Chapter 190
Chapter 190
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 190
Chapter Title: A Different Kind of Victory
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[Quest 'Seol-ah's Promise' objective achieved.]
Thanks to successfully taking Seol-ah and Ye-jun to the zoo, I earned an additional 3 distribution points and landed another advertisement as a bonus reward.
Min-jun was now contemplating what to do with the 39 points he had accumulated.
He felt that investing points in Answer wasn't strictly necessary to achieve their goals.
In fact, Min-jun was beginning to think that for humans, a slight imperfection was more stimulating to fans and brought out a greater sense of earnestness in each individual.
Min-jun examined the skills he could acquire with his points.
-Helicopter Pilot: 20pt
-Angler: 10pt
-Plasterer: 10pt
-Painter: 10pt
-Welder: 10pt
-Photoshop Specialist: 10pt
-Landscaper: 10pt
-Childcare: 10pt
-Farming Technician: 10pt
-Soccer Lv.3 (Professional): 20pt
-Baseball Lv.1 (Amateur League): 10pt
⋮
To some, these were invaluable skills that money couldn't buy, but for Min-jun, they weren't immediately necessary.
‘They might be useful someday.’
Lost in thought, Min-jun soon found himself in front of Answer's dorm.
“We had fun and earned money. Today was the best schedule ever.”
“Ye-jun was so cute, ma'am!”
“Yes. Thank you all. Get home safe.”
“Yes! Goodbye.”
“Have a wonderful evening!”
After a fulfilling holiday outing that also served as a schedule, Seul-bi, Ro-si, and Yi-na headed into the dorm.
“Alright, we’ll head to the hotel now.”
“Thank you, PD-nim. For booking the hotel and everything.”
Seol-ah’s mother said, stroking the head of the fast-asleep Ye-jun.
“Not at all, ma'am. The hotel is sponsored as well. There’s only a camera set up in one room, so you don’t have to feel too pressured.”
“Oh my. Is it a suite?”
Having lived well before Seol-ah's father was scammed, her mother immediately guessed it was a suite from my brief description.
“Yes. It’s just a bit of a shame that the room we’re filming in has a large bathroom attached. It would have been great for Ye-jun to play in the water.”
Ye-jun was sleeping without a stir. Seol-ah’s mother looked at me with an expression that said this was more than enough.
“I’ve heard so much about you from my daughter. She said you’re a truly grateful person.”
Seol-ah’s mother was genuinely thankful. At this, Seol-ah stroked Ye-jun’s head with a slightly embarrassed look.
“Not at all, ma'am. It’s all thanks to the hard work of Seol-ah and the other members.”
“You don’t have to be so modest. I’ve heard all about it.”
Min-jun decided it would be better to offer some hopeful news rather than feign modesty.
“This is just the beginning. Seol-ah will soon be shining her brightest.”
“Oh, my. I don’t even hope for that much. I’d just be happy if she could work for a long time without any major ups and downs.”
“Don’t worry, Mother. And their dorm is changing soon, too. They’re moving to a nice apartment.”
“Oh, my…”
Seol-ah’s mother couldn’t have been prouder of her daughter. The wave of emotion reached all the way to the driver’s seat.
Min-jun started driving again, and the conversation between Seol-ah and her mother continued.
“Mom, just close up the shop and move here already. Let’s stop having the same conversation.”
“Your success is your success, and my business is my business.”
Seol-ah’s mother said with a determined yet bittersweet smile.
“I heard the kindergarten Ye-jun was supposed to attend closed down. It’s not easy commuting an hour each way just to drop him off and pick him up. Don’t make Ye-jun suffer and just do it.”
The phenomenon of daycare centers and kindergartens disappearing one by one as the rural population rapidly declined had become a common occurrence in South Korea.
‘It must be incredibly chaotic for the children and parents who actually experience it.’
Min-jun found this reality unfortunate, but there was nothing he could do.
“Still, you never know what might happen in life.”
Seol-ah knew what her mother was afraid of.
The family’s circumstances collapsing in an instant after living a comfortable life, and her father, who had been full of ambition to make a comeback, returning as a cold corpse in the middle of winter.
The fear that the world could turn upside down overnight was something Seol-ah herself always carried.
After a moment of hesitation, Min-jun chimed in.
“Ma’am. You might think I’m overstepping, but I agree that it’s the right thing to do. The amount saved for Seol-ah until the next settlement is already over a hundred million won.”
“What?”
Since it hadn’t even been a month since the last settlement, Seol-ah was just as surprised as her mother.
“If we account for everything up to the settlement date, this payout will naturally be in the hundreds of millions.”
“…You must have misspoken, right? You mean her annual income is several hundred million, not quarterly, right?”
Seol-ah’s mother was so shocked that she asked again. Seol-ah also looked at me with a ‘Could that be right?’ expression.
“No, according to the 7-to-3 contract, that’s just the confirmed distribution amount until the next settlement.”
“Oh, my goodness.”
Though she was trying to act calm, Seol-ah was also quite surprised.
“And when Answer renews their contract this year, their ratio will be significantly increased. The break-even point is meaningless now.”
“Ah…?”
Seol-ah’s mother briefly wondered if Min-jun was in a high enough position to adjust contract ratios, but Seol-ah immediately caught on and nodded.
“Thank you, PD-nim.”
“We’re the ones who should be thankful. From the company’s perspective, we’re at a point where we have to do whatever it takes to keep Answer from going anywhere else.”
Min-jun’s playful remark made Seol-ah’s heart swell.
“In any case, having you nearby will allow Seol-ah to focus on her activities without worrying. I also believe Ye-jun has the right to live his life receiving more love from his family.”
Seol-ah slowly nodded, as if agreeing with my words.
Her mother’s 고민 could only deepen.
* * *
As soon as they arrived at the hotel, Ye-jun shot up.
He stared out the window, mesmerized once again by the tall, magnificent building and the dazzling city lights at night, things he had never seen where he lived.
Although it was just a part of the broadcast’s insert shot, Seol-ah’s mother’s eyes welled up with tears again during their meal at the high-end hotel restaurant.
Watching her, Seol-ah thought she must be thinking of her late father again.
A little while later.
The production crew finished filming and left.
“After you have breakfast tomorrow, Yoo-jun will be here by 8:30. He’ll drop Seol-ah off at the salon and then take you and Ye-jun home.”
“Thank you for taking care of every little detail, Timjang-nim Min-jun.”
Seol-ah’s mother bowed her head, and Min-jun bowed even deeper.
“And the payment for today’s promotional shoot that included Ye-jun will be sent to your bank account soon.”
“I’m just so grateful.”
“Not at all, ma’am. And the broadcast crew got your account number separately, right?”
“Yes. I gave it to them. They said it wouldn’t be much, so I just said okay.”
“Yes. About four or five hundred thousand won should be deposited for you and Ye-jun.”
“I can’t tell you how happy I am to have such a wonderful time and even get paid for it.”
“Ye-jun was filmed so beautifully today that there might be additional offers for ads or shoots later on.”
“Oh, come on… You’re flattering me too much.”
Seol-ah’s mother chuckled as if it were absurd, though she was clearly pleased.
But Min-jun was confident that it was a strong possibility.
‘He’ll definitely get an ad for at least the hamburger brand he ate today.’
“Big bro, bye-bye.”
“Aww. Let’s see Ye-jun again in Seoul, okay?”
Surprised by Min-jun’s uncharacteristic baby talk, Seol-ah and her mother smiled warmly.
“Uh-huh! I wanna live with noona.”
Ye-jun, who seemed to have been sleeping like a log, must have overheard the conversation and blurted out something unexpected, causing a complex emotion to cross his mother’s face.
Min-jun pretended not to notice and left, while Seol-ah’s family was guided to their suite.
“I wanna play in the water! Water play!”
Seeing the large bathtub in the adjoining bathroom, Ye-jun tried to jump in fearlessly.
“You’ll slip, Ye-jun. I’ll run a warm bath for you. Mom, you can unpack.”
“Alright.”
Ye-jun clung to Seol-ah’s leg as she cleaned the tub again, shaking his body excitedly.
“Ye-jun knows how to take off his clothes by himself now, right?”
“Uh-huh! Nngh, nngh!”
Seol-ah smiled, her cheeks flushing at how cute Ye-jun was, struggling to take off his shirt.
Soon, the tub was filled with warm water, and Ye-jun giggled with delight.
Beep.
With the press of a remote, the large glass wall connecting to the bathroom turned transparent.
“…The world has certainly changed.”
Watching Ye-jun splash around in the bathroom, Seol-ah’s mother started a conversation.
“Mom… you’ve worked so hard.”
“You’re the one who’s worked hard. By the way, he’s a truly grateful person.”
Seol-ah knew exactly who her mother was referring to.
“Yeah. Honestly, I was very wary of him at first… I’m so embarrassed about that now.”
Seol-ah recalled the days she had been prickly toward Min-jun and gave an awkward smile.
“But why? He seems like a nice person. Was there a reason to be wary?”
“It’s just… he’s my age, but he seemed like he was all talk…”
As Seol-ah trailed off, a look of frustration appeared on her mother’s face.
“Why do you always stop mid-sentence?”
Seol-ah hesitated for a moment before speaking.
“…There aren’t many handsome, smooth-talking guys who don’t cause trouble.”
Her mother’s expression turned slightly incredulous.
“Haah, dear. Your father may have been badly betrayed by a friend in his later years, but he was a man who never caused a single bit of trouble his whole life.”
“Did Min-jun-ssi resemble Dad?”
“Yes. He’s a bit quieter, but he resembles your father.”
Seol-ah and her mother simultaneously pictured their father and husband.
Seol-ah’s head rested on her mother’s shoulder, and her mother’s head rested on her daughter’s. They found strength in each other.
For Ye-jun, who was giggling and splashing water on the glass wall, this was the happiest moment of his life.
* * *
The Answer members, fully made-up, were on their way to a music show.
“Did Ye-jun and your mother get home safely?”
“Yes.”
Seol-ah replied to Ro-si’s question with a warm smile.
“Ye-jun is seriously so cute. He’s much smarter than other kids his age, right?”
“Umm… Honestly, since he’s my brother, I can’t really judge. He’s perfect in my eyes.”
Seul-bi, letting out a deep sigh, interjected into Ro-si and Seol-ah’s conversation.
“He’s incredibly smart. He speaks well. And I think his scope of thought is much wider.”
The other Answer members were skeptical of Seul-bi’s confident assertion, but no one asked further. Seul-bi had already put in her earphones, as if to say she didn't want any follow-up questions.
“Ye-jun is Ye-jun, but I wish we could get first place, too.”
“But of all people, we’re up against Seven Arrow-seonbaenim.”
Yi-na’s words made Seol-ah sigh.
The members of Answer thought their song, ‘Answer Me Now,’ was better than Seven Arrow’s, but they knew all too well how realistically difficult it was to beat a group that had been immensely popular for years and had a massive fandom.
“But honestly, I don’t think I’d be sad even if we never get first place in our lives. We’re doing so well with ads and events.”
“That’s right. I think so too!”
Ro-si, who had been quiet until now, said excitedly.
“Right, PD-nim? We’re doing really well, aren’t we?”
Min-jun watched the Answer members chatting affectionately in the back with a pleased expression.
“It’s true that music chart and music show rankings are a measure of popularity. But a good song doesn’t always rank high.”
“Yeah… that’s true.”
Min-jun gave a small smile as he watched Seol-ah reply to his words, looking a little down.
“A song becoming a hit ultimately means the fandom grows, and it’s also a fact that we, with a relatively smaller fandom, are at a disadvantage against Seven Arrow.”
Seol-ah, Ro-si, Yi-na, and even Seul-bi, who was wearing silent earphones, looked even more disheartened.
It didn't help that Seven Arrow had recently been dominating the number one spot on music streaming charts again.
However, unlike the crestfallen Answer members, Min-jun’s face was exceptionally bright. Because for the Answer of the future, achieving first place was far too small a dream.