You Promised Me, Mr. Lee San-ha - Chapter 80



Only Noblemtl

Episode 80: When One Door Closes, Another Door Opens (1)

The youngest member of the idol group ‘Once’ is Flurry.

Her real name was Kim Na-hyung.

I asked as calmly as I could.

“… … Can’t we continue group activities without him? He’s the bad guy, it’s not the other members’ fault.”

“The representative clenched his teeth and put up a shield. He sent emails to the school, fought in the comments on YouTube… … He even deleted the comments on the official account and made a huge fuss. His response was completely wrong.”

Bae Eun-ji laughed in vain.

“Do you know that our company… … is a small company with less than 10 members? If we collapse this time… … our next activities will become uncertain anyway. That’s why the CEO acted so stubbornly. Even though he knew it was ridiculous… … .”

My mouth feels bitter.

That’s what the idol market is like.

There are currently hundreds of idol groups active in South Korea.

Just appearing on TV is enough.

If you include groups that are active but haven’t debuted, the number is impossible to determine.

Of all those groups, only a few get to appear on TV.

There are countless cases of failure at that stage… … but it doesn’t end there.

If you want to create even a little bit of an issue, you should appear in as many media and entertainment shows as possible.

Even if you hold out there, the closed section will not disappear.

Even if you have looks, personality, entertainment sense, and skills, it’s all useless.

… … If the company doesn’t have planning capabilities.

… … If the response to the new song is not good.

… … if image consumption is severe.

… … If it becomes a topic of gossip.

It was commonplace for star idols who had been on TV all year to suddenly disappear from the broadcast.

Overheated competition.

A common red ocean.

Or gambling with all your savings.

That is the current state of the idol market.

‘It would be even more so for small and medium-sized businesses.’

Not only the CEO, but all members of the company would have felt the same.

They were people who gambled away their entire fortune on a card called ‘Bae Eun Ji’.

But beginner’s luck only lasts for a short time.

Even if you have good cards in your hand, if you cannot discard bad cards in time, you are bound to lose the gamble.

So, the group ‘Once’ that Bae Eun-ji was a part of also ended.

Bae Eun-ji continued speaking.

“The CEO~ said he’s going to close down the agency… … . The other members~ said they’re going to open cafes or become Instagram models… … .”

Her head slowly tilted towards me.

Bam.

She spoke again, leaning her head on my shoulder.

“Do you remember? The dream I had when I was little.”

Of course I know.

“… …was an idol.”

I liked singing in front of other people.

I loved dancing and being the center of attention.

Always had a shining smile.

It’s hard to imagine that a child like that would grow up and choose a career other than being an idol.

I closed my eyes tightly.

“Sorry.”

“Why are you sorry? Are you stupid?”

“Kim Na-hyung exposed it… … It was something I did.”

Bae Eun-ji, who had been leaning on my shoulder, slowly raises her body.

yet.

Bam.

Her palm lands on my head.

Fall, fall.

Bae Eun-ji said, lightly patting my head.

“Well done, little one.”

Old memories that I had forgotten vaguely come back to me.

When I took out an old album and opened it, it was a familiar yet nostalgic memory, like the smell of dust.

‘Well done, little one!’

About 20 years ago, Bae Eun-ji used to pat my head like this.

The current Bae Eun-ji also strokes my head.

“… … Even without that, Kim Na-hyung seemed like a bad kid. I could tell from the way she usually talked and the way she chatted. Maybe things are better now.”

“… … .”

As she kept her mouth shut, Bae Eun-ji’s hands gradually slowed down.

“I think it might have been me who lacked courage. I pretended not to know even though I thought he was a bad guy.”

“You didn’t know.”

“You didn’t try to find out. That’s bad too.”

Honest, upright, and not lying about one’s feelings.

Bae Eun-ji is that kind of person.

She asked, putting her hand down.

“But how did you find out that Kim Na-hyung was that kind of person? While reporting on her?”

“No. The kid he was bullying was Dain.”

“what?”

Bae Eun-ji’s already large eyes grew twice as big.

“Hey, our baby Dain?! Where would you hit that little brat… …! She really was a bad girl, wasn’t she?!”

Bae Eun-ji had been strangely fond of Lee Da-in for a long time.

I think it’s still like that now.

“I couldn’t stand it because he was my little brother. Of course, he’s not that shy.”

“Is Dain okay? You must have had a hard time.”

“I feel like things went well and I became close with my friends again.”

“Really? That’s good… … While we’re on the subject, does Dain have any pictures? Judging from your profile picture on KakaoTalk, your taekwondo uniform really suits you. I heard you do judo too? Aww, you’re so cute!”

“There is no brother on Earth who carries around a picture of his little sister.”

A celebrity who is a fan of ordinary people.

This is the first time I’ve seen such a strange composition.

anyway.

Bae Eun-ji seems to have regained some of her energy after hearing Idae-in’s story.

I just went with the flow.

“Then… …what are we going to do now?”

“As I said before, I’ve never thought about anything other than being an idol. I need to re-debut.”

I swallowed dry saliva at Bae Eun-ji’s words.

Re-debuting is more difficult than debuting.

Because he has already been branded as a person who has failed in the market once.

I thought.

‘There must be quite a few entertainment CEOs among Team Leader Yoon Yeo-gam’s connections.’

The TLT Times tends to write a lot of friendly articles about celebrities.

That’s why we receive a lot of gifts disguised as promotional materials.

In an instant, a new superpower appeared in my head.

The ability to enforce the performance of promises made to others.

‘If I could make a promise to get Bae Eun Ji into a famous agency as a new member… … .’

But that’s not fair competition.

I don’t think Bae Eun-ji would want something like that.

I thought about it carefully.

A way to help her without hurting Bae Eun-ji’s pride or undermining the fair order.

at that time.

“I’m going to try out for Project 108.”

Bae Eun-ji said.

Project 108.

This is a program that any Korean person cannot help but know.

An audition program where 108 female idol trainees compete against each other and the 8 chosen through voting will debut in a new group.

Season 1, which was implemented several years ago, raised several issues.

A provocative patchwork of directing, so-called devil’s editing.

Image making that is created by giving a lot of quantity.

There’s also the issue of vote rigging that crops up every time.

It was a program so notorious that the controversies of that time are still talked about today.

Bae Eun-ji said confidently.

“Did you know that we’re doing season 2 this time? I’m going to get first place there and join a new agency!”

A lively voice as if nothing had happened.

Looking at his current appearance, it seems like he has returned to his usual benevolence.

I nodded.

“You can do it.”

“Joe-ah! Then let’s have a drink?!”

“Stop drinking and get up. I think you’ve had too much to drink already.”

“No way! My friend is trying something new, so why don’t you buy me a drink to show your support?!”

“… … Okay. Let’s end it here.”

at that time.

Ding dong!

I thought the appointment was newly registered, but it wasn’t.

Bae Eun-ji rang the bell and shouted.

“Auntie! Here! Give me just one glass of the most abundant and strongest liquor!”

* * *

Bae Eun-ji eventually lost consciousness.

I carried her around and walked into the narrow villa village.

‘It’s so light. I can carry it all day.’

As you climb the steep stairs, you will come across a one-room building.

The address she gave me before she got drunk was on the 2nd floor of this building.

‘But how do I open the door?’

A moment of hesitation in front of the firmly locked semi-basement entrance door.

Beep-

A finger extends from above his shoulder and presses the door lock.

Beep- beep- beep- beep- beep- beep- tiring-

The door opened.

“If you were awake, why didn’t you get off and walk?”

“Mom and Dad are back!”

Bae Eun-ji shouted with her tongue twisted.

I tilted my head when I heard that.

‘Are you living with your parents in a semi-basement studio like this? It seems so cramped.’

But there are various circumstances in the world, so there is no need to say anything out loud.

I carried Bae Eun-ji on my back and entered the studio apartment.

The room was so narrow that there wasn’t even enough room for a single person to hide.

The moment I turned on the light, I saw what was inside the room.

I saw it.

White porcelain with a lid.

It was an urn.

In front of each of the two urns there is a photograph.

“… … .”

I took my eyes off the urn.

After a while, Bae Eun-ji hits my back hard.

“Thank you for your hard work carrying me.”

She threw herself straight towards the bed.

Phuong-

Then he buried his face in the pillow and lay there.

I thought.

‘What’s been going on?’

There is a gap of more than a dozen years between her and me.

So her family history was unknown.

at that time.

“… … It was a car accident. I was in middle school.”

Bae Eun-ji said with her face buried in the pillow.

“I heard the news that I failed the audition on the day when my family and I were planning to go to Gangwon-do to play. So I had a huge fight with my parents.”

Her voice is hoarse, as if the pillow is making her breathless.

“Mom and Dad said that if we went and had fun, I would feel better, but I didn’t want to do that. In the end, they sent us separately to go and have fun together… … ”

The words slowly open.

I waited quietly for her next words.

“After that, I moved from one relative’s house to another. I heard people swearing at me, asking me to pay for food, and even asking when I would get better. I worked all sorts of part-time jobs to save up money… … and I ended up buying this house. It’s a precious house where only my family lives. There are a lot of teachers, though.”

There was another side of her that I didn’t know about.

I can’t even imagine how hard it must have been for you at such a young age.

I sat down carefully on the corner of the bed.

And I said the only thing I could say.

“Thank you for your hard work.”

Bae Eun-ji still hasn’t moved an inch.

I just sob quietly.

“Do you know what the last thing I said to Mom and Dad was?”

“well.”

“Please, just go somewhere. Please leave me alone.”

“… … .”

A common complaint we often hear as children.

But the weight of those words will be felt differently by different people.

Especially to someone who said it as their final goodbye.

chin.

Bae Eun-ji slowly reached out and grabbed my wrist.

“So… … don’t go. Please… … .”

Strong but weak.

Weak but strong.