I Became An Idol To Pay Off My Debt

After courage training ended, we washed up lightly and gathered in a room for bedtime.

Of course, the teasing from the members continued until then.

“Sis, are you scared thinking about ghosts while you sleep? Should we tuck you in?”

“Yoo-jung, stop….”

“Haha.”

“Yeah, Yoo-jung. Stop teasing Ye-rin. What if she cries again?”

“Hahaha-!”

“Hoho.”

“……”

I felt wronged.

Honestly, I didn’t cry, but when the production team suddenly startled me, a little water just trickled from my eyes due to a physiological reaction, and I hated the members for always insisting that I was crying.

“Che.”

“Oops, Ye-rin is sulking.”

Turning my back to them and facing the wall, Seo Yoo-jin approached me, wrapping her arms around my waist to comfort me.

“Sis, it’s okay. I’m here for you.”

“Yoo-jin….”

Thanks to her, I almost felt touched for a moment, but…

“And being scared of ghosts is a valid reason to cry a little.”

“……Get away from me.”

Seo Yoo-jin was definitely on the same team as the others.

Feeling betrayed, I pushed Yoo-jin away, and the members laughed again.

Just then, amid the commotion, there was a knock knock.

“Yes~ come in.”

At the sudden knock, the already prepped members turned their heads toward the door, and…

“Oh, you all seem to be ready for bed. I hope I’m not intruding.”

“No, it’s fine. What’s going on?”

Director Jeong, looking a bit tired as well, entered.

“I just wanted to discuss tomorrow’s schedule.”

“…….”

The mention of tomorrow’s schedule stiffened the members’ expressions.

They were worried that it might be another day of grueling work like today.

But…

“Tomorrow’s schedule is completely free.”

“……!”

Director Jeong said something completely contrary to our expectations.

He was known to be strict with schedules and a bit of a taskmaster.

But what? Free tomorrow?

Eyes wide open, I asked Director Jeong incredulously.

“Free…? So, does that mean we can do whatever we want?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“Wait, why all of a sudden….”

The members, puzzled along with me, tilted their heads, and Director Jeong chuckled lightly before responding.

“It’s true that Rookies have been working hard, right? More than that… I thought showing the members resting and healing freely would fill the broadcast time quite well, so I made this decision.”

“Ah….”

“Tomorrow, you can wake up whenever you like. Whether it’s early morning or noon, just enjoy your sleep.”

“Waaah-!”

With that, Director Jeong said goodnight and left.

Suddenly getting unexpected free time, we couldn’t help but be really happy.

Especially the younger members were so excited about the free time that any sleepiness vanished as they jumped up and shouted.

“It’s freedom, freedom! Rookies are free!”

“What should we do tomorrow? I saw there’s a valley; should we go there?”

“Since we can wake up late, let’s play games! I brought some board games!”

Encouraged by the enthusiasm of the younger members, I, Yoo Seol, and Lee Hye-jeong also stood up.

That night, we played mafia and board games, having a blast all night until….

Snore…

“Oh, Han-na is sleeping.”

Our sleepy Na Han-na finally couldn’t hold back and, giggling, lay down next to us.

“Yeah, it is really late.”

“We can’t help it. Let’s sleep.”

As with the other members, I lay down and closed my eyes.

“…….”

Usually, when wrapping up the day and drifting into sleep, various thoughts came to mind.

For example…

“Then, Ha Ye-rin, what do you think about Ye-rin’s parents being investigated by the police for charges of fraud, document forgery, and child abuse?”

I decided not to think about those two ever again.

After hearing that question from the reporter, I always found myself wondering what those two were doing whenever I was about to fall asleep.

But…

‘…Not today.’

Today, I didn’t think about them at all.

‘Maybe it’s because today was unusually enjoyable… Come to think of it, it’s my first time on a trip like this….’

I had never been able to go on a school trip in both my past and this life due to financial reasons.

I participated in an elementary school excursion because it was mandatory, but since I had no friends, I just napped in the corner every day.

…Yeah, this is my first time going on a trip with people my own age.

I used to think these trips wouldn’t be fun at all, but actually enjoying the trip with the Rookies was so much fun that I couldn’t think about anything else.

Is that why?

“…So nice.”

I mumbled just before dozing off, unable to fight off the fatigue.

“Let’s come on a trip like this next year and the year after!”

“…….”

At first, there was no response from anyone, as everyone had already fallen asleep.

Just as I was about to slip into sleep, I heard…

“Of course!”

“Definitely.”

“If Ye-rin wants it, I’ll gladly!”

“Next time, let’s go without cameras, just us.”

“Hmm, yes… let’s come next year.”

All five members, including the already-sleeping Na Han-na, chimed in at once.

“Hehe.”

I closed my eyes to the members’ answers, using them as a lullaby.

It was a long-awaited, blissfully comfortable night.

The next day.

Just as Director Jeong said, the production team really didn’t wake us up.

Thanks to that, after a fun night, we didn’t wake up until around noon when the sun was high in the sky.

After quickly steaming the sweet potatoes I’d enthusiastically prepared for lunch…

“Let’s go-!”

“Wow, it’s going to feel so nice!”

We headed towards the valley located in front of the base camp.

Of course, there was a little hiccup along the way…

“Wait! Ye-rin! What do you think you’re doing entering with a white T-shirt?!”

“Huh? Why?”

“Geez, it’ll be see-through when it gets wet.”

“Ah, okay! I’ll go change into a black one!”

We were able to jump into the valley without any problems.

Splash.

The valley water was so refreshing.

Thanks to it, we spent a cool and pleasant afternoon in the late summer heat.

“Hey, you guys! You’re going to catch a cold like this! Get out now! It’s getting dark!”

“Uh-oh, is it already time….”

As we splashed around in the water, time flew by quickly.

As dinner time approached and it got dark outside, we had to leave the valley and head back to the dorm.

After we returned, we took quick showers and decided to make dinner ourselves.

The menu was spicy chicken stew, kimchi stew, and pot rice.

After exchanging the sweet potatoes I steamed yesterday for necessary ingredients, we divided up the tasks and started cooking.

“Sis, how do you wash the rice? Do you wash it with detergent?”

“…Yoo-jin, unless you want everyone to go to the emergency room for a stomach pump at midnight, put that down.”

“Then I’ll help cut the vegetables!”

“Have you ever used a knife even once in your life?”

“No!”

“…Yoo-jin, just sitting here is helping the older sisters.”

Of course, there were minor problems in the cooking process, but…

“Wow! Ye-rin, that’s amazing!”

This is where I shined.

As Park Yoo-jung stared in awe while I diligently stir-fried the spicy chicken stew in the cauldron, the members gathered around me.

“Everyone, look at Ye-rin’s spicy chicken stew!”

“Wow… incredible…!”

“The color is insane….”

“Sis, why are you so good at cooking?”

“This is just basic.”

In my previous life, I moved out right after I turned 20 after growing up in an orphanage.

In this life, I had been doing housework from a very young age.

To me, this level of cooking was basic.

“The pot rice should be done steaming by now too.”

“Waaah-!”

As I opened the pot lid, perfectly cooked white rice welcomed us.

“I’ve never seen rice cooked in a pot before!”

“Isn’t cooking rice in a pot super hard? Ye-rin, how are you so good at this?”

In this life, until I turned a third-year middle school student, we didn’t have an electric rice cooker or pressure cooker at home.

So until then, I had cooked rice in a pot every day and had become a master of pot rice.

“It’s an absolute feast.”

“Everything looks so delicious.”

With my pot rice and spicy chicken stew, and the kimchi stew made by Lee Hye-jeong and Yoo Seol, the table was lavish enough to rival yesterday’s pork belly feast.

“This spicy chicken stew is really delicious…”

“And the kimchi stew too.”

Having just finished swimming, the hungry members aggressively dug into their meals.

I was a bit worried since it had been a while since I made it, but my spicy chicken stew turned out delicious.

Since the kimchi stew made by Lee Hye-jeong and Yoo Seol was also good, we were able to finish our meal satisfactorily.

“We cleaned up!”

“Right, hurry up and rest.”

After finishing our food, once the younger ones finished cleaning up, we all gathered in the room and flopped down.

Despite waking up late today, we had so much fun swimming, so I quickly felt my eyes closing.

At that moment, the atmosphere was becoming lazy.

“Everyone.”

“Yes~”

Just as we finished our meal, Director Jeong entered the room again.

We got up to greet him as he said…

“There’s one last segment left for today.”

“……What?”

He unexpectedly said something surprising.

One last segment?

He clearly said today was free time.

Especially sensitive to this, I glanced suspiciously at Director Jeong.

“…It’s not another courage training, is it?”

“Haha, no. Today’s last segment is ‘Secret Guest’.”

“Secret guest…?”

“Yes, a guest has come from Seoul to meet the Rookies. Let’s all welcome them.”

“…?”

At this time of night, who on earth would come to a mountain like this?

As we puzzled over it, the secret guest soon revealed themselves.

And upon seeing their face, we were left speechless.

No wonder….

“Nice to meet you, everyone.”

“Oops…!”

“Producer Han Si-woo…!”

The guest who had come to find us was none other than Han Si-woo.

“Please, have a seat.”

“Then, excuse me, may I sit for a moment?”

As we quickly cleared the blankets and offered him a seat, Han Si-woo chuckled and sat down.

With Han Si-woo’s sudden appearance leaving everyone dumbfounded, Yoo Seol asked on behalf of us all.

“Um, but Producer Han Si-woo, what brings you here…?”

“It’s to announce something important.”

“…Something important?”

Whoosh.

Zoom-zoom.

As Han Si-woo mentioned something important, cameras outside rushed in and zoomed in on our expressions.

Then, Han Si-woo directed his gaze away from us and to the cameras, speaking with deep significance.

“The next song for Rookies has been completed.”

“……!”

“And the concept for this song is… the exact opposite of [Secret Girl], so you can expect a lot from it.”

In that moment, I realized.

The fact that we had come to the countryside under the guise of a vacation to film a reality show was all just a build-up for this one moment.

And at the same time, a chill ran down my spine.

‘This black company…! They’re using this vacation as a way to get us back to work immediately….’

I could almost feel NAS Entertainment’s determination to recoup their investment in Rookies within a year and make a profit…

And I couldn’t help but tremble.

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