Childhood Friend Who Sees the Future Utters Nonsense

115 – The Mind Already Made Up

It was something I couldn’t understand from the very first words. What does that mean, that you don’t want to work with Yuna? Surely you don’t mean to tell me to debut as an idol.

When I looked at him as if I was asking for an explanation, the president smiled bitterly, perhaps feeling that he had not been able to explain enough.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t explain it well enough. Don’t worry, I’m not suddenly asking you to come as a trainee.”

Yes, I also believed that it wouldn’t be the case. Even if I put aside the visual aspect, I thought that a CEO who had met me even once would never suggest something like becoming an idol.

“Actually, as you know, Siyoon, it’s become trendy for idols to produce a lot of content outside of broadcasts, such as on YouTube.”

“Yeah, JX was like that too.”

JX is the most representative male idol group that has recently created a Korean Wave craze. They are also a group that has achieved the number one spot on overseas charts, and now they are reigning as artists that compete for the top spot not only in Korea but also around the world.

And the biggest reason they were able to succeed in overseas markets was the vast amount of content they produced themselves. They devised a marketing strategy to convey the members’ charms to overseas markets through that.

After that, other idols also started to approach their fans by showing their more human side through vlogs and reality programs.

When I brought up information about the entertainment industry that I knew in brief, even if I didn’t know the details, the CEO nodded his head and smiled as if he was satisfied.

“You know me well, so the story will be quick. By the way, Siyoon wants to ask you to produce videos for Armo’s YouTube channel.”

“Yes? Are you talking to me…?”

I was momentarily dumbfounded by the unexpected suggestion.

That’s understandable, Jane Entertainment is a huge company that can be called one of the top three entertainment agencies in South Korea.

Although it is said to be inferior to the other two agencies in terms of size, it is not a company that is short on manpower to the point of needing a high school student like me. So why are you making this offer to me?

As I was trying to guess her intentions, my eyes inadvertently turned to Yuna, who was sitting across from me. As of now, there was only one reason I could infer.

“If it’s because I’m Yuna’s boyfriend….”

“Haha, no way. No matter what, I’m not the kind of person who would entrust such an important task to someone just based on their connections.”

When I spoke with concern, the president waved his hand and glanced at Yuna. Instead, his eyes seemed to be asking for an explanation.

“Actually, I told the boss a while ago that you were working as an editor for YouTube. I guess he looked up a lot of the videos you made after that.”

“Did you look for it?”

“Yeah, especially the vlog videos that Aunt Mirae filmed, you edited them all?”

“That’s right… right.”

Since my editing style tends to be more calm and neat rather than fast and funny like the current YouTube trend, I thought it would suit vlog videos well, so I edited all of the videos myself.

I tried to make the subtitles as gentle as possible, like a terrestrial travel show, but it seems like Yuna’s boss saw it.

“After that, he asked the PD who produces our content. He said it looked really good and suggested that we give it a try.”

“Even the PD?”

I found myself blinking my eyes like a goldfish, dumbfounded by the shocking truth.

Sometimes, the editors and the boss around me would compliment me a lot, but I thought they were just formalities since they were people who worked in the same workplace.

Then, when I got a review from an outsider, even an expert, that said it was okay, I was quite taken aback. Is this a dream or reality?

“Of course, that doesn’t mean I’ll leave all the video up to you. So, you don’t have to feel pressured. If you’re interested in digging deeper into this, why don’t you try it out and learn from it?”

“ah….”

After Yuna finished speaking, the president’s further explanation made me reflexively exclaim in admiration.

I never dreamed that I would receive such an offer. No, if I ever had a fantasy, I would have sold my conscience. It is that unrealistic.

Although the most accessible part of this industry is usually the editing side of YouTuber or Inbang, people tend to turn to corporate video editing, which usually pays a lot.

However, since the pay is high, they have to support their skills, and they tend to only hire people who have been verified to some extent. This means that there is absolutely no reason to hire a mere high school student editor like me.

Nevertheless, the fact that I received this offer and was recognized for my skills based solely on a single video I made was a special feeling. For me, who had been living a hopeless life without thinking that I was particularly good at anything, it was like the first time I felt like I was being shown a path.

“And from what I heard from Yuna, you’re also involved in content creation?”

“Yes, I guess that’s part of the editor’s job.”

I nodded to the following question, feeling a mixture of emotions.

Actually, not all editors participate in content creation, but in my case, our CEO himself is a large internet broadcaster, so we constantly need to create content, so I often participate in meetings about it. Sometimes, we call this the Redongbu meeting.

There have been cases where some of the content I gave my opinion on through meetings was selected and went on to be produced as videos. It’s not that it’s a big deal, though.

“In that sense, I think it would be good if you could suggest content that would suit Yuna well. After all, you, Siyoon, are the one who knows Yuna as well as her parents, or maybe even better.”

“So does that mean I feel like Yuna’s exclusive editor?”

As I listened to what you said, I felt like you were looking for an editor who specialized in Yuna rather than the entire Armo YouTube channel, so I asked, and you made a look of being stung.

“Is that so? That’s not a bad thing. Later, when Yuna becomes independent, she can become a full-time editor.”

I never thought you would see that future. Well, it’s true that these days, it’s common for celebrities to work on YouTube in addition to their broadcasting stations.

Especially in Yuna’s case, she won’t be able to be a member of Armo forever, so there’s a possibility that she’ll have to prepare for that in advance. But it feels strange that the CEO of her agency is realistically pointing that out, of all people.

“Anyway, I called you today to make this proposal. It’s not urgent, so just give me an answer before the end of the year.”

The CEO smiled bitterly and said he was sorry for causing me trouble during my busy time with the college entrance exam. To be honest, it was just a happy worry for me, so I didn’t really have any reason to apologize.

The thing that worried me the most was whether I should give an answer here, but I am truly grateful for the grace period on that point. I will have to think about it carefully in the future.

“Oh, and lastly, I’m sorry for your hardships. Don’t worry, your path will be smooth from now on, and just think about getting along well with Yuna.”

“…thank you.”

As we bowed our heads, Yuna and I realized once again that we were very lucky to have met such a great person as our first boss.

Finally, I exchanged numbers with CEO Yuna, said goodbye, and quietly got up from my seat.

“Hey, hey… The boss is here too…!”

“So what? Now that the boss has given us his approval, we’re in a relationship.”

At that moment, I was startled by Yuna’s action of hugging my arm tightly, but my girlfriend, who had come out shamelessly, winked at the boss as if asking, “Are you okay?”

Meanwhile, the boss just looked at us two with a fatherly smile, as if he was pleased. I feel sorry once again.

We left the company building, promising to meet the CEO again.

***

It’s a strange feeling. Until recently, holding hands outside would have been something of a taboo for us.

This moment, where I hold hands with Yuna, who doesn’t even cover her face, and hurries my steps toward home without even getting in the car, feels new.

Before debut, it was a familiar scene. Familiarity turns into newness, and that newness comes back as another newness disguised as familiarity. I guess I really don’t know how the world works.

“Siyoon.”

“huh?”

“It’s so amazing when the two of them walk like this, holding hands, isn’t it?”

“I know.”

Yuna must have felt the same way as I did, because she smiled brightly and even put her hand on mine. The warmth that was transmitted between our fingers made me feel particularly embarrassed today.

“Anyway, what are you going to do?”

“Your boss’s suggestion?”

“Yeah, it’s a good enough place as it is, so it won’t be easy to choose right away.”

“Yes, working in a new place is not an easy choice.”

He nodded at Yuna’s words and raised his head as if looking somewhere in the distance.

It’s a good place. Above all, I’m grateful to my current boss who helped me start my career as an editor, so I’d like to work here as much as possible.

But apart from that, if you ask only about personal desires, excluding a sense of duty, well, maybe the answer would be a little different.

“First, focus on studying until the CSAT, and then I’ll tell you later.”

“Do whatever you want. Don’t worry about what I think.”

As he said that, he seemed to want something, and his hand tightened around hers, and she burst out laughing. I guess his true intentions were different.

“What are your honest feelings?”

“… I want to work with you, idiot. Why are you asking because you don’t know that?”

My girlfriend was quite cute as she pouts without even trying to hide her blushing cheeks at my rebuke. On the other hand, it was also a new feeling to see her reveal her true feelings, which she would have kept hidden in the past.

“You’ve really become more honest, Han Yu-na.”

“Hey, don’t be so sly.”

“Okay, okay.”

Her occasional burst of sassy charm still makes me think she’s the Han Yuna I knew, but other than that, she really seems like a different person than before. If I had to put it into words, I’d say she’s become more lovable.

Anyway, hearing that honest wish, I feel like my heart is leaning a little to one side. It was like that originally, but now I feel like the decision is becoming more and more firm in my heart.

It seems like the feeling I had when I saw GFriend shining brightly in the audience during the showcase stage is coming back to me.

“Why, why are you staring at me like that? Is there something on my face?”

Maybe it was because I was staring at Yuna so intently while reminiscing about that time. I couldn’t help but smile at my girlfriend’s actions of slowly backing away without letting go of my hand, her face reddening.

Here’s a perfect example of the head and body working separately.

“Just because it’s pretty.”

“… Hey, what’s going on? You’re saying such wonderful things.”

As I shrugged my shoulders and replied lightly, Yuna continued to sway and pressed her body closer to mine. I nodded my head alone as if I realized the warmth that I could feel even more than before.

As expected, my thoughts back then were not wrong.

I want to be by Yuna’s side.