Vrooooom-.
“…….”
“…….”
The car ride home was quiet.
This was because the bald-headed Older Brother Sang-gu in the driver’s seat and Kang Hyung-man in the passenger seat were already people of few words, and I was too exhausted to say anything.
‘This is awkward.’
But it felt a bit too quiet, so I squeezed out every last bit of energy to ask Kang Hyung-man.
“Aren’t my mom and dad coming?”
“…!”
At my question, Kang Hyung-man flinched for a moment and then replied.
“Those fools probably don’t even know today is your return day. …I didn’t bring them on purpose, just in case you feel upset.”
“No, not at all.”
I answered sternly to the question of whether I was upset about my parents not coming.
“If they had come, I would’ve been angry. I was actually about to say I’m glad they didn’t.”
“…Right.”
Mom, Dad.
Thinking about how much they would’ve tormented me if they had come sent chills down my spine.
As I grimaced and stuck my tongue out, Kang Hyung-man quietly observed me and then asked.
“How was Na Ah Ah?”
“…….”
How Na Ah Ah was…, it was a simple yet complicated question.
After pondering for a moment, I answered with a clear yet loaded response.
“It was a shitty place.”
“……!”
“……!”
At my reply, both Kang Hyung-man and Older Brother Sang-gu who was driving flinched.
Vroooom-.
“…I’m sorry.”
Older Brother Sang-gu seemed so startled that he briefly swerved out of lane.
“…Drive safely.”
“…Yes.”
Kang Hyung-man scolded Older Brother Sang-gu lightly before turning back to me.
“A shitty place, huh… that doesn’t really sound positive. Can you tell me what happened?”
At that moment, I was worn out from the exhausting Na Ah Ah filming, and I didn’t feel like sharing what I had endured with anyone.
But why…?
“When it comes to the stuff that happened….”
At Kang Hyung-man’s question, I opened my mouth as if I had been waiting for it.
I poured out everything that happened as if opening a dam.
From sitting at rank 99 after entering the set, meeting Yoo Seol, practicing without sleep for a week, to finally Lee Hye-jeong being forcibly ousted from A rank by the production team.
“…Those things happened.”
“I see.”
Kang Hyung-man calmly listened to my story.
When he heard I had rejected Han Si-woo’s recruitment offer, his eyes briefly widened, but that was the only reaction.
He simply listened to me and said this.
“That’s a lot of stuff.”
“…Yes.”
“And it must have been really tough for you.”
“…….”
I paused for a moment at his question and nodded.
“……Yes.”
“Do you regret going on Na Ah Ah?”
“……!”
Regret going on Na Ah Ah?
As soon as I heard that, I thought to myself.
I have to answer no.
If I said I regretted it here, it would be disrespectful to Kang Hyung-man who got me into Na Ah Ah.
But….
“Umm…”
For some reason, the words ‘I don’t regret it’ didn’t come out easily.
As I missed the timing to answer…
“…….”
“…….”
The car was once again filled with awkward silence.
It was Kang Hyung-man who broke that uncomfortable silence, looking out the window and unexpectedly saying.
“If you want to get off, you can get off.”
“…Huh?”
I thought I had misheard, but I hadn’t. Kang Hyung-man said it while looking at me.
“If you feel like it doesn’t suit you, you can quit being an idol.”
“What do you mean….”
If I can quit being an idol, then…
“What about my debt?”
Ah, technically, that’s not my debt. Anyway.
“What about the 200 million won debt?”
If I quit being an idol, what will happen to that 200 million won debt?
Besides, Kang Hyung-man hired two trainers for me. He drove me around daily. It was basic for him to buy me meals during mealtimes.
Adding all those extra expenses, it would be quite a lot.
But Kang Hyung-man spoke on with a smile, as if he didn’t care about such things.
“Why should you care about your parents’ debt? Other petty cash doesn’t matter either.”
Petty cash… I suddenly realized that Kang Hyung-man was loaded with cash.
“If it doesn’t suit you, I have no intention of forcing you. If being an idol doesn’t seem to be your path…, don’t hesitate, just quit.”
“…….”
“But I’ll help you find another job so you can be independent.”
With kindness, you become accustomed. At first, Kang Hyung-man’s kindness felt burdensome and suspicious, but now it didn’t.
If I quit being an idol here, he would introduce me to another job.
“…….”
In that brief moment, a small thought passed through my mind.
And the answer came right away.
“Being an idol…, it’s definitely not easy. Na Ah Ah was… much more brutal than I expected.”
“If that’s the case….”
“So from now on, I’ll put everything on the line.”
“……!”
“I realized how lightly I had approached Na Ah Ah.”
Yoo Seol.
Lee Hye-jeong.
And the other participants.
No one among them was half-hearted.
“If you’re going to do it half-assedly, it’s better to quit. Don’t you realize that by just being here, someone who desperately wants it is losing their chance?”
I will not step on their desperation.
I will outdo them with more fervor than anyone.
I thought this was proper, and it was the only way to relieve this shitty feeling I had now.
“…….”
Did I not know I could say such things?
Kang Hyung-man was looking at me with surprise as I finished my statement.
Then he chuckled and said.
“Ye-rin, you’ve changed.”
“I… have changed?”
“Yeah, you’ve become much tougher.”
I’ve become tougher?
Pfft.
After hearing that, I couldn’t help but chuckle.
Believe it or not, I’m on my second life.
In my previous life, I was an orphan, surviving alone in a harsh world.
In this life, I had to live tougher since not only me but my parents had to be fed as well.
I was already as tough as a poison mushroom, so how much tougher could I become?
“Pfft, I was tough from the start. You know, I’ve been feeding my family since I was a freshman in high school.”
“That’s strength, not toughness. Ye-rin, you were always a strong girl, but you weren’t tough.”
Strength and toughness….
Is there a big difference?
When I tilted my head, Kang Hyung-man laughed again and continued.
“I didn’t mean it in a bad way. You were too naïve before. I’m glad you seem to have changed through Na Ah Ah.”
Kang Hyung-man said this while gazing out the window again.
“Now that you’ve decided to stay on Na Ah Ah, I understand. I trust you and will wait.”
“I as well…”
At that moment, Older Brother Sang-gu in the driver’s seat timidly chimed in.
“I believe in you too… Ye-rin.”
It was amusing that Older Brother Sang-gu, who usually hardly spoke, mustered the courage to cheer.
“Thank you, everyone.”
When I first got in the car, I was extremely tired, but strangely, I began to feel relief halfway through the ride.
After over an hour of travel, the car arrived at my house.
“Ye-rin, can you go in alone? If you need us…”
“This is my house, so of course I have to go in alone.”
When I said that firmly, Kang Hyung-man nodded.
“Right, if your parents bother you again, call me. I’ll send a few of the younger ones.”
Just hearing that gave me strength.
With a smile, I waved goodbye to Kang Hyung-man and Older Brother Sang-gu.
“Okay, I’ll definitely call you. So don’t worry and go.”
“Well, we’ll take our leave now. You did well today.”
Vroooom-.
I watched Kang Hyung-man’s car vanish into the distance before heading inside my home.
Into this filthy apartment where those damn parents of mine lived.
Ding ding-.
“I’m back.”
“Oh! What’s this! Ye-rin!”
“Whoa! Was today the day our daughter comes back?”
These humans seemed completely oblivious that today was my return day, as they jumped in surprise the moment I walked in.
“Oh dear! If I had known, I would’ve gone to pick you up!”
“Yeah, did the filming go well?”
“…It went okay.”
“Honey! Ye-rin handled it well on her own! Who’s daughter is she!”
“Haha! That’s right. From the looks of it, she’s had a good time. Ye-rin, about that…”
As my mom patted my back and pointed to the sink, she spoke.
“You see, there’s been no one to wash dishes while you were gone, right? Could you clean that up first?”
The sink she pointed at was piled high with dishes and leftover takeout containers.
“…….”
As I stared in silence at that tragic sight, Dad took it a step further and asked.
“Ye-rin! Could you wash the dishes and make me kimchi stew for a late-night snack? I’ve been eating only takeout and instant noodles, and I feel like I’ve ruined my insides.”
“…….”
At 11:50 PM, Dad asked his daughter to make him kimchi stew with not an ounce of guilt in his voice.
If it were the old me, I would’ve done as Mom and Dad asked—washing dishes and cooking kimchi stew.
Not to mention doing laundry, cleaning the bathroom, tidying up the rooms, and more, I would’ve dragged my exhausted body to do all the piled-up housework.
But the me now was different. I didn’t want to do anything my parents pushed onto me.
At that moment.
‘Ye-rin, you’ve changed.’
‘Have I… changed?’
‘Yeah, you’ve become much tougher.’
I started to understand why Kang Hyung-man said I had become tougher.
What I had experienced in the past week at Idol Academia was like being in a war zone.
Everyone was desperately trying to survive.
Sometimes they hated each other.
At other times, they shed tears from despair when faced with inexplicable adversity.
Having lived in a place filled with desperate people, I naturally turned tougher.
And I, who had changed….
“I don’t want to.”
“…Huh?”
…My parents, who lived in a world so different from the one I had been in, sent shivers down my spine.
“I said I don’t want to. Mom, why should I clean the dishes? And if you want kimchi stew, make it yourself.”
“…Huh? Ye-rin…! What do you mean…!”
That day was the first time I ever defied my parents.
And….
“I’m tired, so I’m going to bed first. Oh, I’ll be using Dad’s computer room as my personal room from now on, so make sure to clean it up.”
“What, no! Dad’s computer with the RTX-4090 needs careful maintenance….”
“That’s also something I earned from my part-time job!!”
“……Ye, Ye-rin.”
That was also the first time I had ever raised my voice at my parents.
I never realized it before, but after speaking out, it felt easy.
I shot my parents one last warning….
“Clean it up by tomorrow morning. If you don’t, I’ll sell it as second-hand goods.”
Bang.
With that, I walked into my room.
Today was indeed a historic day that would live on forever in Ha Ye-rin’s life.
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