I Became An Idol To Pay Off My Debt

“Y-Yes, Ye-rin…! I’m a f-fan…!”

“Aah… well, um… I wanted to shake hands…”

“Are you okay…?”

“Y-You’re bleeding on your thigh right now… I hope it doesn’t get worse…”

“I-I’ll do the bleeding control myself… with my hands.”

“That’s right.”

“Just stay still.”

“You were the one who seduced me first.”

“I said to stay still, didn’t I?”

Bam.

“…Hmph.”

With a short grunt, I woke up from my dream.

It was truly a nightmare from hell.

“Hah… what a crazy dream….”

Looks like I was quite startled because of what happened yesterday.

I don’t usually have dreams, but this vivid nightmare…

“Huh….”

Feeling an intense thirst, I looked around.

The room was still pretty dark, and the clock showed it was still early dawn—not even close to sunrise.

So I tried to get up briefly to get some water from the kitchen, but…

Clench.

“Ugh….”

“Mmhh….”

“Ah.”

I couldn’t get up because my parents were tightly hugging both my arms.

Thinking back, I had slept with Mom and Dad for the first time in a while last night…

The reason was nothing special.

Every time I closed my eyes, Namgung Soo-ho’s face kept coming to mind.

I figured if I slept alone, I might end up tossing and turning all night, so I suggested we sleep together. But even sleeping with Mom and Dad didn’t help me sleep any better.

I grimaced as I recalled the events from last night.

“Ye-rin, do you want to use my arm as a pillow? You used to love it when I did that when you were little.”

“Hey…! Look at Ye-rin’s belly! She has abs, abs!”

“R-Really? Let me see. Wow, it’s true?!”

“…Please just go to sleep already. I’m tired.”

They shoved me in between them all night and kept fondling me.

Since I was a child, my parents have always loved petting me like I was a puppy or kitten.

And last night, it was as if they were trying to make up for all the times they missed out on petting me by treating me like a slime.

Of course, thanks to that, I thought less about Namgung Soo-ho.

“….”

I gazed blankly at my parents on either side of me…

Whisper.

…And brushed their bangs to see their faces.

Two people who looked just like me, unmistakably my parents.

As I stared intently at their faces, I opened their status windows for the first time in a while.

The traits stood out more than anything else.

Most people usually have empty traits.

I, too, didn’t have any traits until I got the Sky Demon trait.

As soon as I realized I could view others’ status windows besides my own, I immediately opened my parents’ status windows.

And….

I realized that my parents had THREE traits, which was more than anyone I had seen so far.

What’s more surprising was that they shared the same traits.

I opened their status window for the first time in a while and slowly read the first trait.

First, what caught my eye was…

[Trait: Childish – You will never mature! No matter how old you get, you’ll live like a five-year-old forever, so enjoy that childlike heart all your life!]

…Childish.

It was a trait that really suited my clueless parents.

‘…In my opinion, this is worse than Yu-jin’s arrogant trait.’

Never being able to mature forever… While it might be good for them, it certainly was a nightmare for anyone living with them.

I felt a sigh escape me as I moved on to the next trait.

[Trait: Soulmate – Find your soul’s other half! When the two of you meet, unparalleled synergy will be unleashed compared to being alone! Of course, whether that’s a good or bad thing depends on you!]

“…Pfft.”

I couldn’t help but burst into laughter as I read the second trait.

This was also a very fitting trait for my parents.

In all my life, I’ve never seen a couple as in sync as my mom and dad.

They truly loved each other deeply.

They always cared for one another… and even now, they still use honorifics with each other.

Moreover, it’s like they share a brain, always on the same page with similar preferences and hobbies.

Truly soulmates.

Though in a not-so-great way, it was still a fitting trait for my parents.

And….

The much-anticipated final trait.

“….”

As I slowly read down the final trait with an uneasy feeling…

[Trait: Back – You absolutely cannot live on your own strength. You were born only to suck blood, so you feel no guilt in your actions! Find your Io! And do it until you die….]

Boom.

I shut the status window and turned my gaze elsewhere.

It wasn’t exactly a pleasant part to dwell on.

“…”

This is why I hate looking at my parents’ status windows.

Finding out truths I didn’t want to know felt incredibly unpleasant.

“…Hah.”

Just as I exhaled another sigh to shake off my frustration, it happened.

“Ugh…? …Ye-rin?”

“…Ye-rin, did you wake up already?”

Just like true soulmates, my mom and dad woke up at the same time.

“Why aren’t you sleeping more? It seems like it’s a long way off till morning.”

“Aw… our Ye-rin is sweating… did you have a bad dream?”

I flashed a faint smile at their worried gazes and asked.

“…Do you love me, Mom and Dad?”

“…Huh?”

“…That is.”

My sudden question made Mom and Dad tilt their heads, yet they answered simultaneously like a chorus.

““Of course.””

There wasn’t a hint of a lie in their eyes as they spoke.

As if it were the most natural thing in the world, they hugged me tighter and whispered.

“Our baby… why are you being so whiny today….”

“Since you’re asking such a natural question, you must not be fully awake yet… Ye-rin, go sleep more in Mom’s arms.”

“….”

What if they actually didn’t love me? What if they didn’t even think of me as their daughter?

That was a doubt I held when I was little.

But now, I know for sure.

My parents… love me.

They think of me as precious.

It’s just that… within them lies a disgusting instinct they aren’t even aware of.

“Hah….”

I sighed once more and lay back down.

Still, being in their arms like this allows me to not think of anything, which feels nice.

Warm… comforting…

This warm shackle I couldn’t feel in my previous life helped me escape reality with an immense addictive quality.

So, I closed my eyes, feeling the embrace of my parents.

And I thought.

If they want to suck my blood, so be it.

If they keep telling me they love me and hugging me every day…

I would willingly let them suck my blood.

‘Just don’t overstep your boundaries….’

I wasn’t sure exactly where those boundaries lie…

But if my parents cross that line one more time, I wouldn’t hold back anymore.

Then a newly unlocked trait in my status window came to mind.

[Trait: Sky Demon, ?? (Locked)]

I had a bad feeling that when that locked trait unlocked, my relationship with my parents would break apart.

So… I just hoped that trait would stay locked for my entire life.

I was fine with things just as they were now… please let it stay like this forever….

The next morning.

When I woke up, my parents were no longer beside me.

It seemed they had gone out for work.

Instead of going to school, I visited the hospital to check my ankle as suggested by Kang Hyung-man.

Since Kang Hyung-man was very busy, just like always, Older Brother Sang-gu picked me up to take me to the hospital.

Though it was a small place, I later found out it was quite a skilled clinic.

“Let’s see…”

The doctor, who seemed to have just entered middle age, examined my ankle back and forth and even took an X-ray before clicking his tongue and saying.

“It’s not broken… but the ligament is a bit stretched. Oh dear, you must have been in a lot of pain.”

“Ah….”

“I’ll wrap a bandage around it for now. You need to avoid strenuous activity for at least a week and be as careful as possible.”

“……!”

Shocked by the doctor’s words, I exclaimed.

“Um… actually, I need to dance for my main job… is that not possible?”

“…Huh? What job requires you to dance…? Oh! Now that I think about it…!”

The doctor suddenly raised his voice as if he recognized me.

“Aren’t you from that cable network’s… um, that idol audition show?!”

“Ah… yes, that’s me.”

“Ahahaha! What an honor! Before you leave, can I get your signature? My youngest daughter is in her third year of high school and she’s a huge fan! She only watches your videos instead of studying!”

“Ah… I’m sorry….”

“Haha, just kidding! But anyway….”

The doctor put away his smile and spoke seriously.

“Your audition show isn’t over yet, right? So you really have to dance….”

“Yes… that’s correct. It’s really important for me….”

“Hmm….”

He rubbed his chin and continued speaking.

“Since your bones aren’t broken and it’s just the ligaments that are stretched… you should be able to move around normally.”

“Ah, so then….”

“But you’ll find the recovery time has extended beyond a week. And most importantly, every time you move your ankle, it’s going to hurt a lot.”

“Hurting is… okay.”

Just enduring the pain was fine by me.

“You must be in a lot of pain right now… You’re one tough kid….”

The doctor, sensing my struggle, clicked his tongue with a frown and retrieved some bandages from behind him.

“Let’s go with that then. I’ll show you how to wrap it, so please make sure to keep it tightly wrapped while you aren’t dancing.”

“Yes, I’ll do that.”

“Can you place your ankle up here?”

“Yes, sure.”

Following the doctor’s instructions, I placed my bare foot in front of him.

But then….

Tap.

“…!”

The moment the doctor’s hand touched my ankle…

‘Y-You’re bleeding on your thigh right now… I hope it doesn’t get worse….’

‘I-I’ll do the bleeding control myself… with my hands.’

Flinch.

“Does it hurt a lot? You flinched hard even at a light touch….”

“Ah….”

I unconsciously flinched hard and hunched my body.

---