“Why are you so surprised? It’s more convincing if I speak directly, isn’t it?”
“That’s true, but… you usually don’t do stuff like this, right?”
Cha Soyeon is one of the hardest-to-see actors on variety shows.
Because of her sharp eye for choosing projects and her almost flawless track record, she’s never needed to promote through entertainment shows.
When Cha Soyeon’s name is attached, good ratings and success are practically guaranteed, so neither her agency nor production companies push her to appear on variety programs.
And yet, here she was, offering to appear in a struggling idol group’s YouTube video.
The buzz this would generate was obvious — but would this really be okay?
The company might hate this even more than exposing the group’s shabby dorm.
“I only avoid variety shows because I don’t want to waste energy I could use for acting. It’s not that I hate them.”
“But this isn’t a waste?”
“If it satisfies my curiosity, it’s worth the energy.”
“Curiosity?”
“It’s personal, so don’t try to figure it out. Now, are you going to tell me the moving time or not?”
Sensing I shouldn’t press any further, I just told her the time.
She reassured me that if she wanted to do this, not even the chairman could stop her — so I shouldn’t worry.
It felt like she could read my mind.
“Moving day …”
The place was old and cramped, but at least it didn’t look dirty.
Yeoreum had tidied up just enough so it wouldn’t seem staged, exactly as I asked.
“People might say, ‘This is a girl group’s dorm? Seriously?’ But for struggling groups, this is pretty common. Still, we tried to keep it clean, so it’s not too unpleasant. The cramped layout, well… that’s out of our hands.”
Yeoreum and Rina walked around the dorm like they were hosting a home tour show, while the camera followed their movements.
As my senior mentioned, the director and cameraman clearly knew what they were doing.
“It’s a shame. I really thought their second album would take off…”
I overheard the director mutter.
I chimed in from the side.
“It will — with the next album. We’ll be counting on you, so please make this one great.”
“Wait — Red Blossom is making a comeback?”
“Within three months.”
I’d heard the rumors around the company.
A restructuring, including some team terminations, was rumored to happen in three months.
That was the time we had left.
It took about an hour to pack their things and load them into the truck.
Since the real estate paperwork was being handled by the chief, we just had to head to the new place.
After texting Cha Soyeon, we set off — without telling the girls she’d be there.
I wanted to capture their genuine reactions.
*
“KYAAAA! Oh my god, I’m your fan!”
Rina shrieked like a dolphin and ran toward Cha Soyeon.
“C-Cha Soyeon…?”
Even Sera, who rarely got flustered, stood there with her mouth wide open, pointing in disbelief.
“No… way…”
Yeoreum dropped the bag she was holding, completely frozen.
“Holy— It’s… It’s really Cha Soyeon!”
Even the cameraman lost his cool.
After all, when would anyone get a chance to film someone like her up close?
She was just wearing a casual shirt, jeans, and a loosely worn trench coat — but she still radiated elegance.
No matter what she wore, her sophisticated aura was undeniable.
Now I understood why people always talked about her like she was on another level.
“Close your mouth, you’ll catch flies.”
Yeoreum, finally snapping out of it, pouted as she sidled up to me.
“Hey, you’re just as pretty, so don’t get too down.”
“Pfft. That’s a forced compliment.”
At first, she kept things strictly professional — but now the distance between us had almost vanished.
I guess she really believed I had the group’s best interests at heart.
As we watched, Cha Soyeon noticed us and walked over.
“Oh, hello!”
Yeoreum stumbled backward, bowing nervously.
“You’re so pretty.”
“Huh?”
“It’s okay if I speak casually, right?”
Cha Soyeon was two years younger than me — which made her three years older than Yeoreum.
“O-Of course!”
“Call me unnie. Let’s be close from now on.”
Then she pulled Yeoreum into a light hug.
Yeoreum’s eyes went round as saucers, freezing up again.
*
The director and cameraman followed the four of them around with looks of amazement.
The initial awkwardness disappeared almost immediately — the girls moved through the house chatting like sisters.
The Red Blossom members were always expressive, but the transformation in Cha Soyeon was so drastic, I was left speechless.
“What happened to that emotionless face I saw before? She can laugh and chat like this?”
[It’s fascinating, isn’t it?]
“What is?”
[That girl — she’s acting out every emotion she shows.]
“Acting… her emotions?”
[When the gods created humans and gave them emotions, they set an ideal standard. Joy, sorrow, anger, despair, jealousy, compassion… They created perfect examples of each. The emotions she displays are the closest to that ideal.]
I couldn’t wrap my head around it.
Aren’t emotions something you just feel?
Actors amplify those feelings through their craft, sure — but they’re still based on real emotions, right?
[Her emotions are completely hollow. That smile you see? It’s her decision to appear joyful — and her performance is flawless.]
I glanced back at Cha Soyeon’s radiant smile.
It was so warm and genuine that I couldn’t help but feel happy just seeing it.
But that was all an act?
*
“Unnie, can I ask you something?”
Yeoreum held Cha Soyeon’s hand.
“Of course.”
“When our manager asked you to help with our dorm… why did you agree?”
“What do you mean?”
“We don’t really have any connection, right? It’s hard to understand why you’d go out of your way to get us a place this nice, just because our manager asked.”
“You might not know it, but I felt like I could trust Juwon.”
“Our manager…?”
“You know he saved me in the parking lot, right?”
“Yeah, but…”
“I was too out of it to thank him properly at the time — but when I checked the security footage later, I realized just how dangerous that situation was. That man came at me with a knife this big — and Juwon fought him off barehanded.”
She gestured with her hands to show the knife’s terrifying size.
“Wait… seriously?”
“You haven’t seen the footage, right? I’ll show you.”
She tapped on her tablet and pulled up the security video.
It was the same action-movie-like footage the divine spirit had manipulated.
Rina kept whispering “unbelievable” over and over.
Sera covered her mouth with both hands in shock.
Yeoreum stared back and forth between the screen and me, her face blank with disbelief.
This wasn’t some exaggerated TV reaction — she was genuinely stunned.
The cameraman moved in closer, capturing both the intense video and the girls’ reactions.
Everything fell into place as if it had all been choreographed in advance.
Come to think of it, Cha Soyeon never actually mentioned how she wanted this filmed.
“This feels too staged.”
It was true that she asked to reveal she was the one who arranged the new dorm.
That way, when the video went public, there wouldn’t be any unnecessary rumors.
But now, they were even showing CCTV footage and highlighting my so-called heroics.
Sure, the fact that I helped them was true — but this felt like unnecessary embellishment.
I was about to stop the shoot when the PD whispered to me.
“Soyeon specifically asked us to film it this way.”
“We don’t need the CCTV footage. And the reactions are way too exaggerated. Let’s stop and reshoot.”
“Soyeon told us to keep going without any cuts. She insisted we shoot it like this.”
“You keep bringing up Soyeon, but who’s the one hiring you? I’m the one paying for this production.”
“We don’t need your money anymore. Soyeon just offered five times your budget.”
Seriously?
They switched clients on me just like that?
“Please step aside. From now on, Soyeon’s our client.”
Just like that, the camera’s control shifted entirely to Cha Soyeon.
“So I told him he could get me a sports car or a luxury apartment — but compared to the value of my life, those are just small things.”
“Exactly.”
“But instead, he asked me to arrange a better dorm for you guys. He said no matter how unsuccessful you might be, no girl group should have to live in a place like that. I was so touched. I thought — wow, there really are managers like this.”
This was the same woman who said she avoided variety shows because she didn’t want to waste her energy.
Yet here she was, pouring all that energy into hyping me up for a tiny YouTube video.
What’s going on here?
Every time the nation’s top actress praised me, the three girl group members clapped like seals, eyes shining with admiration.
The camera captured every moment from different angles, like they were filming a documentary.
Whatever instructions Soyeon had given them, they were clearly putting in extra effort.
The four women created a stage where they showered me with praise, completely losing track of time.
*
“This isn’t what we talked about yesterday. Why are you going so over the top?”
“Did I lie about anything? You said it was fine to tell the truth.”
I was speechless.
I criticized the exaggerated reactions, but Soyeon focused on the facts.
And the truth was — she hadn’t lied.
“Didn’t you say you’d even cover the production costs yourself? Juwon, are you some kind of philanthropist?”
“Well, that’s not exactly—”
“How much can a manager even make? Why are you spending so much on them? Are you expecting them to pay you back later?”
I didn’t mind her questioning my generosity — but I couldn’t let that last part slide.
My kindness wasn’t transactional, and I wouldn’t let anyone suggest otherwise.
“I think you’re misunderstanding something. I’m doing all this to help the artists I manage shine. I’m not expecting them to pay me back — not now, not ever. And I know you and the company people will say there’s no such thing as selfless goodwill, but listen carefully.”
My voice grew louder without me realizing it.
“The only thing I want is for Red Blossom to succeed. I want them to shake off the ‘failed idol’ label, make a glorious comeback, shoot up the charts, win music show trophies, and cry while giving their acceptance speeches. That’s all I want. That’s my only wish.”
“And what about you, Juwon?”
“What about me?”
“Let’s say Red Blossom makes their big comeback. What do you get out of it?”
“I already told you. I get to stand by their side and watch them shine brighter than anyone else. That’s my reward.”
As I passionately defended myself, Cha Soyeon stared at me with an expression that was hard to read — disbelief, maybe.
Meanwhile, the three girls listened quietly, tears welling in their eyes.
And without me realizing it, the camera crew captured the entire moment from behind.
*
A week later, Red Blossom’s official channel finally uploaded a new video — their first in a long time.
With so few subscribers, I wasn’t expecting immediate reactions.
I just hoped the algorithm would pick it up and spread it through word of mouth.
But the channel exploded within a day.
That was because Cha Soyeon, with her millions of followers, posted this on Instagram.
I made an appearance on this YouTube channel.