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Chapter 315: Kang Ha-Na VS Eve One (2)

At the front, Choi In-Seok reluctantly waved them off. "Okay, okay! Save the greetings for later. Let\'s keep it quick and move along!"

However, even after greeting us, Park Ye-Seul\'s gaze wouldn\'t leave Kang Ha-Na.

Sensing trouble, I quickly moved closer to Kang Ha-Na.

At that moment, I saw Park Ye-Seul subtly extend her foot. Even though there were security cameras in the hallway, she knew it wouldn\'t be caught on camera with so many people crammed into the narrow space.

Before I could intervene, Park Ye-Seul\'s shoe stepped on the hem of Kang Ha-Na\'s hanbok.

Kang Ha-Na, who was looking straight ahead, stumbled. "Oh, oh?"

Fortunately, I was prepared for such a situation and managed to catch her before she fell.

Thud.

Kang Ha-Na stopped while slightly tilted forward.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

Kang Ha-Na let out a sigh of relief and nodded. "Phew. Yeah. I\'m sorry, oppa. My dress got caught..."

Kang Ha-Na straightened up and shook her head.

"It didn\'t just get caught," I said.

Kang Ha-Na tilted her head. "What?"

Park Ye-Seul thought she was clever but she was still too green to handle someone like me in this game who had been through it all.

Before Park Ye-Seul could say anything, I raised my voice loudly enough for everyone to hear. "Park Ye-Seul! Did you try to mess up Ha-Na\'s stage on purpose? Why\'d you step on her dress?"

Thrown off by my quick accusation, Park Ye-Seul stammered in a flustered voice. "I-it w-was an accident."

"An accident?"

"Y-yeah, it was."

That\'s when Choi In-Seok, who was walking ahead, stopped and turned around. "We\'re already running late. What\'s going on now?"

It was a hectic time with the rehearsal coming up, and any disruption was sure to be annoying. I immediately told him that Park Ye-Seul had stepped on Kang Ha-Na\'s dress, causing her to almost fall.

With minor provocations like this, it was important to address them firmly so they wouldn\'t dare try such tricks again.

Choi In-Seok\'s face twisted in irritation after hearing what I said. "Park Ye-Seul. If Ha-Na\'s performance gets ruined, are you going to take responsibility?"

Park Ye-Seul found herself stuttering. "I-it\'s just..."

My quick response had shifted the situation away from what Park Ye-Seul intended. She began to panic, unsure of what to do.

That\'s when the commotion caught the attention of Lee Hee-Jin, who was busy leading Eve One. She approached us and retorted, "Hold on! It\'s a tight space and anyone can make a mistake! Don\'t you think you\'re being too harsh on her?"

As the third in command at K& Management who oversaw its operations, Lee Hee-Jin wasn\'t an easy opponent.

However, Choi In-Seok wasn\'t one to back down either.

"Mrs. Lee, are you teaching these kids to pull stunts like this already?" Choi In-Seok said with a frown.

Lee Hee-Jin flinched. "What do you mean, stunts? Aren\'t you being too harsh over a simple mistake?"

Park Ye-Seul who was beside her quickly nodded. "I-I swear, I didn\'t mean to do anything bad to Ha-Na unnie! Really!"

They denied the accusations as they knew there\'d be no hard proof.

Choi In-Seok scoffed but eventually settled the matter with a stern warning to Park Ye-Seul and Lee Hee-Jin. "I won\'t inform the PD this time, but I won\'t let it slide if it happens again. Do you understand?"

Flustered, Lee Hee-Jin tried to respond but Choi In-Seok coldly turned his back on them.

Lee Hee-Jin then glared at me this time. We hadn\'t even faced off on the main stage yet, but I was already on their bad side.

Nonetheless, I calmly met her glare. With her experience, there was no way Lee Hee-Jin didn\'t know what was going on.

\'An accident? Yeah, right. Just looking at your face, it\'s clear you were in on this too,\' I remarked inwardly.

I brushed off the dust on Kang Ha-Na\'s hanbok and glanced at Park Ye-Seul. I could tell how frustrated she was by looking at her trembling.

"Ye-Seul, what are you doing? Come on, we\'ve got no time to waste," Lee Hee-Jin urged.

"Y-yes, ma\'am."

At Lee Hee-Jin\'s urging, Park Ye-Seul turned and disappeared down the hallway.

In the meantime, I finished brushing off the dust from Kang Ha-Na\'s hanbok.

"Thanks, oppa. I\'m okay now."

"Good. Shall we go then?"

Having won this little scuffle with Park Ye-Seul, Kang Ha-Na and I headed to the rehearsal stage.

***

In Eve One\'s waiting room, Park Ye-Seul was getting a scolding from Lee Hee-Jin over the incident in the corridor.

Although Park Ye-Seul nodded and said she understood, she didn\'t mean it.

When Lee Hee-Jin left to meet with the PD, Choi So-Yung quietly approached Park Ye-Seul and asked, "Are you okay?"

Park Ye-Seul pouted and vented her frustration. "How could I be okay? Anyway, how did that talent agent catch on? It was perfect!"

Hearing her muttering, Choi So-Yung remarked, "You should\'ve done it better if you were going to do it. What was that?"

"Ugh, leave me alone! That talent agent ruined everything," Park Ye-Seul grumbled.

Then, she looked at Choi So-Yung. "By the way, unnie. I\'m going to the bathroom. Want to come with me? I\'ve been feeling uneasy since drinking water earlier."

"Oh? Sure, why not."

Though they bickered, it was still convenient to move as a pair as they\'d always stuck together since their Eyestone days.

After informing their talent agent, the two headed to the bathroom on their own. After all, the talent agents couldn\'t follow each of them all the time with so many members.

But just then as the two were leaving the bathroom, they saw Kang Ha-Na and her talent agent, Do Ran-Hee, approaching from down the hallway.

At that moment, Park Ye-Seul\'s eyes gleamed.

Sensing something off, Choi So-Yung asked, "What are you planning now?"

"I\'m just going to talk. You just watch, unnie."

Choi So-Yung followed, wondering what Park Ye-Seul was up to.

When Kang Ha-Na spotted Park Ye-Seul, she hesitated for a moment and stopped in her tracks.

Park Ye-Seul put on a sad face, clasping her hands together. "Ha-Na unnie, I\'m really sorry about earlier. It wasn\'t on purpose, I swear."

Choi So-Yung also played along and greeted Kang Ha-Na warmly. "Unnie, how have you been?"

That\'s when Do Ran-Hee stepped forward and blocked their way. "Sorry, but Ha-Na is busy right now and doesn\'t have time to chat. Could you move aside?"

Park Ye-Seul pouted in response to Do Ran-Hee\'s sharp tone. "Talent agent unnie, I already said it was an accident. And it\'s been so long since we\'ve seen each other. Can\'t we talk just for a little while? There\'s still some time before the main broadcast."

Do Ran-Hee found it absurd that they were pretending to be friendly after intentionally stepping on the hanbok. "You two are really..."

Do Ran-Hee was about ready to go all out and argue with these kids.

Just then, Kang Ha-Na stepped forward. "Ran-Hee, let me talk to them for a moment."

"But Ha-Na, you don\'t have to. I can handle this..."

"I\'m okay."

At her celebrity\'s request, Do Ran-Hee reluctantly took a few steps back, staying close enough to intervene if anything happened.

As Do Ran-Hee moved away, Park Ye-Seul smirked and revealed her true colors. "Unnie, you\'ve really transformed, huh?"

Seeing the opportunity, Choi So-Yung chimed in as well. "Yeah, you\'ve been ignoring our calls lately. Just because you\'re popular now, does it mean you can ignore us?"

They thought if they could rattle Kang Ha-Na, they might just have a chance to turn the music show rankings in their favor today.

Even though the two girls, who were ten years younger than her, were saying things to get under her skin, Kang Ha-Na only stared at them silently.

Park Ye-Seul sneered. "Why aren\'t you saying anything? Are you planning to ignore us from now on, huh?"

Kang Ha-Na stared at them for a moment and sighed. "You guys came all this way just to say that?"

Park Ye-Seul\'s eyes flared up. "Just to say that? What did you just say?"

At Park Ye-Seul\'s response, Kang Ha-Na let out another short sigh. "Forget it. I was foolish to expect anything more."

"What?"

Kang Ha-Na continued in a firm tone. "Park Ye-Seul, Choi So-Yung. I\'d appreciate it if you didn\'t talk to me anymore."

Both of them looked shocked. They never expected Kang Ha-Na, who used to be so timid and always smiling awkwardly, to speak so firmly.

"Unnie, what did you just say?"

Kang Ha-Na had changed. She was no longer the scared and meek outcast. Standing before them was a confident and assertive Kang Ha-Na.

Kang Ha-Na spoke with a resolute expression. "I thought maybe if you apologized for stepping on my dress, I\'d let it slide... but forget it. If you pull something like this again, I\'ll bring up everything you guys did to me back in the Eyestone days on my live broadcast!"

Kang Ha-Na was currently streaming to over 7,000 live viewers every night after 11 p.m., and her MeTube channel had over a million subscribers.

If Kang Ha-Na were to start talking about her time at Eyestone, Park Ye-Seul and Choi So-Yung wouldn\'t be able to handle the backlash.

At that moment, Park Ye-Seul and Choi So-Yung realized just who they were up against.

The Kang Ha-Na in front of them was not the timid girl who used to cower and watch their every move: she was now a MeTuber with a million subscribers and the top artist on the charts.

Finally grasping the situation, Park Ye-Seul and Choi So-Yung stammered in response. "H-Ha-Na unnie, are you...are you threatening us right now?"

"Threatening? Is telling the truth considered a threat?"

Kang Ha-Na wanted to be someone confident in front of her fan club \'ONE & Only\'. She also wanted to be someone worthy of Jung Yoon-Ho\'s trust.

Instead of unsettling Kang Ha-Na, Park Ye-Seul found herself shaken. Y"W-who said we wanted to be friends? Fine! We won\'t talk to you anymore!"

Park Ye-Seul unconsciously took a step back and spoke to Choi So-Yung. "So-Yung unnie! Let\'s go! We have to get ready for our performance too."

"Yeah, let\'s go."

The two turned around and quickly ran off.

As she watched them disappear, Kang Ha-Na let out a heavy sigh. "Huff, huff..."

Kang Ha-Na felt a bit pathetic for losing her temper against kids ten years younger.

At that moment, a warm voice spoke from behind her.

"Ha-Na, you finally seem like a real celebrity now."

"Right? It looks like she can handle things on her own now."

When Kang Ha-Na turned around, she saw Jung Yoon-Ho and Do Ran-Hee standing there with bright smiles on their faces.

Kang Ha-Na\'s face began to turn red. "Wait... did you hear everything?"

"Yep."

"From where?"

Jung Yoon-Ho smirked and replied, "From the beginning."

At that moment, Kang Ha-Na\'s face flushed with embarrassment at his words.

***

Thanks to her daily MeTube live broadcasts, Kang Ha-Na\'s mental fortitude had become like steel.

She had learned to stand her ground and how to stand up to her rivals\' harassment as a million-subscriber MeTuber.

Seeing how much Kang Ha-Na had grown, I praised her. "Well done, Ha-Na."

Kang Ha-Na replied in a quiet and timid voice with her face still red. "I-It\'s nothing to be proud of, arguing with those young kids..."

"If you had kept quiet, you would\'ve looked even more foolish. But leave the fighting to us talent agents from now on, okay?"

There was a limit to humility and politeness, especially in the entertainment industry which was like a battlefield. Being too nice could lead to more bullying. Sometimes, you had to show anger to avoid being taken for a fool.

Considering everything, it was impressive that she had tolerated those brats who were ten years younger all this time.

As I smiled and patted Kang Ha-Na on the shoulder, she squirmed and looked embarrassed.

"What? I told you, you did great!" I exclaimed.

Kang Ha-Na whispered in a small voice. "Uh, I, um... need to use the bathroom..."

"Ohhh."

\'No wonder Do Ran-Hee had also been sweating nervously beside her,\' I thought to myself.

"Go, go! Quickly!" I urged her.

Without needing to decide who went first, the two of them bolted toward the bathroom.

A little while Kang Ha-Na came out, we began the final checks for her main stage performance.

The contenders for today\'s number one spot were Kang Ha-Na\'s \'New Beginning,\' her duet with Kim Jong-Hoon, \'Soulfire,\' and Eve One\'s \'FLORIA\'

"Are you confident?" I asked her.

Exuding the confidence of a top contender, Kang Ha-Na replied boldly. "Yes, oppa!"

***

After Eve One\'s first performance began, it didn\'t take long for Park Ye-Seul to make a choreography mistake that she hadn\'t even made during rehearsal.

In a part where everyone was supposed to move to the right, she spun in the wrong direction.

The first debut stage mistake made the entire group\'s faces turn pale.

Flustered, Park Ye-Seul made a series of big and small mistakes, ruining Eve One\'s trademark precision choreography and exposing their inexperience.

It seemed that the earlier clash with Kang Ha-Na had shaken Park Ye-Seul instead.

After their performance, Park Ye-Seul and Eve One hung their heads as if they had committed a crime.

"Keep your heads up! I told you not to lose confidence over mistakes! Just do better next time!" Lee Hee-Jin encouraged them.

"Okay..."

Given her position, Lee Hee-Jin chose to encourage them rather than scold them. However, not a single member of Eve One could raise their head.

Now, it was our turn.

Standing at the side of the stage, I spoke to Kang Ha-Na and Kim Jong-Hoon who were taking deep breaths. "Just enjoy singing up there."

Kang Ha-Na tilted her head in confusion. "Huh? But what if I mess up like Ye-Seul did?"

"If you do, you do. That\'s no big deal."

Kim Jong-Hoon looked incredulous. "Yoon-Ho, didn\'t you see Eve One mess up just now? Shouldn\'t you be telling us not to mess up?"

I smiled and responded. "It\'s okay to make mistakes and it\'s okay to fail. No matter what happens, I\'ll cover for you."

In an instant, the tension in their faces started to melt away.

Kim Jong-Hoon, who had been warming up his fingers to play the piano, shook his head in disbelief. "Seriously, Yoon-Ho. You\'re something else. Don\'t you think so, Ha-Na?"

"Right, oppa? It\'s like nothing fazes him in situations like this."

The two laughed and chatted, shaking off the last of their nerves.

That\'s when we heard the MC\'s voice booming through the speakers. "Now, let\'s welcome today\'s number one contender, \'New Beginning\'! Please give them a big round of applause!"

A staff member nearby signaled to us. "It\'s time. Go on up, both of you!"

Kim Jong-Hoon took a short, deep breath and glanced at me. "Yoon-Ho, we\'re heading up."

Kang Ha-Na smiled. "Oppa, we\'ll be back."

I nodded at the two. "Go and have fun."

They both beamed as they stepped onto the stage, determined to claim the number one title.