Chapter 90

Chapter 90

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

Episode 90: An Asshole Beyond Imagination.

“…This shouldn’t be happening.”

Oh Yoori, visibly flustered by the current situation, was sweating as she fidgeted with the wings of her flying squirrel onesie.

It was a pitiful sight, but it wasn’t my concern.

No matter how unhinged I might be, I’m not crazy enough to be lenient with someone who tried to threaten me.

“The idea that you’re screwed might be seen differently by different people, but from my perspective, it seems quite plausible.”

I put the pen-shaped recorder back in my pocket and said.

“I think you’re really screwed, Yoori.”

Oh Yoori curled up like a flying squirrel and started trembling.

She must have been imagining the bleak future ahead of her.

“Then I’ll be off to see PD Kim. There are plenty of other things to do besides being an idol, so maybe it’s time to explore a new career path. It seems like it’ll be hard for you to show your face in the broadcast industry again.”

“W-wait a minute!”

What now? I’m not going to show you any mercy. Just leave.

“Do you have any other business?”

“There’s no need to draw such a harsh line…”

“Harsh or not, I think we’re done talking.”

She tried her best to steady her trembling body and then shouted.

“Then… let’s make a deal! Just like you did with PD Kim.”

“You’re still making dangerous statements. I didn’t make any deal with PD Kim.”

I did, in fact, make a deal, but that’s irrelevant here.

After all, there’s no evidence.

Do you have any evidence, Yoori? All you have are suspicions, right?

Maybe you can come back and argue when the prosecution’s investigation results come out two years from now.

“Then, assuming you didn’t make a deal with PD Kim, make a deal with me! I’ll pretend I don’t know anything!”

“…How are you going to pretend not to know after all that talking?”

At my question, Oh Yoori rubbed her forehead, took a deep breath, and then banged her head against the whiteboard.

Thud.

What the hell is this?

She then staggered, rubbed her head, and mumbled with a dazed expression.

“Huh? Where am I? Who am I? I don’t remember anything.”

…She’s really trying everything, huh?

“If you don’t remember anything, how are you going to make a deal?”

“Th-that part, fortunately, I remember everything.”

“…That’s really convenient.”

I gave her a crooked smile and coldly looked down at her as I asked.

“So, what exactly do you want to trade with me? I don’t want anything from you.”

“…Well.”

Oh Yoori, sweating nervously while watching me, tightened the waist of her flying squirrel onesie and struck a sort of seductive pose, winking as she spoke.

“The right to date me, the most beautiful girl at Hana Arts Middle School?”

“Even if you give me that, I won’t take it.”

“…I see.”

Oh Yoori, dejected, lowered her head, then looked at me as if she had realized something, covering her body with the wings of her flying squirrel onesie, and said.

“Then maybe a physical relationship…”

Ah, she’s really just throwing things out there now.

“No, are you crazy? Do you want to see both of us sent to juvenile detention and prison together? If we get involved in something like that, we’ll both be ruined! You’re an idol, aren’t you?”

“…I’m sorry.”

“…Sigh, as long as you understand. Don’t say things like that, even as a joke. You’re practically a public figure, so you need to be more careful with your words.”

Isn’t it because you lacked that caution that you ended up in this situation?

When I lashed out emotionally, Oh Yoori, disheartened, just stared at the floor, her pink pigtails drooping.

She looked like a child waiting for a teacher’s punishment.

Seeing her looking so naive, I found that a lot of the anger I felt from being threatened had dissipated.

I had been impressed by her judgment, reasoning, and courage, which were beyond her years, but ultimately, it was clear that she was just a middle schooler.

Because of that, I found myself wanting to know why such a young girl was going to such lengths.

“So, what is it?”

“…What?”

“The thing you want from me, with all this talk of threats and deals.”

Oh Yoori hesitated, as if debating whether or not to say it, then asked nervously.

“Could you turn off the recording for a moment?”

“Of course not. Who knows what you might do?”

“…Then I’ll just say it.”

She fidgeted with the hem of her flying squirrel onesie as she spoke.

“Do you remember Manager Ban Seongcheol, who was next to me at that time?”

Yeah, I remember him all too well.

“Yes, I know him. Why?”

“He’s trying to send me to a sponsor. He’s forcing me, even though I don’t want to.”

“…What?”

…What is he trying to do to a middle schooler?

At her ridiculously absurd statement, I tilted my head in disbelief, and Oh Yoori spoke firmly.

“He’s asking me to provide favors.”

…That crazy bastard.

Before my regression, during the early days of my time at Flower Entertainment, I was already busy, but I was even busier cleaning up the messes made by my fellow recruit, Ban Seongcheol.

“So why the hell are you stealing the trainees’ tracksuits, you idiot?”

Incidents happened all the time, but about 30% of them were caused by that jerk’s trolling.

“No, I didn’t steal them; I was just going to send them to the laundry. You know, ever since Mijeong bailed, we’ve been stuck doing the laundry too.”

It sounded like he had a bit of logic behind it.

He thought he was being considerate, but it seemed to have caused a misunderstanding.

“Then what’s this about you stealing and sniffing them?”

“No, Taeyang. That’s a misunderstanding. It’s not like I’m some crazy pervert. The tracksuits were lying there with the dirty ones and the spares all mixed up, so I just sniffed them to see which needed washing. But that’s when Hyemin caught me.”

The company was so understaffed that road managers like us were doing laundry and dishes, which led to disasters like this.

Damn it, Flower’s CEO, I keep telling you to hire some female managers.

Until the previous week, we had one, Park Mijeong, but she couldn’t handle the low pay and crazy overtime, so she ran away. As a result, all the work she was in charge of got dumped on us.

With less and less sleep and more and more work every day, it was a tragedy in the making.

I let out a deep sigh and said.

“Just let them take care of it themselves. No one appreciates that kind of consideration. Adolescents are sensitive, you know.”

“Dude, I just have so much love for the trainees. I want to do everything for them when I see them.”

“If you overflow with love one more time, you’ll end up in jail or bankrupt from settlement fees.”

Ban Seongcheol burst out laughing at my joke, rolling on the floor.

“Then, is the charge loving too much? Keke.”

“…”

I couldn’t understand why a guy with a good background like him was living like that, unlike me, who had nothing.

That’s right. Ban Seongcheol was a fool, and I was the sucker who cleaned up his messes.

But back then, it didn’t really bother me.

Later, Flower Entertainment took off, and he and I became key figures in the company.

Naturally, we no longer worked closely together as before, and our duties were largely separated. As a result, I didn’t really know exactly what he was doing.

And because I respected Ban Seongcheol’s territory, I avoided getting involved in his work or checking up on him. Yet, stories still managed to reach me.

Stories that Ban Seongcheol was involved in illegal activities.

But in my previous life, even when I noticed that Ban Seongcheol was scheming or found out he was involved in corruption, I buried the truth, pretending not to know. When I had the chance to bring it to light, memories of the times we spent together came back to me.

I remembered the times we wandered around together in the early morning, looking for a café that was open so we could buy the sandwiches the kids wanted.

I remembered the times we put our heads together, worrying about how to help the kids succeed.

I remembered the times we slapped each other’s cheeks to stay awake while driving drowsy.

I remembered the time I cried as the kids called out my name after winning first place on a music show stage, and how he laughed at me, calling me a wimp while giving the kids high-fives.

In those memories, Ban Seongcheol was a jerk, but I believed that at least his care for the kids was genuine. Or so I thought.

But now, hearing Oh Yoori’s words, I began to think that it might all have been a deception aimed at me.

‘I must have been really good at pretending to put up with that crap and bowing down, huh?’

I started to wonder if that “acting” Ban Seongcheol had sneered about just before my regression had actually been going on for a long time.

Because if her words were true, it would mean that Ban Seongcheol had already been involving the kids in sponsorships and such since this time.

However, the idea of him forcing a middle schooler into entertainment arrangements was hard to accept logically, considering the risk.

Oh Yoori, the speaker, didn’t have much credibility either. This could be a ploy to deceive me.

“…Excuse me?”

Oh Yoori looked at my face, trembling, but she spoke as if she had to say it.

“Your expression is really scary. Are you okay?”

“…In detail.”

“Eek! Pardon?”

Even so, if what Oh Yoori said was true…

“Tell me the full story.”

I wasn’t sure if I could contain the rage boiling up inside me.