Chapter 86
Chapter 86
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 86
Chapter Title: Dice
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During the recording of the variety show Dice, lead actress Oh Sena from the movie Sunny Day mentioned that she was trying to get close to the martial arts director.
She asked PD Yoon, the person in charge, to cut that part out.
PD Yoon hesitated for a moment, but his greed for ratings won out. He aired it as is.
"It's not like Oh Sena said anything dangerous, right? The articles might stir up a bit of buzz, but what could go wrong?"
Something went wrong.
Oh Sena made a cameo appearance in the drama Blue Sky.
That same day, an episode of the variety show Dice aired too—and it included her comment about the martial arts director, who also handled the action scenes for Blue Sky.
People who'd watched both shows started posting comments on internet community boards.
Oh Sena's agency was in an uproar.
Fans these days were more forgiving of actresses dating than before.
But for someone like Oh Sena, whose face was her biggest asset, dating rumors could only be poison, never a boon.
The manager sighed.
"Sena, I've told you so many times. The best thing is not to date at all, but if you must, at least don't get caught."
Oh Sena grumbled back.
"I clearly asked PD Yoon to cut it out. And what does that guy do?"
"He's not picking up. Gone radio silent."
"What the hell."
"So what now?"
"If I back off here, it'll look like I made the first move and got shot down. I'm Oh Sena. How am I supposed to swallow that?"
"Then what do you want to do?"
Oh Sena's eyes gleamed.
"Might as well just seduce him for real."
The flustered manager waved his hands.
"No, Sena. How did we get here?"
"You know it too, Manager. No man's ever resisted my charms."
"That's exactly why—why end up there?!"
Shin Eun-ha said to Na Gang-in,
"So basically, Oh Sena's like a thousand-year-old spider. Human-faced demon or Arachne type. Her hobby's luring guys in and trapping them in her web."
Actor Kim Yu-chan, sitting nearby, offered a slightly different take.
"Sena does like seducing guys, but she rarely actually dates them, right?"
Shin Eun-ha shot him a glare.
"Why are you butting in again, Yu-chan oppa? You saying that's a good thing?"
Kim Yu-chan quickly backpedaled.
"Obviously, just seducing and dumping them is even crueler. She kicks them to the curb the second they try to take it further. Imagine the ego hit on the dumped side."
"Such a twisted hobby."
"Yeah. Oh Sena's kinda crazy."
Na Gang-in asked,
"So you came to the PC bang to tell me this?"
"What? No, I just came for food, and then I got worried about you, so I'm warning you. For real."
Kim Yu-chan chuckled beside her.
"For real, my ass."
"You not eating, Yu-chan oppa?"
"Still got some left."
Na Gang-in said to Shin Eun-ha,
"You're worrying about nothing."
Shin Eun-ha's face lit up.
"Right? It's all pointless worry? As expected from Mr. Iron Wall!"
Kim Yu-chan muttered from the side.
"Not sure that's something to be happy about."
"What do you mean?"
"Never mind if you don't get it."
It was Na Gang-in's day to sell food at the PC bang. They gathered there to enjoy his cooking.
Shin Eun-ha had a reserved seat at the PC bang. She'd prepaid for a month's membership, so no one else could take it. She came so often lately that the PC bang trio was used to seeing her.
But they never imagined popular actor Kim Yu-chan would be eating in the staff break room.
College part-timer Yoon A-reum said,
"If this keeps up, our PC bang's gonna get famous as a celebrity hangout."
Boss's niece Cha Eun-seo lit up.
"For real? Uncle's gonna get rich?"
College hacker An Seong-hwan shook his head.
"Noona, if that rumor spreads, those two stars won't come anymore. Eun-ha noona only comes because we tuck her in the corner where no one recognizes her."
Cha Eun-seo smacked An Seong-hwan's arm.
"Hey, why are you jinxing it? Go home. We didn't call you to work—why're you even here?"
An Seong-hwan only came for part-time shifts when it got busy.
Yoon A-reum nodded vigorously beside Cha Eun-seo.
"This is why STEM majors suck. All data, no emotion. No soul."
An Seong-hwan protested.
"A-reum, you're STEM too."
"Oh. Right."
Yoon A-reum flipped her stance.
"Eun-seo unnie, this is data-driven analysis, so trust it. Seong-hwan's good at that stuff."
Cha Eun-seo shot back.
"Look who's talking—the bat was here? A-reum, you're night shift too—why're you here now?!"
Yoon A-reum stood tall.
"Food's here?"
"Everyone out! I wanna eat alone."
As they ate together, talk turned to Shin Eun-ha's agency, SAH Entertainment.
Shin Eun-ha explained,
"Our company separates singers and actors into different departments. We call 'em the singer line and actor line based on their roles."
Cha Eun-seo asked,
"So they don't know anything about each other's work?"
"Nah. During big events like concerts, actor managers get thrown into singer support, and promo teams handle both."
Most singers at SAH were solo acts. There was one duet.
And two idol groups.
The groups weren't huge, but not total flops either—they booked gigs now and then.
Shin Eun-ha said,
"The idol kids don't quite fit 'singer line' either. Our actor line slots them into bit parts in movies and dramas sometimes."
"Bet they greet you nicely then."
"Obviously. Super sweet kids."
"So at SAH, actors doing better or singers?"
"About even, I'd say."
Shin Eun-ha griped,
"But the boss always favors the singer line. 'Cause he's an ex-singer. Drives me nuts."
SAH was founded by mid-tier singer Seo Jae-hyeon.
Back in his youth, he'd dropped a bunch of hits. Even now, he released digital singles occasionally. But he didn't do live events anymore.
Many of his singers were old friends. Actors, mostly business acquaintances.
So Seo Jae-hyeon looked after the singer line more—and drank with them often.
A month ago, he'd inked a song deal with composer Kwak Chan-seok.
Kwak rarely sold songs before they were done, but he'd pre-contract with close pals like Seo sometimes.
In the meeting room sat Seo Jae-hyeon and three male singers.
Today was decision day for who got Kwak's new track, Walking Again Today.
Normally, the company assigned bought songs.
But this one leaked at a singer gathering, sparking a bidding war on the spot.
These three were the survivors—they could all nail it. The rest mismatched stylistically or bombed the guide recording.
Today, pick the winner.
On the table: sheet music for Walking Again Today and two board-game dice.
Seo Jae-hyeon said,
"Okay. Roll the two dice, add 'em up. Highest total gets the song. Everyone cool?"
The three nodded vigorously.
Seo went with luck because it was the only fair way.
These singers brimmed with vocal pride. Ranking them would've bruised egos.
No objective scoring either—pitch or rhythm metrics? They'd riot.
Staff brainstormed, landed on dice.
Losing to bad luck? No pride lost.
First singer rolled. Dice sum from 2-12.
"Come on, twelve!"
They tumbled to a stop. 3 and 5. Total 8.
The singer winced.
"Ugh... beat the middle, at least..."
Second singer smirked, shook the dice.
"Heard of the Vegas Golden Hand? That's me. Can't beat middle? Die."
He flicked them pro-style.
Stopped on 1 and 2. Total 3.
First singer burst out laughing.
"Hahaha! Vegas Golden Turd Hand! Hahahaha!"
"N-no way..."
Last singer shook his.
"9, 10, 11, or 12, and it's mine, right?"
"Give up. Won't happen. I beat half anyway—I'm ahead."
Last guy rolled.
One halted quick: 6.
"Yes!"
The other kept spinning.
He yelled desperately,
"Three, four, five, six!"
Any one wins. Even 2 ties, re-roll.
"Just not a one!"
Problem.
It wouldn't stop—rolled off the table.
He peeked underneath. 6.
He threw his hands up.
"Six! Total twelve! I win! Song's mine!"
Suddenly, the 8 guy shouted,
"Foul!"
"Huh?"
"Dice fell off the table! Foul!"
"Dude, no such rule! Nothing says it has to stay on!"
"Common sense!"
"That's common sense?!"
The 3 guy jumped in.
"Right, hyung. Foul!"
"Why you siding with him? You're out anyway!"
"Nah! Foul means re-roll from start!"
"What bullshit! Six on table! Six under! Twelve! I'm undisputed first!"
First guy yelled again,
"Foul!"
"Yeah! Foul!"
"No fouls exist!"
Seo Jae-hyeon facepalmed at the chaos.
"Wow. Thought dice would settle it... why always like this?"
Suddenly, the door flew open. A frantic staffer.
"Boss. Big problem."
"We got problems here already—what now?"
The staffer pointed at the sheet music.
"The guide recording for that song leaked online."
"What?!"
Seo blanked, then bolted up.
"How?! Why's the guide floating around the net?!"
"Song's good, staff copied it to listen... accidental leak."
"What? How many copied?"
"Pretty much all singer-line staff..."
"I'm losing my mind."
Na Gang-in's guide recording had leaked online.
A link popped up on a community board.