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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 49
Chapter Title: 49화.
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“What?”
My heart sank.
No way, no way.
“Well, you know. Why are you curious about that? You didn’t eat the food in your fridge anyway.”
“Still, I’m worried—”
PD Oh was smiling as if he knew something.
“What, did you put poison in the food? Why are you so scared?”
“What?”
“Why are you so scared, I asked.”
PD Oh chuckled.
“With such a faint heart, how do you expect to last long in the entertainment industry?”
“PD Oh.”
Writer Kang shot PD Oh a glare again.
PD Oh just shrugged.
“Even if you put poison in it, it doesn’t matter. There’s no evidence.”
?
A chill ran down her spine.
What did he mean by that?
“No, we were about to watch the video, and we opened the camera, right?”
PD Oh glanced at Writer Kang.
“But strangely, the memory card! It wasn’t in there!”
“What…?”
“Who knows, maybe our youngest intern is a complete airhead and filmed without a memory card. How much of a proper airhead would someone be to forget to turn off the camera when told to?”
“The intern has been scolded enough, so stop picking on them. If they quit because of you, finding a new intern is my job. I’m busy enough as it is. If they quit, you find them, PD.”
“What are you talking about? Honestly. I’m a busy man.”
PD Oh shrugged.
“Anyway, so yeah. What I’m saying is, there’s no footage.”
Jo Hui-on felt a chilling sensation and couldn’t say anything.
It was clearly a good thing.
It was a fortunate thing.
Why did she feel so uneasy? She couldn't understand. But her gut feeling was telling her something.
This was a sign that couldn't be simply welcomed.
“Unnie, you’re breaking out in a cold sweat.”
Ryu Bo-ra, who had been quietly watching her, said.
Ryu Bo-ra wiped the beads of sweat from Jo Hui-on’s neck with her sleeve.
Jo Hui-on flinched at the touch and looked at Ryu Bo-ra.
Ryu Bo-ra’s eyes were also piercing.
As if she could see through everything.
But it must have been her imagination. How could Ryu Bo-ra, who had been sleeping soundly, know anything?
Jo Hui-on deliberately took a deep breath to shake off the uneasiness.
“Alright, enough of this. You should take the camera and leave. Figure out how you’re going to film it among yourselves.”
PD Oh waved his hand dismissively, as if annoyed.
“Um.”
Lee Gyeong-a quietly raised her hand.
“Is Cheong coming today?”
“If I knew that, wouldn’t I tell you?”
That old fossil.
Lee Gyeong-a suppressed her irritation.
“Has there been any word from Cheong—”
“Ah, I don’t know about such trivial things, so just leave for now. Are you the only trainees here? Don’t waste other teams’ time. We’ve already wasted enough time listening to Hui-on’s useless talk.”
He could have just said it already instead of grumbling like that.
For the first time, the three trainees shared the same thought as they walked out.
***
Broadcasting station’s women’s restroom.
As Kim Ryeo-yu opened the door and stepped out, someone snatched her wrist.
“…What is it?”
“Did you hear?”
“….”
Kim Ryeo-yu looked around.
Fortunately, no one was there.
However, a broadcasting station was no place to feel at ease. How many eyes and ears were there?
Kim Ryeo-yu sighed and shook off Jo Hui-on’s wrist.
Then she dragged Jo Hui-on to the emergency staircase.
“You heard, didn’t you? You knew. That there was no memory card in there.”
Jo Hui-on felt her anger surge at Kim Ryeo-yu’s reaction, which was much calmer than she expected.
You knew that and didn’t say anything?
Knowing how anxious I was?
“Yes, I knew.”
Kim Ryeo-yu looked down at Jo Hui-on with eyes that clearly held contempt.
“But I only found out recently. I just heard it.”
“Then why didn’t you tell me—!”
“Hui-on. Please grow up.”
Kim Ryeo-yu looked at Jo Hui-on pitifully.
“Isn’t it time for your rehearsal? You left all your teammates, your self-cam, the staff, just to come all the way here to argue about that? Today’s the main stage, and you’re still sitting around worrying about that?”
“…!”
“I figured PD Oh would tell you himself. What, does knowing it five minutes earlier change your life? It’s already been resolved, so why should I bother talking about it and hurt my own mouth? Did you not hear it? You heard it. If you heard it, that’s enough, why do you keep arguing about it?”
Kim Ryeo-yu checked the wrist Jo Hui-on had grabbed, looking annoyed.
If by any chance a handprint or nail mark was left, it would become a scandal.
These days, people who live on the internet scrutinize every little thing.
How dare you lay your hands on me.
“Instead of this, practice your part one more time. Please. No matter how much my aunt said she’d help you debut, if she debuts someone completely unqualified, she’ll get criticized. Don’t you know about the upward standardization of idols?”
Kim Ryeo-yu scoffed at Jo Hui-on one last time, then went up a step.
But at that moment.
“I’m just going to tell everyone.”
“…! Are you crazy?”
Only then did cracks begin to appear on Kim Ryeo-yu’s perfect face.
“Yeah, as you said, what’s the point of me debuting when I’m so inadequate? I’ll just prepare for college, I guess. Frankly, my ranking is ambiguous anyway. I have nothing to lose.”
Jo Hui-on’s eyes were filled with a venom she had never shown before.
“But you’re different, aren’t you? You’re so close to debuting, really. You could become the most promising rookie from a major agency. Not just an average member, but a core member. What if I expose everything?”
Oh, no.
Kim Ryeo-yu only then realized she had underestimated Jo Hui-on too much.
She had taken her anger out so severely that she had touched Jo Hui-on’s last raw nerve.
‘Ambiguity’.
Being ambiguous sometimes drives people crazier than having no hope at all.
That’s why Jo Hui-on was even more desperate.
The hope that she could truly reach it if she just stretched out her hand a little further, that’s what drove Jo Hui-on crazy.
Kim Ryeo-yu had committed such an act partly out of inferiority complex and anger towards Yun Cheong.
So she had no regrets. She was scared for a moment, but soon arrogantly moved past it.
Because it was resolved well anyway.
But Jo Hui-on was different.
Jo Hui-on had done it reluctantly, driven by the sole desire to debut.
It wasn't that Yun Cheong was a good person, but it wasn't a situation that warranted such a malicious act.
But with Kim Ryeo-yu acting like this, all she wanted to do was quit everything.
“I’d rather just tell everyone. Then at least I’d feel relieved. Debut? I’d rather not do it. Is this the only job in the world?”
In truth, it was half a bluff.
Jo Hui-on was not one to give up those years, that effort, so easily.
Kim Ryeo-yu knew that well too.
Kim Ryeo-yu took another step down the stairs.
Because she just needed to humble herself for a moment.
“So what do you gain from that? Fine. I said some harsh things. I’m also sensitive right now, and the stage is right around the corner, so I was harsh. I admit it. But you, too, huh?”
Kim Ryeo-yu felt a sudden surge of irritation.
Why am I even doing this with her right now?
“That’s enough, let’s talk later. You go to your rehearsal quickly.”
“Then apologize.”
“What?”
“I said, apologize.”
“You really…!”
Kim Ryeo-yu let out a scoff, a hollow laugh.
“No. Do as you please. Do you think Yun Cheong will forgive you just for that? Do as you please. You’ll be living a life where you can’t live normally and get cursed at forever anyway, just like me.”
“She’s at least a better person than you, so she’ll forgive me!”
“I won’t forgive you.”
“!”
A distinct, yet not unfamiliar voice.
The two turned around.
“Someone explain to me at what point I’m supposed to forgive you.”
***
Meanwhile, in the audience.
Among the Colorists, in other words, the fans of ‘Make a New Color,’ ominous rumors were circulating.
“Unnie, did you hear the news?”
“…That Cheong was taken away?”
It was a conversation between those common, generations-long, devoted fans of Colors.
Former Colors All-Fan.
Current Menu-Col Superfan.
Her ultimate bias was, of course, Yun Cheong, and her second bias was Kim Geum.
And lately, she was a Col-duck, occasionally wavering towards Ryu Bo-ra.
“Will Cheong be alright? Our Bo-ra shouldn’t suffer because of this….”
“Hey.”
The Col-duck choked up.
The kid is sick, and all you can think about is your own bias getting hurt.
“Teammates should support each other. The kid is sick, and that’s all you can see? Your kid can at least stand on stage. Our kid is in a situation where we don’t even know if she’ll be able to perform or not, you know?”
“…No, well… there’s a rumor that it’s not that serious.”
“What, are you an insider? Are you an insider? Did you personally see Cheong’s condition? If you carelessly spread rumors, you could get PDF’d.”
Gye-ja, short for ‘Gwangyeja,’ meaning ‘insider.’
“No, this is real life… how can you get PDF’d here?”
“They could scan your face and PDF it. Shhh.”
“That’s too harsh….”
“And if Cheong doesn’t show up, isn’t that an advantage for your kids? Their screen time will increase. I’m already so upset I could die, seriously. Are you trying to make me Col-annoyed?”
“No… why are you suddenly accelerating like this? Whoa, whoa. Col-annoyed? I’m sorry. Calm down.”
Ironically, the Colors’ fans’ greatest enemy was Colors itself.
It was so bad that when Colors fans cursed them out….
There were terms like Col-bastards, Color-bastards, Col-crazy bastards, Col-are-you-crazy, Col-another-tantrum, and so on.
“Our Cheong is strong, so she’ll come out. I believe it. Even if she doesn’t, there must have been a good reason. It’s definitely those bastards at Colors who overworked her vocal cords, or made her diet excessively, or stressed her out with devilish editing. Those bad guys. Are they even feeding our kid three meals a day….”
At this point, just say you hate Colors, Unnie….
At the reaction of the Col-duck, who was a representative of the strong Yun Cheong faction, the Ryu Bo-ra individual fan quietly subsided.
[Thank you for waiting.]
Just then.
A deep yet resonant voice spread through the microphone.
Do Hui-yeong, the host and mentor of Menu-Col, appeared.
It was the start of the third mission’s main stage.
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