I Became a Member of My Favorite Group! - Chapter 11

Lately, every day has been enjoyable.

There are many reasons for this, but if I had to pick one, it’s this:

[Yuna] – Good morning!

[Jia unnie] – Yuna, you’re up early again today?

[Ra-hee unnie] – She’s really diligent.

Every morning, when I check the group chat, it’s always filled with messages.

[Yuna] – Well, I have to go work out!

[Yuna] – Don’t you guys and Da-jeong work out separately?

[Ra-hee unnie] – I’ve been doing Pilates lately.

[Jia unnie] – Just some light gym in the evening?

[Chae-yoon unnie] – I guess I’m the lazy one.

[Chae-yoon unnie] – (Awkwardly smiling emoji)

By the way, everyone works out so diligently. It’s surprising that Chae-yoon unnie, who has such a great figure, doesn’t work out much.

Maybe it’s just good genes.

[Me] – I don’t work out either.

[Me] – But lately, I feel like I should.

[Me] – My stamina is really bad….

Even when I was a guy, my stamina wasn’t that bad, but ever since I became a girl, I get out of breath even after just a little movement.

It’s a bit unfair.

Except for Chae-yoon unnie, the other members started sharing their workout routines with me.

The amount of information was so detailed, it felt like they could write a thesis on it.

It just shows how much they care about me.

[Yuna] – By the way, we’re meeting up today after a long time, right?

[Ra-hee unnie] – Yeah.

[Ra-hee unnie] – We haven’t seen each other since the first meeting.

[Jia unnie] – It’s already been two weeks, hasn’t it?

[Chae-yoon unnie] – It’s been about that long.

Wow, it’s already been that long since we last met.

Since we’re always video calling, chatting on Discord, and texting, it feels like we’re always together, so I didn’t really notice.

[Jia unnie] – Da-jeong, how are you getting here today?

[Jia unnie] – If you walk again, the boss will scold you.

[Me] – I’m not sure….

[Me] – (Cat panicking emoji)

While we were discussing how today’s meeting would go.

Jia unnie’s comment made me realize something.

Actually, when the boss called us all in this time, she specifically told me one thing.

She said to absolutely not walk and to use any form of transportation to get to the company.

She even said to submit the receipts, and the company would cover all the costs.

Of course, I’m grateful, but I’m a bit hesitant.

If I were a regular employee doing productive work, it might be different, although from the company’s perspective, I’m just an ordinary unemployed person right now. Is it okay to impose like this?

However if I don’t use transportation, they’ll find out as soon as I don’t submit a receipt.

What should I do? While I was pondering, Ra-hee unnie sent a message.

[Ra-hee unnie] – Should I come pick you up?

[Ra-hee unnie] – Da-jeong, what do you think?

[Me] – Ra-hee unnie?

[Ra-hee unnie] – Yeah, I have a car.

So Ra-hee unnie has a car.

Now that I think about it, I think I heard about it before.

I thought she bought it later after earning some money, but it seems she’s had it from the beginning.

[Me] – Won’t it be too much trouble for you, unnie?

[Ra-hee unnie] – I’m fine with it.

[Ra-hee unnie] – Unless it’s too far.

[Ra-hee unnie] – Just in case, can you send me your address?

Is it right to burden unnie instead of the boss?

I’m a bit conflicted, but it seems like unnie will keep insisting, so I had no choice but to send my address.

[Ra-hee unnie] – It’s not that far from my place.

[Ra-hee unnie] – I’ll pick you up by 11.

[Me] – I’m sorry, unnie.

[Ra-hee unnie] – Tsk!

[Ra-hee unnie] – No saying sorry.

[Me] – Okay….

Ugh, I got scolded….but I can’t help feeling sorry.

[Jia unnie] – I’m jealous of Ra-hee….

[Jia unnie] – I want to go on a drive with Da-jeong too.

Meanwhile, Jia unnie expressed envy over something unexpected.

Going on a drive with someone like me wouldn’t be that fun.

Of course, I’d be happy just being with Jia unnie, even if we didn’t talk much.

＊＊＊＊＊

Ra-hee drove her car toward the address Da-jeong had sent her.

She had told Da-jeong it wasn’t too far from her place to ease her worries, but in reality, it was quite a distance.

Even though it wasn’t lunchtime yet and there wasn’t much traffic, it still took a considerable amount of time.

‘So, this is where she lives.’

Finally arriving near the address, Ra-hee looked around with a curious expression.

It was understandable. She had never imagined such a place existed on the outskirts of Seoul.

Especially for someone like her, who came from a wealthy family and lived in a mansion-like house, this place was completely unfamiliar.

Even the steep hill in front of her was unusual.

It felt like they had cut down the trees on a mountain and built houses on top of it.

The shabby houses clustered together and the seemingly endless hill felt so out of place to her.

‘I guess I just need to go up to where Da-jeong said, right?’

Looking at the only path up the hill, she stepped on the gas without hesitation.

It felt steep, but a road is a road.

She thought she could make it up somehow.

‘What’s with this road?’

However she soon had to rethink.

The road up the hill was incredibly rough.

It felt like driving a tractor on an unpaved road.

Every time the car moved, it rattled and shook violently, leaving her speechless.

If she had to walk up this road in the middle of summer, it would be pure hell.

‘Da-jeong lives in a place like this?’

As she got closer to the address Da-jeong had given her, Ra-hee’s unease grew.

The further up the hill she went, the smaller the houses became.

Some of them looked so run-down that it was hard to believe anyone could live there.

She even saw a house with its door torn off.

‘Come to think of it, Da-jeong said there are cockroaches and even mice at her place.’

When she first heard it, she thought the mice part was an exaggeration, but even before reaching Da-jeong’s house, that thought was becoming a reality in Ra-hee’s mind.

“Ra-hee unnie!”

“Da-jeong!”

How far up the steep hill had she gone?

Even though the end wasn’t in sight, Ra-hee spotted Da-jeong in the distance, waving energetically as she approached.

Excited, Ra-hee rolled down her window and waved back.

Da-jeong, like a puppy hearing its owner’s call, started running toward her as if she’d wag her tail if she had one.

‘Is she going to trip?’

Da-jeong’s thin, almost frail body looked precarious as she ran.

Ra-hee even considered getting out of the car and running to meet her.

“Da-jeong, long time no see! How have you been?”

Ra-hee greeted Da-jeong warmly as she climbed into the passenger seat.

Da-jeong, simply happy to see her favorite member, nodded with a silly smile, then suddenly looked gloomy.

“Yes, unnie. More than that, I’m sorry for making you come all the way up here….”

“No, it wasn’t hard at all.”

Actually, it was a bit rough, but Ra-hee told a white lie for Da-jeong’s sake, but Da-jeong wasn’t one to be fooled so easily.

“That can’t be true. Even taxi drivers refuse to come up here because it’s too tough.”

“…Is it that bad?”

It was surprising that Da-jeong immediately called out the lie, but what shocked Ra-hee even more was the truth Da-jeong revealed.

Taxi drivers, who would usually go the extra mile to earn more money, wouldn’t even come up here even if it meant making less.

If even they refused to come up, just how rough was this route?

“Yeah, so even when the boss gave me a ride last time, I had to walk up from the bottom of the hill.”

“……”

Ra-hee was at a loss for words as Da-jeong added, “I’m used to it, so it’s fine.”

No matter how much of an adult she was, imagining Da-jeong, with her frail body, panting as she climbed this steep hill made Ra-hee’s heart ache.

Especially since she knew Da-jeong wasn’t particularly strong, it was even more heartbreaking.

‘She’s been walking through places like this all the time.’

Ra-hee had heard that Da-jeong walked both the first and second times she came to the company.

At first, she thought it must be a walkable distance, so she didn’t think much of it, but after coming here today, Ra-hee realized it was far from walkable.

Even if the distance wasn’t too far.

Climbing up and down this godforsaken hill would be infuriating in the middle of summer.

Thinking of Da-jeong trudging up and down on her thin legs made Ra-hee feel a pang of sadness.

“Oh, right. Unnie, I brought some snacks to eat in the car.”

Just as Ra-hee was about to start the car after buckling Da-jeong’s seatbelt.

Da-jeong suddenly rummaged through her worn-out eco bag, pulling something out, which made Ra-hee tilt her head in confusion.

There was a strange word mixed in.

“Snacks?”

“Yeah. Hehe… I felt so bad for making you come all the way here. I thought I should at least prepare something.”

“It’s fine…”

How kind could she be?

Most people would just accept the favor and move on, but Da-jeong, unable to even accept that, showed such thoughtful consideration that Ra-hee was overwhelmed with the desire to have a younger sister like her.

Click—

When Da-jeong showed the contents of the common side dish container she had brought, Ra-hee’s eyes widened.

She had expected cookies or bread, the usual snacks people think of, but what was inside was completely unexpected.

“Da-jeong, what’s this?”

“Sweet potato candy. My neighbor grandma grows them in her garden, and sometimes she gives me some when she has extra.”

“I see…”

That’s right.

It was sweet potato candy.

Of course, sweet potato candy is a well-known snack and dessert, but it’s not something a 21-year-old woman would typically bring as a snack.

In today’s world, there are so many sweet and delicious treats like cakes and macarons, so who would go out of their way to eat sweet potato candy? However Da-jeong acted as if this candy was the best snack she could ever have.

She smiled with pride and anticipation.

Ra-hee couldn’t bring herself to say she didn’t particularly like sweet potatoes.

“Unnie, since you’re driving, should I feed you?”

“Yeah, could you? Ah~”

“Ah~”

Da-jeong picked up a piece of sweet potato candy with a single chopstick and fed it to Ra-hee.

As Ra-hee chewed on it, she gripped the steering wheel and turned the car toward the company.

‘The candy… it’s delicious.’

That day, for the first time, Ra-hee realized that sweet potato candy could be so tasty.