Don't Give Me Those Melodrama Eyes
"What!? Y-you want me to come over to your place...?"
I wasn't usually the type to poke my nose into other people's business. After what we'd just been through, though, I couldn't stop thinking about it. If she'd been a guy, maybe I wouldn't have cared — but Hayoung was a girl. Honestly, I was worried. Uneasy, even.
"W-well, but... you and I..."
"Hm?"
"We only just met today... we're not, like, that kind of close yet, are we? Isn't this a little fast...?"
"......"
She was blushing all on her own. Just what kind of scenario was she cooking up in that head of hers?
"I've actually... never been over to a guy's place when he lives alone..."
"Relax. I don't live alone."
"Huh...?"
"I live with my mom and my sister."
"Oh..."
For some reason, she looked disappointed. I let out a long sigh, smiling in sheer disbelief.
"Haa... Hayoung. Just what are you imagining right now?"
"I-I wasn't! I wasn't thinking anything dirty..."
She just confessed it herself.
"Hayoung. Do you know when an idol trainee hits their most dangerous moment?"
"When they don't make the debut lineup...?"
"......"
She just drove the knife in without any warning.
"Well, that too. But there's only one thing that can take even a rising star down in a single blow."
"What is it?"
"The opposite sex."
"Ah..."
"Until you debut, do not even think about seeing a guy. The kids I've watched get kicked out for failing that rule? I could fill a truck with them."
Hayoung gave a small, obedient nod.
"You came to Seoul to become a singer. You didn't come here to date."
"Yeah. That's true."
"So from now on... don't you ever look at me with Melodrama Eyes again."
I said it straight, and she nearly jumped out of her skin.
"Wait, was it that obvious?"
I felt a little ridiculous saying this out loud, but it had to be done.
"No matter how handsome and cool I might look, you are not allowed to get any ideas. You know what I mean, right?"
"Yep..."
Better to shut this down now, just in case.
"And that goes for every other guy too. Okay?"
"But..."
"This is advice from a senior trainee. You already don't have enough hours in the day to work hard — if you go around living like that, you'll end up like me and never debut."
"I... haven't even done anything yet..."
"Exactly. So don't start. That's what I'm saying."
"Ahh, got it. Yep. But oppa, how come you trained for so long and never debuted?"
"......"
She asked it with such a purely innocent face that I couldn't even come up with a decent answer.
"I didn't make the debut lineup."
"How come?"
"I didn't have any talent... just like you."
It was well past ten by the time we finally made it to my front door. I stood there for a long while, unable to punch in the door-lock code, just hovering on the threshold.
"How come? Did you forget the password?"
"......"
That wasn't it. I was worried about Mom. I'd told her this morning that I'd be staying at the dorm — which was the normal thing to do, since she still thought I was an idol trainee. Setting aside how she was going to react to me showing up at all, I turned my head and looked at Hayoung.
"What is it...? Is there something on my face?"
"......"
The second Mom sees Hayoung, she's going to lose her mind... Where was I even supposed to start explaining this in a way she'd actually believe? I was standing there wearing the most serious thinking-face I owned when Hayoung, beside me, scrunched her brow tight and started twisting her whole body into a pretzel.
"Augh — hss!"
"What...?"
"I-I really gotta pee... I've been holding it this whole time. Nngh..."
"......"
Judging by her face, she was not kidding.
"O-oppa... hss! Hahh! Ahh! I'm seriously about to wet myself..."
My own expression snapped into panic right along with hers. I had no choice. I punched in the door-lock code as fast as my fingers would go.
Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.
A cheerful chime rang out. The front door eased open, and Hayoung shot inside like she'd been fired from a cannon.
"Hey! Don't wake Mom! Go quietly... please!"
It was late enough that I'd assumed Mom would already be asleep. The living room lights were on, bright as noon. She was sitting on the sofa watching TV — and the second she saw a strange girl come barreling into the house, she nearly leapt out of her skin.
"Hwah! Wh-who are you!?"
"Ah, ma'am... wh-where's the bathroom..."
"Excuse me!? Did you walk into the wrong house? How do you even know our password..."
"Nngh, hnnngh! P-please... the bathroom..."
I bolted in after her to referee.
"Mom!"
"Hm? Jinwoo, what are you doing here? Didn't you say you were sleeping at the dorm tonight?"
"Hold on—"
First things first. Put out the fire that was currently on fire.
"Hayoung, bathroom's over there!"
"Th-thank you! Nnyaaah..."
Hayoung tore across the apartment like she intended to take the bathroom door off its hinges.
"......"
Just as I'd expected, Mom turned a stunned look on me and stared.
"Ah... so, that girl is..."
"Son... did you get a girlfriend!?"
I knew it. The most obvious cliché in the book.
Hayoung emerged from the bathroom wearing the face of someone who had just inherited the earth.
"Phew... wow, I thought I was gonna die. One more second and I would've just wet myself..."
She then charged straight at my mother, who was still standing in the middle of the living room staring at us, and dropped into a ninety-degree bow.
"Ah— ma'am. I'm so sorry. I was terribly rude, meeting you for the first time like that..."
She might have been short on tact and common sense, but the kid did have manners. I'd give her that.
"......"
From here on out, even I had no idea how this was going to go.
"And you are...?"
"Ah, I'm..."
I cut in before she could finish.
"Mom, I'll explain. So, this is..."
"Son. You, don't tell me..."
I could read the thought forming on her face from a mile away. I waved both hands in a frantic no.
"It's not. Just calm down first..."
"Seo Jinwoo... you..."
"It's not, I said it's not! I know you watch too many dramas so you might get the wrong idea, but it is absolutely not that. So..."
"What do you mean it's not!"
Mom dropped the act. Her brow knotted tight, and she started whaling on my back with an open palm.
Slap! Slap!
"Aaah!"
It had been a long time since I'd taken a Back Smashing, and it snapped my soul right back into my body.
"I sent you off as a trainee so you could be a singer! And you've been running around with a girl!? Is this really the time for that!?"
Slap!
"Ah! That stings! I said it's not!"
"Don't you 'it's not' me! Hey, Seo Jinwoo. You really are something else..."
"What now..."
"Getting a girlfriend wasn't enough, so you thought you'd sneak her into the house too? You've completely thrown your common sense out the window."
"It's not like that...!"
"No wonder you're Seo Hyun-sik's boy. You've got the exact same tricks as your father..."
"Why are you bringing Dad into this all of a sudden..."
"Seo Jinwoo. Are you done being a singer? You're not debuting!? You quit!?"
"......"
It just came out. I'd been waiting for the right moment to tell her since yesterday. This, it turned out, was the worst possible timing I could have picked.
Clearing up every last misunderstanding and proving my complete and total innocence took a full hour.
"Is that really true? It's really not...?"
"It's not..."
I must have said "it's not" a hundred times in that hour.
"Then you should have said so from the start... If you'd just told me, I wouldn't have gotten the wrong idea."
"......"
Something inside me was boiling. But she was my mom, so I couldn't say any of it out loud. Besides, I still needed to ask her a favor...
"Aigoo, and here I was thinking the worst... Of course my son would never do something like that."
The second the misunderstanding lifted, Mom's face brightened. This was my opening.
"Mom..."
"Hm?"
Asking her outright to let a girl sleep over would have sounded weird, so I laid the groundwork first.
"This kid Hayoung is a pretty big deal at our company right now."
"Hm?"
The second I baited her interest, she bit. Mom studied Hayoung's face with a long, curious look.
"And why is this little lady famous?"
"She's a member of the hottest girl group at our company right now."
Mom's eyes flew wide.
"What...? Is that true? Little miss, are you really in a girl group?"
"Huh!? Ah... I, well, actually..."
I pressed down firmly on the top of Hayoung's foot.
"Augh...!"
To her credit, she wasn't completely hopeless at reading a room.
"Heheh, yep, that's right... I'm still a trainee, though. I'm debuting soon..."
"Oh, really!? Now that I look at you, you've got such a round, cute little face. Are you still in school?"
"Yep."
"Where's home?"
"Gangwon-do."
"Gangwon-do? That's an awfully long way. You came all the way to Seoul by yourself to be in a girl group?"
"Yes, ma'am..."
"Aigoo, this poor little thing..."
Mom was starting to take a real interest in her. I figured this was my moment, sidled up beside her, and dropped my voice to a whisper against her ear.
"Mom... Hayoung's father is close friends with our CEO."
"...Really?"
"Yeah. So it wouldn't hurt to get on her good side."
"Ah..."
She gave a small nod, looking thoroughly convinced.
"That's why I brought her. I was hoping she could stay the night..."
"Ah..."
"She's still so young. Leaving her to sleep alone in a hotel just didn't sit right."
"Aigoo, of course it doesn't..."
That was my mom. A woman with a functioning sense of human decency.
"On the way here, the streets were packed with drunks."
"It's dangerous for a girl to be out that late..."
"Right? That's why I brought her."
Mom gave my hip a couple of light, affectionate pats — a temperature swing so violent from the Back Smashing that I almost got whiplash.
"Aigoo, I don't know who you take after, but my son's so thoughtful. I'm proud of you. You did the right thing bringing her."
At last, we'd arrived at the ending I'd been aiming for. I could finally breathe.
"Little miss. Your name is...?"
"Yoon Hayoung."
"Ah, Hayoung...?"
"Yep."
"Even your name is cute. Are you hungry? Have you had dinner?"
"Ah, well..."
Hayoung flicked a glance at me and hesitated. I answered for her.
"We actually haven't eaten yet..."
"No? Then go wash your hands and come sit down."
"Whoa, ma'am! Your cooking is no joke! This is so good!"
"Heehee, is it? I didn't even go grocery shopping — I just threw together what we had..."
"It's really good! You cook way better than my mom."
"Aigoo, Hayoung's mother would be so hurt if she heard that..."
"It's true! Wow, this is insane..."
"Heehee. Here, little one, try this too."
"Yes, ma'am! Thank you! I'll eat well!"
The tension must have finally drained out of her. Hayoung, with that peculiar social gravity of hers, soaked into the household in no time at all.
"But ma'am, I was so shocked when I first saw you."
"Hm? Why?"
"Because you're so pretty..."
"Heehee, oh stop... don't be like that."
"When I first saw you, I genuinely thought you were Jinwoo oppa's older sister. I really did..."
Okay, that was laying it on a little thick...
"Heehee! Our Hayoung is saying all sorts of nice things to make this old lady feel good. Thank you."
Our Hayoung...?
Mom's cheekbones had ascended to the heavens. The grin on her face was stretched so wide it looked permanently stuck.