Chapter 63: How to Resolve Conflict with Your Boss: Get Rid of Him (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 63: How to Resolve Conflict with Your Boss: Get Rid of Him (1)
Our strategy was as follows.
Take 1.
Lee Cheong-hyeon joins Jeong Seong-bin and Kang Gi-yeon halfway through their walk home. The two youngest members then press their leader to find out what happened.
Cheong-hyeon: "Hyung, is something going on lately?"
Gi-yeon: "We didn't want to say anything because it seemed like you were trying not to let it show, but we’ve been worried..."
Something like that—acting as if they’d been walking on eggshells around the older members and finally worked up the courage to speak.
If they did that, the soft-hearted Jeong Seong-bin would surely give them some kind of answer. He wasn't the type of person to be less than kind to others just because he was feeling troubled.
Take 2.
At the same time, in front of the water purifier in the practice room hallway, Choi Je-ho awkwardly strikes up a conversation with Park Ju-woo.
Je-ho: "You, uh... did you... get into a fight with Jeong Seong-bin?"
Choi Je-ho’s delivery was clunky, but let’s just call it a performance intended to convey hesitation.
First of all, Park Ju-woo would be startled. The number of one-on-one conversations between Choi Je-ho and Park Ju-woo was currently approaching zero.
Even though Park Ju-woo would also hesitate for a long time, he would eventually give an answer.
The more information the better, but it would be a success even if Choi Je-ho only managed to fish out one core factor.
I didn't expect to get the full A to Z of the incident from a silent jerk and a silent softie anyway. So, I just told him to pick out the important bits.
Take 3.
While Jeong Seong-bin is called away by the manager and Park Ju-woo is in the vocal practice room, everyone else gathers to share their results.
"So? Did you find anything out?"
The first to answer was Lee Cheong-hyeon.
"Wow, Seong-bin Hyung kept his mouth shut tighter than I expected."
Great. Failed right from the start.
"You should've squeezed out some tears to shake him up. Are you joking?"
"I was ready to poke myself in the eye to make it happen! But Seong-bin Hyung changed the subject with such a pathetic look on his face!"
"Honestly, he looked so miserable I couldn't bring myself to ask more," Kang Gi-yeon added, nodding as he sat with his arms crossed, echoing Cheong-hyeon’s frustrated cry.
"Well, tell us what you heard anyway. Cheong-hyeon, you first."
"He said it wasn't like they had a huge blowout fight. Just a bit of a difference in opinion."
"Then what do you think, Gi-yeon? You share a room with them."
"To say they didn't fight... well, they barely speak to each other in the room."
Kang Gi-yeon, whose back was practically breaking from being caught in the middle of the elders' cold war, shrugged his shoulders.
"But it’s also hard to say they did fight."
"In what way?"
"It feels more like they're avoiding each other. Usually, when people fight, don't they get angry at the other person?"
That was certainly unusual. There was a clear difference between leaving a room because you couldn't stand the sight of someone and avoiding them because you couldn't face them.
Kang Gi-yeon continued.
"Seong-bin Hyung even mentioned that he thought he might have misspoke."
Lee Cheong-hyeon chimed in.
"He’s not the type to make a slip of the tongue easily. Maybe there’s just a misunderstanding between them?"
"True."
I agreed with Cheong-hyeon’s opinion.
Then, an unexpected comment came from the side I hadn't anticipated anything from.
Choi Je-ho had actually brought back a useful answer.
"It's true they're feeling awkward around each other."
"What?"
"He said they both ended up using some harsh words during a conversation."
I was so taken aback that I forgot to ask, "What do you mean?" and could only blink.
They used harsh words? Of all people, Jeong Seong-bin and Park Ju-woo? Those two, whose hearts are like soft tofu?
As we swarmed him, Choi Je-ho began to recount his conversation with Park Ju-woo.
'Did you fight over whether to tell the company about Kim I-wol?'
'...Yes.'
'I thought that was over since Kim I-wol said to drop it.'
'I think Seong-bin was still worried about it.'
It seemed Jeong Seong-bin had been trying to find a way to persuade me one more time.
And Park Ju-woo had tried to stop him.
"He said he told Seong-bin not to pry too much because we don't know what my situation might be."
"..."
I was grateful to Park Ju-woo for preventing Jeong Seong-bin from bringing that issue up again.
However, it was unclear why Park Ju-woo had suddenly spoken up in consideration of my position.
If I had to guess, it was probably because Park Ju-woo was the member who had unintentionally overheard the most about my family affairs.
I had no idea what Park Ju-woo had imagined based on hearing that I couldn't go to college because I had no money (which was a misunderstanding on his part) or that I didn't get along with my family.
In fact, right now, I could actually understand Jeong Seong-bin’s position.
I didn't agree with Seong-bin’s opinion to report Yu Han-su.
However, wouldn't anyone be flustered if a close friend expressed strong opposition to something they believed was right?
"Seong-bin must have felt hurt."
"Is this really something to get hurt over?"
"He’s already troubled, and then his friend tries to stop him on top of that. He couldn't have felt good about it."
I knew the feeling. When team colleagues you thought you could rely on betrayed you by siding with Department Head Nam, the sense of futility was immense.
Anyway, the emergency response committee, having identified the cause of the problem, disbanded neatly before Jeong Seong-bin and Park Ju-woo returned.
And as the one who had somehow become the seed of discord, I activated the Stick Function as the two returned for practice.
I had been refraining from using it since it was a function similar to peeking into someone's heart, but since this wasn't a purely private matter between the two, I decided to use it for the public good.
[SYSTEM] Please enter a combination name.
▶ [ ]
'I think the fans called them the "Meboz"... but the system will probably reject that for being too cliché.'
This system was notoriously stubborn.
Wasn't it the same jerk that kept rejecting my combination names until it finally lumped Choi Je-ho and Kang Gi-yeon together as "Sapodungi"?
Sure enough, I was faced with countless "This is an inappropriate combination name" windows.
The combination name that finally got approved was... well, it looked like a game nickname from one of those internet memes my college friends used to share.
[SYSTEM] The combination name has been finalized as 'Long-tailed Tit 2'.
I chose it because they were the two most innocent-looking members of the team... I just hope no one ever finds out about my naming skills.
The Stick I struggled to open was, as expected, radiating an aura of "I'm hurt!"
[Jeong Seong-bin — Wishes he would treat him as a more comfortable friend → Park Ju-woo]
[Park Ju-woo — Wishes he would let go of the burden a little → Jeong Seong-bin]
What touching friendship.
They truly were friends who had stayed by each other's side for over seven years. Although everything almost went to ruin this time because I got involved.
If I were a person with a sense of moral responsibility, I had to settle this matter smoothly, even if it wasn't related to my KPIs.
I joined the practice formation, thinking that I should call another emergency meeting—one of many that had already happened and would likely happen many more times before our debut.
The next day, after practice was over and everyone had returned home, I gathered all the members in the dorm living room.
"Today's agenda... I didn't mention it beforehand, but I think you all know."
At my words, Jeong Seong-bin flinched visibly. Park Ju-woo glanced at Seong-bin and then immediately looked away.
"Before that, there's something I want to say."
The members all looked at my face.
"A few days ago, I should have said thank you for worrying about me first, but I couldn't. I'm sorry."
First, I apologized to prevent an atmosphere where Jeong Seong-bin was blamed for worrying too much. My goal today wasn't to point fingers at anyone.
They seemed a bit flustered by the unexpected opening, but I didn't stop and moved on to the next step.
"My opinion that it's better not to tell the company hasn't changed. But I didn't want you guys to be uncomfortable because of my decision. That's why I made this time for us to talk together."
"..."
"It's been a few days, so everyone's cooled off, right? First, let's discuss whether we want to tell the company about Producer Yu Han-su."
My plan was to put the question of whether they wanted to report Yu Han-su to a vote, and if the votes were split, to reach a consensus through discussion and then talk about the method.
However, the vote was almost meaningless.
Because all five of them, excluding me, agreed that we should report Yu Han-su.
If I had known they would act like this, I would have taken a picture of my face that day. My nagging Seong-bin to leave evidence felt pointless now.
As I expressed my regret, Park Ju-woo asked.
"Is evidence absolutely necessary? We all saw your face that day, Hyung..."
"He's the type of person who would deny it to the end. We'd be lucky if he didn't claim the trainees were ganging up to kick him out."
At my words, Park Ju-woo's face turned pale.
It was unfortunate, but there was nothing I could do. That bastard Yu Han-su had been meticulous enough to call me into a meeting room without CCTV.
"Still, it's not like there's no evidence at all."
I pulled a bundle of paper out of my pants pocket.
It was the remains of the MP3 player I had bought secondhand, which Yu Han-su had smashed.
I had kept it in hopes of at least connecting the motherboard and using it.
But since the battery and memory were both snapped in half, resuscitation had become impossible.
"This is my MP3 player, and the PD smashed it. I picked up the pieces separately in case someone stepped on them and got hurt."
Looking at the fragments of the MP3, Jeong Seong-bin asked with a pale face.
"The PD... smashed this?"
"Yeah. It didn't cost much since I bought it used, but the company will probably realize that someone who smashes other people's property isn't normal."
The expressions of the guys darkened as they looked at the shattered pieces, which were now so broken it felt insulting to even call them an MP3 player.
Lee Cheong-hyeon frowned and asked.
"What do you have to do to an electronic device to make it break like this?"
"It ends up like that after being stepped on a few times. And didn't I tell you not to get wrinkles on your face?"
"Are wrinkles important right now?"
Of course they are. Nothing is more important than that in the history of idols.
"Anyway, if that's your opinion... I'll try to resolve it with this."
As I spoke while gathering the MP3 fragments back up, Kang Gi-yeon shrugged.
"Will you be okay? From what I've heard, that PD sounds like a total piece of work."
"I'll just have to be an even bigger piece of work."
They clearly didn't know how fierce an office worker who had been subjected to a power trip could become.
"Then, Seong-bin, sorry to interrupt practice, but I'll be back in a bit."
"Where are you going?"
"Where else? The Artist Management Team."
Choi Je-ho's eyes widened at those words.
"You're going right now?"
"Yeah. Didn't you say we should talk as soon as possible?"
Lee Cheong-hyeon looked somewhat anxious.
"Is it okay if we don't come up with a plan or something?"
"I've already thought of everything, so don't worry."
It was problematic to continue practicing with hindered teamwork and a depressed atmosphere.
Now that a conclusion had been reached, it was time to move. I stood up from my seat.
"Wait, Hyung. How are you going to talk to them?"
Jeong Seong-bin asked with a worried face.
I gave him a bright smile so he could sleep soundly tonight.
"How else? I'm going to make sure the company people can't listen to my story without shedding tears."