NOVEL SIMPLE Chapter 3
“Wait, you’re saying you’ll give me an advance payment? 50 million won?”
“Yeah.”
What shocked me the most while looking at the Brotherhood Planning contract was this part.
Just by signing, they’d pay off 50 million won of my family’s 200 million won debt.
Advance payment for a trainee…, and it’s 50 million won…
Typically, no agency gives an advance payment to a trainee who has nothing to show.
Even if a trainee is exceptionally talented, they wouldn’t hand over such a hefty sum like 50 million won.
In a moment of surprise, I regained my composure and began to read the contract again.
Maybe the advance payment was bait, hiding some outrageous clause somewhere.
But…
There’s nothing….
The remaining clauses were all favorable to me; there were none that oppressed or put me at a disadvantage.
Just to be sure, I had to read it five times before I could accept it.
This contract… it was tremendously in my favor.
“Why…?”
“…?”
“Why are you being so nice to me…?”
How many times had I been hurt so far?
The world is definitely not a warm place. In a world that makes you dislike even blood relatives, I couldn’t trust such a warm contract.
“…Is it possible you’re a sponsor…?”
“Don’t ever say such nonsense again, even jokingly. Do you even know how many years older I am than you?”
“…….”
Seeing his serious face clearly annoyed him.
Right… Kang Hyung-man doesn’t seem like a scumbag.
Then this contract must be real…
What should I do…
If I was seriously considering a career as an idol, then the contract in front of me was indeed the best option.
But…
I need to think more…
The contract’s term is five years.
That means the moment I sign, I’m legally bound to Brotherhood Planning.
If I was swayed by the immediate benefit of getting 50 million won and signed, I might regret it later, so I had to consider…
Bang.
“Just sign here, right?”
“…….”
At that moment, my legal guardian, Dad, unhesitatingly stamped his signature in the designated area.
“Is it possible to pay the advance payment to settle the debt instead? I can give you my account details….”
…What the heck.
Is that really my dad…
Of course, unless I sign, it wouldn’t hold legal weight…
How can he make a decision about his daughter’s future so blindly, just looking at the advance payment?
I felt dizzy.
Then, it happened.
Clutch.
“Ye-rin.”
“…Mom.”
Mom gently grabbed my hand with a kind expression.
Her warm smile and comforting hand felt like a hug.
Seeing Mom’s expression, which seemed to comfort me, my discontent slowly melted away…
“Quick, grab the pen. You need to sign.”
“…….”
Melting? You’ve gotta be kidding me…
“Ye-rin, do you think getting 50 million won is easy?”
“Since you have a face that can be an idol, you must take care of us when we get old, thanks to the sacrifices Mom and Dad made for you.”
“…….”
In Korea, there’s a fictional practice called Goryeojang.
But for my mom and dad…, a sinful thought of wanting to actually implement that absurd practice suddenly surfaced.
In the end, I stamped my name on the contract.
Not only because of my parents…
“Then how about this?”
“…How?”
“I’ll give you a grace period until the end of ‘My Idol Academia’, and if you don’t want to sign afterward, you won’t have to pay any penalty beyond the 50 million won.”
“……!”
…Kang Hyung-man provided a new contractual clause.
With one more favorable term added for me, I immediately stamped my name.
If any issues arise later, I can cancel; I wouldn’t be at a loss with this contract.
“Yay~, yay~.”
“Thank you, Kang president!”
Seeing their 50 million won debt settled, Mom and Dad smiled as they saw Kang Hyung-man and his subordinates off.
Kang Hyung-man glanced at my parents like they were bugs before pulling me aside…
“…Hold on.”
“……Ye?”
…He whispered in my ear.
“I don’t plan on paying off your parents’ 200 million won debt.”
“…What do you mean…?”
“Instead, I’ll give you 50 million won directly. Just give me your account number.”
“…Huh?”
Caught off guard by the unexpected statement, I was momentarily flustered before finally finding my voice.
“Why are you giving that to me…?”
“Isn’t it obvious? Your parents racked up the 200 million won debt, and I’ve agreed to give you 50 million won as an advance payment. Why should I pay their debt?”
“…….”
“I know how stubborn your parents are. If I talked to them at home, they would’ve exploded with anger. So I’m telling you this here. Now, give me your account number.”
Prodded by Kang Hyung-man, I hesitated to scribble down my bank details, and the money was promptly deposited.
“Be sure to hide the money well so those pests don’t snatch it away.”
“Um…! Wait a minute…! Sir, 51 million won just came in, not 50!”
As soon as I saw the extra 1 million deposited, I called out to him, who was about to leave. He kept his usual expressionless face and continued speaking.
“I added a little extra since it’s your first day at our company. Spend it freely.”
“…….”
His tone was indifferent, but the content felt unexpectedly warm.
So I couldn’t help but ask.
“…Sir.”
“Yeah?”
“Why are you being so nice to me?”
The world is cold.
In this cold world…, the man before me is a loan shark, a merciless profession.
If he’s not seeking my body, then why is he showing me such kindness?
As I sincerely asked, he paused and simply said…
“Out of pity.”
“Ah.”
For some reason, that made me feel smaller.
“Seeing you suffer with such horrible parents makes me feel sorry for you.”
“…So it was out of pity.”
In the end, was it just sympathy?
Since I was an orphan in my past life, I was well accustomed to the sympathy of others.
Without parents, poor, pitiful…
Of course, sympathy isn’t inherently bad. However…, the aftertaste leaves a bitter taste.
I didn’t want to live seeking sympathy in this new life…
Looks like I haven’t changed from my past life…
“Ah, but…”
That was when.
“You’re someone I have high expectations for, so I wanted to impress you.”
“…Huh?”
Kang Hyung-man, who was returning to his car, suddenly stopped and turned to face me as he spoke.
“I have a good eye for people… But the moment I saw you, I thought we should bring you to our agency.”
“…….”
“So, even if it meant including some unreasonable clauses, I wanted to sign you.”
As Kang Hyung-man spoke, a small smile formed on his lips for the first time.
His tone sounded so sincere that I froze, but for a different reason than earlier.
He has high expectations for me…
As I pondered what that meant, he turned back and walked toward his car.
“If that answers your question, then I’ll take my leave. I’ll contact you again in a few days.”
“…Yes, sir.”
“Oh, and…”
Bang.
He got in the car, rolled down the window, and waved as he said,
“From now on, call me president. You’re family now.”
“……!”
With that, Kang Hyung-man’s car left our alley.
I followed the black sedan with my eyes, replaying what Kang Hyung-man had just said.
“Family….”
He probably said it without any thought, but… that word made my heart flutter for some reason.
“Wow, those ominous people finally left….”
“Right?”
As they smiled and waved off Kang Hyung-man and his crew, my parents’ smiles vanished as soon as he was out of sight, and they started badmouthing him.
Then, turning to me, who was still in a daze, they exclaimed.
“But Ye-rin! Let’s eat! Oh, I’m so hungry I could faint!”
“Yeah, I’m also super hungry… Once we get in, make sure to fry me three half-cooked eggs~”
I hadn’t eaten dinner, and I was starving.
Normally, I would’ve nodded to my parents and entered the house to cook dinner…
“……No.”
“…Huh?”
“I’m sorry! Mom, Dad! I need to check something, so I’ll be out for a bit!”
“…Huh?”
Having something to verify, I immediately dashed towards the city instead of cooking dinner.
“NO WAYYY-! Ye-rin, where are you going at this hour-!”
“If you’re not here, who’s going to cook-!!”
Behind me, I could hear my starving parents’ desperate cries, but I sprinted to the city.
Huff, huff….
Soon enough, I arrived at the bustling area where the lights were still bright.
“Coin karaoke…, coin karaoke….”
The moment I reached the street, I was looking for a coin karaoke sign when it happened.
Tap.
“Excuse me, could you hold on a moment?”
“……?”
Someone grabbed my arm as I was searching for the coin karaoke.
“…What’s going on?”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I’m not a shady person, I swear….”
At first, I thought he was just trying to flirt like the usual, but the atmosphere was different.
He looked to be in his late 30s, wearing a relaxed smile while pulling out a business card to hand to me.
“You know our company is scouting students, right?”
“…….”
The business card had the name of a fairly sized agency, and he identified himself as the manager.
“I don’t usually hand out business cards like this, but you’ve caught my eye. Would you consider joining our agency as a trainee?”
“…….”
“We’re preparing a new girl group. I can guarantee that within a year, you could debut as part of it. What do you think?”
It was a situation that any kid my age would dream of.
But my answer was, of course…
“No, thank you.”
…a rejection.
I had received countless business cards from agencies since I was young.
Among them were even the big three in the country, but I had rejected all of them.
There was no way I’d accept an offer from an agency like this.
Seemingly caught off guard by my swift rejection, the manager, despite still smiling, began to panic.
“…Um, student, you probably don’t understand the weight of what I’m saying…”
“No, I understand. But I still have to decline.”
“…Huh, student. Just think about it one more time….”
Normally, I would’ve kindly turned down the persistent manager again.
But right now, I was too focused on finding the coin karaoke…
“Ah, I already said I’m fine.”
“……!”
Oops.
With a tone slightly louder than usual, I snapped.
“Oh, um, my apologies, student! That wasn’t my intention! I’ll just take my leave…! Please don’t be upset…!”
He hurriedly bowed his head and scurried away as if to flee.
“……Ah.”
I stared blankly at where the manager had been and then checked my expression in the car’s side mirror in front of me.
Reflected back was a cold-looking beauty with an angry gaze.
“Huh…, I’ve chased another person away.”
Maybe because I had no reason to smile in both this life and the last, my expression was endlessly cold.
Even a slight raise of my eyebrows made me look furious, and a furrowed brow made me seem disdainful.
If I forced a smile, it felt like my face would seize up.
This was the first reason why I had given up on entering the entertainment world, even with this appearance.
No matter how good-looking I was, if my expression was like this, I wouldn’t connect with fans at all.
Who would like a celebrity that maintained a perpetual poker face and couldn’t smile?
And the reason I had given up on the entertainment industry didn’t end there.
“Ah…, found it, coin karaoke.”
I entered the coin karaoke to confirm the second reason for giving up on becoming an idol.