episode_0147

#147

After that, everything proceeded smoothly.

Even without me.

No—perhaps precisely because I was gone, things went even more smoothly.

“The winner of Queen of Idols Season 2 is… !!”

“Waaaah……!”

On the final stage, the four girls, upon hearing ‘s name, hugged each other’s shoulders and sank to their knees, crying.

“Thank you… truly, thank you so much…!”

Their voices trembled as they delivered their grateful farewells.

I watched this scene not from the side of the stage, but through the live broadcast.

The live ratings were around 10%.

An unusually high viewership for terrestrial broadcasts these days.

At this rate, ’s future activities would undoubtedly be rock-solid for some time.

The broadcast replayed the narrative of ‘s four-year journey.

There was even an interview with Novia’s CEO. Shedding crocodile tears as though he had personally raised them, he didn’t forget to plug their new group in the process.

“……….”

I watched it all unfold silently, through the screen.

“Really… so much happened to get here, but now I feel like I can finally shake it all off…!”

Harin, still wiping away tears on screen, spoke effortlessly.

Of course she could—she was probably the only one who knew the truth behind this outcome.

“To our CEO, the agency staff, our stylists, our trainers, our parents who always cherished and protected us… and finally—”

Harin looked directly at the camera.

At me, beyond the screen.

“To our manager… thank you, truly, for everything…!”

“…Ah.”

I reached out toward Harin’s face on screen. All I felt was cold glass.

Now, Harin was beyond my reach.

Eunchae, Sarang, Se-ah too.

They were no longer people I had any connection to.

“Please… keep supporting from now on…!”

The four girls bowed deeply in unison.

From now on, they would be working under a major subsidiary of the broadcasting company, backed by full financial and promotional support.

Right.

This was enough.

My dream of creating the greatest idols—this was its fulfillment.

*

“Manager-nim? Or… should I call you Mr. Hogu now?”

A café somewhere in Seoul.

Late at night, yet the place was still bustling.

A woman walked in, spotted me immediately, and approached. She wore sunglasses, a fur hat, a mask, and a scarf—her face completely hidden.

“Eunchae.”

“Shh. You can’t say my name out loud.”

She pressed a finger to her lips, signaling silence.

I glanced around and nodded.

Even after sitting down, Eunchae only lowered her mask slightly, keeping her sunglasses on. She chose a corner seat, out of plain sight.

“Wow… it’s really been a while. What have you been up to?”

“Just… learning by doing other jobs.”

“They didn’t take you back at your old company?”

“They already hired an external executive producer. Apparently, they’re debuting soon. Looks like they’re splurging on albums and MVs too.”

“Well, that CEO’s got money to burn. It’s pretty well-known.”

Eunchae had changed noticeably.

She had always been polished, but now she seemed even more refined.

Just her outfit alone screamed money.

“Oh, it’s our song.”

“Ah, your new single?”

“Yeah. A unit track without Harin unnie. Aimed for the Christmas season. It’s good, right?”

“Yeah…”

Definitely trendy, with a killer hook. Perfect for TikTok.

Nothing like the songs I used to pick.

“Harin… how’s she doing?”

Publicly, Harin was said to be undergoing long-term professional treatment for an injury sustained during practice.

I sipped my bitter coffee, reminded once again how easily the media bends to power.

“She’s gotten pretty big. Harin unnie.”

“Yeah……”

It must’ve been about six months by now. She’d be visibly swollen.

“Can I see a picture?”

“……….”

“Hold on. I think Harin unnie sent me one…”

Eunchae scrolled through her phone before showing me a photo.

“Ah……”

Harin smiled, cradling her noticeably rounded belly.

And next to her—Park Dong-chul.

Looking every bit the doting father, his face gentle and proud.

“What do you think? They suit each other, don’t they?”

“……Not sure.”

“Really? I think they look perfect.”

It was an undeniably jarring image—a middle-aged man twice her age beside a young idol—but Eunchae spoke matter-of-factly.

“Well… PD-nim isn’t that bad. He takes good care of , pushes us hard when needed…”

“…….”

“Plus, he’s good at it. This.”

She formed a circle with her fingers, then inserted her index finger.

“……Right.”

“I tried it too, you know. Back then. Not anymore, though.”

“Yeah, you did.”

She had.

Eunchae had also given herself to Park Dong-chul at one point.

Maybe that’s why. Even now, talking about him, a faint blush peeked beneath her sunglasses.

I wanted to blame the cold, but the café’s heater was cranked up to sweltering.

“I’m so jealous~ Harin unnie.”

“……….”

She genuinely seemed to mean it.

“What about… Sarang?”

“Ah, Sarang?”

“Yeah.”

I set down my coffee with unsteady hands, feigning nonchalance.

“She seems happy with her boyfriend. Always comes back to the dorm gushing about gifts she got.”

“I see.”

“You know what? For her birthday this year, she got a car. An actual car.”

“……A car?”

“Yeah. And not just any car—some crazy expensive one. I had to look it up. A coupe? Open-top? Damn. I need a rich boyfriend too. Seriously.”

I remembered.

The exact car Sarang once said she loved.

She got it in the end.

Meanwhile, I’d sold my own car after losing my job.

Listening to the girls I’d lost moving on with well-off men, irritation mixed with something else swelled inside me.

“…Se-ah?”

“Ah~ Se-ah… Um…”

“Just tell me. It’s fine.”

“Well… you knew about that psycho blackmailing Se-ah, right? Those hotel photos… with .”

“……Yeah.”

To stop the leaks, Se-ah had slept with him.

How many times since then, I had no way of knowing.

“After won Queen of Idols, that bastard called her again, threatening…”

My ears perked up.

Of course. That guy wouldn’t just stop.

“But PD-nim got the VIPs involved and had him taken care of in one go. Not sure how, but things went quiet after that.”

“H-He did…?”

To solve in one move what I couldn’t…

What was I even doing, running around meeting bastards…?

“And get this— was tied up in it too.”

Eunchae leaned in, whispering cautiously.

“They got arrested recently. Drugs. But digging deeper, they found assaults on regular fans too.”

“…Right.”

For two months, the scandal rocked the nation.

“Rumor has it Se-ah was involved… but it never made the news. VIPs buried it.”

“Yeah…”

“Some of them are obsessed with Se-ah. They’re why won.”

I see.

Se-ah, too, had carved out her own path.

“The VIPs were furious. They destroyed . Even with their agency spending fortunes on lawyers, no chance. Too big.”

“How long?”

“One guy—Jio? Main offender. He’s looking at 10+ years. Sold drugs, distributed photos, blackmailed. Underage victims too. Fans abandoned them. ’s done.”

“Hah.”

The trial wasn’t even over, but just hearing it felt cathartic.

Still—this should’ve been my job.

I couldn’t protect Se-ah.

The VIPs who loved her did perfectly.

“After that, Se-ah and the VIPs… You know. Probably still at a hotel even now. Every single day. No idea how they don’t get bored.”

“……Figures.”

“…Do you want to see?”

Eunchae nudged me, probing.

Silently, I nodded.

“Huu…”

She rummaged her bag, pulling something out.

A USB.

“Here. Footage from this month.”