The next morning, the internet was buzzing with one major headline: Yeppo Gumiho was allegedly one of the trainees. We were at the studio waiting for our dance instructor, and everyone was talking about it.
Someone was playing a game—but who?
"Who do you think it could be?"
"No idea. But isn't it exciting? For the first time, someone became famous without a major company backing them—and now they might be one of us."
"Maybe the company knew all along, and they're planning to make it a surprise at the finale."
"But if that were true, wouldn't they wait and reveal it at the finale?"
"Unless someone from the staff leaked the info."
"That's possible."
I wasn't really joining in on the conversations. One of them knew my secret... but which one?
Just then, the instructor's voice pulled me out of my thoughts.
"Eyes up here, everyone. Focus. For the next performance, you'll be divided into groups. Three teams of four. We, your instructors, have already chosen the groups. This week, you'll need to work harder than ever and pay close attention—because two trainees with the lowest votes will be eliminated."
The moment she mentioned eliminations, the room filled with anxious whispers.
"Isn't it too soon for that?"
"I'm not ready to go home yet."
"I ranked low last time... it's probably me."
"Listen up. Half of your scores will come from us, your trainers. So don't fall into a losing mindset. You still have a real chance. Now let's announce the groups."
Everyone leaned in, eager to find out who they'd be paired with.
"First team: Hannah, Chan Mi, Aera, and lastly, Hae Yoon."
Fantastic. Just fantastic. Hannah and I barely tolerated each other. And Chan Mi? She was basically Hannah's shadow. If anyone had broken into my room, it was likely one of them. They were always telling me to quit, and now I was ranked first. Of course, exposing a secret like mine would benefit them the most.
Hae Yoon, on the other hand, kept to herself. Quieter than even me. Until we were assigned to the same team, I hadn't really noticed her. All I knew was that she'd been training longer than most of us. I smiled—as much as someone in my situation could—while waiting for the rest of the teams to be announced.
The others were lucky. Most of them ended up in their usual groups. Meanwhile, Hannah reacted to our team assignment by dramatically complaining—loud enough for everyone to hear.
"One's a lucky rookie with zero training, and the other came dead last. What a dream team."
"I'm not exactly thrilled either," I replied.
"What was that?"
"If I were truly lucky, I wouldn't be stuck on a team with you."
"Look at that. You win once and suddenly you've grown a mouth. If I were you, I'd be careful. That top spot can slip away real quick."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Just a friendly warning."
Before I could snap back, our instructor called for silence. But Hannah… she was acting like someone who knew exactly what I was hiding.
"Now that the teams are set," the instructor continued, "you'll each choose your own performance song."
Hannah immediately jumped in."I should be the leader."
She didn't even bother asking anyone."I thought we were supposed to vote on that?" I said.
"And who else do you think can handle this better than me?"
"I don't know. Maybe someone else also wants to be the leader?"
"What a waste of time. But fine—let's ask. Does anyone else want to be the leader?"
Silence.
And just like that, Hannah became the leader.
"Anyone wants to be the center?" she asked.
If I had been placed in another team, I would've stayed out of it. But with Hannah and her bossy little act—I wasn't having it.
"I want to be the center."
She didn't look pleased."I don't think you can handle it."
"And who are you, exactly?"
She was clearly annoyed. I was loving it.
"Fine then. Sing this part, and I'll sing after you. The team will decide who's better."
Of course, one of them was her shadow and the other one agreed with her on everything. What were the odds, right?
She pointed at a section of the song, and I began to sing.
One of the instructors happened to walk over while I was singing.
"Aera is an excellent choice for center and main vocal," she said. "I'm impressed you already sorted out the roles and started rehearsing. Keep it up."
I turned to Hannah with a small smile."Looks like I'm the center and the main vocal. Can't argue with a professional's opinion, right?"
Hannah looked like she was going to explode but couldn't say a word. The rest of the team's roles were soon decided.
Since I wasn't strong in dance, I had no choice but to follow Hannah's lead there.
If Jackie were here, he would've helped me… But now he was gone. And I didn't even know if he remembered me or not. That thought brought my mood down again.
"Hey rookie! Focus. Your dancing's weak. You'll have to work twice as hard to keep up with us."
As much as I wanted to snap back at her, unfortunately… she was right.
While everyone else had gone for lunch, I kept practicing.If I'd started something, I had to do more than just my best.Originally, my plan had been to leave the competition after saving Jackie—but since I couldn't even reach him, I had no choice but to stay… at least until I could.
After about an hour of practice, I headed toward the cafeteria to grab something cold to drink—and that's when I saw Jackie.He was with his manager.Physically, he looked fine.I had to know… did he remember me or not?
I ran toward him.
"Jackie!"
Jackie looked startled, but before he could speak, his manager stepped between us.
"Is that how you talk to your seniors? Don't waste our time—we have a meeting to attend."
"I'm sorry. Jackie sunbaenim, do you remember me?"
"I—I…"Before he could finish, the manager grabbed his arm and pulled him toward the elevator.I followed them.
"Sunbae?"
"I'm really busy right now. And you should watch your behavior. We don't want any misunderstandings, do we?"
He stepped into the elevator, and all I could do was stand there and stare as the doors closed.
"What the hell was that?"
What was up with Jackie?And who the hell did that manager think he was?He was seriously getting on my nerves.
"What was what?"
Chuwon sunbaenim had appeared beside me, looking in the same direction I was.
"Sunbae? It's nothing. I just tried talking to Jackie, but he's acting really strange. His manager is even worse—keeps cutting me off like I'm a threat or something. Who does he think he is?"
"You won't get any answers staring at that elevator. Come on, let's sit down."
We headed to a small café and sat down.
"Jackie's behavior isn't just bothering you. It's causing waves across the entire company. And his manager following him around like a shadow? That's because of you."
"Me? What does this have to do with me?"
"Ever since the rumor about me and Jackie fighting, his manager's been in damage control mode. He doesn't want Jackie's name tied to any kind of scandal. Especially not involving you. Every time he sees me, it's like he's staring at his worst enemy."
"Is he out of his damn mind?"
"I don't know. After all the weird stuff I've seen lately, everything kinda makes sense now."
I crumpled a napkin on the table and threw it at him.
"Has anyone ever told you how annoying you are?"
He paused like he was seriously thinking about it."Let me think... Nope. People usually just tell me how amazing I am."
"Well, there's a first time for everything, sunbaenim. You're annoying."
"If you told me you were a vampire right now, I'd believe you. I heard one of the interns might be a yeppo gumiho. If you said you were the yeppo gumiho, I wouldn't even be surprised."
The moment she heard that, Aera choked on her coffee and sprayed it all over Chuwon sunbae. She coughed violently.
"Ahh! What was that?!"
After the coughing stopped, she grabbed some tissues and tried to clean Chuwon's shirt, but he was wearing white—now completely stained with coffee.
"I'm so sorry, sunbae."
"There's a meeting. I can't show up like this."
"Can't you borrow a shirt from the wardrobe room?"
After a brief pause, he stood up.
"Follow me."
"Why am I coming with you? You know where it is."
"I do. But while I'm changing, you'll stand guard and make sure no one comes in."
"But sunbae, I need to work."
He pointed at his shirt. "You should've thought of that before doing this."
She frowned."Then please be quick."
...
Aera stood outside the wardrobe room waiting for Chuwon to finish changing. A few staff members had tried to enter, but she couldn't exactly say "Chuwon sunbae is changing inside," so she had to make up excuses.
Then the elevator dinged. She looked up to see who it was.
It was Jackie. And thankfully, his annoying manager wasn't with him.
She left the door and rushed over.
"Jackie."
"Aera."
He remembered her name. If he remembered her, then why hadn't he spoken to her at all? Not even a single attempt to reach out?
"Why did you—?"
Before she could finish, a loud scream came from the wardrobe room. Jackie ran toward it, and only then did she remember Chuwon sunbae. She hurried after him.
While Chuwon had been changing, one of the female staff had walked in to grab clothes—and caught him half-naked.
He was going to kill her.
Aera decided her best move was to blend into the chaos and escape. She had just turned to leave when Chuwon's voice cut through the crowd.
"Rookie! I told you to guard the door! Where were you?"
"Sunbae, I'm so sorry—I got distracted with something else."
Chuwon's eyes landed on Jackie in the crowd.
"Something else, huh? You couldn't even handle a simple task like standing by a door."
He looked furious and left without another word. He was right, but still—he had come down on her too harshly.
Jackie's gaze also held anger. What was he mad about? If anyone should be angry, it was her. She had consoled herself thinking Jackie had forgotten her—but he hadn't. He just chose not to talk to her.
She looked into Jackie's eyes and then turned away, following after Chuwon sunbae.
...
He entered his office, and she followed, quietly closing the door behind her.
"I want to be alone."
"Sunbae, please let me apologize. I thought no one would come for five minutes. You trusted me, and I was irresponsible."
"What do you think I'm mad about?"
"Because I left the door, right?"
"I'm angry at your attitude. I know you don't like me, but you can't put one person at the center of your universe and ignore everything else. I asked for your help, and the moment you saw Jackie, you shifted your priority. Do I mean nothing to you? Did you even get what you were looking for?"
She understood exactly what he meant. But pretending not to was easier.
"Sunbae, I..."
She lowered her head and shook it slowly.
"You're a real friend to me. I never meant to hurt you. There was just something I had to find out."
"Did you find it?"
"Yes."
"I suppose it wasn't what you expected. Do you want to talk about it?"
"Let's not, sunbae."
"Alright, then forget it. Just focus on the competition. I apologize too—I overreacted. I have to get to the meeting now. We'll talk later."
She didn't mean to hurt Chuwon, but it still happened, and that made her feel worse. She had believed that saving Jackie would bring her answers, but things only got more complicated. She had gotten used to having Jackie by her side—everything now felt harder.
Jackie remembered her and was choosing to ignore her. Why?
Was he only nice because he needed her?
No. Jackie wasn't like that.
A message notification pulled her out of her thoughts.
"If you don't drop out of the competition, I'll leak these photos online—say the judges are biased toward you."
The photos showed her getting out of Chuwon's car.
Just what she needed.
"Who are you?"
"Someone who knows your secrets."
It had to be Hannah—but what could Aera do? If she caused drama, she might be disqualified. She felt trapped.
She wanted to reply—but the sender had already blocked her.
She had no intention of quitting. She had a YouTube channel, but she kept her identity hidden out of shame. And the photos with Chuwon? Who cared? They were friends. Was that illegal?
She needed proof it was Hannah. And she knew who to ask: Jess.
Maybe Jess had seen someone around her room.
She knocked on Jess's door.
"Oh hey, Aera! Do you need something?"
"Sorry to bother you. Yesterday morning, I think I left my door unlocked. When I got back last night, my things had clearly been touched. Did you see anyone around?"
Jess's eyes widened.
"Did something get stolen? Was it a thief? That's terrifying!"
"No, nothing's missing. But someone definitely went through my things."
"That's even worse. You should report this."
She shook her head.
"Not yet. I want to figure out who did it first."
"Do you suspect anyone?"
"I don't want to accuse anyone without proof. But it might be Hannah. She doesn't like me."
"Hannah? No way."
"Why not?"
"She went out last night to celebrate her ranking with the other girls."
"How do you know?"
"They invited me too, but you know... family issues. I didn't go. I think they meant to invite you, but maybe they forgot?"
She looked embarrassed.
"No, they didn't forget. Hannah just doesn't like me. It's fine."
"I'm sorry."
"Then who went into my room? One of the staff?"
"Wait... yesterday, when I went out to get a drink, I saw Hae Yoon on the stairs. She looked startled when she saw me."
"Hae Yoon?"
That quiet intern? They'd barely spoken. Why would she threaten Aera?
"Thanks. Could you please keep this between us? It might just be a misunderstanding."
"Of course. Just be careful."
...
She found Hae Yoon practicing in an empty studio. Aera knocked and walked in. Hae Yoon looked surprised.
"We need to talk."
"About what?"
Aera closed the door and stepped closer, pulling out her phone.
"I know it was you."
Hae Yoon's face turned pale at the sight of the messages.
She began packing up.
"I don't know what you're talking about. I'm busy."
"Why did you do it?"
She stopped moving.
"Unni? What did I ever do to you? Did someone force you?"
She dropped her towel and turned to face Aera.
"No one forced me. I just couldn't stand someone like you walking into something I've been working toward for years. This is my last chance. But you? You're already famous. And now you're here, stealing the spotlight. How is that fair?"
"I—I'm sorry. That wasn't my intention."
"Of course it wasn't. And you even have Chuwon sunbae's support. While the rest of us work hard, you're climbing to the top using connections."
"You're wrong. I'm not dismissing anyone's effort. I'm working harder to catch up. And I'm not afraid of your threats. Post the photos. Say I own that channel. Chuwon is my friend. I don't care who knows. I'm here to prove myself."
"You're wasting your time on petty games. I won't report you—but next time, I won't be so kind."
Hae Yoon hadn't expected this. Her face showed it.
Aera's phone rang. She left the studio to answer.
"Hello?"
"Hello, Miss Kang? I'm your father's doctor. I need to speak with you in person today—it's important."
Her heart pounded in fear.
"Is something wrong with him?"
"No, he's stable. But something unusual is happening. I'd like to explain face to face."
"I'll be there soon."
She rushed back to her room, grabbed her bag, and ran outside. There were no taxis in sight. That's when a sleek black car pulled up.
Jackie.
"We need to talk."
She ignored him and kept scanning for a cab. But nothing.
Out of desperation, she opened the door and got in.
"I'm not here to talk. I'm going to the hospital. Drive."
Jackie started the car but kept asking questions.
"Is your father okay?"
"His doctor told me to come urgently."
She didn't answer anything else. She had no intention of talking.
When they arrived, Jackie put on a mask and sunglasses. Celebrity habits.
"The doctor asked me to come right away. Is something wrong?"
"Please, sit down."
Jackie was glancing nervously.
"He's with me. It's fine. Please go ahead."
"When we admitted your father, we didn't expect recovery. But since yesterday, there's been a drastic improvement. His tests are improving, and if this continues, he may be discharged soon."
Good news at last.
She jumped up and hugged Jackie—then immediately stepped away, remembering she was still upset with him. His brother's medicine had saved her father.
"Are you sure?"
"Absolutely."
They left the hospital.
"We need to talk."
"I have nothing to say to you."
He pulled up the leaked photo of her getting out of Chuwon's car. Hae Yoon had posted it.
She sighed.
"What do you want? You ignored me for weeks. What changed?"
"I wasn't ignoring you."
"Really?"
"In public, yes. I thought you didn't want attention."
"What?"
"Every time Chuwon talked to you, the others looked ready to tear you apart. But judging by the photos, I guess that doesn't bother you anymore."
She punched him in the face.
"Ow! My face!"
"You deserved that. Maybe more. I avoided him for your sake. But he's been the kindest person to me here. He's my friend. Of course I'm not ashamed to be seen with him."
"Are you in love with Chuwon?"
She raised her fist again.
"Are you stupid or just acting like it? I tried reaching out, and you ran away. I thought you forgot everything—but you remembered and still ignored me. Now you're jealous?"
"I was trying to find time alone to talk. I..."
"No more excuses. I'm done."
She turned to walk away. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her into a tight hug.
"I've waited so long for this moment. When I was a ghost, I couldn't feel anything. But now, it feels complete."
Hearing his heartbeat and breath, she realized what he meant. She began to cry.
"When you ignored me, I felt completely abandoned. Like I didn't matter anymore."
"I'm so sorry. But I can't talk to you openly. People are already attacking you. I didn't want you to suffer."
"I don't care about that anymore."
He pulled her closer and kissed her.
"I love you."
She smiled.
"I haven't forgiven you yet. You have to earn it."
He took her hand and kissed it.
"I'll do everything I can."