Approaching the Staff (3)
“Is this about me going on King of Mask Singer?”
The web drama shoot only had its back half left, and the rest of my schedule was light—nothing major even if I tried to fill it. So I could only assume these folks had gathered because King of Mask Singer, the biggest gig I had on deck, was the trigger.
“Any complaints about the company, by chance?”
“Complaints? Out of nowhere?”
I couldn't say I had zero gripes with the company. But they weren't serious enough to vent about. Honestly, our dedicated team killed it. The team had poured in the effort that let us blow up right after debut. No way we could've pulled that off on talent alone.
“Like, maybe we seem to be neglecting you, or there's stuff you'd like us to do that we aren't?”
“No complaints. Can't say there aren't any at all, but that's just part of the job. Earning someone else's money ain't easy, right? If anything, I owe our team a huge thank you.”
The staff's faces lit up with satisfaction at my words.
“Our Haesol's just too sweet, huh?”
“They say the handsome ones are always the nicest.”
“No flaws anywhere, I tell ya.”
“Aw, come on, guys. You're embarrassing me out of the blue here—I don't know where to put myself.”
Get to the point already!
After basking in the warm fuzzies for a bit, the staff finally snapped out of it and got down to business.
“We didn't wanna bring this up. But Director Yoo came in glaring daggers, telling us to step up our game.”
“Huh? Noona did? Outta nowhere? What happened?”
Manager Noona wouldn't say something like that without reason. Still, no matter how hard I racked my brain, it felt random as hell. I shot her a look that said explain.
I couldn't just blurt it out. Who knew what her situation was?
If she's got complaints, there must be a reason.
I stayed calm, waiting for Manager Noona to spill.
But what came out was kinda offbeat.
She said my talents were too impressive, and the team wanted me to show them off more aggressively—push harder on my behalf.
What the hell? Hell no!
That meant ramping up my schedule, right?
“We can't keep watching your talents go to waste, Haesol. We're not incompetent—we just haven't been proactive enough.”
I wanted to shake my head wildly at that. Taking a deep breath, I steadied my thoughts and replied.
“Must've been like lightning from a clear sky for our hardworking team. You're already doing plenty. No complaints from me. And shouldn't you have talked to me first before diving into this?”
My schedule was packed enough to piss me off already—now more? What did Manager Noona even think I was made of?
She looked shocked when I pushed back, like I'd betrayed her or something!
“You really have zero complaints? I figured you'd have the most, even if you didn't show it.”
“None at all. I swear on everything—never once had an issue like that.”
“Your featuring gig blew up your vocals, leading to King of Mask Singer. Don't you want more shots like that?”
“...”
Fair point—the featuring had landed me a golden opportunity. Now her angle was clicking.
“I get what you're after now, Noona. You want more big breaks coming my way. You know I'd crush them.”
“Exactly! That's what I'm saying!”
I'd pegged her as rushing in impulsively, but she had some grand vision. Guess I won't hold it against her.
“I get your intent, but I feel like I'm getting plenty of chances already. That's why no complaints.”
“Watching your skills rot away drives me nuts. It's not that the company can't—it's that they don't know to.”
Honey Enter was huge. Pushing programs my way wouldn't raise eyebrows. Package deals were standard in this industry anyway. Airplane was killing it so hard they hadn't needed to.
The team, eavesdropping, looked thoughtful—faces all kinds of weird.
“Listening to you two... makes me wonder if we're screwing up.”
“Haesol, what kinda monster did you show Director Yoo? Spill if you're hiding something—I'm dying here.”
“Nah, nothing hidden. Just know a bit of this and that.”
“A bit? 'Know a bit well'...”
The staff started murmuring. They weren't letting this drop, even though I hated the hassle.
“What? What're you gonna make me do? I got no complaints! You're already spoiling us. No need for more.”
“Tsk! Haesol, just sit tight!”
Me showing my reluctance got Manager Noona glaring daggers. She managed our group—she knew damn well I hated extra crap.
“Honestly been curious forever. You nail everything we throw at you—wondered how far that goes.”
“Yeah. Picked up singing quick, dance even faster. Blew our minds with the acting adaptation.”
“Issue's his drive. We all saw the gap when he commits to acting versus half-assing it.”
“Thought 'oh, he sucks at acting—world's fair after all,' then boom, jaws dropped.”
“The subject's right here, y'know.”
Despite me sitting there, the serious meeting kicked off. Afraid I'd get zapped if I stayed quiet, I jumped in.
“Why all this? Our next stuff's overseas! Aren't we supposed to focus on languages? No time for extras—I gotta cram foreign tongues.”
Just the drama wrap-up and King of Mask Singer left. Not downtime—it was prime time for language prep ahead of international gigs. Members were drilling tongues non-stop.
I'd experienced the company's brutal scheduling firsthand, regretting how I'd underestimated idols back in the day. Over and over.
How do they give zero breathing room?
Publicly "rest," but homework piled high? Not real rest.
Of course, I'd cheated with keys to master the languages already.
Coulda milked language study for more sweet downtime!
This was pure bolt from the blue. I knew it was for my own good, but resentment toward Manager Noona bubbled up.
If I said I compose too, they'd flip.
No way I'm spilling. Twenty-one. Still young enough to throw a fit. Even if it swung to thirty when needed!
“What about YouTubi?”
“YouTubi?”
“YouTubi's got agency channels, right?”
“Just make another sub-channel. Easy peasy.”
“Perfect way to show off versatile Haesol to fans. Good for the members too.”
“Right? Right? Space to highlight everyone's charms evenly.”
YouTubi. Celebs jumping on the platform for channels was old news now. Our company channel racked views sweetly with MVs on new releases.
But sacrificing my time for clips? Eyes welled up, urge to derail the cheery meeting bubbling over.
“So what're you making me do with it?”
“Gotta see what you can do first.”
“Start with song covers?”
“Ooh, solid idea.”
“Covers are kinda played out though. Haesol, you cook good?”
“...”
“No answer means yes?”
“He does. Ate his food once—flavor was insane.”
“For real? Film him cooking then. Hot guys cooking? Gold.”
“Any instruments you play?”
“...”
No answer again, but Manager Noona butted in. I'd leveled piano and guitar for girl appeal— she'd seen me practice plenty, members too.
“He does. Piano and guitar. Piano's pro-level.”
“Instruments too? Damn, perfect. We dropped the ball—didn't know he had this many tricks.”
“Piano guy? Insane.”
“That's it. Done. Girls'll melt.”
Suit-clad Jin Haesol at the piano. Staff faces split into grins. Monkeys, all of 'em.
“What sports you good at, Haesol?”
“No data on sports. Jumped straight to debut team, no chance to build stats. Post-debut, schedules killed any playtime.”
“Psh, no biggie. Test 'em one by one.”
“Tons of content potential.”
Workload exploding out of control.
“Can't believe we didn't think of a members' YouTubi sooner.”
“Channel management ain't easy.”
“And their schedules?”
“What can't fit? Squeeze it in. Add cams to overseas gigs—done. Even stage clips would kill.”
Staff fired up with pointless zeal: Don't say no till you try.
“YouTubi might be the fix. Overseas focus leaves domestic fans salty. This keeps 'em from total blackout.”
Solid idea dropped—despite ballooning work, no gripes, all pitching in.
“...Do we really need to go this far?”
“It's good for you and the boys.”
“Ugh.”