Chapter 148: You’re Quitting Luka?
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 148: You’re Quitting Luka?
Left alone in the hospital room, I started watching the VOD of Luka's concert.
[Hello, everyone~]
The avatar she had given me a sneak peek of before smiled brightly and raised her hands.
[Thank you all so much for coming to see my concert today.]
The camera panned across the avatars of the Pink Army gathered in front of her.
The big-headed, pink-haired avatars waved their light sticks at Luka. The sight was so cute that I felt a smile spread across my face.
If I hadn't had filming that day, I would've been right there with them.
That must have been why Doah gave me the VR headset.
[I'm so overwhelmed to be the one kicking off our solo concerts, and my heart is pounding. Hehe. The first song I'll be singing for you is...]
How great would it have been to watch this live.
This wasn't one of her usual, casual streams, but a full-fledged concert prepared by a major corporation.
The avatar's quality was far more incredible than I had imagined.
With every song that passed, the Pink Army went wild.
The chat was scrolling by so fast I couldn't even begin to read it.
[Everyone! I heard some people sent in video messages to congratulate me on my concert~ Should we watch them together?]
After a few songs in a row, it was time for a break.
On a large screen, 3D idols—a very unfamiliar sight for us 2D creatures—congratulated Luka on her concert.
[Wow~ guys~ I never thought I'd live to see the day.]
After watching the whole video, Doah burst out laughing, genuinely amused.
Next up was a relay of short video messages from each of the CLOSER members.
Every time one of them said they loved Luka, you could feel the devotion of the CLOSER fans swelling up.
Ah... this is so great...
I felt like a restless spirit about to find peace, as if white snow were gently falling in my heart.
-Screech-
The hospital room door opened again, and soon Doah was sitting beside me.
“How far did you get?”
“Right here.”
I tapped the screen with my finger to pause it, and Doah caressed my cheek with one hand.
“...Do you like it?”
It could have sounded sarcastic, but I was enjoying it so much right then that I forgot my embarrassment and nodded.
“It’s nice.”
“See? I told you to just be a Pink Army member.”
Doah pulled her chair up next to mine and silently watched the rest of the concert with me.
She must have already known everything that would happen, but Doah stayed by my side in silence, not saying a word.
“...That was seriously amazing.”
Unable to shake off the lingering feeling, I took a deep breath.
“You probably would have been twice as moved if you’d seen it in person, right?”
“I think so, too.”
The tablet screen went dark, and we turned to face each other again.
“...Can you tell me now?”
A lot must have happened during the time I was unconscious.
Doah briefly avoided my gaze, her eyes darting around.
After steadying her breath, she took my hand.
“Oppa.”
“Yeah.”
“Do you want to keep doing this work?”
If it was already confirmed that I was fired, I could only answer with, “Well...”
“I don’t know.”
“No. Not like that. Yes or no.”
If I had to choose one...
“I guess it’s closer to... no.”
“Then if you go and say no, it’ll all be over.”
Unsure of what she meant by ‘over,’ I tilted my head, asking for an explanation.
“What do you mean?”
“You haven’t signed the extension yet, right? So only the three-month contract is valid.”
“Right.”
“And you can terminate that whenever you want.”
“That’s true, but...”
What about the show?
Who's responsible for all the scenes I've already filmed?
“Ending the show like that is a bit...”
I knew full well that it would look bad no matter who saw it.
“That.”
Doah slowly closed her eyes.
“It’s fine. I took care of it.”
“How could you take care of that?”
Is that even possible?
“I just did for you what you did for me.”
Today, Doah just kept saying cryptic things.
Why did I have to ask for an explanation after every single thing she said?
“You didn't go and sign another contract or something, did you?”
If she made some kind of deal with the company again to cover for me...
I was planning to tell her to void it and that I would go back to the set immediately.
“Come on. I’m not you.”
She was clearly trying to be lighthearted, but a lonely smile played on her lips.
“If the company doesn’t take proper responsibility for you, then I...”
Her next words were the most successful at sending me into a panic since I’d woken up.
“I told them I’d quit being Luka.”
“Whaaat!”
I was so shocked that I grabbed her shoulders, completely forgetting about the IV in my arm.
“Hey! What are you talking about? Why would you quit being Luka? I did this so you could do that, so you could be more successful!”
I was so dumbfounded I could barely speak.
“...You did it for me, too.”
She smiled as if to say she was really okay.
“I can do it, too.”
“No. Hey. I’m just some nobody rookie, but you’re...”
“That’s why I can do this for you.”
Her words held not a shred of hesitation; I could tell how firmly she had made up her mind.
“So, Oppa.”
Her deep brown eyes were filled with my reflection.
“Make the choice that’s best for you.”
I couldn’t even begin to imagine what kind of conversation had taken place at the company while I was asleep.
“If you say you want to keep acting, that’s fine, too. But. If you do continue, I hope it’s for your own happiness.”
The answer was already decided.
Because I had realized a long time ago that my happiness wasn't there.
“If you want to quit, if you want to give up, then go tell the company. They won’t blame or criticize you.”
I had always thought Doah was an amazing person, but today she was something else.
I felt like she was standing in a place so bright I could never reach it with my own hands.
“I...”
I'm just getting help from you again.
“With this, your contract with us has been officially terminated.”
Just as Doah had said, the team leader didn't hold me responsible for the accident in any way.
“...Thank you.”
I felt that both ‘sorry’ and ‘thank you’ were awkward, but since this was the end, ‘thank you’ seemed like the better choice.
My manager stood by, watching the scene in silence.
“Thank you for your hard work.”
The team leader said he had to leave and left, and an awkward silence flowed between me and the manager, who were left in the room.
“I’ll give you a ride.”
“No, it’s okay. You’re not my manager anymore.”
“It’s fine. I don’t have anything else on my schedule today anyway.”
As I got into the familiar car, I felt my breath catch in my throat, even though I wasn't heading to a shoot.
The manager took the wheel, turned the radio on low, and pressed the accelerator.
“Taemin.”
“Yes.”
“Are you feeling okay?”
“Ah... they said I’ll be fine if I rest well at the hospital. I don’t think I’m in any pain right now.”
“That’s a relief.”
I wished the radio were louder.
This conversation felt incredibly uncomfortable.
“To be honest, this project was on too large a scale for you, Taemin.”
I didn’t answer, but the manager slowly began to recount the story, as if in a monologue.
“We don’t usually just stick a rookie in a role like that, but you were a special case. The production company contacted us first.”
“For us, it didn’t cost anything since they reached out first, and if you finished it safely, you would have gained an explosive amount of recognition. So we decided to go for it, as long as you were okay with it.”
“I see...”
The atmosphere was like, ‘Now that the contract is terminated, I can finally tell you this.’
“I just feel sorry that I couldn’t support you properly as your manager.”
Seeing his bitter expression, I shook my head.
“No, it’s not that. It’s just... I wish I had done better.”
“Doah-ssi. She came that day and caused a real scene.”
The manager let out a small laugh.
“She basically turned the whole company upside down, you know?”
“D-Doah did?”
“It seems your girlfriend really cares about you a lot.”
What on earth did you go around saying, Kim Doah.
I wanted to hear the full story, but it was time to part ways.
The car stopped in the alley where it always used to pick me up.
“You’ve worked hard.”
The manager held out his hand to me.
“No, thank you for everything.”
“Take care of yourself, and I wish you all the best.”
I bowed my head deeply, and the manager’s car drove further and further away.
Stopping in front of Doah’s house, I turned toward her place instead of going into my own.