Chapter 46
Chapter 46
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 46
Chapter Title: Seul-bi's Deviation
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“The members are all so pretty, and they seem incredibly talented. I’ll be looking forward to it.”
“Thank you, Director! We’ll prepare them diligently to generate even the slightest bit of buzz.”
The JD family bowed deeply to Director Lee Joo-won before making their exit.
“I’ll be in touch soon, so let’s have a preliminary meeting.”
A PD who had followed them out spoke, holding out his hand to CEO Park Jae-yong as if to ask for a business card.
For a moment, CEO Park Jae-yong’s expression twitched.
This PD was one of the most powerful figures in the entertainment bureau, and while JD Enter was on a downward spiral, this was just wrong. A matter of professional courtesy. The CEO had been in the industry for at least a decade longer than him.
I quickly offered my own business card.
“I’m their dedicated manager, so you can contact me.”
If Ro-si hadn’t gifted me that card holder and Director Lee hadn’t gotten me cards made right away, I might have missed this timing.
The PD, with a scowl, snatched the business card with two fingers.
“Hah, for the meeting, let’s at least send a team leader, if not a department head, alright?”
Making his displeasure painfully obvious, the PD turned and left.
As we returned to our table, Director Lee Sun patted my shoulder as if to say, “Well done.”
But I, preoccupied with how to console Seul-bi, couldn't react at all.
Once everyone was seated, CEO Park Jae-yong began to speak.
“Seul-bi might be a little upset, but I think Min-jun's decision was the right one… Hey! Where are you going?”
As if triggered by the CEO’s words, Seul-bi shot up from her seat and ran out. Ro-si followed right after her, and Seol-ah started to get up as well.
“It’s fine, it’s fine. This is homework for the two of them to solve. Give them time to talk.”
“Daepyo-nim, you could have been a bit more tactful! You’re just asking for trouble!”
Director Lee admonished the CEO.
“What did I do? Min-jun did the right thing.”
Director Lee, Seol-ah, and Yi-na all sighed in unison.
I felt a little guilty that the arrows of blame seemed to have shifted from me to the CEO.
* * *
*Slam!*
Seul-bi slammed the bathroom door shut.
The soothing music and elegant atmosphere, which made you feel like you could take off your shoes and lie down right there, offered her no comfort.
‘I worked so hard! I worked so hard to protect my spot!’
Seul-bi’s resentful thoughts burst out of her. The position she had thought would be hers until the day Answer disbanded was gone. And it had been taken away by someone she had believed was completely on her side.
Seul-bi recalled the days she’d spent struggling to improve her non-existent rap skills for that very position. The bitterness gradually reached back to her childhood.
The version of herself who had been showered with love by her once-happy parents.
The horrible years after their divorce, when she had slowly become a nuisance.
The PTSD from losing her place as a beloved daughter intertwined with her stolen position, intensifying her self-loathing.
‘…Why do I get pushed aside by my half-siblings, by my step-siblings… and now, by someone who can’t even rap better than me…’
She couldn’t let the parents who abandoned her see her like this.
‘I’ll show them. I’ll show them how important I am!’
A faint trace of blood appeared on Seul-bi’s tightly pressed lips.
When Seul-bi opened the door and came out, she saw Ro-si standing in front of the sink. Ignoring her, Seul-bi walked past, pulled out a tissue, and dabbed at her tears with a blank expression.
“Seul-bi-seonbaenim…”
“Senior? Don’t make me laugh. We’re the same age.”
Ro-si gently took hold of Seul-bi’s arm.
“…Let go.”
“…I also thought it was wrong for me to take the rap part. But it’s such a heavy responsibility…”
“I said, let go of my hand.”
“I’ll talk to the manager… no, Producer-oppa. I was worried I couldn’t handle it either and was trying to figure out how to tell him.”
Ro-si’s anxious expression only made Seul-bi more emotional.
“I wish you were… at least a jerk about it!”
“Ah!”
Shoving Ro-si’s hand away with force, Seul-bi ran out of the bathroom, shouting.
“Why is my life so pathetic! Why!”
Startled by her incredible strength, Ro-si rubbed her sore hand and stared blankly at the door Seul-bi had stormed through.
“Ah!”
Realizing too late that she couldn’t just let her go, Ro-si ran after her, but it was already too late.
Ro-si ran back to where the group was.
“I think Seul-bi left!”
“What? Why didn’t you stop her!”
Seol-ah shot back at Ro-si, her face filled with anger.
“See! You should have been more careful!”
“Seon-ah. Is this my fault now?”
At Lee Sun’s words, Park Jae-yong looked at Min-jun with an aggrieved expression, while Seol-ah continued to press Ro-si.
“You should have grabbed her by the waist and held on!”
“She was so strong, it caught me by surprise…”
“They can hear everything.”
Only then did they remember that Director Lee Joo-won and other famous figures were still in the same room.
[Sudden Quest generated: ‘Seul-bi's Deviation’.]
Resolve the heartbroken Seul-bi's escapade.
“I started this, so I’ll handle it and report back immediately.”
After calming the group, Min-jun chased after Seul-bi, but she was already nowhere to be seen.
“…She’d have to walk a long way to catch a cab.”
[Trait ‘Sixth Sense’ activated.]
Before Min-jun’s eyes, a faint blue path tracking Seul-bi appeared.
* * *
*Ding-dong!*
The convenience store clerk’s eyes widened at the sight of the slender beauty who had just walked in. He had seen many beautiful women in his life, but she had a unique aura, and she looked familiar.
As if she had already decided what to buy, she unhesitatingly picked up a large cup of ramen, two triangular rice balls, kimchi, and a fish cake bar, placing them on the counter.
“A spoon, too, please.”
“…That’ll be 7,400 won.”
After paying, she poured hot water into her cup noodles and walked over to the microwave to heat up the fish cake bar.
The clerk, wanting to strike up a conversation with the familiar-looking beauty, opened his mouth.
“You should microwave the rice balls, too. They taste better.”
“…Yes. I know. It’s just faster to do one at a time.”
She took out a small hand mirror and checked her face. It was Seul-bi.
The exaggerated eyeliner and lip liner, mixed with dark shades of makeup, made her look like a different person from her idol self.
The moment she saw the fish cake bar puff up, Seul-bi took it out. Then, while the cup noodles and a rice ball heated up together, she took a large bite of the fish cake.
*Chew!*
The fish cake bar, made with a mix of plentiful fish meat, squid, and rice flour instead of wheat, burst with a sweet and savory juice.
Seul-bi resented herself for finding the fish cake so delicious even in such a frustrating situation.
*Ding!*
*Click, clack.*
The clerk couldn't help but gulp as Seul-bi carried her cooked ramen and rice ball to a window-side table.
*“Hooo.”*
The steam from the ramen fogged up the glass window.
Slurping the noodles into her mouth, Seul-bi stared at the illuminated sign on the wall of the club outside.
All the while, she kept pulling down the hem of her tight white dress, which clung to her body and rode up.
‘How can anyone wear something like this off-stage?’
Seul-bi, who had hastily changed into the dress at their dorm, wondered if it was too much, but then she carefully observed the women entering the club.
She felt a sense of relief seeing that some of them were dressed in styles just as revealing as hers.
‘Who are those girls walking around without a bag and just a phone that can’t even make payments? Are they re-entering?’
Having finished her reconnaissance of the club while eating her ramen and rice ball, Seul-bi left the convenience store. The clerk was flabbergasted by the slender yet toned beauty who had just devoured a meal large enough for a grown man.
*Click, clack.*
Seul-bi walked with a forceful stride, trying to muster her confidence. As she neared the club entrance, she fumbled inside her small crossbody bag, her fingers alternating between her check card and the cash Min-jun had given her.
Finally, as if she’d made up her mind, Seul-bi gripped the card.
She walked straight to the club entrance.
“Oh, a new face? Flying solo?”
“Huh? Ah, yes.”
The club’s MD scanned Seul-bi, pursed his lips, and let out a silent whistle. Even the bouncer, whose gaze rarely shifted, looked her up and down.
“You’re not underage, are you?”
“Ah!”
Seul-bi, who had been clutching her check card, quickly swapped it for her resident ID card.
“Whoa! Twenty?”
The staff member shone a blue light on her ID, a pleased look on his face.
“But you look familiar. Did you used to go to BB?”
“No!”
Startled that he might recognize her, Seul-bi waved her hands dismissively.
‘Why now, of all times?’
“…Really? Okay. Escort this one to the double.”
“Yessir.”
Another female MD answered with a smile. Her entry imminent, Seul-bi clutched her pounding chest and glanced behind her for no reason.
There was no one there to stop her from this deviation.
“There are people waiting behind you.”
At the MD’s urging, Seul-bi bit her lip.
“…How much is it?”
“Huh? Is that a joke?”
“…What?”
“What? Seriously? It’s free for you, unni.”
The people around them started to snicker. Seul-bi, who had heard there was an entrance fee, felt her face flush. The only things she had ever done in her life were study and practice.
‘It’s possible not to know…’
Seul-bi was grateful for the thick makeup hiding her burning cheeks.
Her first-ever entry into a club was complete.
♪♬
*Boom-boom-tss, boom-boom-tss-tss*
The low-frequency vibrations of the EDM music filled the club, tickling her skin, as people moved their bodies, lost in their own excitement.
Contrary to her worries that she was on the wrong path, a strange sense of exhilaration began to build, and Seul-bi swallowed nervously.
‘The DJ is a woman?’
Seul-bi, who had assumed the DJ would be a man, was surprised just seeing the beautiful woman at the booth.
“Here, this way.”
A female MD guided her to a secret room on the third floor, her friendly gestures and informal speech mixing in a strangely fitting way.
Seeing the room already set up with alcohol and various snacks, Seul-bi was suddenly gripped by fear.
“I don’t want to be here.”
“Huh? Is this seriously your first time at a club?”
Feeling like the staff member was looking down on her, a sense of defiance sparked in Seul-bi.
“No?”
“If you don’t like it, you can leave then. For now, just feel the stage…”
The friendly staff and the crowded stage below eased Seul-bi’s mind a little, but she still wasn’t keen.
“I have money, and I came here to dance, so just get me a table.”
The staff member gave a wry smile at the twenty or so 50,000-won bills Seul-bi pulled out.
“A table? You sure?”
Though she didn’t know much about clubs, Seul-bi nodded confidently.
The staff member, who seemed about to say more, simply nodded and led Seul-bi to the floor below.
“But later, if I ‘pick’ you, you just have to ‘call’ once, okay? I’ll keep hooking you up with free drinks.”
“…Free drinks?”
“Unni, you’re cute. Free drinks. Drink coupons! Anyway, you get it, right?”
Faced with the female MD’s mix of cute pleading and desperation, Seul-bi couldn’t help but nod.
“Thank you.”
Seul-bi watched the people dance as she drank her beer. She was confident in her dancing skills, but just like anywhere else, she needed to understand the current trends.
‘Is the Zero Two dance the big thing?’
People were subtly swaying their hips.
Forgetting that the purpose of her visit was a rebellious escapade, Seul-bi began to analyze their movements. It was the same hip-swaying Zero Two dance, but the atmosphere changed drastically depending on the position of their hands.
When their hands were near their chest, the dance looked cute and lively. When their hands were above their head, it looked sexy and sultry.
At this simple realization, Seul-bi’s mood began to lift, and she took another swig of her beer.