Chapter 35

# Chapter 035

"Hey, what?"

Seong Pil almost tripped while running.

Jang Hayang immediately responded and sat up. She rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand, looking like she had just woken up.

"You... "

"What time is it? Huh, one o'clock? Oh, why are you at the office, sir?"

"Did you sleep?"

"Yes, it seems so."

"Did you sleep in such a position?"

Seong Pil's shout made Jang Hayang shudder.

"Why, why are you angry?"

It was out of concern.

He thought she had fainted, and his heart sank, but when she suddenly sat up, he felt relieved, and his voice rose.

"I'm not angry... I thought you had fainted. I'm sorry for shouting."

Today, there are many things to apologize for.

Jang Hayang blinked rapidly and smiled meaningfully.

"No, I'm the one who should apologize. I'm sorry for making you worry, sir."

"Yeah, I really thought you were going to fall. Get up. Let's go."

"Did you come to pick me up?"

"How could I sleep at home when you're walking back?"

"I really feel bad. Just go home."

Seong Pil returned home at 2 a.m.

It was really the end of the day.

'Is it true that I have to wake up in 4 hours?'

There's no slave like this.

Especially a voluntary one.

"Mr. Park, I really praise you. You work overtime without even getting paid. You're exactly the talent I was looking for."

For some reason, Hong Gyuheon's voice echoed in his ears.

Seong Pil fell asleep without even showering.

* * *

It had been two weeks since Jang Hayang entered Garo Enter.

She was gradually getting used to the training schedule.

Officially, Sundays are holidays at Garo Enter. However, Rika, Baek Seolha, and Jo Ara all came to the office.

Originally, Jang Hayang didn't come to work on the first Sunday. But on the second Sunday, she was swept up by the atmosphere and came to the office.

'It's better here than at home.'

Even Han Goo-in came to work and made lunch and dinner.

When Jang Hayang asked him why he came to work, he said,

"Since everyone else is coming, I came too. Besides, there's nothing to do at home. And I also made a plan to catch up on lessons with Rika."

"Mr. Han, you're a workaholic, aren't you?"

"I don't think of it as work."

He said this while mopping the first-floor hallway.

Even though a cleaning company regularly comes to the office.

Han Goo-in was a serious workaholic.

Jang Hayang decided to take this opportunity to see what everyone does in their free time.

First, it was Jo Ara.

'Ara is probably dancing again.'

She slightly opened the door of the first practice room and peeked inside.

Jo Ara, standing in front of the mirror, suddenly slapped it with her palm.

She then stared at her reflection in the mirror and smiled.

"I'm so charming."

Jo Ara turned her head from side to side, trying to find the angle where she looked the most beautiful.

Jang Hayang decided to pretend she didn't see.

'What is Seolha doing?'

No matter how thoroughly she searched the office, she couldn't find Baek Seolha. As Jang Hayang walked wearily, she heard Han Goo-in's voice from a room.

Rika was listening to Han Goo-in's lesson.

"Rika, let me explain again. The method of exhaustion, in simple terms, is about cutting shapes to find their area. Look here. In the past, it was thought impossible to find the area of shapes with curves. But the method of exhaustion... "

"I might go to the humanities department."

"Didn't you say last time that you couldn't go because Chinese was too difficult?"

"Chinese can be memorized. But I really don't have a head for math."

Rika slumped over her desk.

Han Goo-in gently helped her up.

"Rika, studying is not about ability but effort. Even things that seem difficult will improve with continuous effort. And Rika, you're smart. You dance well, don't you?"

"Does that have anything to do with intelligence?"

"It does. Expressing thoughts through actions is a domain of intelligence. If you have the will, math is nothing to you, Rika."

Rika, who had been dejected, smiled slightly at Han Goo-in's encouragement.

"But is intelligence really unrelated to studying?"

"Rika, it's not intelligence but intelligence quotient."

"Huh?"

"Human intelligence as a whole cannot be objectively measured. The most well-known Wechsler Intelligence Scale measures, at best, mathematical and logical intelligence or verbal intelligence."

"I see. Then is the intelligence quotient unrelated to studying?"

"The correlation coefficient is about 0.50."

"50%? That's really high, isn't it?!"

"50% doesn't mean it affects 50% of the time. Ah, this is a good opportunity. Let me explain the relationship between correlation and determination coefficients."

"Okay, okay?"

"For example, if the correlation coefficient r between intelligence test scores and grades is 0.50, it means that... "

Rika's expression worsened as she realized she had more to learn.

But she didn't dislike it.

The two truly exchanged knowledge and emotions like a teacher and student.

Jang Hayang felt her heart warm at the sight.

She finished her tour of the office and entered an empty practice room. After stretching, she turned on the music.

'Now, let's practice.'

I have to work hard to stay in the company.

As Jang Hayang moved to the music, she suddenly remembered what Han Goo-in had said.

Expressing thoughts through actions, like dancing, is also a domain of intelligence.

Then, what about herself...

'Am I bad at dancing because I'm not smart?'

* * *

On Sunday, Seong Pil came to the office.

Not because he had work, but to see Jo Ara.

Seong Pil entered the practice room where Jo Ara was.

"Ara... "

Jo Ara had her feet up on a chair in a bad posture.

She stared at the mirror for a while and then smiled proudly.

"You're so charming. Is this okay?"

Seong Pil pretended not to see and closed the practice room door.

'I'll come back later.'

When he entered the office, Baek Seolha was using the computer.

She froze like someone facing a predator when she saw Seong Pil enter.

Her eyes darted between the screen and Seong Pil.

"What are you doing?"

"Ah..."

Seong Pil approached her with quick steps.

The computer contained various materials from Garo Enter.

If, really if, Baek Seolha took these materials out as a joke...

"I see, you're watching iTube."

"Yes, yes."

Baek Seolha was reading the comments on a music video of a girl group.

"I forgot to charge my phone yesterday. I thought I'd watch some videos during my break..."

"You shouldn't use the office computer so freely."

"I'm sorry..."

"Reading comments can be fun. But this video is quite old. If you want to keep up with trends, there are many other things to watch."

"This is my favorite."

"What is?"

Baek Seolha pursed her lips, realizing she had made a slip of the tongue.

"Uh, uh, while reading the comments, uh, I imagine what kind of comments we would get for our songs..."

In other words, she was running her happiness circuit.

There's no need to be embarrassed.

Imagining or fantasizing about success is a good motivational method.

"Do you often read comments on other groups?"

"Not often, just sometimes... really sometimes."

Baek Seolha looked pitiful.

She probably had endless fantasies when she was an idol in the past.

"After debuting, you'll get so many comments that you won't be able to read them all."

"That would be nice."

Baek Seolha moved away from her chair and tried to leave, apologizing again.

"Seolha, on your way, could you call Ara? No, I'll do it later..."

"Should I call Ara for you?"

"Ah, yes, please. Thank you."

"...You can ask me directly."

After Baek Seolha left, Jo Ara, with a red face, entered.

She had been caught fantasizing by Baek Seolha.

"Why did you call me?"

"Ara, come here."

"I won't listen if it's something bad. You can tell Rika later."

"Is Rika a messenger?"

"What? It must be something bad."

Despite her words, Jo Ara approached Seong Pil.

"Ara."

"Why is your voice like that?"

"I know you're struggling, but can you do me a favor?"

"...A favor? For me?"

"Yes, a favor."

Jo Ara quickly pulled a chair and placed it in front of Seong Pil.

She sat down, crossing her legs.

Her expression was arrogant and proud.

"I'll listen."

"Jang Hayang is learning very slowly."

The two-week short-term training is almost over.

Seong Pil listens to the trainers' reports about Jang Hayang every week.

It's not something he can just say is good.

Jang Hayang isn't just lacking in skill.

She is clearly learning very slowly.

Even though she practices alone until late every night, it's impossible not to worry.

"But the final evaluation is only a little over two weeks away. From now on, help Jang Hayang prepare for the evaluation."

"What do you mean? I understand."

"Huh? So easily?"

"What? Did you think I would reject it outright?"

"Yes. I thought you'd rebel and say, 'I'm so busy, why should I do this?'"

"Do you dislike me, sir?"

"Our Ara is the best. I really like you."

"Really like me?"

"Why, don't you like me?"

"Then who do you like the most?"

"I like the CEO the most."

"Such a strong work ethic. You won't go hungry anywhere. Can you start teaching her today?"

"Sure, if you want. I'll tell her myself."

Jo Ara's lips kept curling up, clearly pleased that Seong Pil had asked her.

"But honestly, among the three of us, there's a hierarchy, right? Who's number one?"

"All ten fingers hurt."

"Sure, sure. Everyone is equal, so Rika can cling to you, but you push me away just by touching my hair. I understand."

She left the office without waiting for Seong Pil's answer, embarrassed by her childish tantrum.

'So, she was still holding a grudge from that time.'

It's not something to get angry about, but it's something to keep in mind.

How can Jo Ara be consoled?

In her past life, Jo Ara was definitely...

'This will do.'

Seong Pil rested his chin on his desk and scanned the list of videos Baek Seolha had watched.

Since iTube was logged in with Seong Pil's ID, the viewing history was saved.

He started deleting the records from the top.

'She only watched comments on music videos, it seems.'

For quite a long time.

The viewing time was too long to be just during a break.

It was almost an hour.

'Seolha is human too. After all, it's Sunday, so she gets lazy.'

He didn't plan to say anything.

It's already impressive that she came to the office on her day off.

'Huh?'

Among the viewing history filled with idol music videos, there was a video with a different title.

[If