Chapter 261: Getting to Know Each Other (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 261: Getting to Know Each Other (1)
The reason I suggested an employee referral system to UA was to bring in people we could trust—individuals with proven character who were competent at their jobs.
However, the most powerful advantage of a referral system actually lies elsewhere.
It’s the fact that the referrer will go to great lengths to look after the new hire, if only to protect their own reputation.
Conversely, the biggest drawback is that if the new hire turns out to be a disaster, the referrer ends up in a difficult position.
This is precisely why people often hesitate to bring acquaintances into their own companies. You risk either losing a friend because of the job or losing your professional standing because of the friend.
But consider Ju-gyeong, someone who is well-respected and has been with the company for a long time. If she were to bring someone in...
Ju-gyeong isn't the type to deceive anyone, so she would have explained the company's situation thoroughly. She likely wouldn't have to worry about losing a friend.
The problem was whether I could trust Ju-gyeong’s judgment of character.
After all, she was the one who suggested I become an idol in the first place. I trust Ju-gyeong’s abilities, but her discernment? That, I find questionable.
If the ever-optimistic Ju-gyeong had brought in some strange old classmate, and if another incident occurred that put her in such an awkward position that she had to resign...
The thought made the world go dark. It felt like driving through a long tunnel only to have a headlight go out.
"Ju-gyeong or Chan-yeong Hyung were supposed to handle the interview for the new manager. Who ended up doing it?" Choi Je-ho asked.
"Since he's my acquaintance, Chan-yeong handled it," Ju-gyeong replied. "He doesn't have experience as a manager, but he has plenty of driving experience and a clean accident record."
"By any chance, does he smoke...?"
"He said he quit."
Ju-gyeong answered Lee Cheong-hyeon’s question with absolute certainty. We didn't usually ask things like that when hiring managers, but it seemed she was being extra cautious after the Hong Un-seop incident.
After that, Ju-gyeong patiently answered every single question from the Spark members, who were currently suffering from a deep-seated distrust of managers. Once the long interrogation ended, Ju-gyeong spoke up.
"Your comeback and year-end schedules are the priority right now, so the new manager won't be taking the lead on anything immediately. Treat this as a handover period and just see if you guys click with him."
The news of a new manager had caused quite a stir within Spark for a while. Lee Cheong-hyeon had even gone as far as telling Choi Je-ho, "Hyung, just get your license already!"
Despite the fuss, time marched on, and as the cold winter approached, the new manager arrived at UA—a company where the wind never stopped blowing.
On the evening his hiring at UA was confirmed, Pyeong Dae-yeon received a message from Min Ju-gyeong. She wanted to grab dinner before his first day. He readily agreed.
The two met at a nearby barbecue restaurant. Insisting it was her treat, Min Ju-gyeong boldly ordered a two-person assorted set. Then, while the side dishes were being set out, she suddenly bowed her head low.
"Thank you. Seriously."
"What's this for?"
"I can finally breathe a sigh of relief thanks to you... I mean it..."
"I haven't even done anything yet."
Back in school, Min Ju-gyeong had always been so bold and confident.
Now, she looked weighed down by worry. For a brief moment, Pyeong Dae-yeon wondered if joining UA was the right move. But it was far too late to back out, so he pushed the thought aside.
Dae-yeon took the tongs from Ju-gyeong as she tried to start grilling the meat herself. She handed him the plate of raw meat and spoke.
"Our boys are really good kids. Please take good care of them. I'm serious."
"Has the staffing shortage been that bad? Enough for you to buy me dinner?"
"Staffing shortage?"
Ju-gyeong let out a hollow laugh.
"It was a staffing disaster."
"..."
"I was on the verge of hating humanity."
Ju-gyeong was dead serious. Seeing his old classmate mutter things like "Everyone should just die" followed by "No, what did our boys do wrong?" was a bit frightening.
"Then what did you see in me that made you suggest the job?" Dae-yeon asked as he placed the meat on the grill. The fat sizzled against the hot metal.
Though they were classmates, Pyeong Dae-yeon and Min Ju-gyeong hadn't been particularly close. They were the type to exchange greetings in passing, see each other occasionally at social gatherings, and share exam scopes while sitting apart in overlapping lectures.
He was curious why Ju-gyeong, who was on the brink of misanthropy, had reached out to him.
Ju-gyeong watched as Dae-yeon placed bean sprouts and kimchi on the edge of the grill, then rested her chin on her hand.
"You want the honest truth?"
"I'm almost afraid of how deep this goes."
"To put it bluntly, our major was full of psychos."
Dae-yeon nearly choked, even though he hadn't eaten anything yet. He covered his mouth with the back of his hand and coughed.
"But among them, no one ever talked trash about you."
Ju-gyeong continued calmly as she cut the mushrooms.
"Everyone said you were a good guy. But at the same time, you're not exactly a pushover."
"Is that so?"
"That's why I asked you. If I bring in someone weird, I'd have to hand in my own resignation. Do you think I'd just ask anyone? Hey, I still have a lot left on my housing loan!"
Ju-gyeong vented her frustration. Dae-yeon thought of his own monthly rent that was constantly draining his bank account.
"I'm surprised you accepted, though. On my way home, I thought it wouldn't be strange if you turned me down."
"You found me a job. I should be the one thanking you."
"I'm glad you see it that way. I thought I was about to lose a classmate."
Ju-gyeong made a joke and let out a sigh of relief.
Dae-yeon flipped the meat. The surface was a delicious, well-done brown.
As Dae-yeon took the scissors to cut the meat, Ju-gyeong filled their water glasses.
"...By any chance, did you see the recent articles about our company?"
"I saw a few."
A brief silence followed. Ju-gyeong wiped her face with both hands.
Even though Pyeong Dae-yeon wasn't interested in celebrities, the story of a company PD assaulting an idol had been in the news for a long time. He remembered reading the articles several times, especially since it was the company where his classmate worked.
"...That's why we've been looking for people we can actually trust."
"What about you? Are you okay?"
"Aside from being annoyed at work, I'm fine. What I went through is nothing. It's the boys who suffered."
Our boys.
Ju-gyeong kept referring to the idols she managed as "our boys." Whether she realized it or not, it showed the depth of her affection for the team.
"You seem to care about them a lot. I'll have to work hard then."
Ju-gyeong’s eyes widened at Dae-yeon’s words.
"Did I tell you which team you'd be handling?"
"Not explicitly, but I figured it out from the onboarding email."
People who drive for a living just know. If a vehicle moves from a certain location, you can usually guess who's using it and what kind of work they do based on the timing.
"Dae-yeon."
"Yeah?"
"It's been so long since I've realized how precious a perceptive person is."
Ju-gyeong covered her mouth. She looked like she might cry, though she didn't actually shed tears.
She asked if she could have a little bit of alcohol, mentioning she’d be taking the subway home.
When Dae-yeon gave her the okay, Ju-gyeong ordered a bottle of beer. Then, she precisely filled her glass only halfway.
She downed the beer in one shot. The empty glass hit the table with a sharp thud.
"You know."
"Yeah."
"You'll get a detailed briefing when you go in tomorrow, but our boys are really good kids. They're good, but they've been through a lot."
"I see."
Ju-gyeong chose her words carefully, offering a gentle warning.
"They might be a bit prickly at first... but that's the company's fault, so I'm really sorry to you. Still, I hope you don't think too poorly of them."
With that, Ju-gyeong hurriedly piled the cooked meat onto Dae-yeon’s plate.
"Hey, eat up. It's all done!"
"You eat first. I can just grab it with the tongs."
Dae-yeon picked up a few pieces of meat and placed them on Ju-gyeong’s plate.
Ju-gyeong really did pay for the meal that day. As they parted ways, she said with a smile:
"I'm counting on you. Seriously!"
It was an extraordinary welcome to the company. It was a night of anticipation, wondering what his first day would be like.
At UA, Pyeong Dae-yeon heard the exact same things he had heard from Min Ju-gyeong the night before.
Throughout the entire process of signing his labor contract, he heard endless stories about how many crises the idol group he would be managing had faced and how they needed active care from the company's side.
Just what on earth happened to these idols...?
Just as that thought crossed his mind, Dae-yeon was assigned a mentor. It was Im Chan-yeong, the road manager for Spark who had been his interviewer.
Sitting down, Im Chan-yeong handed over a few sheets of paper. It was a presentation deck containing the members' profile photos and brief notes on their specific traits.
"Have you ever heard of a group called Spark? We mentioned during the interview that you'd likely be assigned to an idol group."
"Yes, I've memorized the members' faces and names."
Compared to the days when he had to drive twenty kindergarteners around, memorizing six people was easy. Im Chan-yeong looked at him with an expression of pure moved emotion.
"Is something wrong...?"
"I'm just... touched..."
Is the threshold for trust in this company that low? Dae-yeon wondered, thinking back to his classmate from yesterday.
Even though Dae-yeon had done his homework, Im Chan-yeong diligently went over the information about the artists. He repeatedly emphasized the parts that required extra caution.
"The kids are all good. There are no members who need to be dragged out of bed because they overslept. However, whenever they go anywhere, either I or you, Dae-yeon, must be with them. I'll be primarily responsible during your adjustment period, but since it's the end of the year, individual and group schedules might overlap, so please keep that in mind."
Dae-yeon carefully took notes on what Im Chan-yeong said. His gaze drifted to the photo of Kim I-wol on the same page.
"This... Kim I-wol is the oldest, right? Along with Choi Je-ho."
"That's right. I'll give you a brief rundown of the members' personalities and preferences. We still have some time before the boys finish their morning practice."
Checking the time, Im Chan-yeong pulled out his own copy of the printed presentation. The two of them flipped to the same page and dove into "Spark Exploration Time."