I Became An Idol To Pay Off My Debt

“Your complexion doesn’t look good. Should I walk you to the waiting room?”

“……”

“Oh… Ye-rin?”

This is bad.

‘Huff, there’s blood coming from my thigh right now… I can’t let it get worse…’

‘I-I’ll stop the bleeding myself. …With my hand.’

Is PTSD really this terrifying?

The moment Shin Si-woo recognized Namgung Soo-ho to be in the same category, his body froze in fear.

Swish.

He flinched.

“Ow…”

“……”

As soon as Shin Si-woo raised his hand, I reacted as if I’d been burned, jolting upright.

With my attitude changing so suddenly, even Shin Si-woo, who’d initially tilted his head in confusion, began to look at me with quiet eyes.

Slide.

I subtly took a step back.

Honestly, he was just a stranger I’d met today, and the stalker trait was what startled me; he wasn’t overly attached to me.

If I quietly made my getaway without provoking him, today’s meeting would be erased, and it would turn into a completely unrelated matter for me.

So, I gradually stepped backward, forcing a smile and nodding slightly to him.

But…

“Senpai. I think I should be going now…”

“Ye-rin. Am I scary to you?”

“……Huh?”

Was my earlier sensitive reaction the problem, or was it my acting skill?

Or was it just that Shin Si-woo was quick on the uptake?

Even though Shin Si-woo was smiling, his eyes didn’t match, and he asked me that.

Am I scary…?

If you’re asking that, yeah, honestly, I am scared.

After the incident with Namgung Soo-ho last time, I learned just how frightening a stalker could be.

Moreover, Shin Si-woo’s trait was literally named “Stalker.”

…There was no way I wouldn’t be scared.

“…Scary? Why would I think you’re scary…”

“…Well, yeah. Something feels off. I could’ve sworn you didn’t seem scared at all the first time we met. Suddenly…”

Shin Si-woo rested his chin on his hand, gazing at me with a puzzled expression.

Just when I was standing there unable to react either way…

Creeeak.

“……!”

“……!”

Suddenly, the sound of the boiler room door opening made me and Shin Si-woo flinch simultaneously.

And upon seeing the face of the person who entered, I couldn’t help but be even more shocked.

“…Yoo-jin?”

“Sis…”

The one standing at the door was Seo Yoo-jin, rubbing her sleepy eyes as if she had just woken up.

She yawned when she saw me and then said in a slightly whiny tone.

“Yawn…, Sis, why are you taking so long to come… The manager oppa came to the waiting room saying he was going to film a short video, but we’ve been looking for you because you weren’t around.”

“Ah…, I see. Sorry, I got caught up walking a bit longer than expected. Let’s go now.”

“Okay. Huh? But who is that…?”

Seo Yoo-jin was 17 years old. Still quite young.

There was no reason to show a growing sprout like her the trash that is stalkers.

I was about to hurry out of there with Yoo-jin.

‘Hmmm…?’

Just as I was about to turn to Shin Si-woo one last time to say goodbye…

“……”

Shin Si-woo was staring intently at Seo Yoo-jin.

But it felt a bit different compared to when he looked at me.

Curiosity…? No.

‘Interest….’

There was an unmistakable glimmer of interest in his eyes as he looked at Yoo-jin.

‘Why is he looking at Yoo-jin like that…?’

In that moment, I felt uneasy and opened Shin Si-woo’s status window to recheck his trait effect.

[Trait: Stalker – Your love has gone wrong. What you think is love is suffering and violence for the other person. You can do anything for the one you love, even if it crosses the boundaries allowed by the law.]

[Trait Effect: Black Love – If you are interested in someone, you obsess over that person immensely. Once the target of your obsession is determined, you feel as if you’ve gained the world while simultaneously experiencing a burning thirst. The target of obsession has not yet been determined!]

The status window was also highlighting ‘interest’ as a main keyword.

…This is getting concerning.

I imagined the horrifying scenario where Shin Si-woo could develop an interest in Yoo-jin and become obsessed.

“Let’s hurry up and go.”

“Wait, sis? But that’s definitely Black Night’s Senpai…”

Just as I was doing my best to take Yoo-jin out and completely isolate her from Shin Si-woo, that was when…

[Skill Activation Conditions Met-!]

‘…Huh?’

Suddenly, the status window chimed at me…

[Sky Demon Martial Arts Special Skill is now activated-!]

It announced the emergence of a new skill.

And so, though taken aback, I checked the new skill.

[Sky Demon Martial Arts Special Skill: Sky Demon Vision (天魔視) – You can verify the truth of the world where you were not a Sky Demon. (Automatically activated upon meeting conditions)]

If it’s the world where I wasn’t a Sky Demon…

‘Are they talking about past lives?’

Whisper.

Before I could even ponder the question, the world around me went pitch black.

And when I regained consciousness…

I found myself in the body of someone else.

“Hah…”

I successfully achieved my dream of debuting as an idol by dramatically joining Rookies in 6th place through Na Ah Ah, but Seo Yoo-jin wasn’t happy.

Although she had cleared her name from suspicion, the witch hunting she endured from Shin PD still gnawed at her heart, and her confidence and self-esteem had already hit rock bottom.

With her spirit broken, her skills began to dull.

Her presence on stage dwindled, and the public scorned her even more.

Since she didn’t have bonding with the other Rookies members either, she had no one to rely on.

Every night, she’d call her parents to tell them she was struggling, and every time she lay down in bed, tears would soak her pillow.

She was… incredibly lonely.

The first time she met him was when her loneliness peaked.

“Why are you crying alone?”

“Ah…!”

At that time, Seo Yoo-jin had made it a habit to shed tears alone in a secluded corner away from the waiting room.

Although the other members didn’t blame her, she felt uncomfortable knowing her presence was making the whole Rookies group suffer.

But then a guy, who she thought wouldn’t come, found her in that spot with a perplexed expression.

He was Shin Si-woo from Black Night.

“Uh… I-I’m sorry…!”

Feeling embarrassed that he caught her crying alone, Seo Yoo-jin tried to run away.

But….

Thud.

“If you go out with your face all puffed up, people will notice, you know?”

“…Ah.”

As Shin Si-woo lightly restrained her shoulder and pointed to her eyes, she couldn’t leave.

She didn’t want to let it slip that she’d been crying alone and cause the other Rookies members to worry.

“You’re Yoo-jin from Rookies, right? Come on, sit here. I’m kind of bored being alone too, so stay with me for a bit.”

“Ah… okay…”

In a stiff manner, she sat back down in her spot.

Not knowing what to do, Shin Si-woo lit a cigarette.

It had a uniquely strong herbal smell.

“Why were you crying sadly all by yourself?”

Shin Si-woo asked, blowing out a puff of smoke towards Seo Yoo-jin.

Initially, she tried to brush it off dismissively, but…

“……”

She felt so lonely at that moment.

If she didn’t release the words bottled inside her, she felt like she couldn’t endure it.

“Actually….”

So, she told Shin Si-woo everything she had been struggling with.

“I see… I’ve been through something similar before too.”

After listening to her entire story, Shin Si-woo slowly empathized with her, comforting her.

“Sob…”

Seo Yoo-jin, who for the first time received comfort from someone other than her parents, let a few tears fall.

It was a feeling of relief.

“I’ll give you my phone number. You might run into our schedules sometimes while on music shows, so feel free to contact me whenever you’re in trouble. I’ll listen to you.”

“Thank you… Sob…”

Thus, Seo Yoo-jin and Shin Si-woo developed a relationship where they occasionally met.

Shin Si-woo looked like a good person from Seo Yoo-jin’s perspective.

Whenever she talked about her struggles with him, he would listen while smoking, and in the end, he would offer empathetic or comforting words.

She found it pleasing that talking to him made her feel comfortable.

But after Shin Si-woo confessed to her, their relationship became strained.

“Yoo-jin, do you want to date?”

“…Huh? Senpai, what do you mean…?”

Seo Yoo-jin, who had thought of Shin Si-woo as a kind senior, an older brother, was taken aback by the confession.

As a result, she flat out rejected his confession.

And then… after she rejected his confession, bad rumors started to spread about her on the internet.

– “I heard Yoo-jin is a real chain smoker, huh?”

– “Wait, she’s in her first year of high school. When did she start smoking? lol”

– “Her family is super rich, but they say she’s a real snob.”

– “Yoo-jin was super famous for being a bully in middle school; I hope she falls into a pit of despair.”

All of it was baseless claims, but the public began to believe those absurdities and started to tear her down.

Seo Yoo-jin’s heart became even more battered, but still… she endured.

The sole reason being that she didn’t want to be a burden to the other members who worked hard to become idols because of her.

But….

Soon, an incident occurred that would crush her thinly stretched resilience.

[Miss Yoo-jin, you need to come to the company immediately.]

One day, NAS Entertainment urgently summoned Seo Yoo-jin, who was managing a group schedule for Rookies.

It was due to a post that had emerged on an anonymous community board.

[Hey, I’m a broadcasting station employee… What’s this?]

(Seo Yoo-jin is seen carrying a bag to work at the broadcasting station)

(A photo showing the inside of the bag after secretly opening it)

(Pictures confirming it’s Seo Yoo-jin’s phone, wallet, etc.)

(A close-up photo of the bag’s contents showing cigarettes inside)

“I didn’t even mean to see this. Ugh, I just cleaned up because Yoo-jin said her waiting room was dirty, and I found it after the bag was left open.”

“Seems like she actually is a chain smoker… but what are those cigarettes? They don’t look like they’re from our country.”

“Hey, you idiot! lol Touching someone else’s stuff like that is a crime! lol”

└ “It was open, so it can’t be helped.”

– “The phone and wallet are all Yoo-jin’s… wow, but she really smokes? I’m disappointed.”

– “Dude, before you get sued by NAS, take that post down!”

– “She’s 17 and already a chain smoker, lol, what a joke! lol”

– “But… isn’t that shit like drugs?”

└ ?

└ Huh?

└ What are you talking about?

└ No, really! I’ve seen those in Japan…! Those are definitely marijuana cigarettes… that means it’s cannabis!”

└ What?

└ Is this real?

“……”

When Seo Yoo-jin saw the post that went up in the community, she couldn’t help but feel flustered.

She didn’t smoke, but… the bag in the photo was definitely hers.

“My bag is indeed right, but I don’t smoke!”

She had brought the very bag from the photo.

She opened the bag in front of the NAS employees.

Naturally, nothing like cigarettes was found inside.

And Director Jeong, who had known all along that Seo Yoo-jin didn’t smoke, spoke up with a serious expression.

“Well then… it would mean someone sneaked in while the Rookies waiting room was unattended and took these malicious photos.”

“W-What…”

Who on earth would do such a thing…

Seo Yoo-jin felt a chill run down her spine.

‘More importantly, that cigarette…’

Why does it feel so familiar…?

Neither Seo Yoo-jin nor her parents smoked.

Yet, the cigarettes in the photo seemed oddly familiar to her.

As Seo Yoo-jin desperately tried to recall a memory of the cigarettes, Director Jeong continued speaking seriously.

“More importantly, Ms. Yoo-jin. We confirmed that the photo isn’t edited. And… the comment in the middle was right.”

“…You’re saying the comment is right?”

“That cigarette… it’s cannabis. It wasn’t for medical use but made for recreational purposes instead.”

“……!”

As soon as she heard that, Seo Yoo-jin could recall where she had seen the cigarette.

That was definitely the cigarette Shin Si-woo was smoking while listening to her story.

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