Chapter 37: Misfortunes Never Come Singly

"No, this one's too formal—it looks like I'm going to a business meeting."
"That one's too traditional and makes me look old."
"This dress is too short, it's a bit frivolous."

Ever since learning she would be dining with Bao-ya Kwon, Pan Jieying had treated it as a battle, trying on every piece from her suitcase, one after another, before finally settling on an outfit she could barely tolerate. Her attitude was more cautious than if she were going on a blind date herself.

Even Gu Cheng couldn't stand it anymore. "Sis, stop changing, let's go."

"I'm just afraid you'll lose face!" Pan Jieying arched her delicate brows, made up her mind, and put on the wide-shouldered dress she had finally chosen.

Half an hour later, the siblings appeared at the Andong Braised Chicken restaurant in Nonhyeon-dong—the very place where Gu Cheng had gotten drunk months before.

Bao-ya Kwon was already there, dressed in loose, comfortable clothes, with no makeup. When she saw Gu Cheng, a faint, inexplicable anticipation flickered in her eyes—perhaps even she didn't know what that feeling was.

At thirteen, she was still oblivious to the emotions between men and women. Perhaps her closeness and trust toward Gu Cheng were much like the admiration a first-year girl might feel for a handsome, knowledgeable young teacher.

Yet Pan Jieying found that sweet innocence increasingly adorable, warm and healing. She couldn't help but rush to sit beside Bao-ya, leaving her cousin alone on the opposite side of the table.

Gu Cheng also noticed that nearly half a year had passed since they last met; Bao-ya had grown more graceful, and seemed a few centimeters taller, likely over 155 centimeters now.

"Annyeonghaseyo, I'm Gu Cheng's cousin Pan Jieying. Nice to meet you. Your performance at the concert the other day was incredible—you’re sure to make it big."

Bao-ya Kwon smiled shyly. "Thank you."

The two girls quickly became acquainted, and the waiter brought all the braised chicken and side dishes.

Gu Cheng glanced around, waited until the server left, then said, "Aren’t you worried about being recognized by fans?"

"Pfft—" The little girl couldn't help but laugh. "Come on, I've only debuted three days ago. Where would I suddenly have fans?"

"Is that so? I think Sis Jieying is already your die-hard, brainless fan."

Pan Jieying retorted at Gu Cheng’s teasing, "Hey, hey, hey, are you jealous? Should I start idolizing you too, my dear brother?"

"Don't. I'm not cut out to be an idol."

Gu Cheng didn’t want to bicker with his cousin, so he just served a bit of food to each of the girls—with unused chopsticks, of course.

Everyone ate a little to fill their stomachs, and Gu Cheng tentatively asked, "I heard from your brother that you were quarantined. I didn’t want to bother you, so I didn’t get in touch."

Bao-ya Kwon was slightly embarrassed, "No need to explain."

Pan Jieying was also a bit indignant, feeling her brother was clueless about comforting girls: such an explanation just made it seem as if she were clinging to him, which was embarrassing.

Bao-ya Kwon suppressed her little temper for a few seconds, didn’t answer directly, turned to look at the ceiling, and said in a slightly nasal, proud tone, "You've slimmed down."

"Huh?" Gu Cheng was caught off guard.

"Looks like you really took my words seriously."

As she spoke, the moisture in her eyes seemed to be reabsorbed. Her little face, proud and slightly smug, appeared to have regained some dignity—as if she was the one being approached, not the one making advances.

Gu Cheng truly didn’t know how to comfort girls, so he could only press on, "Can you tell me about your upcoming schedule?"

"Today’s my last day off. Starting tomorrow, I’ll be a VJ for a music program at the TV station for two months. After that, it depends on my performance—if I do well, I’ll stay in Korea to prepare for the second album. If not, I’ll get kicked to Japan to open up a new market."

There was an unmistakable weariness in Bao-ya Kwon’s words.

She took another sip of soju, finally dropped her pride, and stopped beating around the bush with Gu Cheng. "Do you know why I invited you today?"

Gu Cheng admitted, "No…"

Bao-ya clarified, "It’s not that I wanted to see you. Recently, Yunho said Han Geng has been emotionally unstable and mentioned you—before you left the company, did you have any issues with Han Geng?"

Gu Cheng’s heart tightened, his fingers gripping the iron chopsticks so hard he almost bent them. Yet his face betrayed nothing.

He composed himself and answered calmly, "Han Geng? He was my roommate. What did he say? Has something happened recently?"

Bao-ya Kwon gave Gu Cheng a meaningful look and recounted some major events that had happened at the company.

It turned out, less than two months after Gu Cheng left, the members of HOT noticed the company was preparing to replace them and cut ties. Desperate, they conspired together—except for Kangta, the other four formed a pact: if the company replaced any of them, all four would terminate their contracts and resign together.

Replacing members in a group must be done gradually to preserve its value. Like Girls’ Generation years later—if one Jessica leaves and eight remain, it still counts as Girls’ Generation, and the company can fill the gap. But if eight leave and only one remains, no one can save it.

HOT's alliance made it impossible for the investors to act, so the replacement plan was shelved.

But the backup members, whose survival instincts had been roused, couldn’t just be discarded. So Director Kim Young-min privately summoned Yunho, Han Geng, and three others, telling them that even if they couldn’t replace HOT, the company would give them a chance to debut as a new group, tentatively named ‘Dongyi Rising.’

Unfortunately, the internet bubble soon burst. The company shifted strategies, believing solo careers were better suited to the economic winter, so the ‘Dongyi Rising’ plan was scrapped. President Lee Soo-man decided to wait for HOT to run into trouble, then promote Kangta as a solo act.

Thus, Yunho, Han Geng, and the others were left in the lurch.

Bao-ya Kwon, after all, was only thirteen. Even in the entertainment company’s environment, she didn’t fully grasp the intrigue and scheming. Her account was halting, many details unclear, leaving Gu Cheng to interpret.

After hearing it all, Gu Cheng realized the situation was dire.

His confidence in extracting his first big payoff from Han Geng had been based on the assumption that, after paying him, Han Geng would get a chance to debut and see his fortunes rise. If Han Geng now fell back into a low point in life, with no hope for years and debts mounting at home…

Gu Cheng worried Han Geng might become reckless and say unstable things. If outsiders got hold of Gu Cheng’s secrets, even if the law couldn’t touch him, it would ruin his reputation for life.

He had big ambitions—how could he let a paltry sum ruin his name?

Understanding the cause and effect, Gu Cheng decisively asked Bao-ya Kwon, "Do you know what Han said to Yunho about me?"

Bao-ya shook her head. "How would I know? I’m not a gossip. Probably just some complaints. What exactly did you have against him? How can I help you if you don’t tell me?"

Gu Cheng was still hesitating whether to tell the truth.

Pan Jieying, beside him, couldn’t stand it any longer.

"Cheng, Xiao-ya risked breaking company rules to tip you off—she’s such a good girl. What’s there you can’t tell her?"

"I’m not hiding anything from you, I just…"

As Gu Cheng spoke, his phone suddenly rang. He checked and his eyelids twitched.

It was Pan Jieying’s number. She was calling him right there at the table, hand hidden beneath the surface.

"I’ll step outside to take a call," Gu Cheng said, rising and pretending to leave.

In reality, he circled around and came back through the rear door.

Pan Jieying counted to a minute in her head, then smiled naturally at Bao-ya. "I need to use the restroom."

Bao-ya, still a child, suspected nothing.

At the restroom door, Pan Jieying intercepted her cousin.

This was the method the siblings often used in business: a quick exchange of notes over drinks.

Pan Jieying went straight to the point. "What on earth did you do that you can't even tell Xiao-ya? That's hurtful to a girl."

Gu Cheng struggled briefly, then gritted his teeth and confessed, "I extorted some money from Han Geng—the startup capital for my business came from him."

To him, his cousin was naturally closer and more trustworthy than Bao-ya Kwon.

After a few clarifying questions, Pan Jieying made a decisive order, "Later, you need to confess this to Xiao-ya as well. I trust she won't betray you."

"Sis, there's nothing romantic between us, believe me. We're just friends who feel we can trust each other, that's all."

"You don’t understand women! Do as I say!" Pan Jieying kept her voice low, but her tone soared a full octave, entering queen mode.

…

Two minutes later, the siblings returned to the table.

"Business call…" Gu Cheng explained sheepishly to Bao-ya, then repeated everything he had just agreed with his sister to say.

Bao-ya’s pupils widened.

The image Gu Cheng had painstakingly built in her mind wavered once more.

"You… extorted money from Han Geng?" Bao-ya’s voice trembled, as if wounded by something invisible.

Gu Cheng sighed. "I didn’t mean to take advantage—just a backroom deal. But since things have changed and he didn’t really benefit, I’m willing to pay him back with interest."

Bao-ya murmured blankly, "As long as you pay him back. Should I talk to Yunho and have him help arrange a meeting with Han Geng in a few days?"

Gu Cheng thought for a moment, then awkwardly said, "Alright, let someone tell Han Geng to meet me tomorrow night at the COSTA café near the company entrance."

Bao-ya considered, still uneasy, and pressed, "My brother said all your money is tied up in your business. Can you pay Han Geng back in one go? If you’re short, I could lend you some."

"Thanks, I have enough." Gu Cheng would never borrow money from a woman, but her words piqued his curiosity. "But how does a kid like you have spare cash to lend me?"

Bao-ya smiled forlornly, glancing at Gu Cheng with a hint of despair. "Do you remember what you told me the night before you left, in our foreign language class?"

Gu Cheng scratched his head. "Which part? We talked for two hours…"

"You said, in both studying and work, you should always set a reachable goal—like earning your first hundred million. I've debuted now, and this week, I'll reach that little goal."