episode_0042

#42

“……So that’s the story.”

I finished explaining while Sarangi, arms crossed, kept sipping her coffee without pause.

Even as she listened, she gave no reaction or response—just kept drinking her coffee.

Before I knew it, she had finished it, leaving only ice in the cup, but she kept chewing on the straw with a rough, grinding motion.

“Are you listening?” “Yeah. I’m listening.”

Strangely, her tone had an uncharacteristically irritated edge to it.

“……I thought it was something serious~. You suddenly called just me out, so I assumed it was some huge deal.”

I had summoned Sarangi right after finishing my talk with Manager Han Myung-soo, so it must’ve looked abrupt, pulling her out in the middle of practice.

“Something huge?”

“Harin unnie and…… No. Never mind. …Haa. Hugu oppa, can I ask you a few things?”

“Go ahead.”

“Are you dating her?”

“Yeah.”

“Wow~. You answered right away? I thought you’d dodge it.”

“I don’t think I can hide it. I figure you already figured it out anyway.”

“Eunchae unnie and Sea know too, even if you didn’t tell them~. It’s impossible not to notice. Harin unnie has literal hearts in her eyes around you.”

“I figured as much.”

“……Since when?”

“…Not long.”

To be exact, it’s been just over 40 hours.

“Really…?”

Sarangi finally set her empty cup down on the table and shoved it aside.

This was already her third one.

“Want another?”

“Yeah. Yogurt this time. Plain.”

“It’s not company money—I’m paying out of my own pocket, and you’re trying to bankrupt me?”

“Isn’t this cheap for keeping your relationship a secret?”

That shut me up.

I placed an order for another cup through my phone.

“One more thing I’m curious about.”

“Sure.”

“Who confessed first?”

“……Harin.”

“That’s honestly surprising.”

“Is it?”

“Harin unnie~ though? Come on, doesn’t she seem like the last person to say something like that first?”

That’s also true.

Even if Harin had feelings for me—well, maybe not outright affection, but some degree of favor—I’d known for a while.

But I also knew she wasn’t the type to confess first.

……That’s why her confession was happy yet unsettling.

Was it really a coincidence she did it at the exact timing Park Dong-chul pushed her to?

“Fair point.”

“How far have you gone?”

“…What?”

Another sudden, random question.

“With Harin unnie. Yeah? How far?”

She leaned forward, eyes sparkling as she stared at me.

“……We haven’t gotten that far… Wait, why should I even answer that?”

“Just~ curious.”

“I already said it hasn’t been long. That’s as far as it goes.”

“Did you kiss?”

Sarangi leaned in closer, torso dipping toward me.

If she had a tail, it’d be wagging like a fan. This freaking dog.

“……Not yet.”

“Wow~. For unnie, fine, but oppa, you’re in your 30s. Isn’t that too pure?”

“We haven’t had the chance.”

“There’s always a chance… Ah~. So that’s why you’re telling me this?”

“Huh?”

“Tomorrow. Tuesday. Sea’s out visiting, Eunchae unnie’s at her place… Harin unnie and I were supposed to practice since we don’t have anything special, but suddenly, oppa shows up and tells me to go on a date with some old man. So this is why, huh…?”

“I know what you’re thinking, but don’t get the wrong idea. This isn’t some deliberate setup. Harin is Harin, and this is a separate matter.”

“Sure~ sure~. Whatever you say. Anyway, you and Harin unnie will be alone, right? Total coincidence, right? Just luck, right? Jackpot for you, right?”

“……”

“See? No comeback. Right~?”

“I called you to explain this date thing, but why do you keep…?”

“I’m more interested in you and Harin unnie getting lovey-dovey? I’ll tell Eunchae unnie and Sea about it later too.”

“Those two… Ugh. Telling you not to say anything is pointless, huh? Let’s just drop it and talk about the matter at hand. Please?”

*Bzzzt.*

My phone alarm went off.

“Oh? My yogurt’s here. Be right back~.”

Not listening at all.

Well, Sarangi’s always been like this. Giving up, I slumped back against the sofa.

I checked my phone when I had the chance.

There was a message from Harin.

[Harin] [Manager. Are you talking about something with Sarangi?] [Will it take long?] [I’m sorry. You weren’t coming back, so…] [Do I have to wait a lot longer?]

Guilt twinged for making her worry.

[Just work stuff. I’ll wrap it up in less than 30 and come back, so don’t fret too much.]

An immediate reply.

[Harin] [Okay, got it.] [I heard the dance instructors asked you to dinner, but have you eaten yet, Manager?] [If you haven’t…]

[Even if you’re hungry, don’t wait for me—just eat with them. I’ll grab something quick and come back.]

[Harin] [‘Bear emoticon drooping its head sadly’] […Okay!]

She probably wanted to eat together. Sounds a bit disappointed.

But it can’t be helped. Not now.

This is an important conversation.

“This yogurt’s good. You should order one too.”

Before I knew it, Sarangi was back, holding a large cup as she plopped into her seat.

“Why would you suggest that when you’re not even paying?”

“Ah~. Just recommending. A recommendation.”

Why is she like this…

Actually, maybe it’s for the best.

Considering what tomorrow entails for Sarangi, her personality might work in our favor.

“Okay, done? Let’s talk business.”

“Mm~.”

She slurped up the yogurt in one go.

Didn’t look like she was taking this seriously at all.

Even if she was half-listening, I briefly went over tomorrow’s task.

“…So you just need to go on a date with the person I introduce you to. That’s it.”

“Simple~. Not as big a deal as I thought?”

“Not a big— Wait, you know who it is?”

“A fan of mine, right?”

“Well… yeah, but.”

“Got a pic? I might recognize them if I see their face.”

“No photo… But if I describe him… You know how there’s always that older guy in a suit who comes by?”

“Hmm… Oh~. I think I kinda know?”

“You remember?”

“I’d need to see his face.”

“……Really?”

“A date’s whatever… YouTubers do fan-idol dates all the time these days. Like prize drawings. Just think of it like that.”

“Except… I don’t think there’s any case of a girl group member dating a 50-something uncle.”

Normally, they’d pair members with female fans or fans in non-controversial age gaps to avoid backlash.

“He’s in his 50s? Ah~. Dude’s dad-aged. Totally.”

“…You get why we’re doing this, right? It’s not like a variety show shoot…”

“Yeah. I know. Basically, you want me to do some under-the-table PR, right?”

Surprisingly, Sarangi grasped the point well.

“For secret PR, a date’s pretty tame. Too tame, actually—kinda suspicious. I thought for sure some creep in a hotel would…”

“Hey. People can hear.”

“Fine~. Anyway, that’s what I assumed.”

……Now I feel guilty thinking about Harin and Eunchae.

“You’re weirdly casual about this.”

“Hugu oppa, you might not know, but I’ve gotten offers before. Like, ‘Let’s meet—I’ll give you 500 per session, weekends only.’”

“……What?”

My brain short-circuited at the unexpected word.

“I didn’t do it~. Why would I? Someone I don’t even like? I’m more of a romantic than I look.”

“……Then what about this?”

“You said it’s work. Plus, it’s just a date. Not even a stranger—he’s a fan… Fan service?”

“Right…”

“Eh~? What, oppa jealous? Wow~. Even with Harin unnie around.”

“Why do you keep twisting this? I’m saying this as your manager.”

“If you were worried… you shouldn’t have suggested it in the first place~.”

True.

If I’d really been confident in my role as their manager, I should’ve stopped things with Harin from the start.

Stopped it—and found another way.

But the situation wasn’t favorable.

I knew just how precarious was.

Of course, this job wasn’t related to , but…

“If the CEO changes… ’s survival will rest in that person’s hands.”

……That one line from Manager Han Myung-soo left me no choice but to accept yet again.

Even if the new CEO could be persuaded… With uncertainty ahead, I couldn’t afford to do nothing.

But then, shouldn’t Manager Han naturally side with the CEO? Why go out of his way to…

Well, I’m not him, so I’ll never know his true intentions.

“Anyway. I’ll do it. Tomorrow’s date.”

“For real?”

“No other choice. And……”

“……?”

“I disappear quickly so Hugu oppa and Harin unnie get alone time, right? Yeah?”

“No, again… Hey. That’s not it.”

“Tell me later how far you got, okay?”

“Why would I tell you?”

“Oh, and. Don’t be careless while active. Always use condoms.”

“Bwuh—!”

I spat out my coffee.

People nearby glanced over.

Damn… I wiped my mouth and clothes with a napkin.

“Hehe… Oppa’s so innocent? Cute~. I wonder if Harin unnie’s like this too?”

“Don’t joke like that with her. Seriously.”

Though Harin is……

Already a body that finished raw, condom-less sex with another man.

Fuck. Now I’m thinking about it again.

The moans Harin made…… when she mixed bodies with Park Dong-chul.

Damn it. Damn it.

“…Hugu oppa.”

“Yeah?”

Mid-wipe, Sarangi called me again, so I looked up.

Her expression… wasn’t the same as before.

Even while sipping sweet yogurt, she looked bitter.

“…Treat Harin unnie well.”

I want to treat her right too, but our circumstances aren’t that simple.

Still, to reassure Sarangi, I said what I didn’t fully mean.

“……Of course.”