My Precious Darlings
I banished Assistant Manager Cha to the conference room.
His crime? Insolence. As a bonus, I ordered him to watch that video with the weird-ass title and reflect deeply on his sins.
Cha trudged out of the president's office with the soul-dead expression of a man who'd checked out entirely. The moment the door clicked shut, Miley started grinding her teeth.
"How dare he speak to Master like that. It's utterly unforgivable. We must fire him immediately."
David Kim let out a hollow chuckle.
"Sorry to say this, but our dear butler lady might want to crack open a law book sometime. You know there's this thing called the Labor Standards Act in this country? It prevents firing people for completely absurd reasons like that. Ever heard of it?"
Miley's eyes narrowed to slits in an instant.
"Are you saying, Mr. Kim, that even after your master's dignity was insulted, you'll just stand by and watch? You have zero sense of responsibility. Do you really think shirking your duties is the proper way to behave?"
"What are you talking about? I'm just saying we should stick to common sense."
David stared at her with utter disbelief. To be polite about it, anyway—to say it straight, he was looking at her like she was a lunatic.
Miley glanced at the incoming glare from David, then promptly bowed her head to me.
"Master, I also recommend firing David Kim. As the ancients said, those who fail in loyalty and betray their duties..."
"You actual psycho! Quit picking fights already!"
"If you'd properly served Master, I wouldn't have to say this! You ugly, weird-smelling, backstabbing loan shark—how dare you...!"
"Wh-what? What the hell does that mean...!"
Whoa, they're at it again. Fight, fight.
I crossed my arms and watched the two of them scream and flail with a satisfied smile.
Yeah, that's right. My two precious darlings. Fighting so nicely. Kids bond by bickering, after all.
From the moment I'd stuck these two together, it was obvious they'd end up clawing at each other like this.
Might as well let them snarl it out in front of me. That way, I could step in and mediate if needed, right?
Better to let them have it out and then rein them in.
Oh, and for the record, David had been promoted to "new precious darling" status.
The reason was simple.
While Miley was out fetching my Zero Popsi Lime by hand, he'd spilled a hilarious story.
'...Um, Chairman. I'm sorry, but there's something I need to tell you.'
'What is it?'
'I-I never meant to deceive you on purpose. I swear it. It was just bad timing, so I couldn't mention it right away...'
'I can hear your heart pounding from here, so whatever you messed up, just spit it out.'
'...W-well, it's about what Mackey said recently—how I sabotaged the virtual machine stuff.'
'Yeah.'
'...That was intentional. But I absolutely didn't mean to cause you any harm, Chairman. I just wanted to mess with Mackey a bit. Heh."
'...'
They say madness is contagious.
Once you're in a pack of crazies, you turn crazy too. Meeting the original nutjob Miley must've infected David Kim as well.
Truly tragic.
I'd even kicked his shin to snap him out of it, but judging by his antics now, it hadn't worked.
'Well, it didn't even look like it hurt much.'
Maybe I need to hit the gym.
"I never liked your ugly mug from the start! Acting all benevolent and pious while scheming corruption and debauchery behind the scenes—you balding old geezer...!"
"What? That's a personal attack! And how the hell would you know if I'm bald or not?!"
Even as those thoughts crossed my mind, they kept at it. It was entertaining, sure, but they hadn't crossed the line into full meltdown yet.
"Ha! You think no one knows you're wearing a wig? Everyone in this building knows—even the janitors!"
"Wh-what the fu—?!"
"Look at you, turning beet red like an octopus."
Hmm, now they're crossing lines.
Time to intervene.
"Enough, both of you."
I slammed the table.
The two.
The two, red-faced and finger-pointing, flinched and froze. I'd been so quiet they'd forgotten I was even there.
"...!"
"Ch-Chairman..."
Regaining their senses, they flushed with shame. Grown adults airing their dirty laundry like that—plenty of reason to be embarrassed.
"Have some damn shame, both of you."
At my words, their eyes wavered.
And Miley reacted first.
She dropped to her knees and bowed her head to the floor.
"I'm sorry, Master. I've committed the sin of showing you such ugly, unspeakable behavior. Whatever punishment you deem fit for my transgressions, I'll accept gladly."
David jolted at her medieval-drama-worthy lines, then folded at the waist like a cheap suit.
"I'm sorry, Chairman."
I sighed as I looked at them.
What were these grown-ass adults doing? But what could I do? Precious darlings or not, they were my precious darlings.
I had to take good care of them.
"Both of you, get up. Now. Straighten your backs."
They rose from their spots.
"Now, face each other. Smile and shake hands."
They hesitated, glancing at one another.
David looked like he'd transcended into enlightenment—what the hell is this?—while Miley... hey, even if you hate him, that openly disgusted face is a bit much.
I said it firmly again.
"Shake hands."
Finally, my two darlings gripped each other's hands tight.
Neither was smiling, of course.
They would, someday.
Or not.
"Ch-Chairman."
Assistant Manager Cha, who'd been glued to the "Best Plays of My Life" compilation, looked up cautiously at the trio entering the conference room.
"If I may be so bold, why do those two look like that?"
"Who knows. Probably fought or something."
Cha’s mind filled with question marks at the chairman's nonchalant reply.
'Fought?'
Weren't they all just in the president's office? Fighting in front of the chairman who radiated that kind of aura? Did that even make sense?
Whether it did or not, he felt like he was about to die.
Killing intent was pouring off those two—they looked ready to pull knives any second!
The silence rang like a gunshot at the fall of a single speck of dust. It was suffocating!
'Ugh, uuuuh...'
He felt like prey before predators, but Cha pinched his thigh hard to snap back to reality.
Even if a tiger bites you, keep your wits and you'll survive. No matter the crisis, grip your mental fortitude and opportunity would come.
And this was that chance.
'If I screw this up, I'll be branded incompetent for real.'
He'd overheard it leaving the office earlier—talk of firing him.
'Probably 'cause I haven't shown any results yet.'
Excuses aplenty, sure, but they wouldn't change outcomes. Since joining TS Media, Producer Cha Eunho had accomplished zilch.
'If this keeps up, I'm done for.'
So he had to do something!
And facing the chairman while watching the "Best Plays of My Life" video, he'd pieced together a rough broadcast framework.
'First keyword... gaming.'
The chairman was a gaming god.
Insanely, overwhelmingly good.
Cha was a gamer himself.
Too scared of his wife's wrath to buy a V-BAT machine, but he hit virtual cafes now and then to blow off steam.
So he knew damn well how rare and talent-driven excelling at VR games was.
And he knew V-BAT.
He'd bought it lured by "the world's first VR game," got shredded, couldn't refund, and cried about it. He knew how brutally unfair it was.
'This level of performance...'
Couldn't say for sure, but it'd be overwhelmingly dominant.
'And...'
Cha sneaked a glance at the chairman.
At first glance, a petite girl who looked like a teen. But focusing, she exuded mature allure—a stunning visual that subtly drew the eye, the gaps blending perfectly.
As someone from broadcasting who'd seen tons of actors and idols, Cha knew how crucial that special "aura"—originality—was.
'She could debut as an idol, easy.'
And that was bare-faced.
If it were makeup-enhanced, even a vet like him wouldn't miss it.
'And loaded with cash...'
At this point, he suspected the world was lazily rendered. This was rigged. God must've gone overboard from the start.
"Ugh."
His stomach suddenly burned. Cha made a mental note for antacids later and sorted his keywords.
Super-rich, face genius, gaming genius.
Each strong on its own, but they didn't quite click together.
'Something's on the tip of my tongue. Something...'
That instant.
"Achoo, huff!"
The silence shattered abruptly.
"Huh? What? Miley, caught a cold?"
"N-no, Master. Something just tickled."
"Pfft."
"...David Kim. What the hell was that laugh?"
The sneeze turned the room chaotic.
"...Ah?"
The epiphany—born from smacking the section chief's head with his resignation—ignited at last. Cha Eunho's brain revved into overdrive. Neurons fired, blockages cleared.
Enlightenment, like his upper dantian bursting open!
-Crash!
Cha hurled his chair back and shot to his feet like a cannonball. The bang drew all three heads.
Normally, their aura would've shrunk his heart to a pea, but ascended to supreme realm, he feared them no more.
Eyes blazing, he declared boldly.
"I've got the broadcast plan draft!"
Miley and David exchanged glances, then tossed the ball to Seongwon in her chair.
She lounged backward over the chairback, chin tilted in a "go on" gesture.
Her gaze felt like an emperor summoning from his throne, cold sweat trickling down Cha's spine, but he trusted his gut.
He swallowed dryly and steeled his gut.
'All or nothing—do or die!'
"First off, we frame the chairman as a total cheater."
"...But VR games don't even have cheats, right?"
"That's why we hire comment bots to manipulate public opinion."
...My precious darling.
What the hell are you even saying.