A Future That Makes No Sense
I’d gotten closer to the failed idols. ‘This future is completely ridiculous.’
The Grace of Prophecy has never been wrong.
‘Never been wrong, my ass. A group that was on the verge of disbandment somehow goes from three members to five and then sweeps seventeen music show wins? You’ve got to be kidding me.’
It may seem impossible now, but it will come to pass.
‘How?’
Because the one who received the Grace will make it happen. This future already reflects that very will.
I was at a loss for words. After dropping a future like that on me, it was basically telling me to go make it real. What kind of prophecy was this?
All you need to do is follow the path the Lord has prepared. It may feel like wandering in the wilderness right now, but you, Master, will surely lead those children to a land flowing with milk and honey. Do not worry.
It was trying to comfort me with cryptic words. The only way to reach that place was by drowning the Egyptians first. I let out a long sigh.
The screen had vanished, but time was still frozen. Something I wanted to do occurred to me, so I asked the Divine Spirit.
‘Can you hold time a little longer?’
More than one minute is difficult. Once you grow accustomed to the Grace, the duration can be extended.
‘Thirty seconds is plenty.’
I opened the refrigerator in the corner of the living room. I quickly scanned the ingredients I’d bought for cooking. I wanted to know what they usually ate.
‘Done.’
The world flashed, and time began to flow again.
*
After saying goodbye to the girls, I left the dorm with my senior. I’d held it together inside the officetel because of them, but the moment we reached the parking lot, I couldn’t suppress my emotions any longer. The second my hands gripped the steering wheel, it exploded.
“Isn’t this too much? They debut them and then just abandon them because they’re not making money?”
My senior flinched and pressed himself against the passenger door. I was already big, and raising my voice made me even more intimidating.
“Sorry. I just… suddenly got so angry.”
“N-no… honestly, I’m frustrated about it too.”
“Right? They’re supposed to be a girl group. How can the company do this to them?”
I didn’t start the engine. I kept venting, growling out every complaint. If I drove like this, I’d cause an accident. I needed to let the anger out first.
“I understand how you feel, but from the company’s perspective, there are parts they can’t help.”
“What exactly can’t they help?”
“Out of a thousand trainees, maybe one from a doomed group like them actually debuts. The odds are 0.1 percent. Those girls accomplished something truly incredible. They beat those odds.”
I hadn’t realized it was that brutal. The competition really was cutthroat.
“Then do you know how much the company invests in that one debut?”
“No idea.”
“I’ve heard that for groups they actually plan to push, it’s around a hundred million won a year. Usually it’s about fifty million. Red Blossom has five members, so that’s two hundred and fifty million. Factoring in their trainee period, the company already spent seven hundred million before they even debuted.”
My mouth had fallen open without me realizing it. The investment numbers were no joke.
“They promoted for five weeks after debut and spent another five hundred million on albums, music videos, marketing, hair and makeup, and other costs. Every time they release an album, it’s another three to four hundred million.”
My senior sighed and continued.
“From before debut until now, they’ve burned through two billion won. How much do you think they’ve earned back? One billion? Two billion? From the company’s point of view, of course they’re furious.”
I no longer felt angry. The company had poured in money equal to the effort the girls had given.
“They can’t promote properly with too few members, but filling the spots and releasing an album has low odds of success. So they just leave them alone without spending more money. At least they’ll cover living expenses, so the girls should look for another path.”
Ah.
“Given the situation, I thought they’d fold the team and the group entirely. But then you showed up. I don’t know what the company wants, but I doubt your arrival will change much. Two years of accumulated failure weighs too heavily on both our team and Red Blossom.”
He leaned back against the seat and stared out the window. I said nothing, simply started the car.
*****
If you want to help someone, the best thing is to fulfill their needs. That’s why I always get close to a person before I help them. Only after they open up their heart can you truly understand what they need. If you suddenly offer help before building that relationship, you have to be careful. It’s highly likely the person is either rude or a scammer.
“I’m here.”
“Ah, Oppa. Breakfast again today?”
I ran into Lina at the practice room. She said she hated the pitying looks people gave failed idols, so she came in early in the morning when no one was around for personal practice. She also told me she skipped breakfast because she didn’t want to wake her unnies. After hearing that, I started preparing simple breakfasts and bringing them to the practice room.
There was nothing better than sharing a meal to grow closer to someone.
“Sandwich and fruit juice. Is that okay?”
“Hehe, thank you. I love whole wheat bread so much.”
At some point her way of addressing me had changed from Ahjussi to Oppa, and her speech had become much more casual. I’d grown used to the Grace as well, so now I could hear both her English and Korean at the same time. She loved to chatter; in just three days I’d learned every single member’s personal story.
“I auditioned for SN when they held it in California. I didn’t make the final ranking, but one of the judges felt bad for me and introduced me to another company. That’s how I ended up at Pine Entertainment.”
“Yeoreum unnie even has a barista license. She works part-time at a café run by one of her seniors. She says once she quits being an idol or actress, she wants to open her own café.”
“Umm… this is something Yeoreum unnie told me not to say, but we’ve been helping Serah unnie with our part-time earnings. Her mom keeps donating tons of money to the church, so Serah unnie has to give her younger siblings allowance. That’s why we chip in a little. I’m only telling you because it’s you, Oppa.”
The last part stuck with me. A normal church wouldn’t be described as “donating tons of money.”
This seems like something you should look into, Master. That girl named Serah had a shadow over her from the first time I saw her.
‘Yeoreum probably knows the details. I’ll ask once we get a little closer.’
*
“You bought more? There’s nowhere left to put anything in the fridge.”
Since Yeoreum liked cooking, I was winning her over with ingredients. The reason I’d scanned the fridge while time was stopped was to learn what she liked. Thanks to that memory, every time I visited the dorm I stopped by the mart and steadily filled their refrigerator. The cost of all this was, unintentionally, being covered by the head manager.
Two days ago—
The head manager had called me up to his office on the top floor.
“How’s the work going?”
It had only been three days, so honestly I still wasn’t sure. But I couldn’t say that in front of an executive.
“I’m learning a lot from Team Leader Park and Manager Song.”
“Good. The chairman and I have high expectations, so keep up the good work.”
“Yes, sir.”
“And take a look at this.”
He turned his laptop screen toward me after tapping a few keys. It was CCTV footage from the underground parking lot. While I stared at it with a dumbfounded expression, the head manager spoke.
“You really blocked that guy without knowing it was Soyeon… is that true?”
“Yes. After I saw the bodyguards catch him, I turned around and there was actress Cha Soyeon.”
“Wow… even on video it looks brutal. You really fought a guy with a knife for a woman you’d never met before?”
It was understandable that the head manager reacted that way. The CCTV footage looked like… a scene from an action movie shot by drone. In front of a thug charging with a vicious cleaver, I pretended to get stabbed, letting the blade slide past my side. Then I yanked his arm, broke his balance, twisted it, and made him drop the knife. The whole sequence looked so natural that I seemed like some martial arts master.
‘You did that, didn’t you?’
I couldn’t exactly show the asphalt cracking or the knife turning into a squid, could I?
‘Even so, did you have to edit the scene like that?’
It looks cool, doesn’t it?
“I called you up here because I was so moved by this footage that I wanted to give you a reward.”
“A reward?”
“Yes. The chairman already recruited you as an employee, and he said he’d reward Soyeon separately later. So I have to give you something too. After a performance like that, we can’t just let it slide.”
Actress Cha Soyeon had left for the United States right away for a film shoot. She’d said she would repay me properly once she returned.
“Soyeon is so unpredictable that I have no idea what she’ll give you… but since you’re a working adult now, a bonus seems most appropriate, right?”
With that, he handed me an envelope. It looked quite thick.
“Before she was a top actress, Soyeon was like a daughter to me. I’ve watched over her since her debut. Thank you so much for saving her.”
That was how I ended up with a generous food budget.
Back to the present—
“Would you like to stay for dinner? Serah and Lina will be back soon.”
“If you’re offering, I’d love to. I was just going to throw something together at home.”
When I agreed, her face brightened. It hadn’t been a polite formality after all.
“Please wait in the living room for a bit. I’ll get dinner ready soon.”
She tied her hair back and put on an apron. Even in comfortable loungewear with an apron, her face and figure made the whole scene look like a painting.
I was sitting on the old sofa looking at my phone when Serah and Lina walked in.
“Mmm~ something smells good. Oh? It’s Oppa.”
“…Hello.”
They greeted me as soon as they spotted me.
“Welcome back. I was waiting so I could mooch dinner off you.”
“Lame. So you didn’t come here to try something with unnie after all.”
“Lina, you—!”
Yeoreum, who had turned around holding a kitchen knife, looked like pure terror.
“Kyaaaak! I’m sorry!”
Lina vanished into her room in an instant. There was only a two-year age gap, yet they acted like the oldest sister and the youngest.
*
It was just one stew and a few side dishes, but I couldn’t remember the last time food had tasted so good. Eating alone every day must have left me starving for this noisy atmosphere and the warmth of other people. No matter how much of a failed idol group they were, where else would I ever get to eat dinner with girls like this?
“Rooftop room means the room on the actual roof, right?”
When they asked where I lived, I told them about my rooftop place.
“Yeah. It looks like a storage shed from the outside, but it has everything I need, so it’s pretty livable.”
“If it’s on the roof, does that mean you can use the rooftop too?”
“Of course. There’s a wooden platform. At night if you lie there and look up, you can see the stars really well.”
“Wow, I want to see that. Can I come over sometime?”
Lina’s sparkling eyes suddenly appeared right in front of my face. Why did this girl keep sticking so close and making my heart flutter like this?