Chapter 53

# Chapter 053

"This was made by Ara-chan's mother herself! 20 years ago!"

Joara proudly puffed out her chest.

Her attitude was as if she was daring them to take a good look.

"…Oh, it’s well made. Anyway, kids."

"That’s it?! That’s your reaction?! Look at this. It really looks like something you’d buy in a store, you know?!"

Rika touched Joara’s sweater, trying to emphasize its appeal.

The more she did, the more Seong Pil’s expression became blank.

Rika was shocked.

"You have no empathy, do you?!"

"That uncle only acts like that with me. He’s favoring me."

"Think what you want. Anyway, you guys need to go to your dorm now. Can you move in by this week?"

Silence fell in the practice room.

"Go to the dorm? Us? All of us? By this week?"

Baek Seolha asked in a tone that was both calm and excited.

Seong Pil continued with his shocking statement.

"You guys will debut in about a year."

Debut.

The weight and atmosphere of that word were different for each of them.

To Baek Seolha, it brought a sense of burden.

Joara felt a thrill.

Jang Hayang felt anxious.

And Rika.

"Is, Is, Isaniim."

Approaching Seong Pil, trembling like a newborn calf.

"Really? Really? Is it true? Really? Is it a hidden camera?!"

"Really. It’s true. It’s a fact. Really. It’s not a hidden camera."

"Debut, debut, debut…."

Rika turned her back to Seong Pil and walked slowly.

Standing at the end of the room, Rika suddenly turned to look at Seong Pil.

"I, I will fly from now on!"

Rika ran at full speed towards Seong Pil.

Seong Pil, considering whether to avoid her, looked at the other kids. Baek Seolha smiled as if to say, "Come on."

"Come here."

As Seong Pil opened his arms, Rika leaped off the ground.

"It’s a debut!"

Seong Pil spun Rika around.

Rika laughed loudly, raising her arms.

"It’s a debut!"

Rika laughed and cried.

It had been about two years and four months since she decided to become an idol in Korea.

Finally, her debut was confirmed.

* * *

"Mom, I’m going to live independently now."

At a long-awaited family dinner, Baek Seolha dropped a bombshell.

Her three younger siblings opened their eyes wide, and her mother asked worriedly.

"Why are you moving out so soon? You’re only 21. Is it because the company is far? It’s not that far, is it?"

Baek Seolha laughed bitterly.

She had been lying to her family, telling them she worked as a vocal trainer at a training school.

She hadn’t even mentioned Garo Entertainment.

Her mother would surely oppose her trying to become an idol again, knowing how much Baek Seolha had been hurt in the past.

"Is it because it’s hard to go to work? If that’s the case, your father and I can chip in to buy you a used car."

When Baek Seolha failed as an idol, she cried more than her mother did.

She didn’t want to hurt her mother again.

That’s why she had kept it a secret until now.

But she didn’t want to hide it anymore.

She wanted to be confident.

Between her ambition and filial piety, Baek Seolha chose ambition, quite a while ago.

"I’ve become a trainee. A few months ago."

The silence was even more profound than when she said she was moving out.

Feeling as if she had suddenly fallen into a snowfield, Baek Seolha mustered up her courage.

"I want to try being an idol again."

The table was overturned.

* * *

Today is the day they all move into the dorm.

Rika and Jang Hayang are already at the dorm, and Joara is being picked up by Han Gugun.

Seong Pil came to the company early in the morning and waited for Baek Seolha.

'I’m not even moving into the dorm, but I’m so excited. I wonder if they’ll get along well.'

While exhaling white breath, he saw Baek Seolha walking towards him from a distance.

She was pulling a small trunk.

"Seolha…?"

"Hello, Isaniim. You came early."

"Seolha, what’s that? Why?"

"Oh, this?"

Baek Seolha laughed as if it was nothing, brushing her cheek.

A bandage was stuck to her left cheek.

"I fell down the stairs yesterday. Unfortunately, my cheek brushed against the wall. I’m sorry. I should have been more careful."

"No, no, no, no! Why should you be sorry! Are you okay? Did you get hurt badly? How badly are you hurt?"

To an idol, their face is their life.

Even if she wasn’t an idol, a face is precious to everyone.

How upset must Baek Seolha be?

Seong Pil pouted and stomped his feet.

"It will get better soon."

"But you said it brushed against the wall. Shouldn’t you go to the hospital? What if bacteria got in?"

"I went to the hospital. I’m fine, so let’s go. It’s very cold, isn’t it?"

Baek Seolha deliberately lifted the trunk into the car with strength.

It didn’t seem to contain much, and she could easily lift it with one hand.

"Didn’t you bring many clothes?"

"Ah, hah. I don’t buy many clothes. When I tried to bring them, I realized I didn’t have many."

"…"

Seong Pil had been observing Baek Seolha for a long time. He could quickly tell if she was making an excuse.

She was someone who found it hard to hide her feelings.

Now, Baek Seolha was lying.

She was trying to hide her sadness by smiling brighter.

'I can’t tell Isaniim.'

That she had a big fight with her mother yesterday.

That her mother hit her.

That she left in a hurry and couldn’t pack properly.

It was a story she couldn’t tell, and even if she did, it wouldn’t help.

"…I understand. Get in."

Fortunately, Seong Pil didn’t ask Baek Seolha any more questions. She was grateful for his indifference.

However, Seong Pil glanced at Baek Seolha dozens of times while driving.

He seemed very worried.

"Seolha, you’re the last one…? Why is your cheek like that?"

Just as Baek Seolha was about to make another excuse, Seong Pil explained the situation for her.

The members comforted Baek Seolha.

"Ara looks very cold. Her cheek looks like a Ho-Bread Man."

"Something happened."

"Why are you saying that? Don’t say it."

Han Gugun detailed what happened in front of Joara’s house.

Joara’s mother had kissed her cheek repeatedly. She was very sad that her daughter was leaving home.

"Such a harmonious family. Don’t teenagers usually dislike that kind of thing?"

"I don’t like it either. My mom does it forcefully."

"Envious."

"What’s there to envy? I’m so annoyed. She still thinks I’m a kindergartener."

Joara kicked the ground, and Jang Hayang smiled wistfully.

"Let’s go in. It’s cold."

"Can’t you introduce us, like in Love House?"

Love House.

An old, famous TV program.

The basic premise was to create an ideal home for ordinary people, and it was very popular.

But Rika wouldn’t know about it.

"What’s Love House?"

Even Jang Hayang, a Korean, didn’t know about Love House.

"Already, there’s a generation that doesn’t know Love House. Seolha, do you know it?"

"…I don’t know it either."

"…"

"I’m 21 years old…"

"I’m sorry."

In the end, Rika was in charge of introducing the dorm. She introduced each space from the entrance.

"This is the master bedroom. This is the second bedroom. This is the living room, this is the kitchen! There are iron bars on the windows!"

"This is scary. Why are they there? Did the previous group escape through the window?"

"I don’t know. They were there from the beginning."

Next, they had to decide on the rooms.

There were two rooms, so two people would have to share each.

The members looked at each other.

'That’s right. Even among members, there are close friends. But if someone chooses first, it might cause trouble.'

It was a sensitive time for interpersonal relationships.

Seong Pil provided a solution.

"How about this? The junior line in one room, the senior line in another."

"Uncle, I have a question. What’s the criterion for that?"

"Well, wouldn’t it be more comfortable that way? Why, do you dislike Rika?"

"Shock! 11th time achieved! And she hasn’t even confessed to Ara-chan yet!"

Rika said it jokingly, but she seemed genuinely shocked by Joara’s words.

It was like hearing ‘I don’t want to be with you’ from a close friend.

"I’m sensitive when I sleep. I can’t be with someone who snores. Does Rika snore?"

"Shiranai (I don’t know)."

"What about Seolha?"

"I don’t know. I’ve never shared a room with anyone. My family didn’t say anything specific."

"What about Hayang?"

"I’ve never heard her snore."

"Is this Russian roulette?"

Except for Joara, they weren’t particularly sensitive about snoring.

"Let’s just divide the minors and adults. It will be more comfortable that way."

"Sure, that makes sense."

"Ara-chan! We’re living together from now on!"

Rika kissed Joara’s cheek.

"Are you crazy! This girl is nuts! Pu pu! Get your face away!"

"Shock! 12th time achieved!"

Han Gugun smiled contentedly and kept filming the members with his smartphone.

He had already given them a heads-up.

He would record their lives and practices and upload the videos.

After assigning the rooms, Seong Pil gathered the members in the living room.

"You’ll be living together here for a few years. I’ll be honest, it won’t be easy. Living with others is never easy."

"Ooh, Uncle, have you lived with many people?"

"Army."

"Oh…"

"There will be good times and bad times. I hope you can support and understand each other. Even if you get along well, there will be things that build up. When that happens, don’t keep it inside. Do this."

Seong Pil sat across from Han Gugun at the dining table.

Seong Pil and Han Gugun held hands.

"Hold hands and look each other in the eye. I’ll show you an example. Manager Han. I find it too burdensome when you use such formal language. Can’t we just speak casually? We’re the same age."

"I’ll do that when we get closer."

"Understood. I’ll try, so please try too, Manager Han."

"Thank you for telling me."

It was a pre-rehearsed scenario.

The members were barely holding back their laughter.

"Who does that? We’re not in elementary school."

"What? Are you ignoring this? It really works. It’s better than letting things build up and explode later. Feeling each other’s warmth and making eye contact is psychologically…"

Joara seemed to find it just funny. The other members had similar reactions.

"Anyway, if you’re going to fight, sit at the table and do it like I just showed. Seolha, you do it well. If the kids raise their voices, bring them here immediately."

"Understood."

"Next, let’s set some rules. I’ve already written the basic rules on this whiteboard. You can add more rules as you live together. The rules written here must be followed. Got it?"

"Understood."

"Next."

Han Gugun took a notebook from his bag and gave it to Baek Seolha.

"You have to cook your own meals. I’ll provide the ingredients regularly. This book contains recipes I made. Cook whatever you want."

The members’ mouths dropped open when they saw Han Gugun’s notebook.

The neat handwriting seemed to be written with genuine effort.

There were even photos, and the cooking process was described in great detail.

Even a beginner could follow it without any problems.

"That’s all I have to say. I hope you do well. Let’s work hard towards our debut."

* * *

Seong Pil and Han Gugun returned to the company.

The members had a special privilege of ordering delivery food for today.

They ate delicious meals for both lunch and dinner.

After finishing their meals, they sat in the living room.

Since they were used to gathering at the company, it felt awkward to be apart.

"We have to live here for 7 or 8 years."

"Yeah. So get used to it quickly. You don’t need to gather like this after eating. This isn’t the company."

"But there’s nothing to do."

The dorm was empty.

They had tried to decorate their rooms, but they had only brought a few items.

Rika suddenly stood up and walked to the whiteboard in the center of the living room.

"I’ve been wondering about this. There’s a rule number 2. It says that someone from the company will come once a week to check the condition. Will it be Manager Han or Manager Park?"

"Probably."

"I need to clean well."

"Right below that, rule number 3 is ‘clean well.’"

"If they’re checking the condition, how far will they go? Will they open drawers and check?"

"That’s Eva. Do you really think they’ll do that?"

"Maybe they will?"

Baek Seolha’s words shocked the other three.

"That’s a violation of privacy!"

"There might be something bad hidden. When I lived in a dorm before, they opened all the drawers and checked."

"Something strange? What kind of thing? A gun?"

"Y-You know. Something we found when we were cleaning…"

"Rubber friends?"

"Hey, what are rubber friends! Why are you calling them like they’re close friends?"

"Ara-chan. You shouldn’t be embarrassed about that. That kind of thinking restricts people’s thinking! You need to be confident! It’s a duty of a democratic citizen! Silence on any issue means you’ll be silent when you need to speak up!"

Rika sometimes makes grand statements.

Most of them are things she heard in Han Gugun’s classes.

"Got it, Smartie."

"Can I go take a shower first?"

"Sure, go ahead."

Jang Hayang left the living room without hesitation.

"Teacher, what do you mean by ‘go well’? We’re living in the same house."

"Y-Yeah."

"Doesn’t Hayang seem a bit like Dokugae? She can entertain herself."

"Aah! Ara-chan, you shouldn’t say that!"

"What’s wrong?"

Rika pointed to rule number 5 on the whiteboard.

"'You shouldn’t talk about someone who isn’t there.' That’s what it says. I’m more concerned about this than the inspection rule."

Baek Seolha understood this rule.

Living together, there will inevitably be members with strange habits.

Their stories often become frequent topics of conversation, creating natural barriers.

Even if it’s not intentional, thinking ‘they’re a bit different’ can turn into ‘they’re weird.’

Rule 5 was designed to prevent this kind of division.

"What’s this? It’s not saying we can’t talk at all."

"Ara-chan!"

"What now?"

"Manager Park is a god! This rule is invincible! Manager Park has his reasons!"

"Just date him. You keep saying Manager Park, Manager Park. Why don’t you just call him dad?"

"That might be too much for him."

"You’re hesitating over trivial things."

Joara hugged Rika and rolled on the floor.

The living room echoed with their giggles.

Baek Seolha watched them for a while before going to