Author: LyraDhani
‘How far have you looked into it?’
My sister asked. Her voice sounded like it was both pressing for answers and feeling helpless.
‘You’re a high school senior. The CSAT is next month. At a ti like this, you should be focusing on that… instead of worrying about this.’
‘There’s no point in taking the CSAT if I can’t pay the tuition.’
‘So you’re going to tell them now? At this important ti?’
‘If we don’t settle now, I won’t make the deadline.’
Those papers were the record of my 19 years. I had to get out of here even if it ant suing those two, and to do that, I needed evidence. They were the traces of my struggle, collected with that in mind.
I was planning to use this card right before the CSAT. That way, I could escape from ho as soon as I beca an adult.
‘The admission fee is due in late January at the earliest, and early February at the latest. This conversation won’t end in 1-2 weeks. We’ll be arguing for weeks.’
‘You’re going to talk to those people just to get a asly tuition fee? You still don’t know what kind of people they are?’
‘It’s not a asly tuition fee, noona.’
My sister’s mouth closed at the words that had been driven in like a wedge.
‘No matter how much I worked part-ti, I could only save up enough for the admission fee. I know it sounds like an excuse, but I don’t have enough ti to work. I can’t be sure what my CSAT score will be to apply to a lower-ranked school that gives scholarships. I want to leave ho, but things aren’t going my way. If I’m going to sue them eventually anyway, wouldn’t they agree if I suggested a settlent now?’
Even as I stamred on, I couldn’t tell if I was expressing my opinion properly. I tried to speak clearly and persuade her, but my mind felt like it was turning completely white.
My sister grabbed my hand. Her hands were clenched tight.
‘It’s not your fault. The situation is difficult, so it’s hard to set priorities. Let’s pack your things and go to my place right now. If I’m working, I can get a loan for a few million won…’
‘I don’t want to be a burden.’
‘Who said you’re a burden?’
Even my sister, who rarely ever raised her voice, snapped then. Because I already knew she was that kind of person, it was even harder for to lift my head.
‘If you’re not going to ask for help, then why did you co to ?’
Hearing her angry voice, I felt guilty. I didn’t want to be a bother. I wanted to solve it on my own. But I had realized, with a sad clarity, that no matter how much I tried on my own, my decision was lacking in the eyes of my sister, who had lived longer.
‘Because you’re an adult.’
‘…’
‘With this much, I figured you’d be able to see better than whether it would be a threat to them…’
‘Hyoil, please.’
My sister sighed. I took a deep, very deep breath.
‘That’s your right. It’s your only chance to be justly compensated for the harm you’ve suffered.’
Her every word was filled with resentnt. I didn’t want to hear this kind of voice from my sister.
‘Don’t waste your once-in-a-lifeti chance on sothing like this.’
My sister lowered her head and cried. Tears fell onto the plastic cover.
My sister, who spoke like that, had never ended up filing a lawsuit herself.
She worked day and night without stopping, earning money, and after moving out, she even secretly sent pocket money, letting the statute of limitations run out. And yet, she was telling to get compensation for myself. Hoping that even if the wound wouldn’t heal, at least the painful mories would be eased.
The food ca, but I couldn’t bring myself to eat it. In a crowded restaurant, we couldn’t even pick up our spoons until the custors at the table next to us had changed several tis.
I didn’t have the guts to go against my crying sister’s words and confront my family. The evening I parted with my sister, I sent her a text saying I would focus on preparing for the CSAT.
And a little while after the CSAT was over, my sister ca to see . Holding an envelope that was bursting at the seams.
‘You can’t open a bank account without Mom and Dad’s consent, right?’
‘Huh?’
‘Keep it in cash. I’ve already taken out the deposit, so don’t even think about using it for anything else.’
I couldn’t bring myself to reach for the envelope. Because I knew what kind of money it was.
But my sister was stubborn.
‘I’m not just giving you this money. I’m going to get it all back later.’
And then my sister sipped her iced aricano, the cheapest thing in the cafe.
So I worked like my life depended on it. Without a mont to think about things like a readjustnt period or a job transfer, I just looked ahead, living without flexibility or adaptability.
‘…I’ll pay you back as soon as possible.’
Because I had said I would pay her back quickly. Because I really felt like a burden.
Because I had beco an adult too, and I wanted to tell her not to worry anymore.
But I never beca a strong adult like my sister. To beco a solid adult, I was too helplessly broken by just the absence of my sister.
*
The docunts were exactly as I had collected them in the past. The only difference was that my na had been changed to ‘Kim Han.’
‘What’s your intention in giving this to ?’
Are you telling to sue those people in this life? After making an idol whose face is plastered all over the world? In a situation where I’d be lucky not to be counter-sued?
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath to calm myself, but it wasn’t easy. My head was spinning.
And then a thought occurred to .
‘…The bank account.’
The account with 15 million won in it.
The account that had the full 15 million won when I ca to the past, and the account that I wouldn’t have needed to open if I hadn’t enrolled in college.
With a trembling hand, I accessed the banking app. Even the short loading ti felt unbearably long.
And the mont I checked the account opening date…
Account Opening Date 20XX.12.26.
…I felt my breath catch in my throat.
So it was settlent money.
Using these docunts, I must have promised not to escalate the family matter.
The docunts crumpled powerlessly in my hand.
Where was my sister while all of this was happening?
If she had at least filed a lawsuit first and left the house ahead of , and that was why they treated , the latecor, so cleanly, I felt like I’d feel better.
If my sister wasn’t by my side even before I injured my back.
Is my sister, right now, even doing well…
I sat in the room, dazed, for a long ti. Until the manager, who had been waiting in the parking lot, ca up to the dorm, saying he had co to see what was taking so long.
Saying it was nothing, I closed the docunt case and shoved it into my suitcase, but my stomach burned. My eyes kept welling up. I tried my best to change the subject, and I suppressed the surging emotions deep inside my heart.
*
No matter how difficult the inner circumstances, work doesn’t wait for you.
So I silently did what I had to do. While fully feeling the helplessness that ca from being unable to do anything, hoping that there would be so progress in eting my sister.
“Hyung, are you okay?”
Even though I tried my best to hide it, Park Joowoo noticed with uncanny senses that I was spacing out.
“Why do you ask?”
“You look tired…”
“I think it’s because my schedule is so complicated. Look at this.”
When I opened the Dotion calendar and showed him, Park Joowoo’s face clouded over. The schedule, tangled like Tetris, reminded of my college titable.
“Maybe you should… cut back on your work?”
“I’ve cut back a lot.”
“Just because a person who used to build a pyramid by himself is now just making a sphinx, doesn’t an it’s not hard labor…”
For once, Park Joowoo’s words were long.
“It’s going to get even busier from now on. I passed the audition.”
“…The drama?”
Park Joowoo’s eyes widened.
“Yeah. The company got a call earlier. I’m going to play Tetris with my schedule on the calendar soon.”
They said they’d be releasing an article soon, too. With a title like ‘Spark’s Iwol Joins Suspense Drama…’ They were even going to write ‘Rising to the ranks of acting idol?’. I practically had to stage a sit-in protest to stop that last one.
“So we have to finish all the ‘IDC’ related etings within this week. You said you finished your assignnts, right?”
“Yeah, the sester’s over now…”
Park Joowoo, who had been sitting on the floor, flopped onto the sofa and pressed his cheek against the leather.
I ended up learning in an unexpected way that Jeong Seongbin and Park Joowoo had worked hard in their college life. Thanks to seeing a screenshot of a university community during the monitoring process.
≫ I actually had a prejudice against idol group mbers
It was cool and nice to be in the sa liberal arts class, but I didn’t want him to be in my group. But once we were in the sa group, he was so reliable…
He showed a new world of data research
And he keeps buying us things, saying he’s sorry for not being able to co to offline etings often
We’re the ones who suggest online etings because we’re too lazy to go out, but I guess he thought we were being considerate of him
Thanks, J because of you, our group never once got called out on survey statistics…
≫ Seongbin must be going to school really diligently
There are a ton of sightings and verification posts
But why is he so diligent with group projects and not with exams…
└ He’s wise. People who only take care of their individual assignnts to get good grades and neglect group projects get a lot of flak, even if they’re not idols.
└ I might not be able to do my own assignnt because I don’t have ti, but at least I’m not causing trouble for others. That’s actually a plus.
Flowers raised in the barren land known as UA were blooming brilliantly. In recognition of their efforts, I decided to grant a leave of absence to the kids who had burned through a sester.
“Cheonghyeon said he had sothing to say anyway, so let’s book a eting room before the end of this week.”
“I’m good with that. Seongbin probably will be too. …What about Jeho hyung?”
Park Joowoo asked, slightly raising his head.
“It doesn’t matter.”
Choi Jeho, who was stretching his shoulders, answered without even a glance. I really should delete the phrase ‘doesn’t matter’ from that guy’s shallow vocabulary.
As I was warming up with so simple basics, the other half of the mbers rushed into the practice room with Manager Daeyeon.
From Lee Cheonghyeon, who was taking off his school uniform as soon as he arrived, to Kang Kiyeon, who had already stuffed his tie into his pocket, to Jeong Seongbin, whose face was pale from being in the eting room for so long, there wasn’t a single one who looked normal.
“Everyone, we have an additional schedule, so I’ll just give you a heads-up on that.”
Manager Daeyeon took out his phone.
“What else is there?!”
Even as he was horrified, Lee Cheonghyeon quickly took out his planner from his bag. The clicking sound of ballpoint pens was heard from all around.
“We’ve decided to have a profile shoot for ‘IDC’ Season 2 next Thursday. We’re scheduled to shoot in ti for when Cheonghyeon and Kiyeon finish school, and we’ll also be recording a separate ‘thank you’ ssage and a ssage about participating for winning first place in the vote, but the schedule for that hasn’t co out yet, so just keep that in mind. And they said the date and storyboard for the group comrcial we talked about last ti are out. The dedicated team has uploaded them to Dotion, so please check…”
The announcents didn’t seem like they would ever end. See, Joowoo? I don’t think reducing my work is a remote possibility.
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