Don't Go Anywhere
After finishing the team leader meeting, Park Chanhyeok called us into the conference room. From the look on his face, the results must have been good.
“Before we start the meeting, let’s give a round of applause.”
The team members clapped without knowing why. Park Chanhyeok burst out laughing so loudly the conference room seemed to shake as he looked at me.
“Red Blossom. They’re letting us add new members.”
A sudden silence fell. Song Seungjun, Senior Onyu, and I all stared at each other like we’d lost our minds. I had expected the chairman to approve it, but in that moment, I wanted to share the joy with everyone. A few seconds later, we were screaming at the top of our lungs and hugging each other tightly.
“The applause we just did? That was for you, Juwon.”
“Me?”
“Yeah, you idiot. You’re the one who dragged us this far in just one month. You brought in Soyeon, got the girls a new dorm, raced all the way to Busan when Sera got kidnapped, and even brought in a new member before the chairman gave permission. If I didn’t clap for you, I’d be a real bastard.”
I’d thought we were just getting started, but so much had happened in that one month. I’d worked hard enough to earn praise like this from Team Leader Park.
“You know Chie has to audition before signing the contract, right? Me, Team Leader Baek, the choreographer, and one sub-producer will be on the panel. I’ll let you know the date separately, so make sure Chie prepares well.”
“Yes, sir.”
“If Chie passes, we’ll have four… We could make a comeback like this, but it’d be better to add one or two more. No matter how much we talk about selection and focus, four members is too few.”
While fourth-generation groups had fewer members than second or third-generation ones, the ideal number for a girl group was still considered six. That was the minimum needed to fill the stage properly and divide roles effectively when planning album concepts.
“The maintenance costs don’t differ much between four and six members. The chairman knows that, so he won’t complain if we add one or two more here.”
In the future I’d seen through the Grace of Prophecy, Red Blossom had five members. We just needed to find one more.
“Let’s fill the headcount before anyone starts complaining. Juwon probably doesn’t know them well yet, so Onyu, pull up the trainee lists from Teams 3 and 4.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Can we bring in trainees from other teams?”
“It’s not forbidden, but it’s usually not done. Especially in a company like ours where the teams are clearly divided.”
“Then how do we bring them over?”
“This time, the other team leaders said it was okay. Want to know why?”
“I’m not sure.”
“They think no trainee would actually want to join us. We can’t just take whoever we want even if we pick them. We need the trainee’s own consent.”
Ah.
“Think about it. Who would want to join a failed idol group that flopped their second album? And they’re not even rookies anymore.”
“If we find decent trainees, we’ll have to persuade them first.”
“It won’t be easy. Still, if it’s you, Juwon, who knows? Right now, the two most famous people in our company are Soyeon and you.”
He laughed heartily. As if a mere manager could be all that famous.
Teams 1 and 2 were boy groups, so they were irrelevant. Our targets were the trainees from Teams 3 and 4. Since this was about replenishing members rather than forming a new group, we needed trainees who could be put to work immediately. Chie had trained for two years at another company. We needed to bring in members like that now.
“You tell the girls, Juwon. Let them know we can add new members.”
“Shouldn’t you be the one to tell them, Team Leader?”
“What have I done? You tell them. Besides, do you think they’d want to hear it from me? You’re in charge until the comeback. I’ll only talk to the other teams.”
Yeoreum and Lina were working part-time today, and Sera had gone to her grandmother’s house to see her younger sibling. I wanted to tell them face to face, but the only one at the dorm right now was Chie.
I’ll stop by the dorm before heading home…
There was one more person who had played an enormous role in getting us this far. I felt I should thank her, so I took out my phone.
“That’s true, but you didn’t come to the company today. That’s why I called. I’ll thank you properly when you come in.”
“Are you coming to the company? I’ll wait until you get here.”
“Where?”
“Pardon?”
*****
In the end, I couldn’t overcome that stubbornness and came to Cha Soyeon’s house in Pyeongchang-dong. It was a standalone mansion with a parking lot big enough for ten cars.
Wow, how is a house this huge?
I walked through the elegantly landscaped garden and up the stairs to find a villa that looked like an art museum.
“Welcome.”
As I entered the entrance, Cha Soyeon, dressed casually, came out to greet me. She was showing more skin than Yeoreum, but those shorts that revealed her long, bare legs were bad for my heart rate.
“My legs are prettier than Yeoreum’s, right?”
“Huh?”
“Never mind.”
She walked toward the living room. If I had to judge, Yeoreum won in length, but Cha Soyeon won in tone and color.
I sat on the sofa and looked around at the open panoramic windows and living room decor.
“Your house is really nice. I thought houses like this only existed in movies.”
“I heard it won some architecture award, but I don’t really know the details.”
“Do you live alone?”
“Yes. My parents passed away early, and my grandfather… it’s a bit uncomfortable.”
She must be talking about the grandfather who assigned bodyguards to her. Come to think of it, almost nothing was known about Cha Soyeon’s family background.
“I’m sorry. I asked without thinking even after hearing about the car accident.”
“It’s fine. It was incredibly hard back then, but now that I think about it, maybe that was the beginning of my fate to meet you, Juwon.”
When she put it that way, it made me feel even more guilty. I quickly changed the subject.
“With a house this big, you must have a lot of rooms.”
“Seven bedrooms, four bathrooms, and a separate fitting room.”
“Wow, so this is why people talk about Pyeongchang-dong.”
“There are so many rooms. If you ever feel awkward about going home, come here. It’s closer to the company than your place anyway.”
“How could I sleep over at a woman’s house when she lives alone?”
“You’re surprisingly old-fashioned. Why? Are you afraid I’ll eat you up?”
She scooted closer to me. When I caught a glimpse of her cleavage, I hurriedly put some distance between us.
“Come and give me an arm pillow. I slept so well that day. It’s been so long since I fell asleep feeling that good.”
She had fallen asleep with a peaceful expression in my arms. I’d wanted to keep watching that face, so I’d walked around the rooftop for about thirty minutes.
“The thank you was just an excuse. I called you here because I wanted to hear what I missed that day.”
“What you missed?”
“Before I fell asleep on the rooftop, you were about to tell me something, weren’t you? It was about that person… right?”
So she had heard it right before falling asleep. That was why she’d called me over.
“About that person. What do you call him, Juwon?”
I had planned to tell her anyway. I didn’t think I needed to hide it from Cha Soyeon. After all, she too had received a new life through God’s help.
“I called him Divine Spirit.”
“Divine Spirit…”
“Since I was going to tell you everything anyway, I’ll explain it now. How I met the Divine Spirit.”
I began telling her about that night when I had wished upon a shooting star.
I told her everything about the Divine Spirit residing within me.
“So… this Divine Spirit is inside your body, Juwon?”
“Since we can talk, it must be somewhere. I don’t know exactly where. If I speak inwardly, it answers on its own. It even speaks to me first sometimes.”
“That’s fascinating. It’s like having two souls.”
“Honestly, so many unbelievable things have happened since that day that I’ve just come to accept it.”
“Now I understand how you handled the man with the knife. That was the Divine Spirit’s power.”
“Are you disappointed? That it wasn’t my own ability?”
“Not at all. If anything, I’m even more moved. You’re using that incredible power only for other people. Do you know how amazing that is?”
“It’s a power that can only be used with good intentions. It was never meant to fulfill my own desires in the first place.”
“That’s exactly why the Divine Spirit gave you the power. It trusted you because it knew you would never use it for evil.”
“Is that how it works? This is a bit embarrassing.”
When I scratched my head and laughed, she hugged me tightly with an expression that said she found me unbearably cute.
“S-Soyeon.”
“As expected, you really are the man I chose. You’re such a good person, Juwon.”
“Wait, what do you mean by ‘chose’…”
“I’ve made up my mind now, so don’t even think about going anywhere. I’ll chase you to the ends of the earth.”
She looked up at me with a mischievous expression.
“Would it feel too constraining if you’re tied to just one woman already? I’ll yield on that, so if there’s any girl you like, bring her. I’ll check if she’s suitable for us.”
Her mind was drifting off into her own little world again.
“You don’t need to ask the Red Blossom girls for permission. They’ll be fine with it.”
“I’ve never had those kinds of feelings toward the girls. I’m their manager. I can’t think that way.”
“Oh my, what about Yeoreum? Never say that in front of the girls. You know this is an incredibly important time, right? Managing their mental state is part of a manager’s job too.”
The more we talked, the more I felt like I was getting wrapped up in Cha Soyeon’s pace. Why was I even making these excuses?
In the end, we compromised on the idea that I would think about it after turning them into a top-tier girl group.