Dating an Idol

Twenty-Five: NEW-FOUND NICHE

The door to the stockroom opened and Jin Ae came in.

"Are they still here?" I asked her.

"Yup, those girls are still outside the café. And the worse thing is, it looks like they have doubled in numbers now," she said.

"Arghhh. What shall I do now?" I am starting to panic.

We're in the coffee shop where I work a part-time job. Unfortunately, some fangirls began showing up. I didn't know how they found out where I work but they started gathering outside. I had to hide in the stockroom to avoid creating a commotion.

"Was it really true?" Jin Ae asked.

"What?" I replied.

"That you are dating Eun of Crest 88?"

"Of course, not."

"But those photos look so real. Are they fake? Like edited?"

"Uhmmm, no. They're real."

"So you're really dating Eun?"

"No, no. Those photos were real but I don't date Eun."

"Then how come… Why were you with him? How did you know him?" She looked confused.

"It's a long story. But one thing's for sure, I am not dating Eun. That's some fake news right there," I said. "Gosh, what shall I do?"

"It looks like you're not getting out of the shop alive."

I looked at her.

She grinned. "I was just kidding. Wait, let me just check on them again," she said before she left the stockroom.

It took her five minutes to come back.

"Did they leave already?" I asked her.

"Unfortunately, no. And it looks like they don't have any plans of leaving the place anytime soon," she said. "Gosh, what are those kids doing here? I mean, they're in school uniforms. Aren't they supposed to be in school?"

"Same question."

"Oh, by the way, the manager asked me to tell you to go home for now. He said you can't work here unless the issue dies down as it will affect the business." She looked sad to be the bearer of bad news. "I'm so sorry."

"I see." I was starting to feel sad, too. "I understand."

"Will you be okay?" she asked.

"Yup, don't worry. I will be okay."

"By the way, Yuri… uhmmm… is it possible to ask for Eun's sign from you?"

I heaved a deep sigh before I looked her in the eyes. "I'm sorry, Jin Ae, but I can't possibly do that. I don't even have his contact number."

"Oh, I see." She looked disappointed. "So you are not really that close."

"Yes, I wasn't really that close to Eun, I'm sorry."

"That's fine. I need to go back out there now."

Jin Ae left the stockroom.

I changed into a loose hoodie and quietly left the shop through the exit door. I wore a face mask, too, and hoped that no one would recognize me this time.

This is crazy. Why do those fangirls have a lot of time in their hands to hunt me down? And why does Skye's agency haven't released any statement yet about Eun and I's dating scandal? I just want the peace in my life back.

The irony, I thought. I've wanted to become an idol all my life, right? Yet here I am affected by this dating scandal.

I should know how to deal with all of this better.

But then Skye may be right. Maybe I should have just stayed home. I sighed.

My mind was all over the place when I passed by a child crying. It's a girl, about nine to ten years old.

I stopped walking and looked at her. She was there squatting on the sidewalk crying.

I squatted in front of her so we were on eye level.

"What's your name?" I asked her.

She looked up to me but didn't say anything. She just stared at me in the eyes.

I pulled my mask down and smiled at her. "My name's Yuri but you can call me unnie. What's your name?"

The kid hesitated for a while before she said "Sarah."

"That's a nice name," I said. "Why are you crying, Sarah?"

"I'm sorry but I'm not really that good with Korean," she said in English.

So I started talking to her in English.

"Don't worry, I can speak English," I said.

A smile appeared on her face when she heard that. Her eyes lit up, too.

"You do?" she asked.

"Yes, I do. Why are you crying?"

"Because no one understands me in the studio," she said.

"What studio?"

She pointed at the voice and dance studio nearby.

"So you're taking voice and dance lessons there?"

She nodded.

"But what happened?" I asked.

"I don't have any friends there. All the other kids couldn't understand me. Not even my teacher," she cried some more.

"Don't cry, don't cry," I said as I gently patted her hair. "Did your teacher know that you left the studio?"

She shook her head. "No."

"Your teacher must be worried about you now," I said. "You want me to accompany you back to the studio and explain to your teacher what happened?"

She nodded.

"Okay, Sarah. Let's go."

I offered my hand to her which she gladly accepted. Hand in hand, we went to the studio.

"Omo, Sarah! I've been looking for you! Where did you go? I was so worried about you," said the teacher when she saw us. She basically ran out of the studio to meet us outside.

And I explained to her in Korean what happened. I was talking to the teacher when I noticed what was posted on the door.

"You need dance and voice coaches?" I asked.

"Yes, yes," the teacher replied.

"Can I apply?" I asked.

"Sure, sure. Dance or voice?"

"I can do both," I said.

"Really?" She looked impressed. "Can I see what you can do?"

"Sure," I said.

So I went with them inside the studio and went through an 'audition'. She was impressed after.

"Wow, you can actually do both," she said.

I promised to bring her the requirements tomorrow and to start ASAP. She said she really needed help in her studio. As it turned out, she owned the studio, too, and she's the only teacher here at the moment. She introduced herself earlier as Nari.

"Really?"

I saw Sarah's eyes widened in surprise when I told her after that I will start working at the studio tomorrow as a coach. She was so happy that she hugged me. I hugged her back, too. We found new friends with each other.

"You kinda look familiar, though. I was wondering where I saw you before," Nari said when I was about to leave.

"I don't think so. I just look rather generic," I said.

She chuckled. "Nah, I would never consider your look generic. You're too pretty to be called that way. You could actually pass for an idol."

I just smiled. She wouldn't have to know right now about the dating scandal, right? Or the fact that I'm a trainee and I might quit the job next month when I start training.

I'll just cross the bridge when I get there, I thought. For now, I just need a job. Not only that, teaching in a dance and voice studio sounded fun. I want to, at least, experience it.

I went home with a happy heart.