Manager App - Chapter 83: Idol Project
"Cut it out already, you idiot."
Saying that, I pried Jihyun off her. Jihyun let go of Ye-eun's body with a wistful, regretful expression. Meanwhile, Ye-eun wore a slightly startled look as she stared off into space.
Wondering what was up, I glanced at Ye-eun—and suddenly, she raised her hand.
"Ah!"
As her hand reached shoulder height, Ye-eun let out a short gasp and pulled it back.
"What's wrong?"
I tilted my head at her odd behavior and asked. She stammered for a moment before lowering her hand and answering.
"Just now... Sunbae, didn't you see it in your eyes?"
"See what?"
"Oh, no. I must've seen it wrong."
Ye-eun shook her head in confusion. That's when Eunha, who'd been sitting quietly, jumped to her feet and spoke up.
"Ye-eun, you saw it too?"
"Huh? Then... Unnie saw it as well?"
"Yeah! It definitely said something about experience points after singing."
"Right. Mine said my experience points went up too."
Seeing the two of them talk like that, I flinched.
'No way...'
I didn't want to believe it, but a suspicion was forming in the back of my mind.
"What? What are you two whispering about? Tell me too!"
Unlike Ye-eun or Eunha—who'd both visited the Training Room—Jihyun, who hadn't, just looked curious and clung to them.
"Oh, it's nothing."
"What? That's not fair! Tell me! Come on!"
Eunha gave an awkward smile and tried to soothe her, but Jihyun wasn't backing down. She whined and latched onto me instead. Meanwhile, Ye-eun approached me and asked,
"Sunbae, you didn't see it?"
"Huh? See what?"
"What Unnie Eunha mentioned. After finishing the song, didn't you see something about experience points?"
I swallowed hard at the question.
They were describing it so clearly—there was no doubt the Manager App was affecting them somehow.
'Did this happen with Minseo too?'
Come to think of it, Minseo had once told me something similar. She'd said it felt like I was always watching over her.
In other words, she must've seen something visible, just like Ye-eun and Eunha.
'...Gotta ask Minseo about this.'
I took a slow breath and quickly answered Ye-eun's question.
"No, I didn't see anything."
"Really? Hmm..."
Ye-eun put on a serious expression, fiddling with her lips.
"Alright, let's practice more songs!"
As Ye-eun pondered with that grave look, Jihyun shouted loudly and stepped forward with Eunha. They picked a duet and started singing together.
'Whoa...'
They sang quite skillfully, so they must've come to karaoke places like this often. It made sense, given that Eunha even knew her favorite songs.
'...That's why she was so desperate to recruit Eunha.'
Eunha's vocals seemed a bit stronger too. So Jihyun handled the visuals, and Eunha the voice—a pretty balanced duo.
"Ah! Ye-eun, it's there again!"
When the song ended, Eunha yelled to Ye-eun. Guessing what she meant, Ye-eun stood, grabbed the remote, and selected a new song.
'She seems to have figured something out...'
Cold sweat trickled down my back watching her.
'...Nah, she can't pin it on me just from this.'
More importantly, thanks to what happened with Seoyeon noona, I was completely off the suspect list. Plus, both of these two were friendly toward me. They wouldn't easily suspect me as the culprit.
"It's up. Unnie, can you see it?"
After finishing her song, Ye-eun pointed in front of herself and asked Eunha.
"Hmm... No, I can't. Looks like it only shows for individuals."
Eunha shook her head. Ye-eun then handed me the mic.
"Sunbae, you try singing too."
"What exactly are you seeing?"
I took the mic from her and asked, playing it cool like I knew nothing.
Without a shred of suspicion, Ye-eun explained everything she knew.
"Every time I sing, a translucent window pops up saying experience points accumulated. Like in a game."
"Like a game?"
"Yeah. Sunbae, just try it once. Maybe it'll show for you too."
I nodded at her words and sang Seong Si-yeon's It Would've Been Great again.
'What should I say?'
While singing, I pondered.
'...Should I say I see it too?'
To play it naturally here, it'd be better to say I saw it like Eunha or Ye-eun. But claiming it now would look suspicious. I'd already firmly said I didn't see anything the first time.
Sure, I could make excuses like I missed it or wasn't paying attention... but I'd learned the hard way from Seoyeon noona that lame excuses only tighten the noose.
So, better to stick to my original story.
"How about it? See anything?"
After I finished, Ye-eun asked. I looked around and replied,
"No, nothing."
"Really?"
Ye-eun tilted her head, looking even more confused. Watching this, Jihyun suddenly hugged Ye-eun tightly and yelled,
"What? What is it? Why are you three conspiring without me?!"
We—me, Ye-eun, and Eunha—gave awkward smiles.
"...Don't try to brush it off—tell me right now!"
Jihyun shouted, determined to get the truth this time. I quickly pulled her off Ye-eun and said,
"It's kind of personal... Could you let it slide?"
"Is it serious?"
I spoke in a grave tone, and Jihyun put on a serious face too.
I nodded quickly.
"Yeah, pretty serious."
"Hmm... Okay. If oppa says so."
Jihyun nodded in agreement. But she glanced at Eunha and added, "It better not hurt Eunha."
I smiled faintly and said, "Of course not."
'Anyway...'
I turned toward Ye-eun, arms crossed.
'...Is it okay to leave it like this?'
There was some unease, but from what I'd heard, it only showed messages about experience points accumulating.
'Gotta get the details from Minseo.'
Conveniently, I needed to reward her for winning today's practice match anyway.
"Let's sing a few more for now."
As I sorted my thoughts, Ye-eun stepped forward and suggested it. Eunha nodded in agreement, grabbing the spare mic and standing beside her. Looked like they were going for a duo.
"Ooh!"
Jihyun let out an impressed exclamation, shaking the tambourine. The song Ye-eun and Jihyun picked this time was A-yoon's Nagging.
"Don't stay out late, stay away from booze. You don't listen like a ten-year-old kid."
"It's just hilarious. Who's calling who a kid? It's just hilarious."
Even though it was their first time syncing up, the two traded lines as naturally as longtime karaoke buddies. Especially Eunha, who took the male role and perfectly complemented Ye-eun's curt tone.
'They go great together.'
I was genuinely impressed.
"More than anyone, it's the sound of my heart thinking of you."
"Even when I'm mad and yelling, your nagging is sweet to me~."
"It's the kind of talk you can only have if you love someone. To you who won't listen, it's obvious nagging."
"Stop it, stop it. Believe in my heart~."
Finishing the song, both pointed into space with an "Ah!" without needing prompting.
"See it?"
"I see it!"
From their reactions, it seemed the alert appeared jointly when they sang together.