episode_0179

“Your complexion doesn’t look too good. Shall I walk you to the waiting room?”

“… … .”

“Yerin?”

This is a big deal.

‘Ugh, my thigh is bleeding right now… . I shouldn’t add more… .’

‘I, I’ll stop the bleeding myself. … … with my own hands.’

Is PTSD really this scary?

As soon as Shin Si-woo realized that Namgung Su-ho was the same type of guy as that guy, his body froze.

Swish.

Shudder.

“Ah… … .”

“… … .”

As soon as Shin Si-woo raised his hand slightly, I reacted with startle reaction as if I had been burned by fire.

When my attitude suddenly changed like this… Shin Si-woo, who had tilted his head at first, gradually looked at me with calm eyes.

Slowly.

In the meantime, I took a stealthy step back.

Actually, I was surprised by the stalker trait, but this person is someone I met for the first time today and he is not obsessed with me.

If I leave quietly without provoking him and pretend today’s meeting never happened, it will have nothing to do with me.

At this, I took a few steps back and forced a smile on my face while bowing my head slightly to him.

however….

“Senior. I guess I should go now… .”

“Yerin. Are you scared of me?”

“… … Yes?”

Was the problem my overreacting earlier, or was it my acting skills?

Or maybe Shin Si-woo is just quick-witted… .

Shin Si-woo asked me that with a smiling expression but unsmiling eyes.

Are you scared?… .

If you ask me that… , honestly, it’s scary.

Because of the Namgung Suho incident last time, I realized how scary the stalker tribe can be.

Moreover, Shin Si-woo’s special ability name is Stalker.

… there was no way I wouldn’t be scared.

“… It’s scary. Why am I… .”

“… That’s right. Something’s strange. It definitely wasn’t afraid of me when I first saw it. Suddenly… .”

Shin Si-woo rested his chin on his hand as if he found it strange and stared at me intently.

At that time, I was just standing there, not knowing what to do.

Squeak.

“… … !”

“… … !”

Suddenly, we heard the sound of the boiler room door opening… and Shin Si-woo and I flinched at the same time.

And when I saw the face of the person who came inside, I couldn’t help but be even more surprised.

“… Eugene?”

“Sister… .”

That was because the person standing in front of the door was Seo Yu-jin, who seemed to have just woken up and was rubbing her sleepy eyes.

She looked at me, yawned, and said something in a slightly whiny tone.

“Haam…, Unnie, why aren’t you here… . The manager came to the waiting room to film a shorts video, but Unnie wasn’t there, so we were looking for her for a while.”

“Ah… , I see. Sorry, it took a long time to walk a little. Let’s go quickly.”

“Yeah… . Hmm? But that person… .”

Seo Yu-jin is 17 years old. She is still very young.

There was no need to show the growing sprout that piece of trash called a stalker.

I tried to quickly take Seo Yu-jin out.

‘hmm……?’

It was at that moment that I turned my head to Shin Si-woo to say goodbye for the last time and leave this place.

“… … .”

Shin Si-woo was staring intently at Seo Yu-jin.

But it felt a little different when he saw me.

Curiosity…? No.

‘interest….’

There seemed to be an unconcealed interest in his eyes as he looked at Seo Yu-jin.

‘Why are you looking at Eugene like that…?’

At that moment, I felt a strong feeling and opened Shin Si-woo’s status window to check his special effect again.

[Trait: Stalker – Your love is wrong. What you think is love is suffering and violence to the other person. You can do anything for the person you love, even if it goes beyond the boundaries of what the law allows.]

[Trait Effect: Black Love – If there is someone you are interested in, you become extremely obsessed with them. Once you have decided on a person to be obsessed with, you feel both a sense of fulfillment as if you own the world and a burning thirst at the same time. *No obsession has been decided yet!]

The emotion ‘interest’ was also set as the main keyword in the status window.

… I feel anxious.

I had a terrible thought that if things continued like this, Shin Si-woo might become interested in Seo Yu-jin and become obsessed with her.

“Let’s go quickly.”

“Huh, sis? But that person… is definitely Black Bomb senior… .”

That was when I was trying to somehow take Seo Yu-jin out and completely cut her off from Shin Si-woo.

[You have met the skill unlock conditions!]

‘… … Huh?’

Suddenly the status window starts beeping at me… .

[Cheonma Shingong special skill is unlocked-!]

It announced to me the birth of a new skill.

At this, I was embarrassed, but I confirmed a new skill.

[Cheonma Shingong Special Skill: Cheonma Si (Heavenly Demon’s View) – You can see the truth of the world where you were not a ‘Cheonma’. (Automatically used when conditions are met)]

If it were a world where I wasn’t a demon…

‘Are you talking about your past life?’

Swish.

Before I could even resolve my doubts, I saw the world go black.

And when I came to my senses… .

I was in someone else’s body, not mine.

**

“Sigh… .”

Although she achieved her dream of debuting as an idol by dramatically joining the Rookies group in 6th place on NaA, Seo Yu-jin was not happy.

Even though she was cleared of the charges, the witch hunt she had endured from PD Shin in the middle of the drama was still eating away at her heart… and her confidence and self-esteem had already hit rock bottom.

As her heart broke, her skills also lost their luster.

Her presence on stage gradually faded away… and the public began to curse her for it.

Since I didn’t have any bond with the other rookie members, I had no one to rely on.

Every night, I would call my parents and tell them how hard it was… and when I went to bed, I would always cry and wet my pillow.

She was… , terribly lonely.

The first time I met him was when my loneliness was at its peak.

“Why are you crying alone?”

“Ouch… !”

At that time, Seo Yu-jin’s daily routine was to leave the waiting room and shed tears in a place alone.

Although the other members didn’t criticize her… it was because they felt uncomfortable that the entire Rookies seemed to be getting cursed at because of her presence.

But then, as it seemed like no one would come, a man found her at the place where she was and looked down at her with a puzzled look on his face.

His true identity was Shin Si-woo of Black Bomb.

“Ah… , I, I, I’m sorry… !”

Seo Yu-jin, who was embarrassed that she was caught crying alone, tried to run away.

but….

chin.

“If you go out with your face so swollen, people will find out.”

“… Ah.”

She couldn’t go out because Shin Si-woo gently blocked her shoulder and pointed to her eyes.

It was because I didn’t want to worry the other Rookies members by getting caught crying alone for no reason.

“Are you Eugene from Rookies? Come on, sit here. I’m bored by myself, so please stay with me.”

“Ah… , yes… .”

Then she sat down awkwardly on the road.

Shin Si-woo lit a cigarette while watching her at a loss.

It was a uniquely scented cigarette with a strong herbal smell.

“Why were you crying so sadly alone?”

Shin Si-woo asked Seo Yu-jin while blowing out cigarette smoke.

At first, Seo Yu-jin tried to just brush it off, but… .

“… … .”

She was so lonely at that time.

I felt like I wouldn’t be able to endure it if I couldn’t express the words inside me anywhere.

“Actually… .”

So she told Shin Si-woo everything she had been through.

“I see. … I’ve been there too.”

After hearing her whole story, Shin Si-woo slowly began to sympathize with her words and comfort her.

“Ugh… .”

Seo Yu-jin, who received comfort from someone other than her mother and father for the first time, shed a few tears.

I felt a lot more at ease.

“I’ll give you my phone number. Since our schedules often overlap when we’re on music shows, please contact me whenever you have a hard time. I’ll listen to what you have to say.”

“Thank you… . Hehe… .”

In this way, Seo Yu-jin and Shin Si-woo began to meet often.

**

In Seo Yu-jin’s eyes, Shin Si-woo was a good person.

When Seo Yu-jin told him about the hardships she had been going through, he would listen to her story while smoking a cigarette, and at the end, he would sympathize with her and say comforting words.

Seo Yu-jin felt good because she felt at ease when talking to Shin Si-woo.

However, after Shin Si-woo confessed to Seo Yu-jin, their relationship began to go wrong.

“Eugene, won’t we go out?”

“… Yes? Senior. What is that… .”

Seo Yu-jin, who had only thought of Shin Si-woo as a caring senior and close older brother, couldn’t help but be flustered after receiving his confession.

So she flatly rejected his confession.

And… after Seo Yu-jin rejected his confession, negative rumors about her started to spread on the Internet.

-Is Seo Yu-jin that much of a loser?

-No, he’s a high school freshman now. Then when did he start smoking? ㅋㅋ

-They say that their family is so rich that they don’t even have to pay much.

-Seo Yu-jin XX was a very famous bully in middle school. I hope he goes to hell.

Although it was all just baseless claims, the public believed such nonsense and started to discredit her.

Seo Yu-jin’s heart was more tattered than before… but she still held on.

For the sole reason that he didn’t want to cause any more trouble to the other members who had a hard time becoming idols because of him.

but….

Soon something happened that caused her to break down, even though she was barely holding on.

[Ms. Eugene, you need to come to the company right away.]

One day.

NAS Entertainment urgently called Seo Yu-jin, who was working on a group schedule for the Rookies.

It was because of a post that was uploaded to an anonymous community.

[Hey, I work at a broadcasting station… What is this?]

(Photo of Seo Yu-jin going to work at the broadcasting station carrying a bag)

(A photo taken after secretly opening the bag)

(Photos authenticated with Seo Yu-jin’s cell phone, wallet, etc.)

(Photo of the inside of Seo Yu-jin’s bag with cigarettes inside)

I didn’t see it on purpose ㅠㅠ Seo Yu-jin made a fuss saying that her waiting room was dirty and told me to clean it up, so I was cleaning it since morning and found her bag open ㅇㅇ..

They say this guy is a total idiot, and I guess that’s true.. But what are these cigarettes? They don’t look like Korean cigarettes. Are they foreign cigarettes?

-Hey you crazy bastard ㅋㅋㅋ It’s a crime to touch someone else’s stuff like that ㅋㅋㅋ

└It was open, so there’s nothing I can do

-The wallet and cell phone are both Seo Yu-jin’s… Wow, but was she really smoking? I’m disappointed.

-Tsuniya ㅠㅠ Delete the post before NAS sues you

-I’m 17 and I’m so dumb lol This is crazy lol

-Hey.. but isn’t that like drugs?

└?

└Huh?

└What are you talking about?

└No, really! I’ve seen that in Japan…! That’s definitely a marijuana cigarette… So it’s marijuana.

└What?

└Is this real?

“… … .”

Seo Yu-jin couldn’t help but feel embarrassed after seeing the post on the community.

Although he himself doesn’t smoke… the bag in the photo was indeed his.

“My bag fits, but I don’t smoke!”

As it happened, she was carrying the bag in the photo.

He opened his bag in front of the NAS staff.

As expected, nothing like cigarettes was found inside.

Director Jeong, who had known for a long time that Seo Yu-jin did not smoke, opened his mouth with a serious expression.

“Then…, someone must have sneaked into the Rookies’ waiting room and took these malicious pictures.”

“That kind of… ….”

Who on earth would do something like that… .

Seo Yu-jin felt her heart sink.

‘More than that, that cigarette… .’

Why is it so unfamiliar…?

Not only Seo Yu-jin, but also her parents do not smoke.

But the cigarettes in the photo looked familiar, like I’d seen them many times.

Seo Yu-jin desperately tried to remember the cigarette… Director Jeong continued speaking with a serious expression.

“Ms. Eugene. We checked it out earlier… , that photo is not photoshopped. And… , the comment in the middle is correct.”

“… If the comment is correct, then what you are saying is… .”

“That cigarette… , it’s a marijuana cigarette. And it’s not for medical use… , it’s actually made for recreational use.”

“… … !”

The moment she heard those words, Seo Yu-jin was able to recall when she had seen that cigarette.

That was definitely… the cigarette that Shin Si-woo smoked while listening to his story.