Raise Three Idols Well And They’ll Launch a Confession Attack

Episode 16

[“The use of ‘Fragments of the Future’ has been completed!”]

The scene shown in the fragments of the future displayed Gyeoul, looking dazed, not managing to finish her recording properly, and being bullied by Yoon Jeong. There she was, taking antidepressants and sleeping pills, scrolling through her smartphone, crying herself to sleep.

It looked so heart-wrenching, like she was suffering a lot.

The way Yoon Jeong and the other members treated Gyeoul in those scenes didn’t seem much like how you’d treat a colleague. It looked as if she was being ostracized.

What a pity.

Considering the bond they shared, I thought I should give some practical tips on sweet-talking those who are reluctant toward her.

But objectively speaking, it wasn’t that crucial a scene for me.

“So where did ‘no financial gain limitation’ go?”

I felt that the future scene didn’t present any elements that could become money or useful information.

Where are my lottery numbers?

“Right now, it’s not Gyeoul who’s urgently looking for a job; it’s me, the unemployed loser! Damn it!”

In the future I witnessed, it wasn’t impossible to gain financial benefits. But they seemed minimal.

At best, it seemed like Alcest, with Gyeoul in it, would have a positive impact on SS’s stock price. Sure, it was decent info from a long-term investment perspective, but my ambitions were far too grand to be satisfied with such safe investments.

“No, damn it. The Fragments of the Future weren’t written by Gyeoul, they were written by me! So give me information I can actually use!”

I grumbled, knowing full well I couldn’t communicate with the system. But I still held on to some foolish hope that maybe something would drop down, like the last time I got that regression candy.

[Cheon Jong-hoon did not pay for a fair trade. Let’s take the bullied Gyeoul and try trading with someone else!]

[Reward – Jukebox for Fingers]

Then, like magic, a quest popped up.

“Oh my, thank you! System-nim, loyalty, loyalty!”

I immediately kneeled and expressed my gratitude. After bowing three times, I calmly read the quest details.

But something about it seemed off.

Using provocative words while being vague made it hard to grasp the meaning at a glance.

“Steal Gyeoul and trade her again? What kind of nonsense is this?”

How could I possibly take Gyeoul back after she’s already signed a contract and debuted?

…Wait a minute. Gyeoul is being bullied, right?

As that thought hit me, it felt like electricity was zapping through every neuron in my brain. The vague sentence that popped into my head suddenly congealed into a concrete plan.

I’d use the excuse of her being bullied to nullify her contract.

Even if SS collapses because of the contract, who cares? The contract I read stated that a reasonable consultation could lead to contract termination due to such company reasons.

It’s fine to use SS’s power to threaten them. If they want to play dirty, so can I, by publicizing it.

If I successfully get Gyeoul out, the rest will be easy.

No one will want Gyeoul as actively as Cheon Jong-hoon does, but it doesn’t change the fact that Gyeoul holds immense value.
does not change.

When I recall the memories of the previous episode, finding the transaction target is a piece of cake.

I was sure of it.

This is going to work.

The compensation wasn’t bad either.

From my experience last round, I remember that it grants the talent to play any piece with any instrument.

There’s bound to be a way to use this, like when the session man bails and I have to step in as a substitute.

The only remaining obstacle was my conscience.

My conscience, feeling burdened by the current situation where I had to commit acts that went against morality, questioned me.

‘But is it okay to siphon off something already traded and sell it again? Wouldn’t that make me look bad in front of Cheon Jong-hoon?’

I replied.

“Forget it. They threw the first punch.”

I brushed aside the job search website that I had been staring blankly at and started to flesh out my detailed plan.

There were things I needed to prepare to proceed smoothly.

Three days passed.

I set off toward the SS practice room, dressed in the rented suit.

*

“Is this really okay?”

My older sister, who was also dressed in a rental suit and sporting gold-rimmed glasses, asked me, exuding an air of intelligence.

I didn’t know what she meant by “okay.” Did she think the clothes didn’t suit her?

“Yeah, it’s fine. You look good! The outfit gives you wings! If you go out on a blind date, you’re definitely getting a follow-up!”

“Not that, idiot! I’m asking if it’s okay for me to impersonate a lawyer!”

Oh, that’s what she was talking about.

“It’s fine, sis. I’ll do all the talking anyway.”

I wasn’t expecting her to play a big role.

“You just need to hand over a business card to look the part and say, ‘I will be recording this conversation.’ Once we reach a consensus on the agreement, we’ll hire a proper lawyer.”

There was no need for legal advice on contracts.

I already knew all the relevant knowledge, and I even studied what might be different in 10 years just in case.

If there was a specialist, it could actually complicate things.

I was planning to pull Gyeoul out with a mix of minor legal breaches and nonsense.

So, all my sister needed to do was set the atmosphere.

“I don’t get why I took leave for this.”

“Oh, so you’re just going to ignore the fact that Gyeoul is getting bullied? We’ve been eating from the same bowl this week!”

My sister frowned, gripping her forehead as if my stubbornness was giving her a headache.

“Sigh, I guess it’s my sin for being born as this brat’s older sister.”

“Well, then is it a blessing that I was born as your little brother?”

As I chuckled and joked, my sister smirked and ruffled my hair.

As expected, my sister was easygoing.

We got out of the parking lot and headed toward the C annex, where Gyeoul’s practice room was located.

As we passed through the main entrance and entered the inside lobby, a security guard was blocking the gate.

I brazenly tried to slip past the security guard to get through the gate.
The security guard naturally stopped me.

“Excuse me. That area is only accessible to company personnel. Do you have an appointment?”

Years of Confucian instincts made me hope that the guard’s gentle question would elicit a polite response.

But that was not the way to go.

I was the furious guardian of Gyeoul, outraged to the core about her treatment.

Right now, I couldn’t see anything but red.

I was ready to charge in.

After completing my self-hypnosis, I glared furiously at the guard and said,

“As Gyeoul’s protector, I’ve come to help her, who is being bullied. Are you seriously blocking me? Is this action aligned with the higher-ups’ policy? If it’s your personal judgment, do you think you can take responsibility? I’m considering tipping off the press!”

The mere mention of “responsibility” made the guard take a hesitant step back.

Ah, the struggles of a salaryman.

“In that case, let’s verify your identity first…”

The guard’s request was reasonable, but if I delayed here, it might reach Cheon Jong-hoon’s ears and complicate things.

I decided to go for a quick resolution.

“Ha! Do you really think I wouldn’t see through your stall tactics?”

“I’m Lawyer Seon Dalrae. I will be recording this conversation.”

What a great assist from my older sister.

Upon seeing my sister’s money-obsessed lawyer face, the guard silently moved aside.

We rushed in before he could change his mind.

“So, what are we going to do now?”

My sister asked with a hardened face like the cold-hearted lawyer she was trying to be. It gave me so much confidence seeing her commit to any role wholeheartedly.

“I’m going to make Gyeoul cry.”

“What kind of nonsense is that?”

It wasn’t nonsense.

“The truth is, there’s no tangible evidence of Gyeoul being bullied. They aren’t the type to act so recklessly they’d be caught on CCTV.”

In the present day, it seems like the bullying controversy didn’t spread much, so there likely aren’t any clumsy kids leaving evidence behind.

“The debut group took away their phones, so there’s no way to record anything. Therefore, Gyeoul probably has no evidence either.”

“Then how do we prove she’s being bullied? If what you say is true, those kids wouldn’t even injure her visibly, right?”

“That’s why we need to make Gyeoul cry. The tears of the victim will become evidence!”

I kindly explained it to my bewildered sister.

“What needs to be proven isn’t Gyeoul; it’s that the four debuters and SS didn’t bully her. Well, if they don’t want to prove it, just wait and see how many reporters and leeches swarm in for mere suspicion.”

“Is this guy really crazy?”

“Doesn’t it seem doable?”

“Uh, it does seem doable.”

Sharing confidence, we charged like a runaway train toward Gyeoul’s practice room.

We burst open the closed door, and as we entered the practice room, Lily and Coco were drinking water and taking a break.

I asked them,

“Where’s Gyeoul?”

“Gyeoul?”

Coco looked back at me, seemingly confused and wondering, “Who is this person and why are they asking such questions?”
I stupidly asked as if I could feel the door.

But Lily, who was behind me, was stiffening her face and avoiding eye contact, as if something was bothering her.

I could feel the scent of a big catch.

Even my older sister glanced at me, sensing something was off.

After nodding slightly at her, I began the interrogation.

“Lily, you’re hiding something right now, aren’t you?”

“…Huh? Me? No! I’m not hiding anything!”

“Haha, do you really think you can handle that statement, Lily?”

As I signaled, my sister began to threaten Lily while reciting the civil law and special law I had taught her, section and article numbers like a spell.

To someone who knew the law, it was utter nonsense, but for 14-year-old Lily, who was experiencing such a situation for the first time, that was enough to scare her.

“…Ugh, uh, I think it’s in the storage where the cleaning supplies are kept… I have nothing to do with it.”

In the end, Lily burst into tears and confessed.

After confirming the location of the storage, we quickly ran there.

*

“Han Gyeoul. Are you messing around right now? When I told you to change the choreography to diamond, how did I say you should move?”

“…You told me to move back while stepping aside.”

“Right, you remember well? But moving left while stepping back means you want to crash into me, who should be moving right. Or you just wanted to mess with me.”

Her words weren’t wrong.

It was true that Gyeoul and Yoon Jeong collided.

But it was also an unreasonable request from the start.

Due to the nature of the choreography, which had to change positions instantly, Gyeoul needed to sidestep to stabilize her next move.

If Gyeoul moved back to avoid Yoon Jeong, she wouldn’t be able to perform her next move correctly.

The right solution would have been for Yoon Jeong and Gyeoul to practice crossing sideways without colliding.

However, Yoon Jeong only demanded that Gyeoul avoid her on her own and showed no signs of cooperation.

Yet, Gyeoul didn’t point that out.

She simply apologized.

“I’m sorry, unnie. I won’t make mistakes next time.”

Yoon Jeong poked Gyeoul’s chest with her finger like she was prodding her.

“Next time? How?”

Every time Yoon Jeong poked Gyeoul’s chest, Gyeoul wobbled.

It seemed like she would burst into tears, but Gyeoul managed to hold it back.

Perhaps annoyed by that look, Yoon Jeong raised her hand with all her strength.

“What are you gonna do next time?”

“There won’t be a next time.”

At that moment, a man appeared and grabbed Yoon Jeong’s wrist to stop her.

Gyeoul looked at the man who caught her as she was about to fall while blocking Yoon Jeong with one hand.

It was Seon Taeyang.

Since becoming part of the debut team, Gyeoul had been holding back her tears.

She wanted to be someone worthy of the trust Taeyang placed in her.

Her constant outbursts of tears would not match up to Taeyang’s expectations.

“…Teacher Taeyang.”

But the moment she saw his face, she couldn’t hold back her tears anymore.

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