Chapter 16
Chapter 16
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: Flickering Streetlight
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“Eh?”
A single tear rolled down my cheek. The girl playing opposite me let out a bewildered voice at that tear.
My shoulders trembled faintly along with it.
I grabbed her hand. Not too tightly. As weakly as if only the desperation of someone terrified of goodbye was being conveyed.
“I... I’m sorry...”
A voice shaking powerlessly. My head drooped limply toward the floor in sync.
“I, I... it’s all my fault. I won’t bother you anymore... I won’t nag about your contacts. Even... even if you’re with other girls, I won’t say a word...”
Trembling breaths wove into the end of every phrase.
“Please, please... don’t say we should break up...?”
I met the eyes of the girl playing my partner. Her pupils darted about in confusion, clearly revealing her bewilderment.
“I, I really love you. Without you, I’d just... die...”
The moment my line ended, the girl flinched and took a step back. My hand, clutching her collar, naturally lost its grip and fell away.
I wiped the tear from my eye with a finger and smiled as if nothing had happened.
“All done.”
I looked at the teacher with my usual tone. He wore a face just as flustered as the girl who’d been my scene partner moments ago.
“Teacher?”
“Trainee Sarang. Have you ever studied acting separately?”
Teacher asked in a voice as earnest as his gaze.
“No... never.”
At my answer, teacher’s surprise deepened.
“Huh, hold on. This... you can’t just stick to idols, can you?”
I glanced at my scene partner, who’d been standing there dazed until now.
Our eyes met, and I flashed her a bright smile. She openly scowled in response.
“Everyone, applause for Trainee Sarang’s passionate performance!”
At teacher’s cue, applause erupted from all sides. No one had expected acting like that from me—they all looked genuinely shocked.
“Student Sarang doesn’t seem to need this class at all. I’ll mention it to the representative myself.”
Oh dear. If they swap this for extra dance lessons, that’d be even worse.
Nah, no way.
“Good work, everyone. Dismissed.”
With teacher’s words, the acting class wrapped up.
As people scattered back to their class practice rooms, I waited by the door.
Soon enough, the trainee who’d played my partner appeared, friends on either side.
“Hello?”
I popped my head right in front of her.
“W-what?”
Startled by my sudden move, she scowled and stepped back.
“Got a minute?”
She let out a scoff at my request, like it was ridiculous.
“Something to say?”
“Yes. I really need to ask you something.”
She frowned once more, then told her friends to head in first.
“...Come on.”
We slipped into an empty small practice room. I’d heard you normally had to book these, but a quick stop was fine.
“Spit it out. I don’t have much time.”
“Trainee Park Min-ji... right?”
That was the name the acting trainer had called her.
Park Min-ji. Pretty ordinary name.
“And?”
“Well... I’m in B-Class, you know?”
Mentioning B-Class made her face twist noticeably uglier.
“So? Here to brag?”
Her words came out sharp as thorns. I shook my head vigorously, waving my hands too.
“No, no! It’s not like that...”
I pretended to glance around the empty room.
“Your name comes up a lot in B-Class.”
“...Huh? W-what kind of talk?”
My words wiped away her hostility in a flash, filling the space with curiosity.
“The unnies praise you nonstop. They can’t figure out why you’re stuck in C-Class.”
“...Really?”
Her eyes went wide.
“Yes. And honestly, from what I see... I don’t get why Min-ji sunbae’s in C-Class. You’re super pretty, and your vibe’s so captivating.”
“Uh, um. You think so?”
“Totally. Someone like Trainee Min-ji will definitely debut. For real!”
“Uh, um.”
Her lips twitched, betraying her joy before she could hide it.
“S-still, I’ve got tons to work on. Gotta keep pushing.”
No. I’d bet my life effort alone won’t cut it for you.
No standout personality like Lee Hyun-ah’s, no burning passion like Lee Seo-yoon’s.
Even the looks that might mask this dull blandness were just average here.
Dance or vocals? Being in C-Class tells you everything.
And she was older than me to boot.
“Keep at it, and you’ll debut for sure. Me... honestly, I don’t know why I’m in B-Class. It should’ve been you, Min-ji sunbae.”
“No way. Your acting back there was killer.”
“...But idols are for flashy types like Trainee Min-ji, don’t you think?”
No amount of grueling effort would make Park Min-ji succeed. This industry demands way more than just hard work.
That’s why I rooted for her.
So she wouldn’t abandon this dream. So she’d keep that passion burning, never losing the courage to climb this mountain.
“Thanks for the kind words. Let’s get along from now on.”
Her attitude flipped like a pancake, and holding back a laugh was its own challenge.
“Yes, please take care of me.”
We shook hands. A cozy vibe settled between us.
“Wanna drop the formal talk? I look older... call me unnie.”
“Ah, yes. Unnie. Sure.”
“Hehe. Yeah. Thanks for the nice words today.”
I held her hand and gently pressed a finger to my lips.
“Unnie. Can you keep what I said today totally secret? People might get jealous. I’d catch heat too...”
She knew better than anyone how jealousy twists people. No way she’d spread it herself.
“Yeah, obviously. Stuff like this stays between us.”
With a cocky smile, Park Min-ji strode out confidently.
Alone in the empty practice room.
I gazed at the spot she’d left and grinned.
“Fighting.”
In the murky night, streetlights flickered on the brink of dying, sparsely illuminating the road.
The vibe was a touch creepy, but I walked through without a second thought. Home felt darker than this gloomy path—no real alarm bells.
Down the stairs to the basement, a battered front door loomed.
The second I reached for it, voices leaked from inside.
My biological mother, plus two or three other women. Sounded like they’d called friends for a booze-up.
...Really didn’t wanna bump into those folks.
Back then, they’d grope me all over, cooing about how cute I was. Sticky, sleazy hands left me crawling with disgust.
I shoved them off. But drunks don’t heed a kid’s protests.
That day, the booze stench seeping to my scalp and the revulsion made me puke my guts out.
“......”
I hesitated, then stepped back outside. The autumn night wasn’t as biting as I’d feared.
Just crash on the street?
As the thought crossed my mind, something clicked. I pulled out the gifted phone.
Just two contacts. I dialed one.
Rrring—
The relentless ringing cut short. A hush fell over the line.
[...Hello? Sarang-ah?]
A familiar voice tickled my ear.
“Seo-yoon unnie.”
[Yeah, what’s up?]
“Just... felt like calling.”
[Oh, okay?]
First real phone chat felt oddly stiff.
Chat about random stuff first? Nah, no dragging—straight to it.
“Unnie, could I maybe crash at your—”
[Lee Seo-yoon! Mom says come eat!]
That’s what I meant to say.
Until the voice from her end cut me off.
[Hang on, five minutes! Sorry, Sarang-ah. What were you saying?]
She replied to the interruption, then turned back to me.
“......Just wanted to hear your voice.”
[Huh?]
“Yeah, called ‘cause I missed your voice.”
[W-what... you’re embarrassing me. Everything okay?]
“Totally. About to wash up and crash. Eat well with your family, unnie.”
[Gotcha. See you tomorrow, Sarang-ah.]
“Yes.”
We traded some warm chit-chat.
Click—
The line went dead, and heavy silence blanketed everything again.
I tilted my gaze upward.
The streetlight, flickering like it might snuff out any second.
It was the only thing faintly lighting my world.