The Hit Song of This Life Is Revenge - Chapter 23

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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My Life’s Hit Song is Revenge
Chapter 23
Splash.
The stream of cold water continued to pour down relentlessly.
Jae-i didn’t turn off the faucet until the foul thoughts in her head cleared.
Confronting the things that made her want to vomit in the same room was harder than she had anticipated.
Jae-i lifted her head and stared directly at herself in the mirror.
‘Don’t waver. Focus on one thing.’
There was no reason to be shaken by scum, and she shouldn’t be.
This was a warning not to let anger consume her passion for her dream.
Just then, a sharp voice cut through the sound of rushing water from behind.
“How was my performance?”
Jae-i’s eyes wavered in the mirror.
It was Baek Song-ha.
She had just shaken off Yoo Young-jae.
Like a pair of clinging cockroaches, the uninvited guests followed her in tandem.
Jae-i quietly watched Baek Song-ha approach.
As if desperate to show how passionate her performance had been.
Baek Song-ha pressed her forehead with the back of her hand, cooled by the cold water, and smoothed out her already settled breathing.
“I should have picked number one.”
“…….”
Baek Song-ha scanned her own face left and right, letting her words drift out nonchalantly.
“Having to wait to watch your clueless face on broadcast is annoying.”
There was no subject to her sentence.
But at the end of those words, their eyes locked perfectly in the mirror.
The corners of Jae-i’s mouth slowly curved upward.
How exhausting it must be to pretend to be nice while hiding a nature like that.
It was pathetic enough to elicit pity now.
“I didn’t realize you could just choose whichever number you wanted.”
There was no longer any need for a respectful tone.
Since the other side was coming at her like this, she had no reason to take it lying down.
“But you’re… getting awfully casual with your words.”
“I thought you wanted to drop the formalities. Make yourself comfortable.”
Song-ha’s narrowed eyes pierced every inch of Jae-i’s face.
Within the single mirror, the two pairs of eyes clashed, sending sparks flying.
It was Baek Song-ha who curled her eyes into a smile first.
“Are you under the delusion that you can actually win first place here?”
Baek Song-ha roughly yanked out a paper towel.
“Does comforting yourself with things like ‘if I try hard’ or ‘if I don’t give up’ make you feel a bit better?”
She rolled the wet towel up tightly, clutching it as if it were a weapon.
Song-ha whipped her body around to deliver her final warning.
“Please, wake up from your dream.”
And then, thud.
She threw the crumpled towel accurately right at Jae-i’s chest.
The towel struck her chest and fell, rolling across the tiled floor.
Jae-i lowered her head to look at the towel, then let out a soft chuckle.
‘Is she laughing?’
That chuckle made the hairs on the back of Baek Song-ha’s neck stand up.
‘Who do you think I am?’
The only daughter of Daekyung Group, the next rising star pushed by YU Entertainment.
That fact alone made everyone bow their heads.
Yet just now, a look of pure ridicule was plastered on Lee Jae-i’s face.
‘I’ve hated her from the start.’
The face she couldn’t stand watching on screen was even worse in person.
On top of that, that strangely arrogant attitude.
She felt like she would only be satisfied if she saw her bursting into tears.
“You’ve probably never worked up a sweat to achieve anything, so you wouldn’t know. The things you’ve shed so far must have been different.”
Jae-i picked up the towel, lifting her head to meet her gaze.
Song-ha met the rising glare head-on.
“Especially that position as the only daughter.”
“……What?”
Jae-i’s voice was calm.
But to Song-ha’s ears, it struck like a booming echo vibrating off the walls.
Those two short syllables felt like a gun muzzle aimed squarely at her throat.
Normally, she would have snapped back immediately.
Yet the tip of her tongue dried up, and not a single word came out.
Jae-i, with an indifferent expression, grabbed Baek Song-ha’s hand and placed the towel on it.
“Even in kindergarten, they teach you this. Throw away your own trash.”
Even as Jae-i turned around and walked out, Song-ha remained frozen.
Only the sound of ragged breathing remained in the empty restroom.
‘……Is she gone? Did she leave?’
Staring blankly at the towel in her hand, Song-ha forgot to breathe for a split second.
The weight of the towel on her palm grew heavier and heavier.
As if it were filled with the long years she had kept the secret hidden.
“What do you know, you crazy bitch!”
Song-ha aggressively ripped the towel in her hands to shreds.
No matter how violently she tore it apart, the scraps of paper didn’t disappear; they only littered the floor.
“Haa. Haa.”
Panting heavily, Song-ha faced herself in the mirror.
Over the mirror reflecting her face distorted by anxiety, she turned on the faucet and splashed water over herself.
Even as she repeated the action, the silhouette blurred by the water sharpened again, becoming clear once more.
“No! It’s not true!”
A scene she had buried away, never wanting to recall it again, abruptly overlapped.
A shoulder stamped with a dark red palm print.
‘Ha—.’
The scream that was about to burst from her stuck throat was swallowed back down.
Song-ha adjusted the stream of water and sprayed it over her shoulder.
Even as her outfit became soaked and wrinkled, she didn’t stop.
“It’s not true!!”
The Song-ha in the mirror was trembling, just like that day.
* * *
Sitting in the Waiting Room, Jae-i felt utterly drained.
It was a moment far more exhausting than a full twenty-four-hour shoot or a prolonged wait.
‘Ah, I’m so tired…….’
It had been a long time since she wanted to go home this badly.
Coincidentally, it was a break in the filming.
Jae-i leaned her head back slightly and closed her eyes.
‘So it was true…….’
The image of Baek Song-ha’s trembling face lingered in her mind.
One night.
A completely wasted Song-ha had poured her heart out in front of her, rambling about her childhood.
At the time, Jae-i wondered if she was confusing a movie she had watched with reality.
Because the story was so shocking, it was harder to believe it right away.
But that reaction just now.
The face overcome with unhideable terror proved it was a fact.
She hadn’t thought of it as a viable card to play, but it was an unexpected gain.
Yet at the same time, she needed to process the shock she received.
‘I need to keep my wits about me.’
There was no guarantee the same thing wouldn’t happen again.
Since the blade Song-ha held was pointed at her, she had to be more vigilant.
Filming resumed, but Baek Song-ha did not return.
Even by the time it was Kim Se-jin’s turn at the very end.
“Trainee Baek Song-ha suddenly developed acute stomach cramps, so she will be absent. It won’t affect the rest of the shooting, so we’ll proceed as planned.”
A staff member announced before the final performance began.
The surrounding trainees murmured among themselves.
“She didn’t look nervous at all, but I guess she was really stressed out.”
“I know, right? But if I could get stomach cramps and still perform that well, I’d gladly take it…….”
Kim Se-jin’s performance began.
Every time the stage lights flashed brilliantly, the shadow of the seat Baek Song-ha left empty felt distinct.
She needed to focus on the screen, but the more she tried, the more jumbled her head became.
‘Just think about what needs to be done right now.’
Jae-i wiped her mind blank once more.
She just needed to neatly file away the card that would be used eventually.
It wasn’t a story she could casually spread around, but when a fire was lit under Baek Song-ha, it would serve as definitive gasoline.
She fixed her eyes on the screen.
‘Her high notes are wavering a bit.’
The next mission was the Group Mission.
Jae-i sharply evaluated the stage like a judge.
Snip.
As expected, the screen cut off abruptly, and tension hung heavy in the Waiting Room.
‘Just as I thought…….’
When Kim Se-jin’s face reappeared on the screen, she looked panicked.
Compared to last time when she had broken down completely on stage, this was an improvement.
‘That’s fine. That should do it.’
It was a close call, but looking at the previous performances, it didn’t seem like she would be eliminated.
Jae-i slowly scanned the faces of the trainees she had kept in mind.
A group absolutely required an attractive combination.
Along with that, she simultaneously sorted out an appropriate competitive dynamic.
When the number of people increased, clashes were inevitable.
Because everyone wanted to stand at the center and sing the chorus.
‘A girl like her would probably stop at a moderately cute disagreement.’
It was a relief she had diligently watched this show in the past.
She mapped out the optimal group composition and strategy in her head.
While doing so, her eyes locked with another trainee’s.
A gaze that was sharply edged.
At first, she thought the girl was simply tense.
Jae-i slowly turned her gaze back in that direction.
Though Jae-i offered a faint smile, the trainee shifted her eyes away with a blank, expressionless face.
‘Huh? Did I see wrong?’
This time, the locked gaze actually paused for a few seconds.
Hostility? Curiosity?
The simulation in her head momentarily wavered.
Of all people, it was a trainee she was considering as a teammate.
‘Why is she… looking at me like that?’

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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