Chapter 162
Chapter 162
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 162
Chapter Title: A Songtan Detour
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The chairman, visibly moved, took the microphone again and began to speak.
-I don't think I've ever had a day as joyful as this. While others might see me as just some rich guy who owns a snack factory, we worked with a sense of mission, even when we were on the brink of bankruptcy during the IMF crisis.
“That's right!”
“He's right!”
-Ahem… But I think this is the first time someone has truly understood my intentions. When everyone else opposed me, saying we'd lose our price competitiveness, I stuck to our principles… I never imagined that singers like you would understand my heart like this. It's amazing. Truly amazing, and I'm so grateful. The manager, where are you? Manager?
*Why me all of a sudden?*
“Yes! I'm here.”
I raised my hand and met the chairman's eyes.
-Don't leave right after the show. I'd like to see you.
“Yes, Chairman.”
-Oh Sang-hyuk.
“Yes, Chairman!”
-I'd like a word.
“Yes, sir!”
*What could it be? Why did he want me to stay?* It was rare, but sometimes, if the event organizer was in a particularly good mood, there would be a small bonus. Like that time at the Gangwon Provincial Sports Festival or the Consolation Train performance.
*Can I get my hopes up?*
Answer's performance began, their capitalist smiles replaced by ones filled with genuine satisfaction. Perhaps because of the enthusiastic response, the members of Answer delivered a performance that was more powerful and full of ad-libs than usual.
The song moved past the verse and bridge, heading into the chorus.
♪♬
Tick-tock, tick-tock
A crack forms on my heel
Before the shoes break
♪♬
As Seol-ah, who was about to hit the high-note killing point, stepped down from the stage, the other members understood her intention and followed her into the audience.
The people who had been happily clapping pulled out their phones in a hurry and started recording videos and taking pictures.
“Woah!”
Seol-ah walked down the aisle between two sections of the 15th row. With Yi-na at the center, Seul-bi and Ro-si positioned themselves at either end of the row. Seol-ah grabbed an empty chair, placed it in the aisle, and stood on it.
And then, Seol-ah's high-note hook erupted.
♪♬
My life is beating for you
In this brief darkness
Hold onto me
My heart is beating for you
♪♬
“Woooow!”
The entire audience was genuinely thrilled.
*When did our members' fan service get this good?*
The image of Answer's members hesitating on stage last year overlapped with their confident, shining presence now, filling me with pride. So much so that I wanted to give them an award.
* * *
After their fantastic performance, as we were waiting to leave, the chairman and four others slowly approached us.
Normally, we would have made a run for it the moment the event ended. There was always a chance some troublesome audience members would show up, trying to hug them or get clingy. Dealing with those types was a real hassle.
But my third eye didn't show any warnings, and his reaction suggested a bonus, so I deliberately held back. I just hoped I wasn't getting my hopes up for nothing.
“You all did a wonderful job today. I was truly moved.”
As he spoke, the chairman offered me a handshake. This was clearly a prelude to naturally shaking hands with Answer next.
*‘According to our company policy, physical contact with anyone is prohibited outside of official public events. This is for the artists' safety, so we ask for your understanding.’*
It was the line I'd always used, just about to leave my throat and pass my lips.
“Oh, give it to them.”
“Yes, Chairman.”
Surprisingly, the handshake ended with me. It was a needless misunderstanding.
The man named Oh handed me two envelopes. They felt thicker than I expected.
“I'd love to treat you all to a meal, but I know you're busy, and I'd hate for any trouble to happen here, so I prepared this instead.”
“Thank you, Chairman.”
“Your current modeling contract is still active, so it's not possible right now, but I would love for you to be our models in the future.”
“Just give us a call.”
*Though we'd have to negotiate the terms, of course.*
Answer and I bowed politely, and the chairman gave a cool wave over his head before turning away.
Just as I was thinking, *Is that it?*, the man named Oh approached me.
“The chairman would like to express his gratitude separately. If you don't mind, could you please give me your address?”
I gave him JD Enter's address and got in the car.
Then I passed the two envelopes to the back. One was kindly labeled 'Meal Money,' which made me chuckle.
“Pfft. 'Meal Money,' it says.”
The members of Answer laughed as if they found it amusing.
“Hurry up and open it. How much is it?”
Seul-bi handed one envelope to Seol-ah and opened the 'Meal Money' one.
“…What is this?”
-[Super Ohning Gyeonggi Pyeongtaek Sarang Gift Certificate]
A paper band held together what was clearly 100 gift certificates, each worth 10,000 won.
“Oppa, we have some time left. Where else are we going to use local gift certificates? We have to use them here.”
“She's right. He gave them to us for a meal. We have to post this on Byulsta. Right?”
One envelope contained ten 100,000-won department store gift certificates. The other had one hundred 10,000-won local currency gift certificates.
*It would have been nice if he'd just given us cash.*
Lately, the members of Answer had been working out diligently, and their InBody results were improving, so I figured it would be okay once in a while.
“What are you going to eat with that?”
“Budae-jjigae. There was a famous spot I've been dying to try here.”
“Budae-jjigae?”
“Yeah! I've tried the Uijeongbu, Paju, and Gunsan styles, but I've never had the Songtan style. Oppa, it's my wish. For real.”
Seul-bi clasped her hands together, her eyes pleading. For a moment, her charm seemed to spike.
When you thought about it, Seul-bi deserved most of the credit for us getting this bonus.
“Budae-jjigae is super high in calories. Can you handle it?”
“I'll only eat a quarter bowl of rice! I just really, really want to try it. Since we're already here.”
Seul-bi went on and on about the characteristics of each regional budae-jjigae, making my mouth water along with the other members'.
Seul-bi's 'Gourmand' trait meant she had to consume large amounts of food. The trade-off was that she burned an incredible number of calories, rarely gained weight, and could exert great strength.
*It's not just any member. I have to make an exception for Seul-bi.*
“The stew's ham, all thick and chunky...”
“…Alright, let's go.”
“Yay!”
It seemed the other members had been secretly waiting for my decision. Seul-bi's understanding and interest in food seemed to surpass even my own, and I prided myself on having some expertise.
Right now, we were swamped with events and turning down most broadcast appearances, but it would be a good idea to get her on a food-related show at the right time. She might achieve more than I could ever imagine.
After a ten-minute drive, we reached our destination, and large male and female American soldiers started to appear.
“Wow... some of these female soldiers are bigger than the men.”
Yi-na was amazed at the sight of two female soldiers, one Black and one white, walking by with broader shoulders than most men.
“This place looks just like Itaewon.”
“Really?”
Seol-ah asked Ro-si, who seemed fascinated for a different reason.
“Yeah. You've never been, Unni?”
“Nope. Never had a reason to go.”
The road leading to the main gate of the US military base was lined with shops, cafes, and general stores reminiscent of mainland American hamburger joints and Mexican restaurants.
“Let's hurry. It's almost lunchtime, so there might be a line.”
We started following the navigation on Seul-bi's phone. It was a weekday, so it wasn't too crowded, making it easy for the fairly well-known members of Answer to move around.
…Or so I thought.
“Ah!”
“It's Answer!”
The moment we rounded the corner into an alley, we saw a large group of people waiting on plastic chairs.
“Hellooo.”
“Thank youuu!”
“Yes, please take lots of pictures. But make sure to post them on Byulsta.”
The members of Answer greeted them without flinching. Seul-bi's request to post the pictures on Byulsta, in particular, seemed to put everyone in a good mood.
“That's quite a line.”
This restaurant, standing alone in the alley, had bought the storefront across from it to use as a waiting area for customers. It had a powerful aura that viral hotspots could never hope to match.
*Ding-dong.*
A bell rang, and an entry number was displayed. I quickly went in and got a number ticket.
“Roughly how long will it take?”
“With this many people... probably a little over an hour?”
I came back outside and led the members into another alley.
“Enjoy your meal!”
The people who received Answer's greeting looked very pleased.
“How long did they say?”
“Over an hour.”
“Eek. That's so long.”
After waiting an hour, we could finish eating in 30 minutes.
We still had about two hours before we had to leave for our next schedule, so it seemed manageable. Since it was a weekday and more than half the people were foreigners, the members of Answer could enjoy the Itaewon-like atmosphere relatively freely.
“Those cargo pants have a cool vibe.”
Ro-si said, looking at some clothes hanging high up in a shop. They were old-style, khaki-colored US military combat uniforms, the kind you might see in the first *Top Gun*.
Nearby, there were many clothes with Korean imagery that foreigners would like, such as flight jackets with exaggerated tiger embroidery.
Ro-si poked her head into the store.
“How much are these cargo pants?”
“70 dollars. 85,000 won.”
I was surprised by how expensive they were, but Ro-si's expression was surprisingly calm. *Does she think they're worth that much?*
“Okay. We'll come back after we eat.”
“Alright. If you come back, I'll give you a discount you won't be disappointed with.”
“Really? By how much?”
“Hehe, I'll tell you when you come back.”
The owner was a skilled salesman.
The kind of line that makes someone with buying intent feel compelled to come back one last time. It was a bit frustrating, but I bet he'd raked in plenty of dollars from the American soldiers.
We moved on.
“Wow, there are so many Americans.”
The members of Answer stared in fascination at an American-style hamburger joint, where more than half the customers were American. They looked like people who had gone abroad for the first time.
“That kebab over there looks delicious, too...”
Seul-bi said, glancing at my face, then chuckled.
“Ah, I'm just saying I want it, no need to look so serious.”
As we were looking around, the white and Black female soldiers who were casually sitting on the ground talking to each other spoke to us.
“Are you K-pop stars?”
Yi-na was startled, and everyone's gaze naturally turned to Ro-si.
“If we were stars, wouldn't you recognize us?”
As expected, fluent English poured from Ro-si's lips. Yi-na stared at her, mouth agape.
“Oh! You studied English a lot, right?”
“No way. I'm a native speaker. I'm from Australia.”
Could someone achieve Ro-si's level of perfect English just by studying? I could understand why Ro-si seemed slightly taken aback.
“Oh! I see. I asked because you guys are like dolls.”
“Thank you. I'll try to be a star that you can recognize.”
“You're a pop star, aren't you? Can you tell me your SNS account?”
Unlike her usual self, Ro-si chatted with the American soldiers with a relaxed air.
“Whoa. Ro-si Unni, what are they saying?”
“They asked if Answer were celebrities because you all look as pretty as dolls.”
“Aha.”
“And they asked for your SNS address.”
I gave Yi-na a quick summary.
The female soldiers asked Answer for a photo. Flanked by the two large soldiers, the members of Answer shone even brighter.
“Make good memories while you are in Korea.”
“I'll pray for you to be a top star, too. Fighting!”
“Pfft!”
We all laughed at the sudden Konglish and waved goodbye to the soldiers.
“See? Koreans are kind.”
“The Koreans I saw were avoiding me.”
I overheard the soldiers' conversation.
“It may be because people can't speak English.”
“Is that the reason?”
“The Korean people I saw are ashamed of what they don't know.”
Yi-na linked arms with Ro-si.
“Unni, what are they saying?”
“Um… the white soldier said that Koreans run away whenever they see her, and the Black soldier said she thinks it's because Koreans tend to be ashamed of not being able to speak English.”
“Aha. So the white one is a newbie and the Black one has the Korea patch installed.”
“Yeah. Seems like she's adapted well.”
“But Unni, you were so cool. It was like watching a Hollywood movie.”
In that moment, a memory from my first life flashed through my mind. A drama that had an interesting script and concept but was a complete flop because of the lead actor.
Even I, who had liked the story, had to break out in a cold sweat over the lead's clumsy English pronunciation and terrible acting.
What if the lead in that drama was replaced by Ro-si?
Suddenly, the image of Ro-si acting as a tycoon to look up the SJ shareholder list came to mind, and a shiver ran down my spine.