episode_0039

“Senior, over here!”

I called out to Nayuna, who was wandering around in the vicinity of the bus stop.

Upon hearing me call her name, Nayuna hurried over to where I was standing.

“You’re here so early. I should have come a bit earlier too.”

Seeing her apologetic expression, I shook my head.

“You came earlier than the agreed time anyway. Don’t worry about it. Shall we go then?”

“Yeah. I’m a bit nervous…”

“Just do as you’re told, and you’ll be fine.”

Nayuna and I were on our way to SC after receiving a call from Representative Im Ju-hee.

Originally, Nayuna had received the call alone, but for some reason, she requested that I accompany her.

“I thought she would call Kim Noeul or Doa senior.”

Her choice of me was unexpected.

As we neared the SC building, Nayuna remained silent.

It was understandable that she was nervous on the day she took her first steps as a model. Not only that, she mentioned that she had something to tell me today. With two significant events ahead, she seemed tense.

When we arrived at the entrance of the building, we paused. Nayuna was taking deep breaths.

“Hoo, hah. Hoo, hah.”

“Shall we go in?”

“Yeah.”

Nayuna and I stepped into the building.

Ascending straight to the office, we were served tea by the staff while waiting for Representative Im Ju-hee to arrive.

Shortly after, the office door opened, and Representative Im Ju-hee entered with a bright smile on her face.

“Yuna, long time no see. And Maru student too. Two shining treasures rolling in my lap—I must be lucky!”

“Maru just came along as a companion.”

“Is that so? What’s the relationship between you two?”

“W-Well…”

Nayuna started to stutter, unable to finish her sentence, and bowed deeply. Then, she glanced at me sitting beside her.

“I came as Yuna’s manager.”

As I calmly replied, Representative Im Ju-hee made an ‘okay’ gesture with her fingers, indicating she understood. Nayuna also calmed down at my composed response.

“We’ll start with the contract first, then we’ll work on your profile. We might not finish everything today, so keep that in mind.”

“But is it common for the CEO to personally handle the contract signing?”

“Sometimes.”

Im Ju-hee responded vaguely to my question, implying she doesn’t always attend such meetings herself.

“I hope Yuna understands the significance of me being here.”

At her pointed remark, Nayuna clenched her fist. She must have realized the weight of Im Ju-hee’s expectations on her.

After calmly finalizing the preliminary contract, we headed to the studio.

“Normally, we could rent an external studio, but since we’re just doing a rough draft, we’ll handle it in-house.”

Explaining further, Im Ju-hee called in some artists and staff. Nayuna and I were taken aback by the number of people gathering.

“When you’re done with the draft, call me. I have other matters to attend to.”

With that, Im Ju-hee left. Immediately, people swarmed Nayuna.

“Hello~. I’ll be in charge of your hair today, Yuna.”

“I’m the one who will do your makeup.”

“After your makeup is done, come to the lighting room for the shoot.”

As the crowd around Nayuna grew so much that I couldn’t even get close to her, I distanced myself from her.

Then, I asked one of the staff nearby, “What should a manager do in this situation?”

“Oh, you’re the one who came with Nayuna? You can wait in the lounge or wander around here.”

It basically meant I didn’t have much to do. Accepting the offer, I watched Nayuna transform in real-time as her hair was styled, her skin brightened, and her eyes came alive.

Covering her forehead and emitting a dark aura, the once awkward girl had transformed into a celebrity strutting through the city, catching the attention of onlookers.

I couldn’t cut my long bangs directly, so I fixed them to the side to reveal a bit of my forehead. It was the moment when Nayuna’s large pupils were exposed to the world.

“Wow, it’s been a while since I’ve seen a mask like this.”

“The reason the CEO anxiously waited had a purpose.”

“Ah, should we change into our uniforms for the shoot? The color doesn’t suit my complexion.”

“Let me shine the light for a moment. Everyone, please step back from the reflectors.”

The voices of people and the noise they made as they moved around made my head spin.

However, even though Nayuna must have been more distracted than me, she kept her eyes wide open, focusing intently.

“Nayuna, relax your eyes.”

“Oh, okay.”

Nayuna quickly relaxed her eyes.

Looking at Nayuna’s face, you could clearly see the ‘Yuna’ active on the internet. Some staff members were also surprised to see a familiar face.

“Oh? Is that Yuna?”

“That’s right! You can recognize me once I’m all dolled up!”

“I subscribed to you!”

Receiving unexpectedly positive feedback, Nayuna nodded in relief and gratitude. Then, with a worried look, she gazed at me.

Without beating around the bush, I stared silently at Nayuna.

“Well, now that we’re almost done, let’s tidy up.”

“Nayuna, take a break with your friend.”

“Yes, thank you.”

Nayuna approached me with a different demeanor. The scent of perfume she usually didn’t wear tickled my nose.

“L-Let’s go, Maru.”

“Sure.”

After finishing a brief profile setup, we headed to the lounge.

I plopped down on a chair, but Nayuna hesitated to sit in front of me. She seemed like she had something to say.

“You can tell me.”

“…Yeah, I’ll talk now.”

Nayuna fidgeted with the hem of her shirt as she began her story.

“As you can tell from the reactions today, I actually do broadcasts on the internet under the name Yuna.”

“It sounds vaguely familiar.”

“Really? You knew. You must have realized pretty quickly then.”

“I mean, how could I recognize you when you were practically covering your face…”

If I hadn’t known the original, I wouldn’t have easily recognized her as Yuna.

“Well, I deliberately did that to hide.”

“Was there a special reason for hiding?”

“…I was scared.”

Nayuna quietly moved to sit next to me.

“I was teased as a pig because of this body when I was young. Since then, I hated standing out, so I tried to hide as much as possible. My face, my body.”

“….”

“…Getting used to hiding made me feel more comfortable. If I stayed still, people wouldn’t purposely bother me.”

But Nayuna had a desire.

A desire to be acknowledged.

“But feeling lonely in that state, I started broadcasting to communicate with people. There, I portrayed the image of Yuna, not Nayuna. It felt like… a persona? It was nice.”

“I’ve read about that in books. It’s also used as a form of therapy.”

“Right. But it’s not a fundamental solution. It felt like my sense of self was splitting, which was scary.”

Nayuna’s voice started to quiver.

“Weird, right? I chose broadcasting to escape fear, but I started feeling scared during broadcasts. Running away wasn’t the answer from the start.”

Nayuna lifted her face and looked at herself in the mirror. The reflection showed Yuna’s image.

“But meeting you guys became a turning point for me.”

“The counseling department?”

“Yes. Even though you and Noeul attract a lot of attention, unlike me, you both are confident, which made me envious. Being envious, I wanted to become like you guys. After meeting Doa, I wanted to become strong like her.”

“It’s a common feeling, so it’s not wrong. I envy many people too.”

“So I accepted the modeling offer. If this emotion isn’t wrong as you say, I might as well accept it coolly and overcome my trauma.”

Already, Nayuna had begun to stand on her own. Despite my silence, she pondered and made a decision on her own.

“First goal is to work diligently as model Yuna.”

“And the second?”

“Blending Nayuna with Yuna slowly.”

The progression closely mirrored the original, so I felt relieved. If Nayuna continued like this, she would blossom brilliantly.

At some point, Nayuna would play a crucial role in overwhelming Jo Galyeonhwa in her modeling career, dealing a significant blow at Ojakgyo.

“Senior, maybe we should aim even higher.”

“Higher?”

“Yes. For example, surpassing Jo Galyeonhwa.”

“That… seems quite challenging.”

To follow the original flow, instilling confidence here should be fine.

“You’re more beautiful than that woman, Senior.”

“……”

“……”

When Nayuna fell silent, I did too. As I observed her closely, her face trembled as if struck by an earthquake.

“M-m-m, Maru. Don’t s-say such th-things.”

Nayuna fidgeted like a malfunctioning machine, running her fingers nervously.

“I was just stating a fact.”

“H-haha! Hahaha!”

She laughed like a madwoman.

Her actions were typical of Nayuna, but her appearance as Yuna created a sense of dissonance.

Seeing the cold, aloof woman lose composure and blush at my words created a sense of cognitive dissonance.

“Don’t you want to pinch Jo Galyeonhwa’s nose?”

“…Well, that could be interesting.”

“We need to make it real. Senior is a talent chosen by CEO Im; what’s there to hesitate about?”

“Cough.”

Nayuna displayed a weakness to compliments, coughing awkwardly.

Before long, the dark atmosphere lightened, transitioning into a cheerful mood. Nayuna gulped down the water on the table.

Slamming the water bottle onto the table, she looked sharply at me.

“A-am I b-beautiful…?”

“……”

“Why aren’t you saying anything? You said I was beautiful earlier…”

“……”

“P-please say it again…”

Yuna approached me hesitantly. Her whole face filled my vision, making my mind go blank.

“Senior. Calm down.”

“Beautiful? Am I beautiful?”

“……”

“Maru….”

As her breath neared my face, the door to the break room opened.

“Good work, Yuna. The next schedule is…”

CEO Im Juhee entered the break room, glancing at both of us. Nayuna sitting on top of me on the couch was clearly visible.

Startled, Nayuna quickly got off me and began to explain.

“J-Judge! I swear I wasn’t thinking anything inappropriate!”

“Why would I be a judge.”

“M-Madam.”

“…It’s fine. It’s okay to show affection, but next time, do it where the staff can’t see? It could be risky if rumors spread.”

“Yes, I’m sorry…”

“No need to apologize.”

CEO Im Juhee observed us, stroking her chin.

“Is there something on my face?”

When I asked, CEO Im shook her head.

“It’s nothing. I just like the shot.”

After discussing upcoming schedules with Nayuna, CEO Im Juhee stood up first.

“Then, that’s it for today. You all worked hard. I’ve sent you the cab fare to your numbers, so use it well.”

“Thank you.”

We nodded our thanks and left the break room. While heading to the elevator to go back, I received a text message.

Checking the sender’s name, I looked at Nayuna.

“Senior, please go ahead. I have something to take care of before leaving.”

“Huh? What do you need to do?”

“The restroom.”

“Oh… Okay then. I’ll go ahead.”

Feeling awkward at the mention of the restroom, Nayuna silently took the elevator down.

After confirming the descent of the elevator, she headed towards the nearby restroom and checked the contents of the message.

[I heard from Veritas]

Although it was an unknown number, she had a good idea of who it was.

[Putting aside how you know about my relationship with Yuhana, is it true that Yuhana will soon be coming to the academy?]

It seemed like Director Sung Nari handled things faster than I expected.

I sent her the information.

[Me: Jegal Hwarin is in contact with Yuhana. They plan to attack the Sky Castle building together. There’s a possibility that Jung Soyeon might get involved too.]

[What do you want from me?]

[Me: Nothing. Just do as you wish.]

[Even if Veritas mediates, you’re not foolish enough to act based solely on the words of an anonymous source.]

‘No, you must act.’

In the original work, she found Yuhana as if hunting her down and almost killed her.

The bait has already been thrown.

The beast, pretending to be noble, may ignore the bait, but the sweet scent of the bait is already strongly stimulating the beast’s sense of smell.

In the end, the beast will only succumb to devouring the bait.

‘We can stop Jegal Hwarin, repay our debt to Seoyoon, and even instigate internal discord at the Ojak Bridge.’

Killing three birds with one stone.

May Jegal Hwarin find peace in this bitter defeat. Perhaps Jegal Yeonhwa and Alice won’t stay quiet.