The Challenge (1)
Cha Ye-seung gazed at the number on the check and thought, “The thing that was coming finally arrived.”
It was a sum with eight zeros—enough to match a year’s salary at a major corporation.
“......”
She picked up the blank check he had handed her.
If she merely signed it formally, the check would fulfill its role.
After a moment of hesitation, Cha Ye-seung soon lifted the pen.
In her mind, even one hundred million won was far too insufficient compared to his value.
For now, she should just be grateful that he had only requested one hundred million.
- Scratching sounds.
Cha Ye-seung signed the check.
Park Siwoo received it and offered a gentle smile.
“Thank you.”
“I’m glad you’re satisfied. Please take good care of us in the future as well.”
“Yes, then.”
As Park Siwoo turned to leave, Cha Ye-seung added urgently.
“Ah, Team Leader Park.”
“Yes?”
“Please arrange for the Neon Heart members and the celebrities to film a challenge together.”
“Understood.”
“Go in.”
“Yes.”
With that, Park Siwoo left the representative’s office.
He immediately opened his phone and dialed a number.
“Hello.”
“Hello, Producer-nim?”
“Yes, this is A-yeon. Where are you located right now?”
Siwoo asked, and Seol A-yeon answered promptly.
“I’m in the practice room at the moment.”
“Neon Heart’s members are all there too, right?”
“Uh… yes.”
It was perfect timing.
“Then, don’t go anywhere—wait there. I’ll be there soon.”
“Got it.”
After her response, Siwoo ended the call.
Since there were other calls to make, he didn’t head straight to the practice room.
His sales department phone had contacts for many celebrities’ entertainment-related people.
Among them, Siwoo called the Content Industry Team Leader at CHE Entertainment.
After several rings, the call connected.
“Team Leader Park. Long time no see. What have you been up to lately?”
His identity hadn’t spread far yet.
The team leader at a 1.5-tier entertainment couldn’t recognize him.
Well, eventually everyone would know.
'Since I’m not hiding it.'
High-ranking industry figures already seemed aware of his identity.
Anyway, that wasn’t important now.
“I’m doing fine, just working. Actually, Team Leader. I heard your group is canceling schedules. Is there time?”
“Time…?”
Kim Team Leader’s voice rose noticeably.
It seemed he didn’t want to get entangled with Starlight.
'Could he really hate this bait?'
“Neon Heart members and celebrities doing a challenge together.”
“Neon Heart? That band the Guitar Hero is in?”
“Yes.”
- Hing.
A hot breath sound came through the phone.
“Of course it’s possible. The Guitar Hero is hot these days. Can you do it today?”
“The dance isn’t ready yet… I’ll contact you after checking.”
“Okay. Contact me right away.”
“Yes.”
The call ended.
Siwoo smiled faintly.
'Wherever, just saying Guitar Hero’s name changes the treatment completely.'
It meant he wielded enormous influence in the industry.
His mood was very good.
Park Siwoo, who manages his expression well, couldn’t hide the smile on his face.
He stood still for a moment, calming his feelings, then moved his feet.
He got into the car Cha Ye-seung had lent him and headed to the practice room.
“Hello.”
“Hello.”
“This is the producer. Is it a good time now?”
“Yes.”
“Then, go to where Neon Heart is. Teach them the challenge dance as well.”
“Challenge dance…?”
“The dance that Lee Yena-nim danced.”
“Ah, that one. Yes, understood.”
The call ended.
After preparing, Siwoo focused on driving again.
Since the practice room wasn’t far, he arrived quickly.
The practice room was on the 7th floor of the building.
Since the entire floor belonged to Starlight, there was no worry about leaks.
- Ding.
The elevator arrived, and Siwoo got off.
What greeted him immediately was the singing practice room.
Since he wasn’t there to listen to the song, he passed it.
After walking a bit, the dance practice room appeared.
- Knock.
Park Siwoo knocked on the door and entered the Neon Heart practice room.
The loud singing voice greeted him.
Because it was singing, the Neon Heart members didn’t notice Siwoo’s arrival.
Siwoo stood at the door watching them.
There was a large front mirror, so he could see how they danced.
'Not bad.'
The dance line wasn’t ordinary.
He had worried they might not follow, but they were all following well.
'It was surprising that Seol A-yeon couldn’t dance.'
The most awkward part was, surprisingly, Seol A-yeon.
Her dance looked like a rusty robot malfunctioning, twitching.
Waving her stiff limbs around looked pitiful.
Did she know it herself? Her ears were bright red.
“Ha, thank you for your hard work. You all danced really well.”
After watching for a while, the song ended.
Dance trainer Ju So-hee smiled brightly and said.
“Where did you learn to dance?”
“We are from a dance club.”
“Ah, that’s why.”
“A-yeon isn’t one either.”
“Ah, that’s why…”
“……”
Seol A-yeon’s ears got even redder.
Her appearance was cute, so Siwoo smiled inwardly and walked over to her.
“A-yeon-nim, that’s also a charm, so don’t be too upset.”
“……”
Seol A-yeon flinched like a startled cat.
She turned her back.
Her face was unusually distorted.
“P, Producer-nim, when did you come?”
Was it because she was ashamed of not being able to dance?
Siwoo answered with a sly smile.
“Since when you started dancing?”
“Ah…”
Despair appeared on Seol A-yeon’s face.
'This much is enough.'
Siwoo smiled inwardly and said quietly.
“It’s okay. It was cute.”
“……”
Seol A-yeon’s face turned beet red.
Since it wouldn’t clear for a while, Siwoo laughed and turned his head.
“Trainer-nim, how is it?”
Ju So-hee answered immediately.
“It doesn’t seem bad. You can film the challenge right away.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, idols look very strict, but Neon Heart is a band, right? In that sense, A-yeon’s dance being a bit lacking might actually become a charm point.”
Same thought.
Siwoo nodded.
“Thank you for your hard work.”
“This is my job.”
Then to Seol A-yeon, still blushing.
“A-yeon-nim, are you okay?”
“Yes…”
She didn’t seem okay at all.
It seemed she was very embarrassed.
Siwoo said quietly.
“It will be hard, but please.”
“Understood…”
She nodded.
“The others, are you okay?”
“We’re fine.”
Ha Seung-jin clenched his fist.
His momentum was good.
“Alright, then.”
Siwoo picked up his phone.
Then he called Kim Team Leader again, the one from before.
“Team Leader, can you send the kids right now.”
“We have to go?”
“Yes, send them to Starlight practice room.”
“…Okay. I’ll do that.”
“Yes, then.”
The call ended.
After a while, a call came again.
It was probably the manager.
“Hello.”
“Yes, hello. This is Floor manager Kim Dohan.”
“Nice to meet you.”
“We’ll arrive in about 10 minutes.”
“Yes, then I’ll wait.”
“Yep.”
After ending the call, Siwoo said.
“Since they said they’ll come in 10 minutes, wait comfortably.”
“Yes!”
After the loud answer, the Neon Heart members sat on the floor one by one.
So, 30 minutes passed.
“……”
Siwoo’s expression hardened coldly.
He hadn’t thought they would arrive exactly on time.
But being 20 minutes late was clearly ignoring.
Clearly.
'Themselves, not coming to find us directly, so they’re making a fuss.'
This happens often in the entertainment industry.
They have to grab the initiative somehow, since it’s an industry where even a bean drops.
The problem was.
'They dared to challenge me.'
Siwoo smiled wickedly.
The ones coming to the practice room now are A-class idols.
Not as high as S-class, but not as minor as B-class.
Such idols.
If Neon Heart was S-class, it wouldn’t be, but they didn’t have the visibility to be ignored by A-class.
No matter what, they were the hottest band now.
'I’ll have to properly mess them up.'
“Ah, sorry for being late. Kids, say hello.”
“One, two. Hello, Floor!”
At the right time, they arrived too.
Siwoo, smiling wickedly, clicked his tongue.
* * *
'They dare to call our kids like that?'
Manager Kim Dohan was very displeased.
Neon Heart, a band he hadn’t heard of, called them.
He was a manager, but not a low-level one.
A veteran who would soon be promoted to team leader.
So, he was skilled at industry spats.
'New producer, huh.'
This time, I’ll properly mess him up.
Thinking that, he turned the steering wheel.
“Manager-nim, when do we arrive?”
“Just a little more. We’ll arrive soon.”
“Ah, okay.”
Looking at the members nodding, he smiled happily and turned again right in front of the practice room.
While doing so, he recalled the team leader’s words.
- If there’s a Guitar Hero, introduce yourself.
Since it’s rare for a composer to produce too.
He hadn’t thought the producer would be Guitar Hero.
Just.
'If I meet Guitar Hero this time, I’ll definitely get promoted.'
After the spats, grab the initiative, then gently scratch the new producer and share a seat with Guitar Hero.
He was thinking that.
So, after 20 minutes, he took Floor to the practice room.
“Nice to meet you. This is Park Siwoo, producer of Neon Heart.”
'As expected, he can’t say anything.'
He smiled inwardly, received the business card Siwoo handed.
At the same time, he was startled.
Because the card had a name that absolutely shouldn’t be there.
[Producer Park Siwoo (Guitar Hero)]
“G, Guitar Hero…”
His complexion paled.