Chapter 41: Nayeon Unni, You're Not My Type.

Kim Minjeong checked again.
Yes, definitely the scent of perfume. There was no doubt about it.

For South Korean girls, makeup was practically a mandatory subject. Once they reached a certain age, they would all doll themselves up to some extent.
Myeong Yan had once boldly volunteered to do Kim Jisoo's makeup, but the end result was that he had to ask for an excused absence because the person whose face had been made up was too mortified to go to class, dragging him down as collateral damage.
Fortunately, Father Kim was extremely understanding and helped the two little ones call in sick, mainly because that makeup truly looked too atrocious to be seen in public.
Anyway, there wasn't enough time to wash it off before school anyway, so they might as well just take a day off.

"Little Uncle, what were you busy with just now?"
Kim Minjeong asked out of curiosity.

"Oh, I went to practice Taekwondo and met a new teacher." Myeong Yan originally wanted to mention that Yu Jimin was also an S.M. trainee, but swallowed the words back down.
Taking a sixteen-year-old girl as a teacher sounded a bit odd.
It was probably best not to broadcast it too widely.

Kim Minjeong's attention was instantly diverted: "Taekwondo?"
"Yeah, it'll be useful when filming *Fight for My Way*. You saw the script last time, right?"
"Right, right, right, I remember now." Kim Minjeong finally voiced the question lingering in her heart: "Little Uncle, is the teacher you found a woman?"
"How did you know?"
"I smelled perfume."
The little one looked rather proud of herself; this was what you called sharp observation skills.
Kang Chaewon had said that to be a good trainee, you had to be smart and learn to read the room.

Myeong Yan narrowed his eyes slightly: "That's right, a very formidable female teacher. A Taekwondo black belt."
When Kim Minjeong saw Myeong Yan admit it so openly, she immediately lost interest in this female coach.
Taekwondo... the female teacher was probably terrifying, broad-shouldered and muscular. At the very least, all the national athletes on TV looked extremely sturdy.
Yu Jimin: ?

"Little Uncle, then do your best."
"Thanks."
...

One day in late October.
"Congratulations to the big star, Miss Im Nayeon. You've broken records again with this comeback."

After finishing his research on the script, Myeong Yan video-called Im Nayeon.
TWICE's latest comeback title track "TT" had already surpassed 160,000 copies in initial album sales, breaking the girl group record once again and leaving people in awe of their unstoppable momentum.
Coupled with unique groups like Red Velvet, BLACKPINK, and GFRIEND, the girl group market once again felt turbulent and full of shifting tides.

"I'm practically worked to death, so busy every day my feet are hitting the back of my head," Im Nayeon whined with a wronged, tearful expression. "I wash up back at the dorm, feel like I've just laid down, and then I have to get up again for schedules."
JYP had finally grasped onto a life-saving straw, and seeing TWICE's rising momentum, they were squeezing the members for all they were worth.
Myeong Yan couldn't really say that the Gorilla (the nickname given to JYP's founder Park Jinyoung because his appearance closely resembled the animal) was entirely in the wrong. The elimination rate for idol groups in South Korea was simply too fast; a single failed comeback could cause a group to fall behind.
A recent example was Red Velvet. They released a title track in March and even won first place, but their digital streaming numbers plummeted all the way down, directly creating a gap between them and their concurrent competitor, TWICE.
Starting from "Cheer Up" up until the current "TT," TWICE had only scored two mega-hit comebacks and were still in the foundation-building stage.
Being busy was a good thing; it was far better than sitting around doing nothing in the dorm.
Kim Jisoo: ?

"Did you take the nutritional supplements I gave you properly?" Myeong Yan knew Im Nayeon had a tough personality; if she said she was tired, then she must be truly exhausted.
Artists were busy day and night, and neither their rest nor their diet could be guaranteed. There wasn't much Myeong Yan could do, but taking care of logistical support was well within his capabilities.
He had specially consulted a doctor and prepared nutritional supplements—one portion each for Kim Jisoo and Im Nayeon.
At the very least, they could supplement some common elements, which was good for their health.

Im Nayeon tilted her head, her voice soft and sweet: "I haven't taken it today~"
"Then go take it right now, we'll talk after you've had it."
Myeong Yan put on a stern face.
Im Nayeon fell for this tactic every time. In her own words, the feeling of being kept in check by someone felt nice.

"Oh." Im Nayeon obediently agreed, got up, and walked away for a moment: "Hey, what you bought isn't a supplement, it's medicine, right? This taste is just too..."
"That's why I also bought chewy candies. You must have finished stealing and eating those long ago, right?" When Myeong Yan bought the supplements, he had included flavor-adjusting chewy candies as a matching set.
They had agreed: one dose of supplements, two pieces of candy.
However, Im Nayeon's guilty expression made it obvious at a glance that she hadn't followed the rules.

"Well, waiting around for schedules is too boring," Im Nayeon forced a justification: "I refuse to believe Jisoo still has her candies left. She definitely finished hers ages ago."
The three of them had known each other since elementary school; who didn't know who?

"Did Jisoo call you recently?"
"She did."
"What did you talk about?"
"Just stuff about the group, what else could the two of us talk about? We talked about you."

Myeong Yan breathed a sigh of relief. As long as that weirdo didn't mention running around naked, it was fine; otherwise, Im Nayeon would probably start using sarcasm again.
"Jisoo has asked me for more chewy candies three times already after finishing hers, and here you are trying to hide it."
Kim Jisoo didn't bother with pretenses; when she ran out, she asked for more without a shred of embarrassment.
A bond forged from running around naked as children—could that ever be ordinary?

Even Im Nayeon's two rabbit teeth radiated astonishment: "Three times?!"
"How long ago did you finish yours?" Myeong Yan smiled. Even at twenty-one years old, this kid's reactions were still much the same as when she was little.
Im Nayeon was very smart, but sometimes a quick wit simply couldn't defeat someone with thick skin.
Or rather, it was the difference between having reservations in one's heart and being completely open and unburdened.

"I don't remember clearly, I really have been too busy lately." Im Nayeon was spinning in circles from busyness, sometimes unable to even sense the passage of time—her eyes opened to schedules, and her eyes closed...
Well, there wasn't much time for her eyes to close at all.
The girl felt like she had only debuted a year ago, yet in reality, she had aged several years.

"Alright, if you like eating them, I'll send you some more," Myeong Yan shook his head, lacking any good way to deal with this close friend: "Let me know when you have time."
"Okay."
Im Nayeon beamed with joy.

"Don't tell Jeongyeon, got it?"
"Did you touch her butt again?"
"Once isn't enough? I'm afraid she'll touch my butt next time."
...

"Ahem, did you take the nutritional supplements I gave you properly?"
"I haven't taken it today~"

Just as Im Nayeon hung up the video call, Minatozaki Sana emerged from some corner, grabbed a bewildered Hirai Momo, and started acting out a scene.
"Hey, SANA, even though the two of us kissed last time, we aren't dating yet." When it came to verbal sparring, Im Nayeon wasn't afraid either; she wasn't made of clay.
Just because they kissed didn't mean someone had to take responsibility—where in the world was it that simple?

"Nayeon unnie, don't talk nonsense. I am single-mindedly devoted to Tzuyu, you're not my type."
"Come here, let me take a look at what your type is like."