I Became An Idol To Pay Off My Debt

“Sometimes the group stumbles because of the members’ private life controversies.”

“Private life controversy?”

As I tilted my head in confusion, Park Yoo-jung nodded and responded.

“Yeah, like drugs. Haven’t you seen news about a member getting caught with drugs and the group disbanding?”

I think I’ve seen that…

Well, idols live off their image, so drug-related crimes would definitely damage their image beyond repair.

The moment you get caught in such things, your idol life is pretty much over.

‘Now that I think about it, I remember reading an article about how some idols fall into strong stimulants due to the tough life….’

And I heard there are brokers who specialize in supplying those things?

But…

“…Our Rookies members seem pretty distant from drugs.”

“Haha, right? Our sweet members couldn’t possibly be into something like that.”

“So, aside from drugs, what else is there?”

Yeah, it seems Rookies and drugs have no connection whatsoever.

When I asked Park Yoo-jung about other issues, she rested her chin in thought for a moment before speaking.

“Um… gambling? If caught in gambling, it really damages your image.”

“Gambling?”

Definitely, if an idol gets caught gambling, it would be quite a blow.

But even that didn’t seem to connect to Rookies.

I was stuck in thought when…

“Oh.”

I suddenly recalled a topic that’s been quite controversial lately.

“School violence.”

School violence.

Countless celebrities and YouTubers have faced downfall after past cases of school violence were revealed.

Especially for idols, it’s even more critical.

An idol, a target of admiration for so many students, was actually bullying friends during school?

Fans would undoubtedly feel betrayed.

School violence is truly a minefield idols must avoid at all costs.

Of course…

“But, you know… school violence doesn’t seem to relate to our Rookies at all.”

It did seem like school violence wasn’t connected to Rookies either.

I looked over the sleeping members, one by one.

Lee Hye-jeong.

No way. Such a kind-hearted Lee Hye-jeong would never have been involved in school violence. Pass.

Na Han-na.

She probably just slept through her school days. Pass.

Seo Yoo-jin.

Even though she was quite arrogant back in the day, her heart is pure. I doubt she bullied anyone. Pass.

Yoo Seol.

She does have a bit of a prickly side, but she wouldn’t be the type to bully someone.

Plus, she dedicated herself to being a trainee since childhood, and she mentioned not attending school much while preparing for her debut in high school. Pass.

Finally… Park Yoo-jung.

“Yoo-jung? No way.”

Park Yoo-jung is obviously the lively social butterfly.

With her strong social skills, no one in Na Ah Ah wasn’t close to her.

In fact, if there were lonely kids in school, she’d probably be the type to approach and befriend them.

Pass.

Definitely a pass.

Since Park Yoo-jung was the only one awake among the members, I jokingly asked her.

“Yoo-jung, you didn’t bully anyone, right?”

“Of course not.”

“Yeah, you wouldn’t. There’s definitely no one in our Rookies that’s done anything like that. So, we don’t need to worry about school violence… What’s left?”

As I murmured to myself and closed my eyes to think, Park Yoo-jung fell silent as if lost in thought as well.

At that moment, about five minutes of silence settled in the waiting room.

“…You totally forgot the most important thing.”

“…Huh?”

“……”

I thought only Park Yoo-jung and I were awake, but suddenly another voice chimed in.

Turning toward the voice, I saw Na Han-na looking at us with a messy face while lounging on the couch.

“Sorry, Han-na. Did we wake you?”

“…Not really. More than that, I’ve been listening to you two talk since earlier, and you forgot the most important thing.”

“The most important thing? What is it?”

When I tilted my head in confusion, Na Han-na smiled slightly as she replied.

“Scandals.”

“Ah.”

Scandals… So, like dating rumors.

Well, dating rumors have always had a negative connotation for idols.

But…

“These days, dating rumors don’t deal any heavy blows anymore.”

Times have changed.

In the past, if an idol dated, people would go wild.

Now, there’s a strong perspective that idols are individuals too, and people have become quite tolerant about idols dating.

It’s rare for an entire group to stumble because of one member’s dating rumor now.

“True, but agencies still fear the dating rumors of their affiliated celebrities. Especially for rookies like us, if a dating rumor comes out, fans flock away in droves.”

“Still, do we even have someone in Rookies who would get dating rumors? With our busy schedules, where’s the time to meet someone?”

As I tilted my head, Park Yoo-jung, who had been quiet for five minutes, suddenly smirked and cheekily said to me.

“Oh my, unnie. What a naive thing to say! Babies were born even during the Korean War!”

Once Park Yoo-jung got the conversation rolling, Na Han-na, who matched her well, also chimed in with a giggle.

“Exactly. And from what I can see… if there’s a dating rumor among Rookies, I think you’ll be the first one, unnie?”

“What? Me?”

When Na Han-na suddenly pointed at me, I couldn’t help but be shocked.

Understandably so…

“I have zero interest in guys!”

I had zero interest or intention in dating anyone.

Perhaps due to my past life, I had never felt a flutter for any guy I saw.

Me dating a guy? No way.

I’d actually think my chances of dating a girl were higher.

“Ah, I would never do something like that!”

As I firmly shook my head, Park Yoo-jung and Na Han-na sauntered over to me like alleyway thugs and whispered.

“Unnie. Do you think it’s up to you? Guys will keep shaking your heart! I saw the male idols glancing over at you yesterday!”

“There’s no tree that doesn’t fall after being hit ten times. Haha, you’ll eventually crumble!”

“…There’s no tree that doesn’t fall after being hit ten times, huh? How many times do you think I’ve been confessed to?”

“Ah… but you’ve never been confessed to by a celebrity. Right?”

As Park Yoo-jung chuckled and asked, I calmly replied.

“Not true? I’ve received offers from celebrities. I even got one yesterday, asking to get to know me seriously through DMs.”

“Seriously?!”

“Who? Who sent you that DM?”

When Park Yoo-jung and Na Han-na gasped in shock at my casual mention, I nonchalantly showed them the message history on my phone.

The sender wasn’t from one of the Big Three agencies, but a well-known first-string male idol from a pretty big company.

Park Yoo-jung and Na Han-na, who had originally tried to poke fun at me, looked at the screen of my phone displaying my DM confession and said…

“Wow, seeing the verification mark makes it real….”

“I had listened to so many of his songs… Did he confess to Ye-rin unnie…?”

“This is just too….”

“…What a jerk!”

They cursed, fuming in anger.

Then they yelled out.

“Isn’t he completely out of his mind? Ye-rin unnie is still 19! Her birthday hasn’t even happened yet, so she’s technically only 17! This jerk actually confessed to her…!!”

“‘I really liked your music, Ye-rin. I want to get to know you seriously.’ This jerk, a 26-year-old, daring to pursue a high school student!! Unnie! Block him quickly! Block him!”

“…I already blocked him. I didn’t even bother to respond and just blocked him.”

From idol trainees to famous idols, and even actors I’ve seen in dramas.

Ever since I set up my InStar account, these confessions from celebrities would come occasionally.

Of course, I blocked every single one as soon as I received them.

But perhaps I was uneasy, as Park Yoo-jung and Na Han-na grasped my arms, their faces turned pale as they pleaded.

“Unnie! We’re sorry for fooling around earlier!”

“There are, indeed, trees that don’t fall even after a hundred hits! You know the World Tree! So you’ve got to keep your defenses up against these guys, okay?”

“Of course I will. But why are you two overreacting so much?”

“…We’re worried you might meet some weird guy.”

“What?”

When I raised my brow in surprise at their unexpected comment, Park Yoo-jung and Na Han-na spoke worryingly, one after the other.

“…I just feel like if you were to date, you’d likely be extremely devoted to the guy.”

“…Like, if he asks for money, you’d hand it over, and if he tells you to do housework, you’d do it.”

“…I’m not that stupid! No way would I do that….”

I started to say I wouldn’t do that, then felt a chill and swallowed those words.

If he asked to bring in money, I’d bring in money. If he asked for housework, I’d do housework.

…Isn’t this exactly what I was subjected to by my parents?

Thinking like that made me somewhat understand why my younger siblings were worried I might meet the wrong guy.

“Unnie. If you want to meet a guy in the future, you must ask for our permission beforehand.”

“No way. Unnie should never date or get married and just live with us forever.”

“Alright… no, it’s not that I agree to it… How did this conversation get here?”

I had been pondering what crisis Rookies might face, and it led me here.

But now looking at the members…

‘It doesn’t seem like there are even rumors of dating….’

The likelihood of Rookies getting dating rumors seemed extremely low.

‘Then what could it be….’

The things mentioned: dating rumors, drugs, gambling, and school violence all seemed to have no connection to Rookies.

‘Rookies won’t be a group to discuss for too long anyway.’

What could be putting Rookies in a bind, then?

“Sigh…”

No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t find an answer.

Instead, my head felt like an absolute mess.

So I checked the time…

Swipe.

“Uh, unnie. Where are you going?”

I stood up from my seat.

“Just going for a little walk around the broadcasting station.”

It was 2 PM.

There were still three hours left until the main show begins.

From past experiences, I knew this was the time fewer people would be around.

I planned to take advantage of this moment to clear my head and walk around the station.

“Unnie, you’re not going to secretly meet a hidden boyfriend, are you? No way, unnie, we’ll pick your partner ourselves!”

“…That’s not it. I’ll be right back.”

I joked back at Park Yoo-jung and stepped out of the waiting room door.

Thud.

As expected, the hallway was empty.

“Where should I go?”

Since I had hardly any alone time since debuting, I felt a bit sad about it, but now this was giving me a refreshing feeling.

And so, I contemplated where to go and moved my feet.

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