Chapter 20 – Karma (1)

There is a saying that praise can make even a whale dance.

This is what the gunner told me when I was just starting to learn the job.

Before she made her debut, Jiyeon Lee had insisted that she didn’t want to practice her singing along that day.
She was just shocked when she suddenly decided to skip practice as she had been working hard ahead of her upcoming debut stage.

We were only nineteen years old at that time.

Although she did not prepare for the exam like other students, she spent the year faithfully and worked desperately toward her debut every day.
Therefore, she thought that Ji-yeon Lee was a human being and that she might want to get away for a day.
She had plenty of reasons to lie to her school and company.

Jiyeon Lee was not an extrovert.

We mostly preferred to hang out at her house, but that day she asked Jiyeon Lee to go out.
She asked me to go to a nearby downtown area and I said yes.
After her debut, she thought that if Jiyeon Lee became famous, it would be difficult for her to go out with her.

For some reason, Jiyeon Lee came out beautifully dressed that day. She looked pretty again.
She went to pretty cafés, watched movies, and ate delicious food.
Because she received money from the company, she was not short of money. It was a perfect outing.

She said she would cook dinner and invited me to her house.
She even prepared alcohol where she got it.
I remember drinking a glass of beer that my parents gave me, but this was my first time drinking it secretly.

Ji-yeon Lee, who was doing her own cooking, was very good at her cooking.
She drank to the point that her head hurt due to the strange sense of immorality that she was cooking and drinking to her taste.

On that day, the Lee Ji-yeon collection began to be created.

When I think about it again, I think I was caught up in Lee Ji-yeon’s perfect plan.

*

“···Yes?”

‘···Well, I want to rest today…’

I felt a strange sense of déjà vu.

Hyeon Hayeon, who always worked hard and showed a bright side, told me that she wanted to take a day off because she was so upset.

Of course, taking a day off doesn’t mean her skills will decline.

But she could be in big trouble if she had a change of heart.
Managing the mental state of the celebrity in question was also one of the manager’s important roles.

Baek Ga-eun’s debut was decided not long ago.
Based on her excellent acting skills, she is scheduled to go to auditions as soon as possible and appear in the music video of a singer belonging to CG Entertainment. Her white hair and cute appearance that naturally make people like her, and because she is the youngest member of the 100 Days group, her mother is attracted to. Tremendous support is promised. Everyone expected that no matter what she did, she would cause a big fire.

On the other hand, Hyeon Ha-yeon was different.

Although she started as a trainee a few months earlier, the starting line was different from Baek Ga-eun, who had a strong background and a gorgeous appearance.

The entertainment industry was that kind of place.

In fact, Hyeon Ha-yeon is a promising star receiving great expectations in CG entertainment.

Contrary to her sharp impression, the charm emanating from her bright and friendly personality was enormous.

She is a so-called celebrity who is easy to follow.

Controversies over the personality of celebrities are also a hot topic, but if it were her personality, it would be a good story, not a ghost story.

Not to mention her singing skills.

It is said that even her other agencies were surprised that the CEO, who is known for being picky in her industry, was personally looking for her songs to give to her.
Until now, there was only one singer whose song the CEO personally selected.

I also have high hopes for her current girlfriend, so she has become very attached to her.

“Um… Is there something going on?”

`Oh, no! It’s not like that… ‘

She asked about this and that, as if interrogating her, but she said she was just not feeling well.

“···All right. I’ll see you later then.”

‘···Yes?’

I put aside her embarrassed voice and quickly began to finish what I was doing.

I might hang out late today, so I need to finish work in advance.

*

“Oh, welcome…”

“Excuse me.”

Hyeon Hayeon opened the door.

Is it my imagination that her face looks a little red?

“What about your family…?”

“Everyone is gone…”

Although she had been to her house several times, it seemed to be the first time she was alone with him.

“Are you ready?”

“Please sit down for a moment”

Today I decided to go out with her.
She thought that after her debut, it might be difficult for her to go out on a regular basis, so she planned a tour of Seoul with her, and she said she was okay with it.

“I’m ready, Lord.”

“···”

How long did she wait? Hyeon Hayeon finished her preparations and came out to the living room.
She usually preferred clothes that were easy to move around in, but her outfit today was different from usual.

Hyeon Hayeon, who preferred pants, came out to the living room for some reason wearing a white skirt and a light blue shirt.

“Gwae, are you okay?”

She seems so embarrassed and doesn’t know what to do. I wish she had her confidence.
“You are very pretty.”

“Ah… Yes…”

I could see that even her ears turned red, as if the compliment didn’t work properly.
She decided to use a lot of direct expressions because she was always shy even when people complimented her during singing practice.

“Well, manager… You look great today too…”

I thought it was cute that she returned the compliment in her small, ant-crawling voice.
She made eye contact with me and lowered her head again.

Since I usually only wore light suits, she rarely saw me in civilian clothes.

Today, Hyeon Ha-yeon’s purpose was to go sightseeing, so she came out neatly dressed in a shirt and slacks.

“···Thank you. “Then do you want to go?”

“Yes…”

*

“Try some of this!”

“It’s okay… Oop”

Hyeon Hayeon put a mischievous smile on her face and stuffed a seaweed roll into her mouth.
I thought it was expensive and tasteless, but the crispy stuff was quite delicious.

“It’s delicious, right?”

Her smiling face caught the attention of the men who were sitting in pairs.

The quick-witted lovers were seen cracking down on their boyfriends.

“···Wow, it’s delicious”

“Shall we eat some fish cakes?”

She is a good eater, so she said she would eat kimbap, tteokbokki, and fried food, and even eat fish cake to fill her mouth.

We ate together, but seeing her eating so happily made me put down my chopsticks without realizing it.

“Okay, should I just eat one too?”

“And! “Grandma, please just give us two fish cakes.”

When she said that it was okay to order fish cakes, her cute appearance, smiling cheerfully and spreading out her two fingers in an adorable manner, once again ignited the hearts of the surrounding men.

“Baby, just eat tteokbokki”

“Uh, uh…”

In the end, one man lowered his head and was only bothering Tteokbokki.

“Uh? Grandma, we only ordered two…”

“I’m giving it to my boyfriend because he’s very tall and handsome, so let’s share~”

“Thank you, my boyfriend!”

Perhaps because her grandmother mistook us for a couple, she brought us two more fish cakes.
I was just grateful.

“Spray soy sauce here. It’s so amazing that it’s a spray gun.”

“Yeah, should I sprinkle a little too?”

I sprayed some soy sauce with the soy sauce sprayer that Hyeon Ha-yeon gave me and took a bite.

Before she came here, she seemed nervous about going out for the first time in a while, so she looked for something to relax her and found an arcade.
Hyeon Hayeon said she has rarely been to an arcade.
She didn’t seem to dislike entertainment, so she invited her to join in and try various things, but surprisingly, Hyeon Hayeon was also talented at games.

“Yap! Yap!”

“···”

She was playing a fighting game, and her physical condition was not good due to her exquisite basic skills and amazing skills.
If I lose like this, this game will ultimately be my loss.

[GAME OVER]

“Wow…”

“Hehe~”

In the end, I lost.

She tried the controls a few times before starting the game, then manipulated them more skillfully than me and skillfully trampled me, ultimately losing.

“It’s already 2 to 1?”

“···Yes”

It was nice to come into the arcade and play games together.

I had fun for the first time in a long time, and she seemed happy too.

The problem was next.

She felt confident and invited me to make a bet.
Since my goal was to make her feel better, of course I agreed.

Except for one game, which I narrowly won, I was left in the last game with all losses.

“Um… The game I want to play… How about this?”

I decided to take turns choosing games, but I already have no choice.

The game she chose was a punching machine.

“Is this correct?”

“Yes! “This is three times for 1,000 won.”

Since it was the game she chose, I put the money in without a word.

Hyeon Ha-yeon told me to go first and made room for me.

“Do it first, Manager”

“···Is it okay if I do it first?”

“Yes!”

I glanced at Hyeon Ha-yeon watching me with a smile and took a stance.

It’s not that she has to win, but since she took the lead, I think it’s polite to deal with her sincerely.

‘Pang!’

[Tourururu···]

[940!!! Congratulations!]

It surpassed the previous 1st place score of 937 points. It was a good start.

When I glanced at Hyeon Ha-yeon, she still seemed confident.

`Cheolkeok`

Then, the second and third rounds were completed.

The finishing score was 987 points, first place.

“And! I’m in first place… Now it’s my turn, right?”

She congratulated me on my score and just smiled and put the money in.

‘Pang!’

[Tourururu···]

[Congratulations on 666 points!]

It was a relatively low score, but she just had fun doing it.
He grinned at me, took his stance, and said.

“Here we go for the second time!”

‘Pang!!’

When her fist cut through the air and touched the punching machine, she knew something was wrong.
A sound was clearly different from the first sound.

Hyeon Ha-yeon threw a clean and light punch as if she had seen it in an action movie, and the score spoke of the result.

[Tourururu···]

[777 points!!]

`Cheolkeok`

The mitt came up for the third time.

Hyeon Ha-yeon did not seriously hit the punching machine in the previous turn.

She straightened her posture.
She spread her legs slightly, straightened her weight, and stared at her mitts with her fists clenched.
If you do this wrong…

‘Boom!’

At that moment, a loud noise was heard and people playing other games looked at us in surprise.

I couldn’t even properly see that she threw her punch.
At that moment, a sound was heard and there was Hyeon Hayeon looking at her score with her hands on her waist.

[Tururururu]

[Bam! Parabam~ 999 points! Congratulations!]

“And! It’s first place! 1st place!”

Behind her, smiling innocently and confirming her victory, a slightly torn mitt with cotton sticking out was seen.

A thought occurred to her as she looked at her with difficulty breathing, as if she hadn’t used all her strength even though her tough skin had been torn.
If Hyeon Hayeon’s sincere punch is aimed at people, I don’t know if she should do business.

As she left the arcade, Hyeon Hayeon, who had been thinking about it for a while, said her wish.

“Manager, let’s talk”

“···”

It wasn’t difficult for me, who was 29, and her, who was 20, to let go of her words.
However, it was not easy for me to use polite language with everyone at the company.

As an exception, we sometimes use informal language with Jiyeon Lee, but we use polite language externally.

As she said herself, looking a little anxious, I thought that she was trying desperately to win, but that she might be dissatisfied if she wasn’t compensated appropriately.

“···Okay, I’ll just do it comfortably when it’s just the two of us.”

“And! Thank you!”

She actually said that she felt more comfortable adding yo to the end of her words.
Instead, she asked for a favor.

“···Won’t people look at me strangely if I call them ‘manager’ outside ‘manager’?”

It wasn’t wrong.

She brought it out because she wanted her to spend her day normally, so if she was called her manager, her people might think she wasn’t a normal person.

“… Then call me oppa”

“Yes, yes?”

She blushed a little, probably surprised by her unexpected remark, and asked if she was okay.

“Then are you going to call me hey?”

“Oh, no… Oppa”

I told her to call her oppa, but she was embarrassed and her heart pounded a little at the cuteness of her calling me oppa.
···The title ‘oppa’ is a lot better than I thought

“Well, shall we go then?”

“Yes, yes!”

We headed to the next location with awkward movements.

*

It is said that she was indifferent to modern culture to the extent of using a flip phone-type smartphone until recently.

She says she can only listen to songs and is not familiar with using the Internet.

“Uh… I looked for it… Where did I find it?”

She said there was a café she wanted to go to, but she just found it and didn’t save it, so she had to search again.

“You have search history. Click here”

She was looking at her phone, looking for the café she told me about.

“Uh… Is this your search history?”

[Seoul date course, Seoul date, Seoul couple, Seoul two people, Seoul some guy…]

“···”

“Uh, uhh! No!”

She quickly pulled out her phone and covered the screen.

She kept repeating no, without even saying what it was.

“Two of them, a man and a woman! “I found what to do!”

With her bright red face, she said that she knew that she was upset and that she could do it.

After scrolling through her phone for a moment, she found the café she was looking for and punched in the address.
The café floating on the screen was a familiar café.

“Ah, there it is… Ok, let’s go”

“Do you know where it is?”

It was a café that Jiyeon Lee liked and frequented.

It was a comfortable room, so I went there several times after her debut.

In the past, it was natural for me to follow along, so I often went.

“I know roughly, just go there”

“···”

Hyeon Hayeon followed me without saying a word.