Episode 38: Do I Look Like a Forever Alone?
“Okay, Grandma, I’m taking the KTX to Seoul now.”
-“Alright, kid, do well up there.”
“I’m just going for a quick meeting today, so I’ll stop by the hospital later.”
-“Got it, hang up. I’m watching my drama.”
“Alright.”
On the KTX to Seoul with Woo-ya.
“Oppa.”
“Yeah?”
“I’ve got a confession—I’ve never ridden the KTX before.”
Woo-ya said it with a shy chuckle.
“Total country bumpkin, right?”
“Nah, that girl I came with the other day? The Free Sense leader?”
“Seung-ah unnie?”
“Yeah, it was her first time too.”
“Really? She was super cute. She’s older than me, right?”
“Yup, the oldest in the group. Twenty-two.”
“What are the other members like?”
I dodged the question, not wanting to bias her.
“Hmm… better to meet them yourself.”
“I watched some of their YouTube videos yesterday.”
“Which ones?”
“Uh, something like Hot Topic? An interview.”
Hot Topic?
“Yeah, and some clips of them singing on shows.”
Woo-ya hummed “Halloween Tteok-tteok-tteok Day.”
That melody’s practically a reflex now whenever Free Sense comes up.
It’s catchy enough to chart again, but the music rankings are tougher than expected.
“That Jin-ah girl, she’s younger than me, right?”
“Yup, nineteen.”
“She’s got such fair skin, like a doll. The main vocalist unnie’s pretty too. Now that I think about it, everyone’s gorgeous except me…”
“You know you’re pretty too. All those guys at the toast stall come for you.”
“Pfft, no way. The others are celebrity-level pretty. I’m just… slightly above average. A normie, you know.”
Since when did Korea’s “normie” standard get so high?
After her faux humility, she threw a curveball.
“Well, my figure’s pretty decent, no? Hehe.”
“What’s with the body pride?”
“Grandma says all the women on my dad’s side have great figures—big chest, tiny waist, curvy hips. She and Great-Aunt had guys lining up back in the day, heh!”
Her voice shot up a few decibels talking about her figure.
“But Grandma says big chests aren’t always great. After kids and aging, they sag like a nursing dog’s teats. You could sling ‘em over your shoulder, haha!”
Nursing dog teats?
I don’t need that vivid imagery.
Cute thoughts, cute thoughts—panda munching bamboo…
Suppressing my imagination with all my might, I muttered, mindful of nearby passengers, “Hey… I get it, can you keep it down a bit?”
“Oh, was I loud?”
“Just a tad.”
“Whoops, sorry. Country girl on her first KTX… Anyway, there’s four members, right? Who’s the last one? She wasn’t on the online profiles.”
“Oh, she just joined a week ago. The maknae, and she’s really pretty.”
“Oho, sounds like she’s your type.”
“No, just saying she’s pretty.”
“So, personally, who’s the prettiest to you? Purely looks, your type.”
“They’re all charming in their own way.”
“Come on, if there were only four women in the world, you’d have to pick one.”
“What’s the point of that…?”
“Tch, boring.”
As the train rolled on, Woo-ya, who’d been all excited, grew a bit sulky when I didn’t play along.
She’s trying to bond, and maybe I was too stiff.
From my perspective, her hot-and-cold vibe—flirty at the stall, distant off-duty—made me cautious not to say the wrong thing. But she might’ve felt brushed off.
“You don’t have a girlfriend, oppa?”
“Nope.”
“Why not?”
“Hmm… it’s like asking why I’m alive. I don’t know. Why don’t I?”
“You’re not a forever alone, are you?”
“Not that, but looking back, I guess I was never that into girls.”
“What? No guy’s not into girls.”
“You’re right. Just mental gymnastics…”
“So, what’s your ideal type, oppa?”
Ideal type, huh.
Obviously, someone pretty, cute, sexy, with a great figure, kind, understanding, funny, and rich…
But the face that popped into my head was GraceOne’s Min-young.
She’s not a striking beauty—more of a cute, chipmunk-like charm when she smiles.
“I think I like cute girls. The kind with upturned lips and eye smiles.”
Woo-ya looked at me and flashed an eye smile.
“Hey, I’ve got an eye smile too, right?”
“Yup, you do.”
“Like which celebrity?”
I’ve been hiding my GraceOne fanboy status hardcore.
If it got out, my motives for joining the company might seem shady, and it could bum out the Free Sense girls, who’ll inevitably be compared to GraceOne.
So I threw out a safe, universally liked name.
“So Min-jung.”
“So Min-jung’s a given. I love her too. Great songs, super pretty.”
“You don’t have a boyfriend, right?”
This wasn’t personal curiosity—it’s a standard question for company interviews.
Since idols’ past controversies can blow up, the company checks everything: school life, friendships, relationships, personality, SNS, even debts to friends.
Seon-yu went through this too.
Woo-ya answered with a hint of pride.
“Believe it or not, I’m a 20-year veteran of being single.”
“I believe you.”
“Why? Do I look like a forever alone?”
“You said it, so I believe it. The CEOs will ask you all sorts of questions later. You weren’t, like, a delinquent, right?”
“If I had time for that, I’d have worked an extra hour, oppa.”
“Alright, that’s trustworthy. Oh, and about the living expense support…”
“Yeah?”
“Let’s keep it a secret from the company.”
“Why? Didn’t you say the company’s covering it?”
“Well… actually…”
It feels weird taking credit for Jin-ah’s generosity, but it’s better to be upfront and align our stories to avoid confusion with the CEOs.
“It’s from me.”
“You? Why? The company won’t do it?”
“It’s a long story, I’ll explain later. For now, just know that. I haven’t told the members either, so don’t tell anyone—not even Yoo-kyung or Ji-han. It’s just between us.”
“What? If it’s from you, I wouldn’t have agreed!”
“It’s the same result. If you can’t pay it back, the company will cover it.”
“Still, that’s…”
“Enough, we’re done with this topic. Absolute secret, got it?”
“Okay… thank you, oppa…”
Phew, that’s settled.
It’s like stacking Tetris blocks, piece by piece.
***
“Do you do SNS?”
After CEO Kim Yong breezily gave his approval and left, the in-depth interview with CEO Jung Han-yong and Team Leader Jeon Min-yong began.
Jung asked the questions while Jeon adjusted the camera angles, zooming in and out to check Woo-ya’s face on the monitor.
“I didn’t before, but I started for the shop. My sister manages the account, though.”
“Can you show us?”
“Sure, one sec.”
Jung’s face turned uneasy as he scrolled through Woo-ya’s SNS photos.
“Oh no, this won’t do. You’ve got a baby face, but why are all your outfits like this?”
I hadn’t seen them either, but from Jung’s tone, they must be revealing.
Those photos could cause issues later, clashing with the group’s image.
Jung explained, asking her to make the account private.
“We need to set this to private for now. We haven’t decided on the group’s concept yet, and these could create a disconnect with fans. Understand?”
“Yes.”
“Any tattoos?”
“No.”
“Alcohol, cigarettes?”
“Never smoked. Drank maybe twice…”
“As a minor?”
“Yes… at a friend’s house…”
“At a bar?”
“Never been to a bar.”
“Any photos from drinking?”
“No. It was just curiosity. My friends are shy and nice, so we didn’t take pictures. We drank what was at their house, not store-bought.”
“Like homemade liquor?”
“Yeah, secretly…”
“Heh, you think parents don’t notice? They know right away.”
“Well, I haven’t been caught yet…”
“You’ve never worked in nightlife, right?”
“Huh? Nightlife? What’s that…?”
“Like karaoke helpers or hostess bars.”
“No, no, never. I worked at a convenience store in high school and only helped at Grandma’s shop.”
“Any BJ or personal streaming?”
“Nope.”
“Okay. If you realize you forgot or misstated anything, let us know later.”
“Yes, it’s all true.”
Feeling like she was being interrogated at a crime scene, Woo-ya launched into a heartfelt life story.
“I’ve never had a boyfriend, not even guy friends. Besides classmates’ numbers, there’s no guys in my phone. After graduating, I barely kept in touch. I just worked after school every day. Aside from drinking twice out of curiosity, I’ve never done anything bad. You can call my friends—they’ll vouch for me. Please believe me.”
She looked like she might cry any second.
I felt a bit sorry and nervous for her, but CEO Jung and Team Leader Jeon found her sincerity adorable, chuckling.
“Heh, alright. We’re not scolding you—this is just stuff the company needs to know. If there were big issues, it’d be a problem, but you’re clean, so don’t stress.”
“Yes…”
Questions about her family and background followed. After hearing Woo-ya’s circumstances, Jung gave her an encouraging nod.
“You’ve worked hard. No time for trouble, huh?”
“Yes…”
“What about the shop? You’ll be living in the dorm and working on the album, so you won’t earn right away. Is that okay?”
Woo-ya stuck to our agreed story.
“Oh… my grandma will take it over after she’s discharged.”
“Alright, hang in there. If anything’s tough or you need help, tell Team Leader or your manager right away.”
“Yes.”
“Can you sing?”
“Sing…?”
To test her vocals, Jung opened a karaoke app on his phone.
“Got any songs you usually sing?”
“I don’t know recent songs…”
“Doesn’t have to be new. Just something you’d sing at karaoke with friends.”
“Uh…”
“No pressure, we know you’re not trained. It’s better if you’re totally raw.”
Woo-ya scratched around her eyes, thinking, then timidly picked a song.
“Um… then I’ll do ‘A Woman’s Life’…”
“Oh, Im Mi-ja’s song?”
“Yes.”
Im Mi-ja? Who’s that?
Jung called her “Teacher,” so she must be a veteran singer.
On par with our creator’s top pick, Lee Seung-hwan?
“Nice, retro vibes. Grandma’s favorite, huh?”
“Yes, exactly.”
“‘A Woman’s Life’… here it is. I’ll play the instrumental, so follow the lyrics.”
“But I’m really bad…”
“This isn’t an audition. Pretend no one’s here and just sing.”
“Okay, ahem, ahem!”
Woo-ya cleared her throat and hit play.
A twangy, trot-style intro filled the room.
What’s this melody?
It’s not just retro—it’s straight out of a black-and-white 6.25 War documentary, evoking heart-wrenching refugee scenes.
After a 30-second intro, Woo-ya started singing.
“Even though my heart aches so much I can’t bear it…”
Whoa.
Her voice…
She missed the first beat but quickly found her groove. Woo-ya’s voice carried an unexpected depth of soul and sorrow.
Behind her, I could almost see her grandma lying in the hospital bed.
-“Manager, take good care of our Woo-ya…”
Wait, Grandma’s alive and well!
She was just video-calling Woo-ya earlier…