Chapter 40
Jeong Seong-ah.
Now, in her fourth year since joining RTN Entertainment and becoming a trainee.
She was looking up at the sky.
She gazed at the clouds drifting across the sky and the sunlight squeezing through the gaps between them, smiling softly.
-Shaaah....
The breeze tickling her skin.
The sound of leaves rustling.
Pleasant sunlight.
The world was this beautiful.
“Debut...”
Debut.
For an idol trainee, it was a word as dreamy as a dream itself.
She was about to make her debut.
A week ago, the company had informed her that she had been selected for the debut group.
“I’m debuting.”
She felt as though she were floating through the sky.
It was still an unbelievable reality.
Jeong Seong-ah couldn’t stop herself from smiling.
Since the group had been planned by a major entertainment company, her success was practically guaranteed.
Of course, that would depend on how well she performed.
“Are you that happy?”
At that moment, a familiar voice came from the other side.
Her boyfriend was approaching with a bright smile.
“Oppa!”
Jeong Seong-ah sprang up from the bench and ran toward her boyfriend.
Pitter-patter— She ran into his arms and wrapped both hands tightly around his waist.
“Hey... People are watching!”
Though flustered, her boyfriend gently stroked Jeong Seong-ah’s head.
Jeong Seong-ah puffed out her cheeks and looked up at her boyfriend with a sulky expression.
“So what? As long as we’re happy, that’s all that matters.”
As she said that, Jeong Seong-ah buried her face in her boyfriend’s embrace again.
The scent of fabric softener and perfume, always pleasant no matter how many times she smelled it, tickled her nose.
“You’re about to debut now. You need to be careful.”
Yet her boyfriend still tried to pull Jeong Seong-ah away in a troubled tone.
The more he did so, the more tightly Jeong Seong-ah hugged him and protested.
“I’m never letting go. I won’t let go. Let me stay like this for just one minute.”
There was a reason she wanted to cling so tightly to her boyfriend.
Two days ago, her boyfriend had told her they should break up.
His reasoning was that now that she had joined the debut group, he would only get in her way.
But Jeong Seong-ah couldn’t accept breaking up for that reason.
“No. Absolutely not. Let’s meet and talk. I can’t break up with you, Oppa.”
Jeong Seong-ah had met her boyfriend that very day.
And she had continued trying to persuade him.
She told him that although being with her might make things difficult for him, she could handle everything.
She told him that everything would be fine if the two of them kept their relationship completely secret.
“Seong-ah. Think carefully. Our relationship could harm your group. It could cause the company financial losses. It could even deal a major blow to your dream.”
Yet her boyfriend refused to bend on his decision until the very end.
He only replied that breaking up now would be the wiser choice for both of them.
“I’ll handle everything. If something goes wrong because of it, I’ll take responsibility for everything. Please, Oppa...”
Jeong Seong-ah was a hardworking person.
The harder she worked, the more confident she was, and she always had faith in what she did.
But all of that was possible because she had her boyfriend.
Quite literally, she had become who she was because of him.
That was why she needed him so badly.
“Jeong Seong-ah. Think carefully. You might have to give up your dream because of me. Even so, will you stay with me until the end?”
Her boyfriend had made her weigh her dream against him one last time.
He had told her that continuing to date him might force her to give up her dream.
That was when Jeong Seong-ah had given him this answer.
“Yes. I don’t care. If I hadn’t had you, I wouldn’t have been able to achieve this dream. You’re as precious to me as my dream.”
She believed in the value of people.
She believed in the bonds between people, and in the love that blossomed within those bonds.
For example, there was her mother, who had escaped the fate of a chaebol family, met her father, and built a family with him.
Everyone had called her mother foolish for turning her back on her chaebol family’s privileges, and mocked her father for marrying a woman above his station.
Yet the two of them had become an ideal couple by anyone’s standards.
They had built a happy family to prove everyone wrong and become a warm, dependable shelter for their children.
That was why Jeong Seong-ah never wanted to let go of her boyfriend, who resembled her father.
“Seong-ah...”
Her boyfriend seemed moved by Jeong Seong-ah’s determination, because he turned away with tears in his eyes.
Jeong Seong-ah took his hand as he fought back tears and spoke.
“Being an idol isn’t a forever career. Even at its best, your prime lasts only seven or eight years. Even if our relationship is discovered and we have to break up, you’ll be the last man I ever love. So even if you meet someone else during that time, I can wait for you. But... but I still need you right now.... Don’t leave my side at a time this important... at a time like this... you idiot...”
Her boyfriend was always dependable and wise.
He nodded and accepted her plea.
He said that although he didn’t know how long this time-bomb of a relationship would last, they should stay together until the end.
“Oppa, should we go there?”
And today.
Today was the first date they had gone on after overcoming their breakup crisis.
Her boyfriend gave a small smile and nodded.
“Yeah. We won’t have many chances to talk here anymore.”
***
The two of them had come to a café downtown.
This was where their relationship had begun.
They often called this place ‘there.’
“Ah~ This brings back memories.”
Jeong Seong-ah looked around the café, seeming lost in old memories.
She was beautiful, resembling Lee Shin-ah in her youth.
Her boyfriend smiled warmly as he watched her.
“It sure does~”
“Hehe. Your first impression was seriously terrible, though.”
“Ah—don’t talk about it. It’s embarrassing.”
Jeong Seong-ah smiled brightly as she watched her blushing boyfriend.
She recalled the past, when she had first met him.
At the time, just as she had said, her boyfriend’s image had been absolutely awful.
“Excuse me... Could I get your number? You’re totally my type...”
They first met when he hit on her in the street.
He had been blushing, unable even to meet her eyes properly.
At the time, she had been in a hurry to get to an audition.
“Sorry. You’re not my type.”
She had said that while looking at the friends of the guy who had hit on her, who were giggling behind him.
It was obviously some kind of pickup game between friends, or something like that.
How annoying.
“Ah...”
Her boyfriend had worn a stunned expression.
But Jeong Seong-ah had swiftly turned away and continued on her way.
The audition was far more important than some silly man like him.
However, she had been too nervous during the audition she had prepared for so long, and she had failed it on the spot.
She had come to a nearby café to soothe her disappointment.
“Excuse me. Um... perhaps...”
Then she heard a voice calling her from behind.
She turned around.
That explained her irritation—the man who had asked for her number on the street earlier was standing there.
He wore a flustered expression as he struggled to string together a stupid line.
“My number... could... you... give me...”
“Pwahahahahaha—!”
The pickup guy’s friends burst out laughing behind him.
Jeong Seong-ah’s face twisted into a scowl.
She was already in a terrible mood after failing her audition, and it irritated her to become the laughingstock of people like them.
“Ah. I’m, uh, sorry. You were dressed differently...”
She had changed into different clothes for the audition.
Apparently, he hadn’t recognized her because her clothes were different.
But regardless of what his excuse was, Jeong Seong-ah was in a foul mood.
“If you understand, just go. Don’t ruin my mood.”
Jeong Seong-ah snapped at the pickup guy and turned away.
Then she picked up her ringing smartphone and answered the call.
It was her father.
“Yeah... Dad. No, I failed. Yeah.... I’m okay. I can try somewhere else, too. Yeah, I understand. Yeah...”
-Click.
After hanging up, she stared blankly out the window.
The barren branches and people walking around bundled in layers.
Gray buildings and streets filled with honking cars.
The world was cold.
Perhaps because of that, she felt a chill run through her body.
“Excuse me, do you have a blanket?”
She asked a café employee that question.
But the employee answered with an apologetic expression.
“I’m sorry, ma’am. The other customers have all borrowed them...”
Jeong Seong-ah looked around the café.
People gathered in groups, laughing and chatting.
Blankets draped over their knees.
Jeong Seong-ah gave a bitter smile and nodded.
Then she returned to her seat and took a sip of her coffee.
-Swoosh.
That was when it happened.
A hand holding a blanket caught her eye.
Jeong Seong-ah smiled and turned toward the owner of the hand.
“Oh. Do you have an extra blanket...”
She stopped speaking.
Her eyes widened as she stared at the owner of the hand.
Wasn’t he the pickup guy who had bothered her earlier that day?
"....."
She looked at the blanket again.
It wasn’t one of the blankets handed out by the café.
Suddenly, she remembered the Daiso near the café.
And the pickup guy was breathing slightly heavily.
“What’s this for...?”
“Haa... haa... I wanted to apologize. Here, take it.”
"....."
Jeong Seong-ah carefully accepted the blanket.
Their hands touched in the process, and the man’s hand was ice-cold.
Had he run through the cold streets to get it?
“I’m sorry about earlier. Well—”
The man turned around and started to leave again.
At that moment, Jeong Seong-ah remembered how she had snapped at him as though he were a bug.
“E-excuse me!”
He turned around again.
Jeong Seong-ah fiddled with her mug as she spoke.
“S-stay a little longer. It’s cold outside.”
"....."
The man seemed to hesitate.
But soon, he walked over and sat down across from her.
Jeong Seong-ah slid her mug toward him and spoke.
“Hold that. It’s warm.”
"....."
-Tap.
The man cupped both hands around the mug.
He looked surprised.
He must have liked the warmth.
For some reason, Jeong Seong-ah let out a small laugh.
“What about your friends?”
“Oh. I just sent them on ahead.”
“So you’ve been waiting all this time to apologize?”
“Yes. I couldn’t do it right away because you were taking a call... Um. I was waiting for the right moment to apologize...”
“Ah... I see.”
Jeong Seong-ah said that and tried to take a sip of her coffee.
But the mug of coffee was still in the man’s hands.
“I’ll go order another coffee. It’s rude to sit here for free.”
At that moment, the man returned her mug and went to order coffee.
Jeong Seong-ah smiled as she watched his back.
Unlike at first, she found him likable now.
“I ordered it.”
A little while later, the man returned to the table and waved the vibrating call buzzer at her.
He sat down across from her with a slightly nervous expression.
Even that about him was appealing.
“Excuse me, there’s something I’m curious about.”
“Y-yes? Me?”
“Yes.”
“Ahem. Go ahead.”
“Did you really ask for my number because I’m your type?”
The man looked flustered.
He began rambling.
“...Ah! That was, you see... because of my friends, I couldn’t help it!”
“What, so I’m not your type?”
“No, I mean! You’re pretty!”
“Pretty, but not pretty enough to catch your eye?”
“No! You’re plenty pretty! You are, but...!”
“Pretty, but not very charming?”
“No! It’s just...!”
“Pfft-hahaha.”
“.....?”
“I was just teasing you. You’re not good at empty compliments.”
Jeong Seong-ah took a long sip of her coffee and smiled bashfully.
For some reason, she felt that this man resembled her father.
“About what I said earlier. I take it back.”
“What... did you say?”
“That you weren’t my type.”
“.....”
The man’s face turned red.
Every emotion he felt was plainly visible in his expression.
This guy was secretly hoping for it, huh?
“Anyway, I take that back. You’re... a little bit my type.”
“Ah... haha.”
The man scratched the back of his head and laughed.
At that moment, the call buzzer went off with a buzz~.
The man hurriedly stood up and moved away from the table.
“Th-the coffee’s ready. I’ll, uh, go get it.”
The man hurried off to pick up the coffee, looking embarrassed.
Jeong Seong-ah smiled as she watched his back.
Now that she looked at him, he was dressed well, had a handsome face, and even his mannerisms were cute.
He was totally her type.