Chapter 20
Chapter 20
"Ha. The weather is fucking great. Shit."
That was the first thing Lee Da-young said as soon as she stepped out of Han Hye-eun's house and saw the sun shining pleasantly.
Watching that, I called a taxi via Novel and made an incredulous face.
"Hey! Hey, hey!"
"Yes?"
"Are you seriously doing this on purpose, or what? Or what is it? Do you want me to make you do a naked strip show right here?"
"Huh? What are you talking about? I wouldn't do that even if you put a knife to my throat."
"What did you just say?"
"I wouldn't do that even if you put a knife to my throat."
"Before that."
"The weather is really clear?"
This shameless bitch.
"Team Leader-nim. Are you okay? It doesn't seem like weather that would give you heatstroke yet. Are you hearing things?"
As she said that, she whispered into my ear.
"Here, you're Team Leader-nim, not Master, right?"
"......."
"When we're alone. When I'm being punished, I'll serve you as Master."
The foxy bitch stretched.
"Ha! Ah, my lower back is stiff. But the stress relief is killer, fuck."
"......."
At this point, I wonder if this girl's issue isn't just a matter of upbringing.
She has like three older brothers above her.
Maybe she grew up only seeing them swear since she was one year old.
'Haa. Let's fix it gradually. Gradually.'
Since the Blessing of Sex is with me.
Even though I fucked two women all day, I'm in a decent state.
Even so, I couldn't just have sex all day long again.
Sex is just an additional bonus, after all.
My ultimate goal was to make the girl group I'm raising the best in the world.
The glory and fulfillment that comes from that process.
I wanted money and fame.
[Hmm, is sex really second priority?]
Novel asked playfully.
I nodded.
"Yeah."
[It seems like you're sincere.]
If I were in my early 20s and naive, I might have been swayed by the fact that I could fuck pretty idols to my heart's content.
But now that I'm approaching thirty.
I can control my sexual desires a bit.
Furthermore, I've started to care about fame and how I'm perceived by others.
I guess that's what remains in the end.
'Han Hye-eun wasn't entirely wrong.'
Birds of a feather flock together.
Back when I graduated high school and college, I had friends I thought would be with me for life.
The guy who got a job at a good conglomerate stopped meeting me because of the differences in our spending habits and values.
And it's hard for me to meet the guys who are 29 and still unemployed because I feel uncomfortable.
'In the first place, what kind of fame or glory does a low-level manager have to brag about to them?'
At best, it was just that I saw real celebrities up close a few more times than other people.
But not anymore.
Because people who have raised world stars currently leading the forefront of K-POP, including CEO Soon-hyun of AM, were certainly holding immense fame in their hands.
My goal was to become the best in this industry like those people.
And I could definitely achieve it.
From Eun Hee-ju to Lee Da-young.
Now that I have two kids in my hands who can be called the best talent.
"This is the dorm where you'll be staying for a while."
"Is there anyone else inside besides me?"
"There's one person. She's naive and has been hurt a lot, so please wrap her in love. Let's go in first. You guys can introduce yourselves and stuff."
"Yeah, yeah."
When I opened the door like that.
"Kyaaaaaa! Fuck!"
Lee Da-young screamed.
Eun Hee-ju was standing blankly in front of the entrance, blinking her eyes.
"Ah. You're back. Team Leader-manager-nim."
Phew.
Thank goodness.
Honestly, I had somewhat expected Eun Hee-ju might be doing this, so I pretended to be nonchalant.
If that hadn't been the case, I might have had a 'Kyaa' pop out of my own mouth, just like Lee Da-young.
Then I'd be too embarrassed to work with them.
"It's not a ghost. Calm down. This is Eun Hee-ju. Her name is Hee-ju, she's a kid who just turned 20. She's a younger sister you'll be working with from now on. Take good care of her."
"Haa, fuck! I was really surprised. Heu."
Lee Da-young, who had come behind my back at some point, was gripping my back tightly and trembling.
Seeing that, Eun Hee-ju said.
"Team Leader-manager-nim. Are you really okay with that unni?"
"Hm?"
"You said it yourself, Team Leader-manager-nim. This industry is absolutely not an easy place. But I don't know if that unni, who has a dirty mouth and no guts, will be able to endure it. Ah. I can."
Hm?
It feels like she's being a bit passive-aggressive.
It must be my imagination, right?
"Hey. Was that directed at me just now? A kid who's just 20, acting cocky and saying whatever she wants."
"Ah. I'm sorry if you felt offended. I really said it out of concern."
"Wow. This acorn-sized brat talks like such a piece of shit? You...... Hiiik!"
I quickly poked Lee Da-young's asshole with my middle finger and then immediately said.
"Forget it. I was worried about what I'd do if you had gone to practice. It's a relief you're here. Did you eat?"
"I haven't eaten yet. I was going to eat with you when you came, Team Leader-manager-nim."
"Haha. I appreciate the sentiment. But honestly, there will be more times when we can't eat together than when we can. From now on, make sure to eat regularly. It's actually a good thing you didn't go to practice. Get to know Da-young a bit. Let's go together."
"Yes. I will."
"You two should introduce yourselves and stuff. I'll prepare breakfast today."
If I just create the opportunity like this, girls will get close, right?
I thought idols would be even more so.
Because the idols I've seen, even if they fight, they end up becoming close like sisters when they live under one roof.
Isn't that right?
Usually, when you look at MeTube or PLive apps, they're all like that.
However.
"Hey. What are you doing?"
"Ah. It smelled like foot odor, so I thought I'd dry your shoes in the sun."
"What kind of bullshit is that."
Behind my back, as I was grilling the frozen tteok-galbi I had kept in the fridge just in case, it didn't seem like a particularly pleasant conversation was going on.
"Ah. PTSD is......."
"Why is she like this! Team Leader-nim. I think she's a psychopath!"
"Hey, hey! Calm down. Hee-ju was hurt a lot at school. You know school violence, right? She was bullied pretty badly. And you're the unni, so take care of her. She's so pure and kind."
Lee Da-young made an incredulous face.
"Do I have the wrong meaning of pure and kind?"
"Team Leader-manager-nim is right about everything. I am kind and pure."
"I've never seen a bitch who says that about herself who was actually kind."
"Your mouth is too dirty. Can you really become an idol?"
"At least I'll do better than you."
What is this?
Why do they look like they get along even worse than the theater troupe people Lee Da-young caused a scene with yesterday?
No, even if Lee Da-young has a shitty personality, that's understandable.
I didn't think Eun Hee-ju would react so sensitively.
[Indeed. Why is that?]
"Food's ready, so both of you, set the table and scoop the rice into the bowls."
"Yes."
At those words, Eun Hee-ju moved first and picked up the rice bowls.
She piled up my bowl almost like Mount Baekdu.
But Lee Da-young's bowl looked stingy.
"You want me to eat just this?"
"Ah. I thought you only drank dew. Should I give you more?"
"Hey! Do you really want to fight with me?"
At this rate, I'll get indigestion before I even eat.
"Both of you, stop. Hee-ju."
"Yes."
"......."
When I see Eun Hee-ju looking at me blankly like a baby, my heart strangely softens.
"......Da-young, please understand her a little."
"Huh?"
"It's, uh, because you look a bit like the kid who bullied Hee-ju."
As I brought up the school violence story again, Lee Da-young smacked her lips.
"Do I look that much like her?"
To be honest, other than the sharp eyes, they don't look alike at all.
It's not that Jo Yu-na isn't pretty.
But in terms of beauty level, Lee Da-young is twice as pretty.
But what can I do?
"Yes."
"That's how it is. Unni. Please overlook it even if I'm rude."
"You......!"
Lee Da-young squeezed her eyes shut and looked at me.
"I'm going to explode from frustration. Team Leader-nim."
"Thanks."
That was all I could say.
"Since you rested yesterday, let's get lessons and practice today. Got it?"
"Huh? Team Leader-nim. You said I didn't have to do dance or singing, right?"
"I said you didn't have to do much. But you still have to do the minimum as an idol. Don't worry too much. Singing is mostly done with auto-tune anyway. These days, you can't even tell the difference between AR and MR."
That's a lie.
To become a world star, you have to at least be able to perform proper live singing while doing intense choreography.
"There are a lot of cute and easy choreographies these days too."
As if.
The choreography also needs to be intense for the chances of success to be high.
The more their names become known, the more the difficulty of the choreography will naturally rise.
"If that's the case. Okay. Don't forget that my goal is to be an actress, no matter what."
"Of course."
Once you debut.
Let's see if you can say that even after you get fans.
Because once you succeed, it's not just fame that follows, but responsibility as well.
Given Lee Da-young's personality, she'll have no choice but to do it.
"You were terrible at acting. It might be better for your future to give up early, unni."
"You! Do you really want me to grab you by the hair?"
"Ah. PTSD. Team Leader-manager-nim. Help me."
I wiped my face.
It felt like the tteok-galbi going down my throat was going to get stuck.
It'll get better with time, right?
Probably?
"I don't usually say things like this. But I feel like the tteokbokki I had for lunch is going to get stuck. Uh. Manager-nim, no, Team Leader Kim Hyun-woo."
That was what came out of the dance trainer's mouth again today, without fail.
"For starters. Hee-ju has improved a lot. Even though it can't change drastically in a day or two, so let's assume that."
Creak, creak-.
Is that what it feels like when a robot without oil in its joints moves?
Even I sigh when I see it.
But how frustrating must it be from an expert's perspective?
"Still, if she keeps at it, she'll improve."
"These days, there are tons of kids who learn professionally from the age of 13, but you bring a 23-year-old...... No, where do you keep bringing such kids from?"
"Haha. Please, I'm asking you. They have grit."
"They do seem to have grit. Even while being embarrassed, they show the enthusiasm to pinpoint the parts they did wrong and try to fix them. But still. Look over there."
Maybe because there are a lot of people using the practice room today.
I can see trainees preparing for the monthly evaluation right next to where they are being trained.
The average age is a whopping 17.8.
More than half of them haven't even graduated high school yet.
"One, two, three, four! Bounce vigorously here! Tat, ta-ak, tat, ta-ak!"
It's amazing.
Watching from right next to them, I'm almost overwhelmed.
You have to be at that level to feel the power that makes even the audience far away lose their minds when you stand on stage.
"Even those kids haven't had it decided whether they'll debut or not. Honestly, when you bring kids like Hee-ju or Da-young and ask trainers like me like this, it's a bit......"
I know how polite this is while beating around the bush.
"I'm sorry. But please, I'm asking you. I'm absolutely not ignoring them or just asking the teachers. I brought them here with the conviction that they will truly succeed."
"No. Teaching is our job, so we'll teach them. I'm sorry. I think I was the one who said something unnecessary."
"No. It's fine. Then I'll leave it to you."
"Yes. I'll do my best for now."
I didn't feel particularly bad.
Because, as I said earlier, I know how polite this trainer's words are in this industry.
Thanks to someone.
"Why don't you go to an optician and get some glasses? Or how about you ask someone to wash those eyes of yours with soju? Only the looks have improved a bit since last time. Where do you keep bringing these beggar-like things from? Are you determined to ruin the company? Do you think training costs are just pocket money for kids?"
Just hearing the voice. Just looking at the tone, it's Team Leader Park Ju-yong.
Fuck. I tried to avoid him.
How does this human find me every time like a ghost? Did he attach a GPS device to my body?
"You should worry about yourself, Team Leader-nim. Don't go ruining things again for no reason."
"What?"
"I'll get glasses, so why don't you get a wig, Team Leader Park? You'd look about 20 years younger."
It couldn't be a more shocking thing to say to someone whose hair loss is actively in progress.
After landing a subtle critical hit, I immediately ran away.
And I found Yoon Won-seok, who at least had some acquaintance with me.
No, should I say we ran away together?
"Why did you run away again today? And Team Leader Park, why is that guy so fired up again? Did all his hair fall out while washing it?"
I just asked because I was curious.
"That is, Team Leader Kim."
Yoon Won-seok knows that too.
This bastard.
He's more useful than I thought?