Chapter 48
Chapter 48
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 48
Chapter Title: Seul-bi's Story
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"...What's this idiot talking about?"
One of the guys stepped between Seul-bi and Min-jun.
"...Get lost."
Min-jun's voice resonated with a strange vibration, sending a chill down the spine of the guy blocking his path.
Feeling slighted, the guy threw a punch without warning.
/With his combat power boosted by the 'Soldier's Spirit' trait, Min-jun could see the trajectory of the fist with perfect clarity./
Min-jun caught the incoming punch with his left hand, pulled the guy forward, and smashed his right elbow into his jaw.
With a sickening thud, the guy crumpled to the floor.
"Wh-what the hell is this guy!"
Even in her hazy state, Seul-bi was amazed by Min-jun's agility.
Min-jun fought the other two, who had dropped their guard, but he was as strong as a professional fighter. Just as another guy fell to Min-jun's fist, a new problem arose.
"How did you get in here!"
Hearing the commotion, two employees rushed in and lunged at Min-jun. Seul-bi's eyes slowly closed. Somehow, she felt a sense of relief, certain that Min-jun wouldn't lose.
Though her eyes were shut, the chaotic sounds of the scuffle reached her ears clearly.
And then.
*Thud.*
A dull impact near her made the corner of Seul-bi's eye twitch.
She could feel the fight intensify, accompanied by Min-jun's furious shout.
⋮
'Get a grip.'
Min-jun's sharp, resonant voice jolted Seul-bi back to her senses.
'How much time has passed?'
Seul-bi wondered, noticing how much her surroundings had changed since she'd closed her eyes. At the same time, she was startled to find Min-jun lifting her onto his back, but she was relieved to feel that his hands weren't touching her bare skin. She realized he had wrapped his jacket around her waist.
Two thugs were sprawled on the floor, their faces a mess. Another stood with a busted lip, his face pale. And two employees were plastered against the wall, trembling.
"...But who are you......"
The one with the busted lip asked Min-jun.
"I'm her brother."
Seul-bi was stunned by his words.
'Brother...?'
That one common word made Min-jun's back begin to feel warm and comforting.
"...It's a misunderstanding, really. We didn't do anything! We have witnesses right here."
"That's right, sir! This young lady was mixing beer and liquor..."
"Shut up. Before I kill you."
Min-jun's murderous tone sent a shiver through Seul-bi, but her eyelids grew heavy again.
Min-jun carried her on his back and left the room.
As Seul-bi buried her face in the warmth of his back, a warm, wet sensation made her open her eyes again.
Blood was trickling from under Min-jun's hair, soaking his shirt.
"Blood!"
"It's fine. Just needs a few stitches."
The murderous edge in Min-jun's voice was gone, replaced by a warm tone that sent another shiver through Seul-bi's body.
She remembered the dull thud she'd heard while she was blacking out.
'He got hurt protecting me?'
A wave of guilt washed over her.
* * *
I hesitated for a moment, looking at the 'Hey Listen' ticket that increased persuasion probability, but I quickly dismissed the status window.
At least with the members of Answer, I wanted to approach them with sincerity, not tricks.
[Seul-bi's trust in you has reached its peak.]
The club was still noisy, but as if due to the system's influence, the small space Seul-bi and I occupied felt quiet and isolated.
"...Do you know the show doctor, Kim Yoo-jin?"
I instinctively felt that her personal story was about to come out.
"Calling her a 'show doctor' seems a bit much. She seems to help a lot of people, doesn't she?"
"...What about the restaurant entrepreneur, Lee Seung-chan?"
"Are they your parents?"
This wasn't in her profile.
"They were, once..."
As Seul-bi spoke, her story began to play out vividly in my mind.
As if I had become her.
* * *
"My lovely daughter. Mommy loves you more than anyone in the world."
"Really? More than Daddy?"
"Of course. I love you more than Daddy."
"I love you too, Mommy!"
"And to Daddy, our Seul-bi is the prettiest girl in the world."
"Liar. Mommy is prettier."
"What are you talking about? Our Seul-bi is the prettiest child in the world, born from Mommy and Daddy's love for each other."
"...Am I really prettier?"
"Mommy is pretty, but our daughter is even prettier!"
Even to my young eyes, it was obvious that my mom and dad loved each other.
The only time they ever fought was over how to discipline me when I did something wrong.
"Mom! Dad! Stop kissing!"
"Now, now, Seul-bi. Our whole family is happy because Mommy and Daddy love each other."
Back then, it was so embarrassing.
My parents' seemingly unbreakable love began to crumble when...
"...Section Chief! Really? I get to go on?"
My mom got a chance to be on TV.
Talented and beautiful, my mom was thrust into the spotlight after a single appearance and quickly made a name for herself as a star doctor.
The two of them were lucky.
Which, of course, meant I was unlucky.
Around the same time, my dad's restaurant business began to flourish. Both my mom and dad were so busy they barely had time to breathe, and their seemingly endless love cooled under the constant excuse of being busy.
Were they so busy they didn't even have time to kiss?
Both of them had affairs around the same time and divorced in an absurdly simple fashion.
"Seul-bi, come live with Daddy. Please?"
"Sweetheart. You like Mommy more, right? Come live with Mommy."
"Can't we all just live together?"
I asked through bitter tears, but my parents didn't even blink.
"Mommy and Daddy aren't right for each other. If we keep living together like this, we'll all be miserable."
Lies! You're selfish! Even if you fight every day and go out to have fun, please, I'm begging you, just stay in the same house! I want to keep living in this house where I grew up!
A thousand words screamed inside me, but I couldn't let any of them out.
Even as a child, I knew it would only hurt my pride without changing a thing.
The one small mercy was that they were both there together in my elementary school graduation photo.
I started middle school.
I spent one week at my mom's house, the next at my dad's. As if by some cruel joke, the separate apartments they got were in adjacent buildings in the same complex.
It was still okay back then. At least they both pretended to love me, to care for me.
Then, a half-sibling was born on one side, and another half-sibling from a different father on the other.
How could their timing be so perfectly aligned?
From cheating to popping out kids.
I instinctively felt a sense of crisis and focused on my studies, thinking it was the only way to make my existence known.
But just as I feared, my parents' attention drifted away. The same parents who had once begged me to live with them started pushing me onto each other.
"...You were supposed to take her this weekend! It's messed up my whole schedule!"
"Another trip? It's your week, you should be the one to handle it!"
I don't know if they forgot I was in my room, or if they wanted me to hear.
It was the worst-case scenario, plain as day. No matter how much I struggled, I couldn't escape the encroaching despair. I wonder if anyone else knows what that feels like.
Hoping for a different outcome, I decided to run one last test.
On my final exams, I filled in my entire OMR answer sheet with the number 4. I, who had been first in my grade after the first midterms, plummeted to the 10th-to-last place in the entire school.
It was almost funny, wondering what kind of people the nine students behind me were if I could still score that high by picking one number. Meanwhile, the school was in an uproar over the model student's shocking downfall.
"...Are you trying to rebel against your mother right now? You're only hurting yourself."
"...Are you trying to rebel against your father right now? You're only hurting yourself."
How could they say the exact same thing, down to the last word? A smirk, not anger, crossed my face. Why did a match made in heaven like them ever break up?
Anyway, I had confirmed that the amount of love and attention left for me was exactly as I had expected.
To them, I was no longer special.
I started thinking about how to become independent in the shortest time possible. Something where I could shine brightly on my own, without my parents' support.
An idol.
I won't accept their filthy help anymore.
I started preparing for auditions instead of studying. Having inherited my mother's looks and talent—she had dreamed of becoming a prima ballerina until elementary school—I was confident.
It's dirty, but I might as well use what I inherited.
"Your dance lines are so beautiful. It's natural talent. And your voice is hip, perfect for a rapper."
"Thank you!"
"Okay. But being the rapper doesn't mean you're skilled enough yet. You'll have to work hard, you hear?"
"I'll work until my throat gives out!"
"Haha! I love the passion!"
And just like that, I passed my first-ever audition as a dancer and rapper.
"I'm going to debut in a group. I'm moving into the dorms."
I informed my parents. But as expected, they were indifferent. Not that they would have tried to stop me even if I had consulted them. Just being able to escape from them was a relief.
'This is my last chance.'
I practiced rapping like a madwoman, and my skills improved.
I wasn't at the level of freestyle rapping, but I could understand the rhyme, flow, and themes of existing songs and infuse them with emotion. I was confident enough to say I was in the top tier among active girl group rappers.
I gave it my all, thinking that if I just protected my position, I would surely succeed.
"Lee Seul-bi. Stop looking at your phone. It won't do you any good if you get caught on camera."
"Seol-ah unni... You don't just become a rapper. You need input to get output. I lack talent, so input is even more important for me."
"Such a lame excuse."
"You little... watch it, Yi-na."
I liked Seol-ah unni, and I liked Yi-na.
There was only one thing that was difficult about living in the dorms...
*Growl.*
'I'm hungry.'
How are we supposed to live on nothing but greens? We burn a crazy amount of calories at every performance.
I stared at the two cards in my hand. Debit cards from my mom and dad. Since becoming independent, I hadn't touched a single penny of the money they deposited each month.
Why can't I just cut up these cards that I'm never going to use? It's obvious I won't use them in the future either...
* * *
As Seul-bi's words ended, the scenes playing in my head ended with them.
I felt a warm wetness on my back, which I assumed were her tears.
"...I'm sorry. Oppa. I didn't mean for this to happen. But if Ro-si were a better rapper than me, I'd accept it, but she's not. Anyone can see I'm better!"
My heart ached for her unfortunate past and her efforts to protect her position. I understood why she had acted out.
But I had to be the mediator.
"Seol-ah is the vocalist. You, Seul-bi, are the dancer and rapper. Yi-na is the visual. So what does that make the new member, Ro-si? A backdrop to fill out the numbers?"
I felt Seul-bi flinch, as if realizing her mistake.
"That's how groups work. You can get famous with one or two good songs, but if the balance isn't right, you can fall apart in an instant."
"......"
"There are plenty of cases where the main vocalist raps better than the main rapper or dances better than the main dancer. They just don't show off those skills because of the established concept."
I felt Seul-bi gently grip the fabric of my shirt on my shoulder.
She seemed to be feeling ashamed of her childish behavior. Pushing her any further might be counterproductive.
"Right now, my only goal is Answer's success. Trust me and follow my lead. I'll make Answer the best. ...Wouldn't that be the best revenge on your parents?"
"...You're right, Oppa."
Seul-bi answered in a barely audible voice.
[Spontaneous Quest 'Seul-bi's Rebellion' Complete.]
Seul-bi's rebellion has been resolved. She will now be more dedicated to the team's success.
Reward: Random Draw
A roulette wheel spinning before my eyes came to a stop.
[You have won a one-time use ticket for the trait 'Instant Application (B)'.]
Allows you to distribute points without training.
It was a ticket that would be very useful in a pinch.
And just like that, Seul-bi's potentially dangerous rebellion was over in a matter of hours.