IJLMT 30

Chapter 30 …

‘Ugh… I have to do well no matter what…!!’

Before filming, Nari thought to herself. Too much was at stake with this variety show. It was her first appearance, and she was appearing alongside the legendary senior, Nobel Biz’s Ha-yeon.

But wasn’t it Hyun-jae who specifically said? That it would be best for Nari to appear here.

The NovaGirls members all knew how sharp Hyun-jae’s judgment was—no, more than sharp, practically Nostradamus-level. So they all thought his call was the right one…

But since Nari didn’t know the reasoning behind it, her thoughts were in turmoil. The other members hadn’t said it, but weren’t they itching to get on a variety show too? Midnight Ghost Stories was especially Mina’s favorite program, yet she showed no signs of jealousy.

• Don’t lose your nerve, Seo Nari! We already beat Nobel Biz once, didn’t we!

• I analyzed the types of conversations they do there, you know? Just saying “scary, scary” all the time is meaningless. You have to tell stories from your own perspective and add your own spin.

• Nari, you’re funny when you talk. You’ll be fine. You can do this.

Everyone encouraged her. She couldn’t possibly show a disappointing side when she was the first of the group to appear on a variety show!

It was also a chance to prove her father wrong. He had opposed her becoming an idol, calling it “a fleeting career that shines for a moment and then disappears.” But if she managed to show her charm here, wouldn’t that thought change? Idols who do well on variety shows extend their careers.

Nari had been replaying past episodes, analyzing the conversations. It wasn’t hard to learn the style of talk needed…

But there was one problem.

‘Ghost stories are too scary!’

How could people laugh while telling such chilling tales? Didn’t they get goosebumps?

‘But… Hyun-jae oppa doesn’t know how easily I get scared, right? Did he recommend me without knowing? …Probably. He always acts so confident anyway.’

Nari’s fear threshold was absurdly low. Even hearing grade-school-level ghost stories like “Do you want red toilet paper, or blue?” left her too scared to go to the bathroom.

‘No, ghosts aren’t scarier than obscurity. I promised to do anything if it meant making it big! Endure it, Seo Nari!’

At that moment, Hyun-jae came up to her.

“Nari.”
“Yes?”
“Don’t worry too much. Just be yourself.”
“…Okay.”

Talking with Hyun-jae gave her a strange feeling. She felt at ease, but at the same time, something boiled inside her heart. Was it courage? Determination? Something like that.

‘Alright! I’m not scared! Not of Nobel Biz’s Ha-yeon, not of scary stories, not of anything!’

Ghosts? She’d just imagine them all as teddy bears.

Yes, that would work.

By the time filming began, I couldn’t help but think Nari looked a little pitiful. She started with such a solemn, determined expression.

She’d volunteered willingly, but wouldn’t such a timid girl struggle? Yangpa had guaranteed the outcome would be good, but what if the process was just too painful for her?

…Or so I thought. But what’s this?

“-So in conclusion, because the person didn’t properly finish their solo hide-and-seek and fell asleep, an evil spirit entered the teddy bear. Since the thread was stained with blood, the spirit gained incredible power. That’s the story. …Nari-ssi? Are you alright? You don’t look so well.”
“I’m perfectly fine. Totally fine, okay?”

The studio atmosphere was lighthearted. The staff were all smiling like proud dads. You know how little kids pretend not to be scared after reading a horror comic? It’s funny and adorable.

Now I understood why Yangpa had insisted Nari should appear. She’d clearly thought hard about how she should behave on the show, but seeing her force herself to participate while obviously terrified—it was hilarious.

That’s just Nari’s personality. Everyone knows she’s timid and easily scared, but sometimes, for no reason, she pretends she isn’t. Did she think no one noticed?

“Really? You’re ‘totally fine’? You know ‘totally’ is usually used with negatives, right? Doesn’t that mean you’re not fine?”
“Nope. Totally fine.”
“Alright then, what’s your impression of the story?”
“Being attacked by the teddy bear you trusted… that must’ve been a huge shock. If she shed blood for it, she must’ve loved that teddy bear a lot, right?”
“Huh? That’s the scary part for you? And what’s this about a ‘trusted teddy bear’? They probably just used whatever was lying around.”
“What do you mean ‘just lying around’? People always have a deeper reason when they buy a teddy bear.”
“So do you have one you bought with some big meaning?”
“Of course. Each member has their own assigned teddy bear.”
“Assigned teddy bear? You’re saying that with such a serious face I almost believe it. Ha-yeon-ssi, do Nobel Biz do that too? Is that a girl group thing?”

MC Joo Ji-sung, a comedian, asked. Ha-yeon shook her head.

Ha-yeon was charming too—bright, pretty, and easygoing. But it wasn’t just because I was her manager… my eyes kept going to Nari. And not just mine—everyone’s. Probably because of her attitude and the atmosphere she gave off.

Trusted teddy bears, assigned teddy bears, meaningful teddy bears… Nari spoke with total seriousness.

She really was scared, wasn’t she? The idea of an evil spirit in a teddy bear genuinely terrified her. But she felt obligated to keep the talk interesting, which gave her that solemn expression.

She was serious in her own mind, but to everyone else, it was hilarious.

“But Nari-ssi, wasn’t your stage image super tough? When you rapped about defeating the reflection in the mirror, you looked like you’d tear the whole world apart. Now you just look… weirdly terrified.”
“Well… isn’t that how it is for everyone? If I were someone who effortlessly overcame those things, I wouldn’t have cared enough to make songs about it. Ji-sung sunbaenim, do you care about beating elementary school kids at arm wrestling?”
“…No?”
“Exactly. It’s because it’s such a struggle that I turned it into a song. Telling myself over and over, ‘I have to overcome it!’ That’s just self-hypnosis.”
“Pfft… Nari-ssi, you’re killing me. So even now, are you self-hypnotizing yourself? Telling yourself it’s not scary?”
“Of course… huh? N-nope? Not scary at all….”

A staff member burst out laughing before hurriedly covering their mouth.

“Hahaha…”

Listening to the NovaGirls activity report, CEO Lee Jong-mook couldn’t stop laughing.

The online reaction was explosive. On NovaWorld, the fan café, dozens of new posts popped up every time you refreshed.

• WTF Seo Nari lol what kind of character is this

• Watching performances: Unnie ㅠㅠㅠ protect me / Watching Ghost Stories: Unnieㅠㅠㅠ I’ll protect you

• I thought she’d be the strongest and coolest, turns out she’s the cutestㅋㅋㅋ

• Nayomi protect protect protect

• ㅋㅋㅋㅋ When our Nayomi’s scared, all her final consonants turn into ㅁㅋㅋㅋ

Jong-mook thought to himself. Things couldn’t possibly be going better.

Earlier, Lee Jua and Im Yu-ju had gone viral on Star Behind, which was already great for the company since it boosted hype for the movie Chalk and Spear.

But Seo Nari’s variety debut—that was meaningful in a different way. More than just “ratings went up and people noticed.”

‘The public is starting to like the individual members themselves.’

From a business perspective, that was huge. It meant a different order of magnitude in sales.

When idols are viewed as performers, the public takes on the role of judges. They focus constantly on whether the performance is good or bad, whether the singing is solid. Praise if it’s good, criticism if not—that’s the performer-judge relationship.

But when the public actually likes the individual members, what happens? They stop judging. They begin to see them as friends, or even lovers.

Who would coldly critique their friend or lover’s mistakes? Instead, they’d defend them if others criticized.

“My friend opened a shop, so I should go support them.”
“My friend made a work, so I should check it out at least once.”

If the public starts treating idols with that mindset, those idols are ready to soar!

Everyone in the industry knew this, but achieving it was tricky. Idols were so beautiful and dazzling that people naturally felt a wall between them. Even if idols weren’t arrogant, their confident attitude when successful could feel intimidating. Fans thought deep down, “No matter how much I like them, they won’t even look my way.”

So while many people liked idols, truly liking them like a friend was rare.

In that sense, Nari being the first member to appear on variety… it was the perfect choice. She had given NovaGirls exactly what they needed right now. Characters like Seo Nari didn’t just appear anywhere—it was sheer luck.

And look! It wasn’t just the fan cafés. Even big general forums, normally filled with harsh words, were saying similar things.

[Why Seo Nari’s reactions on Ghost Stories aren’t an act]

• gif of Nari’s fingers trembling
  ㄴ LMAO I lost it at this
  ㄴ If she could act that face, she’d be an actress, not an idol
  ㄴ Ghost Stories isn’t scary at all, but watching Nari was hilarious
  ㄴ This week’s episode was just comedy lol. Can’t they make her a permanent MC?
  ㄴ She’s too busy, they’re going to the US soon. Plus if she’s permanent, the show will turn into a comedy program
  ㄴ She’s too cute… seriously too cute… I want to watch horror movies with her

‘This was Hyun-jae’s judgment too, wasn’t it? Even when Valhalla openly picked a fight, he ignored it.’

Unbelievable guts. Behind that gentle face—just how monstrous was he? Park Min-kyu must have schemed all kinds of ways to pressure him, yet Hyun-jae wasn’t fazed at all. Or maybe he was but overcame it? Confident he could win because he knew the members’ traits perfectly?

Jong-mook looked up news articles about Midnight Ghost Stories. As expected, the spotlight was all on Seo Nari. No doubt, she was the star of this episode.

[NovaGirls’ Seo Nari’s unexpected side? “No one buys a teddy bear without deep meaning.”]
[Seo Nari’s “Not scary at all~” leaves MCs in stitches, studio bursts into laughter]
[Hilarious Ghost Stories episode, Ha-yeon and Nari show great chemistry]
[Finally, Seo Nari relaxes and smiles brightly—at her manager]

‘What’s this last article?’

He clicked it. Sure enough, it showed Yu Hyun-jae. Nari’s face as she walked back with her manager looked just like a child riding home in her dad’s car after cram school.

Completely relaxed, boasting about what she’d learned that day. The photo gave such a warm feeling that the comments reflected it too.

ㄴ They’re both in their twenties but somehow Manager Yu looks like a dad lol
ㄴ You can feel the reliefㅋㅋㅋㅋ But seriously, none of the stories were scary this time
ㄴ Weirdly touched seeing them both smiling after overcoming hard timesㅠㅠ Hope everything goes well for them
ㄴ What hard times did Hyun-jae go through?
ㄴ He lived in poverty and even got betrayed by his fiancée

That article left a deep impression on Jong-mook.

‘This is what an ideal manager looks like.’

Some managers don’t like their assigned celebrities at all. They curse them inside and out, just waiting for payday.

Others like them too much. They agree with everything, saying things like, “Our Nari’s too scared to do that.”

Both are wrong. A manager’s job is to help their talent move forward. Too scared to do it? This isn’t a hobby—it’s work. You trade your life for money. Too many people take that lightly.

For an idol aiming for stardom, if there’s a chance to show their charm, they must take it.

If they’re already established and just don’t feel like it, that’s one thing. But a manager should never enable avoidance.

You try, you struggle, you succeed—and then the fear doesn’t even feel unpleasant anymore. Instead, you can laugh together, “We overcame it! We were awesome, weren’t we?” If you run away, the fear stays as fear forever. If you overcome it, it becomes just an “experience.”

Look at Nari’s face in that photo! Do you see any trace of unpleasantness? If anything, she must be even more excited now. She faced her fear, showed her charm, and won immense love from the public. How proud she must feel.

‘I worried Hyun-jae was too gentle, that he’d just protect her too much…’

All pointless worries. Yu Hyun-jae was the kind of manager who could truly elevate his artist. Brave, perceptive, knowing exactly what needed to be done for success—he was the ultimate manager.

Now, Jong-mook had only one worry left. Not Park Min-kyu’s pressure with Nobel Biz, not whether Chalk and Spear would succeed.

The one concern was that his connection to Yu Hyun-jae felt weak.

Yu Hyun-jae was someone Jong-mook absolutely had to keep. But Hyun-jae wasn’t driven by money. Even if Jong-mook valued him highly and gave him big rewards, it was unclear whether that alone would make him stay.

In that case…

“Team Leader Jo Min-soo.”

He made a call.

[ Yes, CEO. ]
“About Manager Yu Hyun-jae. Does he like drinking? Whiskey, maybe?”
[ Huh? Uh… I’ve never seen him drink. ]
“What about hobbies?”
[ Sorry, I don’t know that much. Is something going on? ]
“I think I need to become friends with him.”
[ …? ]

After twenty years without friends,

CEO Lee Jong-mook of JM Entertainment, the third-largest company in the industry by market cap, reached a conclusion:

He had to become close with Yu Hyun-jae.