Chapter 5
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: If I Do What You Want
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......If I do what you want.
The corner that had been settled on pushing Shin Ye-rin, thanks to Lee Ha-neul taking it on with her otherworldly charm, seemed to have passed without issue somehow.
But during the brief break in the middle of filming that had finally arrived...
The LUNIQUE members were sprawled out in the waiting room, utterly exhausted.
Today's variety show wasn't physically demanding—it was mentally draining.
Despite their forced efforts to hype up the set atmosphere, which had tanked due to Shin Ye-rin's condition issues, Na PD still wasn't satisfied and tightly controlled the site, practically killing the girls with his rigidity.
'And the one suffering the most, naturally, is Shin Ye-rin.'
She seemed aware that all these problems stemmed from her own voice, and since entering the waiting room, she hadn't opened her mouth much at all.
Instead, she kept glancing my way. Like an abandoned puppy.
Inner Thoughts: Conflict, Depression, Anxiety, Nervousness, Anticipation
'Anticipation.'
I finally realized it.
The fact that I was the only breakthrough in this situation.
The moment that thought crossed my mind.
-Bang!
"Hey, Shin Ye-rin! Are you out of your mind?!"
Department Head Choi Hyeong-gyu burst into the waiting room, his shiny bald head gleaming like frozen nuts in the dead of winter, and unleashed his fury directly at Shin Ye-rin.
"I've been holding back, but I can't take this anymore!"
"Pardon? Me?"
"How long are you going to keep being a burden? Huh?!"
"Do I look like I'm doing this on purpose? I'm the most frustrated person here—why are you coming at me like this, Department Head?"
Just like that, Shin Ye-rin snapped back with her round eyes wide open, no trace of her earlier meekness. Department Head Choi let out a sharp breath and exploded.
"Shin Ye-rin, is that what you call words right now? If you're going to throw a fit about not being able to record, at least take care of your throat! But no—you wrecked it even more, wasted the engineers' whole day two days ago with your stubbornness, and today you drag the team leader in to grovel?!"
"What am I supposed to do if it's not working? Do you think I'm sabotaging it on purpose?"
"It'd be better if you were doing it on purpose, you brat! The company's PR team is killing themselves covering for your lip-sync, and you feel nothing?!"
"......"
Under the thunderous barrage of Department Head Choi's rage, Shin Ye-rin couldn't squeeze out another word.
At that moment, as the atmosphere chilled icily and the other LUNIQUE members bowed their heads like sinners...
Department Head Choi spotted me watching from behind and swung a slap right at me.
"You bastard! What the hell did you feed this girl to cause all this shit?!"
-Slap!
'Fuck, that hurts.'
A burning sensation spread across my cheek.
Department Head Choi roughly yanked his tie loose, still fuming, and showered me with curses.
"Can't even manage your own celebrity properly and you call yourself a manager? What the hell are you?!"
"I'm sorry."
"Fuck... seriously..."
A celebrity's screw-up is the manager's fault.
As Department Head Choi's ire turned to me, the waiting room turned into a frozen hellscape.
The air grew so cold it chilled the lungs, and even the prideful Shin Ye-rin held her breath, not daring to make a peep amid his extreme anger.
To make matters worse, Park Ji-woo stepped up to try calming him, but...
"Department Head, please go easy. I'll take better care of Ye-rin."
"Stop. I don't want to yell at you too."
"......"
She could only back off under his ferocious momentum.
In that gap, I subtly lifted my head to glance at Shin Ye-rin.
I'd been wondering what the now-silent Shin Ye-rin was doing—she couldn't even bring herself to look up, her clenched fists trembling violently.
'She's scared.'
Shin Ye-rin was terrified.
Probably because I'd taken a slap because of her, and she feared I'd hold a grudge over today's events.
As I thought that, Shin Ye-rin mustered her courage and slowly raised her wavy blonde head.
Spotting me watching her, her pupils dilated sharply.
The status window changed.
Inner Thoughts: Conflict, Depression, Anxiety, Nervousness, Anticipation → Fear, Depression, Anxiety, Nervousness
The anticipation Shin Ye-rin had held toward me vanished, replaced by pure fear.
Her face drained of color, her shoulders visibly shaking.
Watching her like that, the heat from the slap on my cheek faded entirely, my mind cooling to ice.
It felt like all the blood in my body surged to my dick, twisted by dark desire.
What would it feel like to shove my cock into Shin Ye-rin in this state? Just imagining it sent dopamine racing through me, every hair standing on end with thrill.
Soon, Shin Ye-rin hurriedly broke eye contact after a few seconds and shouted at Department Head Choi.
Her voice was pale just to hear.
"I-I'll record tomorrow!"
"......What?"
Department Head Choi Hyeong-gyu's gaze shifted to her amid his heavy breathing.
"What, now? Your voice isn't even coming out right. That's why you threw that fit to skip the corner. Right?"
"Even if my voice doesn't come out, I'll make it work however it does. I'll do exactly as I'm told from now on. Sorry for being a burden, Department Head."
Not expecting an apology like this from her, Department Head Choi stared at me wide-eyed.
And the LUNIQUE members, who knew her personality best, couldn't hold back their emotions any longer.
"Hiiing..."
Cookie, who had been biting her lower lip with her bunny front teeth, suddenly burst into pitiful sobs. Her waist-length brown wavy hair swayed with each heaving shoulder.
Cookie had been on edge since I got slapped, and seeing Shin Ye-rin swallow her pride and apologize must have broken the dam on her emotions.
Triggered by Cookie's sobs, Yoon Chae-rin—who'd been quietly holding back—clenched her jaw, fighting tears.
"Don't cry..."
"Unniii... Hng..."
As the members one by one started tearing up, the sudden villain of the piece, Department Head Choi, awkwardly wrapped things up.
"Tch, you should have done that from the start... Why wait till everything blows up to come to your senses?"
"Sorry..."
"Alright. Now that you get it, do better, Ye-rin. You know we believe in you a lot."
"Yes..."
"I'll put in a good word with Team Leader Lee for you, so just focus on not straining your throat more. Got it? And sorry for hitting our Kim Manager. Yeah?"
With that excuse about cooling off, Department Head Choi Hyeong-gyu left the waiting room.
The remaining LUNIQUE members all eyed me cautiously.
They probably never expected the manager to get slapped over Shin Ye-rin's condition.
Yoon Chae-rin, whose tears somehow stayed hidden, fiddled with her black hair and sidled up to me carefully.
"Um, Sung-woo oppa. You okay?"
"Ah, yeah, I'm fi—"
I started to reassure Yoon Chae-rin, who looked up at me with her big eyes, but stopped when I met Shin Ye-rin's gaze.
Her heart must be pounding the hardest in this situation—no one more than Shin Ye-rin herself—and sure enough, her face was bloodless even before our eyes met.
-Ding!
Mental state severely damaged due to temporary decline in vocal ability.
Psychological state extremely unstable. If fear and anxiety are left unchecked, high risk of developing mental illness.
Perfect timing for an update.
"Ha..."
"......!"
As I let out a deep sigh, Shin Ye-rin flinched. She was probably reading way too much into every little action of mine right now, and I added a bit to fuel it.
"Sorry. I'm gonna step out for some air, so rest up."
I opened the waiting room door with a weary voice and left.
Not a single LUNIQUE member tried to stop me as I walked out.
Even Yoon Chae-rin right beside me parted her plump lips as if to say something, then closed them and let me go quietly.
But there was definitely someone who would follow soon.
-Click.
The waiting room door shut, and I walked down the hall.
And.
One, two, three.
Counting silently to three in my head, the sound of the LUNIQUE waiting room door opening again rang out.
A trembling voice called after me.
"......Manager!"
"......"
The idol who spat out "Kim Sung-woo" like gravel now called me "Manager" to stop me in my tracks.
I turned around to see Shin Ye-rin standing there from the waiting room, looking like a frightened puppy.
"......Let's talk. Just for a bit."
This was the moment I'd been waiting for.
The past three months had been a dark period for LUNIQUE, but the girl group itself was A-grade in value.
And securing an extra empty waiting room wasn't hard for an A-grade group.
As Shin Ye-rin and I entered the vacant room, she immediately bowed her head. Her wavy blonde hair cascaded down.
"Sorry."
I'd expected her to be wary of me given her mental state, but not an instant apology.
Still, it didn't feel genuine.
Inner Thoughts: Anxiety, Fear, Terror, Nervousness
'This isn't an apology because you're sorry to me.'
If Shin Ye-rin truly wanted to apologize to me, there'd be 'regret' or 'guilt' in her inner thoughts.
But nothing. In the end, she was just scared my slapped cheek would turn into resentment against her.
Thinking that, a sneer escaped me involuntarily.
No need to hold back the laugh anymore.
"Save the apology. If that's all, I'm out."
"What? Then what else should I have said?"
"Why ask me? Didn't you come here because you've already figured out what you need to do?"
"That's..."
Shin Ye-rin averted her eyes, hit right on the mark.
I patted her shoulder lightly, and she flinched back like I'd touched her with a bug.
I said flatly to her,
"Whatever. Think hard during the remaining time. I'm considering just quitting the company too, I'm so pissed."
"......What? Then what about my, my throat?"
Her eyes shook in panic.
I shrugged.
"Why ask me? Have you done anything helpful for me? And yet you think I should fix your throat out of obligation?"
"Well, because you're the manager..."
"Hold up, Ye-rin. If you're about to say 'managers are supposed to take care of their celebrities,' don't. I have no intention of handling a celebrity who treats people worse than the neighbor's mutt, and I have zero reason to feel responsible for vocal cords that didn't go bad because of me."
"......"
Unable to retort to my sharp words, she slowly lowered her head.
Whatever was so humiliating, she trembled with tightly clenched fists, holding back tears.
Seemed like she had nothing more to say, so I reached for the waiting room door to end it.
Right then.
"......If I do what you want, you'll fix my throat problem right away, right? For sure?"
I paused from grabbing the handle and turned to her. She wore a hurt puppy expression, chewing her lip.
"Obviously. I keep my promises."
"......I'll do it."
"What?"
"Whatever you tell me to! I said I'll do it!"
Finally, I heard the answer I wanted from Shin Ye-rin.