Chapter 126

Chapter 126

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

Episode 126: Isn’t That Something A Criminal Would Think?.

On the balcony of the apartment assigned by TwoBear, Han Gyeoul, Yoo Gaeul, Jin Yeoreum, and Oh Yoori were staring outside, not at all bothered by the late hour or the cold wind.

They were there to see Seon Taeyang, who had stayed late to see them off after they practiced late for the weekly evaluation the next day.

They huddled together, leaning out to watch Seon Taeyang walking toward the parked car.

At that moment, whether he sensed their gaze, or simply wanted to take one last look at the view from the apartment, he turned his head and looked at the balcony where they stood. And he spotted all four of them.

He gave a bright, warm smile, which seemed completely out of place on his somewhat decadent-looking face. Then, he slowly waved his hand.

Gyeoul and Yeoreum waved their hands widely to make sure Seon Taeyang saw them. Gaeul went a step further, jumping up and waving excitedly. Yoori also waved her hand, though she hid her face shyly.

Seon Taeyang found their actions amusing and laughed out loud. He waved his hand one more time before getting in the car and leaving. However, even after he left, they didn’t move from the balcony.

Jin Yeoreum, staring blankly at the spot where he had disappeared, finally spoke.

“Someday, this relationship will come to an end. One of us might end up with Team Leader Seon, or maybe he’ll end up with someone else entirely.”

It was a continuation of the conversation they hadn’t had that day.

“Can you accept that?”

“Even if Gaeul unnie can’t accept it, she’ll eventually have to. There’s really no other way. Team Leader Seon’s heart will lead him to that conclusion, so what can we do?”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

The overly realistic words made Jin Yeoreum lower her head, feeling deflated.

Gyeoul, who had been staring at the spot where Seon Taeyang had disappeared, spoke up.

“For me… I’m so scared of the possibility that Taeyang ssam might hate me. So, I’d rather things stay this way without changing.”

“But things will change. Team Leader Seon has his own life, after all. He’ll fall in love someday. He’ll probably get married too. That’s why I didn’t want to just sit and wait until that time.”

“I feel the same. I don’t want to just be one of the fleeting connections with Taeyang oppa. So, what should we do?”

Even amidst the cold wind, Oh Yoori, who had been standing by their side, cautiously spoke up.

“I’ve thought of something. Is it okay if I share it?”

“Yeah, feel free to say it, Yoori.”

“I understand the feeling of not being able to hold back. I understand the fear of falling behind… Honestly, I thought, ‘Are we going crazy, with our debut just ahead?’ But people’s feelings aren’t so easy to sort out. I couldn’t sort out my own feelings and ended up doing some crazy things.”

“……”

“But you still don’t want to be hated by Team Leader Seon, right? We haven’t gone so far as to hurt everyone in TwoBear with our personal feelings… yet.”

“Yeah, not yet.”

“Then, there’s only one answer. Don’t hold it in, hide it.”

“Hide it? Yoori, what do you mean by that?”

At Gyeoul’s question about the strange word choice, Yoori shivered slightly in the cold wind and spoke.

“You can pretend to be a child who just craves attention, not a woman. And express that kindness like it’s just simple affection instead of romantic feelings. After all, the goal is to leave a positive impression on Team Leader Seon’s heart, and this way, we might even get closer to him. It’s the opposite of the usual ‘I treated you like a daughter.’”

“Isn’t that something a criminal would think?”

“Gaeul unnie already did it.”

“I’m sorry.”

“The analogy might be a little off, but ‘I did it because you felt like a father’… Isn’t that a good defense? Considering Team Leader Seon’s personality, he might actually accept it gladly, going beyond just using it as a defense.”

Gyeoul, continuing to ponder in silence, finally asked.

“Until when?”

“Until he sees you as a woman, not a child…”

Perhaps feeling that her words weren’t enough, Yoori tilted her head slightly and added.

“Until he no longer feels like your confession is a sudden attack.”

The weekly evaluation came to an end.

Although it was a regular evaluation held every week, all of us at TwoBear always participated with enthusiasm, analyzing and seeking improvements.

But today, we focused and analyzed even more, as it was deemed to be particularly important.

This was the first evaluation to professionally analyze how the group looked with the addition of the final member, Oh Yoori. It was also the first evaluation since Oh James, who would be responsible for producing, formally joined the team. In other words, now we could finally think about and evaluate the group’s complete form.

“First, I’d like to hear what you think, James.”

He answered after turning on his tablet and thinking for a moment in response to Cheon Aram’s question.

“The quality is higher than I expected. I already knew that Yoori was a talented trainee who combined skill and hard work during the ‘Girl 100’ show, but Yeoreum and Gaeul really surprised me with their unexpected strengths.”

“Unexpected strengths?”

“I saw Gyeoul as a prodigy, a top-tier talent. To put it simply, I thought of her as a genius. But because she’s such a genius, I also worried. I thought her charm might overshadow the other trainees, making her shine while others faded into the background.”

Of course, having been one of the judges on ‘Girl 100’ and witnessing her talent up close, it was understandable.

Even now, the overwhelming approval rating Gyeoul received for first place in the final round was clear proof of her exceptional talent and how it resonated with the audience.

“Stars tend to shine brightly, so from a commercial standpoint, it’s not bad. Especially with TwoBear, which doesn’t have a big name yet, this kind of marketing strategy is a suitable choice. But from a producer’s point of view, who views an idol group as a work of art, it was honestly a concern… but it seems that worry was unnecessary.”

Seeing the reason behind his words, Cheon Aram, who had watched the trainees, asked with a slight smile.

“What made you think that way?”

“There were two more geniuses here who are just as exceptional as Gyeoul.”

“Wow.”

Of course, someone like Oh James wouldn’t miss their talent. But it was also true that having someone with his reputation acknowledge them as geniuses made it sound even better.

Cheon Aram, Lee Hyerin, and Song Johan all smiled proudly at the praise from Oh James, who was known as one of the top in the industry. Even Seo Soo-yeon had a faint smile on her face.

I asked the question on behalf of the others.

“So, what do you think about the group as a whole?”

Hearing the question, Oh James put down his tablet and looked at me.

“They could debut right away.”

“In that case, we’re going to decide on a group name.”

The four trainees, who had been wondering why all the staff, including the public relations team, were gathered, finally nodded as if they understood the reason.

In the midst of this, Oh Yoori asked a question.

“So, why did you call us? Can we also participate in this?”

“Of course, we’re choosing the group name, so you should participate. Even if you don’t have ideas, it’s fine to just agree or disagree with the other suggestions.”

Cheon Aram looked around at the other staff members and spoke.

“Please feel free to share your opinions as well. I have some ideas, too, and I’ll speak up. The vote will be anonymous, so don’t worry. Also, the person who suggests the chosen name will get a prize, just so you know.”

“What’s the prize?”

“My affection?”

“……”

“Just kidding. These are two VIP tickets to Seo Jihak’s concert, the guy they call the Prince of Ballad. You could resell them for at least 800,000 won. But don’t actually sell them for real, okay? Got it?”

Anyway, maybe because of the prize, everyone started offering their ideas one by one.

“How about Love&Peace?”

“That’s a term that’s been around since the Cold War. It feels kind of old-fashioned.”

“How about ‘Girl Revolution’?”

“…Gyeoul, what if we try moving away from red a bit?”

“I think it’s okay, though.”

“Alright, let’s mark it.”

“Is my sense of style weird?”

“What do you think of ViVaDi?”

“Soo-yeon, what does that mean?”

“Visual, various, distance. If I interpret it loosely, it’s like ‘varied perspectives’ or ‘different distances.’ The sound of ViVaDi also reminds me of Antonio Vivaldi, the composer of the Four Seasons. Coincidentally, all of our trainees’ names represent seasons, right?”

“Hmm… Okay, let’s mark that.”

“Since we’re talking about seasons, how about just going with ‘Seasons’?”

“That might work for the other trainees, but Yoori doesn’t really fit with the seasons, does she?”

“…Actually, Yoori’s birth name before she changed it—”

“Ahhh! Team Leader Seon, that’s a secret!”

“…What is her real name?”1

“What about ‘Suncheyseo’?”2

“…Gaeul unnie, didn’t we agree to keep that hidden?”

“How about ‘Class4’?”

“I’m also thinking ‘Twenty’…”

Once the discussion started rolling, everyone began pitching at least one name.

It wasn’t necessarily because they wanted the prize—most of them seemed to already have one or two names in mind.

Soon, the whiteboard was packed with suggestions. When no one else was offering any more, I finally spoke up.

“What do you think of ‘Four Seconds’?”

“Four Seconds? So literally, 4 seconds? Team Leader, what does that mean?”

I smiled, looking at each of the trainees as I explained.

“One second for Yoori, two seconds for Yeoreum, three seconds for Gaeul, and four seconds for Gyeoul. Just four seconds is enough time for anyone to fall for these girls.”

Feeling satisfied with my own suggestion, I looked at the trainees again, but they were all silent.

“……”

“…What? Why is no one saying anything?”

The reaction was strange.

I thought it was a clever name and expected some enthusiasm, but instead of feedback, everyone in TwoBear stayed completely silent.

Hoping someone would respond, I made eye contact with each of them. Gaeul, Gyeoul, and Yeoreum all blushed and avoided my gaze.

…Was my sense of style really that bad?

Watching their reaction, Yoori sighed softly, as if exasperated.

“Well, this is all because of Taeyang.”

ED/N: Mentioned in Chapter 101; her real name is Oh Chun-ja, which means “Spring Love”. ↩️

ED/N: A play on Seon Chaser or Chasing Seon. ↩️