Chapter 52: Collaborating with a Human Disaster (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 52: Collaborating with a Human Disaster (2)
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[SYSTEM] A work order has arrived from the ‘Person in Charge.’
▶ Assistant Manager Kim, you can at least land a deal like this on your own, right? I’m trusting you and not even looking into it, okay?
[SYSTEM] A ‘New Task’ has been assigned.
▷ Maintaining the Concept
▷ Reward: Experience Points (20)
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Even the system was backing me up.
Just how trashy must Yu Han-su’s idea be?
As someone who never misses out on experience points, my resolve to protect my proposal became even firmer.
‘Assistant Manager Kim, have you lost your mind? Why would you just blurt out that you want to get rid of the year-end party? If you’re only going to do what young people want, why even bother coming to work?’
‘Assistant Manager Kim, you’re great and all, but your problem is that you have no heart. If you cut people down so coldly every time they lack realism, do you think anyone will ever want to pitch an idea again?’
‘Assistant Manager Kim, you do it. You like using keyboard shortcuts, don’t you? Isn’t that right?’
In the past, talking back to a superior never ended well for me.
But now, I had nowhere to retreat. I had to face him with a "do or die" spirit.
‘Now… where should I start working?’
It was time to use my brain for the first time in a long while—since high school graduation, really.
Yu Han-su’s new proposal didn't pass easily.
That was only natural. It lacked evidence and wasn't original.
Moreover, the company likely had certain performance expectations for Yu Han-su, so a proposal that fell far short of those was unlikely to be approved.
However, for Yu Han-su, who claimed to have been a producer for over ten years, being told to supplement a plan drafted by a trainee was a massive blow to his pride.
Perhaps because of that, Yu Han-su changed his tactics to nitpicking my proposal.
“I-wol, don’t you think the argument regarding the references here is too weak? Why don’t you share the supporting data with me?”
“Why does this part connect like this? Try to flesh it out more. Make it so I can understand it just by reading it.”
…And so on.
I was already busy enough with practice, but being called over three times a day was incredibly irritating.
If this were back in my Hanpyeong Industry days, I would have at least edited the sheets to look nice since I was being paid for it.
But since Yu Han-su himself acted so stubbornly, saying, “Since you’re still inexperienced, you might have derived the wrong results, so I’ll look at the raw data and give you feedback,” I just handed over the 3,800-row Web Cell as it was. Let’s see him crunch those numbers until his eyes pop out.
However, there was a limit to how long I could keep Yu Han-su at bay with these petty methods.
I needed a trump card to protect my precious little concept, no matter what nonsense Yu Han-su spewed.
Thanks to that, I ended up living like a total wreck, monitoring comments on Jang Jun-hu’s shitty music video until 5 AM and summarizing the rise and fall of every youth-concept idol in history.
“Hyung, aren’t you sleeping?”
“I’ll sleep later.”
“But the sun is coming up right now…?”
Is the sun the problem? Spark is about to "rise" in this industry the moment they debut.
I never thought I’d find myself praying so desperately for Spark’s good fortune. Life is so fleeting.
Sometimes, Choi Je-ho would approach me with a serious expression.
“Your dark circles are insane.”
“I get it. I’ll look for a clinic that’s good at under-eye fat repositioning.”
“Can’t you just, you know, sleep?”
Even if I did sleep, I’d probably just have nightmares about Yu Han-su sending emails like, ‘Can you summarize the lyrical themes of last month’s Top 100 digital charts and send them over?’ So what was the point?
At times like this, I’m grateful for the fact that I don’t need much sleep. I can function even with less rest than others.
It’s a bit of a waste that I poured all this precious talent into Hanpyeong Industry, though.
‘…Still, should I do something about these dark circles?’
My hand unconsciously went to the area under my eyes as I typed.
Since I didn't have much occasion to see my own dark circles, I hadn't realized it, but lately, I’d been told they’d gotten much darker.
It hadn't been long since I got a double dose of nagging from Jeong Seong-bin and Lee Cheong-hyeon about it.
If I neglected my self-care any further, I’d likely be pelted with twice as many stones telling me to leave so I wouldn't lower Spark’s average visual level. I’d like to pass on that.
I wiped my dry face with both hands.
I missed my cozy bed that would be waiting for me nine years in the future.
Fortunately—or unfortunately—the disaster of being pelted with stones over my appearance didn't happen.
That was because I was hit with a triple overtime attack from Yu Han-su first.
Yu Han-su would call me out and work me like a dog whenever it was time for individual practice. It was blatant, simple harassment.
I almost felt lucky that I’d handed my phone over to the company and couldn't receive personal calls.
If I hadn't gone through "preparatory learning" with Department Head Nam, my weak mental state wouldn't have been able to endure this.
Yu Han-su’s snide remarks had now reached the level of…
“The Representative is really a nice person. Do you realize how lucky you are to have found a good agency? Anywhere else, you wouldn't even be able to show them such crude documents.”
…In terms of rhetoric, he seemed to have reached a level similar to Department Head Nam.
I did agree with Yu Han-su’s words to some extent.
In the first place, how many companies would take a trainee’s proposal seriously?
But aren't you also benefiting from that nice Representative?
A person like you is earning money under that same Representative right now.
Despite my thoughts, I had to smile brightly and reply, “Yes, I think I was very lucky too.”
There was nothing to be gained from an idol trainee getting on a producer’s bad side. It was a bitter reality.
“PD-nim, it’s almost time for group practice. May I head back now?”
“What? Is it that time already?”
Yu Han-su checked the clock on the office wall. Then, he told me to wait a moment and stepped out.
When he returned ten minutes later, he was holding a thick stack of papers.
Yu Han-su handed me the papers, which were still warm as if they’d just been printed, and said, “This is the draft of the proposal I mentioned when we all ate together last time.”
“Ah, yes.”
“Now, treat it like a real project and organize it with statistics and references, just like you did for your proposal. If you polish it well, I’ll even bring it up in the meeting.”
“…Excuse me?”
So, right now.
You’re telling me to clean up the proposal you wrote with your feet?
And you’re saying it like you’re doing me a huge favor?
For the first time in a while, I felt the blood rushing to the back of my head.
This absurdity… it makes me feel alive.
“What are you doing? Aren't you going to practice? You have to be quick on your feet to survive in this industry.”
Is there any industry where you can survive by being slow, you piece of shit?
I shouted brightly, “Then I’ll be going! Thank you for your hard work!” and left the office.
The moment I closed the office door, a hollow laugh escaped me.
I used the documents Yu Han-su gave me to hide my face while I laughed, worried that a gloomy guy laughing alone in the hallway would look creepy.
“Ah… what should I do about this?”
There are many companies in the world. And in those companies, there are always several trashy bosses.
So, there was no need to get all worked up over one person like Yu Han-su.
“But I really hate people who try to steal credit.”
Yu Han-su messed with the wrong person this time.
Of all the people he could resemble, why did he have to be just like Department Head Nam?
If it goes well, it’s my credit; if it fails, it’s your fault.
There was no better phrase to describe Yu Han-su.
To Yu Han-su, every group project, every competition entry, and every project that succeeded was entirely due to him.
As soon as he graduated from a prestigious school known for its directing program, Yu Han-su jumped straight into the field. It was a position secured through a senior from the same school.
It wasn't exactly the kind of place for such a distinguished talent, but it wasn't a bad environment for gaining initial social experience.
While his peers who joined at the same time split up the grunt work, Yu Han-su did nothing.
He was a talent who had been recognized and brought in through a reliable connection, while the others were not.
‘Exactly. You should have started on the right foot from the beginning.’
Yu Han-su thought that as he looked at his peers.
In reality, he lacked the ability to sustain his work for long, but it didn't matter.
Instead, Yu Han-su possessed the audacity to steal ideas from his peers, his juniors, and sometimes even seniors who were being marginalized in the broadcasting world, all in the blink of an eye.
This was by no means stealing items.
He was simply presenting the ideas at the right timing, processed into their best possible state!
Regrettably, by the time people started whispering, he would just release his own work.
As long as he found one good freelancer, the quality of his portfolio could be improved in no time.
Take someone else’s plan and submit it. When it seemed like people were going to talk, hire someone to create a new plan and submit that. Use that to get more work. Collaborate using someone else’s ideas again…
As this cycle continued for over ten years, Yu Han-su’s algorithm began to tangle slightly.
And in the end, it degenerated into this:
‘I am a capable person. I’ve been working continuously for a decade—long enough for even the mountains to change, right?’
Just like the ideas he stole, rumors about him began to surface little by little.
Of course, Yu Han-su dismissed them as nonsense. He already had a well-cultivated career.
However, even he was starting to feel a bit of burnout.
He had grown tired of the constant need to prove himself.
So, Yu Han-su made a choice.
A company that was new to the idol business and thus not very knowledgeable about entertainment planning.
A company that wasn't known for having a particularly high turnover rate.
A company where an idol-related department hadn't been established yet, so he could expect to lead the new business.
He decided to take a new step at ‘UA.’
With that goal in mind, when he saw the photos of the trainees signed to UA, Yu Han-su felt a surge of inspiration.
How he would make these unpolished gems shine with his talent!
It was a difficult task, but Yu Han-su was confident.
Yu Han-su sketched out ideas while waiting for the inspiration that would one day strike him like a bolt of lightning.
He subtly incorporated his initial concepts so that the agency wouldn't be too overwhelmed by his groundbreaking ideas.
He even prepared some well-wishing remarks for the trainees who had never even debuted. Brats that age always needed advice from a professional.
Having made such thorough preparations, the first thing shoved in front of Yu Han-su upon entering UA was a single proposal.
[Spark Mini 1st Album Concept Proposal]
He was flustered. Hadn't he come here to plan the A to Z of a group called Spark?
The Representative’s following words were even more absurd.
“Our trainee did everything from the planning to the organization and the PT. I’d like PD Han-su to work with this friend to improve the album’s quality. He’s only been a trainee for a short time, so he has a lot to do besides planning.”
Yu Han-su thought he had been a victim of employment fraud.
He checked his offer letter later after returning home, but there wasn't much difference between the letter’s contents and the Representative’s words.
It was because Yu Han-su had only checked the company name and the part about a new business division being formed.
With an unpleasant feeling from the start, Yu Han-su read the first page of the proposal.
Since everything could be summarized on one page, yet there was a long-winded explanation following it, he didn't read the rest.
After reading the paper, Yu Han-su’s impression was very simple.
‘Cliché.’
Youth? How many idol teams debuted with something other than a youth concept?
The Representative’s words also rubbed him the wrong way.
Not ‘taking him under your wing,’ but ‘with’ him?
Did he mean for him to work as equals with a wet-behind-the-ears brat?
But soon, he decided to understand the Representative’s mistake with a broad mind.
Didn't he say he was new to the idol business?
Anyone could make a mistake when they didn't know better.
Yu Han-su just had to use his skills to make the Representative and that trainee named Kim I-wol realize how much they were underestimating the idol market.
Yu Han-su requested an all-hands meeting for a date two weeks after his start date.
While preparing for the meeting, he focused on ideation and left the other necessary materials to Kim I-wol, checking them immediately whether it was night or dawn.
He would show the gap between a professional and an amateur with the proposal the trainee took a month to make versus the one he made in just two weeks.
Thinking that way made his motivation soar. Yu Han-su did his best, as if he had returned to his undergraduate days.
And now.
“Oh, wait a second. PD Yoo, are the figures in that graph over there correct?”
In the middle of his PT, which should have been flawless according to plan, the Representative cut him off and asked a question.