Chapter 107: Meeting

“Really?”

I swear when I contacted him earlier, he acted as if he’d definitely refused.

He had already finished his drink, but Oppa was still chewing on the paper straw.

“Yeah. I figured I’d listen to what they have to say.”

“Hmm… Well, it won’t hurt to listen and decide afterwards…”

From what I heard, they hadn’t discussed any specific conditions yet.

So, there was no need to debate on whether his decision was right or wrong.

I mean, he was just going to listen to what they had to say.

If anything, I genuinely thought this was a good thing. At least he was showing an interest in a new field.

“They’re a big company, so I don’t think they’d scam new talents, but who knows.”

“Crazy you said that. You’re the one who’s contracted with them, you know? You’re the one who should be more careful.”

“At this point, I’ll be fine. I discussed it thoroughly with other members and checked everything carefully.”

“Sure, sure, if that’s what you think. I’ll be careful.”

Maybe he thought that I was nagging at him again. He patted my head, as if telling me to stop talking,

“Ah! That aside, about the ski resort…”

Our first trip together that I had decided on with Oppa.

I loved snow, so just hearing about it made my heart race.

When we got there, I wanted to ride sleds and make some snowmen with him.

“Yes?”

“Look, I found these two places.”

He tapped on his phone and sent me two links.

“This one’s a little closer, but the place’s smaller. The other one is quite far from here, but the place’s quite big.”

So, both places had their pros and cons.

“Hmm… What about the price?”

“The farther one is a bit more expensive, of course.”

After carefully examining the two sites, I made my decision.

“Let’s go to the farther one!”

“The farther one?”

“Yes.”

I mean, since we were doing this for the first time, we should go all out!

“Then what about the dates? Same as we discussed before?”

“Yeah. I’ll make a reservation.”

Who knows when I’d get another vacation like this.

Well, they’d probably give another one after the second album stuff was done, but who knows when it would be.

“Alright, you do that, then tell me how much I should send you.”

“Okay.”

Though I gave him an affirmation, I had no intention of taking a single won from him.

Even if I did, it’d be just for the transportation costs.

Considering the money I’d be getting, I should be able to cover this much.

Just imagining Oppa’s surprised and happy face made me grin widely.

“Why are you smiling like that?”

Just before a drop of drool fell from my mouth.

Oppa wiped my lips with his finger.

“Ah! Why didn’t you just tell me…?”

“What were you even thinking about, grinning like that and all…?”

“It’s a secret.”

Yeah, there was no way I’d tell him that I was imagining his reaction.

“Ugh…”

Oppa raised his arms high and stretched.

“Anyway, what are you gonna do for your stream today?”

“I’m not sure?”

My stream schedule was 3-4 times a week and at least two of those were properly scheduled streams.

For collabs, I didn’t need to worry about content and stuff, and if there were ads or requests from other companies, I’d do those.

Realistically speaking, I could only have one or two streams that I could adjust freely.

“…How about a VRWorld stream? It’s been a while.”

“Excuse me, Han Taemin-ssi? What do you mean by ‘a while’?”

How long had it been since the New Year’s special again? Why was he saying something like this?

I even had a one-on-one date with him in VR!

Seriously, his obsession with VR Luka was just on a different level. I’d be unable to look at it in a positive light anymore at this point.

“N-No, I mean… You haven’t done much VRWorld lately, right…?”

“It hasn’t even been a week since the collab, you know?”

“But that was a collab, not your own stream…”

I couldn’t help but laugh at his strange logic, so I just nodded half-heartedly.

“Yes, yes… I understand…”

“So… Are you going to do it?”

Those were the eyes you needed to show me when I said we were going to the ski resort!

I clenched my fist and gave Oppa a light knock on the head.

“No wayy! Never!”

“H-Hey! It’s fine if you aren’t going to do it, but at least don’t hit me like that!”

“What? You don’t want this? I thought you told me you like getting hit by me? Who was it that always asked me to step on him in the chat again? Hm?”

I started hitting his shoulders and head repeatedly with my fists, and Oppa laughed mischievously.

“Ah~ Punish me more~ Luka-tan~”

“Ugh… Seriously… I just can’t with you…”

Men who looked as handsome as him might be rare, but those who failed to live up to their looks like this were probably even rarer.

“Doah.”

He called my name softly.

“Luka will become even more popular in the future, right?”

That question was a little abrupt.

“Well… Maybe?”

Both the company and the members predicted that as long as we didn’t get caught up in any major controversies, our number of fans would keep going.

“I hope you’ll keep doing well…”

The mood seemed to change quite a bit from earlier, so I poked his side.

“What’s this all of a sudden? Why are you talking so seriously?”

“Ah, just because… Also, what I said isn’t even anything strange!”

I felt a little uneasy at his reaction, but I shook my head, telling him not to worry.

“Don’t worry, Oppa! Everything will go well, so just make sure to renew your subscription!”

“…I will!”

When will my vacation start…? I wished it would start quickly…

Since the start of the school break, I grew a habit of oversleeping, but that wasn’t the case for today.

“Phew.”

After taking a short breath, I faced the mirror.

I had shaved cleanly and even applied skin toner and lotion, which I rarely used.

After all, today was the day I had to meet people from YM.

If I were to say that I wasn’t nervous, it’d be a lie.

I mean, a major agency was coming to recruit me—How many people wouldn’t be intimidated if they were in my shoes?

Like, I couldn’t even talk with younger hoobaes, could I even form my words properly in front of them?

-Buzzzz

My phone suddenly vibrated, startling me. Fortunately, it wasn’t the people from YM.

「Yes? Doah?」

「Have you left yet, Oppa?」

「No, not yet. Why?」

「Just ‘cause~ I wanted to wish you good luck.」

Hearing Doah’s voice calmed me down a bit.

Right. I’m doing this for Luka. For her.

After telling myself that I was doing all this for her sake, my complicated thoughts slowly faded away.

「I’ll do well and get home quickly.」

「Why don’t you come over after you’re done, Oppa?」

「Do you have the time, though?」

「Of course! I have some work to do, but it’s just stuff I can do alone on the computer at home. It should be fine!」

「Alright, I’ll call you when I’m done.」

「Okay! I love you Oppa.」

Did something good happen today? She was acting way more affectionate than usual.

「I love you too, Doah.」

After saying those words, I ended the call and carefully buttoned up my shirt.

With the white shirt and a black jacket over it, I looked pretty decent, even to myself.

Maybe I looked a little bit like a celebrity like this.

I knew that it was silly of me to try to look cool in front of the professionals of such an industry, but it wasn’t like I could show up in sweatpants and slippers.

Anyway, I put on my coat and headed down to the famous chain coffee shop near the bust stop.

When I opened the glass door and looked around, the manager I had met before waved at me from inside.

“Taemin-ssi! Welcome!”

I awkwardly bowed my head as I approached the table.

There, a man in a suit that I had never seen before was waiting for me.

He seemed to be in his mid to late 30s…

“Hello. My name is Lee Seongho, I am the team leader of YM’s casting team.”

“Ah… Yes… Hello…”

“Taemin-ssi, if you’d like anything to drink, please let me know! I’ll order it right away!”

“Then I’ll have an iced Americano…”

“Alright! Please continue your conversation~”

With the manager leaving the table, only us two men were left.

My throat felt dry. When would the drink arrive…?

“Mhm, Jiye-ssi was right. You have an excellent appearance.”

Like a hawk eyeing its prey, the team leader’s eyes examined my face from various angles.

“She definitely has a good eye. I know since I’ve worked with her before.”

“Thank you.”

“Taemin-ssi! I ordered a cake too in case you were hungry. Please try some as well!”

The manager came back, handed me the coffee and pushed the aforementioned cake towards me.

I bowed my head slightly as I received the coffee and took a long sip.

Man, I swear, I’m going crazy. This situation felt way too awkward for me to handle…

“S-So, um… What is it that we’re going to talk about, if I may ask…?”

I hinted to them that I was ready to listen. Almost immediately, the team leader took a tablet out of his bag and began explaining.

First, he talked about what kind of support they could provide if I were to work exclusively with them. Then, he proceeded to explain how the profits would be distributed and so on.

There were some things that I didn’t understand, but if I were to ask him to explain everything, the conversation would never progress.

So I just nodded along to most things, only asking about the absolutely necessary parts.

“Is there anything you didn’t understand or any additional questions about what I’ve explained so far?”

He sounded like a professor finishing a lecture.

Anyway, I figured that this was the perfect time for me to ask what I wanted to know the most.

“Um, if I were to accept this offer…”

This was the reason why I came here in the first place.

I had to accomplish this goal of mine before leaving.

“Doah… I mean, Luka… How much support could she receive…”

Hearing my words, one side of the team leader’s mouth was lifted up.