Chapter 167

Chapter 167

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

Episode 167: Reason

After finishing the recording and on their way back, Gaeul felt a strong urge to grab the hand of Taeyang, who was walking a step ahead of her.

However, she soon succeeded in pushing the thought aside and walked beside him as usual, cheerfully saying,

“Today was really fun! Hehe, I wish these moments could last forever.”

Taeyang looked at her and smiled softly before brushing her hair back.

Though she appreciated his touch, Gaeul also felt a sense of regret.

She knew that his warm touch was more like that of someone treating a child rather than a romantic interest.

‘I wish he would see me as a woman.’

Unconsciously, Gaeul fixed her bangs.

While Gaeul wondered if her makeup was alright and thought of checking a mirror, Taeyang casually started speaking.

“That woman… your mother, whom we saw during the recording of Music Road—she said her daughter has a rare disease.”

He was revealing the secret Gaeul had hidden in her heart.

“You already knew, didn’t you, Gaeul?”

“…”

Yes. She already knew.

She knew why her mother had to cling to her so desperately.

Her mother probably knew as well. She understood that trying to cling to the daughter she abandoned would lead to no good outcome.

There was a reason her mother had to be so pathetic and shameless.

“She probably lied just to get some money.”

“I checked, and it’s not a lie.”

“…It doesn’t matter. We’re strangers now.”

“So? Gaeul, do you feel better thinking you’re strangers?”

That was how it should have been.

Gaeul still had a lot on her shoulders.

She owed a lot, especially to Taeyang.

Amid all of this, she had no energy to care for the mother who abandoned her.

But her heart couldn’t let go.

“No, it was uncomfortable. What the hell is that? If she left to start a new life, abandoning Gahyeon and me so she could live well on her own, then she should be living well! Why? Why is she living in a way that makes me feel so uneasy?”

Her mother left like that.

She disappeared as if fleeing, leaving behind brief words, “I want to live too.”

She was sad. She hated her. She resented her.

And she missed her.

But she never came back.

“That so-called daughter is the same. She abandoned us so easily—so why isn’t she doing the same this time? If she was capable of putting her child first, going so far as to come find someone like me, whose face she can barely even remember, groveling on her knees and begging—then why didn’t she do that for Gahyeon and me?”

She was someone capable of such love, with maternal instincts, so why were Gahyeon and she abandoned?

Were Gahyeon and she such unworthy children? Were they not enough to deserve love?

Gaeul tried, too. She thought the reason she wasn’t receiving love was because she was lacking, so she worked hard at her studies, did chores, cooked, and even worked part-time.

But she never received that love.

She didn’t know. Gaeul could never understand why.

“The mother I knew wasn’t like that. She was immature, couldn’t do anything properly, and all she did was threaten us with ‘I’m going to divorce’ over and over. She was out so much. I had to learn how to manage the household since I was young. So why is she showing up like that now?”

Nevertheless, Gaeul secretly wished her mother would find happiness wherever she went.

“Just live well. If she decided to selfishly find her own happiness, then just live well… sniffle.”

Gaeul sank to the ground and cried uncontrollably.

Taeyang kneeled down, matching her eye level, and gently patted her back as he spoke.

“I paid for the treatment.”

“…What?”

Gaeul looked at Taeyang.

“Why… why did you do that?”

“I took care of the urgent matters. You don’t need to worry anymore.”

That didn’t make any sense.

Confused, Gaeul shouted,

“Taeyang Oppa, you have no reason to pay that money!”

“Gaeul, you wanted to help, right?”

“That…”

“Exactly. That’s enough reason for me to act.”

She couldn’t find the words.

Even so, Gaeul said through gritted teeth,

“That’s forced. It’s just a child throwing a tantrum.”

The reason Gaeul hadn’t said anything about this yet was that she knew once she spoke about it, she’d have to share the burden.

The staff at TwoBear were really good people. If Gaeul asked for help, they would have found a way to deal with it.

And it wasn’t just simple goodwill. It was a sacrifice made solely because Gaeul wanted it.

Gaeul didn’t want to see that kind of thing. Especially not from Seon Taeyang.

“How can I act so shamelessly when I already owe you so much, Taeyang Oppa?!”

When she thought about the future, she could pay it back. But that would only happen in the distant future when the final settlement takes place.

No one knows if some kind of disaster would derail it in the meantime.

Yet Taeyang always chooses to take responsibility in place of his inexperienced and fragile self.

Gaeul didn’t want that.

Seeing Gaeul cry in her pain, Taeyang gently brushed her hair back again and spoke.

“Gaeul, do you remember what I told you before?”

“…What did you say?”

“I said I would be your adult.”

That was when Gaeul first began to open her heart to Taeyang.

“It’s okay to throw a tantrum. It’s fine to be unreasonable. It’s okay to depend on me. Just do what you want to do.”

He said it as if it were the most natural thing.

“Because that’s what an adult should do.”

After managing to stop her tears and regain her composure, Gaeul spoke.

“I will pay it all back someday.”

Taeyang was her adult.

That was why Gaeul was a child to Taeyang.

It was truly warm. It was comforting.

But Gaeul couldn’t be satisfied with that alone.

“I will grow up fast and become an adult, not a child. Please wait a little longer until then.”

What she wanted wasn’t this one-sided relationship where she only received support.

She wanted a relationship where she could support Taeyang when he was struggling and about to fall, a mutual support system.

Yes, she wanted to become what people call life partners, or spouses.

“I will definitely repay everything. I promise.”

Saying that, Gaeul buried her head in Taeyang’s chest.

She knew that her actions were nothing more than a child’s tantrum.

Therefore, when she thought about the dream she had, that was, the future she wanted to share with Taeyang, she knew that her current actions should be restrained.

But even so, right now, she wanted to lean a little more on his embrace.

Her pounding heart longed for it too desperately.

After finishing the recording in the morning and returning to the company to complete her regular training, Gaeul searched for Taeyang.

There was no special reason. She just wanted to see his face after not seeing him for three days due to busy work.

“Taeyang Oppa!”

However, he was not in his usual office where he worked.

“Oh, Gaeul, if it’s Taeyang, he probably went to the rooftop to get some fresh air.”

“Thank you, Deputy Manager Seok!”

“But please feel free to just call me Manager Seok…”

Gaeul didn’t listen to Seok Hyun-woo’s follow-up words and hurriedly walked toward the rooftop.

‘Hmm… should I approach quietly and try a back hug?’

With that playful thought in mind, Gaeul cautiously opened the door to the rooftop.

And there, she saw something completely unexpected.

“You’re doing well, Eun-byeol. And it’s okay if you don’t do everything perfectly.”

It was a scene where Eun-byeol and Taeyang were talking to each other.

“…”

Gaeul, who was peeking through the door crack, froze and held her breath as she watched the scene.

“Team Leader Seon, why are you so generous with me?”

“Am I being generous?”

“Yes, anyone would think that.”

They were having a conversation.

It was not just idle small talk; they were sharing their true feelings.

It hit Gaeul hard.

Taeyang was special to Gaeul, but it became painfully clear to her that he wasn’t just special to her.

Her stomach churned, and her head spun.

The thought of needing to keep watching clashed with the desire to look away.

Just as Gaeul was frozen in that intense conflict, something changed.

“Team Leader Seon, are you okay? You’re crying.”

Taeyang was crying.

‘Why?’

The last time Gaeul saw him cry was over a year ago when they recruited Yeoreum. Why was he shedding such precious tears now?

It was hard to understand. It was hard to watch.

“It will be okay. Everything.”

She didn’t want to know. She didn’t want to see it.

But still, Gaeul saw it.

She realized that the way Taeyang was looking at Seo Eun-byeol was fundamentally different from the way he looked at Gyeoul, Yeoreum, and Gaeul.

It wasn’t the look of someone looking at a child.

“Taeyang Oppa?”

It was the look of someone seeing a romantic interest.