Is This For Real?
I fished the bloated, swollen instant ramen noodles out with my chopsticks and ate them.
On the monitor, a fancam from an idol audition program played on loop.
It was my bias’s bunny-ear stage—the one that had left a permanent mark on the community.
I watched it while slurping the broth, my body pickling in sodium and my brain drowning in dopamine.
Haah, fuck. Why is my life such a mess?
A few days earlier I had been kicked out of a perfectly decent job.
The official reason was poor attendance and negligence.
The real reason was something else entirely.
A new female hire had been seated right next to me. She went out of her way to hand me coffee she’d bought on her commute and hovered around me every lunch break. Whenever we ran into each other in the break room she’d bump my shoulder and flash a bright smile.
The problem was that the pot-bellied Young-Forty Department Manager found the whole thing deeply offensive.
The same creep who hit on every female employee during company dinners and forced them to pour his drinks. When the new girl who never spared him a glance started wagging her tail only at me, his pride took a fatal hit.
In the end he manufactured every excuse he could, and here I was.
It was unfair, but what could I do? He was a founding member.
Filthy bastard. I hope your gut explodes and you drop dead.
I shoved the empty cup ramen container into the corner and grabbed the soju bottle on my desk, pouring it straight down my throat.
As the alcohol burned its way to my stomach, the rage I’d been suppressing began to crawl upward.
“Fuck! You pieces of shit!”
I cursed out loud and opened a job site.
While angrily scrolling, a main-banner posting caught my eye.
YJ Entertainment. A rising powerhouse that had already closed in on the big three of the idol industry.
I had been a hardcore idol fancam addict for ten years. The data I’d built up in my room was, I believed, better than what most active producers had.
Baseless confidence rode the wave of alcohol and seized control of my brain.
Yeah, whatever. Let’s just throw a resume at it.
I uploaded the half-assed resume file.
Click.
I hit the submit button and immediately passed out on the keyboard.
The next afternoon I woke up with a hangover that felt like my skull was cracking open.
I groped across the desk for my phone.
A single text waited on the screen.
“…What the hell? Voice phishing?”
I rubbed my eyes and looked again. Same message.
The formatting was too clean for spam. Maybe an organ-harvesting ring setting a trap? I’d heard they lure people overseas these days…
But the moment I opened my banking app and saw the balance, every worry vanished.
Balance: 32,410 won
Take the organs, I don’t care!
At this point, starving to death or selling a kidney for a bowl of soup was basically the same thing.
What was my motto again?
“A man never backs down on his path.”
And that was how I ended up standing in front of YJ Entertainment Headquarters.
A massive all-glass building so tall I had to crane my neck to see the top. Even the employees walking by looked annoyingly polished.
I cleared my throat, straightened my tie, and stepped into the lobby.
With the most confident stride I could fake, I approached the information desk.
The receptionist looked me up and down.
“Um, I’m here for an interview. My name is Yujiho.”
Her fingers froze on the keyboard. Her eyes widened slightly as she checked the monitor.
“Ah… You’re the VVIP interview candidate. Please follow me.”
She shot to her feet and bowed deeply.
Oh! Did I actually pass?
Instead of the main elevators, she led me to a strange one tucked in the corner.
B1.
B2.
B3.
…I’m not actually getting my organs harvested, right?
I swallowed hard as the numbers kept dropping.
The floor we reached was unnervingly private, nothing like a normal office.
The receptionist left me in front of a massive door at the end of the hallway, bowed once more, and disappeared back into the elevator.
Gulp.
I grabbed the handle.
Creeeeak.
A wide, dimly lit room. The only furniture was a leather sofa and a marble table.
And on that sofa sat a woman with her legs elegantly crossed.
“You’re here?”
I blinked.
It was a face I had seen hundreds of times on my monitor.
A living legend from the second-generation idol era.
Now the young CEO of YJ Entertainment—Lee Hana.
I’m interviewing with the CEO herself?
She looked nothing like a woman in her mid-thirties. The dress clinging to her body revealed every curve without mercy.
A seductive aura that could reduce every active girl-group member to squid. The way she swept her long hair over one shoulder was enough to steal a man’s soul.
I stood there with my mouth open, breathing in sharply.
Wow, damn. The real thing is even more lethal.
Her visuals made me want to drop to my knees and call her “Noona” on the spot.
Still, I was here for an interview. I couldn’t lose my nerve.
“Sit.”
Lee Hana jerked her chin toward the seat across from her.
I hesitated before perching on the very edge of the sofa. The soft leather practically swallowed me.
She poured liquor into a glass on the table.
Clink.
Ice and amber liquid collided with a cheerful sound.
She brought the glass to her lips while scanning me from head to toe. Did her gaze linger on my lower half for a second before rising? Must have been my imagination.
“It’s a little late, but may I speak casually?”
Yes! Noona! Of course you can!
Inside I was already prostrating, but on the outside I nodded with practiced nonchalance.
“Yes. Feel free.”
“Good. Would you like a drink as well?”
She slid an empty glass toward me and poured the amber liquid with a smooth glug.
My head was still ringing from yesterday’s soju and my stomach was one twist away from revolt.
But when a goddess pours you top-shelf liquor you’ve never even seen on a label, you drink.
I accepted the glass and emptied it in one go. Expensive liquor really did seem to settle my stomach.
“Now, read this.”
Lee Hana tossed a thick envelope onto the table.
The front read YJ Entertainment - Special Project General Producer Employment Contract.
Signing Bonus: 1 billion won
Annual Salary: 500 million won + 10% project profit incentive
Welfare: Cheongdam-dong penthouse in Gangnam provided, highest-grade company vehicle support
Authority: Complete control and full discretion over assigned idols’ training and schedules
My hands shook as I pulled out the papers. The numbers on the first page nearly stopped my heart.
What is this, a hidden-camera prank? Is there a camera rolling somewhere?
These weren’t terms that should be offered to a jobless bum who had been chasing cup-ramen broth with soju just yesterday.
“Um… CEO.”
“Speak.”
“These conditions are incredibly generous. Are you sure there hasn’t been a mistake? I was fired from a tiny company a few days ago. I’m unemployed. My only connection to the entertainment industry is watching idol fancams from my room.”
I asked as politely as I could. Her answer would decide the entire direction of my life.
Lee Hana leaned back deep into the sofa and crossed her legs. A smooth thigh flashed through the slit of her dress.
“Career history is irrelevant.”
“Pardon?”
“That one ability of yours is more than enough. I called you here because of that alone.”
Ability?
My ability?
I searched my brain but came up empty.
My typing speed from flaming idol antis online? Or the endless stamina I used to analyze choreography frame-by-frame?
“I’m not sure what ability you’re referring to…”
“Stop talking and sign. If you’re going to waste my time, I’ll find someone else.”
I swallowed hard.
Whether this was a scam or a devil’s contract that would sell my soul, it didn’t matter.
A man with only thirty thousand won in his account had no options.
A man never backs down on his path!
I shouted the motto inside my head and scribbled my name across the final page.
Scratch. Scratch.
The moment I finished writing the three characters of Yujiho and set the pen down—
Flash!
My vision went pure white as if a camera flash had exploded in my face.
“Ugh!”
Is this actually a hidden-camera show?!
The contract has been established.
Unlocking hidden special ability.
Lord of the Night synchronization complete.
Loading current target’s status window.
“Do you see something now?”
Lee Hana set her glass on the table with a smile.
She rose slowly and walked toward the sofa where I sat.
Thud. Thud.
She kicked off her black high heels.
“C-CEO?”
She stepped close and shoved my shoulders hard.
“Ugh!”
My body sank deep into the soft leather.
The next instant, Lee Hana swung a leg over and straddled my thighs.
The warmth pressing against me. The sweet scent of perfume mixed with the fragrant smell of her skin flooded my senses.
“W-what are you—”
I flailed, unsure where to put my hands. Everywhere I could reach was dangerous territory.
She grabbed my tie.
My upper body lifted until her face was so close our noses nearly touched. Her breath tickled my skin.
“Stay still.”
Her eyes traced my lips, then locked onto mine again.
“I need to check with my own body whether that ability of yours is real.”
Before I could process her words, her lips sealed over mine.