NOVEL WEB Chapter 10
Episode 10
“Teacher Taeyang, I think we should head out soon.”
“Right, it’s safer to leave with about 30 minutes to spare before the appointment. Let’s get ready.”
Finally, the day had come.
The frustrations of the past played like a panorama in my mind.
Gyeoul’s attitude was incredibly exemplary.
Except for calling me Teacher Taeyang instead of ‘uncle’ at some point, she followed all my advice and didn’t slack off at all.
Gyeoul’s talent wasn’t bad either.
Even though she learned a thing or two, just considering that she dramatically improved with the advice of someone who wasn’t a professional dance trainer like me showed her potential as an A Class in the status window.
The issue, however, was the bad habits she had learned without a solid foundation.
Every time I corrected one annoying habit, new ones popped up like peeling an onion.
Every time I asked where on Earth she learned such absurdities, I got the same answer: “Yeji told me.”
Truly infuriating.
Through this week of correction classes, though we hadn’t even met face-to-face, Yeji had earned enough qualifications to be my nemesis.
Thanks to that, I was filled with determination to pass Gyeoul just to get back at Yeji.
“Got it? The moment you fail, Yeji’s torment will start again. She’ll bring all the local delinquents and shout at you, ‘Who do you think you are trying to pass the audition?’ while trampling you!”
“I… don’t think it’ll go that far…”
Looks like Gyeoul still hasn’t fully realized what kind of monster Yeji is.
Defending the devil from Jeonnam?
I was about to launch into a grand speech about Yeji’s wickedness when I checked the time and decided to save it for later.
“Anyway, double-check that you’ve got everything.”
“Yes! Student ID for identity verification!”
“Checked.”
“Makeup for touch-ups!”
“Checked.”
“Extra stockings!”
“Checked.”
“Wing-shaped sanitary pads!”
“C… no, don’t tell me about that.”
I really didn’t want to know such personal information.
I already felt like I knew too much, to be honest.
“Well, it seems like you’re all set. I’ll drive you, so let’s go.”
“Wow! It’s a Murazzi!”
Gyeoul, with her bulky backpack resembling a sea snail, energetically dashed towards the parking lot.
After driving her a few times to the practice room, she could find her way there on her own now.
I grabbed the inari sushi lunchbox my sister made for me in case she got hungry while auditioning and followed her.
Arriving at the parking lot, I passed by Gyeoul, who was waiting like a meerkat, and started up my sister’s beloved Murazzi.
I passed by Gyeoul, who was waiting like a meerkat, and started the engine of my sister’s trusty Maltese.
“Get in.”
Gyeoul dashed over, threw her bag into the back seat, and plopped down in the passenger seat.
“Check the seatbelt!”
“Confirmed.”
I made sure Gyeoul really fastened her belt, set the navigation to the SS audition venue, and took off, being careful while driving.
“Ah, I completely forgot to send you to the hair salon. You either need to bleach it again or dye it back to black, one of those…”
Not changing her weird, self-done blond hair at home was my mistake.
It only reinforced that cheap “bad girl” vibe.
“Don’t dye your hair at home alone. The results are usually terrible, and it can really damage your hair and scalp.”
“Oh, it’s because I’m mixed-race; the color of my hair isn’t from dyeing, it’s genetic.”
In this situation, my mixed-race parents and grandfather were her only guardians.
Looks like she’s had a tough life too.
“I see… I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine. Hehe.”
“Well, all you had to do was fix your outfit and makeup. That cop didn’t just look the other way because of my nonsense. You were just the epitome of a bad girl back then!”
Even now, her sharp eyes and blond hair left a hint of that impression.
But since I paired her bright, high-teen style crop top with wide pants, it was accepted more as a personal flair.
But Gyeoul’s appearance back then was a real problem.
“Why did you dress like that, you timid thing?”
Given how girls adored and praised each other’s beauty, the agency wouldn’t have liked the bad-girl vibe that could stir up conflict in the practice room.
It was a relief they didn’t suspect a hidden school violence incident.
Thus, judging Gyeoul’s outfit at that time was practically the worst she could have worn for an audition.
Her score would drop by at least 30 points as soon as they saw her face.
“Um… my outfit and makeup were helped by Yeji. She said it’s a trendy style among high school students in Seoul,”
“No way, that psycho Yeji is the real deal.”
The devil of Jeonnam and a master of gaslighting, Yeji, made her way into this story too.
“When you go back, don’t hang out with her at all!”
I shouted with bubbling anger.
“Confess! Yeji is my enemy!”
“That seems a bit much…”
“I said confess!”
“Y-Yeji is my enemy!”
I was very satisfied.
In my mind, I happily envisioned Yeji, consumed by jealousy, crawling on the ground after Gyeoul became a trainee at SS.
Yeji enjoyed driving, imagining Gyeoul crawling on the ground, driven mad with jealousy after seeing her as a trainee.
“You know, my grandfather said my taste was weird back then.”
“Oh, the naked female characters from comics? It’s fine to like girls. I respect sexual diversity, so don’t worry.”
“No! I like men!”
Gyeoul desperately defended herself, insisting it was just a character from a famous comic wearing revealing clothes and definitely not a strange character or comic.
She added some pointless information about having a typical heterosexual attraction and that an age gap of up to ten years is okay.
That was the loudest she had ever been since we met.
She must have been quite flustered.
“Yeah, it’s your taste, who cares what anyone says? It’s much better than following Yeji’s gaslighting. But please, stop using that naked character as your profile picture.”
“…Isn’t it cute?”
“Maybe that character is, but the owner behind it doesn’t seem cute.”
Honestly, I thought she looked cute, but the picky Cheon Jong-hoon wouldn’t think so.
So, I spoke a bit harshly.
“I can totally picture you as someone who hugs a pillow with that character drawn on it and just watches anime all day without stepping outside. So change it, please.”
Gyeoul made a shocked face and defended herself.
“…I do go outside sometimes.”
…The rest matched.
Gyeoul quietly changed her profile picture and excitedly started talking about the cheap malatang her older sister made for her yesterday.
Trying to relax, I matched her chattiness today, and soon, we reached the bridge where I first discovered Gyeoul a week ago.
At that time, I would have never imagined it would turn out like this.
How could I have predicted I’d get involved with a high schooler who looked like they were attempting to commit suicide?
As we passed the bridge, such a strange feeling arose.
Did Gyeoul feel it too? She suddenly stopped her chatter and stared blankly at the bridge outside the window.
When we were almost at the audition venue after passing the bridge, Gyeoul spoke again.
“Uh, Teacher Taeyang.”
“What?”
“How can I repay the favor I received from you?”
“What kind of favor?”
“All of it. I received so much, and I can’t think of any way to repay you.”
“You could give me your first payment.”
“Ah, but I need to give that to my grandfather, so that might be difficult.”
My ambitious plan to snatch some cash was shot down in an instant.
“Well then, sing at my wedding as a congratulatory song later.”
It would be the best situation if I became a successful idol and sang at the wedding, but even if I ended up as an ordinary person, that wouldn’t be too bad.
An A-rank potential vocal isn’t going anywhere.
Even if I hired a professional congratulatory song singer, Gyeoul would still do better.
“Congratulatory song?”
Gyeoul pondered while muttering about congratulatory songs, weddings, and brides for a while before she spoke.
“…That seems a bit difficult.”
“So, what’s it going to be then?”
“I’m sorry… sniff.”
“Hey, don’t cry! Your makeup’s gonna smudge! How long until the audition, and you’re crying now?”
As I was making a fuss trying to pull over on the roadside, Gyeoul wiped her moist eyes and smiled sweetly, probably finding my antics amusing.
I couldn’t help but laugh at that foolish display.
“When you succeed, if you remember, pay me back whenever you have the chance. If you don’t remember, just forget about it.”
Even if Gyeoul didn’t take care of anything, I was already planning to take care of Cheon Jong-hoon.
I wouldn’t mention it, as she might feel betrayed, but honestly, this was a fair trade.
Well, since we wouldn’t be seeing each other for long, it’s better not to bring up such backstories.
“I will never forget it. Absolutely never.”
“That’s fine to forget, just don’t forget the lyrics.”
As I entered the parking lot of SS’s office building, the security guard asked why I was there.
When I said I had an appointment with Cheon Jong-hoon, the guard immediately lifted the barrier as if he’d received the heads-up beforehand.
He even guided me to the location of the C-3 practice room, which was the agreed meeting spot.
While sightseeing through the building, I arrived at the C-3 practice room following the guard’s directions, with about 20 minutes left until the appointment time.
After installing the audio files I brought onto the well-used computer and audio system and finishing the rehearsal, the 20 minutes flew by.
At exactly 5 o’clock, the door to the practice room opened, and in walked Cheon Jong-hoon, a man, and a woman—three people total.
They entered precisely at 5 without a second’s delay, which was quite impressive.
Cheon Jong-hoon glanced at his analog wristwatch and said, “Let’s not waste time, let’s get started right away.”
It seemed like a formal introduction or greetings weren’t necessary with Cheon Jong-hoon.
He was consistently the same.
I nodded and played the song I’d installed on the computer.
As the song started, Gyeoul began to dance.