LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 203
Episode 203
Out of the blue, news of my romantic relationship with Gaeul broke out, and the office was in total chaos, like it had just been bombed.
“Team Leader Seon! CBS, the public broadcasting station, has requested an interview regarding the dating rumors!”
“Ugh, the main PD of ‘Sing Together,’ the show Yoo Gaeul regularly appears on, wants to know what’s going on with the article!”
“Team Leader Seon! The main sponsor, Jinkang, is calling! They want an explanation about the dating article!”
Just then, the door to the office flung open, and our president, Cheon Aram, burst in, panting for breath.
“Team Leader Seon! What on earth is going on?!”
“…”
Well, I can’t tell you because I don’t even know.
*
In the TwoBear meeting room, the original members responsible for the company’s early success gathered for the first time in ages, and Cheon Aram brushed her hair back and asked,
“So, what’s happening right now?”
Answering her was Jo Narae, the head of the PR team’s external affairs.
“Gaeul had an official interview with a reporter from STA TV, known for celebrity gossip.”
“So what exactly did she say?”
“…That she’s dating Team Leader Seon. The interview was quite lengthy, but to sum it up, she confessed first and has been dating for a little while now.”
Cheon Aram sighed deeply and asked,
“Team Leader Seon, is this true?”
“It’s not true. I just heard about it a moment ago.”
Technically, it was true that Gaeul had confessed to me, but I had no intention of complicating the situation by sharing that detail. Anyway, Cheon Aram already knew that part.
“So, it’s Gaeul’s unilateral decision, then?”
Jo Narae nodded in agreement.
“Considering the timing and how the article dropped, and that the reporter, Yang Joo-ho, who is in contact with us, didn’t even give us a heads-up, it certainly seems like Gaeul acted alone.”
“The intent is… no, this isn’t the time to think about that. So, where’s Gaeul right now? We need to stop any more bizarre gossip from spreading!”
“Seok Hyun-woo has located Gaeul at her accommodation and is currently… not imprisoning her, but providing protection with some others.”
“Well, thank goodness she’s not on the run.”
“Thank goodness it’s not that!”
Cheon Aram sighed repeatedly while fussing with her scalp as her head throbbed. After checking her smartphone, she combed her hair again and said,
“What’s the current public sentiment? …They must be feeling betrayed, right? Are they planning a boycott as a fandom organization?”
Hearing this, Park Miso, the team leader of the publicity team’s public opinion division, cautiously raised her hand and replied,
“Actually… it’s not as bad as we thought. In fact, it’s leaning more towards the favorable side.”
“What does that even mean?”
In front of the confused Cheon Aram and her colleagues, Jo Narae sought their understanding and linked the main monitor in the meeting room with her tablet to show an interview article, saying,
“First, we need to remember that the group Girl Revolution is now entering its seventh year. It’s true that idol fandoms usually adopt a negative stance regarding their members’ romantic relationships. However, it’s also true that perceptions have gradually changed since the legendary first-generation idols’ press conferences and other companies’ legal responses to fandoms’ self-regulation. Nowadays, it’s not necessarily negative when a member in a long-standing group enters into a relationship.”
Upon hearing this, dance trainer Lee Hyerin nodded in agreement.
“Considering that most agencies prohibit dating for about 3 to 5 years, it’s quite understandable for Girl Revolution, which is now in its seventh year.”
“Hyerin’s right. The current perception of fans concerning idol relationships isn’t about being extreme and saying they should never date. If we’re being precise, we could say, ‘As a product aimed at consumers, maintain the product’s value for a defined period.'”
Vocal trainer Song Johan clicked his tongue and said,
“I don’t know, it feels a bit bleak.”
“You don’t have to take it negatively. This is just another way fans express their love for artists. And I’m trying to say that because of that love, they can also respect the artist’s love.”
Then Park Miso zoomed in on a particular part of the interview article to show it.
The expressions of her colleagues gradually changed as they read the content.
“…Wow. It’s like a romance movie.”
“I knew Team Leader Seon had a remarkable personality, but I didn’t expect them to go that far…”
“Where can we read that article? It’s interesting!”
“…James Oh, at this point, you should pick up on the situation. How can you say something like that right now?”
“Is this even a thing?”
“No, it’s not just me having fun right now.”
Park Miso nodded while observing her colleagues’ reactions.
“As you can see, the interview turned out great. The love story between Team Leader Seon and Yoo Gaeul is portrayed as a very charming tale that puts readers in a good mood. It’s receiving quite the positive response from soft fandoms and the general public alike.”
Park Miso listed some comments from a popular fan café.
ZEZE- “Wow, so our Gaeul was working part-time on her own to support the family because of her father’s gambling addiction?”
Zin-A park- “ㅠㅠㅠㅠ So she almost gave up on her beloved song because of that. ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ Just because of that, Gaeul almost couldn’t sing ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ”
Haneulsaek-i joha- “Her father committed domestic violence and even attempted murder on Gaeul? LOL, is he even human?”
Mild Seven- “In the midst of all that, she stopped the disaster and even got sent to the hospital, yet she handled everything on her own, took care of her sibling instead, and even paid for their tuition. What kind of person can pull that off?”
Double Cheese Bagel- “There he is, the king of kings, Team Leader Seon Taeyang.”
Judgment- “I just checked Gaeul’s first busking video, and it’s actually true. There’s a scene where Taeyang offers to pay instead.”
Insect Kick- “So that’s when the secret crush started…. Wait, isn’t that deceiving the fans? Dating is off-limits, right?”
Male Mosquito- “Dude, is it really deceiving if you hide your feelings and endure for seven years for the fans? And humans aren’t animals either, how can you not have a crush when going through all that?”
Real Yoo Gaeul- “I’m Yoo Gaeul, and if that happened to me, I’d just give out my bank account password.”
Omedeto- “…Gaeul doesn’t talk like that.”
Sin07- “I read that whole article, but the second half is even more entertaining!”
Chalongrong- “For real, for real ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ When I heard that she met her mother who fled during the music road shoot and asked for money, I thought those parents hadn’t received proper family education. But finding out that the daughter was suffering from a rare disease and that Taeyang, knowing this, used his own money to pay for her treatment instead of receiving any compensation for Gaeul was just ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ How can someone be like that?”
Seven Hour- “I recently met the daughter they treated at a concert, and when she said to Gaeul, ‘You’re the coolest, sister,’ it reminded me of all the times I supported Gaeul, and I cried too ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ So that’s why our Gaeul cried while singing. ㅠㅠㅠㅠ”
Three Meals a Day Mardang- “Following Gaeul’s emotional lines in this interview gives me butterflies. ㅠㅠㅠ Team Leader Seon truly deserves to be confessed to by Gaeul, for real.”
As I keep going, I’m overwhelmed with excitement. T_T Team Leader Seon really deserves Gaeul’s confession, no joke.
Oran-ssi – Why isn’t there someone like Taeyang in my life? I want a romance like that too! T_T T_T T_T T_T
StarBurst – Your boyfriend is in the monitor.
Oran-ssi – Damn it.
TbalnerC – I absolutely support the Gaeul♡Taeyang couple!
MingmingSsu – Support!
Jang Manduk – Support!
“…”
While my colleagues, including myself, were too stunned to speak after reading that, Cheon Aram chuckled and said.
“The reaction is overly positive, huh?”
“Yeah, right?”
“Haha, I’m reading it now, and it’s really fun. It definitely deserves a good reaction.”
“The hardcore fanbase of Girl Revolution is also responding well. There are aggressive expressions, but the majority opinion is, ‘It’s a 7-year age difference, which is a pity, but we understand perfectly.’”
“I see… So what should we do now?”
At that question, Jo Narae and Park Miso looked at me simultaneously.
They seemed to have something they wanted to say but were hesitating, watching my reaction.
Still, I felt like I knew what they wanted to say without needing words.
So, I said it instead.
“We have to announce the dating news.”
All the staff’s eyes turned to me.
“The response is too good. If we say, ‘Actually, it was Gaeul’s unilateral interview, and they are not in a relationship,’ it will create a backlash. It would seriously damage the images of both Gaeul and TwoBear. The impact is already so widespread that it’s taken over the main article in the portal’s entertainment section. We can’t betray the public’s expectations.”
“Are you okay with this, Team Leader Seon? …Once we do this, we can’t just cancel it. Because of the expectations you mentioned, we’ll be in the spotlight continuously. If breakup news comes out, the public will express aggression towards you. If we do this, you really have to date, not just some short act.”
“I don’t mind.”
Hoping my long-time colleagues would feel reassured, I tried to sound as lighthearted as possible and said,
“Being able to date someone as charming as Gaeul is definitely a happiness.”