Episode 10

“Taeyang ssam, it’s about time to leave.”

“Yeah, it’s safe to be there 30 minutes ahead of the appointment time. Let’s get ready to go.”

Finally, the day had come.

The frustration of the past few days flashed through my mind like a panorama.

Gyeoul’s attitude was exemplary.

Except for the moment she started calling me Taeyang ssam instead of ahjussi, she followed all advice and didn’t slack off.¹

Gyeoul’s talent wasn’t bad either.

Considering the dramatic improvement just based on the advice of a non-professional dance trainer like me, her talent truly proved the A-class potential shown in the status window.

The problem was the bad habits she had learned without any solid foundation.

Whenever I corrected one habit, new bad habits popped up, like peeling an onion.

Every time I asked where she learned such things, the same answer came out: Yeji advised her.

It was truly frustrating.

Through this week of correction sessions, even though I had never seen her face, Yeji earned the right to be my enemy.

Because of that, my heart was full of determination to make Gyeoul pass, just to spite Yeji.

“Got it? The moment you fail, Yeji’s harassment will start again. She’ll bring all the local bullies and yell, ‘You thought you could pass the audition? Someone like you?’ and trample you!”

“Uh… I don’t think it will go that far…”

Gyeoul still hadn’t learned enough about Yeji.

Defending the devil of Jeonnam, Yeji.

I was about to give a speech on Yeji’s viciousness but decided to postpone it after checking the time.

“Enough, check if you haven’t forgotten anything.”

“Yes! ID card for identification, check!”

“Confirmed.”

“Makeup for touch-ups, check!”

“Confirmed.”

“Extra stockings, check!”

“Confirmed.”

“Winged sanitary pads, check!”

“Confir– No, don’t tell me that.”

I didn’t want to know too much personal information.

Though it seemed I already knew too much.

“Anyway, it looks like we’re ready. I’ll give you a ride, so let’s go.”

“Wow! A Matiz!”

Gyeoul energetically slung her bulging backpack, which reminded me of a hermit crab, and dashed out to the parking lot.

Having given her rides to the practice room a few times, she found her way well.

I grabbed the sushi lunchbox my sister made for when Gyeoul might get hungry during the audition and followed her.

Arriving at the parking lot, I passed by Gyeoul waiting like a meerkat, and started my sister’s prized Matiz.

“Get in.”

Gyeoul ran over, threw her bag in the back seat, and sat in the passenger seat.

“Seatbelt, check!”

“Confirmed.”

After confirming Gyeoul had indeed fastened her seatbelt, I set the navigation to SS’s audition venue and started driving carefully.

“Oh, I forgot to take you to the hair salon. We should have either bleached it again or dyed it black…”

Not changing that awkward blonde, which seemed to be done at home, was my mistake.

That hair amplified the typical cheap look of a delinquent.

“Don’t dye your hair at home. It’s hard to get good results, and it can severely damage your hair and scalp.”

“Oh, I’m mixed-race, so my hair color isn’t bleached; it’s genetic.”

With mixed-race parents and her grandfather as her only guardian, she must have had a tough life, too.

“Is that so…? I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. Hehe.”

“Well, it’s good we fixed your clothes and makeup. The police didn’t buy my bullshit for no reason back then. You were the epitome of a delinquent.”

Even now, with her sharp eyes and blonde hair, traces remain.

But with the bright crop top and wide pants I coordinated, this much was considered individuality.

However, Gyeoul’s appearance back then was really problematic.

“Why did someone as timid as you dress like that?”

Agencies, which have to lock girls in practice rooms and push them to their limits, wouldn’t like a delinquent vibe that could create discord among girls who’ve been praised as beautiful their whole lives.

At best, they’d look at you with suspicion, wondering if you had any hidden school violence incidents.

Therefore, it was no exaggeration to say that Gyeoul’s outfit when I saw her on the bridge was close to the worst for an audition.

She’d lose 30 points the moment they saw her face.

“Uh… Yeji helped me with the clothes and makeup. She said it was a popular style among high school students in Seoul.”

“Geez, that psychopath Yeji.”

Yeji, the devil of Jeonnam and a master of gaslighting, was involved here too.

“When you go back, don’t associate with her at all!”

I shouted with boiling anger.

“Repeat after me! Yeji is my enemy!”

“I don’t think it’s that extreme…”

“Repeat!”

“Y-Yeji is my enemy!”

I was very satisfied.

I drove happily, imagining Yeji going mad with jealousy and groveling on the ground when she saw Gyeoul as a trainee at SS.

“By the way, you know how my grandpa talked weirdly about my taste back then?”

“Oh, the half-naked anime girl character? Well, you could like girls. I respect sexual diversity, so don’t worry.”

“No! I like men!”

Gyeoul desperately explained that she just liked a popular anime character who happened to wear revealing clothes and that it wasn’t a weird character or anime.

She added that she had a common and normal heterosexual orientation, preferring older men, and that an age difference of up to ten years was okay, which was unnecessary information.

It was the loudest she had spoken since we met.

She must have been really flustered.

“Sure, it’s your taste; who cares? It’s much better than following Yeji’s gaslighting. But please stop using that half-naked character as your profile picture.”

“…Isn’t it cute?”

“The character might be cute, but the owner behind it wouldn’t be.”

Honestly, I thought it was cute, but I didn’t think the strict Cheon Jonghoon would like it.

So I spoke a bit harshly.

“It makes you seem like someone who hugs a character pillow and only watches anime without ever going outside. So please change it.”

Gyeoul, looking shocked, explained.

“…I do go outside sometimes.”

…The rest matched, huh?

Gyeoul quietly changed her profile picture and then excitedly talked about the budget-friendly malatang my sister had made yesterday.

Responding appropriately to Gyeoul’s unusually chatty mood today, seemingly to ease her nerves, we reached the bridge where I found her a week ago.

I never imagined things would turn out like this back then.

Who could have expected to get involved with a high schooler who seemed to be attempting suicide?

Passing the bridge, a strange sentiment came to mind.

Gyeoul also seemed to feel that sentiment, as she stopped her continuous chatter and stared blankly at the bridge outside the window.

After passing the bridge and almost arriving at the audition venue, Gyeoul spoke again.

“Hey, Taeyang ssam.”

“Yeah?”

“How should I repay the favor I received from you?”

“Which one?”

“All of them. I’ve received so much, I can’t think of a way to repay it.”

“How about you give me your first settlement?”

“Ah, I have to give that to my grandpa, so that might be difficult.”

My ambition to get money from a minor was immediately thwarted.

“Then, sing a congratulatory song at my wedding later.”

It would be best if she became a successful idol and sang at my wedding, but it wouldn’t be bad even if she remained an ordinary person.

A vocal with A-rank potential doesn’t just disappear.

Even if I hired a professional to sing at my wedding, Gyeoul would likely do better.

“A wedding song?”

Muttering words like wedding song, wedding, and bride, Gyeoul thought for a while and then spoke.

“…That might be a bit difficult.”

“Then, what can you do?”

“I’m sorry… Sniff.”

“Hey, don’t cry! Your makeup will smudge! The audition is soon, don’t cry now!”

As I fussed and tried to pull over to the side of the road, Gyeoul wiped her moist eyes and gave a sheepish smile, finding it amusing.

I laughed at how ridiculous it all seemed.

“Repay it when you have the time, and think of it after you succeed. If you don’t remember, just live your life.”

Even if Gyeoul didn’t specifically take care of me, I had plans to take care of things with Cheon Jonghoon.

I wouldn’t tell her, as it might make her feel betrayed, but this was actually a fair deal.

Well, since we wouldn’t see each other for long, it was better not to mention such backstories.

“I will never forget. Never.”

“You can forget that; just don’t forget the lyrics.”

When we entered the parking lot of the SS building, the security guard asked what we were there for.

When I said we had an appointment with Cheon Jonghoon, the guard, as if informed beforehand, immediately raised the barrier.

As a bonus, he guided us to the location of the C-3 practice room.

While looking around the building and following the guard’s guidance, we reached the C-3 practice room with about twenty minutes left until the appointment time.

Setting up the music, bringing on the well-used computer and audio system, and finishing the rehearsal, the twenty minutes passed quickly.

Exactly at five o’clock, the practice room door opened, and Cheon Jonghoon entered with one man and one woman, making a total of three people.

I was slightly impressed that they entered exactly at five without a second’s delay.

Cheon Jonghoon looked at his analog wristwatch and said,

“Let’s start right away without wasting time.”

It seemed there was no need for introductions or formalities with Cheon Jonghoon.

He was a very consistent person.

I nodded and played the song we had set up on the computer.

The music started, and Gyeoul began to dance.