Author: LyraDhani
≫ Thank you guys, I don’t think I need to go see Nakhwa Nori anymore
The world’s really changed, filming a traditional festival in such close-up like this.
└ Miheon-nim made a splendid return
└ Ha, really, I genuinely intended to just take a quick peek and leave, but these kids, really, this is the modern interpretation of traditional culture, haha seriously
Forgetting the wrestle with Naos, Parthe’s fandom, Baek Haewon let herself sink into a mont of happiness. Fresh, real-ti buzz was so much more satisfying than yesterday’s tteokbokki, it didn’t even compare.
She did find it strange that Spark had taken second place. Glancing at the rough rankings, she guessed there’d been so unspoken jockeying behind the scenes.
Getting stoned at the beginning of the program was enough with Season 1, and she’d learned that, in the end, those who mattered would know. Honestly, Baek Haewon thought the current turn of events wasn’t so bad.
‘Let’s not just be exploited, guys.’
I love you guys who do your best in everything, but I hope you don’t just get sucked dry!
Whether Baek Haewon’s wish would reach them or not, it was a relief that at least the kids on the screen looked happy.
*
After reading comnts that were half-heartwarming and half-awkward until my eyes popped out, it was already 3 AM. Thinking that this comnt window would turn into chaos in 3 weeks, on the broadcast day of the 1st competition, I couldn’t help but check it now.
As I was about to charge my warm phone, I heard the door lock opening outside. The only person who hadn’t returned to the dorm yet was Jeong Seongbin.
“You’re back?”
“Yes, hyung. You weren’t sleeping?”
“Was just about to.”
Jeong Seongbin, with a look that clearly said he didn’t believe it, gathered his clothes and headed to the bathroom. A mont later, the guy returned to the room steaming as warm as my phone.
“Do you have a mont?”
Jeong Seongbin asked after glancing at carefully.
“It’s pretty late, right? If you’re free tomorrow…”
“It’s fine. Totally fine. I’m open 24 hours.”
“I wish you’d close for at least 8 hours though!”
Even as he joked, Jeong Seongbin sat neatly on his bed.
“It’s not a big deal, I just wondered if I could get so advice regarding social conduct.”
“You asking ?”
“Yes.”
“You’re doing impeccably well. I wonder what’s bothering you.”
“If you keep praising us, we’ll get spoiled.”
“Getting spoiled isn’t sothing anyone just can do either.”
Jeong Seongbin laughed, thinking it was a joke. I wasn’t joking, though. No matter how recklessly soone tries to live, so people can cross lines and others just can’t.
“Tell . I’ll try to listen objectively.”
The story that followed could be simply summarized in three lines.
First, Han Gawoon from Parthé takes really good care of him.
Second, he doesn’t feel good about Parthé as a group, but he’s grateful for Han Gawoon as a person.
Third, he wonders if thinking like that is arrogant, or if he’s betraying the fans.
‘Did I push him too hard to keep his distance from Parthé?’
I made the kid think too much. I learned during the daycare experience that adults’ anxiety was transmitted directly to children, so I should be careful!
“It’s sothing to be grateful for that a senior takes good care of you. You don’t need to deliberately ignore that feeling just because of what I said or the atmosphere.”
“Is that so……”
Jeong Seongbin smiled bitterly. With fans fighting emotionally, it probably wasn’t easy to take my words at face value.
“I told you to keep so distance because I worried you guys debuted so young and might get stuck in awkward situations with people. But now, I believe you’ll talk things out if you need help, so I’m not that worried anymore.”
Back then, there were lots of kids who’d run away or bottle things up, but Spark’s ntal health seed pretty solid now.
Even if sothing happened where I couldn’t see it, they’d speak up. I didn’t need to watch them as closely as when they were trainees. Look, even Jeong Seongbin was opening up to on his own.
One thing weighing on my mind was Han Gawoon’s position.
Listening to Jeong Seongbin, it seed he lived like an isolated island in the team, and because he knew MYTH’s concept copying better than anyone, he couldn’t lift his head to Jeong Seongbin.
When the people at the top do sothing stupid, it’s always the conscientious ones below who suffer.
Even if Han Gawoon had opposed it, once it was actually carried out, how could he escape the guilt of doing sothing wrong? The industry really was rotten.
“Caring about soone isn’t being nosy. It just ans you’re kind, Seongbin. Don’t think it’s overstepping. All you need to do for the fans is show them you’re doing your job well.”
I spent a full thirty minutes soothing and reassuring him. There were so many different kinds of people in the world. I didn’t want him to get stressed needlessly over a single decent person.
Fortunately, Jeong Seongbin lay down on the bed ending with thanks for listening to his worries. Even just looking at his face, I could tell his worries had eased.
To not disturb him, I also pulled up the blanket and lay down.
However, sleep didn’t co. Han Gawoon’s face floated before my eyes. The image of a person whose situation seed pitiful but whom I couldn’t get close to.
‘If it was soone from Berion, I could have empathized with Jeong Seongbin much more.’
It wasn’t about personal ties. It wasn’t even about not liking Parthé.
I felt uncomfortable around Han Gawoon.
A kind-hearted person who, despite good intentions, still ended up negatively influencing others and was self-aware enough to feel sorry about it.
Han Gawoon resembled Mr. Seong Silhan whom he played in ‘Act on’……
[Unnie, the cup holder turned out so well in real life!
The whole world should know unnie has golden handsㅠㅠ]
…..And resembled Nam Jooah exactly.
*
‘Assistant Manager Kim, co to my desk for a mont.’
I rember Manager Nam calling less than a week after I joined the company.
On Manager Nam’s monitor, an unfamiliar celebrity’s face was displayed.
‘My kid says she needs to remove the yellow tone from this photo, and it’s frustrating seeing her struggle for hours with sothing that doesn’t even look difficult.’
Manager Nam’s affection for his precious only daughter was famous in the company.
‘They say she was weak when she was little, so he dotes on her like crazy. He’s always desperate to do everything for her.’
‘He doesn’t even let her fold her own laundry. If she wants sothing, he makes sure she gets it.’
Helping with those personal tasks at first didn’t feel that uncomfortable.
Partly because I didn’t know better, and partly because I thought, So this is what a father’s love looks like. I even wished noona had a dad like that. Even though I knew adults pretending to be family-oriented outside didn’t always an it was true.
The favor didn’t end as a favor. Manager Nam didn’t want to make his daughter do a single cumberso task, and wanted his daughter, who would be left alone when he and his wife died later, to get a good job to earn enough money to feed herself without suffering much. To do that, Nam Jooah had to use her ager stamina solely for studying.
‘You got her another tutor?’
‘Our kid doesn’t have the stamina to go to academies. It’s expensive, but what can I do? As her dad, I’ve got to do at least this much.’
‘Didn’t you say you would only make her prepare for the civil service exam?’
‘Didn’t you see the article about civil servants suffering because of rude complainants? My Jooah would collapse doing sothing like that. The kid is weak-hearted.’
Manager Nam, who lacked the financial power to leave a large inheritance, did everything he could for Nam Jooah within his ans.
However, similarly lacking financial power, that person squeezed where he couldn’t save. By exploiting people around him to his heart’s content. Because the money Manager Nam could spend on his daughter had limits after all.
Everyone in the office thought such affection was suffocating, but Nam Jooah was a filial daughter. She laughed off the prejudice that she would be selfish growing up pampered. She was lively and kind, got along well with others, and always volunteered to help where she could.
People always said she worked hard too, for her caring, hardworking father.
Maybe Nam Jooah thought she shouldn’t rebel against the massive affection.
Manager Nam’s love for a daughter who never rebelled, who seed to skip adolescence altogether, only grew deeper with ti.
‘Assistant Manager Kim, you know how to edit videos, right?’
‘Only basic level.’
‘Watch a few idol videos or sothing and study it a bit. The company covers training costs, right? I’ll approve it, so sign up for an online editing course and watch it in your spare ti after work.’
The affection created by delusion turned into orders for , a subordinate, to do it instead because his daughter didn’t have the ti to do ‘such things’.
‘Wouldn’t your daughter think it’s strange?’
‘Just say I entrusted it to soone I know. I did that last ti too.’
Even though Assistant Manager Hwang stood up for , it had no effect. Perhaps angry that soone dared to question him, Manager Nam showed displeasure, so I stepped up and stopped Assistant Manager Hwang.
I don’t know how much he said he paid and asked ‘soone he knew’. Judging by how his requests kept getting more complicated, he must have boasted a lot at ho.
Requests beca more specific as ti went by. Manager Nam stopped relaying ssages and changed the thod to forwarding Nam Jooah’s emails to altogether. Seeing ‘FW:’ among unread emails made swallow hard automatically.
‘If she’s a middle school student, she’s not a kid, Assistant Manager. Fans are actually really polite when they support idols. It’s impossible she doesn’t know this is abuse of power.’
Supervisor Song, who had experience liking idols, said so. She said fans rather acknowledged each other’s hard work.They’d say thank you for making their idols look good, for spreading the word—not treat that dedication as unpaid labor.
Since I had no business contacting Nam Jooah from my side, and doing so would likely result in receiving overti, I didn’t attempt anything new.
One day when I was drying up like that.
‘Assistant Manager Kim, have so snacks.’
Special snacks arrived at the office. It was a high-end baked confectionery set, not the dried pollack or nut bars usually piled up in the pantry because no one touched them. One box contained madeleines, another contained financiers, at least ten each.
‘What’s with the snacks?’
Since there was no occasion for wedding return gifts to co in, I looked around confused. Assistant Manager Hwang explained carefully.
‘……The Managers daughter sent them. To eat with people her dad works with.’
The source of the snacks made it impossible to put them in my mouth. No wonder both Assistant Manager Hwang and Supervisor Song weren’t touching them.
I said it was fine and deliberately picked up a madeleine. I didn’t want others to walk on eggshells because of .
‘Assistant Manager Kim, throw this away.’
Conversely, Manager Nam, who didn’t want to see getting comfortable, called hurriedly. Shaking a large shopping bag that seed to have contained the snack boxes.
Even though there were trash cans at every desk, dumping bulky trash or slly food was always my job.
I put the madeleine down and went over to Manager Nam.
Inside the shopping bag was a small envelope. Tossing sothing like that without checking could invite a storm of abuse later, so I tucked the shopping bag under one arm and opened the envelope.
A handwritten letter I never expected popped out from inside.
Hello, unnie! I’m Nam Jooah!
I always send emails through Dad, but this is my first ti writing you a letter!
A ssage from Nam Jooah to her fangirling buddy Kim Iwol, whom she accidentally got to know through the connection of her dad working in the sa departnt.
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