Became the Music Show's Exposed Idol (4)
“...Persuade?”
“Yes.”
Harin nodded without a moment’s hesitation.
What “persuade” meant... she knew all too well, without any need for further explanation.
“Huh... Seriously. You’re going to persuade me? Me?”
Despite his words, Park Dong-chul set down his phone and looked this way.
It meant interest had been sparked.
...Fucking bastard. So this was his goal all along.
His intentions were so transparent it was disgusting.
“...Yes.”
“Alone?”
The corner of Park Dong-chul’s mouth curled upward.
At the same time, his gaze shifted to the remaining members of Sepia.
It was the look of a beast eyeing its prey.
Fuck, why the kids....
Come to think of it, he’d asked before about the other members’ ages.
When I told him they were all adults, he’d been pleased, saying there was nothing to get caught over.
This bastard was now...... after the other girls too.
“...Yes. Just me alone.”
“Isn’t this the fault of all of Sepia? Then of course all of you should......”
“As the leader of Sepia, I want to apologize to you on behalf of the group, PD.”
Harin’s words poured out without hesitation.
Eunchae and Sarang, who had been listening, cut in.
“W-wait a minute! Unnie! ...What do you mean by persuading him alone?”
“If it’s about apologizing, we should do it together too...”
“No. You guys go to the company first. Manager. Please take the kids.”
“......Harin.”
“PD. Would that be alright?”
Harin’s voice was colder than it had ever been, yet I could sense a desperate urgency beneath it.
Harin wanted to protect the younger members standing beside her.
“...Hmm.”
Park Dong-chul propped his chin on his hand again and looked at me.
“What do you think, Manager Jeon?”
“...I......”
I couldn’t answer.
Park Dong-chul wanted all of Sepia.
Harin...... was trying to stop that. Even if it meant offering herself up.
Either way, I would have to hand my idol over to this middle-aged man once more.
Walking out and abandoning everything wasn’t a choice I could make.
“......That......”
But the words wouldn’t come easily.
Standing in front of Harin, I couldn’t bring myself to say I would offer her up again.
As my hesitation dragged on, Harin suddenly interjected.
“Manager. ...I’m fine.”
“......Huh?”
“I’m fine. This... this broadcast appearance was something I asked for. I should take responsibility.”
“No.... Harin, the one responsible is me...”
“And I’m the leader of Sepia.”
Harin turned her head toward me.
In her eyes and expression, I saw a certain resolve.
I knew this was something that should never be done.
I knew full well that it was selling Harin off once again.
I knew how heavy a burden she was shouldering right now.
“.........Alright...... . ...I understand.”
Once again, I piled that heavy responsibility onto her small frame.
“......I’m counting on you. Harin.”
“No way.... Manager, are you out of your mind?”
The moment we left the PD’s office, the girls blocked my path.
“Is it okay to leave Harin unnie alone with that old man? It’s not okay!”
“Right. And that guy already has bad rumors about him...”
“Oppa. Can’t we just go back in? I’m worried about Harin unnie...”
The kids weren’t fools.
They could tell the atmosphere was bad, and they had a vague idea of what Harin was about to do.
“Manager. I want to go back in. This is partly my responsibility too. I...”
“Eunchae unnie? Responsibility?”
“......Well. I-I was the one who told her to wear that underwear! So......”
“Wasn’t that because Oppa told you to?”
“A-anyway! We can’t leave Harin unnie alone!”
Especially Eunchae, since she knew the process of how this had happened so well, seemed to feel considerable guilt—even though it wasn’t her fault at all.
“If Eunchae unnie is going, I’m going too.”
“Me too!”
Sarang and Se-a weren’t the type to abandon their unnies either.
The bond between the members was touching, but...
If I took these kind-hearted girls back in, would the situation improve?
......Not at all.
If it were Park Dong-chul, he’d think this was a windfall and try to pounce on all four of Sepia without it being the least bit strange.
Not just me—Harin knew that well too.
That was why Harin was now...... alone with Park Dong-chul.
“Manager!”
“Girls.”
I gave instructions to the three of them.
“I’ll call a ride for you. Go straight to the dorm today.”
“I said no! What about Harin unnie?”
“I’ll take her with me.”
“Huh? Then...”
“I’m staying here. I’ll go back into the PD’s office.”
“...Really?”
“If I’m there, that guy won’t be able to do anything too crazy. ......I’m also the one responsible. Staying here seems right. For now... this seems like the best.”
“Oppa, then what about us?”
“You worked hard from early morning for the music show today. Just go to the dorm and rest well. Don’t worry too much. I’m here. I’ll take responsibility and protect Harin. Trust me.”
I lied without even wetting my lips.
But it was all for these kids.
And for Harin as well.
Since Harin had decided to sacrifice herself, I couldn’t make that choice meaningless.
“...Can we really trust you?”
“Yeah. Like I’d abandon Harin or something.”
“......You wouldn’t, right.”
The three of them sent me looks of trust in a strange way.
After six years together, had some inexplicable trust formed?
“...Okay.”
“Hogu oppa. You have to protect unnie well! Got it? If he tries anything weird, just punch him hard!”
Se-a and Sarang bowed to me and headed for the waiting room.
Eunchae looked back at me once more before leaving.
“...I’ll only trust you, Manager. Nothing can happen to Harin unnie.”
“I told you not to worry. Eunchae.”
“If something happens...... like me......”
“Huh?”
“...It’s nothing. Yeah. It’s nothing at all. Really. ...Please protect her, Manager. At least Harin unnie.”
Eunchae hung her head as if bitter and walked down the corridor after Sarang and Se-a.
I waved until the kids were out of sight.
Once they were gone, I turned around.
Eunchae’s last words kept circling in my mind.
It wasn’t that I didn’t understand why she said that....
“......Sorry.”
I couldn’t bring myself to say that even the faint hope Eunchae still held had already been shattered.
“Haa...”
I let out a deep sigh and stood in front of the PD’s office door.
Through the firmly closed door, I could hear faint voices.
“...&@##$@&#!”
“&#@$......#@#$!&....”
I couldn’t make out exactly what they were saying.
When I’d gone in earlier, the PD’s office had been quite large.
The distance from where Harin and Park Dong-chul were to the door was considerable.
But I had prepared something in advance.
I took out the in-ear monitor and carefully fitted it into my ear.
When I turned it on and raised the volume, a bit of static continued, then voices began to come through.
Thanks to the transmitter inside the gift box Harin had handed me.
“......Can’t they hear us outside?”
“Don’t worry. That door has good soundproofing.”
Harin’s and Park Dong-chul’s voices came through clearly.
“By the way. What does ‘persuade’ mean? I don’t really get it.”
Park Dong-chul began probing Harin with his characteristic tone of pretending not to know while knowing everything.
“PD. The persuasion I’m trying to do is......”
“Our Harin. Do you even know how big a deal this is?”
Our Harin? Who the hell made her “our” Harin.
I clenched my teeth hard, but... as always, that was all I could do.
“......Yes. I know.”
“Then you should know well that you alone won’t be able to resolve it, right?”
This bastard Park Dong-chul.
It seemed he still had lingering attachment to the other members.
“As I... said back then. I’ll work harder.... PD.”
“You’ll handle four people’s worth alone? Just working hard to a certain extent won’t convince me.”
“I’ll live up to... your expectations. I can work hard. Instead......”
“Instead?”
“......I want to be forgiven for today’s incident.... and appear on next week’s music show as well.”
“Why? To come out next week and flash your panties again? Next week, just take them off and dance completely naked?”
“...I’ll be careful with the clothes next week for sure. I’ll get them checked before the performance. So...... I want to appear on the music show next week too.”
“Forgiving something that even all of Sepia coming to beg wouldn’t be enough for, and confirming next week’s music show appearance too? You’re full of greed, Harin.”
“...I know it’s shameless, but please.”
“As I said last time... everything depends on how Harin does it, right?”
Sssuuup.
I heard the sound of Park Dong-chul smacking his lips.
“......Yes.”
Harin’s reply was weak.
Close to resignation...
In a place where I couldn’t see, in a place the other girls didn’t know, Harin was trying her absolute best.
Under the excuse that I couldn’t betray that heart of hers, I left this firmly closed door unopened and simply eavesdropped on what was happening to Harin.
Ssshhhhh.
“P-PD...”
Harin’s voice began to change one hundred and eighty degrees from moments before.
“Harin...♡ Please look at my pink panties...♡ I wore them to show you, PD...♡”