CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

If I had been living the dream the last few days, now was the time for the nightmare. I knew I was pretty, above average pretty. I didn't believe it when people said I was stunning, much less that I was the most beautiful person in Korea. Any idol could have that spot, not a normal person who constantly forgets to do their beauty routine at night. Furthermore, a mere human who woke up with puffy eyes, messy hair, a swollen face, dry lips, and so on.

That's what Wendy saw when I opened the door that day. I had no obligation to look good inside my house right after waking up at seven-something in the morning. Not when I didn't know my favorite singer was going to show up for breakfast. She was wearing the black hoodie once again, simple but beautiful as always. Wendy could be the most beautiful person in the country. Kang Seulgi too, was too beautiful to be a simple bodyguard.

And I was there, standing in the doorway, evaluating my existence. This could only be a dream, I thought. It is a distorted version of the classic dream in which the person is without clothes in front of everyone at school. In fact, I almost closed the door in their faces – it wouldn't have been a problem if it was really a dream, but Yerim stopped me from initiating the movement. At that moment, I processed being in my pajamas in front of Wendy, which made me disappear into my room.

The day before I found it surreal to see Wendy in front of my building, there was no right word to describe how I felt seeing her in the kitchen next to my mother. It turns out that Yeri and Wendy exchanged phone numbers in the park, with my friend extending the invitation to have breakfast at my house. My house, not her house. Yeri explained to me when I discreetly asked her why they were there after I left my room with presentable clothes.

I knew I would regret taking Kim Yerim to that meeting; it only took less than twenty-four hours for that to happen.

Our apartment wasn't small, we lived comfortably in a good neighborhood in Incheon. However, that didn't mean we had space to accommodate six people at the table. We used the space on the rooftop with a long table and chairs when we invited more people to our house, but we needed to book in advance. Obviously, Yeri didn't do that. It would be nice to have our meal there, though. One of the residents takes care of a small garden in one of the corners. The sun was warm and pleasant at that time of the morning. Plus, it had a view of the city.

Instead, I volunteered to eat in front of the TV, using the floor table as a support for my bowl of rice and side dishes. I wasn't isolated from them staying there since there wasn't a wall separating the spaces, they could see the television from the dining table. The sofa hid me and my remaining embarrassment from earlier, and I could hear their conversation perfectly well without being compelled to participate.

Their presence in my house wasn't bothering me. I mean, who wouldn't be excited to host a music star? I didn't want to take the risk of Wendy engaging in one of her strange behaviors in front of my mother. Nothing like giving me food from her plate, much less feeding me in my mouth.

My mother wasn't bothered by my preference, as she referred to my relationships. She even said she had accepted Yeri being the closest thing to a granddaughter she would have. The thing is, I never introduced her to anyone I had a relationship with. Wendy was a far cry from that, of course. However, my mother could interpret one of these gestures in the wrong way. She never saw me get the typical “couple treatment,” as Yeri pointed out in the elevator.

I didn't want to leave the slightest possibility of her thinking something like that was happening. Because of this, I deliberately walked away from Wendy that morning. I wanted Yeri to sit with me, besides her being the youngest, I wanted to keep her away from Wendy as a small punishment for conveniently forgetting to mention that Wendy was coming. Unfortunately, my plan was ruined when Kang Seulgi offered to stay with me on the floor.

It should have been a weird situation; sitting shoulder to shoulder with a person with whom I exchanged a few words. Not as strange as the things that Wendy did, but close enough. However, Kang Seulgi had a welcoming aura. Her neutral expression, which I almost didn't see, could have been intimidating. But for being a security staff, she was constantly smiling especially when she was eating.

Also, she didn't look like a person who had that kind of job. I wasn't trying to go into stereotypes, but aren't bodyguards supposed to be muscular? Seulgi was skinny, like, runway model thin. How could she protect someone when it looked like she would fall over with a slight push? And most importantly: where did all that food she ate go? Certainly not for her .

“Seulgi-ssi, how did you decide to become a bodyguard?” I asked trying to unravel part of the mystery surrounding that woman.

“They pay very well,” she replied bluntly, mouth full of rice.

Well, that didn't explain much. So, I persisted and asked, “Have you always wanted to do this?”

“No,” she said looking straight at me, her full cheeks making her look like a child. At least she tried not to open too much to complete her answer, “I wanted to be a professional athlete like everyone in my family.”

Professional athlete? I didn't expect this one. Seulgi was teaching Yeri the names of taekwondo kicks in the car, which made me think she would have a basic understanding of martial arts. I just didn't expect that she could reach the professional level of the sport. “How did you end up working for Wendy?” was the most obvious question after knowing what she wanted to do.

“Wendy's manager showed up at my family's dojang looking for a female fighter for the job,” she replied bluntly, once again.

Seulgi's family seemed to be impressive, they had their own training space. This explained the professional athlete career that seemed to be normal for them. Seulgi seemed to be confident that she would be one too, maybe she was scarier than she let on.

“So, they offered the job and you accepted, that simple?”

“Yeah. They pay very well.”

“Did you give up your dream for money?”

“Instead of giving up on the dream, I like to think that it has evolved. I still practice every day, just not as much as I should to become a pro,” she replied after eating all the rice in her bowl. I was amazed at the number of words she was willing to say at that moment. “The difference is that instead of traveling to participate in competitions, I travel to accompany a client. Instead of sticking to a diet to stay in my weight category, I eat the best foods for free. Do you understand what I mean?”

“But you stopped fighting,” I replied confused.

To me, that still meant that she had given up on her dream of being a professional athlete. There was a huge gap between keeping someone safe from super excited fans and winning a medal in a competition.

“Doesn’t mean I can’t fight if I want to.”

“This is making me even more confused,” I muttered.

 “I'm still young, you know? The Olympic level is out of the question now, but I still can enter competitions. I can be a teacher in our dojang too. I agreed to be Wendy-ssi's bodyguard for a trial period and I ended up liking it, but it doesn't mean I'll stay with her forever.”

Seeing the confusion on my face, Seulgi continued, “Being an athlete is something my family has always done and it was the only thing I thought I could do. Choi manager-nim offered me another path and I wanted to try it.”

“Still,” I looked at the almost forgotten food in front of me, “It seems like you chose a job over a dream.”

“Well, if I had continued with my dream of being a professional, the dream would have turned into a job anyway,” Seulgi said with the rare neutral expression. I think the matter was too serious for her to smile sweetly as usual.

I nodded slowly in agreement with that last sentence.

I didn't know if being the manager of Kepton4 could be considered my dream, at least not until that moment. However, if I agreed to stay with them, I would be turning it into a job. I would be managing people instead of working in a company, as I jokingly said at my dad's house. It would be a different kind of responsibility; at the same time, it would be the same responsibility. And I would be receiving a salary to do that, unlike what happened until then.

Kang Seulgi was right.

The dream would become a job. A job that could go very wrong if the band failed.

Talking to Seulgi also made me realize that I was already in my testing period. I was acting like a man