novelraw Chapter 108 : Don't Look at Other Women
Chapter 108 : Don't Look at Other Women
Chapter 108 - Don't Look at Other Women
Yuri, who boasts some of the highest popularity even among Korean female idols, offered to treat us to a cup of tea.
At the unexpected situation, Kanade looked at Baek Hyeon-woo with a flustered expression.
However, Baek Hyeon-woo spoke with a calm demeanor.
“There seems to be a misunderstanding; I am not a celebrity.”
“Pardon?”
Baek Hyeon-woo took out a business card in front of Yuri, whose eyes were wide open.
“I am Baek Hyeon-woo, a manager at Haram Entertainment.”
“Ah! I'm sorry, I made a mistake...”
Yuri checked the card and hurriedly apologized.
“This is Kanade of Newstarz, an idol under our company.”
“Ah, hello, Yuri sunbae-nim.”
As Kanade bowed, Yuri wore an apologetic expression.
“I thought I had seen you somewhere; so you’re from Newstarz. I’m sorry I couldn't remember your name...”
“No, it’s fine. Actually, I’ve never greeted you personally before...”
Even when exchanging greetings with other singers, Kanade often hid behind the older members, including Seo Na-eun.
There wasn't much difference even after Yoo Jeong-ah joined and she was no longer the youngest.
“Yuri-ssi, we came to Japan for a shoot. If it’s alright with you, could we make it another time?”
“Ah, yes, I understand. It can't be helped if you have a schedule.”
Yuri nodded, looking disappointed.
Watching her, Baek Hyeon-woo spoke in a calm voice.
“You don't need to worry. We won't spread rumors about what happened today.”
“……!”
Yuri’s eyes widened at Baek Hyeon-woo's words.
“I think it would be best for you to get going. The crowd seems to be growing.”
“Ah...”
Passengers from economy class were starting to pour out.
PD Yoon Young-chan and the rest of the staff would be coming out soon, too.
“I-I will contact you! Definitely!”
Clutching Baek Hyeon-woo's business card, Yuri hurriedly left the spot.
Manager Kim, who had been watching, followed behind her.
“Will she really contact you?”
“Well... I do hope she contacts me, though.”
“Huh?”
Kanade widened her eyes.
“Manager-nim, do you like women like Yuri? Usually, you don't show any interest even when things like this happen...”
“What are you talking about?”
Baek Hyeon-woo retorted, shooting a glance at Kanade.
“It’s not like she asked to meet just the two of us.”
“Huh? Then are we meeting as a trio, including me?”
“It would be a bit strange to meet just the two of us. It could cause misunderstandings. They’ll probably bring a manager or bodyguard, too.”
“Then I feel like I don't need to be there...”
Kanade was someone who felt uncomfortable in social gatherings with new people.
“Regardless of who joins us, I hope there’s a chance to talk.”
“Why?”
“Because Yuri-ssi’s leg concerns me.”
“Ah...”
Understanding what he meant a beat late, Kanade spoke cautiously.
“Since she's even relying on crutches, her condition must still be very bad, right? I knew her rehabilitation wasn't over yet... but I didn't know it would be like that.”
Yuri had suffered an injury where her ankle ligament was completely ruptured.
However, since several months have passed since the surgery, she should be able to walk on two feet bearing her own weight by now.
Yet Yuri continued to walk using crutches.
“Could it be that the ankle ligament hasn't fully healed yet?”
“It takes a long time for a ligament to fully reform, but it should have healed considerably by now. Maybe if she were an elderly person, but she's still in her twenties.”
Saying that, Baek Hyeon-woo recalled Yuri's status window he had seen earlier.
There was no mention of ligaments there either.
“It would be good if she let me examine her once.”
If Baek Hyeon-woo’s thought was correct... Yuri was in a condition that required treatment.
……
“Then rest easy, Yuri-ssi. Call me if you need anything.”
“Yes, Manager Kim.”
After closing the hotel room door, Yuri walked toward the bed relying on her crutches.
And just like that, without even changing her clothes, she lay down on the bed.
“Phew...”
The crutches, thrown carelessly, rolled on the hotel floor.
Since the floor was carpeted, it didn't make a loud noise.
“I have to shower... and remove my makeup...”
She didn't want to move anymore.
Originally, she thoroughly managed herself like an idol even where no one was watching, but ever since injuring her ankle, everything became bothersome.
“It's really hard, but it can't be helped...”
She first injured her right ankle early this year.
Back then, she didn't think it was that serious.
The hospital told her to rest as much as possible, and the company also banned her from going on stage for two months... but Yuri practiced alone during that time.
It hurt, but if she took the painkillers prescribed by the hospital, she could handle dancing easily.
On the day she returned to the stage after two months, her condition itself was very good.
Her ankle also had no particular pain thanks to the effect of the painkillers.
So she went up on the rehearsal stage without any worries.
Thinking she had to show the best performance to the fans who waited for two months, she rehearsed diligently.
And, she fell during the rehearsal.
She twisted her ankle, and it seemed like a strange snapping sound came from her ankle.
She had never heard a sound like this before.
She tried to get up urgently, but she couldn't put strength into her foot.
“Back then, really... it was chaos.”
At the hospital she was rushed to immediately after, Yuri was diagnosed with a complete rupture of her ankle ligament.
Hearing that even with surgery, recovery would take at least half a year... Yuri felt like everything went black before her eyes.
Even two months were hard to endure, but to have to stay away from the stage for at least half a year.
Still, Yuri overcame the desperate situation well.
She conveyed her current status with a smiling face to fans through broadcasts on the official account, and even did recording work in a wheelchair.
Although she couldn't go on stage, she continued her idol activities in various ways.
Believing that once the ligament healed and she did rehabilitation exercises, she would be able to go on stage and perform again.
However... no matter how much rehabilitation exercise she did, it was hard to walk on two legs.
On top of having pain in her injured ankle, she felt like she kept catching her foot on the ground and tripping.
The hospital said it was because she hadn't used her right leg for a long time.
They told her she had no choice but to consistently do rehabilitation exercises and gave her injections here and there.
However, even as time passed, there were no significant changes.
Instead, it felt even more uncomfortable.
‘Will I never be able to go on stage again like this?’
Such thoughts kept occurring to her.
“…….”
Before she knew it, tears welled up in Yuri's eyes.
Although she tries to always show a bright appearance like an idol in front of others, she couldn't help it when she was alone like this.
Anxiety and fear kept growing, feeling as if they would swallow her existence.
“Sob...”
Yuri loved singing and dancing on stage.
Being cheered on and loved by fans was good too, but more than that, she felt value in the act of going on stage itself.
However, if this condition persisted, she couldn't go on stage again.
Of course, it is possible to just sit in a chair and sing.
But that is out of the question.
For all other members to be dancing freely while Yuri alone sits in a chair singing... she couldn't bear that.
It would be better to withdraw from She's On than to do that.
“No, no.”
Because only negative thoughts kept coming up, Yuri shook her head vigorously.
“Snap out of it, Yuri. You have to do the fan meeting too.”
The reason Yuri came to Japan this time was because of an event with local fans.
She's On is popular in Japan as well, but since Yuri has many fans in particular, she has held individual events like this several times.
She must only show a bright smiling face in front of the fans.
So she shouldn't be immersed in such a depressed mood.
“A change of mood, I need a change of mood...”
If only her ankle were fine, she would have gone outside for a walk or something.
With a body like this, even changing her mood is difficult.
“What should I do...”
Yuri tried to take her phone out of the handbag she had thrown on the bed earlier.
Just then, she felt an unfamiliar texture at her fingertips.
“Ah...”
It was the business card she received earlier.
Haram Entertainment’s... Team Leader Baek Hyeon-woo.
“Team Leader Baek Hyeon-woo...”
Actually, Yuri had also heard that name before.
Because she had seen the clip video where he saves Choux-pop’s Joo Ga-hee on TVX’s survival program.
Although she didn't watch the program herself, it was quite a hot topic in the idol industry, so Yuri checked at least that video.
“Since it was a face I had seen somewhere, I thought he was a singer or an actor... but it was from that video.”
That was the reason she had asked ‘You are a celebrity, right?’ earlier.
To think he wasn't a celebrity but a manager.
“…….”
Yuri searched for that clip video again on her phone.
Vacantly watching the video where Baek Hyeon-woo rushed over to administer first aid as soon as Joo Ga-hee collapsed... Yuri felt envious of Joo Ga-hee.
How nice it would have been if there was someone who ran over to help her like that when she got hurt.
Though nothing would have improved just because someone ran over to help when her ligament snapped... still, she felt envious of Joo Ga-hee, who slowly regained stability in Baek Hyeon-woo's arms.
“Team Leader Baek Hyeon-woo, huh...”
Come to think of it, she wanted a change of mood.
Thinking that, Yuri fiddled with the business card.
……
[Baek Hyeon-woo: We just finished the meeting and got back to our accommodation. Nothing happened on your end, right? Contact me immediately if anything comes up.]
As soon as Baek Hyeon-woo said a word in the group chat, replies immediately came back from the members in Korea.
[Seo Na-eun: Thank you for your hard work, Manager-nim. We also finished our lessons well today, and there were no particular problems.]
[Kim So-yeong: We'll do well with Su-gyeong unnie here, so you don't have to worry!]
[Yoo Jeong-ah: You must be tired, please get some rest, Hyeon-woo oppa.]
While checking the messages from the model student older group and the model student maknae one by one, suddenly a call came through the messenger's voice call function.
“Laura, what's up?”
“Is it okay to talk now?”
Wondering if something big had happened, he answered the phone, and Laura's curt voice was heard.
“I'm in the hotel room, so I can talk. Did something happen?”
“Nothing special happened.”
“Then why?”
“Am I not allowed to call if there isn't a reason?”
“No, it's not that, but...”
As Baek Hyeon-woo trailed off, Laura spoke in a blunt tone.
“Writer Jo from KYBC was looking for you today, Hyeon-woo oppa.”
“Writer Jo?”
“You know. The woman who asked if you had a girlfriend last time.”
“Ah...”
Come to think of it, there was that incident.
“When I told her you went on a business trip, she asked me to pass on the message that she wants to have a meal together sometime.”
“A meal...?”
“So I told her. I said I would pass it on, but since you seem very busy these days, the reply might be a bit late, so please understand.”
“…….”
Baek Hyeon-woo was lost for words for a moment.
“Was there a problem with my response?”
“No, not at all.”
Rather, it could be called a near-perfect response.
Had Laura been thoroughly blocking men approaching her in this way all this time?
“Anyway, I’ve passed on the message, so if you happen to be interested, contact her separately.”
“I don't even know her contact info anyway.”
“If you had her contact info, would you contact her?”
“Unless it's a meeting related to work, probably not?”
“Hmm...”
Since he couldn't see her face, he couldn't know what kind of expression Laura was making.
“Okay. I’ve said everything I had to say, so I’ll hang up now.”
“Yeah, thanks for passing on the message.”
“No need to thank me. Just do your job well over there.”
Laura spoke in a chilly voice.
“And just because we aren't there, don't go looking at other women.”
“What?”
Just like that, the call ended.
“What is she talking about?”
While Baek Hyeon-woo was tilting his head in confusion, a new message arrived on his phone.
However, the sender was someone he had never contacted before.
[Yuri: Hello. This is She's On's Yuri, who greeted you earlier.]
[Yuri: I plan to stay in Tokyo for a while. What is your schedule like in Japan, Team Leader Baek Hyeon-woo?]
I wonder why.
The last words Laura just said lingered in his ears.