If You Raise Three Idols Well, They Will Confess Their Love

26 – Did you get a date?

Episode 26

Autumn sat down in the old alley in front of her house and played music on her low-end smartphone.

Then, a song called ‘Memories of the Sea and Fallen Leaves’ came through the cheap earphones in my ears.

This is the song that I sing and love the most in autumn.

In the prelude of acoustic guitar, she recalled the words of Sun Tae-yang, who suggested she become an idol.

‘You like singing, right?’

“… .”

The answer that I couldn’t bring myself to say out loud at the time came out only now.

“… “I like it.”

As Sun Tae-yang said, autumn loved singing. No, I loved it.

Even when my father started gambling and his fortune began to decline.

Even when my father divorced and my mother got sick of him.

Even when I found out that my father, who had been crying and swearing that he would quit gambling, had gambled again.

I was able to survive because I had the song and because I loved the song.

But her life made even her love for the song seem like a luxury.

So the song became smaller and smaller in Autumn’s life.

At first, I had a professional vocal trainer as my teacher and developed my professional knowledge and technique.

Due to lack of energy, I gave up taking the course and was content with self-studying by watching YouTube in the training room.

Even that became difficult, so I was satisfied with just relaxing my throat at a coin karaoke room.

And even that became difficult.

So Ga Eul gave up singing.

The feeling I had pushed away in my heart, telling myself that it was something I could not help, was ringing loudly today.

She wanted to sing.

Right Now.

The song I was hearing through my cheap earphones was nearing the end of the long prelude and the beginning of the lyrics.

Soft yet low and deep.

It was the first line she sang several times.

Although it had been more than two months since she had sung, she was all too familiar with that feeling.

Ga Eul surrendered herself to that sensation.

When the prelude was over and the lyrics were about to come in, Gaeul caught her breath and opened her mouth slightly.

And that moment.

“… sister?”

Fall has fallen into reality.

“… Hey Gahyeon, what’s going on?”

His younger brother, Yu Ga-hyun, was walking out the door in street clothes.

It seemed that he was trying to find autumn, who did not come in even after part-time work hours.

“Did you try to sing?”

Gahyeon said with a smile as if she was happy about it.

“I want to hear it after a long time too! Noona sings incredibly well!”

Autumn said, trying to look as plain as possible.

“Your sister won’t sing anymore.”

“… why?”

Gahyeon was the person who saw, more closely than anyone else, the hard life she lived, having dropped out of school to work part-time.

Gahyeon would not know the reason.

Gahyeon must think Autumn gave up singing because of her.

Nevertheless, he tries to bring out the uncomfortable truth without hesitation.

“You have to do what your sister wants to do. “But why?”

Because I don’t want to just accept Autumn’s sacrifice.

Because you are ready to give up too.

It is to correct this slanted relationship by facing and bumping into each other.

Even if this family, made possible by her sacrifice, collapses.

That was the kindness that child had.

That’s why she lied.

“Because that’s what I want.”

Because I didn’t want my younger brother to give up on his dreams.

***

“what? “Team Leader Sun is here again!”

“hahahaha, here we are again. Mr. Autumn.”

“This is a restaurant worth stopping by two days in a row! I’m a fan of Sundae Gukbap, but actually, not only Sundae Gukbap but also Boiled Pork Gukbap is not bad. If you add a lot of rice cakes, it tastes even better! Oh, by the way, I recommend not ordering cold cuts. “It smelled a bit like the owner got the order from a strange place.”

Ga Eul spoke excitedly, showing off her friendliness as if she had forgotten what happened before.

He looked like a country dog that welcomed people without notice.

It wouldn’t be a bad idea to chat with her and eat a hearty bowl of soup.

But today, eating was not the goal.

The reason I came here to avoid the crowded cafes, bakeries, and convenience stores was because I wanted to talk to her.

I got to the point before she continued chatting about soup.

“Mr. Autumn, can you make time in three days?”

Ga Eul, who was talking to me and cleaning up the bowl of soup left by the customer, tilted her head and answered my sudden request.

“hmm… sorry. I don’t think it will work. “I have a part-time job that day as well.”

“What about the next day?”

“The next day too.”

“So, how about the next day?”

“It’s the same the next day and the day after that. “I only have a holiday once every two weeks.”

“… Are you all right?”

I knew I was doing a hard work, but I didn’t know I was straining my body to that extent.

Gaeul responded to my concerns by rolling up her sleeves, showing her arms, making movements to emphasize her biceps, and boasting about her health.

“are you okay! “High school girls usually have a lot of stamina!”

Then he covered his mouth and spoke as if he was surprised by his own words.

“Oh, since I dropped out, I can’t call you a high school girl.”

Autumn said it in a light joking tone, but I couldn’t take it that way.

What that joke implies is the reality that she had to drop out of school in order to work four part-time jobs a day.

Ga Eul looked at me unable to speak and said as if it was strange.

“what? “You’re not asking me to make time for you during the holidays, are you?”

What did that kid think of me that gave him that idea?

“I have no intention of depriving Yu Ga-eul of her break that only comes once every two weeks.”

I was a person with common sense.

However, Autumn nodded as if admiring such an obvious statement.

“hmm… That was a little cool! “I think it would have been reassuring to work with Team Leader Seon!”

It seemed like an undeservedly benevolent gaze.

Either way, her words were pleasant.

Thanks to this, the conversation naturally flowed in the direction I wanted.

“Then don’t you actually want to work together?”

“It’s a pity, but that was already rejected. I don’t have time to be an idol.”

“I am not talking about idols.”

“… Then what are you talking about?”

I said it seriously so as not to make it sound like a joke.

“I want to buy your time, even if just for a little while.”

“Time?”

Ga Eul was startled and covered herself with a bowl of soup.

… What on earth did I understand it to mean?

“… I am offering you a short-term part-time job. “It’s a simple part-time job that you can cancel at any time if it’s inconvenient.”

If Autumn doesn’t have time to work, I can become the employer.

That’s what buying time meant.

“… “A short-term part-time job?”

She asked, tilting her head as she put down her bowl of soup.

“I will pay you twice the hourly wage of the most expensive part-time job you are doing now. “Please give me just 3 hours in 3 days.”

Ga Eul closed her eyes, touched her lips, and thought seriously about my attractive suggestion.

And came to a conclusion.

“I’m sorry, but I already have a part-time job scheduled for that day. “I think it would be best to find someone else.”

“Couldn’t we change the shift?”

“It will be a nuisance if they suddenly arrest you from now on. “I don’t want to cause any inconvenience to the grateful people who hired a minor like me.”

It was an amazing idea.

However, the adult world does not operate with such morals and courtesy.

“I will pay you three times your hourly wage.”

Run with money

“Three times?”

Ga Eul’s eyes flashed with interest for a moment, but she slapped her cheek weakly and her expression hardened.

“You can’t forsake the favor of your bosses for a little money… .”

“I’ll give you four times as much.”

“… “I can’t abandon you.”

The autumn snow was spinning.

I decided to drive a wedge into her heart that seemed to be wavering.

“This is my final offer.”

He spoke firmly, like a negotiator determined not to allow further discussion.

“I’ll give you five times as much.”

Autumn gazed into my eyes in heavy silence.

I also looked into her eyes.

Ga Eul soon spoke with confidence as if she had made up her mind.

“Can I call you Boss Sun?”

“… Just being a team leader is enough.”

***

Ga Eul, who came home after finishing her work at the soup restaurant, lay down in bed and recalled her conversation with Seon Taeyang.

‘I want to buy your time, even if just for a moment.’

Autumn smiled without even realizing it.

‘What, that’s not even a confession.’

It was a bit of a misunderstanding to say to someone who had only just met.

Sun Taeyang blurted out those words as if he was not ashamed of them.

That was something autumn could not do.

Autumn was pleasant to everyone.

Because he liked people themselves, he did not hesitate to approach them first and express intimacy as long as the other person was not offended.

But that wasn’t all she had in mind.

Autumn was a two-faced person.

He was a puppy-like person who was friendly and approached everyone first, but he was actually afraid to reveal his feelings.

Her insides were not so beautiful.

Life was hard, there were many things I had to give up, and I always lived oppressed.

Inside, dark emotions gradually settled down.

Because she was afraid to show it, Ga Eul hit the solid wall and approached the person.

However, Sun Taeyang jumped over that wall as if it was funny.

I gently touched her forbidden thoughts that were sinking into the solid wall, such as dreams, money, effort, and giving up.

But it didn’t feel bad.

The Sun Sun was like a stone thrown into a lake named Autumn.

With the sound of a plop, her heart fluttered.

The reason I accepted his offer was money, but there may also have been other reasons for that.

Because such an unexpected change was not very pleasant in the arduous daily life that seemed to be spinning in a treadmill.

‘… But why would you want to hire me?’

Is it worth spending 3 hours with Gaeul while paying her 5 times her hourly wage?

It was difficult for her to guess why.

This is because he thought that with that money, he could hire three people, or at least two, who were better at their jobs than him.

Ga Eul recalled what Seon Tae Yang said.

‘Gaeul’s exterior is so beautiful. I think you have enough charm to be called everyone’s first love.’

‘… Is this really a date? ‘I’ll buy you even with money!’ Something like that?’

“… .”

She got up from the bed and started rummaging through the closet, unconsciously combing her hair with her hands.

“What are you doing, sister?”

“aaah!”

Ga Eul was startled and slammed the closet door shut, as if she had been caught stealing.

“You woke up because of me? Sorry!”

Gahyeon asked, rubbing her eyes as if she had just woken up.

“… Why are you suddenly looking for clothes? “Have you scheduled a date?”

“It’s not like that!”

Ga Eul said, covering her eyes with a red face.

“… maybe?”