Chapter 77: LUMINA Debut
The massive door swung open, and a sharply dressed man bowed at a perfect ninety degrees. He strode confidently into the spacious executive office and reported.
"President, stabilization is complete. The medical team says it's safe for discharge."
"Good. Bring her here."
"Yes, ma'am."
The man bowed and withdrew, only to return about ten minutes later. He led two medical staff members and a tangle of life-support devices straight to Min Ji-ah, then bowed again.
Tsk, tsk, tsk.
Min Ji-ah rose, clicking her tongue as she approached the medical bed. Do Eun-ju, strapped down in her patient gown and staring blankly at the ceiling, looked utterly pitiful.
Jia waved the others out, leaving her alone with Do Eun-ju.
"Feeling any more lucid, sis?"
Do Eun-ju rolled her eyes to glare at her, but the venom had largely drained away. Her bloodshot eyes brimmed only with regret and sorrow now. Just one week. In that short time, she'd lost everything.
When the loss is that profound, people can't endure the emptiness before even thinking of revenge.
Jia crouched down to meet her gaze and spoke in an elegant tone.
"What kind of chaebol daughter stuffs herself with so many implants? It's vulgar, sis. I told you before—people should live according to their station. And that's not me looking down on you. We have to maintain the dignity that comes with it. How can you put that kind of low-class crap in your body?"
After losing her sons and putting up a final, futile resistance before capture, she'd surprisingly been loaded with a bunch of implants. Jia had wondered if she'd done it for revenge herself, but the procedure dates said otherwise.
Over the past few days, they'd poured so much effort into removing them. The surgeries themselves were straightforward, but getting her body to adapt in such a short time and restore normal function had taken real work.
"Stuff like that is why your life's turned into such a vulgar mess, sis. Got it?"
"!"
Do Eun-ju flared with rage, but there was nothing she could do. She could only writhe in her restraints, her body bucking noisily against the bed.
"Aigoo. So pathetic. I have to make sure I never end up like this."
That was when the office door burst open. Min Ji-ah's husband—and Do Eun-ju's brother—rushed in.
"S-sis?!!"
He bolted toward the bed where Do Eun-ju lay bound.
Min Ji-ah sighed and stood.
"I told you to stay home quietly, didn't I?"
He flinched at her icy tone but stammered on.
"Wh-what are you planning to do with sis?"
"What do you think? Offer her up to the young master. Kill her if that's what he wants. Too bad she didn't have a daughter."
"...You killed our father, our nephews, Mom, all our relatives...!! Now you're going to kill my sister too?"
"Then what, keep her alive?"
"..."
"If you're just gonna get in the way, get out. Right now."
Her utter lack of empathy drained the fight from him. He should have been furious, but he didn't even have the energy. Like livestock gaslit for years, he was starting to accept it as normal—and that terrified him.
No... I can't just take this... I've been running away my whole life!!
But he mustered his courage. All these years, crushed under the aura of his wife—Goryeo Group's collateral branch scion and de facto daughter of Chairman Go Yeong-man—he'd never voiced a real opinion. Even at home, he was always last in line, treated more like a servant than a husband.
So this time, too, he stayed silent. When his father died? They weren't close anyway—hell, they hated each other. When his mother died? She'd always been sickly. When his nephews died? They weren't his kids; no real emotional hit.
He'd rationalized it all to hide his fear. Truth was, he'd just been too scared to speak up, trembling like a leaf.
But... but this was too much. No matter what, this was really—
"Ugh, you're so frustrating."
"Sis—"
As her husband opened his mouth, Min Ji-ah pulled a gun from her pocket and shot him point-blank in the head.
BANG!
The body crumpled, blood and brains splattering.
"!!!"
Do Eun-ju's eyes bulged as she thrashed wildly.
"Should've done this ages ago. What was I thinking with all that 'family' bullshit."
Min Ji-ah set the gun on her desk and posted to the family chat.
No response.
Min Ji-ah pressed a button on her desk.
"Send in Secretary Lee."
Soon the door opened, and a neatly suited man entered. He glanced at the body, flinched briefly, then ignored it.
"You called, ma'am?"
"Clean this up and package that one. She's going to the young master today."
"Yes, President."
+++
October 17th. Saturday rolled around again.
Which meant today was LUMINA's debut.
Well, technically not exact, but their first music show appearance counted as a debut in every meaningful way.
Thanks to that, I was personally visiting the broadcasting station in Ganghwa early in the morning. Partly to boost the members' morale, partly to swat away any weird flies buzzing around.
"As ordered, we've canceled all other artists' new song releases scheduled for today. And for the next three months, no new or comeback activities except for our Goryeo Entertainment and Rainbow Miracle acts."
"Mm. Good."
Truth be told, LUMINA didn't have overwhelming market dominance right now. Even if I discovered and trained them myself, I had to admit that much. In the original story, these girls languished in obscurity until year 78. Debuting them in '76 wouldn't shock the industry on its own.
Unless I time it right.
I'd wiped out every other new release or comeback to sync with LUMINA's debut. They'd have to stick to songs from last week or earlier, with new albums exclusive to LUMINA—for three months straight.
Didn't even take much muscle. The sex-for-favors scandal exploded so huge that most groups planning new albums got dragged in anyway. Before I lifted a finger, there weren't enough acts for the shows. And with slots squeezed to three or four songs per group, the broadcast would handle the groundwork: "Due to recent unfortunate incidents..."
Viewers wouldn't bat an eye. They'd just assume the lack of new songs was fallout from the scandal.
And LUMINA's screen time expands. Perfect.
Bzzz.
My phone buzzed. A text from Min Ji-ah.
Packaged? What the hell did that mean?
I called her immediately.
"Y-yes! Y-y-young master!"
"Min Ji—"
"I said final reports come in person. What's this ballsy texting bullshit?"
"Gasp! S-sorry!! I planned to give the full report in person tonight, but I thought you'd want a heads-up on the details...!!"
"Oh, you're coming today?"
Made sense. I'd given her till the end of the week.
"Yes! I'll come see you personally and explain!!"
I chuckled at her word choice. Behold your countenance... Probably no nephew gets that level of deference from his aunt.
"Don't be late."
"Yes, und—"
I hung up mid-sentence.
A weird thrill bubbled up in my chest. No idea why, but bossing her around felt good. What should I do to her when she shows?
+++
"Aren't you gonna greet your seniors?"
"...Pardon?"
The first to spot the frantically prepping LUMINA wasn't me—it was Nokono-go Girls.
The five-member group had debuted three weeks ago with "Jigamota Nokono-go," sweeping music show #1 for two weeks straight. Their shocking concept—delinquent high schooler (adult), gal, gang member, Triad, mafia—drew from ultra-retro vibes that somehow hit perfectly in this era. True to their "bad girl" image, their looks, outfits, and even songs screamed slutty, yet they'd come out clean in the sex scandal probe. The delinquent's mom was the agency CEO, and they were too small-time to even qualify for bribes.
"Ha. Look at these bright-eyed little shits."
"Kids these days have no manners~."
"Back in our day, rookies would tour every waiting room at dawn, bowing till their foreheads hit the floor. But you? Senior walks in, and your asses don't even budge?"