I Became An Idol To Pay Off My Debt

Tears started to flow in drops along with the emotions bursting forth.

‘Who does our daughter take after to be this pretty?’

“…M-my parents have been unemployed since I was little.”

With melting memories, I began to expose all the evil actions of my parents.

‘Ye-rin, have sweet dreams.’

“…To earn living expenses, I started working part-time in 9th grade, and… all the money I earned was taken by my parents.”

The words I vowed to carry alone for a lifetime poured out of my mouth, and the reporters taking notes began to color with shock.

‘Dad will make sure our Ye-rin lives well!’

“…My parents squandered the money they took from me on gambling and luxury.”

‘Ye-rin… I tried making kimchi stew, but… ugh… I don’t think I should do it again. I can’t let my daughter eat something like this… Huh? You’re okay with it?’

“…Since my parents didn’t do housework, I’ve been in charge of cooking, cleaning, and washing dishes since before I entered elementary school.”

Where did it all go wrong?

At what point did the relationship with you become twisted?

…Is the reason you’ve changed because of me?

Unlike you, I was always an expressionless child deprived of affection.

Was it really my fault that you stopped loving me?

“…My parents always tried to use me to make money.”

If I had been an ordinary child, would you have loved me in an ordinary way?

“…I tried to escape from such parents, but I was always deceived by their sweet talk.”

Maybe it’s not your fault but mine.

Maybe I…

“…That’s how this exploitative relationship with my parents continued. The MS Planning exclusive contract was all my parents….”

I…

“M-my parents… uhu…”

…Am I not the mastermind behind all of this?

“…My parents forged it with MS Planning.”

Thud, thud.

Because of the tears I shed, Director Jeong’s prepared script got damp and soon tore apart.

Ha Ye-rin’s body, reborn, was very awkward at expressing emotions.

Even when trying to smile, only forced smiles came out, and no matter how sad I was, tears wouldn’t come easily.

But now….

Drip.

I gushed forth tears I had gathered throughout my life—splashing and never stopping.

‘I wasn’t planning to have this kind of press conference from the start…’

With a clear voice and a firm expression….

While methodically stating the evidence, I wanted to coldly and rationally accuse my parents and MS Planning and save Brotherhood Planning….

Choke.

Unable to control the pouring emotions, I ended up in this state.

At that moment….

Swish.

“…!”

Director Jeong and lawyer Lee Kim-jang, seated beside me, reached out, signaling me.

It meant they would handle the rest.

I nodded lightly to those two….

“…So, I would like to clarify once again that the contract with MS Planning was forged by An representative and my parents… and that all their claims against my affiliation and all the slanders against Brotherhood Planning are lies.”

“……!”

As soon as I said that, the reporters who had been staring at me blankly started typing on their keyboards and clicking their camera shutters in rapid succession.

Pff, pff.

Click, click, click!

The tears obscuring my vision mixed with the exploding flashes, bringing forth a panorama of memories with my parents.

‘Ye-rin, let’s go out and have fun!’

‘Ye-rin, are you sick? Your fever is too high….’

‘Ugh… honey…! What should we do about our Ye-rin…!’

‘Ye-rin, we will always be by your side.’

‘Is there a daughter as reliable as our Ye-rin?’

‘I will always love you, Ye-rin.’

Drip, drip.

Those memories flowed down my chin and disappeared.

I absentmindedly tried to catch them but then paused and clenched my fist.

Then I wiped my tears with my sleeve and sobbed as I spoke.

“…Please, ugh…, believe me…, and… believe my company, Brotherhood Planning….”

“……!!”

Ding!

[You have entered an excess emotional state.]

[Status abnormality has been added.]

[Undisclosed skill of Sky Demon Martial Arts is automatically activated.]

[People feel the instinct to protect you.]

At that moment, various alert sounds rang from the status window, but I had no time to check them properly.

“Ugh… ugh….”

I tried hard to stop it, but my tears wouldn’t dry.

‘If I’m going to help the press conference, I need to stop the tears, but…’

But at that time, I didn’t know.

My tears were creating a massive flow that could turn the tide.

Meanwhile, at that time, the other Rookies members were gathered in one place.

NAS Entertainment had ordered the members to wait at home, but given the situation, that was impossible.

No matter how much they hid, they couldn’t go to public places without being recognized, so they chose Lee Hye-jeong’s house.

With her parents out to work, they sat in a circle in the empty living room, discussing how to navigate the current crisis.

However….

“……”

“……”

No one could easily speak up.

The matter was serious.

When the older sisters didn’t speak up, the first to break the silence was Seo Yoo-jin.

“I’ve come up with a way.”

“…What is it?”

“Soon, Ye-rin unnie’s press conference will start, right? We should post on Insta to show our support for her.”

“……!”

“If we show a united front, the public will surely cheer for Ye-rin unnie, right?”

…As the members simultaneously posted on SNS, the others flinched and lowered their heads.

Among them, the one who spoke on behalf of the group was Park Yoo-jung.

“Yoo-jin, the company told us to stay quiet. Especially that posting on SNS is strictly prohibited. Besides, I have two other reasons to oppose your suggestion to post on Insta.”

Na Ah Ah, who usually smiled brightly, now had an unyieldingly rational and cold face.

Seeing that, Yoo Seol flinched.

She felt for the first time that Park Yoo-jung, whom she thought was always a pure girl, was revealing a bit of her true self behind a much thicker mask.

“First, people are not criticizing Ye-rin unnie. In fact, they sympathize with her, so Ye-rin unnie and Rookies’ images are not tarnished.”

In reality, people were blaming Brotherhood Planning, Ye-rin’s original agency, and not her, seeing her as another victim.

Of course, there were some who spread conspiracy theories saying Ye-rin was a bad girl too, but they were still in the minority.

“Second, if we post on Insta and it backfires, what are we supposed to do? If it negatively impacts Rookies, especially with the debut right around the corner?”

“……”

At that moment, after the bathroom incident, Park Yoo-jung gained absolute dominance over her relationship with Seo Yoo-jin.

As Yoo-jin struggled to find her words under Park Yoo-jung’s pressure, she looked around and said,

“Honestly, if Ye-rin unnie just changes her company, all of these problems would be solved easily. MS Planning… it might not be the best, but it’s a large company after all. Isn’t it better for Ye-rin unnie to be with MS Planning than a small company without a single other trainee?”

“B-but…!!”

As the atmosphere leaned toward Park Yoo-jung, Seo Yoo-jin mustered up the courage and shouted.

“…Ye-rin unnie really liked her company a lot…”

“……”

“…If her affiliation changes like this, she will definitely be sad.”

“……”

“Isn’t that right? Hye-jeong unnie…! Seol unnie…! Say something…! You all love Ye-rin unnie a lot, right? And Ye-rin unnie loves you all very much too….”

As Yoo-jin pointed out, Lee Hye-jeong and Yoo Seol bowed their heads.

They weren’t sure what the right choice for Ye-rin was.

Especially since both had lengthy training periods and had previously faced the chance of debut slipping away, they understood how sensitive and crucial this moment was….

‘What if this negatively impacts Rookies? The debut is right around the corner, do you want to make things big right now?’

They strongly agreed with Park Yoo-jung’s words that they should stay quiet right before a debut.

As they struggled to voice their opinions, the meeting started to drag on when suddenly—

“The press conference is starting.”

“What…?”

“It’s not time yet?”

“It seems to be starting a bit early. They opened a stream on YouTube.”

At Na Han-na’s words, which had been quiet up to that point, everyone hurried to the laptop where the camera showcased Ha Ye-rin and Director Jeong entering the frame.

“Ye-rin unnie….”

“Ye-rin….”

Ha Ye-rin’s expression was still expressionless as usual, but the Rookies members who had been with Na Ah Ah for a long time instantly knew she was on edge.

[Hello, I am Ha Ye-rin from Rookies.]

Bang, bang.

Click, click, click!

With a barrage of flashes reminiscent of a flare, Ha Ye-rin’s press conference began….

[The reason I’m here is to completely deny the claims of MS Planning’s An representative and my parents.]

The Rookies members finally realized that Ha Ye-rin had chosen Brotherhood Planning over MS Planning and her parents.

[I’m denying the claims that I had a dual contract with Brotherhood Planning and MS Planning. This is all the tampering by MS Planning to change my affiliation, and my parents were complicit in this.]

‘What on earth are Ye-rin’s parents like…?’

The Rookies members were uncertain about the kind of people Ye-rin’s parents were.

What kind of people could make kind Ha Ye-rin choose Brotherhood Planning over her parents?

Caught up in curiosity, the Rookies members listened intently to the press conference when suddenly—

Drip.

“……Huh?”

[…I-I’m sorry. I’ll do it again. My parents….]

The members froze as if time had stopped after seeing what came next.

Thud, thud, thud.

Ha Ye-rin was always expressionless.

Although she occasionally smiled, one had to be exceptionally lucky to witness it.

That made Ha Ye-rin’s emotional expressions precious.

And… everyone there had never seen Ha Ye-rin cry.

But now….

[…Ugh.]

…Ha Ye-rin was crying.

[My, my parents….]

Tears sliding down her chin flowed like a river, wetting the desk.

“……”

“……”

“……”

The Rookies members all understood.

Despite Ha Ye-rin’s sharp exterior, she truly had a gentle heart.

Yet, she had….

“Unnie, I really want to debut with you.”

“…I nominate Yoo Jiin as a participant.”

“Ye-rin covered your mother’s hospital bills.”

…When they desperately called for help, she reached out without hesitation.

However, the harsh realization that they were distanced from Ye-rin when she was struggling…

The fact that they were subtly calculating their own interests over Ye-rin’s heart…

They couldn’t even wipe away those terribly desperate tears right now….

[My parents… have exploited and abused me for 19 years.]

Made their hearts tear in anguish.

“…I can’t take this anymore.”

The first to react was Yoo Seol.

With eyes wobbling more than ever, Yoo Seol stood up and said,

“At first, I didn’t know what choice was for Ye-rin, so I didn’t say anything…”

“Unnie….”

“I just want to support Ye-rin no matter what. No… I have to.”

Yoo Seol felt an instinct that if she didn’t do so, it would be the biggest regret of her life.

And thinking that…

“…Me too.”

“…Me too.”

The other members felt the same. It wasn’t just Yoo Seol who had been saved by Ye-rin.

So, this time, they stood up, reaching out to the queen of Na Ah Ah.

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