Chapter 146

Chapter 146

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

Episode 146: To Be Remembered

“Didn’t you already hear it?”

Shivering slightly from the cold rain, Jin Yeoreum spoke.

“Right now, I’m probably the most talked-about person in Korea, aren’t I? The doping girl, the attention-seeking businessman, the example against the youth support policy, the shame of the Korea-Japan match, the culprit in the decline of national dignity, the corrupt third-generation chaebol… Quite a few names, huh? Well, they’re all true.”

Seon Taeyang silently wiped away her tears.

Jin Yeoreum couldn’t bring herself to stop his touch and continued speaking.

“I’m that kind of person. The worst kind of bomb, a national dislike. You want to make me an idol? You want to improve my image? That’s impossible!”

“…”

“Looking back, I feel foolish for volunteering at the orphanage. Did I really think that such a small thing could atone for my sins? Me? 10 years? 20 years? Ha, even 50 years, that’s impossible. I’ll forever be a national dislike, and nothing will change that.”

Why did she do rhythmic gymnastics?

Why didn’t she settle for an amateur position, and aimed for the professional level?

Why does she represent the name of Jinkang?

…Why is she Jin Yeoreum?

She didn’t know. But she knew it was already too late.

“So, Team Leader Seon. Stop wasting your time.”

Seon Taeyang spoke to Jin Yeoreum.

“Become and idol with me, Yeoreum. There are no other conditions that matter.”

“…”

Was Seon Taeyang feeling it?

The tears that seemed to be about to drop were now silently flowing down.

She thought he might know. After all, it was him, not anyone else, wiping her tears.

With her eyes gently closed, Jin Yeoreum felt his touch and spoke.

“It’s raining right now. Does it even make sense to wipe away the tears?”

“Even if they’re washed away by the rain, the tears should still be wiped away.”

“Why?”

Seon Taeyang gave her a warm smile in response to her question and spoke.

“Memories of crying alone are remembered as loneliness. But memories of someone wiping away your tears will be remembered as a cherished memory.”

Jin Yeoreum opened her eyes and looked at the man in front of her.

“Yeoreum, you are a strong person. But it seems like your strong heart makes you try to bear your weakness alone, just like right now.”

“I’m not strong. I’m a very weak person.”

“Yeoreum, are you trying to overcome all the world’s resentment alone?”

“I can’t overcome it. I just curl up and accept it.”

“The fact that you can say that is what makes you a strong person.”

Even though her body was soaking wet in the rain, the man only had eyes for her.

“But, you know, I think it’s okay not to be strong.”

“Really?”

“Wouldn’t it be okay to cry a little, be a little bothersome, and complain sensitively?”

“Wow, you’re such a troublesome person.”

He smiled again at her words and spoke.

“You’re just like me.”

“…”

“If two troublesome people rely on each other, even the sorrow can easily turn into something else.”

“Into what?”

“Happiness.”

The rain kept falling in a drizzle. Her body was cold, and fear and depression made her heart even colder. But from the moment that man appeared, it seemed like she was warming up more and more.

“Yeoreum, become an idol with me.”

“…”

“I can’t say that such a moment will never come again. It will hurt. But in that moment, I will definitely wipe away your tears. When you look back at it later, even that will remain as a cherished memory.”

“…Ah.”

To be by someone’s side, she had to hurt that person.

So, the person beside her should be someone she could hate.

Or, it should be someone she didn’t care about at all.

Maybe it would have been possible for her to self-suggest Seon Taeyang as that kind of person and follow him as if pretending to be crazy.

But Jin Yeoreum clearly realized that this was no longer possible.

From now on, she didn’t want to hurt him more than anyone else.

“Team Leader Seon.”

Therefore, the choice became clear.

“Yes, Yeoreum.”

To distance herself from Seon Taeyang.

“I reject.”

That was the only way to truly care for him.

“…I absolutely don’t want to be an idol.”

One year had passed.

She stayed at this university without leaving.

So, she wrote a letter to Seon Taeyang, trying to make it sound as cheerful as possible.

“Hello, Team Leader Seon. This is Jin Yeoreum. It’s been a long time since I last greeted you.”

“A year is probably long enough to call it a long time, right?”

The environment around her hadn’t magically improved.

The misunderstandings hadn’t been cleared up, and in fact, they had become even worse.

The sharp gazes that approached like thorns, and the words that poisoned her heart like poison, dug deep into her chest.

It was a small community, and since she had to face them inevitably, there was no way to avoid it.

She became isolated like that.

“Here, everyone calls me ‘Jin’ or ‘Summer.’ I guess the name Yeoreum is hard to pronounce for my foreign friends. But I don’t mind it. Actually, it feels kind of nice. It means no one here knows about the doping scandal involving Jin Yeoreum.”

“Although the scandal happened, my foreign friends don’t seem to care about the news of someone from a small Eastern country being involved in doping.”

That wasn’t true. The news of a foreign girl in the same class, being a famous personality plastered across her home country’s main portal news, would have sparked significant interest, even if the content was negative.

“I do see some Korean friends from time to time, but they don’t seem to think I’m that Jin Yeoreum. Has my face changed so much compared to when I did rhythmic gymnastics as a child? Or is it that they can’t reconcile the thought of me studying here? Either way, it’s nice to see them.”

“Oh, the scene you saw last time was a small misunderstanding. I talked to the Korean community, and the misunderstanding has been cleared up. Of course, it wasn’t easy, but everything’s improved now, so you don’t have to worry.”

And so, she kept writing the lies.

As she wrote the letter, she remembered the words Seon Taeyang had told her a year ago.

The words, “If someone wipes your tears, it will be remembered as a cherished memory, not loneliness,” still made her heart flutter.

Just like those words, she hoped that the memories Seon Taeyang had of her would feel different through this letter.

She wanted to think that she hadn’t sent away something dangerous, but had let it go for a happier path.

She thought that might be the best way to think about it.

So, the letter continued to be filled with lies.

But not everything was a lie. There was one drop of truth, inserted in a way that seemed casual.

“I really wanted to be an idol with you, Team Leader Seon, and with Gyeoul and Gaeul. Truly.”

“…”

A single tear fell onto the letter.

Her hand stopped.

“…Actually, I shouldn’t be writing this. It’s not to make Team Leader Seon feel better.”

Even if this letter reached Seon Taeyang, it wouldn’t have a positive impact on him.

If it was revealed that the sender was Jin Yeoreum, it would only put him in an awkward position.

Seon Taeyang, the person involved, might even find it as something troublesome.

Scratch, scratch.

Despite that, her hand writing the letter moved again.

“Please, just a little, just a little, forgive me. I will try harder to endure from now on. Silently, and like a dead mouse, I will make you forget the name Jin Yeoreum… Please, just forgive me a little.”

This letter wasn’t just an update on how she’s been.

An impulse she couldn’t resist, overflowing with longing.

Or a single drop filled with nostalgia that comforts her every day as the tears rise.

And it was a love letter, filled with love.

“…Hic, hic.”

From some point.

More and more.

Seemingly sneaking in.

Her feelings grew so big, it was impossible to ignore them.

She liked Seon Taeyang.

His playful smile.

His broad back that always seemed so reassuring.

His hand that wiped away her tears.

Everything. And everyone.

“Recalling the memories of a midsummer night, Jin Yeoreum.”

She wrote the final line on the letter.

It was done.

In her life, where she had been giving up one thing after another, she gave up another.

Maybe it was just that kind of story.

But this time, she couldn’t accept it passively like she always did.

Didn’t they say that tears shed alone are loneliness?

From what she felt now, it was true.

Knowing that this moment couldn’t be a memory, she quietly cried alone.

And at that moment, her vision changed.

“…Huh, where is this?”

It was a familiar structure and interior.

In an instant, Yeoreum realized where she was. It was the hallway behind Jinkang.

And in front of her was a man she could never forget.

Jin Yeoreum murmured his name.

“Team Leader Seon?”

Was this a miracle created by something transcendental? Or had she truly gone mad?

Objectively, the latter seemed more likely.

She needed to snap out of it and wake up. But even that frightened her.

Because the illusion in front of her was so sweet.

As she trembled in confusion, Seon Taeyang spoke to her.

“You said in your letter that you want to be an idol, right?”

…This could be a fleeting dream, or an illusion.

“So, I used some influence. Actually, I really want you to be an idol with me too.”

But even if it were an illusion that would soon disappear, she wanted to indulge in that dream.

So, she hugged him tightly, as if she could never let go.

And at that moment, Jin Yeoreum woke up from her dream.

Yeoreum, who had woken up in the dark hospital room, was sweating coldly.

Seeing this, I hurriedly pushed the laptop, which I had been editing documents on, aside and spoke to her.

“You’re awake! Yeoreum, are you okay?”

Jin Yeoreum’s eyes turned to me, and her trembling body seemed to settle.

Soon, tears flowed from her eyes as she gazed at me blankly.

She looked so pitiful, as though the world had abandoned her.

…No, what kind of dream did she have?