Chapter 39
Chapter 39
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 39
Chapter Title: Awakening
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The members of Answer woke up early to a colossal war.
Bang, bang, bang!
“Hurry up and get out! I need to wash up too!”
“Hey! I have to rinse out my conditioner. Stop rushing me.”
The squabble between Seul-bi and Yi-na.
Seol-ah had given up on the bathroom early on.
“Seul-bi, pass the shampoo.”
With a towel tucked around her waist, Seol-ah washed her hair in the sink.
Only after Yi-na waited a few more minutes did the steam-filled bathroom door open.
“Ugh, seriously!”
“You should've just woken up earlier than me.”
Yi-na huffed and stormed into the bathroom.
Swoosh.
“Ah… Aack!”
Seul-bi stuck out her tongue as if she had expected Yi-na's scream.
“What's wrong?”
At Seol-ah's question, the door burst open and a drenched Yi-na shot out, her face pale.
“Unni. It's suddenly cold water. Even though I turned it to the hottest setting.”
“Ah… Seul-bi must have used up all the hot water.”
“Huh? Doesn't hot water run continuously?”
“…The boiler is an old model, so its hot water capacity is small.”
“Aack! Then what do I do?”
Yi-na was horrified.
“…Just soap yourself up and wait… with the water off.”
“Achoo! Ughhh. I'm already cold from the freezing water.”
“There's no other way…”
On the verge of tears, Yi-na glared at Seul-bi.
“Ugh, seriously…”
Seul-bi, who was drying her hair, playfully stuck her tongue out at Yi-na.
Irritated, Yi-na slammed the door.
Slam.
“Achoo! Achoo! Hmph!”
The sounds of Yi-na's sneezing and nose-blowing echoed from the bathroom.
⁝
“Hurry up with the straightener!”
“A kid like you shouldn't be using slang for it. Call it by its proper name!”
Seul-bi chided Yi-na.
“Proper name? What's the difference? It's not like that's the original term either!”
“Uh, uh…”
“Might as well just call it a 'hair presser', then? Or a 'hair brander'?”
Seul-bi blinked and stared into space, but couldn't think of a good comeback.
“…I'll give you that one. I lose.”
Seul-bi finally conceded to Yi-na.
“Because of you, Unni, I had to wash my hair in cold water and now it's a frizzy mess! Give it here.”
“Hey, Shin Yi-na! You can't just take it when I'm in the middle of using it! Go do your makeup first!”
⁝
“Aack, I'm out of foundation.”
“Oh! I only brought concealer too!”
“It's fine. Using just a little concealer will look more natural than us trying to messily apply foundation anyway.”
After Seul-bi finished with her hair, the straightener was passed to Yi-na.
“Hah! Hot!”
The straightener, having been used by Seol-ah and Seul-bi first, was now hot all the way to the handle.
“It's all heated up, so your hair will turn out great.”
At Seul-bi's giggle, Yi-na's lips jutted out in a pout.
“Seul-bi, are you going to keep teasing your little sister?”
“Ah, nope.”
Just as Yi-na started straightening her hair, the cord connected to the straightener suddenly sparked with a small pop.
Pop!
“Eek!”
Smoke rose from the dropped straightener, and Seol-ah quickly unplugged it.
“I think it overheated and broke…”
“Of all the times for this to happen!”
Chaos unfolded from the crack of dawn.
“I'm doomed.”
Yi-na said blankly, staring at her frizzy hair, a result of the cold water wash and the now-broken straightener.
But once their makeup was done, the three of them looked like the visual powerhouses they were. Yi-na's frizzy hair was completely overshadowed by her radiant face, not looking awkward at all.
“Unni, are the three of us doing the event by ourselves?”
“I wonder. Are we performing with Min-jun Oppa again?”
“I wouldn't mind.”
“When I make eye contact with him while he's dancing, I get goosebumps, but it's strangely… nice?”
“Ooh. I thought I was the only one.”
Seul-bi and Yi-na reminisced happily.
“You two. We should be thinking about getting a new member.”
Seol-ah's heart was still heavy.
* * *
Seeing Ro-si sitting in her seat, she looked like a little kid on an airplane for the first time.
Watching the elegant goddess Ro-si, who only began to doze off as we neared our destination, a flood of thoughts came to me.
She was a girl who, had I not contacted her, would have been despondent for a while but would have eventually achieved massive success in the future.
A success even greater than the one her original self would have achieved.
A happiness even greater than the one her original self would have had.
I have to make sure she gets it.
Knowing about the future Ro-si broadened the spectrum of possibilities for success. As long as I understood the unique traits of each member, building the fandom needed to create the ultimate group would be that much easier.
Stopped at a red light, I opened the chat.
-Ten minutes until arrival. You're all ready, right?
-Yep. Come on, come on.
Seul-bi seemed incredibly excited in the group chat.
When I parked at our destination, Ro-si woke up with a start.
“We're here.”
The members were lined up, waiting with their suitcases. Before the others could get in, Ro-si quickly got out.
“Huh?”
“Ro-si Unni?”
Seul-bi and Yi-na reacted one after the other.
“Say hello. This is Ro-si, our new member starting today.”
“Seol-ah Seonbae-nim, Seul-bi Seonbae-nim, Yi-na… Seonbae. I'll work hard.”
Ro-si bowed deeply.
*Girls, be good to her. Ro-si is someone incredible.*
“Alright, let's do our best.”
Seol-ah patted Ro-si's shoulder and got into the van.
“Hey, Ro-si Unni, don't worry about the 'seonbae' stuff. Welcome.”
“…Welcome.”
Seeing Ro-si's awkward smile, I opened the trunk. As I was loading the members' bags into the car, Seul-bi hurried over.
“Is she joining us starting today? Like, right now?”
Seul-bi asked, her face full of doubt. I worried that Ro-si might have overheard.
“Yep. She's perfectly prepared. Let's get going.”
I set the navigation for the Yuseong Hot Springs Complex and started driving.
“The contract terms are the same. Starting with today's event, the pay will be split evenly between you all.”
“Yes. Understood.”
Thankfully, they didn't seem to have any outward complaints.
“Yi-na-ssi, what happened to your hair?”
Ro-si, two years her senior, asked Yi-na awkwardly.
*Was Yi-na a trainee longer than Ro-si?*
*Or is it just a sign of respect for a senior who debuted first?*
“My straightener broke, so I couldn't do it.”
“I have a cordless one!”
Ro-si opened her bag with a happy expression, revealing a white straightener.
“Whoa! Unni, you carry one of these around?”
“My hair got really damaged from dyeing, so I always carry a cordless one. But now that I'm in this van, I see I don't really need it. There's an outlet.”
The conversation between Yi-na and Ro-si continued nonstop. It would be nice if Seol-ah and Seul-bi joined the friendly chat, but maybe that's too much to expect from the start.
“Where are we headed, Oppa?”
Seul-bi asked, sounding a little more friendly than usual.
“An event at the Yuseong Hot Springs district.”
“Yuseong, not Onyang Hot Springs?”
“It's near Daejeon.”
“Ah… I thought there was only Onyang. But if it's a hot spring, won't it just be full of old people?”
“I don't think so. We're about to hit rush hour traffic, so it'll take about three hours. You can get some sleep.”
The moment the words left my mouth, Seul-bi and Seol-ah, who had been wide awake, were fast asleep. They must have been excited the night before, since it's been a while since their last event.
* * *
By the time we reached our destination, all four of them were asleep.
“We've arrived.”
All four opened their eyes, looking groggy.
*I can understand Ro-si, but why do the other members look so tired? Are they worn out from having too much fun?*
“Change into your outfits. Your names are on them.”
A thick curtain separated the driver's seat from the back, but hearing the actual rustle of clothes was sheer torture.
I played the pre-recorded track, which I had updated with Ro-si's vocals.
“I took out Mi-ji's parts and re-recorded them with Ro-si's. Have a listen.”
“You can just call me by my name, comfortably.”
I worried Seol-ah might get upset at Ro-si's words, but there was no reaction from her.
♪♬
The miscellaneous noises were drowned out by the music.
“Aack!”
“Ugh, what now?”
Seul-bi said complainingly at Yi-na's scream.
“…The outfit doesn't fit…”
“Aigoo, I told you you were eating too much.”
“I ate a lot because of you, Unni! And you ate with me!”
“Are you comparing yourself to me?”
Seul-bi chuckled at Yi-na's retort.
“…Mine… doesn't fit either.”
Even Seol-ah's quiet voice was trembling.
I searched several convenience stores before finding and buying them a sewing kit. With no stylist, they had no choice but to do the fitting themselves.
“Ugh… it's so cramped.”
“If we had a bigger van, we could stand up to do this…”
“Should we go to a restroom?”
*You'll be riding in a big one like Kim Sung-hoon soon enough. Just wait a little longer.*
Seol-ah, now in her performance outfit, approached me. She said the outfit didn't fit, so I thought she'd gained a lot of weight, but her figure actually looked even better.
“I believe that Ro-si has practiced enough, but shouldn't we still run through it once? I think there's a difference between knowing the formations and actually doing them.”
Seol-ah said softly.
She was right. Had I been too reliant on the system all this time? I'd been careless.
“You're right, Seol-ah. There's a park nearby. Let's do a rehearsal there and film it while we're at it.”
Perhaps because of the event today, the area was quite crowded.
The van we were in was a common model, but perhaps because of the curtains on all sides, it drew a lot of attention. People seemed to be guessing that celebrities were inside.
When I parked the van, passersby stared intently in our direction. As if waiting for familiar faces to emerge.
“Come on out when you're ready.”
I got out first with a tripod for my phone and scouted for a rehearsal spot.
I found a place with good lighting. With the right amount of light, even a phone could produce pretty decent quality.
It was also a spot that would catch a lot of people's eyes, so I figured we could get a tiny bit of promotion out of it.
I mounted the phone on the tripod and finished setting up the optimal video recording settings. The van door opened, and the four members stepped out.
“Hey! Hey! It's a girl group!”
“Who are they?”
“I don't know, but they look like singers.”
Their visuals, incomparable to ordinary people, instantly captured everyone's attention.
*That's right. These are the girls I work with.* The light reflecting off the members' smooth skin was almost blinding.
The people scattered around the park slowly started moving toward us. They looked like a school of fish swarming toward food.
“They look familiar, but who are they?”
“Beats me. All the new kids these days look the same.”
“True. I heard they get full-body plastic surgery these days. How else could they have pretty faces, nice legs, and tiny waists? It doesn't make sense.”
*My girls are all natural!*
Was it because I knew the story of their hard work? A surge of emotion welled up inside me.
“They're probably all the same. Can't even sing, just relying on their faces.”
Hearing these malicious comments about the members made me angrier than if they had been directed at me.
[Trait 'Charisma' Lv 2 has been activated.]
“We're Answer, the rookie group from JD Enter!”
My sudden outburst startled both the members and the crowd. I didn't even know why I was so angry. But I didn't want to hold it in.
“We're here to rehearse before our performance at the Yuseong Hot Springs Complex! These are artists who have worked incredibly hard! Answer! Please remember them!”
“How embarrassing… Is that their manager?”
The person next to me who had been badmouthing the members scurried away in surprise.
Once I got angry, I didn't feel an ounce of embarrassment. I could see the members' ears turning red. It was probably more noticeable because that part wasn't covered in makeup.
I'm going to prove that my members aren't just some run-of-the-mill group who get by on their looks alone.
The members stood in front of the camera. I gestured with my hands, positioning the members to fit the angle.
“This is your first event with a new member. From today on, Answer will only walk on a flowery path.”
“…Yes.”
Ro-si answered cautiously.
“Answer, fighting!”
My sudden shout made the members flinch.
“…Fighting.”
Ro-si and Yi-na glanced at their unnis and shouted softly. Seul-bi and Seol-ah, conscious of the many eyes on them, looked flustered.
“Show them your fire! Answer, fighting!”
[Your trait and powerful presence are swaying the members.]
“Answer, fighting!”
“…Fighting!”
As Ro-si and Yi-na shouted loudly, Seul-bi and Seol-ah were swept up in the moment and shouted along.
“Let's show them you have the skills to back up your looks! Answer, fighting!”
A blue light radiated from me, completely enveloping the members.
“Fighting!”
In the end, all the fired-up members shouted powerfully. At the same time, a light flashed from each of the members' bodies.
[Through your influence, the members have gained the group trait 'Unyielding Resolve (B)'. Members with a firm resolve will not succumb to hardship.]
[The members' affection and trust in you have increased significantly.]
The light of success, which had previously only emanated from Ro-si, now shone from all four of them. All the members' eyes were filled with determination.
Finally…
The members had awakened.