Chapter 237 – Why Me!!

In the next morning.

Morning light slipped faintly through the curtains of a quiet cabin room, painting soft stripes across the sheets.

Beneath them, a single girl was curled up tightly, like a cat refusing to wake.

“Mmghh…”

As the sunlight crept across her face, she groaned and pulled the blanket over her head, stubbornly shielding herself from reality.

Her dark hair stuck out in every direction, and the faint shadows under her eyes betrayed a long, sleepless night.

The Okinawan waters were rough this season.

The ship had rocked for hours, each sway a cruel reminder that sleep was a luxury.

This—her fifth, or maybe sixth attempt—wasn’t going any better.

The low hum of the cruise ship mingled with the rhythm of waves outside—almost peaceful, if not for the sharp bzzzzt that suddenly shattered the silence.

Haneul Lee stirred beneath her blanket, eyebrows twitching as she buried her face deeper into the pillow.

‘Bzzzzt—’

Another vibration. Louder this time. Persistent.

“...Mmmgh…” she mumbled, voice muffled by the sheets.

With a sigh heavier than her mood, Haneul reached out from beneath the covers, her hand searching clumsily across the nightstand until her fingers found the culprit.

The phone buzzed one last time before she grabbed it, and the screen lit up, stabbing her sleepy eyes with cold, merciless light.

“…What now…” she murmured hoarsely, thumb swiping across the screen.

A flood of notifications greeted her—mentions, tags, unread messages. Her sleepy mind tried to process them one by one until a familiar name popped up.

────────────────────────────
[Suh-yeon | Manager]

[Morning. Remember your live interview at 10 A.M. sharp.]

[Don’t be late. Also, check your mentions—you’re trending again.]
────────────────────────────

Haneul stared blankly at the message. Once. Twice.

Her brain, still half-submerged in sleep, struggled to process what her manager had just said.

“…Trending?” she mumbled, voice still foggy, tilting her head as if she wasn’t sure whether she was awake or still dreaming.

“Why…?”

Muttering under her breath, she unlocked her phone and opened Twitter.

Whatever it was, experience told her—it usually wasn’t good news.

The moment her feed loaded, her notifications exploded.

Mentions. Tags. Comments.

It looked like a digital war zone.

“Eh…? What’s going on…” she whispered, scrolling in confusion.

Her agency’s account sat at the top of her timeline, with a fresh retweet from the night before.

────────────────────────────
[#SingAsia Ep6 – More Details on the Challenger Revealed!]

The new Challenger has arrived and chosen their target!

🎤 Target: Haneul Lee — the contestant who eliminated Sing! Huang Qi last week!
🎶 Clue: “A new generation Japanese pop music creator team” will appear on next week’s show!

Stay tuned for the reveal!
────────────────────────────

“Oh… that’s all?” she murmured, blinking slowly. “So the challenger singer finally showed up, huh.”

She yawned, the corners of her eyes crinkling with sleepy disinterest.

“And now they’re picking a fight with Haneul Lee…”

With a half-hearted sigh, she locked her phone and tossed it onto the bed.

“Well, that’s not my problem, right?” she mumbled, rolling over and tucking herself back under the blanket. “Whoever that Haneul Lee is, I wish her good luck…”

“……”

“….”

The silence lingered for a few beats.

Then—

“WAIT A MINUTE!!!”

Haneul shot upright, hair in complete disarray, eyes wide with sudden realization.

She scrambled for her phone, fumbling to unlock it as if it might vanish before she could confirm her fears.

There it was. Her name. Clear as day.

“No, no, no, no, no—” she muttered frantically, scrolling up and down just to make sure she hadn’t hallucinated.

But no. It was definitely her.

In a panic, she opened her contacts and tapped on her manager’s number with trembling fingers.

The phone rang. Once. Twice.

She bit her lip, a nervous flutter rising in her chest.

“Please pick up… please pick up…”

“Ah, Haneul, you finally wak—”

“Manager! What is the meaning of this?!”

Before Suh-yeon could finish her greeting, Haneul’s voice burst through the speaker, sharp and full of panic.

“Didn’t you say last time that I could rest after this? You promised! This is completely different from what we talked about!”

There was a long pause on the other end, followed by a nervous laugh.

“Ahaha… well, about that…”

Suh-yeon scratched her cheek awkwardly, her tone betraying guilt even through the phone.

She knew exactly why Haneul was freaking out.

After all, Haneul Lee wasn’t even supposed to be here in the first place.

In South Korea, she was already a well-known actress—an idol, yes, but one who mostly worked in films and dramas.

Singing competitions weren’t exactly her usual stage.

The only reason she ended up on Sing! Asia was because the agency received an exclusive ticket to participate, and someone upstairs decided Haneul would be “perfect for expanding their brand overseas.”

It made sense on paper.

Haneul could sing beautifully, her reputation was spotless, and her fanbase back home was massive.

But none of that changed the truth.

She hadn’t volunteered.

She’d been… cornered.

It took the promise of generous incentives—extra time off, a quiet vacation, maybe a new contract clause to finally convince her to say yes.

And yet, here she was again, facing another surprise from her agency.

Outside, to the world, she was “Haneul Lee, the dependable big sister,” graceful and calm no matter the situation.

But inside under her blanket fortress. she was just a trembling mess of nerves who wanted nothing more than five more minutes of peace.

The truth was, she’d never even planned to enter the idol industry.

She’d only joined because her friends roped her into it years ago.

And somehow… she never managed to escape.

“Isn’t there supposed to be some kind of turn system for this kind of thing?!” Haneul’s voice rose, sharp and trembling.

“And what’s with this ‘mystery challenger’ nonsense!?”

“Please, calm down first, Haneul,” Suh-yeon said in her usual cheerful tone. “You really don’t need to think about it that much.”

“Don’t think about it that much? Don’t think about it that much?”

“Ahahaha…”

“Ha… ahahaha…”

A low, unsettling laugh escaped from Haneul’s throat.

On the other end, her manager awkwardly joined in, unsure if laughing along would help or make it worse.

Then—

“Don’t need to think about it my ass!!!”

The sudden outburst exploded through the phone’s speaker, loud enough to make Suh-yeon wince and pull the device away from her ear.

“It’s the fourth time I’ve been challenged by someone!” Haneul’s voice trembled between panic and outrage.

“Do you even know how many times other contestants have sung in the past seven days?”

“Uh…” Suh-yeon hesitated, clearly not wanting to answer. “Like… two times?”

“One! Just one time!” Haneul nearly wailed. “Why am I the only one who keeps getting picked?! This is bullying! Power harassment! Why are they all targeting me?”

Suh-yeon sighed softly, pressing her fingers against her temple as Haneul’s anxious words tumbled out in rapid-fire.

She couldn’t exactly say it’s because you’re too good and they all want a piece of you.

“Haneul, calm down,” Suh-yeon said in her best ‘manager voice.’ “It’s not as bad as you think.”

“Not as bad?” Haneul echoed in disbelief, her tone quivering.

“You just admitted I’m being bullied on national television! How is that not bad?”

“Just listen first, okay?” Suh-yeon said quickly. “This time, the ‘mystery challenger’ isn’t a big celebrity or anything. It’s actually… a band. A fairly new one. Their leader’s just eighteen, and they only debuted less than a year ago.”

For a moment, silence fell between them.

“…What?” Haneul blinked slowly. “Eighteen?”

“It’s true,” Suh-yeon continued. “They’re newcomers, but apparently they’ve been gaining attention in Japan. The producers said they wanted to create an interesting contrast—an established artist like you versus a rising young group.”

“An interesting contrast…” Haneul muttered under her breath, her voice flat. “That sounds suspiciously like ‘let’s humiliate the beginner on stage.’”

“Hey, don’t say that,” Suh-yeon replied, forcing a chuckle. “It’s just another performance. You’ll be fine, Haneul.”

“Fine?” Haneul echoed under her breath, sitting up and pressing a hand to her forehead.

“You do realize how these things go, right?” Haneul said flatly, rubbing her temple.

“If I win, I’ll look like a bully who crushed a bunch of kids. But if I lose, I’ll be the washed-up idol who got beaten by a high school band.”

There was a short silence, followed by Suh-yeon’s awkward laugh. “…Well, when you put it that way—”

“Please don’t agree with me.”

“Right, right. Of course not.”

Haneul let out a long sigh and sank back against the pillow.

“So… they’re a new group,” she murmured under her breath. “Eighteen, huh…? Why do I have a bad feeling about this?”

Her manager chuckled softly. “You always say that before a show, and it always turns out fine.”

“If everything’s so fine, maybe I should start planning my escape route,” Haneul muttered, her brows knitting in quiet frustration.

Suh-yeon’s voice softened. “Just trust me this once, okay? They’re probably harmless.”

“…Okay,” Haneul echoed quietly, though her tone carried zero conviction.

The call ended with a faint beep.

For a moment, Haneul just stared at the black screen, her reflection faintly visible — calm on the surface, but her eyes restless.

She tapped the screen again, reopening her social media feed, and began scrolling through every post and rumor she could find about this so-called mystery challenger.