Chapter 98 - CHAPTER 98

The evaluation camp ended when only two days remained before the final stage.

"Bye!"

"See you in two days!"

The trainees, carrying their belongings out of a dorm they would never return to regardless of whether they debuted or not, exchanged short farewells and quickly climbed into their cars.

I also headed toward one side, checking the long row of car numbers lined up to pick up the trainees. Soon, a familiar man raised his hand and greeted me warmly.

"Shall we go? Got all your stuff?"

"Yes."

The person waiting for me was one of LON's road managers—the one Director Kwon had introduced to me last time. After a brief greeting with the person who would be taking care of me until ended, I immediately got into the car.

"Oh, right. Yuha, I stopped by your house, and it seems like there wasn't any issue. Doesn't look like anyone broke in. Though the number pad looked like someone fiddled with it."

I was watching the training center fade rapidly in the distance through the car window when those words suddenly made me turn my head toward the inside of the car.

"I see. Thank you for checking."

"Nothing you need to pick up from home? Should we head straight to the company?"

"I think I'm fine. Please take me straight to the company."

I answered and let out a small breath of relief. I had been worried since I'd been away from home for over two weeks, but thankfully it seemed no one had entered the house.

But the fact that the number pad looked tampered with meant the neighborhood wasn't safe. Leaving home had clearly been the right choice.

—Pack your things and stay at the trainee dorm for now. Your house isn't secure.

I had moved back into KRM's trainee dorm—where I'd lived until my parents passed away—about a week before the final camp started, right after I had reached a rough agreement with Director Kwon.

Before and after the final camp, he said it would be best for me to stay at the trainee dorm until I debuted and moved into the debut dorm.

Because of the recent incident, my personal information was already widely known, and there might be sasaengs or reporters lurking around intending to write provocative articles.

—If it becomes a "failure to manage a trainee" situation, the company gets in trouble. We'll rotate staff to check your house occasionally, so don't go back unless necessary. You don't want to wake up and find a stranger looking at you, right?

—....

I was uneasy about leaving the house unattended, but Director Kwon had a point. With weak security, there was a high risk of privacy invasion.

The house was important, but the most important thing was avoiding giving sasaengs or reporters any further leverage. So I quietly organized the inside of my house, packed my things, and moved into the trainee dorm.

"But Yuha, are you thinking of meeting Ji OH at all?"

"…Ji OH."

Even as I grew closer to KRM Entertainment, the number of things I had to worry about increased.

The road manager continued awkwardly at my unenthusiastic reaction.

"He asked me to tell you he sends his regards. When he heard I was picking you up today, he said that if you're free, he'd like to see you. He said he wants to cheer you on. His schedule should be free today—do you want to contact him?"

Since that argument last time, I hadn't met Hyun Ji OH once. He had his schedule, and I, after having my mental state shattered, couldn't face anyone for a while.

Even after I recovered and moved into the trainee dorm, he was hard to meet. Even during his inactive period, he wasn't truly resting—he had his own schedule.

"…Yes, I'll try contacting him."

It wasn't that I didn't want to see him.

After our argument, Hyun Ji OH had been contacting me continuously, saying he wanted to apologize if he'd done anything wrong.

But I didn't think it was something I needed an apology for.

Though that doesn't mean it was something I had no right to be angry about.

I knew why he told me to endure quietly.

We had lived and worked together for four years.

I didn't have many people I could call friends or close acquaintances, but if I had to pick someone in that category, Hyun Ji OH would come to mind first. And if it wasn't just in my head, he would likely feel the same.

He wanted the best for me, and based on that, he had recommended what he believed was the "best option."

I understood that intention. I wasn't angry at the advice itself.

What I couldn't accept was the attitude underneath it.

Hyun Ji OH had changed after I dropped from the debut lineup.

A strangely servile, shadowed expression. A face desperate to do something—anything—for me. As if giving me consideration and help was some kind of duty.

Like he owed me a debt.

Hyun Ji OH treated me with excessive meekness. He believed his debut had been the result of "luck."

And that wasn't all.

"Yuha, thanks for coming."

"…Yeah."

I could see a different emotion on his face.

Pity.

He would deny it, but Hyun Ji OH pitied me. That was exactly why I started avoiding him.

"Aren't you tired? You must have been filming even today…"

"And you practiced until today too, didn't you?"

"Practice is part of daily life… Hm. Now that I think about it, it's kind of strange—we've never really taken a break since we became trainees, have we?"

He answered with an awkward laugh.

Now that we were both public figures, there weren't many places we could talk comfortably without worrying about people watching.

The only suitable place was the company—specifically, the underground practice room I had borrowed to prepare for the final.

"It's really been a while since I've been here."

The practice rooms for trainees and debuted idols were completely separate, so it must have been ages since Hyun Ji OH last stepped into this basement. He looked around the room with a faint unfamiliarity, and I opened my mouth first.

"I heard from the manager. Thanks for cheering me on."

"No, I really wanted to go to the venue tomorrow if I could… It's a shame. I wanted to see you debut."

"It's fine. If even you show up when Baek I-hyeon is already coming, things will get messy."

"Oh… I-hyeon sunbae…"

At my words, Hyun Ji OH's expression darkened. Silence fell for a moment.

Seeing him hesitate, I knew he was thinking about that argument related to Baek I-hyeon's transfer.

Just when he seemed about to speak—as if he'd made up his mind—

"Thank you for everything until now. But I'm fine now."

"…Huh?"

"I'm saying you don't need to try helping me anymore."

I cut him off before he could speak. Before he could apologize again—something I didn't need to hear.

At my words, Hyun Ji OH closed his mouth as if taken aback. I let out a small sigh and continued.

"Throughout , you've done a lot for me. That's enough. You don't have to keep doing anything more. You don't need to take care of me beyond what's reasonable."

"…Did I cause trouble for you?"

"No, you helped me."

During the entire broadcast of , Hyun Ji OH had supported me in his own way. He would subtly mention my name during U-app chats with fans, or bring me various bits of information that weren't necessarily about popularity.

The reason Hyun Ji OH tried so hard to pull me up was simple. He thought was my last chance.

"But like I said before, I'm fine now. Things are different from back then."

Above all, he had been the one closest to me when I fell apart.

'No one would've seen my situation favorably when my parents passed away.'

It really had been enough to break both my mind and body, and on top of that, I had lost the opportunity of a lifetime—a debut. So it made sense that Hyun Ji OH worried about me.

He saw firsthand how ruined my condition became afterward. And he even admitted that he thought I would never recover and would get cut.

That's why Hyun Ji OH didn't want me to lose . Part of it was the heart of a friend who genuinely wanted me to do well.

"So don't feel guilty. You haven't done anything wrong."

More than anything, Hyun Ji OH wanted to be freed from his guilt.

"...."

Looking at Hyun Ji OH, who had gone pale and was rolling his eyes without answering, I realized my guess had been right.

He might not have realized it himself, but I believed his changed attitude came from guilt.

Hyun Ji OH wanted me to act in the direction he thought was best—never considering that I might not accept it.

Or maybe he vaguely knew but chose to ignore it.

He knew very well that I wouldn't welcome his interference. He knew how things would go and what my reaction would be.

But even so, Hyun Ji OH kept quiet. Because he wanted, somehow, to make me debut.

But I didn't want that kind of one-sided guilt. And I didn't want to walk down the path someone else decided was "best."

"Unexpected things happen. You can't predict and prevent everything. But no matter what happens, I'm not going to collapse so easily anymore."

I could choose my own direction, and I didn't need anyone's involvement for that.

So there was only one thing I needed to say to Hyun Ji OH.

"Things aren't like before anymore. Not for you, not for me."

"...."

"So it's really fine now."

No matter what happened, I wasn't going to fall again—so there was no need for him to keep trying to take care of me.

This time, I'm not losing anything.

Even if this chance came from someone's schemes, I would not repeat the same future again.

That last part, of course, was something I could only say in my head.

***

"Sigh…"

Some day before Won Yuha entered the final evaluation camp, a fansite master was staring at her phone with a gaunt expression.

On the screen was the program page, and on its homepage was this announcement:

"Design the debut group name for !"

With the love and dedication of idol makers, has reached its end. Complete your group by choosing the final debut team's name.

"Hm."

The fansite master scrolled through the comment section with a grimace. There were countless comments.

—Group name: Personal Shopper — Meaning they'll become your personal expert, designed just for you!

—Recommending TopTierDolls~~! Meaning "Rise to the top of the industry"! Become first-tier idols who can devour the rotten entertainment world^^

—I recommend the group name T-YOUNG. Why?

Bring back Kim Taeyoung.

—How about Phoenix? Hehe. Reason: Because it's a group created by professionals at rigging ><

Among the most liked comments, many were jokes like these.

Well, surely the production team wouldn't seriously consider comments like these… right?

Even the more "normal" suggestions were just strings of overused words or had vague meanings—none were to her liking, and she agonized over them.

The name with the most likes currently—the most normal one—was AIDIN.

A combination of the English words IDEAL and part of the program name DESIGN, supposedly meaning "an ideal idol."

Its meaning and pronunciation weren't bad, but for some reason, she didn't like it.

Being a typical Korean in that sense, she firmly believed in the superstition that names determine fate.

So naturally she thought:

'My kid at least needs a name that brings love.'

She wanted to give the group that Won Yuha belonged to a name with the best possible meaning.

She wanted to entrust his future to that superstition, even a little.

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