Chapter 104

Chapter 104

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

Episode 104: In Moments Like This, That Man Will Surely Show Up.

Seo Eun-byeol, unable to hide her surprise, asked her.

“…Yoori, how did you even get here?”

“When I put my mind to it, no one can see through my acting. Besides, I had this stun gun that even someone like me could use to take down an adult.”

“…No, that’s not what I mean. How did you know where to find me?”

“You had that phone charm, remember?”

“…This?”

Yoori pointed to the bear paw-shaped phone charm dangling from Eun-byeol’s makeup pouch.

“That’s actually a GPS tracker.”

“…”

It seemed Yoori had given her a GPS tracker as a reconciliation gift. What a bold idea.

Eun-byeol, unsure how to react, was pulled by Yoori as she spoke.

“We can talk about this later. Right now, we need to run. We don’t have time.”

“Wait, Yoori. I can’t keep up with what’s happening. Why are you…?”

“That’s what I’m saying! We can talk later; right now, let’s just run!”

At Yoori’s words, Seo Eun-byeol stopped moving and took in the situation. She saw a large man collapsed by the door. She couldn’t tell if he was simply unconscious or in a dangerous condition.

Either way, dealing with the aftermath seemed difficult.

Yoori had gone to great lengths to stop Eun-byeol from getting into trouble, even resorting to this extreme.

A minor like her sneaking into a karaoke bar and using a dangerous weapon like a stun gun…

“…”

Eun-byeol felt overwhelmingly grateful, but she couldn’t just go along with it. This wasn’t only about her future; Yoori’s future was at risk too.

If this situation were to come to light, Yoori’s future would be utterly destroyed.

Yoori, who had more talent, beauty, and hard work than anyone else, and who had such a clear path to success.

That absolutely couldn’t be allowed to happen.

Having made her decision, Eun-byeol spoke more firmly than ever.

“You’re the one who’s going to run. I’ll stay here. I’ll take care of the aftermath, so don’t worry.”

In her mind, what Yoori had done should be credited to her. That meant Eun-byeol couldn’t run.

Yoori responded, clearly frustrated.

“Oh, come on, what are you talking about? We don’t have time for this.”

“You’re the frustrating one! You shouldn’t even be here. Do you know what being involved in this will do to your future? You don’t need this. You can shine without it.”

Eun-byeol had never told anyone, but the truth was, she admired Yoori.

From the very first day Yoori entered Flower Entertainment and outshone all the existing trainees with her overwhelming talent.

She admired Yoori’s radiant talent, her humility despite her abilities, and her diligence in honing her skills. She admired her poise, never losing her composure no matter the situation.

Despite being much younger, Eun-byeol respected Yoori deeply.

In a life full of thankless efforts as a trainee, Yoori was the first person Eun-byeol had ever genuinely acknowledged.

“She’s the kind of person who deserves to become an idol,” Eun-byeol had thought, full of admiration.

For her, who had clung to the chains of her dream and stayed at Flower Entertainment, it was a comforting realization.

Because of the star that was Yoori, Eun-byeol wavered less.

Her shattered dreams seemed to come together when she looked at Yoori.

Stars could be a source of comfort just by existing.

That was why Ban Seongcheol’s words about her helping Yoori succeed had played such a crucial role in her decision.

She wanted to see Yoori succeed in a way that made everyone proud.

That’s why she didn’t want someone like her to tarnish Yoori’s brilliance.

“Go back to the Girl 100 dorm right now. I’ll take care of everything, so don’t worry. I’ll figure out what to do with the guy outside too. Just go your own way and don’t let yourself get caught up in this mess.”

Yoori looked at Eun-byeol and gave a bitter smile, despite her young age, as she spoke.

“If you do that, you’ll regret it, unnie.”

Annoyed by Yoori’s certainty, Eun-byeol replied in a blunt voice.

“How can you be so sure about that?”

“How? Because you’re already crying.”

“…What?”

Seo Eun-byeol, startled, touched her cheek.

Like a lie, tears were streaming down her cheeks.

The moment she realized it, the sharp pain in her heart that she had been pretending to ignore was now undeniable.

Eun-byeol was in deep agony.

“It’s been hard, hasn’t it?”

And seeing Yoori step up for her, she felt pure joy.

“I…”

Unable to continue speaking, Yoori said to her,

“I’ll help you, unnie.”

“…Yoori, why are you doing this? Why me?”

Despite the storm of emotions she was feeling, Eun-byeol couldn’t logically understand it.

“All I ever did for you was talk a little, tidy up the training room, and open the door. Nothing special.”

“You also stood up for me and fought back when I was being insulted.”

“…You knew about that? Still, it’s not that big of a deal. It was just a couple of arguments, nothing worth you taking on all this.”

Objectively, their relationship amounted to just that.

They were just colleagues sharing the same training room, maybe friends who occasionally chatted. That was it.

To Eun-byeol, even such a small connection was precious, but for Yoori, it might have been different.

That’s why Eun-byeol believed Yoori didn’t need to make such sacrifices.

“You don’t need to go this far. I’m fine, so just think about your own future.”

“…”

That was the question Yoori had been asking herself all along.

A sacrifice full of loss, with no one to celebrate her efforts even if she stepped forward. The question remained—why take action?

Yoori, too, couldn’t provide a clear answer to that question.

Yet, she still spoke.

“Eun-byeol unnie, I’m thinking about the future right now.”

“…You’re thinking about the future?”

“Unnie, I have talent, objectively speaking. If I keep honing this talent, I can reach what others call success pretty easily.”

“…Yeah, I suppose. As long as you don’t get tangled up in this dirty mess.”

“No, even if I do get caught up in it, I don’t care. Whether I bring down Girl 100 or get blacklisted by a broadcasting company as a whistleblower, it won’t change anything. I can overcome penalties like that.”

She needed to show confidence to the person in front of her.

“But if I turn away from this situation now, I’ll definitely regret it for the rest of my life. It’ll haunt me forever.”

Knowing this, even in her uncertainty, Yoori spoke with conviction, as if she knew everything.

“So you can say this is something I’m doing for myself. This is purely for my own personal feelings.”

“…That’s impossible. No one can be okay with just that.”

“No, I’m fine. That’s enough for me. It’s more than enough. So let’s go. I’ll help make sure you never set foot in a place like this again.”

Yoori said this as she extended her hand again.

“…”

In Eun-byeol’s mind, everything was her fault.

Because she lacked talent, she couldn’t meet her mother’s expectations.

Because she had dreamed too grandly, she got entangled in the world of sponsors.

And even amidst all this, she hadn’t been able to hide her pain, leading this warm-hearted girl to sacrifice herself.

The swamp of guilt would entangle her forever. That’s why she wanted to give up.

…But if holding that hand was what Yoori wanted too, if it was a chance to turn her life of regret around, Eun-byeol wanted to grasp hope one more time.

So she took that hand.

Eun-byeol wiped her tears away and, as if nothing had happened, said playfully,

“Come to think of it, Yoori, you’ve been speaking informally to me for a while now. We have quite an age gap, you know.”

Startled, Yoori replied politely, unable to hide her surprise,

“…Ah, I’m sorry. I get like this when I let my guard down. I’ll try to control it.”

To Eun-byeol, those words filled a part of her heart with warmth.

Because of that, she held back her tears that were about to flow again as she spoke,

“No, I actually like it. It feels familiar. Keep doing it.”

“Really, unnie? I won’t hold back then.”

The two looked at each other and laughed.

As they ran toward the emergency stairs of the karaoke bar, Yoori spoke,

“Eun-byeol unnie, what did Banseongcheol offer you to get you involved in this?”

“…He said a lot of sweet things. Like the chance to debut as a soloist, or for you to get into Girl 100’s debut team.”

“So you knew something similar. But I don’t think that was his goal. His goal wasn’t just to get me into the top 11.”

“That wasn’t the goal? Then what’s his real objective?”

“I don’t know exactly either. But for him to still bring you here, even after I wrecked Girl 100’s reputation by exposing the voting scandal, there’s got to be another reason.”

Yoori shuddered as she spoke,

“There’s definitely a dangerous plan we don’t know about yet. We need to get out of here before we get sucked into it.”

Just then, a familiar voice came from behind her.

“…Yoori, you’re really smart. I don’t know how you figured all that out with the limited information you have. You’ve got talent and determination, you’d make it anywhere.”

“…”

“But your problem is that you’re too perceptive. There are things in this world you’re better off not knowing.”

It was Banseongcheol, the mastermind behind this entire ordeal.

Yoori, seeing Banseongcheol smirking, grabbed Eun-byeol and started running in the opposite direction down the hallway.

She knew just how dangerous it was to face him in this karaoke bar.

The outskirts, his connections, the credible disappearance statistics—everything she had investigated made it clear that this place was no different from a lawless den.

They had to escape, to where there were people around.

Just then, the door in front of them opened, revealing a group of tattooed men.

Getting past them looked nearly impossible.

Hiding her panic, she instinctively changed direction and fled.

At that moment, a man suddenly appeared from the side and violently kicked Yoori.

Thud!

The middle kick hit Yoori square in the abdomen.

Crash!

Yoori was thrown to the ground and rolled painfully, unable to breathe properly as her insides twisted in agony.

Seeing this, all the strength drained from Eun-byeol’s body, and she collapsed to the floor.

The large man who had kicked Yoori asked Banseongcheol,

“What should we do with them?”

“What do you think? Shut them up first.”

“So how should we…?”

At the man’s question, Banseongcheol gave a sinister smile.

Yoori felt despair from that smile.

She had a terrifyingly clear idea of what that man was capable of.

‘I didn’t call the police because I was afraid Eun-byeol would be implicated in a sex scandal. There’s no one left to help me… Haha, I’m really screwed now.’

Yoori could think objectively, and she quickly imagined what the future held.

A hell where she would pay for the sins and mistakes of this moment lay ahead.

“Hmm… First, let’s get some pictures…”

“You take the pictures, idiot.”

Just then, a voice rang out.

A voice Yoori would never forget, the one who had always guided her.

“…Huh? Guys, they aren’t talking to me, are they?”

Struggling to breathe, Yoori looked toward where the voice had come from.

“They’re talking to you, Seongcheol-ah.”

It was Seon Taeyang.