Chapter 23
Chapter 23
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: Parallel Worlds and Idols (1)
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The spot where the crescent moon head had swept through.
"The crescent moon head... was floating around like this!"
I even sketched a crooked drawing to describe the Management Bureau Chief's appearance, but Mi-ra Owner didn't believe me at all.
"No matter how much you dislike the Chief, you can't pull pranks like this."
"...It's trueee."
She seemed to think I was lying out of jealousy.
But to me, the Chief clearly looked like he had a crescent moon for a head...
When I tried to explain, it felt like I was just going in circles. I'll talk to Grandpa about it later, I thought, changing the subject.
"Owner, when I went to Myeongdong this time, I saw a casino there... When was that built?"
"Huh? Myeongdong Casino?"
I had so many questions about the casino that had pushed aside Myeongdong Cathedral and taken its place.
Not to mention how bustling Myeongdong had turned into an entertainment district or even a slum.
"The casino... I think it was built in 2040, before I was born."
"2040?"
"Yeah. Back then, some unidentified anomaly appeared in Myeongdong and made about ninety percent of the residents disappear."
"Ninety percent disappeared..."
"It vanished so quickly that even Grandpa's spatial leap couldn't catch it."
Grandpa can do spatial leaps?
I wondered just what kind of person Grandpa had been in the past.
"After that, some foreign conglomerate bought up all the abandoned land in Myeongdong and built the casino."
"..."
Hearing about the anomaly that made ninety percent of Myeongdong's residents vanish, it suddenly made sense why it had become a slum and why the casino was there.
"Curiosity satisfied?"
"Yes!"
"Hungry? I'll make you a hamburger."
"Wooow!! I'll help!"
As the Owner patted my head and headed to the kitchen, I raised both arms high and followed her.
"No. Lua, you sit nicely and watch TV."
"Why, why?!"
"Remember when you exploded the cabbage?"
But the Owner brought up the cabbage incident from last time and banished me from the kitchen.
"That time I couldn't control my strength properly... I can do it now!"
"Then... how about boiling an egg?"
"Meow! That's easy!"
Boiling an egg should be a piece of cake.
She handed me an egg, and I slipped it smoothly into the boiling water in the pot, waiting.
When I thought it was done, I pulled it out right away to check, but surprisingly, the egg wasn't cooked at all.
"...It's not... Argh!"
Kya-oh! Annoyed at having to wait again, I blasted pale pink dragon breath straight onto the egg.
The eggshell charred pitch-black from the breath, but anyway, I focused all my energy and successfully boiled the egg.
I can do this much too!
Of course. What kind of dragon can't even cook?
I was overflowing with talent, after all.
"Owner! Ta-da!"
"......"
The Owner stared blankly at the charred egg and patted my head.
"Good... job, Lua. I'll handle the rest, so wait here."
"Yes!"
With a satisfied smile, I completed my mission and waddled to the living room sofa, turning on the TV.
But... what programs are on these days?
Hugging a cushion, I pressed the channel button to see if there was anything worth watching.
【♩MusicWorld Global Awards♩ │ MooD:iN — (Parallel World)】
"...MusicWorld Global Awards?"
At that moment, my eyes locked onto a music show with a flashy stage unfolding.
A female idol group was performing sharp synchronized choreography on the grand stage.
It looked like a year-end awards show...
Korea still thrives on idols, huh?
As I watched the music show in a daze with those trivial thoughts.
The Owner, who had been cooking, stopped and came to watch the music program too.
Her apron on, wearing an expression nostalgic for the past.
Had she been an idol before...?
"Yerin and Adella are still doing great... But Arisa and Seol's point choreography is still weak..."
Soon, the Owner's eyes sharpened like blades as she quietly analyzed even the specks of dust hidden by the glowing stage lights.
The female idols dancing on TV just looked like cool dancers to me, but apparently, it didn't satisfy the Owner.
"Yerin's vocals still lack grounding... I taught her before..."
"Owner...?"
"Huh...? Oh, right. Gotta make the hamburgers."
When I called out to the sharply intense Mi-ra Owner.
Only then did she realize she'd been absorbed in the stage and returned to the kitchen to make the hamburgers.
For some reason, her steps back to the kitchen carried a hint of regret.
...I'd never seen the Owner with such a serious gaze before.
The overwhelming, high-quality MooD:iN idol performance lasted a full twenty minutes, and then a tall, handsome host came on stage to start the awards.
"Artist of the Year: MooD:iN! Congratulations!"
In the following awards ceremony, the idol group MooD:iN swept most of the prizes.
When they finally won the biggest one, Artist Award, the Owner's hands stopped assembling the hamburger.
"Thank you... It's been eight years since MooD:iN formed... Thank you so much for all the love over these long years...!"
The leader, with her pure yet mature beauty, gripped the mic and shared her acceptance speech.
"Really... thank you for loving us this year too...!"
As the leader's voice cracked with emotion through the mic, the Owner quietly paused and focused on her words.
"Mi-ra. You're watching this, right...?"
Amid the cheers and roars of the massive crowd, as she continued her speech, she called out Mi-ra Owner's name.
"You've been out of touch lately... Let's talk more often... okay?"
The Owner slowly lifted her head to gaze at the woman speaking on TV.
It was an expression of longing and complex emotions for precious friends, different from the warmth she showed me.
"...Lua. Time to eat the hamburger."
As if she hadn't heard, the Owner skipped over it, pulled out a chair at the table, and called me.
Sensing her sudden low pressure, I quietly sat in the chair.
"Itadakimasu..."
Gripping the hamburger with both hands and taking a big bite, I cautiously glanced at the Owner.
A world-class idol publicly name-dropping a personal connection—what kind of amazing person was the Owner in her past that I didn't know about?
"Ahem..."
As I mulled it over and devoured the hamburger, the Owner wiped the cheese from my mouth and patted my head.
"Eating with your face all messy again. Eat properly, Lua."
"...Meow."
The Owner's eyes tried to hold their usual tenderness, but they faintly wavered, as if fragments of a forgotten past were nagging at her.
"Owner... um..."
I cautiously opened my mouth, gauging her mood. She slowly set down her fork from the salad and met my eyes.
"Were you... an idol when you were young?"
Putting together all her reactions so far, I carefully pieced together her past.
"...Yeah. That's right."
The Owner quietly nodded, confirming my guess.
"Not quite an idol, but... I was a trainee for six years... yeah."
As if it was awkward to say more, she trailed off.
"Sorry, Lua... This topic is a bit uncomfortable for me."
"I'm sorry... I didn't mean to pry..."
"No, no. I'm glad you know, Lua."
The Owner fell silent for a moment, then, to keep the mood from darkening, shared a bit of her past.
"That girl group MooD:iN on TV just now?"
"Yes...! Their stage was so cool! And the leader called your name...!"
"That group... was the one I was in before debut."
"...!! Really?"
"Yeah. Really."
I didn't know much about the industry, but making it to debut lineup was practically a success story.
They say some trainees practice for over ten years and never even get close...
"If it weren't for... that incident back then, I probably would've debuted as the leader."
"That incident...?"
The Owner's gaze momentarily lingered on her younger sister's photo in the family picture.
"...It's nothing. Want me to show you a dance?"
Quickly shifting her focus, she reached out lightly, recreating her idol days with a wave.
Her arm moved with a fluidity that transcended human joints.
It was just a simple wave, but it felt like watching a goddess dance.
"Ugh... Fam..."
Inspired, I tried imitating her, but mine wasn't a wave—it was more like awkward flailing.
Creak creak. I swear my joints were squeaking.
"A wave is like this. Watch closely."
The Owner demonstrated the wave breaking it down step by step.
Extend the arm, bend the hand, bend the elbow, bend the shoulder—like riding a wave.
...How does she do that?
"My joints... squeak!"
A very sad fact I learned today.
Dragons can't dance.
"My idol dreams..."
In the end, I gave up on my idol dreams and sulkily munched on the hamburger.
"With your looks, Lua, you could totally be an idol. Don't worry."
"R-Really?!"
"Yeah. Cute face, well-defined features. You're bound to be a beauty. Dancing isn't everything in idols."
"...Ehehe."
At the Owner's cheesy praise, my cheeks flushed red as I let out a shy giggle.
Me as an idol...
I couldn't picture it, but if the Owner said so, I was an idol trainee from now on.
Idol trainee dragon...
Anyway.
Shaking off the thoughts, I cautiously pondered why the Owner had quit being an idol.
Quitting right before debut would've been a huge loss.
What happened that made her abandon her dream at the finish line?
Riiiing—! Right then, the Owner's phone started ringing.
"...Hold on, Lua? I gotta take this."
I nodded quietly to the Owner, who asked my permission, and started wolfing down the rest of the hamburger.
"Yerin?"
The Owner was surprised by the call from her idol friend who'd just given the speech on TV and answered the video call.
"...Hello? Yerin?"
"Mi-ra! It's been forever!"
"Yeah... it's been a while..."
"You've been out of touch, so I called after so long...! Our leader!"
The caller, Yerin, referred to the Owner as "leader."
"We won the grand prize...! You know it's our first time winning in Korea, right...?"
"...Good job."
"Sorry... Am I too excited...? I just... called because I wished you were here too..."
Excited about the win at first, Yerin soon noticed her slip and toned it down.
How incredible must Mi-ra Owner have been, to be treated as leader even by an eighth-year veteran idol?
"Congrats. ...I'll send some flowers to the company later."
The Owner responded formally, as if putting distance between them, and moved to hang up.
"Wait, Mi-ra...! Wanna go on a trip since it's been so long?"
Yerin hurriedly explained why she'd called.
"...Huh?"
"We're done with our world tour and on break...! It'd be great to meet up with our leader after so long!"
"...Oh, I... Sorry. I don't think I can."
"Ah... Okay..."
The Owner hesitated at the word "trip," but glanced at me briefly and refused.
She probably felt it was awkward leaving me alone.
"Owner... I can stay with Grandpa."
I quietly conveyed it to her so the phone wouldn't pick it up.
For some reason, my gut said this trip couldn't fall through because of me.
"......"
The Owner paused briefly, realized my consideration, and corrected herself to Yerin.
"...No. On second thought... I think I can go."
"Really? For real?!"
Yerin seemed more thrilled than anyone about traveling with Mi-ra Owner.
"Good call! I prepared something you'll like, leader...!"
"......"
"I'll head over tomorrow! Just wait!"
"Okay. ...See you tomorrow."
Click. As soon as the call ended, the Owner blankly stared at her reflection on the dark screen.
Without a word, she closed the phone and patted my head.
"I'll go have some fun for a bit, Lua. Stay with Grandpa while I'm gone."
"...Meow!"
I wagged my tail with a happy growl.
Whatever it was, I hoped this would resolve the Owner's past issues.
The next dawn.
"Mi-ra! It's really been forever!"
The world-famous idol group MooD:iN had come to visit Mi-ra Owner.