Chapter 83

Chapter 83

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

Episode 83: Chapter 6 – Taeyang Ssam (END).

After briefly explaining things to Gahyeon, I took Gyeoul with me and got into the company car.

Considering how distressed Gyeoul looked, I wanted to let her rest for a day, or maybe even three, but since we were in the middle of an important Girl 100 shoot, I had to take her back to the dorm.

I’m sorry, Gyeoul, for being such a lousy adult.

But it wasn’t that I didn’t want to help or that I intended to ignore Gyeoul’s worries.

So I asked her,

“So, what brought you here?”

“…”

“I’m not trying to scold you. I know what kind of kid you are, Gyeoul, so why would I get upset over something like this?”

Honestly, running away from Girl 100 wasn’t something I should downplay, but I said it anyway.

“I’m just worried. And since you came to me, not someone else, I wondered if there’s anything I can do to help.”

“…”

“So, just tell me. I can’t promise to solve everything perfectly, but I’ve always managed somehow, right? I’ll do my best this time too, if it’s something that’s been troubling you.”

Gyeoul, who had been lowering her head, slightly lifted her face and looked at me nervously as she spoke.

“…Even I think it’s a ridiculous story. It’s absurd and doesn’t make any sense.”

“But if you don’t tell me, I can’t help. I want to help you, Gyeoul.”

Just tell me, Gyeoul.

Even if it’s something criminal, I need to know first to handle it.

Sometimes, irresponsible people think that if they don’t talk about it, the problem will just disappear, but that’s not true.

It’ll just explode later, making it impossible to deal with.

Still, I hope it’s not assault, fraud, theft, murder, pregnancy, bullying, drugs, a cult, drunk driving, or hate speech.

…Come to think of it, there are a lot of things I hope it isn’t.

Please, Gyeoul, let your trouble be as mild as the way you usually behave.

“You’ll probably think it’s a joke. Or maybe you’ll be disappointed because it’s not a big deal. You might get mad, thinking I made such a fuss over something so trivial… I’m sorry.”

“I won’t be disappointed, and I won’t get mad.”

Actually, those were reassuring words. It seemed like it wasn’t as big a deal as I feared.

“Ah, maybe I will get a little mad… maybe a lot. If someone maliciously made you feel this way, I don’t think I could stay calm.”

If someone messed with my precious friend, I’d just have to break their legs.

Gyeoul looked at me with blank eyes as I said that and then spoke.

“I had a dream. No, it felt more like I saw the future.”

You saw the future too?

Is this another returner after Yeoreum?

…But why does this feel familiar when it shouldn’t?

No, calm down. Gyeoul might just be mistaken.

“What kind of future did you see?”

“…Do you believe me?”

“I’ve always believed in you. From the moment I first saw you, and always.”

“…”

Gyeoul lowered her head again, avoiding my gaze.

“…Thank you.”

Her voice was full of tears.

I gently patted her back.

After a while, Gyeoul, having regained her composure, spoke.

“It felt like a future where you didn’t take me away from SS.”

…Why would you see that?

“I debuted as one of the members of Alcest at SS… and as you know, I was bullied. Even long after my official debut.”

What Gyeoul saw seemed similar to what I had once seen in a fragment of the future.

I didn’t doubt her words.

If there were people like me benefiting from the management system, and others like Cheon Aram who could sniff out others’ ill intentions, why wouldn’t there be someone who could see the future?

But I was curious as to why Gyeoul suddenly started seeing the future.

…Could this be connected to me? It’s more likely that she gained the ability to see the future because of my influence, rather than it happening suddenly. Just like Yeoreum’s case.

Ah, could it be that?

I remembered that before negotiating with Kim Seon-ye today, I used the Memory of Possibilities, and the message said it was used on the appropriate person.

[‘Memory of Possibilities’ has been used on the appropriate person.]

If Gyeoul saw that memory and ran to me in shock, it would make sense.

But what exactly was the “appropriate person” that it showed Gyeoul the future?

First, I needed to find out exactly what Gyeoul saw.

“Can you tell me in detail?”

“Yes, I’ll tell you everything, everything.”

And so, Gyeoul began her long story.

“…After I heard that message, my memory got hazy. I was just walking in the snow, and before I knew it, I was at a funeral, and there, I saw your portrait, Taeyang ssam.”

Gyeoul’s story was quite shocking.

I thought she had seen the same scene I had in the fragment of the future, but hearing her story, it felt like she saw a much longer and more detailed future.

To be precise, it felt more like she shared in the emotions rather than just seeing information.

…Anyway, if I hadn’t taken Gyeoul away back then, I’d have died?

I wasn’t sure whether to feel relieved or terrified.

It was a strange feeling that I couldn’t quite put into words.

…Come to think of it, why did it show Gyeoul something like this and make her so anxious?

If it had just been used on me quietly, none of this would have happened.

Hmph, this makes me angry.

I can’t do this anymore. From now on, no matter how good the reward is, I’ll ignore any quest that offers Memory of Possibilities.

I’ve been completing all the quests that come up, and now that Status Window jerk is getting greedy.

It’s time to remember the beginner’s mindset I had when my quest completion rate was barely seven percent.

Let’s straighten things out, Status Window.

While I was lost in these thoughts, Gyeoul, holding both her shoulders and trembling, muttered as she curled up.

“When I saw that picture, it felt like something inside me was breaking, so I kept screaming and screaming. I was scared. I was terrified. I hated it. I was lonely. And I hated how helpless I was, how all I could do was scream… I hated myself…”

“Stop.”

I clearly understood that she was in an unstable mental state.

It made sense, seeing the sudden death of someone you’ve built a close friendship with.

…But it was still hard to listen to.

I brought up something I had never mentioned in front of Gyeoul before.

“Gyeoul, do you like yourself?”

Gyeoul had low self-esteem. Very low.

I thought it was because of Yeji’s influence, and the impact of her parents and grandfather, who never taught her how to form personal relationships as a child. That’s why I chose to support her, thinking she couldn’t help it.

But thinking about the days she had to endure ahead, that approach wouldn’t work.

That’s why I asked the question I had avoided under the guise of consideration.

Gyeoul looked at me with wavering eyes, then spoke firmly and coldly.

“…No. I don’t like myself.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m stupid, clueless, can’t even approach others… I’m passive! I’m a coward! I’m pathetic…!”

“I like you.”

“…What?”

Gyeoul looked at me in shock.

Her pale face started to warm up.

As I gently tidied her disheveled hair, I spoke more firmly than ever.

“You might hate yourself. You’re so kind, Gyeoul, that instead of hating others, you choose to hate yourself… But I want you to know that you’re a very lovable person.”

I believed she had the talent to become the best idol.

And the talent of an idol is the talent to be loved.

I needed to make her understand this.

“You might feel anxious. You might have doubts. So it might be really hard for you to like yourself.”

“…I already don’t like myself. In fact, I hate the person called Han Gyeoul.”

“Then I’ll like you that much more. I’ll always be your supporter, no matter what.”

“…”

If Gyeoul can’t like herself, I’ll like her for her share too.

So that she never has to deny herself again, steadfastly and unwaveringly.

“Love yourself. You deserve that, Gyeoul.”

Tears began to well up in Gyeoul’s eyes.

“…What if you’re gone, Taeyang ssam?”

And then, two streams of tears flowed down.

“If you disappear like in that future, what will I do?”

“I’ll never disappear like that.”

“Nobody can guarantee that!”

“I can guarantee it.”

“How could you possibly say that?!”

“Because I’ve seen the future too!”

“…”

After a long silence, Gyeoul wiped away her tears with her hand and asked me,

“What kind of future was it?”

The future I saw was one where a sucker gets stabbed in the back.

Or a future where a soft-hearted child regrets becoming an idol.

But that’s not the future I should talk about right now.

So I said,

“It was a future where you, Gyeoul, were happy.”

“…”

Gyeoul opened and closed her mouth repeatedly, unable to respond, and then, with a tearful face, she said,

“Even a little kid wouldn’t believe that.”

“Then, when you reach that moment of happiness, believe it.”

Because I’ll make sure it happens.

Gyeoul looked at me straight and answered,

“…Then I’ll believe it now.”

Once again, two streams of tears flowed down her reddened cheeks.

Amid those tears, she smiled like spring and said,

“Because I’m already happy right now.”

I drove with the determination to get Gyeoul back to the Girl 100 set before the official recording started, at least before the wake-up bell rang.

At that moment, Gyeoul, who had been sleeping in the passenger seat, woke up and spoke to me.

“Taeyang ssam.”

“Hm? Is there something you want to say?”

The sun, which had been hidden by the buildings in the embrace of the dark blue sky, began to rise and shine brightly on both Gyeoul and me.

“Thank you for being in my life.”

The cold dawn was ending, and morning was beginning.