novelraw Chapter 94 : Is Being Pretty a Crime?
Chapter 94 : Is Being Pretty a Crime?
Chapter 94 - Is Being Pretty a Crime?
“This corner is the convenience store skit comedy! Kanade tries to find the newly released Pocketping lunchbox and visits a convenience store where Yoo Jeong-ah works as a part-timer! What will happen! The script was written by Kanade herself!”
In fan meetings like this, various corners are prepared to entertain the fans.
After the break time ended, Kanade and Yoo Jeong-ah went up on stage and started the skit.
“The Pocketping lunchbox that supposedly went on sale starting today is sold out at every convenience store I go to. I wonder if that convenience store over there has it? I should go in.”
“Welcome...”
“Woah, the part-timer is super gloomy!”
“……”
“Well, whatever. I just need to buy the Pocketping lunchbox... Huh? Don't tell me they don't have it here either?”
“……”
“Excuse me. Do you happen to have the Pocketping lunchbox here?”
“Here it is.”
“Ah, thank y... This is the one you were eating!”
“It's my lunch.”
“No, you shouldn't try to sell something you were eating!”
“Munch munch.”
“Don't eat in front of the customer!”
“Munch munch.”
“Sigh... Ah, then could you just give me the sticker inside the Pocketping lunchbox? I really want that sticker.”
“It's my lunch.”
“Why are you eating the sticker as lunch!”
“Munch munch.”
“She's really eating it!”
Puhaha!
Laughter erupted one after another from the audience. The reaction was quite good.
Originally, Kanade and Laura were scheduled to do the skit together.
A situation arose where Laura suddenly couldn't go on stage, so Yoo Jeong-ah was put in as a substitute, and since she did better than expected, they were able to finish the skit successfully.
‘I wonder when Laura will come back?’
Kim So-yeong, who was acting as MC, turned her gaze backstage.
The other members hadn't heard yet what had happened to Laura and Baek Hyeon-woo.
……
“L-Let go of me!”
“Stay still!”
Security guards who arrived late suppressed the scissors man.
“I’m sorry. For not stopping him in advance...”
“Let's talk about that part later.”
Receiving the apology from the person in charge, Baek Hyeon-woo brushed the dust off his clothes.
Then Laura, who was next to him, asked with a worried expression.
“Hyeon-woo oppa, are you okay? You aren't hurt anywhere, right?”
“I’m okay. I’m not hurt anywhere.”
His whole body was stiff from forcibly pinning the man down with his weight, but that was all.
“We will hand this person over to the police.”
“Ah, wait a moment.”
Baek Hyeon-woo approached the man and asked.
“What exactly were you planning to do with the scissors?”
“H-Hair...”
“Hair?”
The man looked at Laura, his eyes gleaming.
“I’m making a doll, and I really need that hair. I needed that silver color. It’s not dyed, right? Right?”
“……!”
Laura, who is of mixed Korean and Swedish descent, has natural silver hair.
It was one of the main reasons Laura was praised for her goddess-like beauty.
“You winked at me. You acted all pretty for me. Then it meant I could cut and take your hair. Doesn't it?”
Seeing him mention the wink, it seemed he had watched the fancam video from the Night Bomb Festival.
That was a legendary video that caused the number of Laura’s fans to skyrocket.
However, it seemed there was also the side effect of becoming a target for a pervert like this.
“Ugh...!”
Baek Hyeon-woo reached out and grabbed the man by his collar.
“Do you think Laura acted pretty to seduce a guy like you?”
“……!”
“I can’t give a single strand of hair to a guy like you, so don't ever appear in front of Laura again. If you hang around here one more time, I'll break all your limbs.”
Did he recall the pain he felt when Baek Hyeon-woo grabbed his elbow earlier?
Fear settled on the man's face.
“Please take him away. And please ensure this doesn't affect the event.”
“Ah, understood!”
The scissors man resisted no longer.
Watching his back as he was dragged away without resistance, Baek Hyeon-woo let out a sigh.
“This time it couldn't be helped since we decided in a rush, but I'll have to choose the venue carefully from next time. A structure that makes it easy to sneak in like this, even with security guards, won't do.”
As Baek Hyeon-woo was muttering that, Laura spoke up.
“Oppa, I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“Earlier, when you rushed at him, I couldn't help you at all.”
Laura had a gloomy expression, unlike her usual self.
“You brought people here.”
“Still...”
“It was right for me, who has a larger build, to hold him down, and for you to go quickly to call for help. You did the right thing.”
“But, if you had gotten hurt...”
Laura's voice trembled, and tears began to well up in her eyes.
“I'm sorry. It's because of me; this happened because of me...”
“Laura.”
Baek Hyeon-woo almost got hurt because of a pervert who targeted her.
Laura was shedding tears over that fact.
“How on earth is this because of you?”
Baek Hyeon-woo bent down and met Laura's eyes.
“Don't blame yourself for no reason. You didn't do a single thing wrong.”
“That person came all the way here because of me. So...”
“Is being pretty a crime?”
Cutting Laura off, he spoke in a clear voice.
“When you're loved by so many people regardless of age or gender, it's inevitable that a certain percentage of crazy people will be mixed in. It’s a matter of probability, so it’s unavoidable.”
“O-Oppa...”
“It’s the fault of being too pretty and gaining popularity with too many people. Since this is a matter of probability, it can’t be helped.”
“……”
“Is being pretty a crime? Well, if it is a crime, then it might be one. Then let’s just say it’s all the fault of you being pretty. Since you haven't done a single thing wrong besides that, don't feel guilty.”
Did Baek Hyeon-woo’s argument get through?
Laura stopped crying and looked at Baek Hyeon-woo’s face.
Laura, who had been staring at Baek Hyeon-woo silently for a while, slowly opened her mouth.
“Am I pretty?”
“Do you even have to ask?”
“……”
Laura pouted and turned her gaze away.
“When you usually don't even spare me a glance.”
“When did I do that?”
“Then what rank am I in the world for prettiness?”
Baek Hyeon-woo answered without much thought.
“Tied for 1st place.”
“What is that.”
A smile finally returned to Laura’s face.
“Phew, it can't be helped. Being pretty is a crime.”
“Right, that’s your only crime. So forget it all and let's go now.”
Saying that, Baek Hyeon-woo turned to return to the stage.
But just then, Laura grabbed the hem of Baek Hyeon-woo's clothes from behind.
“Oppa.”
“What?”
“Thank you.”
Holding onto Baek Hyeon-woo’s clothes, Laura spoke in a quiet voice.
“Not just for today... but for everything all this time.”
“I’m the one who is thankful.”
Baek Hyeon-woo said in a calm voice.
“Since I get to be with a pretty girl like you.”
“You're just saying that. You don’t have to force yourself to flatter me.”
“It’s not flattery.”
Chuckling, Laura lightly punched Baek Hyeon-woo’s back.
“Then watch my pretty self clearly! Got it?”
Saying that, Laura ran toward the stage first.
With her ears turning red, and without looking back.
……
The 3rd anniversary event finished well.
The incident where Laura was almost attacked was handled quietly without being made known to the fans.
After the event ended, Baek Hyeon-woo and Laura had to go to the police station and give statements, but it didn't take that long.
“Oh my god, did you get hurt?”
Lee Su-gyeong, who heard the story late, looked over Baek Hyeon-woo with a surprised expression.
“I just got bruised in a few places from bumping into things, but I'm fine.”
“Do you not need to go to the hospital?”
“Yes, they will heal naturally if I just leave them be.”
“That’s a relief at least.”
Lee Su-gyeong heaved a sigh of relief.
“I know I shouldn't say this, but it’s a bit of a shame.”
“What do you mean, a shame?”
“Because I couldn’t see you catching the pervert in person, Team Leader. It would have been super cool.”
“……”
Baek Hyeon-woo was at a loss for words for a moment.
“Ah, is there maybe CCTV footage?”
“The venue side probably submitted it to the police. I haven't seen it, though.”
“Hmm, that's really a shame.”
When he looked at her with a dumbfounded expression, Lee Su-gyeong put her hands on her waist and made an angry face.
“Ah, do you think I’m being silly?”
“No, just...”
“Honestly, not just me, but all the Newstarz members would want to see it too. It would be a video worth keeping.”
“What do you mean ‘worth keeping’?”
Thinking that this bantering would never end, Baek Hyeon-woo brought up a different topic.
“Su-gyeong-ssi, do you happen to have any experience with composition?”
“Composition?”
“I’m thinking of trying to teach the kids composition too.”
“Ah...”
Lee Su-gyeong understood what he meant right away.
“Newstarz hasn't learned composition separately until now, right?”
“Yes, that's right. So I'm contemplating how to start.”
“Can't you ask the CEO to teach them herself? She did a lot of composing as a producer.”
“The CEO... isn't doing activities in that area right now.”
“Ah, really?”
Baek Hyeon-woo also thought it would be best if Baek Yeon-ah did it herself.
If she produced everything from start to finish, the album's completeness could be maximized.
The problem was that Baek Yeon-ah was no longer playing that role due to the failure of the debut album.
“If that's the case, how about inquiring at Big Sound Camp?”
“Big Sound Camp?”
“It’s a composition lecture for singers given by Producer Park Cheol-woo. He started it with the hope that K-pop singers would become artists who know how to make their own songs, so it will be better than attending a general academy or getting private lessons.”
“Can anyone take that lecture just by applying?”
“That’s not it, but Producer Park Cheol-woo was probably a colleague of our CEO at her old agency. So if we talk to him well, wouldn't it be possible?”
“A colleague of the CEO...”
Should I talk to Auntie?
When Baek Hyeon-woo was thinking that, Director Park Yeong-ho suddenly popped his head in.
“Team Leader Baek, did you see the news that just came up?”
“News?”
“Look at this.”
Park Yeong-ho held out his phone.
Internet news was displayed on the screen.
—[Exclusive] Newstarz Manager Team Leader Baek Hyeon-woo, Single-handedly Subdues Scissors Man Who Intruded Event Venue!
—Subdued a culprit wielding a weapon at once with self-defense martial arts and handed him over to security guards...
A CCTV screenshot was also attached to the article.
Where on earth did they get it? The venue side? The police side?
“Team Leader Baek, you use self-defense martial arts too? You have many talents.”
“No, it was strictly anatomically...”
Just then, Baek Hyeon-woo’s cell phone vibrated continuously.
It was calls from reporters trying to cover Baek Hyeon-woo, the protagonist of the breaking news.
“Director, you said you would handle media responses, right?”
“If you sign a celebrity management contract, Team Leader Baek, I'll handle it for you.”
“Ah, then I'll be the manager in charge of you, Team Leader!”
Baek Hyeon-woo sighed between his unhelpful boss and subordinate.
……
Late at night.
Laura lay on her bed and checked the article posted on the news site.
Then she pressed and held the CCTV screenshot inserted in the article to save it.
Although it was a capture screen and not the actual video, she still wanted to save it.
“Tied for 1st place in prettiness?”
Muttering to herself, she moved her fingers to zoom in on the image.
Glaring at the image of Baek Hyeon-woo subduing the culprit to protect her, Laura spoke to herself.
“Someday, I'll make you say I'm the sole 1st place for prettiness.”
Laura imagined hearing those words from Baek Hyeon-woo someday.
She didn't know what kind of situation it would be, but it would surely be a very thrilling moment.
“Hehehe, hehehe──.”
Lost in pleasant imagination, Laura rolled around on the bed humming a tune.
It was a song improvised on the spot, one that didn't exist anywhere else in this world.
……
“Annoyingly, what is this again?”
Joo Ga-hee frowned while looking at her phone.
News had popped up on the internet that Baek Hyeon-woo had subdued a culprit who appeared at the Newstarz event venue.
“Self-defense martial arts? He does all sorts of things.”
There was a CCTV screen in the middle, so she clicked it, but since it wasn't a video, it didn't play.
While Joo Ga-hee clicked her tongue, Seong Hae-won poked her head out from the side.
“Huh? Hyeon-woo-ssi is in the news again? He's totally popular these days. Isn't he going to become a real celebrity at this rate?”
“Who cares.”
“Ah, if I knew it would be like this, I really should have made him our company manager by any means necessary.”
“Don't say such annoying things. Just imagining it is terrible.”
While Joo Ga-hee and Seong Hae-won were having that conversation, Director Seong Su-ho approached.
“It's time, follow me.”
To the two who got up from their seats and followed, Seong Su-ho spoke in a stiff voice.
“Choux-pop also needs to leap to the next level now. We're going to include your self-composed songs in the new album to be released right before the overseas tour.”
“……”
“Domestic fans have that tendency too, but overseas fans expect K-POP idols to show their side as artists. So you'll need to properly equip yourselves with skills.”
DP Entertainment wants Choux-pop to become a more popular girl group than they are now.
They have laid out a roadmap to raise their popularity above N.A.N in the domestic market and gain many fans in the overseas market as well.
Educating Joo Ga-hee and Seong Hae-won during this break was also part of that.
“Producer Park Cheol-woo’s Big Sound Camp... Learn composition there, and let's show a side differentiated from other mediocre idols.”
“Okay, Uncle.”
“……”
Next to Seong Su-ho who answered brightly, Joo Ga-hee bit her lip.
‘I won't be humiliated by that man ever again, absolutely not.’
Recalling Baek Hyeon-woo's image she saw in the news article earlier, Joo Ga-hee strengthened her resolve.