Chapter 31
Chapter 31
Being bold was what worked.
"Interesting. I like it."
In a way, it might have started as Gil Min-seo's impulsive suggestion to grab some attention.
But in the end, it was Eun Hee-ju who didn't panic and delivered the finishing blow.
I felt like I saw the reason why both of them were important people, regardless of their grades.
"Fine. It's not like I can't do it."
[Seong Se-ri, SS]
Seong Se-ri nodded and walked toward me with the kids.
I feel a little sorry, though.
I watched her as if observing her.
'She's definitely put on some weight. And she hasn't been managing herself well.'
Of course.
This is by celebrity standards.
You might think, "Where in this world is there a standard for celebrities?"
But that's just what a regular person thinks.
People in this industry know better themselves.
"Oh. Hello. Hmm. Manager? Or Team Leader-nim?"
Seeing Seong Se-ri guess my identity as if it were obvious the moment she saw me, Eun Hee-ju answered again.
"He's the Team Leader Manager-nim."
"What the hell is a Team Leader Manager-nim? Puhaha."
"It's a thing. Eonni, you don't need to know that much."
Thwack, thwack-.
I thought she would have sobered up a bit after the performance. Guess she's not quite there yet.
Eun Hee-ju is burying her head in my shoulder again.
The only saving grace is that Lee Da-young has actually sobered up and isn't calling me Master, Master.
Maybe later, but if she acted like that right now, it would be the end of it.
"Shall we do a toast first?"
"Sounds good!"
Relaxed. Confident. Even though they were meeting for the first time, she was already playing the role of the eldest sister.
She was exactly the kind of leader I wanted.
"So, which trainee are you from?"
"N&P. Ever heard of it?"
"Ah. That place. I know it. Hmm. Honestly, if it were for acting, maybe, but for an idol? I wouldn't really recommend it."
To give such a negative assessment right in front of the Team Leader.
Somehow, the other three seem more nervous about my reaction than I am.
Seong Se-ri's assessment was extremely cold, but correct.
It's true.
N&P has tried countless times with idols, but they kept screwing it up.
That's why the company is on the verge of bankruptcy.
'Frankly speaking, if they had just successfully launched one idol group, you could consider that company a success.'
That's how profitable the idol industry was.
It's not for nothing that they cover the costs of training and all management for free until the kids debut.
That's the reason Park Ju-yong bitched at me before, saying the money going into the trainees wasn't just a penny or two.
"Still. Well. I wouldn't recommend it, but there are plenty of places worse than that. N&P doesn't ask the trainees to pay money, right?"
"It's more like they gradually deduct it from the earnings after debut. Settlements are separate, too."
"That's exactly the standard. Standard. But that's standard from the agency's perspective. Honestly, it's still not a very good contract for the trainees."
"What can you do? There are tons of shitty entertainment agencies in this world. And there are even more kids lined up to become celebrities."
"Right."
As we talked, I realized it immediately.
The reason I got the feeling of a 'finished' idol.
"You. You were a trainee, weren't you?"
At my words, Seong Se-ri burst into a laugh and nodded.
"Yes. I tried so hard, to death, and couldn't even debut... Ah. Right. For your information, I signed with such a vicious agency that I even had to pay money when I was a trainee. I'm still paying it off. I never imagined that the things I thought I was naturally entitled to as a trainee would be so expensive."
You had debt?
For someone with that, you're wearing Gucci, Chanel, Hermes.
You're wearing one luxury item of almost every kind, aren't you?
Seong Se-ri, who noticed my gaze, smiled pleasantly.
"Ah. Of course. These are all mine. I bought them with my own money. I like luxury goods. Can't I buy luxury goods if I have debt? I'm paying it off little by little, so don't worry about it. I make a pretty decent income here. Ah. If I knew it would be like this, I should have worked at a place like this from the start."
[For your reference, the hint to capture Seong Se-ri is 'money'. This girl has no major interest in anything other than 'money' now.]
She's become such a snob.
I guess it's that age.
'But if she's obsessed with money, it's actually easier.'
Seong Se-ri, who was talking to me, blinked.
"Oh. What the? Come to think of it, I came here to play with the cuties here. How did I end up having such a serious conversation with you, Team Leader-nim? Wow. This guy is no pushover."
"That's right. I'm no pushover."
Thwack, thwack-.
I felt like I'd need a cast tomorrow if I left her alone any longer, so I carefully pressed down on Eun Hee-ju's head with one hand and opened my mouth.
"Whatever the case, you don't have an agency right now, right? Your contract ended, too."
"Yes. Only the debt remains."
"Then, with us......"
"I refuse. Ah. This Team Leader-nim is an amazing person. Even after hearing my story just now, you're suggesting I taste that hell once again? I'm sorry, but I like it right now. As I said before, the income is decent. Less stress. Paying off debt. Buying the luxury goods I want. Is there a better job than this?"
Eun Hee-ju. Lee Da-young. Gil Min-seo.
She was the woman who gave the most realistic reasons among all the girls I'd met so far.
That's why I trust her more.
The only eldest sister who has experienced the terror of society and can view the situation coldly.
She was the kind of talent that made me wonder if God had sent her down from heaven just for me to take her.
Seong Se-ri, whom I met through coincidence, upon coincidence, upon coincidence.
I'm definitely taking you.
Even if I have to use a Master Ball.
[What's with the Master Ball. Someone might think this is a Novel Monster.]
If she's coming at me as an adult, I have no choice but to respond as an adult.
"But it's an unstable job. How long can you work there? And how long can you generate the profit you're satisfied with? You might not be able to buy luxury goods anymore."
"Oh my. Wouldn't that be even worse for you? You know how crazy the competition rate for idols, especially girl groups, is, right?"
"But in return, the higher the competition, the greater the return when you succeed."
"If you're going to talk about results like that, how is that any different from me going out right now, buying 100,000 won worth of lottery tickets, and having them all win first prize? Don't be so unreasonable."
"It might be similar, but I'm confident that if you join, including these kids, it will be a guaranteed success. Guaranteed. Then, by the time you renew your contract, I guarantee you can hit 20 billion won just for that cost."
I saw Seong Se-ri's hardened gaze waver for a moment at the mention of 20 billion won.
Because a 20 billion won renewal contract was the same amount as White Pink, the most successful group in this industry.
If she hadn't tasted money, it would be one thing, but anyone who has experienced how terrifying the power of money is in South Korea would naturally have a calculator running in their head.
Especially since she's in a position where she's paying off debt.
"If you hit it big once, you can retire and live off it for the rest of your life. If you want, you could buy an entire luxury store. No, wait. If you succeed, why would you buy luxury goods with your own money? If you want, you can get sponsorships and advertisements whenever you want. You'll even be able to get things that money can't buy."
"......."
A look that says she's a bit tempted.
Then, she looked at the kids blinking blankly next to me and slapped the table.
"Ha! This is why people in this industry are scary. Hey. Damn. For a second, I almost fell for your smooth talk without even realizing it. I wasn't even drunk, but my mind went blank for a moment."
Seong Se-ri is an adult, but in my standards, she was just a kid.
Why?
That was the most common thing trainees said.
'What should I do now?'
Trainees are usually so lacking in independence or common sense that it surprises normal people.
If Seong Se-ri had received proper trainee life, even if some time had passed since she entered society, there would still be parts where she was lacking.
"But, saying you'll succeed at the level of the kids next to you just makes me laugh. Honestly, do you have a conscience? If you're in this industry, you should know the level of kids who succeed, right? Or what? Are you just someone who tricks kids with fancy words? I really hate people like that."
"Our kids? Right. They have a lot of shortcomings right now. But."
I pulled Eun Hee-ju, who was rubbing her head against me, to my side and said.
Eun Hee-ju finally stopped the hammer drill.
"How long do you think they've been trainees?"
"Hmm. Well. Even though they have many shortcomings, except for that kid Lee Da-young, they seem to have some basic skills or talent as idols, right? They must have learned for about 3 years."
"It hasn't even been a month."
Seong Se-ri burst into the biggest laugh I'd seen from her so far.
"Don't lie, okay?"
"Why would I lie? They're right in front of you."
"It's not a lie."
Eun Hee-ju, looking somewhat uncomfortable, pointed at Seong Se-ri with her head tilted.
"Team Leader Manager-nim doesn't lie, and he said you're the last one. So, quietly... Mmph! Mmmph!"
"You. Once you join, the final puzzle is complete. Our group needs an eldest sister to hold the center right now. I can't stick to you and care for you 24 hours a day. If it's you, who knows how scary this industry is, I think I can trust and leave them to you when I'm not around."
"......."
Seong Se-ri seemed to ponder my words for a moment, then sat up and examined the kids one by one.
"Team Leader Manager-nim is telling you to join. Why are you hesitating?"
"She's a pass, too."
Eun Hee-ju.
"W-what is this! Ah. Seriously!"
"She's a pass, too. She's got a nice way of playing hard to get."
Lee Da-young.
"Kiss chu?"
"You like kisses, our puppy."
"Woof!"
"She's a pass, too. She's so cute it's killing me. You won't be bored if you're with her. Want to sleep with Eonni from now on?"
Judging by the way she spoke, it seemed Seong Se-ri had decided in a positive direction.
However.
"The kids are good, and my trust in the Team Leader who found all of them is also so-so. But to be honest, I don't have the confidence to work as hard as I did before. I've learned the taste of alcohol, too. I don't have the confidence to quit. You understand, right? It's like telling a kid who finished the CSAT to go back to being a test-taker."
"Hmm. Still, you'll have to lose it, right?"
"In that sense, I want to check if the Team Leader can help me. If you can control me."
"How?"
"Shall we go to my place and have a drinking match, just the two of us?"
Ho-ho.
This is literally the prey walking into the tiger's mouth on its own feet.
Aside from being reliable, Seong Se-ri had played hard to get a lot.
I needed to fuck this cheeky bitch's pussy to imprint my presence on her.
"Let me drop the kids off first."
"Oh my. It's a mom, a mom."
It might be a facade.
Sex is good, and everything is good, but for me, these kids were always the number one priority.
Because I picked them myself.
"Once you sign the contract, you're my daughter, too."
"Oh my. So you were a dad?"
After briefly saying goodbye to Seong Se-ri, who was laughing softly, I took a taxi to drop off the kids, who were sleepy even though their drunkenness had subsided a bit, at the dorm, and then headed straight to Seong Se-ri's house.
It was a decent enough studio apartment.
When I went inside, Seong Se-ri, wearing even a white t-shirt from the luxury brand Gucci, was preparing drinks and waiting for me.
"Welcome. Team Leader-nim."
"Yeah."
To be precise, a white t-shirt and black dolphin shorts.
A fashion that drives any man crazy.
I thought the alcohol might be whiskey, but contrary to my expectations, it was cheap soju.
"Now. Shall we start? Ah. For your information, the part about wanting to have a drinking match was a lie."
Seong Se-ri said, lewdly licking the empty soju glass with her tongue.
"I'm just trying to see if you're inseparable from alcohol. Starting with whether you can still get it up after drinking, Team Leader Kim? Ah. Of course, being able to drink well is a given. If you can't keep up with my pace and fail, I'll just throw you out the front door, so keep that in mind."
She was already a lewd bitch.
I was flustered for a moment, but I smirked and laughed at her.
"Every time we finish a bottle of soju, the other person takes off a layer of clothing."
Seong Se-ri nodded confidently.