NOVEL NEXT Chapter 5
Episode 5
I answered the police officer’s questions.
“Um, it’s a bit embarrassing to say, but Gyeoul is trying to cut ties with her past.”
“Huh? Cut ties with her past?”
The middle-aged officer asked back, as if he couldn’t believe his ears. Then, noticing Gyeoul’s delinquent outfit, he seemed to nod in understanding all by himself.
Gyeoul, looking like a complete punk, somehow made my nonsense sound plausible.
“She hasn’t committed any crimes exactly, but since there might be gossip, she’s planning to pay and shoot a video to keep her mouth shut. It’s for her future career, you know. So, I was on my way to meet a friend she used to hang out with.”
“…A pay-off.”
“Oh, right. You asked why I was carrying cash, right? Gyeoul said if she sent it through her bank account, there’d be a record, so she insisted on cash. That’s why I was carrying money in my wallet.”
“…The kid is sharp.”
“Yeah, no kidding! She’s got a knack for wasting time. Hahaha.”
The middle-aged officer seemed to take my nonsense seriously and looked at Gyeoul with a strange expression.
It was a success.
Perhaps impressed by my acting, Gyeoul was just flapping her mouth silently.
While observing her, the officer asked, “Is that true, student?”
Gyeoul, rolling her eyes as if weighing her options in her mind, declared, “…Yes, I am the human trash Han Gyeoul.”
*
The considerate middle-aged officer gave Gyeoul a lecture on how dangerous the stigma of being a delinquent is.
He also shared some golden tips on how to take lots of photos as evidence of their agreement in the long term.
“Yeah, I’ll make sure to gather as much evidence as possible. That way, I can gain an upper hand later in court.”
“…Good grief, I don’t even know what I’m teaching this kid. Look, kid, what’s scary about delinquency isn’t just the immediate consequences. Even if you think you wrapped it up nicely, it might explode like a landmine later and ruin your life!”
The officer looked like he was about to leave but added one last comment.
“Just live well! For your sake, not anyone else’s.”
“…Thank you for your heartfelt advice, even to someone like me who’s trash. I’ll try to be good from now on.”
Gyeoul nodded oddly with dead eyes, her performance resembling something close to a foot-dragging act, evaluated from the perspective of an entertainment industry professional.
I could do better than that.
I just saw her acting talent which seemed to be around a B level, so I had no idea why she was acting like that.
Nonetheless, the middle-aged officer seemed satisfied with her shabby performance and left with a customary promise to report any lost items with his junior officers as they headed home.
“They’re gone.”
“Yeah.”
So, the case was more or less wrapped up.
No need for a guardian to be contacted, meaning Gyeoul would smoothly attend her audition tomorrow.
Now, what’s left was to look forward to a future where no one saw Gyeoul debut in the last episode.
I wanted to set up an appointment with Cheon Jong-hoon immediately, but with CH’s audition coming up, it seemed difficult to arrange a meeting right now. So, I should hold off on bringing up Jong-hoon until after the trainee life falls through.
Of course, it would likely take some time for CH’s trainee life to fall through anyway, so this would be a long-term strategy.
For now, I should leave my contact information and continue to interact under the guise of a friendly neighbor.
Lira.
The moment my trainee life collapsed, I had to snatch Gyeoul.
Here lies the problem—if I want to keep in touch, I need to get that minor’s number.
If I mess up my words, the image I’ve carefully built up until now could turn into that of a disgusting man drooling over a girl.
I can’t bear to see that up close.
“Um, sir.”
As I continued to ponder how to get the number and maintain contact, Gyeoul broke the awkward silence.
“Yeah, what?”
“Um, that is…”
“Are you trying to say thank you? Not really necessary.”
What I needed was her number.
Not some pointless gratitude.
“No, that’s not it. It’s just that I don’t have a place to sleep.”
“….”
“…I lost my wallet, so I don’t have any money. Please let me stay for just one night. I don’t mind sleeping in the hallway if you give me just one blanket. I’ll crouch in a corner so I’m not a bother.”
Does this kid even realize I’ve only known her for 30 minutes?
With the hesitation of inviting someone into my home, I felt a bit of resistance.
However, upon calm reflection, it seemed like a rather effective choice to get her contact information and maintain long-term communication.
Since I now live with just my older sister, it would only hinge on whether she would accept it.
So, how would my sister react?
I started to run simulations in my head.
“Would it be okay if I let one girl stay over?”
“Of course not! Why would you want her to sleep in our house? Go get a motel or something!”
Yeah, that’s not gonna work, is it?
Because of my gullible personality rubbing against my sister’s individualistic nature, we had often bumped heads in the past.
I hadn’t understood before.
I used to think it would be nice if she could be a little more tolerant of others.
Now, I understand all the reasons she had to be that way…
Still, convincing her to let someone stay was not going to be easy.
“Um… Sorry, but I think that’s going to be tough.”
Upon hearing my answer, Gyeoul started trembling like a newborn deer.
Teardrops like beads fell to the floor.
What is wrong with her?
“…You said it was okay to ask for help.”
Gyeoul said softly, her voice barely audible.
Honestly, it was so quiet I couldn’t hear it at all.
“Sorry, but I couldn’t hear you over the sound of passing cars! Could you say it one more time?”
“You said there are people who can help! If no one is coming to mind right now, you said you would help me! But I don’t have anyone! No friends, no acquaintances, no mom and dad, nothing! Whoooaaah-.”
Gyeoul burst into tears and clung to my pant leg.
“Whaaa, please help me! I’m begging you!”
She half-kneeled and pleaded with me, practically ready to bury her head in the ground.
This sudden emotional outburst left me in shock.
I thought she was fine, but it turned out there was a lot more going on than I realized.
I felt the urge to respond with the same urgency as medical staff dealing with a critical patient.
After five minutes of mindless positivity and compliments, Gyeoul calmed down.
“So it’s not that I don’t want to help you, it’s just that I don’t think our landlord would allow it, so I had to decline.”
“…Really?”
“Yeah, let’s call her right now.”
I thought it was a slim chance, but if my older sister was in a good mood, maybe she’d say yes.
I turned on the speakerphone so Gyeoul could hear and called my older sister.
“Hey, it’s me. I have a favor to ask.”
“….”
“It’s nothing serious, there’s just this poor girl who needs a place to stay for a night. She came up from the countryside and just lost her wallet, so she has no money. She has no friends or acquaintances to help her. She seems nice, so let’s help her out for just one night.”
“Are you trying to bring a random person you found along the river into our home? You really haven’t changed since high school, have you?”
What bad habit did I have back in high school?
“Are you going to turn our place into a runaway youth shelter again?”
Ah, that was it. If someone looked a bit pitiful, I’d invite anyone in.
“I’m not letting even a dog into this tiny house, so just send her to a jjimjilbang or a youth shelter. And seriously, what time is it? Where is she off to…”
I sensed a flood of inappropriate words heading for teenage ears, so I hurried to hang up.
“Rejected.”
“…Looks like it.”
We faced the chilly wind blowing from the riverside, trying to cool our heads.
Nothing ever goes smoothly.
“By the way, you didn’t come to Seoul totally unplanned, right?”
Considering she was daring enough to ask a stranger for a place to sleep, Gyeoul’s intellect seemed a bit lacking.
But I didn’t think she had really come without any plan at all.
At the very least, she must have reserved some accommodation.
“Didn’t you book a place?”
“I did, but I only paid the deposit and haven’t paid for the stay yet…”
“Don’t you have a card? Or an online account like Toss or Kakao Bank?”
“The emergency card was in the wallet I lost, and I don’t know how to use that online account. Ugh… I’m sorry. Hic…”
Feeling the burden of her own emotions, Gyeoul started crying again.
I handed her an entire stack of tissues instead of just one.
With both hands holding the tissues, she showed impressive efficiency in wiping her tears while blowing her nose.
Once her tears calmed down, she revealed an utterly pitiful face with swollen eyes and smeared eyeliner.
There was no way she could go to an audition looking like that, so she needed to wash up and sleep.
I made a bold investment.
I pulled out two precious fifty-thousand won bills from my wallet and handed them to her.
“…What is this?”
“What do you mean, what? That’s one hundred thousand won. Take it and pay for the accommodation you reserved. And use it for bus fare when you go home, too.”
Gyeoul stared at me with trembling eyes as I offered her the money.
“Go wash up, get some sleep, and do well at the audition.”
Gyeoul, who had been glancing nervously at me, finally made up her mind and took the money.
“Then, um… can I have your phone number?”
I raised a toast in my mind.
I had succeeded in getting a number without being awkward.
“Why pay me back? It’s okay. I may not have a lot of money, but you can just think of it as a little help.”
Feeling good, I said in a smooth tone.
“Think of that hundred thousand won as just a deposit.”
“But I still think you should repay what you’ve received. You said that a debt might not even be seen as a debt by someone, but that doesn’t mean I can be irresponsible.”
Winter said, steadying her trembling voice with a confident stance.
“So, please, give me a chance to repay this favor instead of a debt.”
As she said this, she handed me her smartphone with both hands, reminding me of my pre-regression self.
Trusting others.
What a complacent attitude.
She’ll really have to get scammed once to open her eyes…
Well, it’s not my place to interfere for just a moment.
I nodded and left my phone number on her smartphone.
Worried that I might leave another number, Winter checked that I had written it down, called me, and watched my phone ring with a big smile.
“Okay, I’ll take off now. Good luck at the audition. Since I’ve worked in the industry, I can tell you that as long as you don’t do anything weird, you’ll definitely get a good result.”
In the end, the most crucial talent in the idol industry was looks.
And Winter had that talent in spades.
“Yep! Thank you so much. I’ll definitely pay you back for this!”
After watching Winter walk away cheerfully with her plump bag, I headed back.
*
The next day, after organizing my stuff until dawn, I fell asleep late and was jolted awake by the incessant ringtone of my smartphone.
At first, I thought it was a diligent employee from an insurance or telecom company calling in the morning, so I ignored it. But by the third ring, I realized it wasn’t just usual.
I lifted my heavy eyelids and picked up the smartphone.
The displayed number was Winter’s.
Fully awake now, I cleared my throat three times and adjusted my voice as best as I could before saying, “Hello?”
“…Uncle, sob, hick…”
“Yeah, Winter, what’s up now?”
“Sob… Hic, Uncle, I’m finished.”
My heart raced.
It seemed something had gone wrong with her audition.
The achievement of the quest floated in my mind.
However, in moments like this, I had to stay calm.
“Even if it feels like the world is ending right now, most of the time, when you look back, it’s really not that big of a deal. So take a deep breath and think about it calmly from a third-party perspective. Is it really the end?”
Then Winter breathed into her smartphone so I could hear it, and began to think deeply. About 30 seconds later, Winter burst into tears again.
“Hic, it’s really over!”
“Where are you right now? I’m coming, so stay put.”
If she judged it as a disaster under calm reasoning, then it genuinely was one.
I smiled brightly and dashed out.
Hang tight, my job offer.