episode_0124

“Ma, let’s meet? Surely now?”

[Yes, now.]

“Uh… , that is… .”

At Yerin’s words, Hyejeong Lee couldn’t help but have a question mark in her head.

Of course, Yerin was Lee Hyejeong’s younger sister whom she really liked and cherished.

But when you call me for the first time out of the blue, what you say is, let’s meet in person?

So suddenly?

Hyejeong Lee, who had many friends due to her warm personality but was an introvert, asked with a bit of caution.

“That… , What are we going to do when we meet?”

[just… , play. we.]

“… Play?”

[Yes, we don’t know when we’ll have time like this again when Naaah is over, right? Before that, I want to spend time with my sister.]

“… Ah.”

Hyejeong Lee could tell what Yerin meant behind those words.

After Naaah is over, Yerin will debut as part of the Naaah project group.

It was clear that I would get very busy then and that I would not have a chance to spend time with her.

‘Of course, I’ll be busy looking for a new company… .’

In fact, Lee Hye-jung’s current contract with Kidship Entertainment did not have much time left.

Originally, Kidship Entertainment was a place that fostered singer-songwriters, not idols… , After Naaha ended, Lee Hye-jeong and Kidship Entertainment also had no intention of renewing their contracts.

In order to become an idol, Lee Hye-jung had to find a new company as soon as Naa ended.

Then it’s sure to get busy.

Lee Hye-jung, who already considered her elimination as Naa to be almost certain, hid her slightly bitter feelings and deliberately acted bright in her response to Ye-rin.

“Yes, Yerin. Let’s meet before it gets too busy and have fun today.”

[Okay, then where should I go? Sister, you live in Seoul, right? Shall we go towards my sister’s house?]

“My house? Uh that… .”

[That would be better. I’ll go towards my sister’s house. Please call me by address.]

“Ah… , uh, okay, the address is… .”

Still, I thought it would have been better to meet in the middle, but at Yerin’s urging, Lee Hyejeong accidentally revealed her home address.

[I’ll be there soon, sister! Get ready!]

As they said, Yerin arrived at Hyejeong’s house a little over 30 minutes after hanging up the phone.

Ding dong.

‘You came so quickly? Is Yerin’s house nearby?’

“Uh… ! Yerin! I’m going out!”

Hyejeong Lee tilted her head at the arrival, which was much faster than expected, but hurriedly opened the door, happy to see Yerin outside.

and… .

“Yerin, you came so quickly? Do you happen to have a house nearby? , Wow!”

… As soon as I opened the door, I was so startled by the large figure behind Yerin that I fell asleep.

He was wearing a black suit, had a huge body, had a shiny bald head, and even had a small scar on his face.

Anyone could see that the person behind Yerin was a gangster.

Lee Hye-jeong, who fell backwards, trembled and asked… .

“Yes, Yerin… Who is the person in the back… .”

“Oh, sister, don’t be too surprised! This is my company brother!”

Yerin, who came dressed casually in a white shirt, shorts, sneakers, and a hip baseball cap, waved her hand and reassured her.

“He is misunderstood because of his appearance, but he is a nicer oppa than anyone else. He is currently acting as my manager and security guard. Sanggu oppa, this is Hyejeong.”

“Hello, I’ve heard a lot from you.”

When Yerin pointed to Lee Hye-jeong, Sang-gu bowed his head politely towards Lee Hye-jeong.

“I’m sorry for appearing suddenly and surprising you.”

“Oh, no… . I’m more sorry. I overdid it for no reason… .”

Seeing Sang-gu’s polite appearance, Lee Hye-jeong felt embarrassed that she had made a fuss for no reason.

‘You shouldn’t judge people based on their appearance… , I was surprised to see such a gentle man… .’

For reference, Sang-gu’s age was 32, one year younger than Han Si-woo.

Of course, Lee Hye-jeong, who did not know this, thought that Sang-gu was an older adult, raised her body, made herself polite, and then bowed her head to Sang-gu.

“I will greet you formally. My name is Hyejeong Lee.”

“This is Jo Sang-gu.”

Yerin looked happily at the two people greeting each other politely and then said.

“Sister, what did you think about playing today?”

“Oh, no… . yet… .”

“Then we… .”

braided.

Yerin shouted, showing her phone screen with a movie poster on it.

“Let’s go see a movie! I already reserved 3 seats at the nearest movie theater!”

Yerin’s expression as she said that was as bright as a child.

**

Yerin and Hyejeong Lee quickly arrived at the movie theater in the car driven by Sanggu.

I was worried about what would happen if someone recognized Yerin and Lee Hyejeong at the movie theater… .

Fortunately, it was a small movie theater in the neighborhood, so there weren’t many people there even though it was the weekend.

‘It’s been a while since I made a movie… .’

Arriving at the movie theater, Hyejeong Lee couldn’t hide her excitement.

Actually, she likes movies… , It was because it had been a long time since I had been to the movie theater because I was busy between auditioning for a show and living as a trainee.

This seemed to be the same for Yerin as she suggested it to Lee Hye-jeong with a bright expression.

“Sister, why don’t we take a picture in front of the poster?”

“Photo… ?”

Lee Hye-jeong tilted her head for a moment when Yerin asked her to take a picture.

This was because I had never seen Yerin take a picture of something before.

‘Yerin doesn’t even say goodbye, why are you taking pictures? ah… , Is it for personal collection?’

In response, Hyejeong Lee nodded willingly and entered the selfie frame captured by Yerin.

and… .

“Fuuhu.”

“… Eh? Why, sister?”

Hyejeong Lee burst out laughing when she saw the selfie composition taken by Yerin.

“Yerin, what is this composition? It’s like an old man’s selfie.”

This was because Yerin made it very clear that she had never taken a selfie.

‘It looks like my dad’s selfie. cute.’

Hyejeong Lee patted Yerin’s head a little and then handed her the camera instead… .

“Unni will take a picture for you. Give me your phone.”

“Ah, yes.”

“No corrections were made. Of course, Yerin is pretty even if you just take a picture of her, but a little editing is essential.”

I skillfully used my phone and took a picture with the perfect composition.

Hyejeong Lee, who had a knack for taking selfies, produced results that she was satisfied with.

‘As expected, Yerin takes the camera well. It came out very pretty… .’

This was to the point where Lee Hye-jeong felt the desire to post it on her personal profile… .

‘no way… , Yerin doesn’t even say goodbye, so it would be rude of her to post something like this.’

Lee Hye-jeong soon composed herself and shook her head.

Yerin also looked at the result with a proud expression as if she liked the photo, and then said with her arms around Lee Hyejeong.

“Wow, it came out really well. Sister, let’s go in quickly. Oh, by any chance, popcorn… .”

“… !”

Lee Hye-jung flinched for a moment at the word popcorn and then shook her head.

“Hmm… , I don’t think I need it. I’m not really hungry.”

“Oh, really? What about Sanggu oppa?”

“I’m fine too.”

“Then let’s go in!”

So the three went inside to watch the movie without popcorn or cola.

The movie Yerin chose was a comedy-action genre that is popular these days.

“Haha.”

“Hehe.”

The movie, which was comfortable without sweet potatoes and featured refreshing cider, made Lee Hye-jeong just enjoy it without thinking about it.

Lee Hye-jung, who appeared on Naaah and had many worries and miscellaneous thoughts… , I was happy at that moment.

**

“The movie was fun, right?”

“Yes, it was a lot of fun.”

“Now what are your next plans? Was there anything else you wanted to do after watching the movie?”

“That… .”

I answered Hyejeong Lee’s question by laughing haha and scratching the back of my head.

“Actually, I didn’t think about it. I just made a quick reservation for the movie and came… , haha.”

“Really?”

“Unni, is there anything you want to do?”

“Umm… .”

At this, Hyejeong Lee rested her chin for a moment and then said with a grin.

“Yerin, have you ever played billiards?”

“… Billiards?”

… Billiards?

I tilted my head when an unexpected word came out of Lee Hye-jeong’s mouth.

“No… , I’ve never tried it… .”

In my past life, I was ostracized because I was an orphan, so I never went to a common billiard room.

In this life, there were people I called friends, but they were all women, so I only went to cafes and places like that and never went to the billiard room.

I shook my head and Lee Hye-jeong said, smiling as brightly as when she was watching the movie.

“Then, let’s go play billiards. It will be fun.”

“Ah… , yes!”

And the place Lee Hye-jeong took me was a small billiards hall in Lee Hye-jeong’s neighborhood.

rattle.

“Welcome to fifty… , Ah, it’s Hyejeong.”

“Boss.”

As soon as I entered the old and deserted billiard room, the old owner recognized Hye-jeong Lee and greeted her.

It seemed like Hyejeong Lee was a regular here.

“3 districts? Or 4 districts?”

“4 districts. Please give me 3 glasses of iced tea.”

“Okay.”

District 3? 4 districts?

Hyejeong Lee gave the boss an order that I couldn’t understand and went to the billiards table to pick up the cue.

What does that look like?

… It was mysterious.

Until now, Lee Hye-jeong seemed kind and gentle… , The familiar sight of grinding chalk on a cue stick… , Does it feel a little like seeing Iljin?

Lee Hye-jeong must have sensed my gaze and said with a small smile as if she was embarrassed.

“Dad has been a billiards master since long ago. As I followed my dad to the billiards hall every weekend, I started to like billiards.”

“Ah… .”

“Yerin said she has never played billiards… , Mr. Sanggu plays billiards, right? How is Tama?”

“I put it around 300. But I’m sorry. I have some urgent work to do on my phone right now… , I will sit here and watch over you, so you two can play.”

“Ah… , it’s a shame.”

Hyejeong Lee nodded with regret and placed the cue stick in my hand.

“Yerin, my sister will teach you billiards. Yerin has good motor skills, so she will be able to learn quickly.”

“Yes… ! Please teach me.”

Hyejeong Lee explained the rules to me and held me in a close position with my body.

And soon… .

“… Oh.”

I was able to learn billiards quickly.

“… Yerin, this is your first time playing billiards, right? no… , and… .”

“Are you doing well?”

“If you can subtract 50 pieces in 10 minutes after learning billiards, you are really good at it… . and… , does this ignite my competitive spirit?”

Billiards was a lot more fun than I thought, and Hyejeong Lee and I enjoyed playing billiards for about 30 minutes.

and… .

‘Slowly… .’

As I looked at the clock and thought that the time had come, I hinted to Lee Hye-jeong.

“Sister, it’s past lunch time and we haven’t eaten anything. Aren’t you hungry?”

“… uh? ah… .”

Hyejeong Lee paused when asked if she was hungry, then nodded hesitantly.

“… It’s painful.”

“Then shall we have lunch here? It was my dream to eat black bean noodles at a billiards room.”

“Ah… , that’s right.”

When asked to have lunch, Sang-gu, who was working, stood up and said.

“You two should keep playing billiards. I will tell the boss and have it delivered to the Chinese restaurant. Yerin, what are you going to eat?”

“For me, it’s Jjajangmyeon. By multiplying.”

“Hyejeong… ?”

“Ah… , I am… , fried rice. Fried rice! And I just need to be average!”

“Yes, then I will order it and come back.”

After all, speed is everything in a Chinese restaurant.

Not long after ordering, the delivery man brought out the food with a nostalgic iron bag.

I am Jjajangmyeon. Hyejeong’s sister is fried rice.

And the sweet and sour pork was a bonus.

Slurp.

Perhaps it was because it was a special place called a billiard room or because it had been a while since I had eaten it, but the Jjajangmyeon was quite delicious.

“Oh, this place is really delicious.”

“Yes, it’s a very famous restaurant in the neighborhood. It’s delicious.”

Although she said it was delicious, Hyejeong Lee couldn’t even eat half of her portion and didn’t even touch the sweet and sour pork.

If it were my usual self, I would have thought it was just like that.

After being forcibly demoted from Grade A to Grade B, Hyejeong Lee… , because he showed extreme control over his eating amount.

But today I looked at her with slightly sharp eyes.

After eating like that… .

“After, I ate well.”

“… Yerin, can I go to the bathroom?”

“Ah, yes, please come back.”

“It will take a little while. … Do you know what it means?”

“Of course, have a nice stay.”

Hyejeong Lee left for the bathroom and I finished cleaning up the place where we ate.

Then I opened my cell phone and saw the photo I had taken with Lee Hye-jung earlier.

‘Hyejeong unnie… , pretty.’

Lee Hye-jeong was originally a beauty, but… , It was so pretty these days that it felt like the water had risen.

It was clear that the reason was a change in body shape.

Unlike Lee Hye-jeong of the past, who was somewhat chubby, the current Lee Hye-jeong has a body so thin that it reminds one of a fashion model, which stimulates protective instincts and sickly beauty.

So I ran my finger over Lee Hye-jeong’s skinny side in the photo… .

‘I’ve been so indifferent all this time.’

I bowed my head once.

Sigh.

And then he stood up.

When I got up and headed toward the door, Sanggu oppa hesitated and asked.

“Yerin, where are you going?”

“The bathroom.”

“That… , didn’t Hyejeong just say that it would take a little while?”

“It was like that.”

When I answered calmly, Sanggu oppa said in a slightly frustrated tone.

“Hyejeong said that… , Isn’t this just a roundabout way of saying that you are going to do something big? I think I’d be a little embarrassed if I went to the bathroom now… .”

I shook my head expressionlessly at Sang-gu’s worried tone… .

“It’s okay.”

I just went out the door.

“Boss, where is the bathroom?”

“The women’s restroom is on the 3rd floor.”

“Yes, thank you.”

I quietly climbed the stairs at a fast but silent pace.

And by the time I got past the second floor… .

Shoot ah-.

The water was turned on so loudly that it sounded like a waterfall… .

“… … Wow.”

What sounded like a short moan was heard.

As soon as I heard that sound, I was sure of my prediction and recalled the conversation I had with Nahanna earlier.

‘that is… , Hyejeong unni… . Looking… , I think I’m vomiting.’

‘… Eat and drink? ‘What is mukto?’

‘I vomit right after eating. It’s called anorexia.’

I clenched my fists and went into the bathroom.

Shoot ah-.

“… Woouk, waeeek.”

Lee Hye-jeong, who hadn’t even eaten much, was holding the toilet and pouring out fresh water.

Seeing that scene reminded me of the conversations I heard with Lee Hye-jung about the Naaah production team behind their backs.

‘But Lee Hye-jeong definitely seems to have talent, so why did PD Shin give her a B grade?’

‘I guess he didn’t like that the kid was a little fat.’

How cursed those words must have been back then to be like this now?

[Status condition: Extreme anxiety disorder.]

Lee Hye-jung’s condition was cleaner than that of other trainees.

Anxiety disorder.

Since this is something that all idol trainees with an uncertain future have by default, I thought there would be no problem.

But I know this is just an excuse.

I am… , because she was the contestant who stayed with Lee Hye-jung the longest on Naaa.

‘I should have paid more attention a long time ago… .’

So, I reflect on the past and realize that I didn’t know that I too had noticed… .

Shoot ah-.

Pop.

… I turned off the faucet that was running loudly.

Only then did Hyejeong Lee, who was lying face down, sense that something was not unusual and turned her head towards me.

“… Yerin.”

“… … .”

Lee Hye-jeong’s face looking up at me overlapped with Lee Hye-jeong’s face when I first met her at Naaa.

Compared to then, Lee Hye-jeong’s face now… , It was so gaunt.