Chapter 78: The Chairwoman's Backing
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 78: The Chairwoman's Backing
Chapter 9 - A Real Idol
1
“Oppa, are you sleeping?”
“Ah, sorry.”
At the sound of Ji-eun’s voice beside me, I stretched with a tired expression.
I had been leaning back for a moment while waiting for Ji-eun and Si-ho to finish their training, but it seemed I had dozed off.
“Manager, if you’re sleepy, you can sleep more. We’ll wake you up later.”
“That’s right. You don’t need to push yourself if you’re tired. Go inside and get some sleep.”
Hearing Si-ho and Ji-eun’s voices, I managed a slow smile and rubbed my eyes.
“No, it’s fine. I should get up. Is your training over?”
“We’re on a break right now. We have one more session to go.”
“Okay. Here’s some water and a towel.”
Two weeks had already flown by since I learned that Seol-hyang was Jin Seol-hyang.
The incident at the Hunter Academy already felt like a thing of the past, and life had somehow settled back into a routine. Thanks to that, I was back to working at the company.
Did I overdo it yesterday?
Lately, I had been ramping up my training with Baeksan.
After the incident with Eunnamu, Baeksan had determined that the events revolving around me were growing progressively more dangerous.
Since I felt the same way, I had been pouring all my energy into training.
As a result, I’d been a little short on sleep recently and would often nod off like this.
About 0.5%, was it?
Although it had only been two weeks, I was adapting to my aura much faster than I’d expected.
According to Baeksan, I was, thank goodness, slowly getting the hang of aura control.
Then again, unlike other returnees, I wasn’t breaking through walls one by one.
I was simply adapting to the path Baeksan had already cleared for me.
It meant that once I got the knack of it, I could master aura relatively quickly.
I think I’m starting to get a feel for it.
Still, it didn’t seem like I’d be able to escape being a glass cannon just yet.
But the training was paying off, and my body had recently gotten stronger to a degree that surprised even me.
Thanks to the repeated training, my physique was changing to better accommodate my aura.
I was in the middle of awakening as the beastly Kang Ha-chan.
“Well, we’ll go finish our training then.”
Ji-eun flashed a bright smile and even gave me a little wink.
I gave her a wry smile and a wave. As she followed Ji-eun, Si-ho glanced back at me.
When she grinned bashfully and waved, I waved back one more time.
What should I do?
Seeing the two of them reminded me of my relationship with them.
For now, things between me, Ji-eun, and Si-ho were in a lull.
It was already September, which meant there were only a few months left until they both became adults.
As such, the company was providing them with aggressive support for their debut, and the two were busy training every single day.
Perhaps because of that, they had less time to pay attention to me.
Ji-eun is one thing, but…
Lately, Si-ho had also been showing an unusual level of focus during training.
“Whose fault do you think that is?”
At Baeksan’s words, I couldn’t help but scratch my head.
It was my fault, of course.
“The guy she likes is constantly showing up after getting rolled, broken, and knocked out. Even I’d get frustrated just watching from the side.”
I had nothing to say.
After all, I was the one who had lit a fire under Si-ho’s will.
She, who worried so much every time I came back injured, was now diligently participating in training, declaring that she would protect me herself.
Perhaps as a result, Si-ho’s proficiency with her spatial abilities had been improving by leaps and bounds.
And Si-ho’s mother, too.
Yesterday, Si-ho had a talk with me.
She told me that she and Seo-ho had confessed everything to their mother.
Si-ho had decided to let her mother go.
Her mother had apparently hugged them both and said it was okay, but Si-ho cried all day long.
Her voice was so hoarse that even I felt sorry for her.
September 14th.
It’s the anniversary of her father’s death.
Although her mother’s original funeral had been held long ago, she said they chose that day in the hope that her mother and father could be together.
She had one request for me.
She asked me to be with her on that day.
Naturally, I accepted.
To Si-ho, I was now one of her guardians and the person most deeply involved in her life.
At the very least, I had to be there for her.
“Stop with the useless thoughts and just get some more sleep. I’ll keep watch.”
As I was spacing out, I heard Baeksan’s voice.
What a good guy.
Creeak—
Just then, the door to the training room opened slightly.
A head of silver hair shimmered in the doorway.
Seol-hyang was standing there. Her head peeked around the door, and her eyes met mine.
She then raised a pale white hand and gave a little wave.
“Ha-chan, come here for a second.”
At her call, I glanced toward the training area before getting up from my seat.
Si-ho and Ji-eun would be fine with the training center director, and since the chairwoman herself was calling for me, I couldn't exactly refuse.
“What’s up?”
When I followed Seol-hyang outside, she suddenly pressed something into my hand.
I held it up to see what it was. It was a packet of deer antler extract.
And it looked quite expensive, too.
“I heard you’ve been tired from training, so I brought you a few. At least drink this.”
“…Aren’t you feeding me this stuff every time you see me?”
“That’s because you won’t take it if I don’t give it to you.”
I couldn’t deny that.
For some reason, I just never reached for these things on my own.
They were bitter, too.
“Drink up. It’s good for you.”
“Ugh, you’re not my childhood friend, you’re my mom.”
“That’s right. I’m your mama. Should I hug you and pat your head?”
Hearing that, my gaze unintentionally drifted down to Seol-hyang’s upper body.
Two soft, impressively heavy mounds of flesh were clearly displaying their grandeur, defying gravity.
As I flinched and lifted my head from my inadvertent stare, Seol-hyang was already looking right at me.
Her face flushed slightly, and she placed a hand over her chest.
“No, ah, that was a mistake. It was just instinct!” I stammered.
Seol-hyang just looked at me for a moment before grabbing the collar of my shirt with her other hand.
“…If it’s you, Ha-chan, you can do as you please.”
As I please.
The words hit me with such force that I froze on the spot.
Do as I please with those?
Then, my eyes met her sapphire-like ones above her red lips, and I felt the hair on my head stand on end.
“Gulp!”
I quickly gulped down the deer antler extract.
Seol-hyang, who had been watching me intently, lowered her head and stared at the tips of her toes, her face beet red.
She was embarrassed by her own words, which in turn made my own face feel so hot I couldn’t stand it.
Ever since she confessed to me, Seol-hyang would often hit me with unexpected things like this.
Because of it, I sometimes felt like I’d taken a critical hit.
I can’t take this.
After watching me drink the extract, Seol-hyang fidgeted with her toes for a moment before a wide smile spread across her face.
“Just kidding. I told you I’d wait.”
Is this what a person who’s ‘waiting’ looks like?
With that, Seol-hyang stuffed a few more packets of deer antler extract into my pocket and left.
Watching her go as if in a daze, I started running a hand through my hair.
“What the hell am I doing?”
That day, Seol-hyang had confessed to me.
At the time, I was so flustered by the revelation that she was Jin Seol-hyang, among other things, that I couldn’t give her a proper answer. But now, two whole weeks had passed.
It was time for me to give some kind of response.
Either I date her, or I turn her down.
To be honest…
I don’t dislike her.
No, to be precise, I’d have to say I have feelings for her.
Seeing her brings back fond old memories, and more than anything, the affection she shows me always makes my heart pound.
But even knowing that, I found myself unable to answer rashly.
The biggest thing holding me back was, of course, my sister.
It might have been different if she hadn't shown herself, but she appeared during the Kwak Sa-yeon incident not long ago.
Part of the reason I was training so hard now was to find her.
Dating someone when I’m supposed to be looking for my sister?
Honestly, I’m not a psychopath. Prioritizing my own feelings felt wrong when I was so worried about her.
On top of that, there was the problem of me dying when I turn thirty.
It was ridiculous to worry about that now, after having faced death so many times already, but what if I couldn't avoid that fate?
The person I was dating would surely be left all alone.
And there’s Baeksan, too.
Baeksan had regressed through time just to save me.
He did it to save me, yes, but also to protect the world that had been destroyed.
Dating someone while he was here… I couldn’t help but feel a pang of guilt.
“Dammit all, I want a girlfriend too. I really do, but…”
I banged my head against the wall a few times and muttered to myself.
Dating is great. Fucking great!
But if I started dating someone while carrying all this responsibility and pressure, without having solved any of my problems first, could I really make that person happy?
People say you should just date casually, but maybe it’s because I’ve always been a loner who’s never dated and is still a virgin, I just can’t bring myself to think that way.
In truth, maybe this was all just because I lacked courage.
Have I been alone for too long?
It’s been a whole sixteen years since I lived without a family.
And in all that time, I’d never once been in a relationship.
Perhaps because of that, I found it harder than I could imagine to let someone into my life.
“Sigh, I’m an idiot. A real idiot.”
To think I’m agonizing over this when there are so many people who like me right here, instead of just dating one of them.
I don’t know how my life ended up like this.
I need to do something about Ji-eun and Si-ho, too.
I felt like the issue with Ji-eun might resolve itself once she becomes an adult and her world expands.
But Si-ho was a mountain of worries.
Once she sends her mother back, she might become even more obsessed with me, her only remaining guardian.
After all, her feelings for me were not entirely unrelated to her trauma.
My life… how did it come to this?
As I was wrestling with these complicated emotions, I felt my phone vibrate.
I looked at the screen. It was Kkotbi.
“Hello, Kkotbi.”
[Ah, Oppa, are you in the middle of work?]
“I was just on a short break.”
Leaning my back against the wall, I listened to Kkotbi’s pleasant voice and replied. She sounded relieved.
“So, what’s up?”
[Um, I was just wondering if you’d be okay later. The traffic will probably be bad on your way here.]
I was scheduled to go see a concert for Blackstar, the group Kkotbi belonged to, today.
It started at 6 PM.
They were holding a solo concert at the Olympic Gymnastics Arena.
We had originally talked about hanging out sometime in early September, but while I was at the academy, Blackstar’s new song blew up, even climbing the Billboard charts again.
Because of that, the concert, which was originally scheduled for later, was hastily moved up before their overseas tour.
Kkotbi had been very apologetic to me about it.
In return, she had secured two tickets for me and Ahyu to the concert, which had sold out in one second.
“Don’t worry. I already put in for a half-day off. Ahyu knows all about this stuff, so I’ll just have to follow her.”
Honestly, I felt a little guilty for taking so much time off recently, but my team leader had readily approved it after hearing my story.
That was because he told me he completely understood, saying he’d been an idol fan for five years himself.
He even expressed concern, saying I looked very tired lately.
“Mr. Ha-chan, I’m really counting on you. Ms. Ji-eun’s YouTube channel already has 80,000 subscribers and is on the verge of 100,000, and I’m fully aware that Ms. Si-ho, Ha Seo-ho’s sister, follows you and only you! Word has gotten around to the higher-ups that you’re doing a great job, and our department’s funding has even increased. So just take care of yourself, Mr. Ha-chan! You’re the treasure of our team, a real treasure! Hahaha!”
And I knew why my team leader was so nice to me.
It’s probably Seol-hyang.
She must have put in a good word for me.
Definitely.