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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: 25화
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Kim Ryeo-yu apologized with a face that showed no remorse whatsoever.
Behind her, Team B could be seen laughing with mocking expressions.
Lee Ju-seon looked somewhat awkward caught between them.
Seeing that feigned victim act made my stomach churn.
However, I couldn't lose my temper.
"Ju-seon."
"!"
Lee Ju-seon flinched when I called her name.
"Talk to me, not Ju-seon."
Kim Ryeo-yu stepped between Lee Ju-seon and me.
"I have something I want to say to Ju-seon. Could you step aside so we can talk for a moment?"
"No."
Kim Ryeo-yu said with a twisted smile.
"Could you tell me why not?"
"Because it's obvious you'll just say something else that will hurt Ju-seon."
"Did we say anything that would hurt Ju-seon?"
I looked directly at Kim Ryeo-yu and said,
"We want to apologize after hearing the full story. If we hurt her, isn't it right to apologize?"
"..."
Perhaps not expecting us to react this way, Kim Ryeo-yu was silent for a moment.
Of course.
What did we even say?
She was the one who ran away on her own.
"It's not just about what was said that hurt her, it's the current situation. You created a situation where Ju-seon would be hurt among yourselves."
"I see. So, you're saying we didn't say anything hurtful ourselves?"
"No, that's not what—"
"We're doing this because we genuinely want to apologize and resolve things. Ryeo-yu, do you want us to just move on without resolving things with Ju-seon? Is it what you want for us to remain unable to talk to each other forever?"
"..."
"We want to resolve this through conversation. We want to hear Ju-seon's feelings too. I don't understand why you're stopping that. Or perhaps, do you wish for our relationship to remain bad?"
Kim Ryeo-yu finally couldn't say anything.
"Ryeo-yu Unnie."
At that moment, Lee Ju-seon grabbed Kim Ryeo-yu's sleeve.
"Just for a moment... I'll talk."
"Ju-seon, are you really okay with this?"
"Yes. I just... want to talk it out."
At Lee Ju-seon's words, Kim Ryeo-yu and Team B left the practice room as if they had no choice.
"What do you... want to talk about?"
"Ju-seon."
I had Lee Ju-seon sit down and gave her something to drink.
"We want to resolve things amicably with you. Ju-seon, you're a good person, and we want to have a good relationship with you for a long time."
"..."
"Don't you want to resolve things with us too, Ju-seon?"
Lee Ju-seon darted her eyes around.
If she agreed to resolve it here, it would feel like she was forgiving us too easily.
She had made such a big deal out of it, so resolving it this easily would make her feel like a strange person.
But not resolving it here would also be a problem.
Because we had extended a hand, and she would be swatting it away.
She would lose her justification.
"...I don't know."
As expected.
I knew she would try to evade with a vague answer.
However, I had no intention of letting Lee Ju-seon do as she pleased.
"It's a really difficult position, isn't it, Ju-seon?"
"Huh?"
"You didn't want things to get this big, did you?"
"...That's right."
Lee Ju-seon genuinely seemed not to have expected things to escalate this much.
Yes, ordinarily, things would have gone as Lee Ju-seon expected.
If I hadn't interfered.
But our situation wasn't relaxed enough to just sit back and take it.
Still, I didn't want to be too harsh.
She was still young.
Easy to be swayed by those around her. So, it was right to give her a chance.
"Tell me everything that upset you. How it happened. I'll listen to everything."
Lee Ju-seon blinked noncommittally.
"I kept feeling left out. I wanted to do the concept I wanted, but you kept suggesting something else. I'm not confident in that concept. But you didn't even try to listen to me..."
"I see. I think it's perfectly understandable that you felt that way. And?"
"And, Ju-hong and I went shopping together, but she didn't care about my things and only tried to buy things for others. It didn't feel like she treated me as a teammate."
Once Lee Ju-seon got started, she talked without pause.
...She really seems to firmly believe she's the victim.
I sighed inwardly.
Still, let's give her a chance.
Just one.
"I understand why you're upset. I should have paid more attention to your feelings and understood them better."
"...No."
"We'll try harder, so how about coming back? Ju-seon, wouldn't it be better to be with your original team rather than going to another team?"
Lee Ju-seon seemed to be contemplating.
Seeing her hesitate, it seemed she hadn't truly intended to go to that team.
Should I test the waters here?
"You didn't originally intend to go to that team, did you, Ju-seon?"
"!"
"I don't think it's too late now. That's what team missions are about, aren't they? It's very common for people to clash a little when they're together."
I tried my best to think from Lee Ju-seon's perspective.
"I think what's important is resolving clashes well."
"..."
Lee Ju-seon seemed very shaken.
She was fidgeting with her hands, hesitating.
"I heard the situation. Ryeo-yu told you to come, didn't she? You didn't originally intend to go."
"...! How did you know...?"
"Ju-seon. If Ryeo-yu truly wanted to help you maturely, she wouldn't have abruptly advised you to switch teams."
She's using you.
And you know it too.
I tried my best to speak indirectly.
"Are you saying Ryeo-yu Unnie is using me?"
Of course.
"No. I'm saying Ryeo-yu's good intentions might not necessarily lead to the best outcome for you."
Forcing myself to frame it as "good intentions" felt like thorns were growing in my mouth.
Lee Ju-seon listened to my words and seemed to ponder for a long time with a sullen expression.
"...I understand what you mean, Unnie. And I'm grateful."
Then she opened her mouth.
"But, I don't want to go against Ryeo-yu Unnie."
...How frustrating.
"And... honestly, even if I came back, I feel like I'd just be a background character here."
"That's not true."
"It will be. At least Ryeo-yu Unnie guaranteed me the center position. Can you also promise me the center position, Unnie? And adjust the concept to me?"
Greed was evident in Lee Ju-seon's eyes as she spoke.
Perhaps thinking there were no cameras, she was openly trying to make a deal.
"The center position and concept will be decided through fair discussion. Of course, you'll have the same opportunity, Ju-seon."
"See? You're saying you won't give it to me, aren't you?"
"...Then, Ju-seon."
I managed to lift my head, my mind chilling.
"How about we at least make this whole incident disappear? I talked to the PD. He said we could re-record from the beginning and re-select the teams. Like, by sending one person from Team B here."
"...Erase everything that happened...?"
"Yes. So nothing airs on broadcast. For both your sake and ours."
Lee Ju-seon hesitated for a moment.
"But... Ryeo-yu Unnie won't want that."
"Your will is what's important here. Ryeo-yu has nothing to do with this."
"..."
Lee Ju-seon thought for a moment, then shook her head.
"I'm sorry. I don't think I can do that."
"Why? Because of Ryeo-yu?"
"..."
Lee Ju-seon's lips twitched.
She seemed unsure if she should say this.
"Screen time... is important."
"!"
At Lee Ju-seon's words, Kim Geum and Yeon Ju-hong's expressions hardened.
"I'm the one with the least screen time in Make a New Color... the one who gets buried. But Ryeo-yu Unnie said that if I cause something like this... my screen time would increase, and I could gain sympathy votes."
"You also know that Ju-hong and the rest of us would be unfairly framed instead, don't you?"
"..."
Lee Ju-seon said nothing and stood up.
"I'm sorry."
And so, our conversation ended.
***
"You called for me?"
And that dawn.
Inside one of Colors' agency offices.
Carefully opening the door, I found Director Kim Mo-gyeong, PD O Baek-gyeong, and Writer Kang Sun-hwa inside.
I had received a sudden call from Writer Kang Sun-hwa in the middle of the night and came.
She was so urgent that she called fourteen times, trying to wake me up.
Of course, I had deliberately not answered some of them.
"Yes. Sit down there."
I glanced at the large table.
And sat across from Director Kim Mo-gyeong.
She seemed to have a lot to say, so.
"What's going on?"
"This video, what is it?"
On the laptop screen that Director Kim Mo-gyeong roughly turned to show me, my and Lee Ju-seon's figures were captured.
And from the laptop, the conversation was clearly audible.
Through Lee Ju-seon's mouth.
...my screen time would increase, and I could gain sympathy votes.
"The fact that this video was taken in the very place you asked to have cameras installed can only be seen as intentional."
Director Kim Mo-gyeong's brow was deeply furrowed, showing how angry she was.
"..."
That was right.
As soon as I received a slight hint from the production team, I made one request to PD O Baek-gyeong.
To add one more camera to just one practice room.
Of course, no one else knew this.
I had lied, saying I was planning a small hidden camera prank on Yeon Ju-hong.
Hidden camera pranks among trainees in a survival show?
It was a very common thing.
So much so that no one would suspect it.
Thus, the installation of the camera had been kept a secret.
"As the general manager of this company, I cannot overlook your actions."
Director Kim Mo-gyeong glared at me with a frown.
"What were you thinking, doing something like this?"
"..."
I glanced not at Director Kim Mo-gyeong, but at PD O Baek-gyeong and Writer Kang Sun-hwa.
I wondered what their reactions would be.
As expected, both of them looked displeased.
However, the target of their displeasure was not me.
"Are you saying I did something wrong?"
"You installed the—"
"If you watched that video, you'd know I didn't do anything wrong to the other trainees. To begin with, my request to add one more camera to that practice room was to play a hidden camera prank on Ju-hong, and that was something I reported to PD O Baek-gyeong beforehand."
"But if you knew a camera was installed in that room, you should have warned her."
I looked at Director Kim Mo-gyeong.
She knew. She knew she was being unreasonable.
Despite knowing that, she was just being unreasonable.
Because she knew her position was higher than mine.
"She said those things without giving me a chance to speak. I clearly told her. I told her to reconsider. I told her I wished she'd come back and work with us. PD, Writer, you both saw that, didn't you?"
"..."
"...Hmm."
Neither of them explicitly affirmed nor denied.
However, that was a clear sign of affirmation.
"I clearly gave her a chance, so wasn't it Ju-seon who refused it?"
In that case, I had to play my hand.
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