Chapter 24 – Karma (5)

“···Congratulations on the successful completion of the performance. I enjoyed it. Please take this.”

The first day I saw him, I thought this man was a reporter.

After becoming an adult, there were few men who approached me, and I assumed it was a reporter who approached me to cover the youngest member of the Baekil Group.

What does it mean to give me a rose the same color as my white hair?

I thought it was a fairly new approach, perhaps because I was a young reporter.

However, he had no intention of responding to the interview.

When I walked away, showing that I didn’t want to talk, he grabbed me and said.

“···I look forward to the next performance.”

I thought he was a shy man for a reporter.

It wasn’t until later that I realized he wasn’t a reporter.

Normally, he would say his name and affiliation, but every time there was a performance, he would always stand in the same place holding the same flower, waiting for me, and he never once said his name.

Just congratulations, a flower, and a short review of the performance

After that, he never once caught me leaving.
I thought he was a strange man.

During the performance that lasted for several weeks, he always stood in the same spot and waited for me.

I still don’t know his name or what kind of person he is.

I was already certain that I was not a reporter.

I didn’t carry the usual recorder, microphone, or camera.

I’m sure they’ll keep waiting without knowing that I’ll be the last one next week.

I felt a little sorry for him and had a long conversation for the first time.

“The movements you showed today were the most beautiful in the performance so far.”

He was always giving compliments, but those days, the compliments were somehow sweet.

It felt like a reward for my efforts so far.

I thought I was numb to receiving compliments, but the sincere words he said really touched me.

He looked a little surprised when I desperately hid his expression and told him the last time, but he let me go and said he would come again.

After the last performance, many people said they had a hard time, but it didn’t make much of an impact.

On the way to see him who was waiting, my steps became a little faster.

“Please accept this”

He said it was a good day and handed me a bouquet of white roses.

I took a quick look and saw that there were as many white roses as there were in the performances so far.

Looking at the rose reminded me of the days I spent practicing all night long.

When I became a little more sensitive, he gave me his business card and said.

“This is CG Entertainment team leader Kim Cho-in.”

“I came here to scout Miss Baek Ga-eun.”

It was absurd.

The reason I waited so long was not for any other reason, but because it was scouting…

It was absurd at first, but the effort was worth it, so I decided to listen to the story.

I sat him down at a café I frequent and listened to his story.

I wanted to give him some water because he was so shameless and ignorant of people, so I gave him a shout, and he looked dead as if the world had turned off, but it was a little cute to see him desperately trying to persuade me.

“In my eyes, she stood out more than a prima donna.”

If someone else had said it, I would have dismissed it as just lip service, but the praise he gave me was different.

It was to the point where I had the illusion that I might have truly outshined the prima donna.

While listening to his story, a thought suddenly occurred to me.

···If you stand next to him and shine more, wouldn’t you give him a sweeter compliment?

My heart was shaken for a moment as if I was captivated by his story, but unfortunately, I was Baek Ga-eun, the youngest member of the Baekil Group.

It is not a position where one can easily become a celebrity.

I suppressed my regret and declined his offer, and he caught me once again.

“···Do you know an actress named Lee Ji-yeon? “He is my childhood friend.”

Lee Ji-yeon… Was an actress I knew.

When she was younger, she grew up listening to her songs and recently watched movies and dramas featuring her.
He brought up Lee Ji-yeon’s story as if he were proud.

It was somehow unpleasant to hear someone else’s praise come out of his mouth.

However, she felt a little relieved when she heard that she could be as successful as Lee Ji-yeon.

He also showed his ambition to make me successful within a year.

I was shaken once again when he said he would take responsibility and asked me to trust him.

She said she liked it and tried to follow him, but then she made up her mind and broke up with him, asking for time.

A few days later, she invited him to her villa and had a drink.
Seriously, when you drink alcohol, a person’s true feelings come out. This is a lesson my grandfather taught me from a young age.

He drank wine with great nervousness and did not seem familiar with wine.

Only after emptying a few bottles did his eyes relax a little.

Even though he only chose wines with high alcohol content, he drank them quite well.

Eventually, the last bottle ran out.

When I brought the new bottle, he was restlessly looking at his cell phone.

He looked at me and hung up the phone.

I felt good inside that he hung up the phone for me, but soon the phone rang again.

In the end, I sat down and answered the phone, and a familiar voice came through the phone.

It was Lee Ji-yeon.

She expected that they had an unusual relationship, but when she saw his reaction, it seemed like they weren’t a very good relationship, which somehow made her feel at ease.

I quickly emptied my glass because I wanted to see his sincerity.

He was so drunk that his tongue was twisted, but his intention to put me on stage seemed sincere.

I accepted his offer.

A few days later, it was the day I signed the contract and toured the company with him.

I met trainees named Lee Ji-yeon and Hyeon Ha-yeon.

Both of them were people he personally brought.

It was refreshing to see Jiyeon Lee’s true self, despite her nice image.

Seeing Ji-yeon Lee’s behavior as if she was keeping me in check, I was able to roughly draw a picture of their relationship.

The sight of Lee Ji-yeon looking uncomfortable was a bit pleasant.

A woman named Hyeon Ha-yeon had a similar image to Lee Ji-yeon, but for some reason I didn’t like the way she smiled and pretended to be friendly.

*

As practice was about to end, she received a call from Secretary Shin, her grandfather’s secretary.
It is said that he took him into the study.

It is clear that the grandfather’s intention is to make a big deal with him and find out what kind of person he is.

You may have already found out even the smallest details about Kim Cho-in.

I think that’s okay up to that point. However, my grandfather’s drinking style was violent.

I was worried about him drinking with my grandfather, who I thought was a monster, so I hurriedly called a car and headed to my parents’ house.

As soon as I arrived at the main house, I ran to the second floor where the study was.

There was no response when I knocked, so I went in and saw how much they had drank, so there were several bottles of liquor rolling around.

Several hours had passed since I started drinking, and the smell of alcohol filled the room.

It is clear that he ignorantly poured a large amount into a glass and took it in one mouthful.

The story I heard after interrogating my grandfather was absurd.

1 billion won every time a bottle is emptied… It was also a condition of investing in the company rather than receiving it yourself. Have you become senile due to old age?

Kim Cho-in, who agreed to such ridiculous conditions, was also a problem.

But deep down, I felt a little better when I thought that he had sacrificed himself like this for me.

I was trying to drag him out, as he was very drunk, but he kept looking back as if he had some regrets about the bet, so I slapped him on the arm, but he didn’t respond, so it seemed like he was drunk to the point where his senses were dulled.

After hearing her grandfather say that we would talk tomorrow, she dragged him out of the study.

“Where… A good scent…”

I was dumbfounded to see him suddenly sniffing.

I had to throw him, who was very drunk, in an empty room, but I couldn’t think of a suitable room.

Of course, Secretary Shin might have prepared an empty room for me, but I didn’t want to leave someone so drunk for me.

“Miss Ga-eun… She smells good…”

I thought to myself as he put his nose close to me and sniffed me, saying that I smelled good even though he wasn’t even wearing perfume.

If it’s that good, I should let you take charge of it a lot

I took him and threw him on the bed in my room.

*

How long has it been since he fell asleep while babbling?

`···Wang···Gaeun···’

‘···Goddess···’

I thought he was cute when he was acting drunk while looking at me, so I chimed in.

My neatly slicked-back bangs were falling down, and as I was tidying them up, I felt ashamed of this situation.

Kim Cho-in is sleeping in the bed I was staying in.

His face heated up.
His heart was racing, and he tried to calm it down, but when Goiza looked at him, it seemed to be beating even faster.

He pulled the blanket over him, stuck his nose in it, and started smelling it.
The fact that the scent he was looking for earlier was my body scent made me even more embarrassed.

The rapid heartbeat began to pound even to my ears.

He must have lost the film.

It was clear that he was not in his right mind, as his eyes were almost closed, he spoke informally as if he had forgotten his usual harsh tone, and he took a deep breath, probably because he smelled the scent or was drunk.

His hair fell down again.

I stretched out my hand to move him aside, but he turned his head to follow my hand.
Conversely, when he turned his hand, his head followed his hand.
After repeating it two or three times, I realized that he was following my hand.

All I could do was sit next to him and take care of him, but for some reason, my heart sank with a sense of immorality.

···Because I don’t want someone to come in and wake me up…

`Cheolkeok`

I rationalized it like that and locked the door.

Now, unless I call, it’s just Kim Cho-in and I in this room.

My heart started pounding in my head.

The chair next to the bed was left aside and took its place next to his bed.

I waved my hand in front of my closed eyes out of curiosity, but there was no response.

I was worried that he, who was completely asleep, would wake up from the bright light, so I used the remote control to turn off the lights and left only a small mood light.

I sat next to him and watched him sleep for a while.

After seeing so much, my pounding heart calmed down.

I was sleeping without a single movement.

I felt ashamed of him not knowing what people were doing and being selfish.

“Umm…”

When I poked his cheek, he moaned softly.

The reaction was cute, so I poked him a few times, and he turned his head in the opposite direction.

I stretched out her hand and let her smell the scent on the back of my hand, and she turned her head again.
It was new to see him, who usually only showed a stiff side, like this.

As I continued to harass him, he turned his head and started talking in his sleep.

“···Jiyeon… Don’t do it···”

I looked for Lee Ji-yeon with a cracked voice.

From the information I found out, Lee Ji-yeon was in a relationship after her debut, but she broke up.
But seeing as she’s still close to this day, I’m guessing she didn’t break up on bad terms.

I felt bad for some reason.

Since grown adults have been together for quite some time, they must have seen everything they see with each other

A few days ago, she took Hyeon Ha-yeon around in the morning and then bought some alcohol and headed home.
After that, Lee Ji-yeon went into his house, and only the next evening did we get information that she had left the house.

Is it okay for a person called my manager to meet women without restraint like this?

I was angry at the thought that he spent his time flirting with other women without thinking about focusing on me and raising me as quickly as possible.

Do you know the flower language of the white rose he gave you?

Respect, innocence, charm, purity.

It was disgusting that he gave me those flowers as a gift and then went around meeting this woman.

Her first celebrity, her first relationship, and her first experience were all taken by Jiyeon Lee. He is neither pure nor naive.

What would it have been like if I had stayed close to Lee Ji-yeon instead?

If I had been born a few years earlier and been by his side, would it have been me, not Lee Ji-yeon, who entered his room that day?

My pursed lips pursed.

The thought of Ji-yeon Lee coveting those pretty lips made my stomach turn.

A few days ago, when he panicked and said there were mosquitoes, what he covered up were clearly Jiyeon Lee’s traces.

When I lifted the blanket, there was still a faint trace.

“Wow…”

I imagined Jiyeon Lee being held in his arms and leaving her mark.
It’s disgusting.

Now my heart began to beat rapidly due to my anger towards him.

Since he was meeting random women, he was captivated by a woman like Lee Ji-yeon.

I have never met a man before.

The only ones that held his hands were his family’s hands.

I am pure.

When cleaning dirty items, wipe them with something clean.

Dirt comes out, but the object becomes clean.

I didn’t want to bother him, but I turned my head and kissed him.

“Haa… Haa…”

I’m out of breath.

It cleans his lips, but it’s my first kiss.

Even though we weren’t dating, I can’t allow my manager to walk around dirty.

We kissed briefly once again.

I gently parted my lips from his, and he began to slightly open them.

I was startled for a moment and looked at him, but his eyes were still closed.

Watching him sleep with his mouth open as if he were dreaming, I got a sense of what he was doing on a daily basis.

It wasn’t just his lips that were dirty.

It felt like lightning struck my head.

Closed eyes, a nose exhaling sweetly, lips slightly parted, a twitching tongue, this was not all he had.

···Dirty things must be wiped off. But he might wake up.

As I thought about the method, I immediately remembered the sleep aid I had taken before.

I had no idea that the medicine I took when I suffered from insomnia due to stress from being harassed by reporters could be used like this.

Baekil Pharmaceutical’s sleep inducing agent is so powerful that it is rarely prescribed.

If you take just one pill, you will never open your eyes until tomorrow morning.

It was still one o’clock in the morning, and it was enough to wipe off his dirt.

I found a box containing medicine in the room and searched it, there were a few sleeping pills left.

Alcohol is like rat poison, but it can’t be helped.

It is a crime that he played with his body carelessly and defiled it.