in.

*

“Stop doing unnecessary things and just do what the agency tells you. Keep in mind that every action you’re taking can have a huge negative impact on SS’s image.”

“…Yes. I’ll try to be as quiet as possible.”

“Well, what can I say to someone who can’t even do that and made this mess…? Ugh, what crime did I commit to deserve this kind of aftercare…?”

“I’m sorry. I won’t do it again…”

Beep, beep.

Receiving a call from Alcest’s team manager, Gyeoul sincerely apologized with all her heart. But for some reason, he seemed irritated with her throughout the call.

She felt so sad and guilty for making someone’s heart feel so uncomfortable.

Thus, even though she knew the call had ended, she apologized into the air once more.

“I’m really sorry….”

Gyeoul felt herself sinking into a swamp of guilt, overwhelmed by emotions.

The floor of the hallway leading to her accommodation felt like a sticky swamp, ready to engulf her.

With heavy footsteps, she headed toward her separate accommodation for Alcest members.

– Did you enjoy selling your body, you whore? –

It was a curse-laden remark.

Gyeoul stopped in her tracks upon seeing those words written in red paint right in front of her accommodation.

The agency had secretly prepared this new lodging for her, yet it seemed even this had been discovered by Chanyeong’s stalker fans.

Today, her sanctuary felt even more unfamiliar as she opened the door lock.

What she thought would be a short-lived rumor was growing into something bigger with Shade’s visual member Chanyeong and her scandals.

It was becoming a personal threat beyond her daily life.

As Shade was known for having one of the most malicious fandoms among current boy idol groups, the level of torment was incredibly severe and vicious.

It was far too difficult for Gyeoul to endure it all alone.

The situation had likely escalated due to Chanyeong leaving a post alluding to her desires, but the other Alcest members shunning Gyeoul and fostering negative opinions also played a significant role.

SS was not ignoring the situation. They negotiated with Chanyeong’s agency to take down the post, had him write a clarification, and temporarily banned the Alcest members’ SNS activities, but that alone was insufficient to resolve the situation.
After consulting with the agency, they took down the post and had him leave a clarification, while also temporarily banning the Alcest members from social media. However, that alone was not enough to resolve the situation.

Once a spark ignites, even if it clears away the brush, it spreads by burning other firewood.

Like crumbling firewood, Gyeoul walked precariously, having only stripped off her outerwear and socks, and laid down on the bed with her beloved pillow.

In this small space, there was surely no one to shout “whore” at her, no one to poke at her faults with hurtful words, and no one to curse her in a small voice, as if she were a nuisance.

Perhaps it could be called a small peace.

Yet, her heart was not at ease.

She felt tired.

She felt sad.

She felt troubled.

She felt scared.

“…Teacher Taeyang.”

She felt lonely.

Gyeoul hesitated multiple times, pressing and deleting her smartphone, which she had taken from her pocket.

Seon Taeyang’s number appeared on the dial, but she couldn’t press it.

It was because she didn’t want to remain a nuisance to him.

Instead of dialing his number, Gyeoul pressed her grandfather’s number.

The call connected shortly after ringing.

“Grandfather?”

“Oh, is that you, Gyeoul?”

“…Yes, Han Gyeoul. Is the workshop alright?”

“What workshop?”

She finally managed to speak through the guilt gnawing at her.

“I heard the Shade fans are doing strange things because of me. I’m really sorry about that…”

“Oh, dear. Don’t apologize.”

His gentle voice came through the phone.

“Those annoying ladies can do whatever they want; I don’t care. As long as you’re happy, that’s what matters.”

“…Grandfather.”

Gyeoul had clearly been afraid of and avoided her grandfather before.

She thought he disliked her.

She thought he saw her as just a burden.

But now, she didn’t think that way anymore.

They talked for a long time.

About his past, everyday life as a craftsman, how he saw her on television, about songs, and about her mother.

He wasn’t just a distant, strict person.

He wasn’t someone who hated Gyeoul.

He might have shown a grumpy reaction in the past. He may have kept his distance too much.

But her grandfather was just a single human being.

And he was her family.

In the ongoing conversation, she came to realize that he was a family who cared for her.
Inside, she realized that he was family who cared for her.

It all started from the day Seon Taeyang broke the ice.

“How’s that friend?”

“That friend?”

“Seon Taeyang. He hasn’t called once, must be really busy. That rascal.”

With her grandfather’s crooked words, she laughed softly.

“He seems very busy. Last time we talked, he said he barely slept six hours over three days. He was struggling.”

“See, I told you to work at the same company as him. Young folks these days never listen to their elders. Wouldn’t it be nice if Seon Taeyang was right next to you now?”

Gyeoul imagined what it would be like to have him there.

It would feel so, so reassuring.

“Yeah, it would have been really nice… but Teacher Taeyang has his own life. I shouldn’t expect him to take care of just me. That would be asking too much.”

At Gyeoul’s words, her grandfather sighed and said,

“This is why I might die without hearing my granddaughter’s wedding news.”

“…Wedding? Who?”

“Who else? You and Seon Taeyang, of course.”

“…Huh? No way! How could someone like me be with Teacher Taeyang?”

“Hey, what’s wrong with you? What do you lack? I can even show you my land deed! A handsome guy and a lovely girl with lots of money—what’s not to endure?”

“…Still.”

Her grandfather burst out laughing and said,

“I’m all for it. Just know that.”

Gyeoul smiled purely for the first time in a long while.

“I’ll remember that.”

That was her last conversation with her grandfather.

*

Snow was falling heavily from the sky.

The piling snow made the world look holy and serene.

But this place was not like that.

“It’s for the citizens’ right to know!”

“So, interviews will be arranged later? This is a mourning space right now!”

“Witch! You’re being punished!”

“Damn kids. I put up a restriction for entry, how did they sneak in? Think SS is a pushover? Go chase them out right now!”

A space to honor the dead.

That’s why, more than ever, respect and silence were needed, yet this funeral was louder than ever.

Confusion, chaos, desire, hatred, weariness.

This wasn’t a space for the saintly grandfather of Gyeoul.
And it wasn’t a space for Gyeoul either.

“…Haa, haa.”

Everyone. Everyone was laughing at her.

A person was a knife, a person was a gun, a person was a prison.

A person was hell.

Gyeoul crouched in the corner, her head lowered.

And she screamed silently.

‘…I want to die.’

“Gyeoul!”

Gyeoul looked up towards the voice she could never forget.

“Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?”

It was Seon Taeyang.

“…Teacher Taeyang.”

When Gyeoul felt her life weighed down to the breaking point.

When the fear of people and the coldness of life made her breath shorten and the word ‘end’ seemed like a temptation.

The man called Seon Taeyang appeared to her.

“You’ve had a hard time, right? It’s okay now. I’ll help you.”

He was always like that.

“Teacher Taeyang, I’m fine. I can be alone. So you don’t have to take your time for me.”

“No, you need someone by your side right now. So I’ll be next to you.”

Gyeoul struggled to hold back emotions and tears, trying to speak as calmly as possible.

“Teacher Taeyang, you’re busy. Really busy. I don’t want to take your time.”

Seon Taeyang smiled warmly, more than ever before.

“No, I’m not busy at all. I’m so free it’s getting boring!”

“But you have so much work at the company!”

“If a company has a problem because one person is missing, that company is really…”

Just as he was saying that, his phone rang.

“Oops, sorry. Just a moment.”

Then he answered the phone, leaving behind just a brief, “I’m sorry, I can’t work right now,” before hanging up.

“You see? You’re busy even now!”

“No, this is something that doesn’t need me….”

Then the phone rang again. While Taeyang asked for a moment on the call, his second and third phones buzzed in alarm like sirens, alarming everyone.

He looked extremely busy.

Meeting Gyeoul’s trembling eyes, Taeyang made a decision. He turned off all the phones and tossed them into a nearby trash can.

Then he smiled warmly, just like he did when he held her hand once.

“I have so much time.”

---

Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.