Reunion (1)
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Ahyun had no idea the video was spreading like wildfire. She was out drinking heavily with Rose, their conversation naturally revolving around Jin Haesol.
They missed him so much it hurt, cursed him for being too busy to even show his face, then suddenly challenged each other to prove who loved him more. Somehow, the talk veered into dirty territory—no one remembered who started it.
Their unfiltered bedroom stories soon turned into gasps of shock. It wasn't unfamiliar territory; they'd naturally ended up in a threesome during Haesol's last vacation trip. As the lewdness escalated, Rose suddenly said,
"Don't you think that guy's got other girls besides us?"
"...You noticed too?"
"His stamina's insane. We figured out early on he wouldn't be satisfied with just the two of us. Sigh~ It's so unfair that guys can cheat and we can't say a word."
"You're the one who stole someone else's man like a stray cat! And you're saying that to me with a straight face?"
"Why bring that up again? Didn't we settle it?"
"Tch, it just hit me out of nowhere!"
Why do I keep meeting up with this woman? Ahyun always swore after every get-together that she'd never see her again. It was all because of those sudden spikes of jealousy.
Yet that resolve vanished every time, and here she was, pounding drinks with Rose unnie again. The weird thing was, Rose never once turned down an invitation.
"You don't have any friends, do you, unnie?"
"...I get that you hate me."
"That's why you keep hanging out with me. We're not close enough to chat like besties."
"What~ Don't we get closer the more we meet?"
"You're crazy! Why would I get close to you? I hate it!"
Ahyun recoiled in horror. But Rose thought differently.
"I'm gonna marry Jin Haesol. You're young, so you might break up with him someday. But I've got age on my side. Once the academy stabilizes, I wanna have a kid soon."
"!!"
"When you're just dating, you can get jealous and mad if other girls cling to your man. But since I'm thinking marriage, fighting with rivals is less important than building good relationships. That's how he'll marry me."
"I-I didn't know you were serious about marriage. Haesol's too young for that."
Ahyun felt a surge of crisis. Of course, if she ever married, her husband would obviously be Jin Haesol—no other man even crossed her mind. But his youth meant she'd never seriously considered it. Her vague imaginings stopped at him being the father of her future kids.
Yet unbeknownst to her, this rival was already plotting for marriage and the future! No wonder the woman had been so friendly without reason.
"So you did have an ulterior motive!! Calling me unnie out of nowhere, saying you wanna get along—all lies!!"
"Hehehe! You're cute. Not all lies. I really do wanna get along with you. Think about it. Guys get sick of girls fighting. And he's got more than just us. Instead of scrapping, we should team up and keep the others in check. The enemy of my enemy is my friend, right?"
Infuriatingly, Ahyun couldn't argue. Was this what experience felt like? She felt humiliated by her own immaturity.
I might never beat her.
"I'll get married too. No!! I'll beat you to the altar and have kids first!!"
"...You're something else."
Rose shook her head at Ahyun's childish, cheeky ambition. Every time she saw behavior like that, she questioned what she was doing with a kid like her.
"Marriage right now's impossible anyway. Haesol mentioned after his contract ends in seven years."
Precisely a little over five years from now. It wasn't time to get specific yet.
"What matters now is meeting the other girls he's seeing. We need to size them up to figure out our next move."
"Do we have to meet them? I don't wanna. It's horrifying."
Ahyun wasn't mentally tough enough to face confirmation of other women with her own eyes.
"Toughen up!! With that attitude, you'll just get played by them!"
"You're playing me too, unnie!!"
"......"
Rose averted her guilty eyes from Ahyun's accusatory glare. The fuming girl chugged her drink.
"You're drinking more these days?"
"This is all your fault, unnie. I only drink when I'm with you!"
"Am I corrupting an innocent girl?"
"Hmph! Whatever. Tell me more. Got any info on who Haesol's seeing?"
"Promise to keep it secret from Haesol, and I'll spill."
Ahyun bit her lip at Rose's loaded words. Clearly, the woman planned to drag her around again—but she had no choice but to play along.
"I hate this so much."
"Hohoho!"
"Fine, secret. I promise. So spill—who is it?"
"Yeah, for sure. Remember that web drama Haesol did? The female lead, Han Minyeong!"
At the name, Ahyun's eyes sharpened.
"Han Minyeong? She's dating Haesol? How do you know?"
Infuriating, but the actress was stunningly pretty, befitting her profession. Ahyun ground her teeth, recalling the woman's sparkling beauty and wondering why she hadn't blown up sooner.
"Coincidence. Haesol stepped out for a sec, and she texted. The content? Hilarious."
Ahyun's ears perked up.
"What'd she say?"
"Wanted to suck his dick."
"Gasp!"
"Said she's going crazy wanting to swallow his cum."
"S-She texted that?! Pervert!"
"Right?! Quiet cat jumps on the stove first—total case of that. So opposite her innocent face, so sneaky! We gotta deal with her."
"You mean break them up?! Is that even possible?"
"...I'd love to, but if Haesol finds out, we're screwed. I told you, I need to marry him? What I mean is establishing hierarchy. And if we're lucky, she'll freak out knowing about us and bail."
"Hope so."
"Don't get your hopes up. She's no ordinary girl. That won't happen. You just back me up. Make her admit she's at the bottom. You don't wanna get bossed around and end up last, right?"
Obviously. Sharing Haesol was maddening enough—being dead last among the girls? No way.
Suddenly glaring at Rose, Ahyun asked,
"But something's off. What's our hierarchy? Why am I naturally second? I'm first!"
"Hehe, you think you can properly rank her below us?"
"Why not? I can!"
"Hmm~? You'll really have a kid before me? Marry first? Once you have a baby, no more music—you love that. All personal time gone. No more friends."
"......"
She knew raising kids wasn't easy. Rose kept impressing that Ahyun was forcing it before she was ready.
Ahyun surrendered. Infuriating, but Rose's logic was ironclad. She could talk big, but facing Han Minyeong, could she be as confident and haughty as Rose?
I hate it, but she's right for this. Not me.
For Haesol—and herself—Ahyun swallowed her boiling jealousy.
"Fine. I'll be second. But you handle the hierarchy perfectly. All of them, even future ones."
"Obviously! No regrets. Alliance cheers? Clink?"
"...Clink!"
They had no clue. There was Jin Jua, the original wife who dwarfed Han Minyeong! Not to mention Nam Jeonghwa, Jua's mom, standing firm.
"Noona, we're heading back the week after next, right?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah! Right."
"No last-minute schedules, promise?"
"I said we're going. You guys always falling for it?"
"Yeees~!!! We've been tricked!!!"
Ki Uyeon wailed like a dinosaur at Manager Noona's words. She'd sworn we'd fly out Monday. But here it was Friday, and we were still stuck in Zao.
"What am I supposed to do? You're too damn popular here!! Zao fans are insane!! I'm turning down schedules non-stop."
Like she said, we were hot in Winpuo, but Zao exploded it. Our fanclub there was over three times Korea's. Go where the money is, they say—and one gig paid a fortune. Our rates hit eight figures; the company crammed every non-rest minute with work to milk the hype.
"Honestly, noona, the schedule was too packed. Kang Jun collapsed. No vacation, and we can't hold out."
After squeezing every drop of stamina—Kang Jun finally crashing—the money-blind company snapped back. He wasn't the only issue; no one was unscathed. They finally granted vacation.
Our first real break in three—no, nearly four months.
"Settlement's coming soon, right? This one's fat, but next? Jackpot. Easily eight figures. Don't be too bummed. We worked hard for everyone's good."
Eight-figure settlement. The word alone thrilled. Even drained, thinking of it refilled the tank.
"Settlement hehehe!"
"Hyungs!! What'll you do with yours?"
"Give it to parents."
"All of it?!"
"Don't bullshit, Kang Jun. I'm buying a gaming console."
With a fat payout, I could snag my wishlist. Top: toys for Taeyang. Then gifts for my girls. Last: a car. Not sure on the exact sum, so I made a hopeful list and waited.
Days dragged like waiting for discharge. Finally, we boarded for home.
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