HANEUL gazed out of the car window as his mother navigated their vehicle into a nearby parking space close to the hotel where Robin was staying. They were waiting for him so they could all head to the Jeil ENM Center building together.
Today was the day they were scheduled to sign the contract for Boys Odyssey. Since both Haneul and Robin had received the same date and time in their emails, they decided to go together. Haneul's mother had kindly offered to drive them to the meeting.
"How are your dance lessons going?" his mother asked as they waited.
Haneul turned to his mother with a smile. "They're going great. I think I'm finally starting to see some real progress."
It had been over a week since he began his dance lessons. Initially, he struggled due to his lack of flexibility. However, now his body was starting to move the way he wanted it to. If he continued with his lessons, he felt confident that he would be ready enough for the survival program.
At least, he hoped so.
"I'm sorry. Your dad and I should have put more effort into understanding what you wanted to do instead of, well, not doing anything," his mother said, her voice filled with regret. "Maybe you could have started learning to dance much earlier."
"Mom, it's not your fault, nor Dad's. It was all on me. I'm the one who didn't say anything," Haneul said softly.
"As your parents, we should have known better. We didn't even realize how talented you are at singing," his mother said, her voice tinged with regret.
Haneul reached for his mother's hand and held it gently. "Mom, like I said, it's not your fault. You know how precocious I was as a child. I used to overthink things a lot. That's why I never mentioned it—I didn't want to trouble you. It's not that I didn't trust you or Dad; it's just my mind overthinking. Only recently did I realize how misguided I had been. If I kept on like that, I'd always be afraid to chase my dreams. So, yes, this is definitely all on me."
Eunji looked at her son, her heart heavy with unspoken words. She wanted to tell him that none of this was his fault. As his parents, it was their responsibility to provide a stable environment where he wouldn't feel the need to suppress his aspirations. Yet, they had failed to give him that sense of security.
But she knew that even if she said that, Haneul would just continue to deny it. They would end up in an endless loop of apologizing to each other. The only thing she could do now was to ensure Haneul never felt that way again. From this moment on, he would know he had their full support to pursue his dreams.
"Mom, I just want you to know that, no matter what, you and Dad will always be the best parents I could ever ask for."
Eunji's eyes welled up with tears, and she gently squeezed Haneul's hand. "Thank you, Haneul."
She gazed down, not wanting Haneul to see the tears welling up in her eyes. Just as the first tear threatened to spill, a knock on the car window interrupted her thoughts. They both turned to see who it was and spotted Robin standing there. From outside, Robin couldn't see inside the car and looked like a lost child, peering in to see if anyone was there.
Eunji couldn't help but chuckle at the other's expression. She unlocked the door to the backseat and rolled down the window, smiling warmly at the young man standing outside.
"Come in, Robin," she said.
Robin smiled and greeted them before sliding into the backseat. "Thank you for taking me to the Jeil ENM Center too, Aunt Eunji."
"There's no need to thank me. You and Haneul are headed to the same place, so it made perfect sense to bring you along, too."
"Mom's right," Haneul agreed. "It would be even stranger if we went there separately."
A smile automatically crossed Robin's face when he heard that. It was as if they were saying it was only natural for them to go together, without needing to make a big deal out of it. He had never felt so welcomed by people who weren't his family.
The urge to debut with Haneul just increased because of this. But he knew it wouldn't be easy. The possibility of Haneul debuting would be very high. With his visual and his vocals, he would definitely be a fan favorite. And if he improved his dancing skills, he would be unstoppable.
Unlike Robin. Even if he could sing and dance, his foreigner status would still pull him back. He knew how unreceptive Koreans could be to foreigners, especially those with highly prominent Western features. He hadn't heard of any idol of full non-Asian descent who had managed to make it big.
Although international fans wanted more diversity in K-pop, at the end of the day, most entertainment companies in Korea still put their domestic market first. It's not just the entertainment companies. Even in their idol survival programs involving public voting, domestic votes were often given more weight than international ones, if international fans were allowed to vote at all.
There were a lot of barriers Robin needed to overcome in order to debut. With this being his last chance, the pressure to succeed weighed even more heavily on him. But didn't mean he would just give up. Especially when he met a friend he wanted to debut with.
He was just thankful that he knew how to speak and read Korean, courtesy of his stepmother. He hoped that viewers of the survival program would recognize his effort in learning their language and see his sincerity in wanting to become an idol.
As he pondered this, Aunt Eunji had already started the car, heading towards the Jeil ENM Center.