Chapter 61

Chapter 61

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

Episode 61: You’re Not Alone.

Holding Jin Yeoreum’s hand, I brought her to TwoBear Entertainment as if abducting her.

I had a plan and considered the aftermath, but it was reckless behavior, even in my own eyes.

Honestly, I thought the staff would strongly oppose me as I dragged her to TwoBear.

Carrying out such an important task without even consulting and doing it arbitrarily was not something a professional should do.

However, their reaction was unexpectedly indifferent.

“Have you eaten?”

This was the first thing Cheon Aram said to Jin Yeoreum and me.

“…No, I was planning to eat the in-flight meal.”

“Then let’s go eat first. I know a good restaurant.”

Then she took us to the gukbap1 restaurant where Yoo Gaeul used to work part-time.

Saying that we should eat together, she also brought along Gyeoul and Gaeul, who were preparing to go into the dorm.

“Yeoreum, try adding some of this radish kimchi juice; it will taste much better.”

“….”

Cheon Aram said that and poured the radish kimchi juice into Yeoreum’s milky gukbap broth before she could even respond.

“Yeoreum, you should also add some red chili paste; it’s not really gukbap without it.”

“….”

This time, Yoo Gaeul praised the chili paste and added it to Yeoreum’s gukbap without asking for permission either.

Jin Yeoreum had to helplessly watch her once-clear gukbap broth become a mess.

“I prefer eating it as it is…”

“Oh, come on. You’ll see, it tastes different.”

“I tried adding it once before, but it wasn’t great.”

“That’s because you didn’t go to a good place. Gaeul worked here part-time, and this place is really good!”

“That’s right! Like the Boss said, I worked here part-time, and everything except for the boiled pork slices is really good!”

“….”

Sensing the situation, I turned my head and enjoyed my pure gukbap without adding anything.

These taste ignoramuses. They should appreciate the original broth flavor.

While I was eating my gukbap, Jin Yeoreum elegantly took a bite of her ruined gukbap.

Then, Jin Yeoreum slightly grimaced and said,

“…Why does this taste good?”

Another one had fallen.

While Gaeul, Gyeoul, and Yeoreum were chatting with drinks at one table, Cheon Aram, Seo Soo-yeon, and I sat at a secluded table in the corner and had a shot of soju.

“Ahh, the taste of aspartame.2 It just wipes away the greasiness.”

“Boss, don’t just drink soju; you should have some side dishes too. It’s not good for your stomach.”

“Soo-yeon, you’re right, but the boiled pork slices are so tasteless that I can’t bring myself to eat them. I should have trusted Gaeul instead of the chef.”

They were avoiding the topic of Yeoreum and having a casual conversation instead.

It was considerate of them.

I stopped running away and accepted their consideration.

“I didn’t think you would allow this so easily.”

That’s why I brought up the topic.

“In what sense? I already gave permission over the phone for Yeoreum’s recruitment, didn’t I?”

That wasn’t something I could easily accept.

Didn’t we have to go through so much trouble just to get permission to recruit Gaeul?

Jin Yeoreum would require even more trouble.

“To be honest, no matter how excellent Jin Yeoreum’s individual abilities are, they can’t compensate for the negative image she brings.”

Even if she had S-level skills in vocals, dance, and looks, it would be impossible.

“I’m worried that you might be taking this situation too lightly. Do you not understand the risks Yeoreum brings?”

Cheon Aram smirked and said,

“Come on, Team Leader Seon, I’ve studied leadership. I know the risks one person can bring. I’m a third-generation chaebol, you know? My grandfather, Hyunwoong Cheon Taecheon, was the chairman of the Cheonhwa Group. Plus, I completed a Ph.D. in a related field to play a part in SS since birth. So don’t underestimate me.”

“I apologize for the rude question. But I must ask one more rude question. Why are you allowing all this, then?”

“Did you request recruitment without confidence in success?”

That’s not it. I will definitely succeed.

“I have confidence in success. I can bring Yeoreum and TwoBear to the top. But I lacked confidence in persuading you.”

“Persuasion, huh… Shall I tell you why I was persuaded?”

Cheon Aram looked at me and smiled warmly before speaking.

“Team Leader Seon, I’ve been able to smell other people since I was very young.”

She began to talk about her hidden past.

“For some reason, my family was fine, so my childhood wasn’t problematic. The trouble started when I went to kindergarten. I began to smell bad odors from other kids, teachers, and parents. I threw up, fainted, had trouble breathing, and was taken to the hospital… It wasn’t easy for a kid who hadn’t even grown all their permanent teeth to endure.”

I knew bits and pieces, but she had never gone into detail.

“After that, I avoided meeting people as much as possible, but as a member of the Cheon family, there were external activities I had to participate in. Every time I met people, I would throw up and faint. My childhood was a repetition of that.”

I vaguely thought she might have lived such a life, but her life was tougher than I imagined.

“Growing up like that, my thoughts started to get twisted. It got to the point where I had some pretty extreme adolescent thoughts.”

“What kind of thoughts?”

“I thought that it might be beneficial to the world to get rid of people who smelled bad.”

“….”

I could understand that.

According to Cheon Aram, the pain caused by the smell seemed really cruel.

But it was a very dangerous thought.

“Team Leader Seon, you know I used to be in charge of HR at SS, right? What do you think I did before that?”

“…I’m not sure. What did you do?”

Cheon Aram spoke in a serious voice without any hint of intoxication.

“I killed people.”

Cheon Aram saw my shock and gave a slightly bitter smile before continuing.

“Well, I didn’t stab or shoot them directly. But it’s still a fact.”

Seo Soo-yeon, with a somewhat stiff expression, tried to defend Cheon Aram.

“Ms. Cheon, that’s…”

“Soo-yeon, let me finish.”

Cheon Aram held Seo Soo-yeon’s hand and shook her head, then continued.

“My mother saw that I had the same abilities as my grandfather, Cheon Taecheon, and tried to make me the heir to Cheonhwa. She didn’t realize that the inheritance and succession were already settled with my father taking over SS, or maybe she had excessive expectations.”

Cheon Aram poured another shot of soju and continued her story.

“Anyway, my life became much harder due to those expectations. I was taught leadership, administration, management, accounting, statistics, human resources, languages, and other advanced knowledge at an age when I should have been learning basic math. If I didn’t meet the set curriculum, they would punish me by placing me next to people who smelled bad until I was on the verge of being taken to the emergency room. It was really stupid.”

That was clearly abuse.

It was even more vicious because it didn’t leave any medical evidence.

“Do you know what the surprising thing is?”

“…What is it?”

“They really called me at Cheonhwa. Even though the succession was already settled. Isn’t that funny?”

Cheon Aram burst out laughing as if she genuinely found it funny, but I couldn’t laugh.

I had a feeling that the next part of the story wouldn’t be pleasant.

“I’m not sure if the ignorant educational method was really effective or if my sense of smell played a big role. But they once asked me at the main house to prove that ability.”

Seo Soo-yeon looked at her with pity, and she continued speaking.

“So I was assigned to audit one of Cheonhwa’s subsidiaries. I found someone there who had an unprecedentedly bad smell. With my crazy adolescent mind, as I mentioned earlier.”

Seo Soo-yeon carefully poured alcohol into her empty glass.

“He was the president of the company, and he had committed bribery, embezzlement, assault, and even murder. At the time, I had a strange sense of duty, believing that my ability to smell bad people was meant to rid society of them.”

Then Cheon Aram took another shot of the poured drink.

“Since I couldn’t reveal everything legally, I used all the means I could to uncover his crimes. I believed it was the right thing to do… Then he committed suicide.”

“If you’re expressing it as if you killed him, you don’t need to feel so guilty…”

“No, I did kill him.”

As she talked to me, her hands began to tremble slightly.

“At the time, I thought he had escaped proper judgment. I believed I had delivered flawless judgment. But soon after, I started to smell. A very dirty, bad smell.”

“….”

After a long silence, Cheon Aram spoke again.

“I was half crazy. I did all that to get rid of the smell, but in the end, I became the one who smelled. It’s a funny irony. If Soo-yeon hadn’t helped me back then, I probably would have committed suicide. One hundred percent.”

Seo Soo-yeon looked at Cheon Aram with pity as she talked about it as if it were nothing.

“In a temple deep in the mountains, I meditated with Soo-yeon and thought, ‘How nice would it be if the world was full of people like Soo-yeon? That would be really nice.’ But I thought it was an impossible dream. So I compromised and learned to endure the smell as much as possible.”

Cheon Aram looked into the void as if gazing at a distant dream and spoke.

“But still, the dream didn’t disappear. I dreamed of filling my company with people like Soo-yeon if I ever started one.”

Then she looked directly at me.

“And then I met you, Team Leader Seon, Gyeoul, and Gaeul. People who are truly my type. Even their slight smell felt charming. You might not realize how miraculous this is for me.”

Her purple eyes swayed softly like a delicate animal.

“But I forgot. I had only been making decisions based on my position as CEO, profit, and value judgment. I forgot that I had already achieved my dream. You reminded me of that, Team Leader Seon.”

“…I haven’t done anything that great.”

“No, you’ve done something great, Team Leader Seon.”

At her words, Seo Soo-yeon nodded.

“During the incident with Gaeul, do you know how frustrating it was? I wondered where this naive person came from. But it looked so beautiful.”

Cheon Aram smiled brightly, as if all the anxiety had been fleeting.

“So what I wanted to say is this. As much as you, Team Leader Seon, are striving, I want to strive, too. Not as an obstacle to be persuaded, but as a strong supporter. I want to become a bit more beautiful, too.”

“….”

“Did that answer your question? Team Leader Seon? This is why I support your opinion on recruiting Yeoreum. My dream is to be a roof for such people.”

I felt an indescribable emotion and asked Seo Soo-yeon.

“…Ms. Soo-yeon, is a company like this okay for you? It might go bankrupt anytime, and you could lose your salary.”

“It’s okay. Watching you, Team Leader Seon, has changed my thoughts a bit too.”

She was smiling softly. It was the first time I saw such an expression change while working with Seo Soo-yeon.

“I can’t say I’ve experienced as dramatic a change as Ms. Cheon. It’s just a small change.”

Seo Soo-yeon took a shot of soju and spoke.

“I have lived my life for Ms. Cheon. Because of this pure heart, I believe Ms. Cheon highly valued me. But now, I want to broaden the range of people I care for.”

“…How far?”

“To include Team Leader Seon and all our TwoBear family.”

“….”

Seo Soo-yeon and Cheon Aram confronted each other with sincerity, as if they had no reason to hide anything.

I slowly savored their sincerity.

Then, I felt something rising within me.

“…Our TwoBear.”

Right after returning, I desperately wanted my success.

That feeling changed a little.

“…Team Leader Seon?”

“What? Team Leader Seon, are you crying?”

Sniff!

“Teacher Taeyang is crying? No way… If Taeyang ssam cries, I’ll cry, too. Sob.”

“Taeyang oppa is crying? Which woman made him…?”

“Gaeul, please calm down.”

I wanted to succeed, not just for myself, but with these people.

TL/N: Rice soup ↩️

ED/N: An artificial sweetner, ↩️