Chapter 144
Chapter 144
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 144
Chapter Title: Failed Persuasion
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"Could you say that one more time?"
"If we just sleep together..."
Jeong Eun-seong, who had been rubbing his eyes with a drowsy expression, froze in place. I shut my mouth for a moment and stood there, giving him time to reflect on what he'd just said.
"......"
"......"
"No! No! No! That's not it!"
Not what he thought! Jeong Eun-seong waved his hands frantically. He seemed genuinely flustered, hopping in place. The commotion made Jang Ji-won, who had been out cold, stir.
"Ugh..."
"That's not what I meant! I'm not that kind of person! I'm not!"
"Sure."
"I'm really not! I'm pure!"
"Got it. Thanks for the info."
If I teased him any more, Jeong Eun-seong might actually cry. I soothed him roughly and looked around the dim room.
A spacious dorm with the bed frame removed, leaving only blankets and pillows; friends' bags tossed haphazardly in the corner; faint light filtering in through the balcony. And Jang Ji-won, snoring away peacefully.
I'd sent a KakaoTalk to Ye-su-a saying I'd brought Jang Ji-won, so it should be fine for us to slip out now...
"But I'm not sleepy."
Had I drunk too much of the oolong tea Gyeong Se-in brought? My eyes were wide awake. Does oolong tea have a lot of caffeine? Nah, probably not.
Then maybe it wasn't the oolong tea, but Jeong Eun-seong sitting next to me that was keeping me up.
"......"
I'll blame the oolong tea.
Oolong tea, you bastard, mocking me.
"At this rate, I might be up all night."
"Perfect. Me too."
Jeong Eun-seong quickly changed his tune after hearing me.
"Can't sleep a wink."
I stared at Jeong Eun-seong's handsome face, which had been tinged with melancholy lately, as he brazenly widened his eyes.
"Then, Jeong Eun-seong, want to talk a bit before bed?"
Just us two. Pretend Jang Ji-won sleeping over there doesn't exist for now.
"...Of course, separately. In our own rooms."
Co-sleeping with minors is illegal, after all.
Jeong Eun-seong nodded at my words.
"I love talking."
"Yeah."
Sit here. I sat Jeong Eun-seong on the floor and dragged my suitcase over, perching on top of it.
It was the suitcase Jeong Eun-seong had bought me.
"......"
A close brother's betrayal, group members doing drugs, premarital pregnancy, drunk driving hit-and-run, endless press conferences. Doubts like, 'He's the same kind of guy, right? It doesn't make sense that he's the only different one in the group.'
Jeong Eun-seong's unhappy future, which only I knew about in the current timeline.
And if the job he had to endure all that for wasn't even what he'd originally dreamed of, meaning he'd have to take a long detour from his true dream in the end.
If there was anything I could say to help Jeong Eun-seong.
Now was the time.
"Hold on. Want some water? Oolong tea?"
"No. Tastes bad."
"Saying that makes the oolong tea feel mocked."
"Ha."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ To cut to the chase.
I failed to convince Jeong Eun-seong.
"So, what you're saying, Kang Da-hye, is..."
I know it was overstepping. Telling someone about their future when I barely knew the details.
Still, I believed Jeong Eun-seong—someone who'd been through events with me, agonized, and made promises—would at least hear me out seriously.
And he did listen seriously.
His reaction was just negative.
"You want me not to debut?"
"Not that I want you not to... Just think it over carefully until the end and choose."
"Why?"
"Because it'll change your life."
Don't think about the quickest way to make money or anything like that. Think only of your own happiness. Make the most selfish choice.
"If there's even the slightest hesitation... if it's not what you truly want."
"It is what I want."
"It's not."
You said you wanted to be an actor, not a singer.
I stared straight at Jeong Eun-seong sitting in the corner. He lowered his eyes under my gaze.
"It might not be what I want to do, but it's still what I want."
"But."
The guys debuting with you are all thugs.
But if I said that, he'd ask how I knew. I bit my lip and rephrased.
"...Maybe you don't like the people debuting with you."
"Do you like everyone in our class so much that you go to school?"
"That's different."
"It's the same. Adults decide for me with no say, and I'm stuck with them all day."
"Class changes after a year, but they won't. And that's... a team."
Even I, who never cared about celebrities, knew that. They say 7-1=0.
"Jeong Eun-seong, I'm not telling you to quit right now and leave the agency. Just... think about what's best for you."
"You don't get it."
"......"
"I have to debut. No matter how shitty the company is, how hard it gets... doesn't matter."
"......"
"Even if I can't sleep peacefully a single day because of the group members... I'll do it. As long as it's not a path to ruin. No matter what."
"Why?"
Why go that far? I asked. Jeong Eun-seong couldn't answer. That only made me more curious.
Why do you have to?
"Because of your age? Think you're too old?"
"Doesn't matter."
"Because it's a big agency now?"
"Doesn't matter."
"You like the people at the company?"
"Definitely not."
"Then?"
He fell silent, not responding.
After staring at the floor for a long time, Jeong Eun-seong looked up at me. Was it my imagination? There was resentment in his eyes. Like he was hurt by my prying.
Jeong Eun-seong spoke.
"...Kang Da-hye. You don't get it."
"......"
"You don't know anything."
No.
I do know.
That's why I'm saying it.
"...Yeah. You're right. I don't know. So tell me."
"If I don't debut...!"
Jeong Eun-seong's voice, which had risen for a moment, dropped sharply.
Even with those resentful, bitter eyes, he didn't raise his voice at me. He was kind by nature.
The kind Jeong Eun-seong whispered.
"I'm bad at studying, unlike that guy you liked, I can't even speak my mind properly, I don't have much money... so if I don't debut."
I have ...nothing for you...... The last words were so faint I could barely hear them.
"...Whatever it is, is it worth gambling your future on?"
"Yeah. It is."
"......"
"I don't want to talk about this."
Jeong Eun-seong stood up after finishing.
He stood as if he might leave any second, but instead of going, he drew the curtains. He adjusted the AC temperature, and tidied up my shoes, which were a mess from carrying Jang Ji-won in.
I called out to Jeong Eun-seong, who was acting like he was preparing my bedding.
"Jeong Eun-seong."
"......"
"I don't want you to be unhappy. I want you to make the best choice for yourself."
"...Kang Da-hye, you know. Sometimes people have something so important they're willing to risk unhappiness for it."
Jeong Eun-seong, who had approached, placed a pillow on my lap as I sat on the suitcase.
He hesitated, then carefully raised his hand. Jeong Eun-seong's finger pressed my lips.
He pulled away my bitten lower lip and added.
"Something important... and precious."
Jeong Eun-seong left without turning back.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Was there a problem with my approach?
I'd sat with some distance because I thought being together in the dark might make me nervous, but maybe that was the mistake.
Should I have sat knee-to-knee, held hands so he couldn't escape, locked eyes, and talked?
Then grabbed his collar, shaken him, and demanded, 'Spit out the truth! What the hell is that precious thing? Why can't you say it proudly?!'
......Anyway.
'Did we fight?'
I spied on Jeong Eun-seong through my phone screen. He was sitting alone one row ahead of the back thugs' seats on the bus, arms crossed, curtains drawn, dozing off.
Ye-su-a, peeking from across the aisle, called out to me.
"Kang Da-hye, why'd you crash so early last night?"
"Sorry... I was sleepy."
"Makes sense. Who wouldn't be after sneaking into someone else's school dorm for Jang Ji-won."
Kim Ga-eun, sitting next to Ye-su-a, grinned rottenly.
"She's totally insane, right?"
"Seems like she'll never get her act together."
Ye-su-a sighed, stretching her neck to glance at Jang Ji-won, who was smirking at her phone next to the homeroom teacher up front.
"Oh yeah. What happened with Jin-ha and Jeong Na-jun?"
"No idea. Jeong Na-jun's sneakier than he looks... Acts like he knows everything but slips away at crucial moments."
"Hmm..."
"Hey, kids!"
The homeroom teacher suddenly popped up from her seat, turning around and draping her arm over the backrest. Looking out the window, the bus was pulling into some parking lot.
"Let's start the survival game!"
She mimed loading a gun and firing bursts.
"Everyone but me dies!"
To my ears, that sounded like,
'One hour until Jeong Eun-seong's cheek gets scarred!'