Chapter 182

Chapter 182

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

Episode 182: Who’s The Dumbass That Made This Mess?

Gaeul, with her golden retriever-like sociability, skillfully led a soft and gentle atmosphere, while Yeoreum, who was model-like and valued discipline but was only strict with herself and generous to others—the two fit together better than expected.

They were mature enough to be considerate of each other, and because they had gone through the process of sharing and understanding their individual pains, even when they clashed, they could resolve things quickly—they were close to the ideal relationship of friends or colleagues.

Back when I had to personally handle all schedules due to staff shortages, I often saw just the two of them together.

And I was able to witness, most of the time, how these wounded kids gradually opened their hearts to each other.

It was something akin to a small miracle.

In the past, they would’ve just passed each other by without even knowing each other’s existence—seeing them now, understanding and accepting each other, felt like a miracle to me.

“…”

…But how the hell did it end up like this?

Those two who had been building such a warm, beautiful relationship, and me, watching proudly from behind.

Now, in the office where the three of us gathered, an icier silence than ever before filled the air.

No matter how I looked at it, “warmth” was nowhere to be found.

For a moment, I wondered if I was just being paranoid and misreading the atmosphere.

So I mustered my courage and closely observed their expressions.

And what I saw were their eyes—sharp and cold as if frozen.

…Yeah, it definitely wasn’t my imagination.

“…”

Seriously, how the hell did it come to this? Which dumbass made this mess?

Filled with resentment, I reflected on the past. And realized.

At the root of it all was me.

…The dumbass was me.

Honestly, I wanted to slam my head on the desk and pass out so they’d carry me to the hospital, but if I ran away too, there’d be no one left to take responsibility. So I gathered my courage and spoke up.

“So, what did you two want to talk about?”

At my words, the two who had been scanning the room with cold eyes now looked slightly flustered, stealing glances at me.

I gave a small smile, encouraging them to speak freely.

Seeing me smile, both seemed to come to a decision and spoke at the same time.

“I want to sing the version featuring Taeyang oppa.”

“Could I be the one to sing the version featuring Team Leader Seon?”

“…”

I’m gonna lose it.

As I started racking my brain on how to clean up this mess while pretending to stay calm, Gaeul, apparently agitated by the fact that she had a competitor, hurriedly spoke up.

“I really think Gyeoul’s voice is wonderful. But if it’s purely about vocals, I’m confident. I believe I can bring out the highest quality. So if the song were to be structured entirely that way… I think I might be able to do better. I hope you’ll give me a chance. Let me try too—to see if I match Taeyang oppa’s feature better.”

At that, Yeoreum also spoke up.

“Gaeul unnie already has a solid footing as a solo artist thanks to her song from ‘Music Road’ being widely accepted by listeners. So there’s no real need to feature her again in an alternate version for this album. It would be more efficient to just release another solo track for her. Her voice and brand value have already reached that level. Therefore, for this album, it’s better to satisfy the fans’ love for Girl Revolution — like me participating in Team Leader Seon’s feature.”

Gaeul quietly rebutted Yeoreum’s words.

“If there’s a way to achieve higher quality, shouldn’t we obviously choose the best path?”

“An album isn’t made with only that in mind. Of course, we aim for the highest quality. But just because there’s a member who’s an outstanding main vocal doesn’t mean fans want them to sing everything.”

“I think that’s something we can worry about once Girl Revolution has fully established itself. Right now, shouldn’t our priority be achieving the best quality? Every opportunity is extremely precious. And if it’s about creating variety, we can easily add more songs.”

“Girl Revolution has already somewhat established itself. Technically, it’s not the group itself but each member securing their own place, but in terms of buzz, it’s similar. Actually, it’s even more positive because fans from different areas can come together through this album. And adding another song would work for Gaeul unnie, too.”

Yeoreum looked Gaeul straight in the eye and spoke as if it were the most natural thing.

“Gaeul unnie, you can release a solo song anytime, can’t you?”

“I don’t need a solo song if I can participate in Taeyang oppa’s feature.”

“That’s your personal desire, not a decision made for the company.”

“…Desire?”

Though Gaeul had been relatively composed, emotion seeped into her voice.

“I don’t think I’m the only one being selfish here, Yeoreum.”

Facing Gaeul’s heightened emotion, Yeoreum slightly lifted the corners of her mouth and said,

“Yeah, I’m greedy too. Enough not to lose to you, Gaeul unnie.”

“…”

The air froze over.

At that moment, the office door suddenly burst open, and someone appeared.

“Taeyang-ssam! The girl I became friends with on that variety show, Yoon Jeong, said she wants your autograph. So if you could sign here and here–”

“…”

Mid-sentence, Gyeoul seemed to finally notice the heavy, suffocating atmosphere of the room, broke out in a cold sweat, and quickly apologized.

“…I’ll just leave.”

I quickly stopped Gyeoul.

“Gyeoul! I’ll sign everything, anywhere you want! Just stay here!”

Where do you think you’re going, abandoning me? Not a chance.

“…”

And just like that, one more person was added to the room, but the atmosphere didn’t improve at all.

Well, of course not. The source of the tension was still right there.

I let out a small sigh and started wrapping things up.

“That feature idea was just something the President casually mentioned. It’s not going to happen, so you don’t need to stress over it. This conversation ends here.”

“Huh?”

The one who reacted was Gyeoul, who had been sweating and anxiously watching everyone.

“…Is Taeyang-ssam’s featured version going to disappear?”

“It’s not even about disappearing—it was just a guide recording from the start. It’s just to show the rough structure of the song and help you during actual recording.”

“…I don’t want that.”

…Huh?

“Gyeoul, what did you just say…?”

“I don’t want it to disappear.”

Even though she was trembling slightly, Gyeoul didn’t avoid my gaze and spoke.

“…Could you please just do it? It’s something really precious to me.”

“…”

And then… all their gazes gathered on me.

Expectation, anxiety, desperation, hope, affection, sadness.

It was hard. So hard.

But I was not someone who could ignore feelings like theirs.

So I took a deep breath and spoke, almost in surrender.

“Alright, I’ll try to…”

“What are you all doing? You forgot we’re supposed to go back to the dorm together because of the stalker issue, unless it’s an approved day? I’ve been waiting alone at the practice room forever.”

At that moment, Oh Yoori barged in, scratching her pink hair, looking annoyed.

Gaeul, looking apologetic, bowed her head and spoke cautiously.

“…We just had something we needed to talk about.”

“Did it have to be now? Can’t it wait until tomorrow?”

“…”

“Let’s not keep bothering Team Leader Seon when he’s already busy. We’ve got tomorrow too, don’t we?”

At her words, the girls stole glances at my face, caught some unreadable emotion there, and each apologized in their own way.

And then they all left my office, promising to continue tomorrow.

Even after everyone had left, Oh Yoori stayed behind.

I pretended to be casual and teased her as usual.

“Aren’t you leaving too?”

But Yoori, wiping away her usual playful attitude, said seriously,

“It’s okay for you to be a little bit of a bad person, Team Leader Seon.”

“…”

“Just don’t become too bad like me. See you tomorrow.”

Leaving those words behind, Oh Yoori also exited the office.

“…”

Alone in the office, unable to even grasp what I was feeling, I muttered words I couldn’t say out loud earlier.

“…I’m already a bad person, Yoori.”

Late at night—even though tomorrow’s schedules demanded sleep—no one at the Girl Revolution dorm was asleep.

They were just lying there, lost in thought with their eyes closed.

And everyone knew the others were doing the same. Yet they all kept silent, pretending not to know.

In that artificially created silence, Oh Yoori finally spoke.

“Should we talk?”