I Became An Idol To Pay Off My Debt

“Tell them that everything my parents said was a lie and that I was abused by them for the past 19 years.”

Abuse.

It sounds strong enough to invoke a deep sense of rejection.

Were the things my parents did to me over the past 19 years really abuse?

… I suppose some might think of it as abuse.

So, how would I define it?

For sure, my parents made my life difficult in the past several years.

They dumped all the housework on me, made me earn living expenses, and used the money I earned from hard jobs for their own selfish desires.

But….

“Ye-rin….”

“I love you, our daughter.”

They didn’t hate me emotionally.

They told me they loved me often, and I think they really did.

“Yeah… it’s not abuse…”

Isn’t there a softer way to put this…? Or is there a way to kick MS Planning without touching my mom and dad?

“But what if I can’t turn public opinion around…?”

Then Brotherhood Planning would be buried again.

“Hah… ah…”

It feels like someone is whispering in my ear.

Who to save, Brotherhood Planning or my parents?

And I….

“I don’t want to…”

I didn’t want to choose either.

To be precise, I couldn’t choose either.

Brotherhood Planning and Kang Hyung-man.

They are the benefactors who rescued my life from its low point.

Parents.

Even if I had my gripes, they are the ones who gave me life.

They are the beings I longed for in my past life….

“Our daughter… our Love… you seem so beautiful… I can’t believe such a lovely baby came from my belly…”

“Love, my pretty baby…. I’m your mom. Please take care of me from now on.”

“Ye-rin, though we are people with many shortcomings, we will do our best. Our daughter Ye-rin, your dad and mom love you very much.”

“Dear, let’s raise our Ye-rin well. Let her be the most precious in the world… happy without any worries….”

“Yes… I will definitely do that for our prettiest daughter…!”

I don’t think the love they showed me was a lie.

They surely… loved me sincerely.

As I had to choose one, my insides twisted more, and my head started to fill with agony.

In the end, I….

“……can’t choose. I can’t do it.”

I whispered self-deprecatingly as I stood up.

Abuse? What my mom and dad did to me wasn’t abuse.

If I were to say something negative about mom and dad at the press conference, there was a chance that the public outcry would fall on the two of them.

So, I wanted to find a way to hold both Brotherhood Planning and my parents.

I wanted to go outside and ask Director Jeong, who was waiting, to brainstorm that way with me.

Then, it happened.

Vroooom—.

“……!”

As I stood up, my phone rang suddenly as if trying to hold me back.

Seeing that it vibrated briefly, it seemed to be a message.

I picked up my phone to see who it was….

[President]

[I’m quite busy right now and couldn’t contact you directly. I’m sorry. You must have been shocked, but I always trust your choices.]

“…….”

The message was from Kang Hyung-man.

As soon as I read his message, I couldn’t take a step.

He went to the police station because of me, and his words that he trusted me broke the dam of my heart and flooded my emotions.

“Huh….”

…I knew I couldn’t truly choose both.

I was pretending to save everyone while secretly trying to choose my parents over Brotherhood Planning.

Stupid girl, ungrateful girl.

How could you do that?

How could you betray the people who did so much for you from Brotherhood Planning and President?

“Th-that’s not it…”

What am I saying?

No matter how well they treat me, is blood not thicker than water?

You’re going to abandon the parents who gave you life?

The two who said “I love you” every time?

Why? Are you going to live as an ‘orphan’ like in your previous life?

“……!”

Amidst the chaos and conflict swirling in my mind, I suddenly froze at the word ‘orphan’.

Yeah….

If I abandon mom and dad, I’ll become an ‘orphan’ again.

“Ugh…, huh….”

As that thought crossed my mind, I picked up my phone dreamily and called.

[Mom]

I knew this wasn’t the answer, but like a moth to a flame, I couldn’t control my actions now.

I didn’t want to be an orphan again.

I didn’t want to lose my parents’ love.

If mom and dad on the other end said they were sorry….

If they still told me they loved me….

I was determined to choose them, no matter what was waiting on the other side.

[…Hello?]

“…Why did you do that to me?”

[…Ye-rin.]

Mom and dad had a tendency to embrace me more and assure me of their love when I came out strong.

Fueled by that desire and the anger of being betrayed once again, I raised my voice at my mom.

“You know how much I love Brotherhood Planning. I even said I wanted to be an idol here. But why did you do that? Why??”

Hurry up and give me a reason I can accept.

…And tell me you love me.

Then I’d forgive you again. I would let it slide.

But….

[That’s…, your uncle….]

“What do you mean?”

[Well, it’s a long story, but he got into trouble…].

Mom hesitated to explain why she got close to MS Planning, and I momentarily froze.

“…Are you saying you betrayed me because of that jerk?”

[B-betray? Ye-rin, we….]

“…You stabbed me in the back, so it’s betrayal, right?”

You betrayed me over that jerk’s settlement money…?

I was trying to choose you both while abandoning Brotherhood Planning.

I cared about the two of you that much.

But it felt like you didn’t think that way, which chilled my heart, full of excitement.

As my tone became cold, realizing it, Dad took over the phone and spoke to me.

[Ye-rin… I’m really sorry. But this is a family matter….]

“…But I’m also part of this family.”

What kind of excuse is that, wanting to just brush things over with “family”?

Feeling my heart grow colder, Dad must have felt anxious and shouted as if in a last-ditch effort.

But….

[Of course! Our Ye-rin is our daughter whom we love the most in the world!]

“…….”

This time, even hearing the words “I love you” didn’t stir my heart.

And in that moment….

[Huh? Don’t you know? Your dad and mom love our Ye-rin the most!]

“Ye-rin, though we are still lacking, we will do our best. Our daughter Ye-rin, your dad and mom love you so much.”

In that moment, I realized that Dad’s expression of love then was different from what he was saying now.

“Oh.”

It had changed.

While the old dad might have loved me sincerely, right now he doesn’t love me like that anymore.

When did he start to change?

Probably a long time ago. I just hadn’t realized it until now.

… No, I wasn’t unaware—I had been turning a blind eye to the truth.

Crash, crash—.

I said in a dazed voice that I heard something breaking.

“…It’s strange. I don’t feel anything.”

[……Huh?]

“Even hearing ‘I love you’ from Mom and Dad… it doesn’t mean anything.”

Drip.

Tears were now falling from my eyes.

Crash.

The sound of something breaking continued.

“You said you loved me…. That I was more precious than anything….”

[Ye-rin….]

“You said you would raise me more precious than anything…. But why… why, why…!”

By now, I shouted at them in anger.

“I worked hard for the past 19 years because I wanted to be loved by you! But why don’t you love me?!”

[…What do you mean? Your dad and mom love our Ye-rin…?]

“…Lies. Think about the things you did to me…. You couldn’t do this to someone you love, right…? Maybe in the past, but you don’t love me now….”

It was then that I finally acknowledged it.

What my parents whispered “I love you” all this time wasn’t the truth.

While they might have loved me before, I realized that my current mom and dad do not love me anymore.

Crash—!

What broke was my heart.

My heart shattered into pieces, scattered around.

And what filled the empty space was….

“…I hate you.”

Deep resentment and anger.

Removing the illusion of love brought my deep resentment toward my parents.

“I hate my dad and mom for breaking promises. I hate my dad and mom for seeing me only as a tool, not as a daughter.”

[…Ye-rin.]

“I hate my dad and mom for making me an orphan again.”

Just because they gave birth to me doesn’t make them my parents.

At some point, they had stopped loving me and stopped fulfilling their responsibilities.

…They had ignored the truth that I had become an orphan again for a long time.

The moment I admitted that, everything changed.

Ding!

[The locked trait is temporarily unlocked!]

“…I can’t forgive you, …I can’t forgive you.”

[Ye-rin? What do you mean…! Ye-rin! Ye-rin, wait…!]

Click.

With that, I hung up the phone.

By now, my face was smeared with tears.

Had I cried so much that my eyes were messed up?

My khaki pants seemed gray.

It wasn’t just the pants.

The world was colorful when I foolishly believed my parents loved me, but now it was so dark.

“…Is it because of the newly unlocked trait?”

So, I silently screamed for my status window and opened it.

The status window that usually appeared blue looked pitch black today.

[Trait: Extreme Demon (極魔) – Your resentment has reached the heavens. Inscribe your anger upon all those who obstruct you: unbelievers, apostates, your enemies, your foes, and so on.]

[Trait Effect: Ten Thousand Demon Hall (萬魔殿) Unlocked – You can use all unreleased Sky Demon Martial Arts skills according to the situation. Your humanity stats are temporarily nullified.]

“……”

After what had just happened, I felt strangely calm.

Is this what it means for my humanity stats to be nullified?

I felt like I was controlling the character ‘Ha Ye-rin’ from a game.

Then, I lightly walked to the door and opened it.

“Ah, Ye-rin. You’ve come out. …Still, it must be hard to turn your back on family. Let’s pretend you didn’t hear what I just said….”

And I informed Director Jeong, who was waiting right in front of me.

“I’ll hold a press conference.”

“……What?”

I repeated clearly to Director Jeong, who tilted his head with a dazed expression.

“I will hold a press conference.”

I should have done this sooner. I was a foolish girl who hesitated and lost so much.

“Right away, tomorrow. Please gather as many reporters as possible.”

All I had in mind was to set everything right and stomp on everything that had happened.

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