Chapter 36 - No Regrets (1/2)

Ye Rim felt sad for not being able to share with her unnie Eun Ha her euphoria for having received a call from the radio, saying she should show up today for a job interview. Her unnie was sleeping heavily after arriving at daybreak two nights in a row.

Eun Ha had been mysterious lately, but she mentioned something about taking private lessons or whatever. Of course, Ye Rim had found it odd at first, this evening tutoring thing, and mostly because Eun Ha looked thoughtful and anxious in the last two days or so.

As she stared out the window at the bus, her mind wandered to small plans for the future, trying to avoid thinking too much about the past or making unrealistic projections.

Ye Rim wanted to lighten things up for Eun Ha. Their money had barely been enough for making ends meet lately. Eun Ha's online shop featuring her clothing collection wasn't going well. Her unnie was still working part-time as a dental assistant_ while Ye Rim had so far achieved nothing better than singing at the Pearl and her eventual wedding gigs as singer.

That was not why they left their hometown for.

A few days ago, in front of the two rich guys who went to charity events and squash or polo games whenever they wanted, she said everything was fine. But of course it wasn't.

Time had passed hopelessly and several opportunities had escaped through her fingers.

In other occasions, she barely escaped being in real trouble by pursuing her dreams. She was often surprised that she did not realize before it was too late: she was wasting her precious time on projects that wouldn't come true. What was she in reality: too naïve or too stupid?

She told Kim and Lee that she had been very unlucky, and that the three groups she was scheduled to debut didn't happen_ but that wasn't entirely true.

However, even if her dream had been stifled after so many failed attempts, she needed something more substantial than singing gigs if she was going to support herself with dignity. If she got the job, she could pay back all the money Eun Ha had already borrowed her_ and then her unnie could reinvest in her clothing collection and online store. Maybe it wasn't as Eun Ha had dreamed it either; but it was a feasible course of action.

Sometimes Ye Rim wondered when she had stopped dreaming big, as Eun Ha still did. But the reality was harsh, and she was a few weeks from 27 years old, by her true birth date. What was the real chance of debuting as a singer, solo or in a group, at this age in her country?

Endlessly minimal chances, that's it, and she should be realistic.

She had even stubbornly tried to keep her dreams alive for the past two years. But doing it only make things hurt more.

Still, Ye Rim didn't feel she had done anything wrong.

She got off at her bus stop for one more try. Comparatively modest than her girlish ambitions; but still quite large in light of her little achievements so far.

The TV network's beautiful building also housed one of the most listened radios in the capital. When she introduced herself to the front desk, she noticed that the receptionist looked at her twice. Ye Rim smiled back, acknowledging her veiled scrutiny, and didn't comment that she'd been there in the past _ another girl among the girls with a dream. It would make no difference at all.

The receptionist smiled again as she consulted her ID and entered information into the computer. This usually took less time, and Ye Rim worried. 'Do they still keep information from so long ago? OMG!'

Like a flash, her mind remembered the chaos, hair pulling, blood, and screams in that very lobby.

'Bombshell Girls Come to Blows in Public: Violence and Breakup Few Weeks After Their Debut?'

It would make a good tagline, but they weren't even this famous for a tagline at that time.

She looked back at the now suspicious receptionist. 'Is she recognizing me? How can it be?'

Ye Rim narrowed her eyes, watching the employee's attitude. The employee noticed it, and tried to disguise whatever she was doing with a weird cough, and resumed typing.

The singer, by her side, feigned to itch her nose, and lingered her hand next to face_ partially covering it from the receptionist view. 'From all this keyboard typing sound, she's not filling out forms, this bitch! She is gossiping about me. How can she recognize me? Can't she simply ask me? At that time I had white hair and blue eyes! Pretty much entirely someone else!'

The receptionist made a sudden move to return her ID card, and Ye Rim was quick to put her sunglasses back on, keeping a distracted gaze on the horizon_ even though it was a closed place.

Doing her best to change her appearance, she flexed her lips so she could make them look thinner, leaving her teeth protruding and her mouth wide and rigid. 'Come on baby, I'm a totally different girl who is into botox, not this one on your computer screen!'

”Thank you, Miss Nam. Could you please take your sunglasses off so I can register you with the webcam?”

'Damn it!'

”Oh, uh.” Talking like that wasn't easy. Ye Rim took off her glasses and tried to make goggle eyes, as if she had too many surgical procedures in her eye area. ”Does it take too long?”