NOVEL SIMPLE Chapter 194
[Hardworking Rookies! Head to the Countryside!] After the second episode ended, the third episode, which came out a week later, included scenes of the members enjoying their free time.
[Lee Hye-jeong: I swear I’m not the mafia….]
[Ha Ye-rin: Hmm…, I don’t think Hye-jeong unnie is the mafia? I’ll choose someone else.]
[Seo Yoo-jin: Alright, the game is over. The mafia was Hye-jeong unnie.]
[Ha Ye-rin: (with a look full of betrayal) Unnie…?]
– Ha ha ha ha ha
– Hye-jeong is surprisingly good at acting, haha, she looked so unfairly wronged!
– Ha too fast, haha!
The members spent their nights playing mafia games and board games.
[Park Yoo-jung: Wow! The valley water is super refreshing!]
[Seo Yoo-jin: Whoever loses at rock-paper-scissors has to dive from that rock!]
[Ha Ye-rin: I want to try! It sounds fun!]
– Wow;; look at Ye-rin’s diving pose, it’s perfect!
– She’s great at swimming, she’s the embodiment of an athletic idol!
– Ye-rin is unexpectedly… quite something, wow!
During the day, they happily swam in the valley.
[Seo Yoo-jin: Unnie, how do you wash rice? Do you wash it with detergent?]
[Ha Ye-rin: …Yoo-jin ah, unless you want to take all the members to the ER for a stomach wash at midnight, put that down.]
– Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
– Haha, who washes rice with detergent? LOL
– Is she trying to show off that she’s a rich girl? LOL
When they cooked dinner themselves, Seo Yoo-jin brought laughter with her randomness.
[Ha Ye-rin: Alright…, it’s done!]
[Na Han-na: Omg, amazing…!]
[Park Yoo-jung: The color is insane….]
– Wow, Ye-rin’s spicy chicken stew is a hit…
– My mouth is watering…
– Ye-rin’s good at sports, she can dance, she’s pretty, and she cooks well; what can’t she do?
– Seriously, she’s the perfect bride…
– Ye-rin, marry me!
While it wasn’t as hilarious as the second episode, the third episode had its own healing vibe.
Fans watched the members enjoying their leisurely countryside life in a warm atmosphere.
And at the end of the video…
[Director Jeong: The last corner of today is the final segment.]
[Yoo Seol: …Huh?]
[Ha Ye-rin: …Is it courage training again?]
[Director Jeong: Haha, no. Today’s last corner is ‘Unexpected Guests’.]
– ????
– Huh?
– There’s a guest? On the last night?
– Wasn’t this only for Rookies?
As Director Jeong suddenly announced that there was a new guest, not only the members in the video but also the fans watching were left puzzled.
And as the controversial guest revealed themselves…
[Han Si-woo: Nice to meet you, everyone.]
[Lee Hye-jeong: Oh…!]
[Yoo Seol: Producer Han Si-woo…!]
– !
– ?
– Why is Han Si-woo suddenly here?
– It’s Si-woo oppa!
– Han Si-woo!
– Wait, what?
Fans couldn’t hide their confusion.
And rightly so…
Even if Han Si-woo was the music producer for Rookies, he was one of the top stars in Korea…
So his sudden appearance at the very end of the show was odd.
[Ha Ye-rin: Uh…, but Producer Han Si-woo, what brings you here….]
Ha Ye-rin seemed to share the confusion and tilted her head, asking Han Si-woo.
And he replied with a meaningful expression staring at the camera.
[Han Si-woo: There is an important announcement.]
[Ha Ye-rin: …An important announcement?]
– Important announcement?
– Wait, what?
Fans’ attention sharpened…
[Han Si-woo: Rookies’ next song is out.]
[Han Si-woo: And the concept for this song is…, completely opposite to [Secret Girl], so you can look forward to it.]
– Huh?
– What?
– Wow
– What?
– The next song?
– Is the next song ready already?
Fans’ reactions were nothing short of explosive.
[Secret Girl] was released only about a month and a half ago, and they just wrapped their first activity, but they’re immediately preparing for the next song?
Rookies’ project period is one year.
Fans could sense that NAS Entertainment was truly going to work Rookies like crazy for that whole year.
– What to do, ㅠㅠ Even Yoo-jin is still in her growth phase, ㅠㅠ she should be eating well, sleeping well, and growing sprightly!
– Aren’t they pushing the kids too hard? This is tough for them.
– How can they start preparing for the next activity right after the last one ends?
Yet fans, while worrying for Rookies’ future hardships…
– But it’s good that Rookies are coming back with a new song!
– For real, haha, I wonder how well-produced this song by Han Si-woo will be.
– I’m sorry kids, ㅠㅠ but we really want to hear a lot of your songs.
– Is this the first time Han Si-woo has spoken so confidently? I’m super excited.
They expressed their anticipation for the new song by Rookies.
[Members with somewhat shocked expressions]
[What will Rookies’ next song be like?]
[coming soon…….]
[♪♬♬-!]
– Ah, it ended ㅠㅠ so sad.
– So when’s the comeback? You have to tell us the exact date!
– Huh? Isn’t that the intro to the new song at the end?
– Wow, hold on, I just heard it, but it sounds good already!
– This time it seems a bit girl crush-like.
– Ah, I’m seriously so hyped!
Thus, the broadcast ended with a brief snippet of the intro to Rookies’ new song.
With members enjoying their countryside healing life, Ha Ye-rin’s embarrassing moments, and the song preview, there was much for fans to be satisfied with, leading [Hardworking Rookies! Head to the Countryside] to achieve impressive view counts.
And as the view counts soared, so did expectations for Rookies’ next song.
After [Hardworking Rookies! Head to the Countryside] ended, many tuned into updates about Rookies.
In the week following the initial broadcast, Rookies appeared in ads and did one more fan signing event, showing they were busy.
But after that, they seemed to dive into preparing their new song and vanished from sight…, fans could only catch glimpses of Rookies through their official SNS account.
“Sigh…, when will Rookies come back?”
With news of Rookies drying up, Yoo Chang-seon stared blankly at his phone, feeling empty.
Not long after being discharged from the military and deciding to take another semester off from university, he had intended to dive into Rookies’ fandom…
“…Isn’t it about time we heard some news?”
As he mechanically refreshed Rookies’ official SNS account at that moment…
BANG.
“……Huh?”
Yoo Chang-seon’s fingers danced across the screen like lightning upon seeing a new page appear before his eyes.
And then, new news about Rookies greeted him.
[Rookies’ [Breaking Bad!] teaser will be released next Tuesday at 8 PM.]
“Sweet-!!”
With the announcement of the teaser, Yoo Chang-seon bounced out of bed.
Honestly, he had expected it would take another month, but the earlier-than-expected return filled him with more joy.
‘Is it because this time it’s just a digital single?’
Thinking about it that way made the comeback feel unexpectedly delayed.
The members of Na Ah Ah had been hitting one stage per week, but this time they were spending over a month on just one song.
‘That means they put in a lot of effort, right?’
Especially considering the previous teaser hinted that the upcoming Rookies’ song concept would be sexy and girl crush, quite different from [Secret Girl].
While the previous song [Secret Girl] was good, it didn’t match Ha Ye-rin’s concept perfectly, which was a bit disappointing, but now it seemed the concept would fit perfectly, so it was definitely exciting.
“Ah…! I’m going crazy…! How do I wait until next Monday?”
And this feeling of anticipation wasn’t just Yoo Chang-seon’s alone, as the comment section was filled with Rookies’ fans shouting their impatience to wait until next week.
– Wow, can’t wait!
– Guys, ㅠㅠ I’m so glad you’re coming back!
– Why is it just a single? ㅠㅠ
– Holding my breath till next week, cough!
Yoo Chang-seon left a supportive comment in that comment section…
– I hope Rookies’ next activity goes super well without any problems!
And jumped back into bed.
Even though it was time to sleep, he couldn’t fall asleep due to the excitement, so he aimlessly fiddled with his phone and closed his eyes.
‘I hope they top the charts and win first place for music shows again this time as well.’
But his hopes were brutally shattered one week later by a post on the community.
To be exact, it was a post that went up three hours before the teaser for Rookies’ new song [Breaking Bad!] was released.
[I report Park Yoo-jung for school violence.]
Preparing for a new song, it turned out there was a lot to do.
On the day the teaser was released, we were suddenly called to NAS Entertainment.
Due to a post that appeared in the community.
[I report Park Yoo-jung for school violence.]
“……”
Just looking at the title was unbelievable…, it felt somewhat absurd, and I calmly began reading the post.
[Some people suffer from school violence every day, while the perpetrator thrives.]
[I’m posting this because I’m so unfairly wronged.]
[I was classmates with Rookies’ Park Yoo-jung at XX Middle School and have been bullied by her for three years.]
[I was severely beaten by Park Yoo-jung during the summer of 2nd year in middle school and was hospitalized for a month.]
[…….]
After that, the post continued with surprisingly detailed allegations against Park Yoo-jung.
Up until that point, I couldn’t believe the contents of this post.
But….
[For those who might not believe, I’ll also upload evidence.]
The author provided proof of being a classmate with Park Yoo-jung from XX Middle School and….
[This is evidence that Park Yoo-jung was punished for school violence.]
[Park Yoo-jung – 6 hours of suspension]
When concrete records of Park Yoo-jung actually being punished for school violence were presented, I couldn’t help but be shocked.
Of course…
‘It’s a lie.’
Still, I couldn’t bring myself to believe the words.
Park Yoo-jung? Bullying someone?
No way.
Park Yoo-jung is so kind and friendly to everyone.
There’s no way she could have done that.
I trusted the time I spent with Park Yoo-jung more than an anonymous post made in a community.
“That’s ridiculous.”
“……”
As I pulled my gaze from the phone screen faster than the other members, I told Director Jeong.
“This is a lie. Let’s put out a rebuttal immediately.”
“……”
However, when I turned and saw Park Yoo-jung’s expression…
“Yoo-jung wouldn’t act like that. Right, Yoo-jung…?”
“……”
I couldn’t help but flinch.
“…Yoo-jung?”
“……”
Naturally…
“……”
Park Yoo-jung was staring at her phone screen with an expression so cold, I wondered if it was the same person I had known all this time.
Ding!
In that moment, an ominous sound effect accompanied the appearance of a new window in front of me.
[Locked trait has been released!]
A locked trait in this situation…
Though I didn’t want to see it, I forced myself to check it.
And then…
[Trait: Persona – Everyone lives wearing a mask. Your mask is just thicker than others. Hide the gigantic anger trapped within and package it in a kind smile! Then you’ll have no problem blending in with people.]
[Trait effect: Thick Mask – Unless in special circumstances, you will not reveal your true nature to ‘anyone’! This trait will not be visible to those with a system unless it is discovered! Your acting skill stat increases by 100%!]
“……”
I could only freeze seeing the trait of Park Yoo-jung that had been hidden until now.
When I hesitated, silence once again enveloped the room.
It was Director Jeong who broke it.
“As soon as I saw the post, I checked Yoo-jung’s student records first.”
“……”
“There is indeed a record of punishment for school violence.”
Director Jeong’s expression held a deep sense of concern and frustration, unlike any I had seen before.
In contrast, Park Yoo-jung continued to remain silent with her cold expression.
“…Yoo-jung, can you say something?”
“……”
As Director Jeong pleaded desperately for a response from Park Yoo-jung…
“Huuh…”
After taking a deep breath, she finally looked up.
When Park Yoo-jung raised her head again, her face bore a smile, much like her usual bright self.
But….
“I will leave Rookies.”
The words she spoke were anything but cheerful.