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

Episode 26

Gaeul sat down in the worn-out alley in front of her house, playing music from her budget smartphone.

Through her cheap earbuds, the song “Memories of the Sea and Leaves” started to play.

It was the song Gaeul had sung the most and loved dearly.

As the acoustic guitar intro filled her ears, she recalled Seon Taeyang’s suggestion of becoming an idol.

“Do you like singing?”

“…”

The answer she had been unable to voice back then finally slipped out now.

“I do like it.”

Like Seon Taeyang said, Gaeul loved singing. No, she adored it.

Even when her father started gambling and their family fell into hardship.

Even when her mother, fed up with such a father, divorced him.

Even when she discovered her father was lying when he tearfully promised to quit gambling and had done it again.

Because there was music, because she loved it, she could endure.

But her life had come to consider her love for that song as a luxury.

So, in Gaeul’s life, music gradually diminished.

It started with her receiving lessons from a professional vocal trainer, honing her skills and knowledge.

But as things grew tight, she gave up her lessons, settling for self-study by watching YouTube in the training room.

Even that became too difficult, and she was left merely satisfied with lightly warming up her voice in coin karaoke places.

And eventually, even that became hard.

So, Gaeul gave up on singing.

Determined it was unavoidable, she had locked that feeling deep in her heart, but today it was resonating loudly.

She wanted to sing.

Right now.

The song from her cheap earbuds was approaching the end of a long intro, and the lyrics were about to start.

Soft yet low and deep.

It was the first line she had sung countless times.

It had been more than two months since she last sang, but that feeling was all too familiar.

Gaeul surrendered her body to that feeling.

As the intro ended and the lyrics began to enter, Gaeul took a breath and slightly opened her mouth.

And in that moment.

“…Noona?”

Gaeul was jolted back to reality.

“…Yeah, Gahyeon, what is it?”

Her younger brother, Yoo Gahyeon, was standing at the door dressed in casual clothes.

It seemed he had come looking for Gaeul, who hadn’t returned from work.

“Noona, were you going to sing?”

Gahyeon said with a smile as though it delighted him.

“I want to hear it too! Noona, you sing so well!”

Gaeul tried her best to appear unfazed and replied.

“Noona isn’t going to sing anymore.”

“…Why?”

Gahyeon was someone who had witnessed her struggling life up close, having dropped out of school to work part-time.

Surely, he wouldn’t be ignorant of the reasons behind her decision.
You must not be oblivious to it.

Gahyeon surely thinks that Gaeul gave up on singing because of him.

Yet, he’s still trying to bring up that uncomfortable truth without hesitation.

“Older sister should do what she wants. But why?”

Because he doesn’t want to just take advantage of Gaeul’s sacrifice.

He’s also ready to give something up.

He’s trying to confront and fix this tilted relationship.

Even if it means their home might collapse due to her sacrifice.

That was the kindness he possessed.

That’s why she lied.

“Because that’s what I want.”

She didn’t want her younger sibling to give up on their dreams.

*

“Hey! Team Leader Seon, you’re here again!”

“Haha, I am back again, Gaeul.”

“This place is a real gem if I’m coming here two days in a row! I’m usually a sundae soup fan, but honestly, the boiled pork soup isn’t bad either. Pile on the spicy sauce, and you’ve got yourself a dish! Oh, but I’ll advise against ordering the boiled pork. The president might be sourcing from a strange supplier because it smelled a bit off.”

Gaeul, as if forgetting about previous events, eagerly chatted away like a friendly village puppy.

It wouldn’t be bad to have a hearty bowl of soup and chat with her.

But today, eating wasn’t the goal.

The reason he’d braved the packed café, bakery, and convenience store was to have a conversation with her.

I decided to get to the point before she continued the small talk about soup.

“Gaeul, can you make time for me in three days?”

Gaeul, while tidying up a bowl of soup left by a customer, tilted her head and responded to my sudden request.

“Uh… I’m sorry. I don’t think I can. I have a part-time job that day.”

“What about the day after?”

“Can’t do that one either.”

“Then what about the day after that?”

“Same goes for that—it’s the same for all the days after because I only get a day off every two weeks.”

“…Are you okay?”

I knew she was working hard, but I didn’t realize she was pushing herself that much.

Gaeul rolled up her sleeves and flexed her arms, showing off her biceps to boast about her health.

“I’m fine! High school girls have endless stamina!”

Then she covered her mouth as if surprised by what she just said.

“Oh right, since I dropped out, I can’t be called a high school girl anymore.”

Gaeul joked lightly, but I couldn’t take it lightly.

What that joke implied was the harsh reality that she had to drop out to juggle four part-time jobs.

Seeing me struggle to respond, Gaeul looked at me strangely.

“Hey? You didn’t ask for time off on your holiday?”

What does she think of me to come up with such an idea?
What was going through their mind to come up with such a ridiculous idea?

“I have no intention of taking away Yoo Gaeul’s only rest time every two weeks.”

I was a person of common sense.

But Gaeul nodded as if amazed by such an obvious statement and said,

“Hmm… that was kind of cool! I bet working with Team Leader Seon would feel reassuring!”

It felt like a remarkably generous compliment.

Either way, her words were refreshing to hear.

Thanks to that, the conversation flowed naturally in the direction I wanted.

“Then, would you be interested in actually working together?”

“That’s a pity, but I’ve already turned that down. I don’t have any time to be an idol.”

“I’m not talking about being an idol.”

“…Then what are you referring to?”

I spoke seriously so it wouldn’t feel like a joke.

“I want to buy a bit of your time.”

“Time?”

Gaeul jumped in surprise and shielded herself with her bowl of soup.

…What on earth did she interpret that to mean?

“I’m offering you a short-term part-time job. It’s simple enough that you can cancel anytime if it’s inconvenient.”

If Gaeul was too busy to work, then I’d just become the employer.

Buying time meant just that.

“…Short-term part-time job?”

She tilted her head, putting down the soup bowl.

“I’ll pay you double the highest wage you currently earn in your part-time job. Just give me three hours, exactly three days from now.”

At my enticing proposal, Gaeul closed her eyes and played with her lips, deep in thought.

Then she reached a conclusion.

“I’m sorry, but I already have a full day of part-time work scheduled that day. You might want to find someone else.”

“Can’t you change your work shift?”

“If I suddenly arrange something from now on, that would cause problems. I don’t want to be a bother to the kind people who’ve hired someone like me, a minor.”

That was a commendable thought.

But the adult world doesn’t operate on such principles and etiquette.

“I’ll pay you three times the wage.”

Now we’re talking money.

“Three times?”

Gaeul’s eyes sparkled for a moment, but she lightly slapped her face and hardened her expression.

“I can’t betray the kindness of the presidents for a little money…”

“I’ll give you four times.”

“…I can’t betray them, but…”

Gaeul’s eyes started to swirl.

I decided to drive the nail into her wavering heart.

“This is my final offer.”

I spoke firmly, like a negotiator who wouldn’t allow further discussion.

“I’ll give you five times.”

Gaeul stared at me in heavy silence.

I met her gaze.

Eventually, Gaeul spoke with a resolute look in her eyes as if she had made up her mind.

“Can I call you President Seon?”
“Can I call you President Seon?”

“…Just Team Leader Seon is enough.”

*

After finishing her work at the soup restaurant, Gaeul came home and recalled her conversation with Seon Taeyang while lying in bed.

‘I want to buy at least a moment of your time.’

Gaeul couldn’t help but smile.

‘What the heck? That’s neither a confession nor anything.’

It was a somewhat misunderstanding-provoking statement for someone she had just met not long ago.

Seon Taeyang threw those words out nonchalantly, as if he wasn’t embarrassed at all.

That was something Gaeul couldn’t do.

Gaeul was warm to everyone.

She loved people and didn’t hesitate to express intimacy, as long as the other person didn’t feel uncomfortable.

But that wasn’t all there was to her heart.

Gaeul was a contradictory person.

While she was friendly to everyone like a little puppy that approached first, she was afraid to reveal her own feelings.

Her inner self wasn’t that beautiful.

Life was hard, there were many things she had to give up, and she always lived suppressed.

Within that, dark emotions gradually settled like sediment.

Afraid to show it, Gaeul built a solid wall and approached others.

Yet, Seon Taeyang jumped over that wall as if it were a joke.

Dreams, money, effort, giving up; he gently caressed her repressed desires settled in that solid wall.

But it didn’t feel bad.

Seon Taeyang was like a rock tossed into the lake named Gaeul.

With a plop, her heart rippled wildly.

The reason she accepted his proposal was partly because of the money, but there was another reason too.

In the monotonous grind of daily life, such a change was rather welcome.

‘…But why does he want to hire me?’

What value could she have that made him willing to pay five times her hourly wage just to spend three hours together?

She found it hard to guess the reason.

With that money, he could hire at least two, if not three people who could work better than her.

Gaeul recalled what Seon Taeyang had said.

“Gaeul, your appearance is just too beautiful. I think you have the charm to be called everyone’s first love.”

‘…Could it be a date? “I’ll buy you even with money!” something like that?’

“…”

She got up from her bedding and unconsciously started combing her hair with her hands while rummaging through the closet.

“Older sister, what are you doing?”

“Kyaah!”

Gaeul jumped up, startled as if she’d been caught stealing, and slammed the closet door shut.

“Did I wake you? Sorry!”

Gahyeon, just waking up, rubbed his eyes and asked.

“…Why are you suddenly looking for clothes? Did you make a date or something?”

“Not at all!”

Gaeul said, covering her reddened face with her hands.

“…Maybe?”

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