Chapter 187

Chapter 187

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

Episode 187: If Team Leader Seon Isn’t Here, I’m Nothing

Exploding confetti, gathering lights, and a wave of applause.

And then, those words.

“The first place goes to ‘I’ll be by your side’ by Girl Revolution!”

The moment she heard those words, Yoo Gaeul couldn’t hear the other artists congratulating them, nor the fans in the audience gasping and screaming in joy.

She didn’t even see the cameras zooming in, trying to capture her every expression like they were bewitched.

All she could see and hear was Seon Taeyang smiling brightly at her.

As if hypnotized.

Impulsively—or maybe, more rationally than ever.

“…”

Gaeul ran forward—and tightly hugged the sun in front of her.

As if it were just the two of them left in the world, she poured every ounce of her emotions into it.

‘…Has she lost her mind?’

Seeing Yoo Gaeul’s sudden hug, Oh Yoori felt like her hair was standing on end.

An idol who just won first place, hugging a man out of pure emotional impulse, right in the middle of a stage watched by dozens of cameras and thousands of fans?

And that man being Seon Taeyang, fully decked out with broadcast makeup and styling, at peak attractiveness?

There was no other word for it except crazy.

The scene itself looked good.

There was a romance to it—like a beautiful couple sealing their feelings under a shower of blessings.

If she’d seen that scene at a plaza somewhere, Yoori probably would have clapped.

And if she knew them personally, she might’ve even cheered them on.

But the problem was—they were a manager and an idol, and they were standing on a live broadcast stage.

<18-Year-Old First Place Idol, Manager Scandal Shocks Industry>

Above Yoori’s head, she could already imagine such news headlines.

And those imagined headlines felt frighteningly real.

After all, seeing that scene, any reporter would pounce to write it.

Judging by Seon Taeyang’s pale face, he realized it too.

‘What do I do?’

It didn’t seem like Seon Taeyang could act first.

She had to do it.

Oh Yoori, running hundreds of scenarios in her head, came up with one solution.

So she practically shouted to Gyeoul and Yeoreum next to her.

“Unnies, hurry up and run and hug Team Leader Seon!”

Jin Yeoreum, who had been assessing the situation somewhat more realistically, spoke while sweating coldly.

“…If we add ourselves to that, won’t it just make it worse?”

“Yeoreum unnie, do you know?”

“…Know what?”

“If one person does something crazy, it’s a scandal, but if we all do it together, it becomes a concept! Run! One-on-one is a scandal; one-on-four is impossible to spin that way!”

And with Oh Yoori leading the charge and fiercely hugging Seon Taeyang, Jin Yeoreum, who agreed with her logic, and Gyeoul, who just wanted to hug him, both flung themselves at Seon Taeyang too.

Barely managing to stay upright after the sudden triple body slam, Seon Taeyang spoke urgently.

“Guys, encore! Encore!”

When you win first place on a music show, you do an encore song.

Sure, depending on the agency’s size, repeat wins, or the artist’s condition, sometimes the encore is skipped—but for Girl Revolution, a rookie group winning for the first time, there was no skipping allowed.

They had to sing it even if it killed them.

Unless they wanted to see headlines like “Girl Revolution Accused of Laziness” the next day.

Because of that, Oh Yoori, still hugging Seon Taeyang like a pillar, belted out the song.

“It wasn’t creepy, it was sweet. But tears welled up!”

Watching that desperate struggle to survive, Seon Taeyang felt like he might actually cry.

‘You’re really going through it, Yoori.’

While Han Gyeoul stepped out to talk with the writer of ‘Star Challenge,’ only three remained in TwoBear’s waiting room, and Oh Yoori cautiously spoke up.

“Gaeul unnie, what you did just now was extremely reckless.”

“…”

“Because of that one moment, the image that the staff and Team Leader Seon worked so hard to build for us could be thrown into controversy again.”

“I know about your situation and your feelings because Team Leader Seon told me, but not everyone can understand like that.”

Now that the rush of emotion had passed, even Gaeul could recognize it.

She realized just how dangerous her actions had been.

Because of that, Gaeul bowed her head deeply and simply apologized.

“I’m sorry.”

“…”

Oh Yoori wanted reassurance—that impulsive behavior like this wouldn’t happen again.

But she remembered what Seon Taeyang had told her about what happens when Yoo Gaeul’s mind is pushed to its limits—and she couldn’t bring herself to push further.

Because she had a vague feeling that no matter what, no such guarantee could ever be made.

As Oh Yoori hesitated, unsure of what to say, Jin Yeoreum spoke up.

“Unnie, remember? We decided back then that we’d all try to endure.”

That night when they all danced on the razor’s edge, greedy for Seon Taeyang’s featuring…

They had a long, serious conversation prompted by Oh Yoori.

And in the end, they decided: for TwoBear, for Girl Revolution, and for Seon Taeyang—they would endure, no matter what.

“But if this kind of thing keeps happening, I feel like someday, we might break.”

“…”

“Let’s hold it in. So that it doesn’t show, so it isn’t felt. Let’s endure like that.”

“Yeah, we have to. But are you holding it in?”

“…Yeah, I’m holding it in.”

After a long silence, Yoo Gaeul lifted her bowed head and looked at Jin Yeoreum as she spoke.

“Three days ago, November 7, 2:47 AM.”

“…”

“The night when Oppa, exhausted from his schedule, fell asleep on the sofa—you kissed his lips while he was sleeping, didn’t you?”

Yoo Gaeul endured it.

“And you still say you’re holding it in?”

Even when another girl stole a kiss from the man she loved while he slept, she endured it.

Even though she had only brushed his cheek.

“Even when, during the busiest time of his career, someone used the excuse of ‘representing Jinkang’ to steal even his sleeping hours?”

She endured. And endured.

But just enduring wasn’t enough.

So she finally spoke the story that had become forbidden.

“Using a light aircraft as an excuse—gambling with a human life! Blackmailing him! Forcing him to promise to date you?”

She could accept being the one to get hurt.

Or even dying in his place—she was ready for that.

That’s why, when Yoo Gaeul heard that he almost died at someone’s hands, she felt a rage she had never known in her life.

Filling herself with that barely suppressed fury, Yoo Gaeul said,

“If Oppa had gotten hurt, if by any chance he had died… I would have never forgiven you.”

“…I—”

“I?”

“I would never hurt Team Leader Seon!”

Jin Yeoreum felt the same.

No matter what, she never wanted to see him hurt.

“The light aircraft was completely guaranteed safe. We just added some staging with the experts.”

“If Team Leader Seon had had expert knowledge about planes, maybe he would have noticed, but thankfully, he didn’t.”

“…That’s all. There was never going to be an accident with Team Leader Seon.”

“Even if by one in a million chance—there was no way something like that would happen because of me.”

“…”

“If Team Leader Seon dies because of me, I’ll die on the spot. I can’t live without him.”

Hearing that desperate confession, Yoo Gaeul showed the same pained gaze as her and said,

“Yeah. I can’t live without Oppa either. Even if it kills me.”

There wasn’t a single lie in those eyes.

Only a pure, almost maddening love.

Seeing those eyes, Jin Yeoreum realized she must have the same look—and gave a small, bitter smile, not knowing who it was truly for.

“Yeah, so you used your life as leverage to get him to promise to date you out of kindness and responsibility?”

“You’re no different. Even if it was safe, you still got him to promise based on his sense of responsibility and kindness…”

“Hold on! Both of you, stop it!”

At Oh Yoori’s shriek, Gaeul and Yeoreum stopped arguing and looked where she was staring.

The waiting room door, which had been closed, was now open.

“…”

Chilling.

In the icy silence, the three of them could only sweat coldly and stare as someone stepped through the open door.

“…Did Taeyang-ssam promise to date both of you?”

It was Gyeoul.

“…”

Seeing the three unable to deny it, she dropped tears and said,

“…Was I the only one he rejected?”

Watching the situation unfold, Oh Yoori made an objective judgment.

‘…Yeah. We’re totally screwed.’