Chapter 198
Chapter 198
A few days had passed since TeSTAR returned to Korea to begin full-scale preparations for their encore concert.
“Ah, it’s been a while since I’ve been in Seoul!”
TeSTAR’s first manager—no, now their only manager—headed toward the company with a beaming smile.
While handling the workload of two people by himself wasn't without its inconveniences, it was manageable enough. After all, TeSTAR wasn't a particularly difficult group to deal with.
‘They’ve been talking back a bit lately, but maybe it’s because they’ve been taking so much heat from the public—they don’t have much of a backbone.’
Besides, since the newly contracted tour staff handled most of the heavy lifting, the manager was actually having a more relaxing time than when they were in Korea.
Originally, checking and managing the members' individual conditions was his responsibility, but he had habitually started letting it slide. This was largely because the leader, a former athlete used to such routines, had stepped up to take care of it himself.
In short, it was a slight dereliction of duty.
In this industry, having such a "sweet deal" was practically unheard of, but humans naturally grow accustomed to the comforts of their position.
‘I’ll just hang in there while these kids are in their prime, build up my resume, and then jump ship to another company.’
Lately, the company had been pouring all its energy into the launch of a new girl group, so TeSTAR was receiving less attention. Rumor had it that the new General Manager preferred girl groups, as they generally had better public appeal than boy groups.
‘I think they really milked it this time, though.’
The manager recalled TeSTAR’s reaction from a few days ago.
He had already been instructed by the company to "just smooth things over if they protest." Naturally, it was easier to coax TeSTAR than to raise an objection to the company.
And the manager was already certain that it wouldn't be a difficult task.
‘Just as I expected, it all fizzled out~’
Well, it wasn't like TeSTAR would fail because of this; they were clearly going to keep being successful. There would be no issues with his own career. Therefore, the best course of action was to soothe them gently and avoid creating unnecessary headaches.
“Ah, I’m here~”
Lost in thought, the manager arrived at the company and ran into an unexpected face in the parking lot.
“Hello!”
“Oh, hey there~”
It was the second manager. Well, he had been reassigned as the manager for the junior group, Mirinae.
Despite thinking the guy was a bit of a dimwit, the manager struck up a conversation.
“Waiting for someone?”
“Ah, Mirinae is meeting with the Chief right now. I’m just waiting for them!”
“Oh~ really? Which Chief? Why are they meeting?”
“Uh, I was told not to tell other teams... Is it okay if I do?”
This stuttering, indecisive side of him was incredibly annoying. Social life was all about reading the room!
‘He probably won’t last long.’
The manager had felt relieved to be rid of the frustrating guy, but he did occasionally miss having someone around to do the grunt work.
‘I hope the next guy they hire is obedient and quick on his feet.’
The manager killed time with a coffee, thinking about the new recruit who would soon be added to the team. After delivering a formal report at the office and hearing some news, he slowly made his way back to TeSTAR’s dorm.
‘Brief them on the schedule, give them a little "fighting" pep talk...’ That was the extent of the manager’s plan for today.
However, the moment he stepped into the dorm, he realized something was off.
“Oh, Hyung, you’re here~”
“Welcome back!”
A spread of donuts and drinks was laid out on the table. And a complete stranger was sitting there, fiddling with his smartphone.
‘What the...??’
“Guys, who is this...?”
“Oh, hello. I’m the new manager. Looking forward to working with you.”
“...??”
The guy sitting there finally stood up slowly and gave the first manager a half-hearted greeting.
‘Who does this punk think he is?’
A second manager he hadn't even heard about? And what was with this insincere attitude?
The first manager didn't hide his suspicion and annoyance as he questioned him. Even if he really was a new manager, this was a situation that called for a stern talking-to!
“I haven't heard anything about a new manager. Who are you? No, are you really a manager? Who are you?”
“I officially start next week, but Hyung told me to come by and introduce myself today. Didn't you hear about it?”
“Hyung??”
Park Moon-dae cut in with a faint smile.
“I heard he’s the Management Office Chief’s cousin.”
“...!!”
“Ah, I guess you don't believe me.”
The man claiming to be the second manager held up his smartphone with a crooked posture.
“Well, do you want to talk to him?”
On the smartphone screen, a familiar name was displayed with the label 'Cousin Hyung.'
It was indeed the Management Office Chief.
‘What on earth is going on...?!’
The first manager felt his vision go dark.
*
“Take care~”
“Yeah, see you next week.”
The guy who was to become the second manager gave a casual goodbye and left shortly after. He was supposedly a jobless bum who got the position through connections, and he didn't seem to have much passion for the work, but that didn't matter. I didn't expect much anyway.
In the first place, the first manager was also someone who only did the bare minimum.
‘What matters is what the Management Office Chief is thinking.’
The important thing was the gesture—that the man, who was currently a Chief in name only, had started building 'his own line' within the company.
‘It worked well.’
I shrugged and turned back from the entrance.
“Hyung, would you like another donut?”
Kim Rae-bin happened to be holding the donut box at the table.
“No, I’m full. You eat them.”
“Understood!”
Yeah. Eat up. After all, the guy who bought those donuts basically got in because of you.
I recalled the schedule from our first day back. It was a recording session for a new song to be used in the encore concert. Since the team preferred to finalize the audio before practicing, it was the first thing on the agenda.
Naturally, it was a situation where we worked directly with the AR Team.
After greeting the A&R staff we had become quite familiar with, we proceeded with the recordings by unit. During a break, I struck up a conversation with Kim Rae-bin while he was waiting for his turn.
I made sure to speak at a distance where the staff members scattered around the recording booth could easily overhear.
Kim Rae-bin’s face darkened instantly.
He followed exactly where I nudged him. Kim Rae-bin nodded, his shoulders drooping dejectedly.
‘Excellent.’
I spoke again, using the same nuance Kim Rae-bin had used on our way back from meeting the juniors.
Let’s twist the emotional knife a bit more.
I muttered in a slightly hollow tone.
Kim Rae-bin looked like he was about to cry. Recalling those days seemed to make him even more immersed in the emotion.
Good.
I intentionally called out to the nearby AR Team.
-
As expected, they had been listening. A staff member, looking quite sympathetic, quickly found a box of tissues and handed it over.
To make them feel even more pity, I pulled out a tissue and held it to Kim Rae-bin’s face.
Kim Rae-bin, who obviously wasn't actually crying, tried to answer honestly.
I personally dabbed his dry face. Kim Rae-bin looked like his head was full of question marks, but the effect was certain. I could see the staff members exchanging looks that said, 'What are we going to do about this?'
‘The AR Team secretly likes Kim Rae-bin the most.’
They communicated well, and since he was a composer, they had the most interaction. Plus, since he was so earnest and pure-hearted, I knew they thought of him almost like the team’s youngest guest.
Furthermore, many of the staff in that team had been grinded down alongside TeSTAR during their grueling debut days. This meant many of them were likely baffled by the higher-ups' decision to just take that debut concept and use it elsewhere.
‘But there’s no one to speak up.’
Because they had gathered seasoned professionals, there was ironically no one with personal ties or connections to the higher-ups.
‘So, next, I’ll incite the one who does have connections.’
That was why I contacted the Management Office. First, I sent a light message along with a gift.
Since we mostly dealt with the Management Office during the tour, the excuse was plausible enough. If I sent over some vitamins or something similar for the staff there, the Chief would naturally respond with a gesture of thanks. Usually via a phone call.
This was the timing to throw the bait. And this bait was based on a fairly accurate assessment of the current situation.
‘The Management Office Chief fell out of favor with the current General Manager a long time ago.’
The General Manager wasn't an idiot; there was no way he didn't know the decisive reason he was brought here. It was because of the massive scandal involving an industrial spy in the Management Office.
Since the Chief had ties to the head office, his position was likely safe, but his influence was a different story.
‘He’s probably being sidelined from frontline decision-making.’
Still, he seemed to have been working quite tensely since the industrial spy incident. Having to grovel must be infuriating and eating away at him. Someone who got in through nepotism has rarely experienced being ignored in their life, so the current situation must be even harder to bear.
I just had to scratch that itch.
I gave him a lead that would allow him to distort and beautify the situation in his mind: 'I, the Chief, noticed it and handled it quickly, but I'm being treated unfairly.'
Look at that. He swallowed it whole without even a hint of humility.
On top of that, if the AR Team spread the sentiment among the working-level staff that 'the General Manager made a reckless move this time' and 'he was too harsh on the TeSTAR kids,' the Chief could justify himself even more clearly.
He’d fall into the grand delusion that 'an incompetent General Manager is trying to keep me in check.'
I knew that if that state of mind fermented for a few days, it would act as the fuel for him to push back against the General Manager.
‘Since he’s a parachute hire, he doesn't have the fear of being fired if things go wrong, so he’ll just act on his confidence and impulses.’
And fortunately, it seemed the Chief was properly emboldened, as he went as far as to plant his own cousin as TeSTAR’s new manager just this morning.
‘It’s going to be a total mess.’
I lay on the sofa and watched Cha Yu-jin finish off the remaining donuts.
“Stop eating! Are you a pig?”
“I’m a tiger!”
“Tigers are carnivores that don't consume flour, but you are currently consuming sugar and flour...”
Hmm, peaceful.
‘The next thing should be blowing up soon.’
Naturally, since things could always fall through, one had to lay multiple landmines.
‘That junior seemed to be quite well-spoken.’
I decided to wait for the next bomb with a relaxed mind.