Turning Point
Back in my room, I took a quick shower and collapsed straight into bed.
My eyelids felt heavy as lead, so I shut my eyes at once—but…
Ah…
Maybe it was everything that had happened today, but sleep refused to come.
Worries about Lee Hyejeong drifted up first—was she all right, what would become of her health going forward—and after that…
It burns.
The frustration of knowing I was about to lose the center position tomorrow began to settle in my chest. Earlier I'd told myself it was fine, but lying here in the dark, every feeling sharpened and swelled.
Center… I want it. I want to do it.
But if I simply declared tomorrow that I was taking center with no alternative plan to offer, it would be nothing more than a tantrum.
I reached over, switched on the tablet PC I'd brought back from the practice room, and started playing the choreography video on pure impulse.
I'd watched it dozens—hundreds—of times by now. Just looking at it made my body answer on its own. As for the song, the hardest parts had gone to main vocal Lee Hyejeong, so nothing in it was beyond me. The real problem was still that cold expression I couldn't seem to shake.
"Haa…"
I ran the choreography five more times. Nothing new surfaced, so I closed the video.
Instead…
Hm? There's a music video too?
The original track by the idol group Tailoz—Where Is My First Love!—had its MV saved right beside the choreography file. I hit play.
The melody I already knew by heart poured out, and the members of Tailoz appeared on screen. They were wearing school uniforms.
Where are you, the one who'll take this racing heart
My first love—!
True to the concept, every member wore a bright, pure smile that never left her face. Smiles I could never produce in a lifetime.
"Haa…"
Watching them only made the knot in my chest tighter. The MV ended, and with nothing better to do, I started it over.
And then—
"Ahh… so that's how it all connects."
I noticed something. The music video had a storyline—vague in places, but unmistakably there.
Roughly summarized, Where Is My First Love! went like this:
A plain, gloomy high-school girl who doesn't know how to dress herself up and always ends up alone. Friendless, she buries herself in books and dreams of a love of her own while reading romance novels. The next day, a male student teacher is assigned to her class. The moment she sees him, her heart starts racing—and she sheds the gloomy shell, transforming into a stunning beauty that leaves everyone around her stunned. The MV ends with her confessing her feelings to the student teacher.
"Following the storyline makes so many little details jump out."
Hoping something useful might surface if I kept watching, I looped the MV again. By around the twentieth replay, I almost felt as if I were the girl on screen. Just as I was dissolving into the video—
…Huh?
I caught it. Those Tailoz members who beamed sunnily from start to finish—there were moments when they weren't smiling at all.
"If I play this right…"
…it might actually be worth trying.
There was just one problem.
"Will that bratty Seo Yujin even listen to me…"
I'd already had a run-in with her before coming back to the room. From everything I'd seen so far, Seo Yujin was petty enough that she'd still be sulking about it when I saw her tomorrow.
"Oh, right…"
I'll talk to Yujin myself. So just head back for today, okay?
Right before we parted, Park Yujeong had said she'd handle talking to Seo Yujin.
"But… what could a sweet kid like Yujeong even say to her…"
Park Yujeong was as kind as Lee Hyejeong and just as incapable of delivering a harsh word. There was no way a wild horse like Seo Yujin would take anything to heart from a gentle conversation.
"Ugh… I guess I'll just have to talk to her myself tomorrow."
Either way, I had found a way to hold onto the center spot—and a way to raise the stage's overall quality on top of it. Telling myself I'd persuade Leader Seo, who was sure to be in a full sulk by morning, I finally drifted off to sleep.
Her back ached and the atmosphere was terrifying enough to bring tears to her eyes—but Seo Yujin was not the type to just sit there and take it.
Sh-she dares hit me…!
Strictly speaking, it hadn't been a hit so much as a shove into the wall—but still!
Seo Yujin scraped together what courage she had and peeped up at Park Yujeong, who was looking down at her.
"W-what do you think you're doing…!"
"……"
"I'm going to go outside and tell everyone! That you hit me and cursed at me! Yerin unni and Hyejeong unni too—I'll tell them all…"
Before she could finish, Park Yujeong's hand settled on her collarbone.
And then—
"Still not getting it, huh?"
She pressed down hard with her thumb.
"Kya—kyaaaah!! I-I'm sorry! P-please stop…! Hwaaang—!"
The sharp, unfamiliar pain finally broke Seo Yujin into tears. Her fragile frame was already flushed an angry red.
It hurts…! It hurts so much…!
Naturally—having never been struck once in her life—Seo Yujin had zero tolerance for pain. While she was still reeling, Park Yujeong stroked her cheek and spoke.
"Go ahead, Yujin. Tell the unnis. Tell the production staff. Tell them I hit you in the bathroom. But do you really think anyone will believe you?"
"……!"
There were no cameras here. There was not a shred of evidence that Park Yujeong had laid a hand on her. And with Yujeong's publicly sweet image, no one would buy the story that she'd been the one to hit anyone.
Realizing just how thorough Park Yujeong was, Seo Yujin trembled, tears spilling down her face. Watching her, Park Yujeong let out a short, dry laugh and went on.
"I only want one thing. Our team. Everyone's older than you, and every single one of them wants to be an idol just as badly as you do. So… show us some respect."
"……"
"Tomorrow morning, you apologize to Yerin unni and the other unnis for acting like a spoiled brat this whole time. Got it?"
Seo Yujin nodded rapidly.
"Yujin. When a person asks you something out loud, you answer out loud."
"Y-yes…! I will from now on…!"
"Good. That's my Yujin. Such a good girl."
Park Yujeong patted her head with a look of fond approval.
But then—
She seized a fistful of Seo Yujin's hair and leaned in to whisper against her ear.
"Kya—kyaak!!"
"Try acting like a little shit one more time. Then I'll drop debut myself and fucking destroy you. I'll make sure you never even dream of being an idol again. Understood?"
"…Y-yes. I-I'm sorry…! Hic… hhk…"
The tears came pouring again; she couldn't hold them back. After watching for a moment, Park Yujeong released her hair and helped her up off the floor.
"Wipe your face before you leave. If your crying face ends up on broadcast, I'll kill you."
"O-okay…. Hhk…"
Seo Yujin scrubbed at her eyes over and over, trying to stop the tears. They wouldn't dry. Park Yujeong clicked her tongue once and stepped out first.
"This isn't working. I'm going ahead. Remember everything I said today, clean yourself up, and then come out."
The moment she crossed the bathroom threshold back into camera range, Park Yujeong's face transformed—bright and sunny as ever.
"Okay then, Yujin! I'm heading back first! And tomorrow we give it our all again, got it?"
"……"
"T-tomorrow… hhk… s-see you tomorrow, unni…"
The sight of that cheerful face only made Seo Yujin cry harder. Even after she returned to her room, she kept thinking of Park Yujeong and wept without end.
It was a day Seo Yujin would never forget for the rest of her seventeen years.
Having failed to settle the center issue the day before, our team got up well before the official wake-up time and gathered in the practice room for a meeting.
Lee Hyejeong still hadn't returned from the hospital. Han Siwoo had said she should be back today, though, so all we could do was wait.
"……"
"……"
Hyejeong in the hospital, a midterm evaluation that had gone far worse than expected, too little sleep, and an early start—none of the members had anything to say. The already sour mood was turning colder by the second when someone finally broke the silence.
"Um… Yerin unni."
The one opening the conversation was—
"…What is it, Yujin?"
—Seo Yujin. She kept her head bowed, fidgeting, and then—
"Yesterday… I'm sorry for the harsh things I said…"
"……!"
"……!"
"……!"
—she apologized to me.
My eyes went wide. I had never seen this coming. The other members stared at her with their mouths open, equally stunned. And why wouldn't they? That completely unhinged Seo Yujin, apologizing…?
The surprises didn't stop there.
"Um… I want to apologize to the other unnis too. For being so rude this whole time… I'm sorry."
She was apologizing not just to me, but to the lower-ranked members as well.
"Ah—no, it's fine. Haha."
"I-it's okay, Yujin."
Still dazed, the members accepted her apology. Seo Yujin bowed her head to them once more. Looking closer, her eyes seemed a little swollen.
Did she… cry?
As if she'd been crying last night.
…What happened after I left yesterday?
Park Yujeong had definitely said she was going to talk to Seo Yujin. Had Yujeong actually given her a scolding…?
The thought crossed my mind for a second—then I shook my head.
…Nah. No way. Sweet Yujeong would never do that.
Then… could it be…?
Hey.
Say that one more time. What did you just say?
Was it because of the way I'd scowled at her right before we parted yesterday…?
…It was possible. My face turned terrifying the moment I so much as frowned. Seo Yujin must have been thoroughly rattled—enough to bend her personality and even apologize.
Either way… isn't this a good opportunity?
I'd been thinking Seo Yujin would be the biggest obstacle to the proposal I was about to make. But looking at her so thoroughly deflated… I could probably speak freely.
"So… I was thinking about something last night…"
I rode the shift in atmosphere and carefully brought it up.
"What if we… try rearranging the song a little?"
"A rearrangement?"
At the mention of rearranging again, the members tilted their heads. Seo Yujin raised her hand and spoke hesitantly.
"Um… I'm really not trying to pick a fight, but… we already decided yesterday not to rearrange. Because it would mess up the original concept…"
"I came up with a rearrangement idea that can still protect the original concept."
"…What is it?"
"We go all in on the nerd angle as the main focus."
"…Nerd?"
The members looked at me as if they had no idea what I was talking about. I grinned.
"Come on, everyone—take a look at this."
I pulled out the tablet PC I'd brought with me the night before.