episode_0100

When I saw the status abnormality window called lack of affection, I froze for a moment… .

“I’m not lacking in affection… .”

… Soon he shook his head, denying the status window.

Of course, I was an orphan in my previous life. Even in this life, I did not receive enough love from my parents.

However, not only did I receive love from my parents, but after I was reborn as Ha Ye-rin, I monopolized all the attention from those around me.

Every day, boys would confess to me that they wanted to date me, and guys I wasn’t particularly close with would try to get closer to me.

It was even more so after appearing on Naaa.

Even now, there are countless people on the Internet who praise and like me.

There are many close friends among Naaah participants, such as Seo Yu-jin, Lee Hye-jeong, Park Yu-jeong, etc.

I immediately took out my phone and looked for symptoms of lack of affection.

… No matter how I looked at it, it seemed far from me.

At this, I shook my head and turned off my status window.

And I thought about it while eating my mother’s still tasteless soybean paste stew.

I think the status window is wrong.

That was the first time I denied the status window.

**

Dad and Mom lived the same life as the first day the next day, and the next day after that, as if to prove that they had truly reformed.

I go to work early in the morning and come back at night.

A life where I take care of all the housework and prepare my own meals.

Of course, that alone didn’t mean I could trust my dad and mom 100%… , As the two people continued to show a different side from before, my guard towards them was lowered little by little.

While my life at home changed, my life outside also changed greatly.

The number of people recognizing me had increased enormously, not only at school but now even on the streets.

Among them, there were people who said they were my fans and asked for autographs or photos… .

“Hey, maybe… , wow, wow! I’m a huge fan!”

“You are much prettier in real life-!!”

“Ho, can you give me an autograph?”

“Sir, just one photo… .”

Some even had the audacity to shake hands or ask for numbers.

“Could you please hold my hand just once? , ah… , could you please shake my hand just once?”

“D, do you receive it if you DM me or do I have a number… .”

Accordingly, my essential items when going out were a mask and a hat.

However, Kang Hyeong-man probably thought that this too had its limits. .

“Yerin, from now on, Sanggu will closely guard you 24 hours a day.”

“… … Yes?”

“Because you never know when a crazy person may suddenly appear. I’m busy so I can’t be with you every day, so I’ll add Sanggu.”

Sang-gu oppa, who usually stayed with me and acted as my manager, became my bodyguard.

Of course, I would be relieved if Sang-gu, who is 190 cm tall, muscular, bald, and has a scary look, would protect me… .

“… Sang-gu, aren’t you very busy? Do you have time to follow me around 24 hours a day?”

I know that Sang-gu is one of the executives of Kang Hyeong-man’s organization, and I wondered if I could use such a high-quality person as my bodyguard.

“That’s true, but the other guys are so shy and have a bit of a bully side to them, so they’re not suited to be your bodyguards. Sang-gu is honest and reliable, so I feel safe.”

“… Ah.”

“Sang-gu’s work can be done by letting others do it, so don’t feel burdened.”

That’s how Sang-gu became my bodyguard… , I can now travel comfortably wherever I want.

“I… , maybe an autograph… , heh.”

Even when people tried to come towards me, they took one look at Sang-gu’s face behind them and immediately backed away.

but… .

“… Sorry, sorry. Sorry.”

“No… , I’ll give you an autograph… .”

“Oh, no… ! sorry… !!”

… The effect was so good that it was a problem.

As I walk with my brother Sang-gu, I can’t help but sigh when I see people dodging to the side like the Red Sea is splitting.

‘This is so… , I wonder if there will be an internet article about Naaah contestant taking a gangster as a bodyguard… .’

Of course, Sanggu oppa is a gangster, but anyway… .

“Yerin… . sorry. because of me… .”

“No… , it’s not Sang-gu’s fault… .”

If you go out alone without Sang-gu, there will be too many people and it will be a problem. The problem is that if I go out with Sanggu oppa, people are too scared.

Because of this, even though I haven’t debuted yet, I’ve already started living a life where I rarely leave the building.

**

After that, my life became monotonous.

Go home and go to school. And after school, I go to work, finish dance practice with Lee Ji-woo, and return home around midnight. Repeat this.

I lived a life like that on a treadmill for a few days.

That day was the same as usual.

After finishing school, I took my brother Sang-gu’s car to the Brothers Planning office building, changed into the training clothes prepared in advance, and waited to receive a lesson from Ji-woo Lee.

I looked at the clock and saw that it was 4:30 PM.

Jiwoo Lee’s commute to work was 5pm, so there was 30 minutes left.

During my free time, I would wait for Lee Ji-woo while reading a book instead of using my phone.

These days, I don’t look at my cell phone much.

Every time I turned on my phone, a dizzying amount of messages flew out, making me dizzy.

How did everyone get my number? , It was annoying to block it every time, so I just turned off my phone for convenience.

‘Let’s see… , how far did I read?’

That was when I was trying to find the bookmark part of the novel I had brought and move on to the next part.

“Yes, Yerin-!!!”

“… … ?”

There are still 30 minutes left until work time… , I heard Lee Ji-woo urgently asking for me to leave the office building.

I was confused and went out… .

“Teacher… ! I’m here. But what’s going on? Go to work 30 minutes early… .”

“Yerin, you… ! Why didn’t I answer the teacher’s phone call?”

“Ah… , sorry. Because I turned off my phone… .”

“Ugh! Anyway, that’s not the problem, look at this! We’re in big trouble!”

Ji-Woo Lee quickly ran to me and showed me his phone screen.

“… What are you talking about?”

Originally, Lee Ji-woo had a tendency to react loudly and exaggerate small things.

So, without much inspiration, I looked at the Internet article on her phone screen.

but… .

[YW new girl group debut in 3 months!!!]

“… … Huh?”

This time it was real and I couldn’t help but be shocked.

That’s right… .

YW, one of the three major entertainment companies and the former company of Han Si-woo, is launching a new girl group… ?

YW is famous for not producing many girl groups. but… .

‘If YW releases a girl group, it will definitely be popular.’

To the extent that there is such a myth, all girl groups that have continued the YW lineage have enjoyed top-level popularity.

‘The last girl group released by YW was 6 years ago… ‘Has it been 7 years?’

If so, you can definitely say that the cooldown time has been reached.

But the problem is that their debut is only 3 months later.

“Yerin, in 3 months… .”

“… … .”

“If you think that Naaa will be finished within a month and it will take a couple of months to roughly finish it and then release the album… .”

“… Yes, I guess.”

… The activity period overlaps with the group launched by Naaah.

“Oh my… , YW I was wondering why no one was sending these guys out to Naaah, and it turned out to be because of this… .”

“… … .”

… That’s right.

I thought it was a coincidence that both SAV and JJ let go of a trainee, but YW didn’t… , this reason was hidden.

“I heard that their practice was posted on YW’s YouTube channel. Should I take a look?”

“Yes… , see… .”

Jiwoo Lee and I went to the YW channel with our hearts pounding and turned on the most recent video.

The one-minute video, which was uploaded a few hours ago, already had over 100,000 views.

“5 people… .”

Five trainees standing in training clothes in a space that appears to be a practice room.

His face was not visible because it was covered with a hat and mask.

Hold.

♪♬♬-!!

As soon as I played the video, a foreign hip-hop dance song started playing… .

Sreuk-.

In the video, the trainees started dancing to the beat.

“… … !”

Not long after the video started, I immediately felt something was out of the ordinary.

Each individual’s dance line and aura are exceptional, but… .

‘What kind of group dance is this… !’

This was because the combination of the five people was perfect, as if they were one body, without a single error.

Lee Ji-woo must have been thinking the same thing as me, and after the short video ended, he muttered.

“… Looks like they’ve been together for at least a few years?”

“At least how many years?”

“Of course, we need to see more detailed skills to know, but in this video, even the smallest details, such as breathing and eye gaze, are taken care of. As expected, something very perverted like YW?”

“… … .”

“Did you know that among the idols from YW so far, there have been controversies about their personal lives but no controversies about their skills? As it has been a long time since they were in a girl group, YW seems to have sharpened their teeth and prepared… .”

Lee Ji-woo doesn’t lie when it comes to dancing. Seeing Lee Ji-woo talk like this… , you can definitely see the qualities of success in the YW trainees in the video.

At this, I couldn’t help but feel depressed for a moment.

‘When I debut, I have to compete with these kids… .’

As I watched the video again and made a dark expression, Ji-Woo Lee must have felt bad when he saw me like that, so he patted my shoulder and said,

“But Yerin! Don’t worry too much! Because the talents of other participants like you are definitely not inferior to these!”

“… … .”

“The important thing is practice! So, let’s get some stimulation and start practicing right away?”

“… Yes.”

At Lee Ji-woo’s words, I shook myself off and stood up.

but… , Even as practice continued, the images of YW trainees in the video were not easily erased.

**

In the car on the way home around midnight.

“… … .”

I was sitting in the back seat, still watching the video of YW trainees.

at that time… .

Turrr-.

A call connection tone rang from the car speaker that was connected to Sanggu’s cell phone via Bluetooth, and soon he turned to me and asked.

“Yerin, I have an urgent business call. Can I answer it for a moment?”

“Ah, yes. of course. Please feel free to receive it.”

“Okay, then please excuse me for a moment. Hello?”

When Sang-gu’s brother answered the phone, an urgent voice came through the speaker.

[Brother Sanggu! This is Cheol!]

“Uh, okay. What’s going on?”

[ah… , there is a problem with our Seocho-gu commercial collection case. Could you please come right away? .]

“… … .”

When his subordinate asked him to come right away, Sang-gu was silent for a moment before answering.

“Yerin is taking me home now. I can’t go right now.”

[ah… . Then, Yerin will take you there and ask you as quickly as possible… ! I’m in a hurry right now… !]

“… I understand.”

It seems like something has gone wrong with the organization’s main business.

After hanging up the phone, Sang-gu drove with a blank expression as if nothing had happened… .

Knock knock.

I could see that Sang-gu was now more anxious than usual.

As expected, Sang-gu was too busy to be my personal manager.

Feeling sorry for this, I stopped watching the video on my phone and told Sang-gu.

“Oppa, it seems like it’s really urgent… . Just get off here.”

“No, Yerin. I’ll take you to the front of the house.”

Sanggu oppa firmly rejected my words. So, normally, I would have stayed silent and done as Sang-gu said… .

“Hey, this is already my neighborhood, what.”

The car had already reached the entrance to our neighborhood.

I go to school every day… , Our neighborhood that we passed by every day.

“You know. My house is located in an alley, so if I drive there, I have to take a long detour. If I get off here and walk, it takes 5 minutes, but if I drive, it takes 10 minutes.”

“… … .”

“I go home quickly, and my brother also goes to work quickly. Isn’t it win-win?”

Sang-gu’s brother lives and dies by Kang Hyeong-man’s orders… , I thought for a moment about whether this matter was really urgent and then said hesitantly.

“… Yerin, it is late, so you should be careful.”

“It’s already been 10 years since I lived in this neighborhood. Don’t worry, I’ll go safely.”

I said that and put on a hat and a mask to make Sanggu feel safe.

Only then did Sang-gu let out a small sigh, as if he felt a little relieved, and parked his car on the shoulder of the road.

“… Thank you, Yerin. Thank you for your hard work today. See you tomorrow.”

“Yes, you worked hard, too.”

I bowed my head to Sanggu oppa and got out of the car.

And as soon as I got off… .

Buuung-.

Sanggu made a U-turn in the car and went back the way he came at lightning speed.

“It must be a hassle to take me there every day… .”

I only turned around after seeing the back of the car quickly disappear.

I was playing a video of YW trainees again on the phone in my hand.

Because it was a very backward neighborhood, there were few street lights and CCTV, and although it was eerie, it wasn’t that scary.

Because it was a neighborhood road that I had been traveling on for 10 years.

Jerk.

So I looked at my phone and slowly walked towards the house.

Because it was late at night, I was the only one on the street.

Jerk.

“… … .”

Secretly.

Crack.

Jump, jump, jump.