NOVEL NEXT Chapter 70
“……Who, huh?”
Naturally, Ha Ye-rin flinched when she saw Na Han-na suddenly enter the practice room.
“Han-na…, what are you doing?”
“…Sister, what are you up to?”
“Uh…, just…”
Brush-.
When Na Han-na asked, Ha Ye-rin hurriedly hid her tablet PC behind her back.
But since Na Han-na had already seen her rewatching the music video of [Magical Love☆], she said to Ha Ye-rin, “Actually, I saw what you were doing outside. You were watching the Strawberry Filter music video, right?”
“Ah…, yeah.”
“Why? Were you hoping for some arrangement ideas to come up?”
“…”
Seeing her not answer confirmed that Na Han-na was right.
After a moment of hesitation, Ha Ye-rin replied, “Well, in the first team competition, I came up with answers when I was rewatching the MV in a situation similar to this. So, I thought it might happen again… I was just watching the MV.”
“…”
Na Han-na already knew that Ha Ye-rin had led the Mackerel Sandwich Team’s performance in the first team competition because she had watched Na Ah Ah’s broadcast last time.
‘The idea to take the nerd concept for [Where is my first love!] was Ye-rin unnie’s idea.’
But did that idea come to her while watching the MV?
‘Lucky her.’
Na Han-na didn’t want to undermine Ha Ye-rin’s skills, but it seemed that luck played a big role in that.
And…, the possibility of that luck repeating itself twice in a row was low.
‘Even if you stare at the MV for a hundred days, nothing will come out of it.’
From Na Han-na’s efficiency-oriented perspective, Ha Ye-rin’s current behavior appeared terribly inefficient.
Since the decision had already been made to go with the current plan, it would be more efficient to just go back to the room, sleep, and recharge her stamina.
With that thought, Na Han-na was about to say something to Ha Ye-rin when…
‘Never mind. Who am I to give advice.’
She simply shook her head and kept her mouth shut.
“Han-na, why did you come back to the practice room? Were you hoping to practice more…?”
“Oh no, that’s not it. I think I left my eye mask here.”
Na Han-na answered and started looking around to find her eye mask.
Fortunately, it was sitting nicely on the table.
“Oh, here it is. I found it, so I’ll be on my way now.”
“…Okay, see you.”
“…When are you leaving, unnie?”
“Ah…, I’m…”
Ha Ye-rin scratched the back of her head and replied.
“I’ll watch the MV a little longer before I go. You go in first.”
“…”
Na Han-na was certain that what Ha Ye-rin meant by “a little longer” definitely wasn’t just a little bit.
Well…, it wasn’t her business anyway.
Na Han-na thought Ha Ye-rin would manage on her own and turned to leave.
“…Okay, I’ll go in first.”
“Uh-huh.”
But….
Plop.
‘…Ah.’
Before she could even take her first step after turning her back, someone popped into her head, making her stop in her tracks.
That someone was none other than Na Han-na’s older sisters.
Seeing Ha Ye-rin foolishly digging into the well reminded Na Han-na of the past of her own sisters.
Na Han-na’s sisters were quite famous professional dancers.
Whenever freelance jobs came in, they choreographed idol dances, participated in dance festivals around the world, shot short films, and occasionally worked as backup dancers for top stars; they were thriving.
However, their dream wasn’t simply to be dancers from the beginning.
They wanted to be idols.
Na Han-na remembered how foolishly her sisters practiced to become idols since elementary school.
But….
The older sister outright failed her debut, and the younger sister debuted in a third-tier group only to be forgotten without a trace.
Na Han-na also remembered how sad her sisters had been back then.
She learned that despair and unhappiness were directly proportional to effort and expectation.
It seemed like that was when her excessive sleepiness began.
Because when she sleeps, she doesn’t have to think about anything.
Anyway….
Right now, seeing Ha Ye-rin reminded Na Han-na of her sisters, and she couldn’t help but speak up.
“…Unnie.”
“Hmm? Han-na, not leaving?”
“Let’s just go back together.”
“…What?”
Of course, Ha Ye-rin was different from her sisters.
She was gaining explosive popularity and had a high probability of success even after her debut.
Even knowing that, Na Han-na found it hard to stop her mouth once it was open.
“…It won’t give you any answers just by watching that anyway.”
“…”
“…Let’s just go back and sleep. I think that would be better.”
“Well…, that could be true, but if I keep watching….”
“If you keep up this pointless effort, the only thing that will grow is your disappointment!”
“…Huh?”
Was that why?
“I know it won’t work, so you should know how to give up quickly. Instead of doing something that pointless, it’s better to just sleep.”
“…”
In that instant, Na Han-na’s slightly harsh words made Ha Ye-rin’s expression turn surprised.
And Na Han-na was just as shocked.
‘…Oops.’
In that moment, Na Han-na realized her mistake and covered her mouth while looking around.
And….
Whirring-.
…Sure enough, the abandoned camera in the corner of the practice room was capturing their every move.
“Ah, I messed up.”
Though more people liked Na Han-na’s unique laid-back vibe than she expected, what the public wanted to see in an idol show was the cheerful demeanor of trainees who hadn’t lost hope.
But she accidentally blurted out cynical remarks in front of the camera.
Not to mention, it was directed towards Ha Ye-rin, who ranked first in the personal votes.
‘Damn…, well, it might not be a complete disaster, but this will hurt my image if it airs.’
In a moment of frustration over her inability to control her emotions and the absurdity of the situation….
“Ah, I don’t know.”
…She flopped onto the floor of the practice room.
When her head was messy, lying on the floor made her feel more comfortable, so she felt a bit better.
Of course, unaware of Na Han-na’s tendencies, Ha Ye-rin looked at her as if she were crazy.
“…Han-na, what are you doing? Why all of a sudden…?”
“…I don’t know. I don’t even know why I’m acting like this. Is my brain messed up because I passed my sleep time…? Ah, I can’t take it.”
Na Han-na put on the eye mask she had collected earlier and settled into a comfortable position.
“…Unnie. I’ll just close my eyes for five minutes. Please wake me up if I’m still asleep after five minutes.”
“Uh, okay.”
“Don’t worry about me and feel free to continue watching the MV.”
“Ah…, okay.”
At Na Han-na’s words, Ha Ye-rin turned the MV back on.
However, the sound gradually diminished until it fell silent.
It seemed she was being considerate of Na Han-na, who was lying there with the eye mask on.
“…….”
“…….”
Several minutes passed in silence….
“But Han-na.”
“……Yes.”
Ha Ye-rin cautiously asked.
“What was that earlier? Saying that pointless efforts just lead to greater disappointment… Did something happen in the past?”
“……”
This time, Na Han-na slowly opened her mouth to respond to Ha Ye-rin’s question.
“…It’s not my story, it’s my sisters’ story.”
…It seemed she was too tired to think straight.
Under normal circumstances, she wouldn’t have overlapped her view of Ha Ye-rin with her sisters, nor would she have meddled in someone else’s affairs.
And yet, here she was, telling Ha Ye-rin about her sisters without even remembering that they were in front of a camera.
Her mind felt fuzzy, as if she were drunk on sleep.
“…That’s how it went.”
“…I see.”
After speaking, Na Han-na felt a little lighter in her heart and took off her eye mask.
With her mind clearing up, she thought about going back to the room to sleep.
‘Just now…, what was caught by the camera… I don’t know, let’s just go back and sleep and think about it tomorrow.’
Na Han-na thought that way and stood up.
But then it happened.
“Han-na…, you were a coward.”
“…Huh?”
Na Han-na, who had just gotten up, paused a moment at Ha Ye-rin’s bewildering words….
“Han-na, you’re a coward who won’t even try or make an effort because you’re afraid of failing like your sisters did.”
“…What did you say?”
Na Han-na frowned at Ha Ye-rin’s next remark.
She didn’t mind being called a coward.
But how could her sisters be described as having failed?
In an instant, she couldn’t contain her anger, raising her voice and saying, “Did you just say my sister failed? My sisters did not fail. What are you talking about?”
Though they hadn’t become the idols they once dreamed of, her sisters were living happily as dancers now.
When Na Han-na raised her objections, Ha Ye-rin replied with a smile, “Yeah, I know. Your sisters are really amazing.”
“Right, but why…!”
“But why did you say your sisters’ efforts were in vain?”
“……!”
Brush-.
Na Han-na went speechless as Ha Ye-rin placed a hand on her head and gently stroked her hair while continuing.
“There’s no such thing as a vain effort. The reason your sisters are making names for themselves as dancers now is because of their efforts back then. Did your sisters ever regret their long days as idol trainees?”
“……”
Shake-.
At Ha Ye-rin’s question, Na Han-na shook her head silently.
Her sisters had been sad about giving up on being idols, but they had never regretted their time as trainees.
“It’s the same now. As you said, it might be a better choice to practice efficiently and present a safe stage without arrangement. But….”
“……”
“I want to perform on stage without regrets. If I can put on a better performance through my current efforts, I won’t regret it at all. But you see…”
Slide-.
Ha Ye-rin’s hand, which had been stroking Na Han-na’s hair, gradually moved down to cup her cheek.
“Han-na, I need your help. Would you help me out, please?”
“…….”
“Let’s work hard together and put on a performance without regrets.”
…Why was it?
Right then, once again, Na Han-na saw her sisters’ faces overlapping with Ha Ye-rin’s.
So clear and so confident.
Faces that she couldn’t help but love… that she couldn’t help but admire.
Perhaps that was why.
Bob-.
“……Yes.”
Though the original Na Han-na would have dismissed this as a pointlessly vain effort, at that moment, Na Han-na nodded, ready to help.
It was something that unfolded without her even realizing it.
Bob-.
“……Yes.”
Seeing Na Han-na nod in agreement to help her….
‘……This is happening?’
I couldn’t help but be surprised.
To explain this, we need to go back a few minutes.
After all the team members returned to their dorms, I stayed alone in the practice room and replayed the [Magical Love☆] MV.
I thought maybe I would come up with an idea like I did during the first team competition.
Of course, the mood of remaining alone in the practice room replaying the MV didn’t feel too good.
“Ah…, I feel like something might come to me…”
It felt like if I just poured a little more time into it, I could decorate the stage with a good idea. However, the quick retreat of the team members frustrated me.
Especially Na Han-na.
Why was it that she gave up so fast for someone so young?
“Sigh…, my head hurts. Should I take a break?”
As I thought about Na Han-na, my head started to ache, and I leaned my head back for a moment.
And…
[00:37]
The clock showed that it was past midnight.
I was reminded that another day had already passed and that led me to think about Sky Demon Enchantment.
The first-level skill, Sky Demon Enchantment, which I had failed to cast earlier.
The cooldown for Sky Demon Enchantment is one day.
‘So does that mean I can use it after 24 hours, or is it immediately available after a day passes?’
Just as I was pondering the cooldown for Sky Demon Enchantment….
[Casting Sky Demon Enchantment, first-level skill!]
“……?”
Suddenly, as if just recalling it made the Sky Demon Enchantment activate…
Creeeak-.
“……Who, huh?”
Out of nowhere, Na Han-na, whom I never expected, appeared and opened the practice room door.
‘……No way?’
Did I just successfully cast the Sky Demon Enchantment?
Can it be used in everyday life like this?
“Han-na…, why…?”
“…Sister, what are you doing?”
“Ah…, just…”
It might be too soon to draw conclusions, but I had a feeling that the Sky Demon Enchantment had indeed landed successfully.
And at that moment, I couldn’t help but be surprised.