Parents as Obstacles
"Thank you all for your hard work, everyone~. That wraps up Week Two filming! Come on, a round of applause!"
Clap, clap, clap, clap.
The set, emptied of its audience.
The moment every contestant had gathered, Main PD Shin PD declared the end of Week Two filming.
"Next week's Week Three shoot for My Idol Academia will be the same as this one — the Saturday right after the broadcast. Make sure you all watch the show carefully~. Rest well for the week!"
"Thank you for your hard wor—"
Just as the collective words of appreciation were about to close things out—
"Ah, right."
As if something he'd forgotten had just come back to him, Shin PD took the mic again and smiled.
"You all know Week Three filming starts with the ranking announcement, right? And anyone whose elimination is confirmed at the ranking announcement has to leave immediately — you know that too, right?"
"……."
"Haha, if you're pretty sure you're getting cut, don't bother packing your bags and dragging them all the way here!"
…Is that man actually a psychopath?
If he said that just to kill the mood, I'd give him credit for it.
"……."
"……."
Plenty of contestants had gone pale at his words, after all.
Thud.
Some of them hung their heads low, already resigned to their own elimination.
"Aigoo~ Did I say something I shouldn't have? Of course, if you think you're getting eliminated and just no-show the broadcast, that's not allowed~ We'll be initiating legal proceedings per the contract!"
"……."
"I've talked long enough! This is really the end now! Everyone, take care!"
Only after those words did Shin PD's hellish mouth finally shut, and we were free to leave the set.
I started by saying goodbye to the Mackerel Sandwich team I'd suffered through the week with.
Our team had taken first place, so there wasn't a single elimination among us. Thanks to that, we could part ways in a warm atmosphere.
"Unnies—! You worked so hard this whole week!"
"It was such an honor getting to team up with my unnies and my little sisters!"
"Let's be on a team together again next time!"
Park Yujeong and the other teammates said their bright goodbyes and headed out of the set.
"…Everyone worked hard. Well, I should get going too…."
Lee Hyejeong said her farewells and was about to head outside as well, but—
Tak.
"……?"
I caught her for a moment and pulled her aside.
"Unni."
"…Mm."
"You know what I'm about to say, right?"
I gave her wrist a gentle squeeze — the bones standing out so clearly you could see them through the skin.
"……."
"You need to… eat properly. If you keep going like this, something really bad could happen."
Ever since she'd collapsed, I'd been supervising her meals and forcing her portions up little by little. But I couldn't watch her every second outside the set, so a warning was all I could give.
"Unni. You remember what I said back then, right?"
The day before the team performance. After Episode 2 of My Idol Academia had wrapped, in the bathroom.
Let's… debut together in the same idol group… from My Idol Academia. For sure.
That promise to debut together someday.
"What I said back then wasn't a lie. But… if you want to debut, you need a healthy body first."
"……."
"You're going to come back as the unni you used to be, okay? Got it?"
A small smile. Lee Hyejeong seemed to picture her former, fuller self, and she nodded.
"Yeah. I got it."
"…You worked really hard this week, Unni."
"You too, Yerin."
With that, Lee Hyejeong gave me a quick hug, gathered her things, and headed out.
"Yerin-ah, I'll be going too, then. See you next week."
"Yes, take care, Unni!"
I waved until Lee Hyejeong's back disappeared from sight… then turned on my phone.
I wonder if the boss came today too…
I was about to call Kang Hyeongman, in case he'd come to pick me up.
But then—
A tug on my sleeve.
"……?"
"…Yujin-ah? You haven't left yet?"
"……."
It was Seo Yujin. She was gripping my sleeve, staring hard at something in the distance.
"…?"
Curious what had her so fixed, I followed her line of sight…
…Yujeong?
Far off, Park Yujeong was loading her suitcase into a car. The man and woman in front of her looked like her parents; the three of them chatted warmly before climbing in and driving off.
Vrooom—.
"Huu…."
The second Park Yujeong was completely gone, Seo Yujin let out a breath of pure relief…
Then fixed me with a glare — the same glare she used to give me all the time.
"Hmph! I had no choice but to be on the same team this time, but next time there's no mercy! Next time I'm going to crush you completely, Unni!"
"……."
…What is this, Jekyll and Hyde?
She'd been fine these past few days — why the sudden flip…
…Is it just me, or did she go right back to being prickly the second Yujeong left?
I asked her, just in case.
"…Yujin-ah, did something happen with Yujeong?"
"……W-why, why, why, why…?! D-d-did Yujeong Unni say something? D-did she say I was rude?"
…And just like that, the prickly cat turned into a stuttering mess.
"No, it's just that the second Yujeong left, you went right back to being your usual self."
"H-hmph! None of your business!"
I couldn't help laughing at the way she turned her head away, all prim and sulky.
The reason I could still smile looking at Seo Yujin like this was that I knew she wasn't a bad kid.
"Why are you laughing! It's annoying!"
…No, let me correct that.
Seo Yujin was a bad kid.
Even so…
She might be mouthy, manners-free, and completely lacking in social awareness… but she wasn't cunning. Talking to her never required reading the room, so the fatigue was low.
And as an idol trainee, her stats were high too… Looking back, ending up on a team with her had been a stroke of real luck.
So I—
Reached out.
"Wh-what are you doing!"
"Just…. Thanks for the hard work, Yujin-ah."
I gave her a hug before we parted, too.
"Urgh… Unni! Do you think what I just said was a lie? Starting next week, I'm going to beat you! I'm going to completely destroy you, you know?"
"Yeah, that's that. But we were on the same team this week. You did well."
"Ugh!"
Apparently deciding I was impossible to reason with, Seo Yujin wriggled free of the hug and stormed off the set with a third-rate villain monologue.
"You're going to regret today! Next time we meet, I won't let you off easy!"
"Yeah. Take care."
I waved at the departing Seo Yujin just as fairly as I had at everyone else.
The ranking announcement hadn't happened yet, but among the My Idol Academia contestants, the undisputed top two in popularity were me and Yu Seol. And if I had to pick a third — Seo Yujin. As long as no scandals blew up, her odds of debuting were high.
The kid's got zero manners, but she's cute.
The thought crossed my mind that debuting with her… might not be so bad.
After waving Seo Yujin off, and before calling Kang Hyeongman, I took one last look around.
I'd been thinking that if Yu Seol was still here, I might say hello.
But no matter how hard I looked, she was nowhere to be found.
Already gone? Ah… well. Even if she were here, it wouldn't exactly be a 'how are you' kind of atmosphere.
Her team had come in second. Mine, first. Walking up to greet her might come off as a taunt or a victory lap.
So I decided to skip the goodbye and just head home.
But then—
Rrring—.
"The phone you are calling is turned off…."
"……?"
Kang Hyeongman wasn't picking up.
Did he not come today?
To be fair, driving all the way out to Gyeonggi every time filming wrapped had to be a real hassle. Figuring Kang Hyeongman hadn't shown, I was looking up buses home when—
"…Yerin-ah."
"…Huh? Sanggu Oppa."
In the parking lot by the set exit, a familiar black sedan was waiting. Sanggu Oppa — who always insisted on driving — stood by the car, waving me over with a smile.
But…
"Huh? Sanggu Oppa. Where's the boss?"
"……."
Normally Kang Hyeongman and Sanggu Oppa came as a set — always together. Today it was just Sanggu Oppa alone. I tilted my head and asked, and—
"Ah… th-that…. The boss had some business…."
"……?"
"C-come on, get in. I'll take you home."
Sanggu Oppa avoided my eyes like he was hiding something.
……What is this.
I climbed into the passenger seat, still frowning.
"……."
"……."
Sanggu Oppa was the quiet type to begin with, so the ride home was usually silent.
But then—
"Ye-Yerin-ah."
"…?"
"…Is there anywhere you'd like to go? I'll take you."
"……?"
Sanggu Oppa — who never spoke first — was offering to take me somewhere. Anywhere I wanted.
"…No. It's this late — where would I even want to go?"
"…Then how about the Han River? I could buy you some ramen."
"……."
A man of few words suddenly pushing destinations on me — I couldn't ignore the wrongness of it.
Why does he keep trying to take me somewhere? Why didn't the boss come? Don't tell me…?
I asked him, half-dreading the answer.
"…Is something going on at our house? Did Mom or Dad get into some kind of accident…?"
"……!"
Sanggu Oppa couldn't lie. That was clearly the right answer.
"Th-that's…."
"…What is it? Ah, never mind. I'll check myself — just take me home. Now."
"Hyungnim told me to stall for about an hour…."
"Now!"
"Ugh…."
Under my relentless pressure, Sanggu Oppa finally drove me home along the original route.
The second the car stopped, I jumped out and headed for our house.
And then—
"Have you people completely lost your minds—!!"
"…!"
I flinched hard at Kang Hyeongman's roar, already echoing through the neighborhood before I'd even reached the door.
…What on earth.
Kang Hyeongman might have been a loan shark, but in all the time he'd dealt with my family, he'd never once been rough. He'd never raised his voice, never laid a hand on anyone — he'd barely even shown emotion at all.
And that boss is angry…?
I didn't hesitate. I ran and threw open the front door, and what I found was—
"You really are determined to ruin your entire li—! …Oh. Yerin-ah."
Kang Hyeongman, eyes sharp as blades, wearing an expression like a wrathful yaksha…
And in front of him, on their knees, sobbing—
"Ye-Yerin-ah! Hwaaang—!"
"Hi-hic! Yerin-aaaaah—!"
—my dad and mom.
A certain university hospital.
"Oh my, Seol-ah. Didn't you say filming went until today?"
"Yes, that's right. I came straight over the moment it ended. How's Mom?"
"You must be exhausted — you should rest today…. Your mother woke up briefly just now, then they gave her a sedative and she's sleeping."
"Ah, okay. Then I'll just look at her face while she's asleep and go."
At a hospital more familiar now than home, exchanging greetings with a nurse more familiar than the girl next door, she was about to step into a hospital room more familiar than her own bedroom when—
"Um, Seol-ah."
"…Yes?"
"About… the medical bills. We'll need the next payment by the end of next month…."
"……."
Everything else had become familiar — so why did the medical bills never get any easier?
"…It's hard, isn't it? Don't worry too much. Unni will figure something ou—"
"No! The medical bills… I'll have them ready by the end of next month, for sure."
"Really? Alright then, take your time~ I'll be waiting!"
"Yes!"
She had nothing to her name, but her pride was still intact — so she refused the nurse's pity.
And the moment she opened the hospital room door and stepped inside…
"……."
Yu Seol wiped the smile from her face as if peeling off a mask.
I've been forcing a smile all day, so…
…it should be fine here.
She set down her bags and sat beside her mother's bed.
"You've lost even more weight…."
Her mother's arms, already gaunt, had grown so thin they looked like iron skewers.
Yu Seol took her mother's hand and whispered into her ear.
"Mom, I performed in front of fans for the first time in a long while today… and I came in second. Second place. Pretty much a locked debut spot."
"……."
"Your Yu Seol is finally debuting after nine years of training. Debut. I'm going to show people who I…, ……."
"……."
"…Heh."
Yu Seol tried to sound excited in front of her unresponsive mother, then let out a bitter laugh.
Debut.
How long had she been running for those two syllables?
As a nine-year trainee at JJ, Yu Seol had been given two chances to debut so far.
The first was at sixteen.
Tailoz — the original owners of the song Ha Yerin had performed today, Where is my first love!.
Yu Seol had been slated to debut as Tailoz's maknae.
But her father collapsed without warning, and she couldn't focus on trainee work at all.
So it fell through.
The second was at nineteen.
One of the five spots in JJ's flagship idol group Strawbone had been reserved for Yu Seol.
But that time, her mother collapsed.
…It fell through.
And now, at twenty-one.
My Idol Academia.
That this was her last chance was a fact she couldn't deny.
JJ had no plans to launch a girl group for the next several years.
JJ had no intention of renewing trainee Yu Seol's contract.
And there was no point clinging to the empty hope that JJ would cover her mother's medical bills.
"If I want to pay Mom's bills on time… I have to win."
The My Idol Academia grand prize: one hundred million won.
That was the most money Yu Seol could earn in the shortest time possible.
If she didn't win… it would be another long wait until she saw any settlement money.
And winning alone wouldn't be enough.
She had to rise through the group that debuted from My Idol Academia and become a top idol.
Only then…
…Only then would she stop resenting her parents.
…Only then would she stop thinking of her parents as obstacles in her life.
…Only then would she stop wondering why Mom and Dad had to collapse at exactly those moments.
She wiped the corner of her eye with the back of her hand, out of habit.
But…
"……."
Nothing came away on her hand.
People change, after all. She had been worn down to nothing.
At sixteen, the child who dreamed of becoming a shining idol more than anyone had vanished along with her father.
At nineteen, the girl who refused to let go of hope had collapsed along with her mother.
At twenty-one, all that remained was a single blade of malice, honed and re-honed to a razor edge.
"…Yeah, Mom. I'll win. I promise."
Even now, Yu Seol's odds of winning were quite high.
But she couldn't settle for that.
Second-place team, so it's fine? Looked good on stage today, so it's fine?
No.
She already knew — from two separate experiences — that opportunity flees the moment it seems within reach.
She had been far too complacent until now.
Coming in second at today's team performance.
A deeply disappointing result.
If she wanted to win, she had to present something even more flawless.
If her practice was lacking, work harder than she was now.
If her mindset was wrong, grow more vicious than she was now.
By any means necessary, polish her own image to perfection.
And by any means necessary, tear down her rivals' images.
From now on, nothing like today will happen again.
In the dark hospital room, her eyes burned.
If Ha Yerin had been standing there, she would have seen it.
Synchronizing….
Yu Seol's locked trait has been unlocked!
The sight of her locked trait unlocking.