Episode 122

Despite my disgust, I had said I would recruit her, but Oh Yoori didn’t stop licking her tongue until she finally licked my foot once, then let go.

“Hmm… a little salty, but still, it was good.”

“Don’t ever do something like this again.”

“…That might be out of my control, so I can’t promise that.”

“……”

…What kind of crazy situation would have to occur for you to find another reason to lick my foot?

However, since I had said the wrong thing, I decided to seal this incident away in my memories and move on.

“Sigh, I guess the objective was mostly achieved here, right? I’m going to see Gyeoul now. See you later.”

As I sighed deeply and began to leave, Oh Yoori trailed behind me and said,

“Ah, let me go with you!”

Why is she following me again?

“Can’t you just go home now? Or sit over there in the trainee-only concert seats. Didn’t you come to watch the performance?”

“Honestly, I just used watching the performance as an excuse to see Team Leader Seon, so it’s fine.”

“Alright, do whatever you want.”

For some reason, I ignored Oh Yoori, who was sticking to me, and walked towards my original goal: to see Gyeoul’s face.

The rehearsal had already finished, and it was almost time for Gyeoul to perform the title track of ‘Girl 100,’ “My Shine,” on stage.

Before she stepped onto the stage, I wanted to meet with Gyeoul in this short moment and offer her some encouragement.

Surprisingly, Gyeoul didn’t get nervous when it came to performing dance and vocals. But performing in front of a large crowd of random fans was something new for her. And since she was the center, the pressure must have been even greater.

So, I thought she must be feeling unprecedented nervousness. Even though it might not mean much, I wanted to tell her, “Don’t worry, I trust you.”

In the space where all the trainees were gathering to prepare for the stage, I asked the staff.

“Is Gyeoul here?”

“Hmm, she’s not here? Oh, there’s not much time left. We’ll check.”

Where could she have gone?

I searched for any place where Gyeoul might be. After looking around dark, secluded areas, I finally found her sitting precariously on the railing of the second-floor audience section.

“….”

Her appearance reminded me of the first time I saw her, sitting dangerously on a railing and staring vacantly at the sky.

“Team Leader Seon?”

Gyeoul, who had been staring at the stage absentmindedly, turned and looked at me as if she had sensed my presence.

“Team Leader Seon!”

Then she smiled brightly, like spring.

The charm in Gyeoul’s smile, which came toward me like a gentle breeze, made me feel how much time had passed.

This place wasn’t the past, nor was it the future.

It was my second life.

I gathered my emotions amidst the rising thoughts and memories, and said to Gyeoul.

“What are you doing in such a dangerous place?”

“Hehe, I just started thinking about the old days when I first met Team Leader Seon… Ah, it wasn’t that long ago, though. But for me, the time I’ve spent with you feels like a long time. So, it feels quite natural to call the time before I met you ‘the old days.’”

I felt the same way. Although it hadn’t even been months, my first life before meeting Gyeoul felt like a distant past.

But instead of expressing that understanding, I expressed my concern for Gyeoul first.

“You might be right, but that doesn’t mean you should be in such a dangerous place. Come down. I’m worried something might happen to you.”

Gyeoul chuckled awkwardly, then carefully got down from the railing and slightly avoided my gaze as she spoke.

“Well, I had this strange feeling that if I stayed here like this, you’d come find me, just like that first day we met.”

“What would you do if I couldn’t find you?”

“I’m sure you’d find me, no matter what time or moment it is.”

“……”

I thought it was a slightly misguided expectation.

After all, I hadn’t become the kind of person who could fulfill Gyeoul’s feelings like that.

But even if it wasn’t now, I wanted to be that person someday.

“I’ll try my best. I won’t let your expectations turn into disappointment.”

Gyeoul was so happy by those words that she couldn’t hold back, and once again, her smile bloomed like spring.

Gyeoul, whose smile blossomed like a blooming flower, soon, with a gentle coldness like her name, carefully confessed to me.

“Team Leader Seon. Before I met you, I was just an ordinary extra. A faint figure, someone you wouldn’t even notice in the corner of the classroom, or a gray figure at the bus stop whose presence you wouldn’t even remember. If they gave me a role name, it would have been something like ‘Girl 1.’ That was me.”

I couldn’t agree.

“No, Gyeoul, you’re not like that. You would have surely shined even without me.”

“No, absolutely not. Han Gyeoul is exactly that kind of person.”¹

“……”

“I’m lethargic and passive. I lack confidence and am overly dependent. The idea of someone like me becoming an idol… anyone would have laughed. Even I would have laughed at myself.”

Just as I was about to rebut her words, Gyeoul, who had come closer without me noticing, smiled and took my hands.

“But even someone like me, if you watch over me, I will become an idol who shines brighter than anyone else, not ‘Girl 1.’ I can fly. Even if I lack talent, I will give my all to make it happen. I will be the greatest idol, like you said, Team Leader Seon.”

Gyeoul said this with a brilliance that seemed like it could shatter at any moment.

“Please, watch over me.”

There was only one thing I could say here.

“I already promised, didn’t I? That I would be with you.”

Gyeoul said, looking at me.

“Until when?”

“Until forever.”

“Until where?”

“Until everywhere.”

“……”

In the backstage area, away from the spotlight, we faced each other.

“Team Leader Seon.”

Gyeoul, holding both of my hands, tightened her grip and filled her violet eyes entirely with me.

Then she spoke.

“I like you.”

Silence fell.

Gyeoul, as if surprised she had said such words, trembled and couldn’t hide her embarrassment.

“……”

I couldn’t respond.

Nevertheless, having learned painfully that silence could be irresponsible, I tried to force myself to answer.

But Gyeoul, as if not wanting me to speak, hurriedly followed up.

“…Hehe, as a manager.”

After Gyeoul left to go on stage, and a little time passed, Oh Yoori, who had been hiding in the hallway, quietly appeared and asked me.

“Is it okay if you don’t tell Gyeoul unnie?”

“What about?”

“The results of the ‘Girl 100’ vote.”

Even though I knew what she was referring to, I pretended not to understand and asked back.

“The ‘Girl 100’ vote was canceled because of the voting manipulation controversy, right?”

“Come on, you know that. Fans who were disappointed by it created their own online voting page. Don’t you think Gyeoul unnie would be happy and gain more confidence if you told her about it?”

“That’s just something the fans made. It doesn’t really hold much meaning.”

“Still, the number of votes is no joke. ‘Girl 100’ has become an issue both domestically and internationally, so even though fans were doing it for fun, they really voted a lot. It became a huge topic on social media.”

“……”

In fact, I knew too. That vote couldn’t just be called fan-made, considering how massive the result was. But I wanted to pretend not to know so that I wouldn’t tell Gyeoul about it. However, now that she was asking me this much, I couldn’t pretend I didn’t know.

So, I answered honestly.

“Yeah, I knew about the vote, but I can’t tell Gyeoul yet. At least not until this stage is over.”

Oh Yoori asked, innocently, as if she couldn’t understand the reason.

“Why?”

Instead of looking at Yoori, I turned my gaze to Gyeoul, who was starting to walk onto the stage, and said,

“Then, she might just be satisfied and stop trying. It might be my overly cautious concern, but as a manager, it’s something I should avoid, at least as long as there’s even the slightest possibility. Especially if she wants to move on to greater heights.”

As all the lights went off, and the silence and darkness filled the stage, a brilliant spotlight illuminated the trainees.

The trainees were all beautiful, sweet, and radiant. They were so mesmerizing that you’d want to chase after them even if your eyes went blind. This is why they were called idols.

And at the center of those shining idols, Gyeoul sang.

“My shine, I’ll become the light for you.”

I watched her and, with a completely satisfied smile, said to Yoori,

“Gyeoul will shine even brighter than what’s happening now, to the point where this result will feel like just the beginning.”