The Manager Waited in the Next Room (1)
“Hey. Manager Jeon! You got here quick.”
As we stepped into the hotel lounge, a man waved from afar.
It was a corner of the lounge—two wide couches facing each other across a table. Up close, a few snacks and a bottle of wine sat on the surface. Harin quietly tucked the plastic convenience-store bag behind her back when she saw them.
The man—no, Music Center PD Park Dong-chul—grinned at the sight of us. Old suit, sneakers, no tie, shirt bulging over his belly. Stubble that looked like it hadn’t seen a razor in a week. The textbook specimen of a middle-aged man who had given up on self-care.
“Well, well~. This the girl?”
“Ah, yes. Harin.”
I gave her the signal. Harin immediately bowed at the waist.
“…Hello. ……I’m Jin Harin of Sepia.”
“Ah. Nice to meet you. I’m PD Park. Just call me PD, casually.”
“…Yes. PD.”
When Park Dong-chul held out his hand, Harin hesitated a beat before shaking it. A handshake… that much was still within the acceptable range at a fan meeting.
“Come on. Sit.”
Park Dong-chul scooted inward a little and patted the empty space beside him.
“…Yes.”
Harin carefully took the seat next to him.
“…Hik!”
She suddenly yelped and shot back up. Park Dong-chul’s hand had been waiting right where she was about to sit.
“Ah~. Sorry. Sorry. My bad~. Forgot to move my hand.”
He only shifted it to the table after he finished speaking. That it was no accident—both Harin and I already knew. The firm ass I had never once touched in six years. The ass I had only ever allowed myself to look at during practice, by chance. Park Dong-chul had put his hand on it less than a minute after meeting her.
“…Ugh.”
Even with her face still covered, Harin’s look of pure contempt was vivid. And yet—
“Come on, sit back down already.”
There was no defying Park Dong-chul’s words. Harin sat again. I moved to the couch across from them.
“Sepia dropped a new track, right? Manager Jeon must be busy as hell. Making time in the middle of all that. Huh? Appreciate it.”
“Not at all. Thank you for making time when you’re so busy yourself, PD.”
“Me? I always welcome time like this~.”
His gaze slid sideways toward Harin.
“But how long are you gonna stay all wrapped up like that? This isn’t some Joseon-era bridal procession.”
“Ah, right. Harin. …It’s okay.”
The lounge was nearly empty, and Harin and Park Dong-chul had their backs to the few people present. Harin glanced around once, then took off her sunglasses and mask and slipped them into her crossbody bag.
Harin’s face was revealed. Small pink lips set against unusually long lashes. Those trademark big eyes. A cool impression that never quite turned sharp. A light touch of makeup on top of it all. Beautiful, as always. Beautiful no matter how many times I looked. The face of a leader worthy of Sepia.
“…Oh.”
Even Park Dong-chul, who lived every day surrounded by celebrities, let out a quiet sound of admiration.
“Right. Harin of Sepia? How old this year?”
“Twenty-three….”
“Twenty-three…. Let’s see. …’01?”
“…Yes.”
“Wow. I’m ’78, so exactly double. Right?”
“Is that… so.”
Harin’s voice grew smaller with every answer. Park Dong-chul turned his head toward me.
“Kid’s wound pretty tight.”
“I’m sorry. It’s her first time with something like this, so….”
“Nah. It’s fine. Happens. I like the proactive ones, but. Well. It’s fine.”
It was not fine at all. I flicked my eyes toward Harin; she gave a tiny nod, understanding exactly what that meant.
“So. Harin…. Twenty-three. Mm. Right… O-pan-mu?”
“…Excuse me?”
“O-pan-mu. You don’t know O-pan-mu?”
“……?”
Harin looked genuinely lost, glancing back and forth between me and Park Dong-chul.
“Wow~. This is Gen Z? How do you not know a trend I know?”
“She pretty much lives only for practice, so….”
“Come on, man. Idols have to keep up with the trends. You fall behind the times when you can’t.”
“Fallen behind the times.” Park Dong-chul had said it on purpose. The pure, innocent concept that had been popular one generation ago and no longer fit the current girl-group wave—that was the standard verdict on Sepia. We had held meeting after meeting about whether to change the concept for this album, but I had dug in my heels and kept the original. The result was sitting right here in front of us.
“Harin. It’s okay. You can learn from me starting today. Yeah? O-pan-mu means….”
Park Dong-chul leaned in and whispered something quietly into Harin’s ear. Her face twisted at once; she jerked her head away. Park Dong-chul only grinned at the reaction.
“…So. O-pan-mu?”
“…White.”
……White, then.
“Kya~. White. Nice. Pure-idol style all the way. Right? Was this Manager Jeon’s idea?”
“…Not mine.”
Today’s entire outfit had been Harin’s own coordination. The underwear, of course, included.
“Harin, you got a boyfriend?”
“…What?”
Her pupils shook hard.
“A boyfriend. Ah. It’s fine. We’re all industry people. I keep my mouth shut about this stuff. Right? I’m just asking out of curiosity, so be honest.”
“That’s…. I….”
Harin looked at me with trembling eyes. There was nothing I could do for her.
“…I don’t.”
“Huh? For real? No, I said it’s fine. Idols who aren’t rookies usually have someone. Sepia too….”
“Sepia doesn’t have boyfriends.”
Harin cut him off, voice firm.
“Really? Then have you ever had one?”
“I’ve never… had one either.”
Park Dong-chul clapped a few times in mock surprise.
“Wow~. Looking at you now, that’s impressive. Manager Jeon must run a tight ship?”
“…Thank you.”
“Then have you ever had sex?”
“…….”
Harin’s body locked up.
“You’ve done that, right? Usually during trainee days…….”
“I haven’t.”
She cut him off again, clean. I could see her fists clench tight.
“No. For real? For real? Not just the concept—actually pure…. Wow~. Didn’t expect you to be this strict. I’m seeing you in a new light. Sepia’s got some solid kids.”
I could only manage a bitter smile at Park Dong-chul’s empty praise. Soon enough none of these questions would matter. But he kept going, firing more at Harin. Had she had her first kiss. Who was her first love. On and on. An oddly large number of questions. Harin answered every single one the same way: she hadn’t. Whether it was true or not, there was no way to check…. And while he asked, Park Dong-chul’s hand kept drifting closer to her. Resting on the back of her hand. Stroking her arm. Patting her shoulder.
“Alright, then….”
And finally the hand climbed onto her thigh. Slick. Rub. Over the slightly puffed denim where she sat, through the torn gap, his fingers moved. Harin offered no resistance at all; she simply accepted the hand that was touching her.
“Wow~. Firm. Guess all that practice is real. Absolute honey thighs. Honey thighs.”
“…….”
Harin did not so much as flinch. Park Dong-chul’s expression soured.
“Tsk. I gave a compliment and the reaction’s a little~.”
“…Thank you.”
“That’s better.”
He grinned in satisfaction and looked at me.
“Manager Jeon. Tomorrow morning…. I’ve got to go to work, so can you be here by eight?”
In manager work, eight in the morning was on the late side.
“Yes. I’ll be here then.”
“Good. Let’s have Harin contact you then. Okay?”
“Yes.”
I bowed deeply once. Park Dong-chul’s arm slid around Harin’s waist.
“Then Harin and I will…….”
“…Wait!”
Harin suddenly raised her voice and stood. Startled, Park Dong-chul’s hand fell away.
“Promise… me. Here. Next week’s Music Center…. That we appear.”
“Hey~. You can’t just spring that—”
“Right now! Promise. In front of the manager…!”
Harin did not lift her head. Even so, I saw an expression on her face I had never once seen before. …Was she about to cry?
Park Dong-chul looked at her face and shrugged. This clearly was not his first time. He had probably heard the same thing from countless other girls before.
“Aigoo~. That face is scary. About that promise….”
“Next week’s Music Center. Sepia’s appearance. …Decide it now.”
“That’s not something you decide on the spot. What if I say you’ll appear and then tonight turns out to be nothing special?”
“…….”
“We make the promise tomorrow morning. Yeah? If you want it done in front of our Manager Jeon…. We can do that tomorrow, no problem. But.”
Park Dong-chul’s eyes changed. The eyes of a beast locking onto prey.
“It all depends on what Harin does tonight. Right? You already know.”
Harin said nothing more. She only looked at me once. From her eyes alone I knew exactly what she wanted me to say. But in this situation, there was only one thing I could say.
“…Right. PD. …Take good care of her.”
“…Ah.”
Harin gave the smallest nod.
“…Yes.”
[1106]
“See you in the morning, then.”
Park Dong-chul’s arm was still around Harin’s waist. She simply endured the middle-aged man’s groping in silence. That filthy hand of a man in his forties slid down from her waist and slowly toward her ass.
“…!”
Unlike earlier, Harin did not resist.
“Call if anything comes up.”
“Yes. PD.”
I bowed a full ninety degrees toward the dirty hand that was still fondling Harin.
Creak.
Park Dong-chul shut the door.
“…….”
I knew Harin had tried to look at me one last time, but with my waist bent I could not see her. Thud. Even after the door closed completely, I did not straighten up. Park Dong-chul and Harin vanished from my sight, leaving only the silence of the hotel corridor. I listened to that stillness a while longer before I finally stood upright.
Static.
I turned up the volume on the in-ear and walked quietly down the hall.
[1107]
I tapped the keycard and opened the door without a sound. It was not a large room. One queen-size bed. The room Harin had entered would have the same bed. I sat on the edge of the mattress and turned the in-ear volume higher still. A little noise came through, then settled, and voices began to reach me.