Episode 187
Flower petals burst, lights gather, applause envelops.
And that word.
“The winner is ‘I’ll be by your side,’ Girl Revolution.”
The moment Yoo Gaeul heard that, she couldn’t hear the congratulations from other artists or the ecstatic cheers from the fans in the audience seats.
She didn’t even see the cameras focused on her, capturing her every expression as if they were determined to document the moment.
The only thing she could see and hear was Seon Taeyang, who looked at her with an incredibly bright smile.
Like he was mesmerized.
Impulsively. No, perhaps more rationally than ever.
“…”
Gaeul dashed forward. And she tightly embraced the sun right in front of her.
As if they were the only two people in the world, filled with overwhelming emotions.
*
‘…Is that girl insane?’
Oh Yoori felt her hair standing on end as she witnessed Yoo Gaeul’s sudden hug.
In the center of the stage, with dozens of cameras and thousands of fans watching, an idol who just claimed first place couldn’t help but grab a man in an emotional frenzy?
And that man, of all people, was the handsome Seon Taeyang, decked out in broadcast makeup and styling?
There was no room for anything other than calling it madness.
The scene was beautiful.
It had a romance, as if a handsome man and woman were experiencing the fruits of love amidst blessings.
If she had seen such a spectacle in a public square, Oh Yoori would have clapped her hands in earnest.
If they were acquaintances, she might even have given them words of encouragement.
But the problem was, those two were actually manager and idol, and they stood on a music broadcast stage in the middle of filming.
[Risky ‘distance’ between a current girl group idol and a famous manager.]
Imaginary news articles like that floated above Oh Yoori’s head.
And that imagination seemed strikingly realistic.
Of course, it was only natural that reporters would swarm to write such articles after witnessing that scene.
Had Taeyang come to the same conclusion? His face was as pale as a sheet.
‘What do I do now?’
It seemed difficult for Seon Taeyang to step in.
She had to take the lead.
With hundreds of scenarios running through her mind, Oh Yoori came up with one solution.
So she shouted at Gyeoul and Yeoreum beside her.
She shouted as if to Winter and Summer beside her.
“Older sisters, run quickly and hug Team Leader Seon!”
Jin Yeoreum, who was assessing the situation with some realism, broke into a cold sweat and said,
“…If we all add ourselves to this, won’t things just get worse?”
“Summer, do you know?”
“…What?”
“If one person does something crazy, it’s controversy, but if we all do it together, it can be a concept. Let’s run! One-on-one may cause scandals, but one-on-four will definitely avoid them!”
Then Oh Yoori took the lead and ran to fiercely hug Seon Taeyang, and Jin Yeoreum, who agreed with the judgment, as well as Han Gyeoul, who simply wanted to hug him, all launched themselves at Seon Taeyang.
In that way, Seon Taeyang, barely managing to withstand the sudden desperate three-body slam that came flying at him, urgently said,
“Hey guys, encore! Encore!”
When they rank first in a music show, they do an encore song.
Of course, sometimes they skip singing due to the size of the agency, repetitive wins, or condition issues, but for Girl Revolution, who successfully won their first award from a new agency, there was no such thing.
You just had to sing as if you would die if you didn’t.
Unless you wanted to see an article the next day titled ‘Girl Revolution’s Lack of Effort Controversy.’
Because of this, Oh Yoori hugged Seon Taeyang to make a human shield and belted out the song.
“It wasn’t eerie, it was sweet. But it made me cry!”
Seeing the desperate struggle for survival, Seon Taeyang felt like he would actually cry.
“You’re really having a hard time, Yoori.”
*
While Han Gyeoul stepped out for a moment to talk to the writer of the ‘Star Challenge,’ in the waiting room of TwoBear, with only three people remaining, Oh Yoori cautiously began to speak.
“Older Sister Gaeul, what you just did was very reckless.”
“…”
“If that one action caused our image, which the staff and Team Leader Seon have carefully built, to face potential controversy again, it would be a problem. I know about your situation and feelings from talking to Team Leader Seon, but not everyone can understand that, right?”
Gaeul, now able to recognize her intense impulse and begin to make normal judgments, realized how dangerous her recent actions were.
Thus, she hung her head low and simply apologized.
“I’m sorry.”
“…”
Oh Yoori wanted assurance. Assurance that such impulsive actions wouldn’t happen again.
Oh Yoori wanted a guarantee. A guarantee that such impulsive actions would never happen again.
However, after hearing from Seon Taeyang what happens when Yoo Gaeul’s mind is pushed to its limits, she couldn’t bring herself to say more.
She felt a vague sense that no matter how hard she tried, such guarantees could never be attained.
While Oh Yoori hesitated, unsure of what to say, Jin Yeoreum spoke up.
“Sister, we all decided then to just endure it together.”
That evening, when they danced precariously on the edge of chaos, fueled by the featuring of Seon Taeyang, Oh Yoori’s topic caused them to have a long conversation.
Ultimately, they concluded that for the sake of TwoBear, Girl Revolution, and Seon Taeyang, they should endure as much as possible.
“But if this situation keeps repeating, I can’t help but think it might eventually collapse.”
“….”
“Just endure. Make it so that it can’t be seen, can’t be felt. Just endure.”
“Right, we have to endure. …But are you enduring?”
“…Yeah, I’m enduring.”
After a long silence at Jin Yeoreum’s words, Yoo Gaeul lifted her bowed head and looked at Jin Yeoreum.
“Three days ago, at 2:47 AM on November 7th.”
“….”
“That day, when Brother Taeyang was exhausted from his busy schedule and sleeping on the sofa, you secretly kissed his lips while he was sleeping, right?”
Yoo Gaeul had endured.
“Even after that, you’re still calling it endurance?”
She had endured while another woman stole a kiss from the man she loved as he slept.
Even though for herself, it was just a fleeting touch on the cheek.
“Even while he’s cutting down on his sleep time under the excuse of representing Jinkang as a sponsor during his really busy debut?”
She endured. And she kept enduring.
But mere endurance wasn’t enough.
So, she brought up the taboo subject.
“Using the pretext of flying a small plane, threatening someone’s life! Forcing a promise to date!”
Rather, she thought it was okay if she got hurt.
Or she would even accept the idea of dying in his place.
That’s why when she heard the news that he almost died at someone’s hands, Yoo Gaeul felt an anger she had never experienced before in her life.
Filling that repressed fury, Yoo Gaeul said,
“If Brother Taeyang had been hurt, or worse, died… I would never have forgiven you.”
“I would never have forgiven you.”
“…Me?”
“Me?”
“There’s no way I would hurt Team Leader Seon!”
That feeling was shared by Jin Yeoreum as well.
She also didn’t want to see him get hurt, no matter what happened.
“The small plane’s safety was fully guaranteed. We just added in some expertise and production. If Team Leader Seon had professional knowledge about planes, he might have caught on, but fortunately, he didn’t know. …That was all. There’s no way anything would happen to Team Leader Seon. Even if by some chance it did, it would never happen by my hands.”
“….”
“If Team Leader Seon died because of me, I would die right there. I can’t be without Team Leader Seon.”
At that desperate confession, Yoo Gaeul looked with a similar mournful gaze and said:
“Yeah, I can’t be without Brother Taeyang either. Even if I die.”
There was no hint of a lie in her eyes.
Only pure love, to the point of madness, was present. Realizing that she too probably had the same look in her eyes, Jin Yeoreum smiled faintly at the unknown recipient of her feelings and said:
“So, you promised to date him while relying on Team Leader Seon’s kindness and sense of responsibility as bargaining chips?”
“That’s the same for you, isn’t it? Even if it was safe, you still relied on Brother Taeyang’s sense of responsibility and kindness to get a promise…”
“Wait a second! Both of you stop!”
At Oh Yoori’s scream, Gaeul and Yeoreum halted and turned to where Yoori was looking.
The door of the waiting room, which had been closed, was now open.
“It’s… cold.”
In a space filled with chilling silence, the three of them, sweating coldly, could only stare at the opened door as someone walked out.
“…Brother Taeyang promised to date the two of you?”
It was Gyeoul.
“….”
Seeing the three of them silent and unable to deny it, she started to shed tears and said,
“…Was I the only one he rejected?”
Observing the situation from the side, Oh Yoori objectively concluded:
‘…Well, we’re screwed.’
