episode_0003

“Excuse me, you’re going to give me an advance payment? And that too, 50 million won?”

“Yes.”

The part that surprised me the most when I looked at the exclusive contract from Hyungje Planning was this.

Just by signing the contract, they would repay our family’s debt of 200 million won with an advance payment of 50 million won.

An advance payment for a trainee… and that too, 50 million won…

Normally, companies don’t give advance payments when signing with a trainee who has nothing.

Even if they were to give an advance payment for exceptional talent, it wouldn’t be as high as 50 million won.

I was momentarily stunned by this, but soon regained my composure and started reading the contract again.

Perhaps the advance payment was just a lure, and there might be some huge toxic clauses hidden in other parts.

But…

‘There are none…’

The rest of the clauses were favorable to me, there were no clauses that were disadvantageous or oppressive to me.

Just to be sure, I read it over five more times and then I could accept it.

This contract… was incredibly advantageous to me.

“Why…”

“…?”

“Why are you being so good to me…?”

How many times have I been deceived until now.

The world is not a warm place. In a world that even makes you hate your blood relatives, I couldn’t believe in such a warm contract.

“…Don’t tell me it’s a sponsorship…”

“Don’t ever talk nonsense like that again. Do you know how many years apart we are in age?”

“……”

…Seeing him change his expression, it seems like he really felt bad.

Well… Kang Hyungman doesn’t seem like that kind of thug.

In that case, this contract must be real…

‘What should I do…’

If I am seriously considering becoming an idol, then this contract in front of me is the best option.

But…

‘I should think about it more…’

The deadline for this contract is 5 years.

Signing this contract means that I am legally bound to Hyungje Planning.

I might be tempted by the immediate benefit of getting 50 million won, but I should think about it more so I don’t regret it later…

Thud.

“Do I just need to stamp here?”

“……”

At that moment, my legal guardian, my father, stamped his signature without hesitation.

“Instead of repaying the advance payment from the debt, could you pay it to me? I’ll give you my account number…”

…This is insane.

‘He’s still my dad…’

Of course, it has no legal effect unless I sign it…

‘How can he make such a decision about his daughter’s future just by looking at the advance payment.’

I felt my head spinning.

That’s when it happened.

Tap.

“Yerin.”

“…Mom.”

With a gentle expression, my mom grabbed my hand tightly.

Her warm smile and comforting touch.

The feeling of resentment towards my mom’s expression that seemed to comfort me slowly faded…

“Hurry, grab the pen. Let’s sign quickly.”

“……”

…Fading my resentment my ass…

“Yerin, what are you hesitating about? Do you think getting 50 million won is easy?”

“The fact that you have a face that can be an idol is all thanks to your mom and dad, so you must repay them when they get old, right?”

“……”

In Korea, there is a fictional custom called Goryeo Jang.

But for our mom and dad…, the thought of actually fulfilling that fictional custom and repaying them emerged as a shameful thought.

**

In the end, I stamped the contract.

Not just because of my parents…

“Alright, how about doing it like this?”

“…What do you mean?”

“Let’s have a grace period until the end of this ‘My Idol Academy.’ If you decide to terminate the contract after that, I won’t charge any penalty fees in addition to the 50 million won.”

…It was because Kang Hyungman offered a new contract clause.

With one more favorable clause added, I didn’t hesitate to stamp it.

If there were any issues later, I could terminate it without any losses, so it was a contract that I would never regret.

“Kkarrur~, kkarrur~.”

“Thank you~ President Kang!”

My parents bid farewell to Gang Hyeong-man and his subordinates with smiles on their faces, seemingly satisfied with the fact that their 50 million won debt was being repaid.

Gang Hyeong-man, who had been looking at my parents as if they were insects, led me to a corner after seeing them off together…

“Wait a moment.”

“…Yes?”

…He whispered in my ear.

“I don’t intend to repay your parents’ 200 million won debt with 50 million won.”

“…What do you mean…?”

“Instead, I will deposit 50 million won into your account. Call out your account number.”

“…Yes?”

Taken aback by his unexpected words, I stuttered for a moment before regaining my composure and asking, “Why would you…?”

“Isn’t it obvious? Your parents took on the 200 million won debt, and I agreed to pay a 50 million won deposit to you. Why should I repay their debt?”

“…”

“I know how stubborn your parents are. If we had discussed this inside, your parents would have gone ballistic. That’s why I’m telling you here. Hurry up and give me your account number.”

Under Gang Hyeong-man’s urging, I hesitantly entered my account number, and the money was promptly deposited.

“This time, make sure to hide the money well and don’t let those loan sharks take it from you.”

“Wait…! Just a moment…! Sir…, instead of 50 million won, 51 million won has been deposited?”

When an additional 1 million won was deposited, I turned around to face him and called out desperately. In response, he maintained his usual expression and spoke.

“It’s your first day at our company, so I added a little extra as pocket money. Use it freely.”

“…”

His tone was indifferent, but the content was surprisingly warm.

Unable to resist, I asked, “Sir… why are you being so kind to me?”

The world is cold.

In this cold world…, the man in front of me is a ruthless loan shark.

If he doesn’t have any ulterior motives towards me, why is he showing such kindness?

As I asked earnestly, he stopped in his tracks and replied.

And his answer was…

“Out of pity.”

“Ah.”

For some reason, his words made me feel smaller.

“Seeing you suffer because of your terrible parents made me pity you.”

“…Out of pity, I see.”

In the end, it was sympathy.

Being an orphan in my past life, I was very familiar with receiving sympathy from others.

Parentless, poor, pitiful…

Of course, sympathy isn’t a bad thing. But… there was always a bitter aftertaste.

‘In this new life, I don’t want to live receiving sympathy anymore…’

I haven’t changed from my past life after all…

“Oh, of course.”

That’s when it happened.

“I also had high expectations for you, so I wanted to make a good impression.”

“…Yes?”

As Gang Hyeong-man turned back to his car, he paused for a moment and turned to me.

“I have a good eye for people… and the moment I saw you, I felt like I had to bring you to our planning agency.”

“…”

“So, even if it meant adding some unreasonable terms, I wanted to sign a contract with you.”

With a small smile on his lips as he spoke, for the first time, I froze in a different way than before.

‘High expectations for me…?’

As I pondered his words, standing there in a daze, Gang Hyeong-man turned back to his car and said, “If you have an answer, I’ll leave. I’ll contact you in a few days.”

“…Yes, sir.”

“Oh, and…”

Thud.

He got into his car, opened the window, waved his hand, and said, “From now on, call me boss. You’re part of our family now.”

…!

With that final word, Gang Hyeong-man’s car left the alley where our villa was located.

I watched his black sedan and his subordinates drive away, replaying his words in my mind.

“Family…”

It was probably just a meaningless word from Gang Hyeong-man…, but for some reason, that word tickled my heart.

**

“Sigh, those despicable people finally left…”

“I know, right…”

Smiling, Kang Hyeong-man’s parents bid farewell to their gangster friends, but as soon as Kang Hyeong-man disappeared, they wiped the smiles off their faces and started gossiping behind their backs.

Then, turning towards me, who was still lost in thought, they said, “Yerin! Let’s go eat quickly. Oh my… I’m so hungry that my stomach is sticking to my back.”

“Yeah, I’m starving too… Let’s go in and make some food quickly. And please make me three half-cooked fried eggs~”

I didn’t eat dinner either, and I was hungry too.

Normally, I would have nodded at my parents’ words, gone home, and had dinner, but…

“…No.”

“…Huh?”

“…I’m sorry! Mom, Dad! I have something to check, so I’ll go to the city for a bit!”

“…What?”

With something to check, I immediately started running towards the city instead of having dinner.

“No, Yerin, where are you going at this hour?!”

“Who will make dinner if you’re not here?!”

I heard my hungry parents’ desperate cries from behind, but I ran towards the city.

“Heuk…, heuk….”

And soon, I was able to reach the brightly lit downtown area.

“Coin Karaoke…, Coin Karaoke….”

As I arrived on the street, I was looking for the Coin Karaoke sign.

Tap.

“Excuse me…”

“…?”

Someone grabbed my arm as I was looking for the Coin Karaoke.

“What’s the matter?”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I’m not a suspicious person…”

At first, I thought he was someone asking for directions as usual, but the atmosphere was different.

He, who looked to be in his late thirties, took out a business card with a relaxed smile and handed it to me.

“I usually don’t give out business cards like this, but the student caught my eye. Do you have any thoughts about becoming a trainee at our company?”

“…?”

“Are you aware of our company, even though you’re a student?”

His business card had the name of a fairly large planning company along with the title of director.

“We are preparing a new girl group this time. Within a year…? No, within 2 years. We can promise the students that they will debut as a girl group within a year. Do you have any thoughts?”

For students of this age, it’s a situation that anyone would dream of.

But my answer was, of course…

“No, I’m sorry.”

From a young age, I had received business cards from various planning companies.

Among them were the so-called Big 3 planning companies in Korea, but I had rejected them all.

How could I choose such a planning company now?

But the director, who didn’t know I would refuse so firmly, started to look confused with a relaxed smile.

“…Hmm, student. It seems you don’t understand how weighty my words are…”

“No, I understand. But it’s still a refusal.”

“Huh, student. Think about it once more…”

Normally, I would have politely rejected the persistent director.

But now, I was in a hurry to find the Coin Karaoke…

“Oh, it’s okay.”

“…!”

…I raised my voice slightly more than usual.

“Oh… um…”

At this, the director let go of my arm, looked momentarily flustered, and then…

“I’m sorry, student. I didn’t mean to make you feel bad… I’ll go now! Please, forgive me!”

He quickly bowed to me and disappeared as if he were running away.

“…Ah.”

I looked at the spot where the planning director had disappeared in dismay, and then checked my expression through the car side mirror in front of me.

In it, there was a cold, beautiful woman with a very angry expression, as if she were about to explode.

“Sigh… I chased away another person.”

In my past life and in this life, I had no reason to smile, so my expression was endlessly cold.

If I furrowed my eyebrows even slightly, I looked extremely angry, and if I frowned, my gaze seemed contemptuous.

If I tried to force a smile, it felt like my face was paralyzed.

This was the first reason why I gave up on the entertainment industry despite having this appearance.

No matter how outstanding one’s appearance may be, if the expression is like this, there is no communication with the fans at all.

Who would like an entertainer who is consistently expressionless and can’t even smile?

And the reason I gave up on the entertainment industry was not the end of it.

“Ah…, found it, a coin karaoke room.”

I went into the coin karaoke room to confirm the second reason why I gave up on the entertainment industry, especially being an idol.