novelraw Chapter 103 : What Do You Mean a Date!
Chapter 103 : What Do You Mean a Date!
Chapter 103 - What Do You Mean a Date!
“D-Date, what do you mean! Su-gyeong unnie, really!”
Laura grumbled as she got into the parked car.
It was a sedan the company had additionally provided because with the recent arrival of Lee Su-gyeong, there was one more person to act as a driver.
“What if other people hear and misunderstand! Why would she say such a thing!”
“Since the people there probably all know I'm your manager, they won't really misunderstand.”
Buckling his seatbelt in the driver's seat, Baek Hyeon-woo answered calmly.
“So it's not a date in the end, right?”
“Do you want it to be a date?”
“N-No, I don’t!”
Laura shouted sharply and turned her head toward the window.
Seeing that, Baek Hyeon-woo asked one question.
“But why did you sit in the passenger seat?”
“……!”
Whether in a van or a sedan, it is common for idols to sit in the back seat.
Sitting in the passenger seat is limited to cases where the back seats are full.
But today, as soon as she came to the parking lot, Laura opened the passenger door and got in.
“Th-That is...”
Laura stammered.
“B-Because she said it was a date! If it really were one, sitting in the back seat would be bad manners! That’s why!”
“Ah, was that it?”
“No, that’s not it!”
“Which is it?”
Laura, rambling with a flushed face, urgently tried to open the door.
“I-I’ll sit in the back seat!”
“We’ve already started moving.”
“Ah...!”
Since he had already started the engine and begun moving, the doors were automatically locked.
Eventually, Laura ended up staying seated in the passenger seat.
“Laura, I don't really mind, so don't worry about it too much.”
“I mind!”
“What is there to mind?”
“Ugh...!”
Laura glared at Baek Hyeon-woo, slightly tearing up.
Watching that, Baek Hyeon-woo chuckled.
“It'll take some time, so just sit comfortably.”
“But where on earth are we going?”
“Secret.”
“……?”
Laura looked at him, tilting her head, but Baek Hyeon-woo was just smiling.
“Excuse me, it's really not a date, right?”
“Do you want to go on a date?”
“Why are you teasing so much today? As I said before, I...”
While sharing such a conversation, a large outdoor advertisement appeared ahead.
It was an advertisement with a close-up of three women in cute school-look outfits.
“The ad is huge.”
Looking at the advertisement, Baek Hyeon-woo muttered.
“It would be nice if we could advertise largely like that too.”
“It can’t be helped. The weight class is different.”
Laura wore a bitter expression.
“The fact that we can't aim for first place on music shows right now is also because of those people.”
“That’s not entirely it. Since it’s a drama OST, I didn’t expect that from the start.”
“Still, those people are the biggest wall.”
Recently, Newstarz released the drama OST ‘Journey (Yeoro)’ and is getting a good response on music sites and the like.
However, taking first place on music shows like with ‘After girl’ will likely be difficult.
This is partly due to the particular nature of drama OSTs, but there is a bigger reason than that.
Because ‘Sweetheart’, one of the top 3 domestic girl groups, made a comeback and has been monopolizing first place for weeks.
‘Sweetheart... one of the flagship girl groups of the number one domestic agency.’
Although he had never seen them in person because the timing wasn't right... he could feel an aura just looking at the advertisement like this.
He didn't get this feeling even from N.A.N; as expected, top-class idols seem to be different in some way.
However, Baek Hyeon-woo did not think Sweetheart was an insurmountable high mountain.
“Laura, don't think of them as a wall.”
Baek Hyeon-woo said while stepping on the accelerator.
“If we had gone head-to-head with a full album instead of a drama OST, it would have been different.”
He intends to make the next full album at a level where they can compete head-on even with top-class popular singers.
Persuading Baek Yeon-ah to return as a producer was also a strategy for that.
This time, competition with Sweetheart itself could not be established due to the limitations of a drama OST, but it will be different with the full album.
“Well...”
However, Laura’s reaction wasn't very enthusiastic.
She was making a bitter expression while looking out the window.
“I heard they participated in writing lyrics or composing for all the songs included in this comeback album?”
“Well... it seems so.”
“And yet all the songs are good... it’s really amazing.”
After murmuring in a voice filled with complex emotions, Laura looked at Baek Hyeon-woo.
“It's a world of difference from me.”
“……”
“Oppa, you brought me out today to scold me after all, right? Asking if that's all I can do after you even split the schedule to send me to Big Sound Camp?”
Laura laughed self-deprecatingly.
“Honestly, it’s funny to you too, right, Oppa? Since I said I’d do it first, yet I can only make a song worse than Kanade, who didn't really want to do it.”
“……”
“You don't have to express it euphemistically with soft words, so just say it honestly. If it's going to be like this, just give up on composing...”
While speaking like that, Laura flinched in surprise.
Because the sedan that was traveling on the main road had suddenly entered the Yeongdeungpo entertainment district.
“W-Where are we going right now?”
Looking at the motel buildings lined up around them, Laura wore a frightened expression.
“What on earth are you thinking...”
“Ah, sorry. The navigation is telling me to go this way.”
“……”
Laura flushed and shut her mouth.
A moment later, the sedan left the entertainment district and entered an alley in the old downtown area of Yeongdeungpo.
“We’re almost there now.”
“Where on earth is our destination...”
“Ah, it's over there.”
Baek Hyeon-woo parked the car in front of an old commercial building.
“You can get out now.”
“……?”
Laura tilted her head while looking around.
It was an expression that said she couldn't understand what his intention was at all.
“We’re going to the second floor.”
“The second floor?”
Laura looked up and checked the signboard on the second floor.
“Tongtong Rehabilitation Medicine Clinic...?”
“It’s not a strange place, so you don't need to worry. It’s close to Yeouido, so people from the broadcasting stations come here often, too.”
“People from broadcasting stations?”
“Though I can't tell you exactly who since it’s personal information.”
Baek Hyeon-woo took the lead up the stairs, and Laura eventually followed him.
“Hey, why are you so late?”
Since clinic hours were over, Song Won-sik was alone in the rehabilitation clinic.
“I came right at the time we agreed on earlier?”
“Still, you should have come a bit earlier. For me to make my train time... Gasp!
”Song Won-sik’s jaw dropped upon seeing Laura enter with Baek Hyeon-woo.
“L-Laura? It’s Laura, right?”
“Yes?”
“Ugh, uaaaah...!”
With a completely excited expression, Song Won-sik slapped Baek Hyeon-woo’s back repeatedly.
“Hey! Hey! If you were going to bring an idol, you should have told me in advance! You’ve only been bringing PDs all this time, and then suddenly without a word like this...!”
“Hey, that hurts. Stop hitting me.”
He swatted Song Won-sik’s arm away in annoyance, but Song Won-sik didn't care at all; he clasped his hands together in front of Laura and raised his voice.
“Ah, hello! I’m Song Won-sik, Hyeon-woo’s friend! We studied physical therapy together! I’ve always been a huge fan of Newstarz, so I was really envious when this guy started working at Haram Entertainment!”
“Ah, yes, so you’re Hyeon-woo oppa’s friend...”
When Laura answered with a slightly scared expression, Song Won-sik widened his eyes and glared at Baek Hyeon-woo.
“Hey, she calls you oppa? Did you ask her to call you oppa?”
“No, Laura called me that first...”
“Wow, seriously, you...!”
“By the way, don't you have to go quickly? You said you'd be late for your train.”
“Ah...!”
Song Won-sik made a realized expression.
An opportunity to see his favorite idol up close had arisen, but of all times, it was a situation where he had to leave quickly.
“C-Could I at least ask for an autograph?”
“Yes, well, that’s...”
Song Won-sik, after conflicting for a while, asked Laura for an autograph while shedding tears.
Eventually, Song Won-sik went out of the clinic clutching Laura's autograph to his chest.
“Sorry, that was a bit overwhelming, right?”
“No, well...”
Laura looked around with a bewildered expression.
“But why did we come here? It looks like everyone has gone home and there's no one here.”
“It's a place we used to borrow sometimes for study sessions among ourselves. I got permission from the director today too, so you don't need to worry.”
“No, I'm asking why you brought me here?”
Laura got annoyed at Baek Hyeon-woo for repeatedly refusing to tell her the reason.
“It's not a date, and it's not a scolding, so what on earth is it!”
“Just come here first. Then you'll know.”
“Oppa! I said, explain it to me!”
“You just need to lie face down here.”
“Ah, seriously...!”
Laura flared up in anger.
Still, was it because she was used to doing as Baek Hyeon-woo said? Laura eventually entered the treatment room as Baek Hyeon-woo instructed and lay face down on the electric bed.
“Oppa, do you have a grievance against me? Is that why you're doing... Wait, what are you doing right now?”
As Baek Hyeon-woo secured Laura's body with the electric bed's belt, Laura wore a scared expression.
“W-Why are you strapping me in?”
“Because it’s dangerous if you roll off.”
“Huh?”
“Laura, I’m sorry for lately.”
At his sudden apology, Laura widened her eyes.
“Like you said earlier, it’s true that I couldn't take good care of you because I was distracted by the drama filming and the OST. There were many parts about the drama side I didn't know, so I didn't have much room to breathe. I'm sorry.”
“Oh, no. I knew that too, so there's no need to apologize...”
“So today, I intend to give you some intensive care.”
“What?”
Baek Hyeon-woo turned on the power to the electric bed.
Hearing the motor whir, Laura wore a scared expression again.
“I'm not trying to do anything weird.”
To ensure Laura wouldn't misunderstand, he spoke in a composed voice.
“I'm just going to pound, press, flip, bend, and hit you a bit.”
“That is weird!”
Baek Hyeon-woo rolled up his sleeves.
And began the full-scale treatment.
“Wh-What are you...”
Thud, thomp!
Thump, bam!
Pow-pow-pow, crack!
“Gueeekk...!”
A terrible scream, which could never be let heard by fans like Song Won-sik, rang out.
……
“Ughhh...”
Lying face down on the electric bed, Laura groaned.
Even though the straps were already unfastened, she couldn't get up.
Beside her, Baek Hyeon-woo wiped the sweat from his forehead and checked Laura's status window.
————
[Laura]
Vocal: A
Dance: B
Visual: A
Potential: S
Body Condition: 80%
Mental Condition: 70%
————
‘Finally, the tension in her whole body has been released.’
Earlier, Laura’s Body Condition had dropped to nearly 50%.
Furthermore, muscles all over her body were stiff, and her balance was misaligned.
To loosen that up with bare hands, he would have to massage her entire body, but no matter how close their relationship, that couldn't be done between a man and a woman.
That was why he visited Tongtong Rehabilitation Medicine Clinic to borrow the power of machines.
‘Thanks to that, her Mental Condition has recovered a lot, too.’
When the body's tension is released, the mind's tension is bound to be released as well.
Laura’s Mental Condition, which was near 50% earlier, had now recovered to 70%.
“Treating a person like... some object being assembled in a factory...”
“Sorry, it hurt a bit, right?”
Laura glared at Baek Hyeon-woo with tears in her eyes.
“Do you want to try going through it once too, Oppa?”
“I practiced a lot with Won-sik in the past, so I know what it feels like.”
Baek Hyeon-woo replied in a calm voice.
“Still, you feel much more comfortable now, right?”
“……”
Laura sat up with a sheepish expression.
“So in the end, you brought me out to do this? Because my body condition seemed bad, and regular massage wouldn't cut it?”
“No?”
“Huh?”
Baek Hyeon-woo looked straight at Laura and said.
“Like you said earlier, I brought you here to scold you.”
“……!”
That was right.
Baek Hyeon-woo bringing Laura out was neither for a date nor for physical therapy.
He brought her out to reprimand her for submitting such a terrible self-composed song.
“The reason I brought you here and gave you intensive treatment was also for that. Because if even inside your head is stiffly hardened, I didn't think anything I said would get through.”
“Hye-Hyeon-woo Oppa...”
“Laura.”
In front of Laura, who was looking at him with trembling eyes, Baek Hyeon-woo spoke in a cold voice.
“The reason I decided to teach you guys composition wasn't because I expected you to make a massive hit song. It was because I hoped you would express yourselves through composition and grow a step further as idols.”
Laura must know this well, too.
He heard they emphasize that part at Big Sound Camp as well.
However, the self-composed song Laura submitted was not that kind of song at all.
“Why did you try to imitate other singers' hit songs instead of trying to express yourself?”
“……!”
Tears welled up in Laura's eyes as his words hit the mark.