A Place to Shine
I changed the dorm. “Wasn’t the company supposed to provide it?” Her face showed no shift in expression. I had no way of telling whether she was simply curious, annoyed that I was tossing the gift to someone else, or displeased with my methods. Her face alone gave nothing away.
“You’re right. I’m still living in the dorm the company arranged.”
“Then why?”
“Because it’s bad. It’s too cramped for three girls, and it’s badly rundown. It doesn’t match the level of Pine Entertainment.”
“Then shouldn’t you talk to the company and ask them to change it? Why are you trying to handle it yourself, Juwon?”
“It’s a situation where I can’t talk about it.”
She didn’t seem to know much about Red Blossom, so I explained the situation in detail. I walked her through how they had taken the failed-idol route after debut and the kind of treatment they were receiving now.
After listening, she pulled out her phone and searched for something. She scrolled several times, then stood up and sat right beside me. What was this about?
“Is this them?” The screen showed a photo of the Red Blossom members smiling brightly.
“Yes.” Overwhelmed by her pleasant scent, I barely managed to answer. Just having her sit next to me was enough to fog my mind. She was the kind of woman who could throw you off balance without even trying.
“They’re pretty.”
“Sorry?”
“This girl.” She pointed at Yeoreum.
“That’s Ryu Yeoreum. She does acting work too.”
“I thought so. Her face is better suited for an actress.”
Then she turned her head toward me. After the scent came the gaze—a devastating one-two punch that made defense pointless.
“If I change the dorm for you, is there anything in it for you, Juwon?”
“What do you mean, ‘in it for me’?”
“I’m asking if there’s any benefit for you personally.”
“Benefit… A better living space should stabilize their mentality, and they’ll realize the company isn’t neglecting them. Wouldn’t that give them more hopeful thoughts about the future?”
“Not them. Your benefit.”
“What’s good for Red Blossom is good for me too. They’re the artists I’m responsible for.”
She blinked rapidly, as if she couldn’t understand. Why was this so hard to grasp?
It’s not pure goodwill. It’s for my goal of making them shine. That’s my benefit.
It didn’t matter. Why should I align my standards with the world’s? Having the entertainers I manage shine is my benefit.
“Besides, the company isn’t the one doing this. You’re not going to tell them I’m the one who got the dorm, are you?”
“If they ask where the money came from, I’d have to explain everything from the beginning, right? I’m planning to say things worked out well with the company and we managed to get a nice place.”
“You’re going to hand the credit for what you did over to the company?”
“Or I could say you did it… Ah, that won’t work. It would be too random for an actress to be the one upgrading a girl group’s dorm.”
“…….”
She didn’t understand this part either?
“It’s strange… No, it’s fascinating. You, Juwon.” She had definitely been about to say strange. She turned her whole body toward me. Like Lina, her sense of personal space seemed broken—our knees were practically touching.
“It’s a bit much to attach conditions to a gift, but if you agree to two things, I’ll do it exactly the way you want.”
Conditions. That sounded ominous.
“First, you must tell them clearly that this dorm is the gift you’re giving them instead. Start from the parking lot incident and leave nothing out.”
Ah, that was going to be annoying. Lina would definitely grill me about our relationship.
“Second, once you’re settled, hold a housewarming. Everyone gathers to look at the new place and eat together. Do that.”
A housewarming?
“A housewarming party?”
“Yes, that. The three members, you, and me—five people total.”
Why a housewarming all of a sudden…?
“I want to see what kind of person you are.”
The housewarming request was sudden, but it wasn’t unreasonable. And with that, I successfully upgraded Red Blossom’s dorm.
Cha Soyeon’s efficiency was on par with Lina’s. In just two days she found a suitable officetel and sent a message saying we should move over the weekend.
I figured I should check the condition of the place before the move, so I headed over after work. It was only a ten-minute walk from the company, so I didn’t need to drive.
The moment I entered the passcode and stepped inside, my mouth fell open. The pristine hallway looked like it could double as an art gallery, and the marble floors were intimidatingly elegant.
Beyond the hallway lay an open living room and an L-shaped kitchen. A luxurious wooden partition separated the living room from a dressing and powder room.
Wow. This is basically a hotel.
Shut up!
I opened every door and inspected the interior. Most of the storage was built-in, so it looked like we’d only need to bring clothes and personal items.
The next day, I brought the three girls to the officetel. I had prepared the surprise to make them happy, but they needed to know before the actual move. After all, they were the ones who had to choose rooms and unpack.
“Where are we?”
“Your new dorm.”
All three wore identical expressions of utter confusion. They clearly hadn’t even dreamed the dorm might change.
I opened the door and told them to go in. When they hesitated, I urged them forward until they finally stepped inside.
From the entrance and hallway alone, Lina was already exclaiming “Whoa.” The others looked around like country girls who had just arrived in the big city. The moment they saw the wide-open living room, all three froze.
Their eyes, once trapped by that old, cramped space, were suddenly freed.
“T-this is… our dorm?”
“It’s way better than the house we had when we debuted!” Even the usually stoic Sera was excited.
Lina was already racing around the living room; no explanation needed there. Our cool-headed leader, however, seemed to have regained her senses and was now glaring at me.
“What exactly is going on here?”
I had to fulfill Cha Soyeon’s first condition.
I sat the two excited younger members and their leader at the table, then took the seat across from them.
“Here’s what happened…”
As promised, I told them everything without embellishment, starting from the knife attack in the parking lot. Their reactions varied, but they all arrived at the same conclusion.
All three wore expressions that said, This can’t be real.
“So oppa stopped a guy who was charging at actress Cha Soyeon with a knife.”
“And actress Cha Soyeon offered manager oppa a reward.”
“Instead of taking the reward, you gave us this officetel as our new dorm.”
Nice summary.
“That’s right. The cleaning company is coming tomorrow, so we can move this weekend. We’ll transport the luggage on Satur—”
“Why did you do it?” Yeoreum’s expression still hadn’t softened. It seemed she still couldn’t process it.
“It was something the manager should have received. So why give it to us? It’s not like we can do anything for you in return. The company won’t care if the dorm changes or not. So why would you give up something that’s yours and hand it to us?”
I had never heard Yeoreum speak this much at once. It wasn’t that she couldn’t believe it—she simply couldn’t understand the reason.
“I already told you. I said I would show the world that you’re shining. To do that, you can’t live in a dark place. That old dorm was too small, too gloomy.”
“That’s because we’re failed idols…”
“I know you’re failed idols. But remember what Sera said last time? The album flopping, two members leaving—it wasn’t your fault. Yet they refuse to give you any chances. So I made a decision. If the company won’t give you opportunities, I will.”
This was something I had decided even before asking Cha Soyeon for the officetel. Escaping that depressing dorm would mark another beginning for us. Just as the right seat shapes the person, the right place can change someone’s entire mindset.
“There’s an order to these things, so we can’t immediately recruit new members or release an album. I thought about what we can do right now. Turning my reward into a new dorm is the first step. This isn’t just a nice place for a girl group to live. It’s our base—a stronghold where we can try anything to survive.”
I kept talking. They had to accept my goodwill before we could begin. They mustn’t feel sorry or burdened. Those emotions would only be dirty weights that upset the balance of our relationship.
“Once the move is done, let’s think about what we can do next. There are three more people above me. At minimum, four people at the company are on your side. I don’t think that’s a small number at all.”
Counting the current members, we had seven. With two more to join later, we’d have at least nine.
“If you make a comeback, everyone will call it a miracle. Some people say it’s a miracle because it can’t happen, but I disagree. Miracles don’t exist because people don’t believe they will. How can a miracle occur when the very people who need it don’t believe in it?”
I drove the final nail in.
“First, believe you will make a comeback. That’s the beginning. If you truly can’t believe it, then believe in me. Just believe that I will bring Red Blossom back to the stage and make you shine.”
Was it? You’re connected to my soul—you should be able to feel that it was sincere.
As expected of something sent by a god, the useless commentary never stopped. I wished they would at least say something now that they understood, but all three kept their mouths tightly shut, only sniffling. The skin beneath their eyes had been red for a while.
The three of them stood up and came over to me. With sounds of “Heuk,” “Keung,” and “Hiing,” each sending their own crying signals, they wrapped their arms around me.
The volume of their sobs gradually rose until it became full-blown wailing. They didn’t say a single word, but through the beating of their hearts, I could clearly hear their voices.
Thank you. We’ll trust the manager and try starting again.