Chapter 68

Chapter 68

Raise Three Idols Well And They’ll Launch a Confession Attack.

Episode 68: You’re Handsome.

Gyeoul, sitting in the passenger seat, chattering her teeth and trembling, spoke carefully.

“…Taeyang ssam, don’t you think you should reconsider? No matter how I think about it, I believe Gaeul or Yeoreum would do better than me.”

Oh, my poor Gyeoul.

When Gyeoul first said that, I approached carefully.

I felt sorry for Gyeoul’s trauma, which resulted in her lack of confidence. She was a child who carried such pain.

So, I logically convinced her slowly why she should participate in ‘Girl 100’. Repeating that wasn’t a burden.

But I could only do that for so long.

Trust me a bit, Gyeoul. I have to take you along. But if you’re like this until the recording day, what can we do?

I started to act extremely bold, as if whatever happens, happens.

“Gyeoul, why do you think I’m trying to send you instead of Gaeul or Yeoreum?”

“Because I’m the only one with embarrassing footage to deceive the writers into making me a variety show character and creating a dramatic contrast on stage?”

…You know exactly why, so why are you doing this?

“That’s part of it, but the important reason is simpler than that.”

“…What is it?”

“Because you’re simply the best.”

“…?”

Gyeoul kept trembling as she looked at me.

“The best?”

Her gaze was filled with anxiety and faint anticipation.

“…Is that from an objective perspective? Or from your subjective perspective, Taeyang ssam?”

She looked at me with a slight glimmer, but as she continued, she started to lose confidence.

“…Haha, of course, it’s just an empty compliment. I’m sorry.”

It seemed Gyeoul knew this was an excessive compliment.

I wanted to say she was objectively the best, but it would likely be interpreted as an empty praise meant to boost her spirits.

It was time to talk a bit.

“No one can look at things objectively. Even if they are confident in their objectivity, they evaluate based on their subjective experiences and knowledge.”

“…”

“In that sense, my objectivity sees you as the best, Gyeoul.”

Gyeoul’s body stiffened.

She stopped trembling.

“Am I the best to you, Team Leader Seon?”

“Yes, you’re the best for me. That’s my objectivity and subjectivity.”

“…I’m your best?”

Gyeoul’s face turned red, then suddenly blue as she started trembling again.

And she mumbled in a voice I couldn’t hear.

“…It shouldn’t be… I need to help Gaeul…”

She looked more unstable than ever.

No, I said that to help you relax, so why are you getting worse?

Did extreme praise increase her burden?

Realizing this wouldn’t work, I parked the car and went into a cafe to buy Gyeoul’s favorite banana mocha cream frappuccino.

We had left with two hours to spare before the recording, so there was plenty of time for this.

“Eat this, Gyeoul. Eating something sweet can help you relax.”

Gyeoul carefully accepted the frappuccino and spoke with clearer eyes than before.

She seemed to have calmed her mind while sitting alone in the car.

“I’m sorry, Taeyang ssam. I swore I wouldn’t show this side of me anymore… You believed in me, yet I denied it. I feel like such a worthless person.”

Gyeoul hid her slightly trembling hands and looked into my eyes as she spoke.

“I’ll change from now on. Not as the timid and dependent Han Gyeoul, but as the talented person you believe in. I’ll become someone who can handle things on my own, so you don’t have to worry too much. So you can pay more attention to Gaeul or Yeoreum.”

“It’s okay if you don’t do it on your own.”

“…What?”

Why try to do it alone when you have people around you?

You only need to push yourself alone when there’s no one around.

“I can’t do it all on my own either. I start things and let the President or Soo-yeon clean up the mess.”

When recruiting Gaeul or negotiating with Jin Baek-ho at Jinkang, they helped. The idea of doing everything alone was an arrogance I held right after regressing. I’m not that amazing.

“So let’s lean on each other a bit. If I tilt, you push me, and if you slip, I’ll lend you my back. We’ve done well like this so far, haven’t we?”

“…I’m not the one who did well. I was just leaning on you.”

“Because you leaned on me, we could get this far.”

Gyeoul, you were my beginning.

Do you remember when we first met? Back then, you said you needed someone to push you from behind. Thinking back, I think I needed someone like that too.

Meeting Gyeoul, then somehow being dragged along to meet Cheon Aram, Seo Soo-yeon, Gaeul, Yeoreum, Hyerin, Seok Hyun-woo, and Song Johan.

Meeting them changed me, made me unable to change, and stayed the same.

And now, here I am.

If I hadn’t met Gyeoul right after returning, none of these meetings would have happened.

And I would have become a twisted person, obsessed with some strange sense of reward, wanting to rise above others.

I might have made a bit more money, but I wouldn’t have been a good person to be around.

I like who I am now. And that’s because I met you.

Gyeoul stared at me blankly and then said,

“Taeyang ssam, you should be happy.”

Her straightforward words made me smile.

How could anyone dislike a child who says things like that?

“Thank you.”

I gently patted her head, careful not to mess up her hair.

Gyeoul closed her eyes, feeling my touch, and spoke softly.

“…I’ll make sure of it. Definitely.”

“How was the intro interview?”

“Uh… I don’t think I said anything controversial.”

“Well, then you did well.”

How much variety sense can you show in a simple scene where you walk into a hallway alone and say, ‘Choose your girl’?

If she didn’t stumble over her lines or cause an incident, it was a success.

“But there were a lot more cameras than I expected, so I was a bit surprised.”

“There will be even more during the actual broadcast.”

“…Wow.”

It was the most lifeless exclamation in the world.

“But you’ll do well during the actual broadcast, right?”

“Me?”

“Yes, you.”

The Gyeoul I knew was strong in real situations.

“You’ve never been nervous when you had to show your dancing and singing skills. Not during Cheon Junghoon’s interview or at the orphanage.”

She twisted a lock of hair shyly and said,

“When I dance or sing, I don’t notice other people’s gazes… No, I see them, but they don’t feel like people.”

Gyeoul spoke as if it were nothing, but it was a great way to overcome stage fright.

“Do they look like talking potatoes, as people often say?”

“They don’t look like talking potatoes, just like 2D characters.”

“…Oh, okay, that’s amazing.”

It seemed a bit different, but if it worked for her, it didn’t matter.

“But I’m still nervous when I’m not dancing or singing!”

“Hmm… Then try to see them as 2D characters even when you’re not dancing or singing. That might help you not feel nervous.”

“…Uh, I’ve never tried to do that consciously.”

“If you’re already doing it unconsciously, you just need a small trigger to do it consciously. Don’t think too hard, and try it on me now.”

“Ah… Okay. I’ll try.”

Gyeoul seemed to take my words seriously and focused on me with a furrowed brow.

She looked like she was concentrating hard, but she just seemed cute.

At least she didn’t look nervous.

I thought it was somewhat effective, so I asked,

“How is it?”

“…You’re handsome.”

“…Oh, okay, thanks.”

Gyeoul, I appreciate it, but hearing flattery from a 16-year-old is just awkward.

At that moment, the waiting room door burst open.

It seemed another trainee and manager assigned to this waiting room had come in.

“Hello! I’m Han Gyeoul from TwoBear Entertainment!”

Gyeoul, as if trained beforehand, reflexively bowed 90 degrees.

Her reflexes were so excellent that I wondered if she had a talent for sports.

Anyway, it seemed unlikely she’d be criticized for a lack of manners, which was satisfying.

I also turned my head and greeted them briefly.

“Hello, I’m Seon Taeyang, a team leader at TwoBear Entertainment…”

I froze for a moment while greeting politely.

There was a face I could never forget.

“Haha, nice to meet you. I’m Ban Seongcheol, a manager from Flower Entertainment, here with trainee Oh Yoori. Please take care of us.”

It was Ban Seongcheol, who had the highest contribution to stabbing me in the back in the previous timeline.