Experience Count: 1, 0, 0 (4)
April 6th. Late Evening.
Right after returning to Korea, I got slammed with a murderous schedule. Once that was finally over, I really should have gone back to the comfort of my own home today of all days.... But I didn't. Jia's place was much closer, after all.
"Manager-nim. You've worked so hard."
"Yes, yes. You've worked hard too, Jia. Hinami, get home safely."
"Yesss~"
If our manager—who already looked like he'd aged a full ten years in the last one—aged any more, it'd be a real problem. Honestly, even if he quit, they'd just hire someone new, so it didn't matter to me one way or the other... but Jia loved pretending to be nice too much for me to do anything about it.
"Umm... Manager oppa."
"Yes?"
"Could you buy a few cans of beer from the convenience store? We're going to drink them inside, but even with a mask on, my hair color stands out way too much...."
"Hey, Hinami."
But I think all that pretending to be nice is pure bullshit. We have to act cute for the fans since we need to suck money out of them, but the manager is someone we pay. Why bother acting nice to someone like that? It wasn't even a hard favor to ask.
"Why not! We don't have any schedule tomorrow anyway. It's not soju, it's just beer, so it's fine, right? Right, Manager oppa?"
"...Yes. Yes...."
Besides, when you really think about it, working in a world only a masochist could love is already a life-shortening job. So wasn't I actually kinder than Jia, that wicked bitch dangling carrots? How was it any different from a black company boss sweet-talking and coaxing employees so they can't quit? It's not like he was going to film some fresh romance drama between a manager and an idol.
This damn vixen.
"...You should really cut back on the drinking."
"I haven't had a drop in almost two whole weeks, you know?"
"That's because you were too busy to drink. Not that you didn't want to."
"Tomorrow I'm not busy, so I'm going to drink. No problem~"
"The day after tomorrow you're busy again."
"I don't caaare. If I don't drink tonight I won't be able to sleep. Absolutely not."
"...I'll go get it. Hurry up."
"Ah, thank you thank you~"
"Haah...."
Watching our manager's scrawny back as he scurried off at my command, Jia let out a deep sigh. God, this devilish bitch really loved wearing that angel mask. Why did she have to be so damn professional?
She should take after our group's oldest unnie and get herself a boyfriend. Or if not, at least live it up like the second oldest. There was nothing more entertaining than watching the higher-ups scratch their heads in frustration.
"Jia-chan, are you tired?"
"Wouldn't you be?"
"Not me."
"...You already know I am, so why ask like that."
"...Because you are?"
The only reason the group was still holding together was because the maknae and I were solidly supporting it. If we caused a scandal too, it wouldn't be strange for the whole thing to explode instantly.
As for me... I didn't have any particular affection for the group, but I did feel a little something for Jia. Ah, not in that way. More like an attachment to a favorite doll, or a toy that never breaks no matter how rough you play with it. Seeing how she stayed perfectly upright and unshakable no matter how chaotic everything around her got, I honestly felt a sense of awe—even though I was her unnie.
And then she would slowly drag down every single problematic person, one by one. During work hours she would suddenly become impossibly polite.
...I was so curious what would happen when that rigid Jia finally broke.
"Ah, I should check on Unnie too while I'm at it...."
"Why Unnie all of a sudden?"
"...I need to kick her boyfriend out. From the house."
"...Why?"
"I looked into it just to be safe, and his relationships with women are complicated. I know a cheerleader unnie, and apparently while he was dating her, he also made a move on her little sister. So..."
"Ah... okay, okay. I completely understand."
"That kind of thing... ...never mind."
Watching her lay the groundwork to take someone down again from the sidelines made me scared that someday I might become the target. Whew. If I ever got on her bad side, I probably couldn't survive in Korea. Every time I blinked, articles would pop up like weeds: caught smoking privately, caught drinking, caught doing cosplay masturbation at home....
...The last one still hasn't been discovered, at least.
With Jia, it wouldn't even be surprising if she planted listening devices in my house.
"...Ah, seriously. No luck today, either...."
"Huh?"
"Yeeun... ...Jia."
While I was trembling in fear of the terrifying Jia-chan, a very voluptuous, obscenely curvy beige mass walked toward us. Her face was too blurry to make out, but just from the chest I could tell exactly who it was. Her name was... Haeun unnie, right?
...Wow, insane. For someone with breasts like that to walk around in an off-shoulder top was no joke. Mine aren't small either, but damn, I was jealous....
"Oh, hello. Seo Ji... ah, her younger sister."
"...Hello."
While I was distracted by that abundant pile of fat, an equally massive pile of muscle approached as well. His face was distinctive enough that it barely lingered in my memory, but his ridiculously tall height made him instantly recognizable. He was the hyungbu Jia had been cursing about earlier. His name was Juhyeok... Juhyuk oppa?
"The person next to her is the one we saw last time...."
"Ah... yes, yes! Hello! I'm Hinami!"
Unlike the suit he'd worn last time, he was dressed in very comfortable-looking sweats. The only problem was that they were so casual every single one of his muscles was on full display. So even guys with a lot of muscle made their t-shirts stretch tight across the chest like that, huh. The manager oppa who'd been working until we left the dorm had a belly that stuck out like a pot.
...I didn't know where these two with their ridiculously full chests had been, but what they would do once they got inside was pretty obvious.
Hehe.
"...Um, Jia."
"Yes."
"Ah, so... what are you doing here...?"
"...Waiting for the manager."
"Ah.... More schedule?"
"It's finished. I asked him for something, so just a moment."
"...."
In the meantime, Jia grumbling at her sister with such a sunken expression was a rare sight of her being rude. Our Jia-chan, who was kind to everyone from the higher-ups to the managers and staff, turned this dark the moment she met her sister.
...Of course, since the sister had been the one secretly badmouthing her on a private Instagram account, I figured it was somewhat justified self-defense.
Watching Haeun-chan—who hated her sister so much yet didn't know what to do with Jia, her landlord and financial provider—felt like watching a broken version of Jia, which was secretly hilarious. When I'd teased her at the waxing shop last time, she couldn't hide her expression at all. Maybe she was even more fun than Jia? Her durability looked weaker, though. She seemed like she'd break with just a little torment.
"...Um, Hinami-ssi. Are those two not on good terms?"
"Uh... yes?"
"I mean, are the sisters on bad terms?"
"...No comment?"
"Ah, I see."
...The playboy that Haeun-chan kept dragging around with her seemed quite interesting too. Even while his girlfriend and sister-in-law were locked in a power struggle, he subtly slid over to me and asked something like that. He clearly wasn't normal. Logically, living together, he would have to know—so this was definitely him making a move, right?
Wow, I was so happy. If I said yes here, both Jia and Haeun-chan's stress would explode with a bang.
Ahaha.... Well, I had no intention of accepting such a half-hearted advance. Unless he bet his entire life on it.
"Huff... huff... here...?"
"Ah, Manager oppa."
While I was lost in those wicked thoughts, the manager returned faster than expected, panting heavily. The white plastic bag in his hand held exactly four cans of beer. The snack was the konjac jelly we'd grown sick of eating.
...This person listened to the company way more than he listened to idols. I really needed to cut him loose soon. We didn't need anyone else who fit this horrible industry. Seriously.
"Uh... who are these two...?"
"Unnie and Unnie's boyfriend. We live in the same apartment building, so we ran into them."
"Ah...."
"Give me the bag first, Manager-nim."
"Ah, yes, yes."
Our overly competent anchovy of a manager jumped in surprise when he saw Juhyuk oppa, who looked a full head taller than him. At least Jia explained everything cleanly so the confusion was quickly resolved, but then his eyes landed on Haeun unnie's chest beside him and got stolen all over again.
...I'd thought he was gay because he always looked like he was about to drop dead at work, but he just liked big breasts? Yeah, that explained why he was strangely kind only to Jia. This, this—with clear ulterior motives, I should fire him immediately....
"...Ah, um...."
"Ahaha, Manager oppa! What are you looking at, you pervert?"
When Haeun-chan showed clear discomfort in the suddenly awkward atmosphere, I debated keeping my mouth shut but decided to just blurt it out. The reason? I actually wanted to fire him right then and there....
"Ah, um, yes?"
"You must be crazy, this oppa! Ahaha!"
"...."
Or so I thought.
...The guy who'd been hitting on me earlier—Juhyuk oppa? This man had eyes like he wanted to kill someone. What was that, jealousy? Ugh, over a guy like that? But with that expression and that body, couldn't he actually kill someone? It wouldn't be strange at all if he had a dragon tattooed across his back....
"Stop teasing the manager, Hinami."
"But the manager oppa really was...."
"No, no, no, that's not what I was...."
"Go inside. You must be tired."
"......Yes."
That's what I thought, but as Manager oppa returned to the car drowning in shame, I glanced at Juhyuk oppa's face and saw an expression that couldn't have been more refreshed. Then it suddenly turned fierce, so when I looked back, Haeun-chan was staring at Juhyuk oppa.
...Aha, I see. He only pretended to be jealous when his girlfriend was watching? Wow, this guy was high-level. His acting skills were no joke. He'd make it as an actor, seriously.
"...Let's go, Hinami."
"Huh?"
"The manager already left. Aren't you going up?"
"Ah... wait a second."
It felt way too wasteful to just leave this interesting couple behind. A girlfriend with ridiculously vulgarly huge breasts who gets dragged to a waxing shop wearing a dog collar, and a playboy boyfriend with absurdly bulging chest muscles who could act at a professional actor's level? Wow, this was the kind of thing you could hardly find even in American dramas, let alone anime. Totally my taste.
If I dug into them properly, I could use the material as side dishes for months.
"Um, Juhyuk oppa...? Ah, your name is Juhyuk, right?"
"Yes? Me?"
"Ah, that's right.... And Haeun unnie!"
"...Ah, me? You mean me?"
"Would you like to drink with us?"
"Hey, Hinami...."
...And if I mixed in the sister-in-law and her friend as guests, maybe I could stretch the material for years? Well... I still had plenty of time left on my idol contract, so I'd only appear as a supporting character?
Hehe.