Chapter 24: Peculiar Stalker (2)

On the day that Rita’s new song was due to be released, Kang Ra-Hyuk was waiting in front of the living room TV for Rita to take the stage.

Kang Ra-Eun kept clicking her tongue.

“Do you like Rita that much?” she asked.

“Of course! She’s pretty and has a great personality. Her new song is great, too. I’m sure it’ll top the charts this time as well, don’t you think?”

“Who knows?”

Ra-Hyuk tilted his head in confusion at Ra-Eun’s lack of interest.

“Shouldn’t you be wishing for its success since you even starred in the video?” Ra-Hyuk asked.

“Why?”

“What do you mean, why? I’m sure you’ll get tons of casting offers if this song takes off. Isn’t that a good thing?”

“I don’t have any particular attachments to the entertainment industry,” Ra-Eun answered.

All she needed to do was to maintain a certain level of connection with Ji Han-Seok. She had no ambition of becoming a top star. However, Ra-Hyuk did not understand Ra-Eun’s attitude toward the matter. Even her agency was actively supporting her, but Ra-Eun had been throwing aside the status of a top star that she could obtain if she so desired.

“You’re so weird,” Ra-Hyuk expressed.

“Shut up. I’m going out, so take care of dinner by yourself.”

“Where are you going this time?”

“To have a meal with Yi-Seo.”

Seo Yi-Seo had offered to treat her to a meal since Ra-Eun looked like she had been suffering from a migraine lately. Ra-Eun had accepted her offer and hurried to get ready. All she needed to do was to meet Yi-Seo at Starlight Road as they decided on and go eat some good food.

Ra-Eun headed to Starlight Road as soon as she left the house, but her brow wrinkled as she passed by a cell phone store. Rita’s new song, Mirror World, was playing along with the music video in the store. Ra-Eun and Rita were being reflected on the TV screen in turns. Seeing that, Ra-Eun held in her sigh and quickened her steps to Starlight Road.

When Ra-Eun arrived, Yi-Seo was nowhere in sight, and Seo Yi-Jun greeted her instead.

“Oh, Ra-Eun noona! Welcome!”

“Where’s Yi-Seo?” Ra-Eun asked.

“She went back home because she forgot something. She’ll be back in ten minutes.”

“Really? Okay.”

She could wait ten minutes, no problem. While she was waiting, Ra-Eun asked Yi-Jun for confirmation, “You haven’t told anyone about my meeting with Rita sunbae here, did you?”

“Of course not,” Yi-Jun answered.

“What about our conversation?”

“I’ve already purged it from my mind.”

“That’s unexpected. I thought you’d record it like a certain dunce in my house who goes crazy over anything Rita-related.”

Yi-Jun understood right away that Ra-Eun was talking about her older brother, Ra-Hyuk.

“I like you more than Rita,” he expressed.

“What, is that a love confession?”

“N-No, it’s...!”

Yi-Jun was flustered by his own spontaneous declaration.

“So it’s not?” Ra-Eun asked.

“It’s not a no, but...”

Ra-Eun giggled after a long while from the fun that she was having while teasing Yi-Jun. Yi-Jun was flustered at first, but he didn’t mind as long as his sacrifice could make Ra-Eun smile.

“Anyway, thanks for keeping it a secret,” Ra-Eun said.

“Of course. I’d do anything you ask. That aside, I never expected Rita to like you so much.”

“You’re telling me.”

Ra-Eun commended herself for getting Rita to write a memorandum forbidding Rita to enter within one meter of her.

“But I’m happy for you, noona.”

“For what?”

“A popular singer is your fan, after all. Since you’re both in the entertainment industry, wouldn’t she be able to help you somewhat?”

“I wonder...”

Ra-Eun honestly did not know.

***

Ra-Eun was about to head home after school when she was contacted by Shin Yu-Bin to come with her to the agency to discuss something in a meeting. After waiting at the school gates for around five minutes, Yu-Bin’s car stopped right in front of her.

“Get in, Ra-Eun.”

“What sort of meeting is it?” Ra-Eun asked.

“The matter about the talk show program that was brought up during the music video shoot scheduling. You and Rita would be going on it together once her new song was announced, don’t you remember?”

“Oh... that?”

The talk show, Talk Festival, hosted by the famous emcee Kang Han-Do. The contract that Ra-Eun had signed contained that she would assist in the advertising of Rita’s new song by appearing in a few programs together with Rita.

And of course, this contract had been signed before Ra-Eun found out about Rita’s true self. She had no choice but to appear in the programs since she signed the contract, but...

‘Well... I’m sure nothing bad will happen.’

Now that Rita knew what kind of person Ra-Eun was, she would not be able to easily handle her…or that was what Ra-Eun decided to believe.

***

Ra-Eun watched recent episodes of Talk Festival before appearing on it. She was slightly nervous, since this was her first time appearing on a variety show, but she resolved herself by thinking that things would work themselves out. Rather, Chief Jung was more nervous than Ra-Eun.

‘“Ra-Eun, don’t be too nervous in front of the camera. Han-Do will take care of everything, so all you need to do is answer any questions that come your way, understood?” Chief Jung said.

“Yes, but why are you more nervous than I am?”

“N-Nervous? Do I really look that nervous?”

“Yes.”

One would think that there was an earthquake from how much his pupils were trembling. It was a rarity that the person who would actually appear in the program was less nervous, but Chief Jung had his own reasons.

“This is an opportunity to let your presence be known throughout the country, so I think that’s why I’m more nervous than usual.”

Chief Jung had been solely responsible for backing Ra-Eun. Although he was the one who had demonstrated Ra-Eun’s potential for success through The Devil’s Touch, that alone was far from enough. He needed to demonstrate Ra-Eun’s star power even more to the agency’s higher-ups.

“One needs to know how to grasp an opportunity when it comes their way. Those kinds of people are the most successful,” Chief Jung expressed.

“I know.”

Ra-Eun had experienced that many times in her past life as Park Geon-Woo, but she also knew that such opportunities were treacherous at times, just like how Park Geon-Woo had ended up being killed by Kim Han-Gyo and Kim Chi-Yeol.

Park Geon-Woo had felt like the world was at the tip of his fingers when he was appointed as the leader of Kim Han-Gyo’s security team. It was understandable, since he was acknowledged by a senior congressman of the ruling party. However, that was only his own delusion.

Her side suddenly started to hurt while thinking about the past. It was exactly where Geon-Woo was stabbed right before his death. Ra-Eun’s past memories were affecting her body. She fiercely shook her head.

‘Don’t think about stuff like that right now.’

She had to focus on what was in front of her.

***

On the day of the Talk Festival shoot, Ra-Eun looked over at Rita, who had finished her preparations, while she was getting her make-up done. When their eyes met in the mirror, Rita smiled and waved at Ra-Eun with her right hand.

‘She’s weirdly quiet today.’

Ra-Eun was worried that Rita would charge at her only to be flicked on the forehead, but she had been considerably docile. After getting her make-up and hair done, Ra-Eun sat at a distance from Rita.

Rita asked Ra-Eun quizzically, “You should just sit next to me, why are you so far away?”

“Have you forgotten about the one meter no-approach clause?”

Rita looked bummed out by Ra-Eun’s retort.

“But sunbae, why are you so docile today?” Ra-Eun asked.

“We’re in a different broadcasting studio, after all.”

Rita did her best not to cross the line during an external shoot, which Ra-Eun was rather thankful for.

“It would be great if you were like this normally as well,” Ra-Eun mentioned.

“I’ll try my best.”

No one would know how long she would put in the effort for.

The staff members left the room. As the two of them were alone in the waiting room, someone knocked on the door.

Knock, knock, knock.

“Come in,” Rita said.

Three women entered the room with glowing faces.

“Hello, sunbae!”

“Oh, it's you girls,” Rita expressed.

They were members of the seven-member girl group Hazela, who worked in the music industry just like Rita. The three most popular of the seven, So-Jin, Hye-Na and Ju-Eun, had been scheduled to appear in Talk?Festival today.

“What are you girls doing here?” Rita asked.

“We went to your waiting room to greet you, but we were told that you were in Miss Kang Ra-Eun’s waiting room, so here we are.”

“Oh, really?”

“But sunbae, why are you here instead of your own waiting room?”

Rita simply answered, “Ra-Eun said this was her first time appearing in a variety show, so I’ve been by her side to calm her down."

Ra-Eun was about to tell Rita that she didn’t need anyone coddling her, but barely suppressed the words from coming out of her mouth.

The gazes of the three women sharpened at Rita’s comment, especially the female idol named So-Jin. Her face was the most serious.

“Ra-Eun, was it?” she asked.

“Yes,” Ra-Eun answered.

“I heard that you’ve been receiving tons of support from your agency even though you’re just a rookie actress.”

Her words contained a spiteful undertone.

“Yes, it just happened,” Ra-Eun replied.

“You certainly are pretty, but your acting skills are... so-so? I’m not sure if you deserve to be treated so well by your agency, since you haven’t really done anything significant yet.”

“...”

It certainly was not a kind-hearted comment. So-Jin, possibly out of jealousy toward Ra-Eun, continued to express her doubts regarding Ra-Eun’s talents.

“Do you have a relative working in your agency? There’s no way that you’d be able to work with Rita sunbae if you didn’t. She’s in a completely different league compared to you, don’t you agree?”

Ra-Eun did not know whether So-Jin was just being mean to her or wanted to trash talk a rookie, but she was sure of one thing.

‘This girl is a bitch.’

At least, she was not the kind of person that Ra-Eun liked.

So-Jin continued, “I hope you won’t rely too much on your pretty face. The entertainment industry isn’t some place that lackadaisical people like you can enter. Right, sunbae?”

So-Jin handed the baton over to Rita, as if to get her approval.

Rita had a very big smile on her face, but her eyes were not smiling.

“So-Jin,” she said.

“Yes, sunbae?” So-Jin replied to her respected sunbae with sparkling eyes.

“You’ve gone batshit insane, haven’t you?”

Hearing that, Ra-Eun could not help but giggle.