Childhood Friend Who Sees the Future Utters Nonsense

107 – Prince Charming’s Operation

As I was standing there dumbfounded after hearing the shocking statement, the CEO playfully waved his hand in front of me. For a moment, I thought he was joking, so I couldn’t say anything.

Should I admit the dating rumor? No, I’m admitting it. It’s something I wanted, so I can do it. But what do you mean the CEO planned it from the beginning?

“A bit confusing?”

“Yes, yes… a lot.”

As if he fully understood my feelings of rolling my eyes in all directions, I was so flustered by the words the CEO gave me that my honest feelings spilled out.

“That could be true. It’s not something that would come out easily from the mouth of the CEO of an agency to admit the dating rumors of a rookie idol who just debuted. Do you think the same, Jiwon?”

“… Yes, that’s true. But even so, isn’t this too risky a choice…?”

Sister Jiwon bit her lip as she responded with a worried voice. Normally, that reaction would be normal. To be honest, even I, who brought up this topic, couldn’t understand why the boss readily agreed.

No matter how much someone cares for us, they are definitely not someone who cannot distinguish between public and private matters.

“Actually, if Yuna’s situation was normal, I would have told her to deny this dating rumor.”

“What does ‘ordinary’ mean, sir?”

I tilted my head at the words the owner spoke while drinking the green tea that had been refilled with warm water. It sounded like my situation was different from that of the average celebrity who was involved in a dating scandal.

“Well, let me be honest here. Do you know why fans generally feel aversion to idols dating?”

“Well… I wonder if he’s doing that because he’s worried about being a burden to the team?”

I think it’s because idols are made up of groups, and if one person is in a relationship, there’s a chance that they’ll neglect group activities, so I think they feel a sense of rejection.

As I guessed, the boss smiled bitterly with a mysterious expression on his face. It seemed like my guess was not entirely wrong.

“I think 33 percent is right.”

“So there are at least two other reasons?”

“Yes. The second one is the kind of possessiveness that fans often have toward their idols.”

“Possessiveness… .”

I think I know what you mean. Not all fans are like that, but there are often sasaeng fans or people who are overly obsessed with their idols and fantasize about them as if they were their romantic interest.

Even if it’s not necessarily for that reason, I think a big reason for feeling averse to dating rumors is that it feels like the idol itself is not the fans’ but is in the hands of someone else.

As I nodded as if I understood, the president raised his third finger and said,

“And the third is ‘convincing.’”

“Do you understand?”

This time, I expressed my doubts because it was a bit difficult to understand with just one word. What does it mean to be convinced?

When I tilted my head to the side as if it was ambiguous, in contrast to before, the CEO realized that I didn’t quite understand and added an explanation himself.

“Yuna, did you ever see anything like a fairy tale when you were young?

“Yes, I’ve seen quite a few.”

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“When you see fairy tales, a prince on a white horse usually appears, saves the princess in danger, and falls in love, right?”

“Right… right?”

I don’t remember if there was such a story in any of the fairy tales I’ve read, but I was able to agree with it because it was such a popular story.

“Have you ever thought, while watching that story, ‘Why did the princess fall in love with the prince?’”

“No. It’s a very convincing story.”

He shook his head and denied the boss’s question outright.

When you see such stories, you start to think that it would be natural for such a beautiful princess to fall in love with such a wonderful person.

So, we start rooting for the prince who suddenly appears and hope that he overcomes adversity and marries the princess. This is the universal way of thinking of readers.

“Yes, that’s right. For example, when a dating rumor comes out, how can a fan know what triggered the feelings and how they developed towards that person?”

“Normally, no.”

Unless they appear on a talk show and reveal the details, I just find out that the person I was rooting for is dating someone.

“That’s why I usually don’t understand. The person I cheered for so much and idolized fell in love with a guy who just rolled around somewhere.”

“ah….”

The CEO explains in a somewhat passionate tone, snapping his fingers.

Thanks to you, I think I finally understand what the word ‘convinced’ means that the CEO mentioned. That’s what it meant.

“But, sir… .”

“hmm?”

“Then what do you mean by saying that my circumstances are not ordinary? I don’t quite understand that.”

“Oh, I’ll explain that now. But before that, I have something to tell you, Yuna.”

Suddenly, I felt like the atmosphere had become a little heavy. I think this might be the most serious moment the CEO showed me today.

As I swallowed without realizing it and carefully took my hand off the teacup, the boss, who had been staring at me silently, finally opened his mouth.

“As you know, Siyoon asked me a favor in the past. She asked me not to mention the stalker incident on any variety shows or talk shows.”

“… Yes, I know. Siyoon told me that too.”

Even now, when I think back to that time, I picture Siyoon sitting on the floor with blood dripping down her hands, trying to reassure me, and my voice naturally becomes dark.

The boss must have known that too, because he looked apologetic even though he was the one bringing it up first.

“Yeah, anyway, I tried to grant that request if possible. I didn’t want to bring up any bad memories for you, Yuna.”

The CEO laughs and says, “You must have put in a lot of effort.” Even though he says it jokingly, it’s hard to imagine how much effort he must have put into covering up that story.

From the broadcasting station’s perspective, it must have been a topic they wanted to expose somehow, but they were forced to keep their mouths shut.

“But if you want to make this dating rumor public, I want to proceed in the direction of revealing information about the stalker incident as well.”

“…Can I ask why?”

It wasn’t a question I was asking out of pure curiosity, because I had seen it in a dream, and I knew that all of this would come to light.

Even if I hadn’t known that from the beginning, I never thought that the boss would reveal such a story to me with malicious intent. Nevertheless, the reason I asked the question was literally because I wanted to know what he meant.

“As I said, it’s to convince the public. Would you understand if I said I wanted to make Shiyoon like a prince charming?”

“Oh, yes. I think I know what you mean.”

It was easy to understand him because, except for the fact that he was always by my side, he was no different from a prince charming who showed up and saved me in times of danger.

What the boss meant was that he wanted to give some sort of plausibility and legitimacy to the process by which I began dating Shiyoon. One of the reasons for this would be that she saved my life during the stalker incident.

“I think this story is a fantasy that happened in real life. The main character, a rookie idol who just debuted, almost lost her life at the hands of a stalker, and then a prince charming saved her, and in the end, the two fell in love. Isn’t that a pretty good story?”

That’s not wrong, but it’s a bit creepy to think about it that way. I’ve never thought of myself as a princess in a story.

But on the other hand, I also wanted other people to hear this story. I wanted them to know that my boyfriend is such an amazing and brave person, and that he is a person I miss.

“Anyway, I’m thinking of having a press conference to reveal the news of your relationship and tell the story of you and Siyoon. What do you think?”

“I’m okay. I thought I couldn’t hide the stalker incident forever anyway, and if it’s a reason that the fans can understand, I’d be happy to let them know.”

Shiyoon probably won’t be too happy about this choice. She’s always the fool who puts me first.

But on the other hand, for me, Shiyoon is number one. If this story is revealed, all kinds of talk shows and entertainment programs will cover this topic all the time, but I don’t care about that at all.

Because it’s a price that’s so cheap that it’s almost like we’re throwing a slap on the wrist for the sake of having our love recognized. If fans can be convinced by that, then it’s a really good ending.

“Then it’s decided. Let’s discuss the detailed schedule later, and limit our appearances to the public until the press conference. Got it?”

“Yes. Oh, sir… .”

“hmm?”

Before I could express my gratitude to the boss for thinking of me in such a way, I suddenly had a question and called him without realizing it.

“I know it might be rude to ask you this, but can I ask why you’re doing this to me? If I were the boss, I think I would have told you to hide it no matter what.”

That’s the easiest way. You don’t have to use your head like this, you don’t have to scratch and scratch needlessly, and you don’t have to consider the possibility of something happening, so it’s more efficient for businesspeople to choose that way.

But the boss didn’t do that. He suggested a path that was too difficult to choose, simply because he was the one who cared for us like his daughter. I was curious about the reason.

“Ah, that’s….”

The CEO scratched his cheek awkwardly at my serious gaze and tilted his head as if he was contemplating whether he should tell me about this or not.

And then all of a sudden,

“I had the same accident as you when I was little. Ahaha… .”

“…yes?”

He made an unexpected confession.

What do you mean, the boss had the same accident as me?

“Yuna, you might not know because you’re young, but when the president debuted as a singer, he revealed that he was dating a year later… .”

“Huh!? Really?”

Sister Jiwon, who was standing next to me with a puzzled expression on her face, kindly explained to me.

I hadn’t even thought that the CEO was of the same type as me, so I glared at him and asked if it was true. Then the CEO smiled awkwardly and avoided eye contact.

Even in the past, wasn’t the perception of public relationships worse than they are now? And yet, you committed such an act?

“Now, wait a minute! Then why were you so angry when the rumor about your senior colleague’s relationship broke out a while ago?”

Only then did I realize that something was inconsistent, and for a moment I forgot that the person I was talking to was my boss. I asked in an agitated tone, as if I was scolding him.

Then a word came out of the boss’ mouth.

“The other person has a bad reputation in this industry. If you’re going to date someone, date a decent person. Ugh… .”

“… … .”

The moment I heard those words, somehow my worries up until now felt incredibly foolish.