Chapter 93

Chapter 93

After a long time, I returned to the orphanage where I last met Yeoreum, and as soon as I opened the door, I was met with a swarm of kids.

“It’s Team Leader Seon!”

“Really? We weren’t abandoned after all?”

“I thought I was left behind too!”

“…When did I ever abandon you guys?”

Please, no scary accusations like that, especially not at an orphanage—it doesn’t sound funny at all…

I mean, I haven’t even gotten married, let alone have kids!

“Wow! Team Leader Seon, do the dance again!”

“Dance? Our Team Leader Seon is amazing at girl group dances!”

“…Where did you pick up that old person speak?”

“Brother Taeyang! Trouble Chaser! Trouble Chaser!”

No matter when you see them, those kids were overly lively.

They were already asking for a seductive sexy dance less than a minute after I arrived.

“No, guys, I’m really glad to see you again and I want to do something, but I told you I’m never dancing again, right? Last time I said just once and no more!”

“You actually believed that?”

I did, you little rascal.

At that moment, Yoon Haneul, wearing an apron, walked out of the kitchen to greet me.

“Team Leader Seon? It’s been a while!”

“Nice to see you, Haneul! Is everything alright at the orphanage?”

She wiped her hands on her apron and replied.

“Well, if you call ‘everything’ a lot, then yes.”

“What kind of things?”

Yoon Haneul grinned and said,

“Since Yeoreum left, Jinkang’s support has been pouring in—staff, facilities, and supplies are all top-notch now. You won’t have to do things like cleaning the toilets anymore; we have bidets everywhere now!”

“That’s a relief. Yeoreum will be really happy about that.”

“Although the kids seem to miss the days when Yeoreum was around.”

“…I feel bad showing my face after taking Yeoreum away.”

While I was chatting with Yoon Haneul, the kids who had been chanting for a dance rushed over. Surprising me with unexpected fervor were the kids who especially followed Gyeoul and Gaeul. They approached me and asked:

“Brother Taeyang, where’s Gyeoul?”

“Didn’t Gaeul come? Bro?”

I delivered the news to them.

“This time, Gyeoul and Gaeul couldn’t come. They’re all busy with other things.”

“…Aww.”

“It’s a bummer, it’s a bummer.”

“Let’s go home.”

“…What a waste. I wanted to hear ‘Bluebeard the Whale’.”

With that, they began to disperse as if their mission was accomplished.
“Instead, Yeoreum came?”

As the kids, who had been looking at me with disinterest, turned their eyes wide in surprise, the door behind me opened, and Yeoreum appeared.

“Hey everyone, it’s been a while!”

“Waaaah!”

“Yeoreum unnie!”

The kids rushed towards Yeoreum like a horde of zombies that just spotted a living creature.

The energy was off the charts.

I felt like someone was going to get hurt.

I quickly said to Haneul while trying to protect both the kids and Yeoreum,

“Haneul, please help me out! At this rate, someone might get hurt!”

“Yeoreum, waaaah!”

…No, you stay out of this and help me, please.

*

The kids were all tangled up around Yeoreum, squabbling as if they were trying to grab her attention more than anyone else.

Yeoreum looked a bit overwhelmed by their ruckus, and while she was trying to calm them down, she couldn’t hide the small smile that surfaced.

Seeing this, Haneul, who was watching with disbelief, said to me,

“When Yeoreum is here, you call her scary and strict, but now that she’s gone, they cling to her like this. I guess you don’t realize what you miss until it’s gone?”

I looked at Yeoreum fondly and replied,

“They must have missed her. Yeoreum is certainly someone worth missing. If she disappeared, I would miss her too. A lot.”

It was that feeling that made me run to the airport to catch her.

And I had no regrets about that choice whatsoever.

“That’s right. If Yeoreum were to disappear, I would miss her too. … I didn’t show it, but my heart really hurt when she suddenly decided to study abroad. When I first heard that news, I pretended to support your choice, but once I got home, I wished I could kneel and beg her not to go. I regretted it.”

Haneul flipped her sky-blue hair and looked back at me.

“So, I’m really thankful that Team Leader Seon held onto Yeoreum. We may not meet as often as we did during our volunteer days, but unlike America, we can see her anytime if we just put our minds to it, right? Like now.”

Her face held pure relief.

“How did you become such good friends with Yeoreum?”

“What kind of relationship are you talking about?”

“A relationship where you can support, cheer, and miss each other.”

“We’re friends?”

“Very good friends.”

“…Good friends, huh.”

In the previous episode, I had thought that the contrasting situations of Jin Yeoreum, who had to give up volunteering due to being caught up with a wealthy heir, and Yoon Haneul, who managed to soar by using her as a stepping stone, would mean their relationship wasn’t great. However, seeing her now, I realized that assumption was a huge misunderstanding.
Seeing the contrasting situation of Yoon Haneul, who had succeeded in rising up, I initially thought their relationship wasn’t very good. However, looking at her now, I realized that assumption was a huge misunderstanding.

Still, I wondered how these two completely different individuals became friends.

“Did I ever mention that I used to do rhythmic gymnastics when I was younger?”

This was the first I had heard of it. I shook my head slightly.

“I wasn’t nearly as talented as Yeoreum. Back then, I was too proud to admit it, and I think I was just an average person. Despite that, I didn’t want to lose to a genius like Jin Yeoreum. The person herself had no idea, but I pretended to be her rival all by myself. …I was too proud to just give up because of a difference in talent.”

Since she was young, all the media praised Jin Yeoreum as a genius of the century, focusing all their attention on her. Yoon Haneul, in a place where the spotlight didn’t reach, must have just watched from the sidelines as the so-called “motive.” Overcoming that and choosing to challenge herself couldn’t just be summed up as mere pride; it was far more meaningful.

“What a wonderful spirit of competition!”

“…Spirit of competition? …That’s right. I wanted to rise to the same level as Yeoreum. I wanted to let the distant Yeoreum know that I could always catch up. I wanted to be a true rival on equal footing. …But the ending was, as Team Leader Seon knows, a disaster.”

“…”

We momentarily fell silent and watched Yeoreum bursting into laughter with the kids.

“The ending of Yeoreum’s story isn’t out yet, and it isn’t a disaster either. I won’t let it be that way.”

“…I’ll be looking forward to it.”

Yoon Haneul, leaving a refreshing smile directed at me, continued.

“Anyway, after Yeoreum reluctantly retired, I felt like I had lost my purpose. It was as if the place I had viewed as the finish line of my race had suddenly been bombed and collapsed. With that motivation disappearing, I also quit rhythmic gymnastics. Instead, I started to pursue being an idol. While rhythmic gymnastics began at my parents’ suggestion, being an idol was something I originally wanted to try.”

The director came out and started welcoming Yeoreum. She seemed pleased as well, embracing the director warmly.

It was a warm sight that looked like a grandmother and granddaughter relationship.

Watching that scene joyfully, Yoon Haneul said,

“While learning dance and song and occasionally doing volunteer work during that time, I met Yeoreum here. When I encountered that miraculous coincidence, I thought, ‘I absolutely have to befriend this girl.’ So I kept pursuing her relentlessly, believing that no tree remains unshaken after a thousand knocks.”
While I was learning Rae and occasionally volunteering, I ended up meeting Yeoreum here. When I faced that miraculous coincidence, I thought, ‘I absolutely have to become friends with this kid.’ So, I kept pursuing her without limits, convinced that there’s no tree that won’t fall after being struck a thousand times.”

“So that’s how you became close.”

“No, she found it annoying?”

…Where did friendship go?

“But during that process, we quarreled about this and that, and we ended up sharing our true feelings—things we had never told anyone else. Among those secrets was that we both had an interest in idols.”

Yoon Haneul puffed up her cheeks and said, “Do you know how happy I was then? Even though I had shifted from rhythmic gymnastics to idols, the possibility of becoming rivals with Yeoreum again filled me with excitement.”

I looked at her with cheeks all puffed out like a child and chuckled softly, “That excitement has become a reality.”

“That’s right. We expected it, but both Yeoreum and I thought it was a dream that wouldn’t come true.”

“Yeoreum is kinder and more sensitive than anyone. It’s frustrating to watch sometimes.”

“In this world, she’s a rare breed.”

Yoon Haneul’s words closely resembled my own impression of Jin Yeoreum. She was a painfully pure person. So, I wanted to protect her.

“A kid like Yeoreum is too innocent to live in this world. And people just used her like she was an easy target. So, she must have been unhappy… if it weren’t for Team Leader Seon.”

“I didn’t do anything that great.”

“Hehe, I’ll pass on the modesty. I expect a great Team Leader Seon.”

That was quite a troublesome expectation.

“Thank you. Please look after Yeoreum. So that both she and I can dream the same dream.”

Looking at her, I quietly resolved and replied, “I will do everything I can to ensure that expectation doesn’t turn into disappointment. I also want to see you two as rivals.”

We smiled at each other.

Then, I heard clapping from behind me.

Clap! Clap! Clap!

“What a touching story.”

It was James Oh, wearing his trademark gold-rimmed glasses with a golden strap.

…What are you doing here?

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