Ch 151
Became a swordsmanship instructor at the academy
Chapter 151
"Right. Representative Lee, how did that thing I asked you about last time go?"
"Whose request was it? Of course I proceeded with it as planned."
"Specifically?"
"I had someone tell Stevia's manager that the parent company was having financial difficulties, so there wouldn't be any future album production or additional activities."
"Will just that be enough?"
"Just that? You don't seem to know much about it, Young Master, but in the industry we call that shelving. For celebrities with a lot of time left on their contracts, it's practically a death sentence."
"Oh, right. Good. Do they know about it themselves?"
"My Manager Kim did separately tell them to keep their mouths shut..."
"What? If they don't know themselves, there's no point, is there?"
"You should listen to the end. Shortly after we told them that, the Stevia members requested to meet with me. Their manager has been with them since debut and is quite close to them, so he probably told them."
"You used your head well. So when should I contact them? Can I do it right away?"
"Hmm, they're probably looking around everywhere right now to try to resolve the situation."
"But there won't be any places to help them, right?"
"That's right. I've also given word to everyone around. If you contact them in about a week to let them assess their situation, you'll be able to do whatever you want, Young Master."
"Right. I need to make them sweat a bit. Good work."
"It's nothing. Um... Young Master, about those new kids we're launching that you mentioned last time..."
"Ah, don't worry. I'll tell Father to really push them hard."
He pats my shoulder condescendingly like he's dealing with a subordinate and leaves.
Haa... A kid who's not even thirty yet, just twenty or twenty-one.
It's annoying, but I absolutely can't show it.
When that bastard came to me a month ago saying he got rejected after making a sponsor proposal to Stevia's Se-byeol, I was really dumbfounded.
There's no way there could be a crazy person in this world who would come looking for the CEO of an entertainment company after making a sponsor proposal to one of their celebrities.
I was about to report him to the police immediately, but I had no choice but to back down when he switched the phone call.
That bastard is from the royal family.
He was the grandson of the Chairman of Hwasin Group, the parent company of our HS Entertainment.
That damn kid blatantly demanded Park Se-byeol from me.
As an entertainment agency CEO, it was quite a difficult request to accept, but if I had lived only righteously from the beginning, I wouldn't have been able to climb to this position.
How did I get to this position, only to be helpless against threats that they might shut down the entire entertainment business?
***
When I came home, washed up, and checked my phone before bed, there was a message from Sister Se-byeol.
[Se-jin, can you call me when you see this message?]
I was about to call, but it was late and a lot of time had passed since the message came, so I sent a text saying I just saw it now.
Maybe it was too late because there was no reply, so I just lay down to sleep when my phone rang.
"Yes, sister."
—Sorry for the late hour. You must have been really busy.
"Ah, yes. Your voice doesn't sound good. Is something wrong?"
—I drank a little.
"Sister? What's a girl group doing drinking?"
—Is there a law saying girl groups can't drink? Hey, idols are people too.
"Didn't you say you were going to start preparing for an album soon?"
—That's why I drank. It got scrapped.
Last time she was so excited talking about it...
She must be really disappointed because I can hear the wetness in her voice.
"Sister, are you at home? Should I come over?"
—It's fine. It's late, where would you come from?
"It's quick if I take the car. Looking at you, it seems like you messaged because you wanted to see me, right?"
—You used to be clueless but you've improved a lot. But is it okay? Tomorrow you have work...
"I'm off tomorrow. I'll be right there. Let's sleep together after a long time."
Sister Se-byeol isn't just a friendly neighbor.
When Father was pushing me harshly during elementary school, she would come over, give me snacks, talk to me, and play with me.
When I got kicked out for not meeting my training quota, she would let me into her house to sleep.
Of course, Father would come in the early morning making a fuss and I'd have to go back...
After that, she took care of me even more.
After I entered Hunter School and sister got busy with her singing debut, we couldn't see each other often, but we stayed in regular contact.
She's like a real sister to me.
***
At first I thought they were trying to entice me by using even the members after the manager wasn't enough, but that wasn't it.
Listening to Se-jin's story, I find myself unconsciously clenching my fists.
"Sister told me not to say anything, but hearing the situation, I felt so sorry..."
"That industry isn't as good as it looks on the surface..."
Of course, in my previous life I lived a life completely unrelated to the entertainment industry, but the subject of the first story I wrote as a writer in my previous life was the entertainment industry.
My next work also had the entertainment industry as the setting, though the protagonist wasn't a celebrity.
Of course, I wasn't the type to do a lot of research, but I couldn't write without doing at least basic research.
Just looking into it a little through the internet and acquaintances, the darkness of the entertainment industry was beyond imagination.
Of course, I didn't think it was all true and there might have been some exaggeration mixed in, but the things that occasionally came out in the news seemed like just the tip of the iceberg.
Drugs, fraud, sponsorship, album manipulation, scandals, etc...
The reason I didn't want to give them a song was also because I didn't want to get involved with that side at all.
But it's not just anyone else, it's Se-jin asking like this, so I can't just pass it by.
When she said the guy who made the sponsor proposal was from Hwasin Group, I wondered if it might be Lee Ji-sung, but that doesn't seem to be the case.
That guy is still in a situation where it's hard for him to take care of himself due to Luciel's curse.
Besides, Lee Ji-sung is only sixteen now, and among the rascally things that guy did in the original work, there was nothing like this.
It's not like there's no one I can think of though.
It's not Lee Ji-sung's older brother.
His older brother is quite ambitious, but he's aiming for the successor position so he's quite the elite on the surface.
It's probably Lee Ji-sung's cousin.
There's a cousin who gets completely destroyed when he tries to mess with the protagonist's woman without fear when the protagonist is twenty.
He's a rascal who committed evil deeds together with the protagonist since childhood, but his role wasn't big in the original work so I don't really remember his name.
"How can I help?"
"Uh..."
Seeing that she can't answer right away, it seems she hasn't thought of a specific method.
"Going to find the agency CEO and telling him not to do that..."
"That doesn't seem like a very good method?"
I could do it if I tried, but I'm not particularly related to that industry.
The real culprit is that bastard who made the sponsor proposal...
Should I secretly visit him at night and deal with him like I did with Lee Ji-sung last time?
But Luciel is also in a situation where she can't escape from the portal right now.
Well, dealing with him alone isn't that difficult, but there's no justification for disguising it as Antas like last time.
Even if I expose that he made them unable to do anything because they rejected his sponsor proposal, the media won't be on our side.
Come to think of it, it's strange that manager guy keeps asking me for a song when his kids are in this situation, right?
I think I need to meet him once and hear the story in more detail.
They say to strike while the iron is hot, so I immediately came out of the portal and called the manager, but it didn't connect.
It's not even that late.
Anyway, they say even dog poop is nowhere to be found when you need it for medicine, and that's exactly right.
I asked Se-jin to contact him for me.
"Hospital?"
I wondered if he made some bad choice, but that wasn't it - the manager and one of the members got in a traffic accident while returning from a schedule.
The member wasn't seriously hurt, but the manager was quite badly injured.
"Um... Teacher, what should we do? Sister seems to be in chaos right now. Should I tell her let's meet next time?"
"Ah, right. Well, if we meet now we probably can't talk properly anyway. You arrange an appointment next time and let me know."
"Yes."
This is right, but somehow it feels unsettling.
***
I came back happy because Se-jin said she might be able to help, but somehow the atmosphere is strange.
"Se-byeol, where did you go?"
It's Manager Kim.
"Just for a moment... No, to the bathroom."
"The doctor said Min-hee can be discharged. Everyone go back now. Byeong-sik, you take the kids to the dorm."
"Ah, yes."
"No. We'll wait."
"Right. Brother Sang-cheol’s surgery isn't even finished yet."
"If you guys stay here unnecessarily, it'll cause talk. What good comes from accident articles getting out? I'll be here, so go in quickly."
"But..."
"How much did Sang-cheol usually pamper you that you won't listen like this?"
"..."
"You being here waiting isn't going to help Sang-cheol, right? Byeong-sik, what are you doing?"
"Ah, yes. Let's go."
I was worried about Manager, but I had no choice but to return to the dorm under Manager Kim's pressure.
"Sister Se-byeol, Manager isn't going to be seriously hurt..."
"Don't say such things."
"He'll be okay, right?"
"He'll be fine. He's a strong person."
The kids seemed very anxious, so I comforted them and sent them to their rooms.
I went into the bathroom to wash, and I felt a vibration from inside my clothes.
I wondered if Se-jin contacted me again, but it's an SNS message.
[Good night. I heard the manager got hurt badly? Hehe]
Looking at the tone, it seems to be that bastard who made the sponsor proposal last time, so I try to block him without replying... Wait, how does this bastard know about the accident?
I immediately went online and searched, but no accident articles came up.
[How do you know that... Don't tell me you did it?]
[Who knows? Maybe I did, maybe I didn't.]
[You did it! Not a single article has come out right now.]
[Oh, you're sharp? Originally I was going to target a member instead of the manager, but things got a bit twisted.]
[Hey, you crazy bastard. Why the hell are you doing this!]
[You really don't know? That's what you get for being stubborn when you don't know your place. Keep being defiant like that. There won't be anyone left around you.]
I thought he wasn't normal from the beginning, but this bastard is a complete psychopath.
[Hey, you psychopath bastard. I'm going to report you!]
[Report? LOL Try it. Can you catch me?]
KNOCK! KNOCK!
"Sister, what are you doing? I need the bathroom..."
"Ah... Just a moment, I'll be right out."
I came out of the bathroom and returned to my room.
[Not looking? If you ignore me like this, it'll be more boring from now on. Well, I'll stop here for today. I'll contact you again next time.]
[Get lost, you piece of trash! I'll never do what you want.]
—This is a withdrawn user. Cannot send message.
Why is this happening to me...
"Sister, what's wrong? Is something going on?"
"No... It's nothing."
"Are you worried about brother too? Let's go see him again tomorrow morning with the kids."
"Yeah..."
I feel so sorry to brother and the kids.
It feels like everyone is suffering because of me...
DING!
At the phone notification sound, I reflexively checked, and fortunately this time it's Se-jin.
[Sister, then let's meet tomorrow evening.]
Can I escape this hellish situation because Se-jin said she'd help?
I'm worried I might get Se-jin involved too.