Chapter 52
April 6.
Late evening.
After finishing the murderous schedule I'd been saddled with the moment I returned to Korea, I headed for my comfortable home….
I didn't.
Because Jia's place was much closer.
“Manager. Thanks for all your hard work.”
“Yes, yes. You worked hard too, Jia. Hinami, get home safely.”
“Yesss~”
A manager who had aged nearly ten years in a single year getting even older would be a problem.
Even if he quit, it wouldn't matter to me; they'd hire someone new anyway….
I had no choice because Jia loves pretending to be nice so much.
“Mmm…, Manager oppa.”
“Yes?”
“Could you buy me just a few cans of beer at the convenience store? I'm going to drink them inside, but even with a mask on, my hair color stands out too much….”
“Hey, Hinami.”
But I think pretending to be nice is all fake anyway.
We have to put on an act for our fans so we can milk them for money, but we're the ones paying the manager, aren't we?
There’s absolutely no need to pretend to be nice to someone we don't need to put on an act for.
It's not even an unreasonable request.
“Why not? We don't have a schedule tomorrow. It's not soju, it's beer, so I can drink it, right? Isn't that right, Manager oppa?”
“…Yes. Yes….”
Besides, if you think about it carefully,
the mere fact that working in a world only a masochist could love is shortening his lifespan, so aren't I actually kinder than that wicked bitch Jia, who dangles carrots in front of him, since I openly wield the whip?
What's the difference between that and a boss at a black company coaxing and placating an employee so they can't quit?
It's not as if we're going to film some fresh romance between a manager and an idol.
You wickedly seductive brat.
“…Stop drinking so much.”
“I haven't had a drink in almost two weeks, you know?”
“That's because you haven't been able to drink since you've been busy. It's not that you chose not to.”
“I'm saying I'll drink tomorrow because I'm not busy, so what's the problem~”
“We're busy again the day after tomorrow.”
“I don't care, I don't care. If I don't drink tonight, I can't sleep. Absolutely not.”
“…I'll go. Hurry.”
“Ah, thank you, thank you~”
“Haa….”
And so, as I watched Manager oppa dash off at my command, his scrawny back bobbing away, Jia let out a deep sigh.
Ah, seriously, this devilish bitch loves wearing an angel's mask.
Why is her professional attitude so intense?
Why don't you follow our oldest unni's example and date a man, huh?
Or follow our second oldest unni's example and live promiscuously even if you don't date anyone.
There’s nothing more entertaining than watching bigwigs scratch their heads and throw tantrums.
“Jia-chan, are you tired?”
“Wouldn't you be tired if you were me?”
“I am tired.”
“…You know that, so why are you like this?”
“…Because I'm tired?”
The group only survives because Jia and I, the two youngest, are keeping it firmly together,
so if even we got caught up in a scandal, it wouldn't be strange for the group to go poof~ and explode on the spot.
As for me…, I don't particularly care about the group,
though I do have a little affection for Jia.
Ah, not in that sense, though?
More like an attached doll, or a toy that won't break no matter how much I play with it?
Seeing her stand straight and never waver no matter how badly everything around her falls apart makes me feel genuine awe, even though I'm her unni.
And all the while, she takes down the people causing trouble one by one.
Then she suddenly becomes absurdly polite whenever she's working.
…Aren't you curious what would happen if someone as rigid as Jia broke?
“Ah, I need to check on Unni for a bit too….”
“Why your sister all of a sudden?”
“…I need to kick her boyfriend out. Of the house.”
“…Why?”
“I looked into him just in case, and his relationships with women are complicated. There’s an unni I know who works as a cheerleader, and apparently he dated her in the past while also hitting on her younger sister. So….”
“Ah…, okay, okay. I totally get it.”
“That kind of thing…, …never mind.”
Watching her lay the groundwork to take someone down again makes me afraid that I might become her target someday too.
Ugh, if I crossed Jia, I don't think I'd ever be able to live in Korea again.
Wouldn't articles about me smoking e-cigarettes, drinking, and masturbating in cosplay at home…
start popping up everywhere like weeds?
…I haven't been found out about the last one yet, though.
It wouldn't even surprise me if Jia planted a bug in my house.
“…Ah, seriously. No luck today….”
“Hm?”
“Ye-eun…, …Jia.”
While I was trembling in fear of terrifying Jia-chan, a very voluptuous, sexy-looking beige lump walked toward us.
I couldn't make out her face clearly, but I could tell who she was just from her breasts.
Her name was…, Ha-eun unni, right?
…Wow, that's insane.
Someone with breasts shaped like that walking around in an off-the-shoulder top is something else.
Mine aren't small either, but I'm seriously jealous….
“Oh, hello. Seo Ji…, ah, your sister.”
“…Hello.”
While I was distracted by that voluptuous lump of flesh, a muscle-bound lump approached alongside her.
His face was distinctive enough to leave a tenuous impression, but his absurd height made him easy to recognize.
The brother-in-law Jia had been cursing so much earlier.
His name was Ju-hyeon…, or was it Ju-hyeok oppa?
“And beside you is the one I saw last time….”
“Ah…, yes, yes, hello! I'm Hinami!”
Unlike the suit he had been wearing last time, he was dressed in a very comfortable tracksuit.
The only problem was that it was so casual that all his muscles were on display.
So men's T-shirts get stretched tight across the chest like that when they have a lot of muscle too.
The manager oppa who'd been working until we left the dorm had a belly that stuck out like that.
…I don't know where these two with their bulging chests had been,
but it seemed pretty obvious what they were going to do once they went inside.
Hee-hee.
“…Um, Jia.”
“Yes.”
“Ah, um…, what are you doing here…?”
“…Waiting for the manager.”
“Ah…. Do you have another schedule?”
“It's over. I had a favor to ask him, so just for a bit.”
…”
In the middle of all that, Jia looked unusually rude as she grumbled at her own sister, her mood clearly sunk.
Our Jia-chan is kind not only to the bigwigs but also to managers and staff, yet she turns this dark whenever she meets her sister.
…Of course, her sister was the one who secretly badmouthed her on a private Instagram account, so I consider it self-defense.
Watching Ha-eun-chan, who hated her little sister yet was completely at a loss around Jia, the owner and financier of the apartment, was oddly entertaining, like watching a broken Jia.
When Ha-eun-chan couldn't hide her expression after I secretly teased her at the waxing salon last time, I wondered if she might actually be more fun than Jia.
Her durability does seem a little low, though.
She looks like she'd break if I teased her just a little.
…Um, Ms. Hinami. Are those two on bad terms?”
“Mm…, yes?”
“I mean, are the sisters not close?”
“…No comment?”
“Ah, I see.”
…And the playboy Ha-eun-chan kept around also seemed quite interesting.
The fact that he was sidling over to me and asking questions while his girlfriend and her younger sister were engaged in a battle of wills meant he wasn't an ordinary person.
If they lived together, there was no way he wouldn't know what was going on, so this was definitely him hitting on me, right?
Wow, that makes me so happy.
If I said yes here, Jia and Ha-eun-chan would both have their stress explode.
Ahaha….
Well, I have no intention of accepting an advance with no sincerity behind it, okay?
Unless I was willing to stake my life on it.
“Huff…, huff…, here……?”
“Oh, Manager oppa.”
While I was lost in such wicked thoughts, Manager oppa returned far sooner than expected, panting heavily.
The white plastic bag in his hand contained exactly four cans of beer.
For snacks, there was the konjac jelly I'd eaten until I was sick of it.
…This man listens to the company far too well for an idol manager.
I should fire him as soon as possible.
We really don't need anyone who fits this horrible industry, seriously.
“Uh…, who are you two…?”
“My sister and her boyfriend. They live in the same apartment, so we ran into them by chance.”
“Ah….”
“Give me the bag first, Manager.”
“Ah, yes, yes.”
Our anchovy manager, whose excessive competence was his downfall, was startled when he saw Ju-hyeok oppa, who looked a full head taller than him.
Jia neatly cleared up his question, but then he saw Ha-eun unni's breasts beside Ju-hyeok oppa and was startled again, his gaze getting stolen away.
…I thought he was gay because he always wore an expression like he was about to die at work, but does he just like huge breasts?
Come to think of it, he was strangely kind only to Jia.
Well, well, seeing those ulterior motives, I ought to fire him this instant….
“…Ah, um….”
“Ahaha, Manager oppa! What are you looking at? Are you a pervert?”
When Ha-eun-chan showed her discomfort in the suddenly awkward atmosphere, I considered keeping my mouth shut, but then I just blurted it out.
Why?
Because I really wanted to fire him right then and there….
“Ah, um, yes?”
“I think this oppa's crazy, ahaha!”
“…”
Not really.
…That Ju…hyeok oppa who was hitting on me just now?
This man has the kind of eyes that look like he could kill someone.
What is this, jealousy?
Ew, over a guy like that?
But with that expression and that body, couldn't he actually kill someone?
It wouldn't even be strange if he had a dragon tattoo on his back….
“Stop teasing the manager, Hinami.”
“Ah, but seriously, Manager oppa….”
“No, no, no, it's not like that….”
“Go inside. You must be tired.”
“……” “Yes.”
That's what I thought, but
while Manager oppa returned to the car in embarrassment, I glanced at Ju-hyeok oppa's face and saw him wearing the most refreshed expression imaginable.
Then his expression suddenly turned fierce, so I looked over again and saw Ha-eun-chan staring at Ju-hyeok oppa.
…Ah, I see.
He only pretends to be jealous when his girlfriend is watching?
Wow, this guy is a real pro.
His acting is no joke.
He could've made it as an actor, seriously.
“…Let's go, Hinami.”
“Hm?”
“The manager's gone too. Aren't you coming up?”
“Ah…, wait.”
It was far too precious to leave this fascinating couple behind and go back.
A girlfriend with breasts so absurdly and shamelessly huge that she gets dragged to a waxing salon wearing a dog collar, and
a playboy boyfriend with impossibly puffed-up chest muscles who acts at an actor's level?
Wow, you can't find something like this even in an American TV drama, let alone an anime.
Totally my type.
If I dug into them properly, I felt like I could use them as material for months.
“Um, Ju-hyeok oppa…? Ah, your name is Ju-hyeok, right?”
“Yes? Me?”
“Ah, it is…. And Ha-eun unni!”
“…Ah, me?”
“Would you like to have a drink with us?”
“Hey, Hinami….”
…And if I added her younger sister and her younger sister's friend as guest stars, couldn't I use them for years?
Well…,
I still have plenty of time left on my idol contract, so I'd only appear as supporting cast, though?
Hee-hee.
Hee-hee.