How About That Guy?
The rising new star from Chungmuro.
I had already decided that Choi Su-hyeon was the cheating bastard, but that was still only a hunch, not evidence. What if, against my expectations, Seo Tae-jun was the one having an affair?
I needed something more solid. I needed decisive proof that could pin Choi Su-hyeon down as the man in question.
So I decided to work late and headed to the bar in Cheongdam-dong that we had set as the meeting place.
Reporter Seo, who had been nursing a drink in one corner, raised a hand in greeting.
"Well, if it isn't Chief Manager Kwon. Long time no see?"
Seo Ji-hun, the head reporter from TP Entertainment.
He was one of the biggest pleasure-seekers in the business. I’d known him since my rookie road-manager days, and he’d even helped me out back when it was Kim Jang-hun’s mess I was cleaning up.
"I’m not late, am I?"
"I only just got here myself. Want a cigar?"
Cigars weren’t my thing, so I declined.
"I don’t know why someone who likes smoking so much hates cigars."
Seo Ji-hun shrugged and poured me some unidentified imported whiskey.
I wasn’t especially fond of whiskey either, but it felt rude to refuse twice, so I knocked it back in one go.
Heat rushed up through my esophagus.
Across from me, Reporter Seo puffed on a cigar and said, "All right, now that we’ve got alcohol in the system, why don’t you finally show me your cards?"
"At least give me time to eat some snacks."
"Jeez, you’re really dragging this out today."
He complained with his mouth while still pushing the fruit platter toward me. I bit into a kiwi, the kind I’d normally hate paying for myself.
Hmm.
Pretty good.
"All right, talk. What is it that got you so worked up?"
A quick glance at his face told me he was already brimming with anticipation.
That was enough to hook him.
I bit into a strawberry and said flatly, "An affair."
"!"
"It’s not confirmed. I just have a lead."
Reporter Seo’s face heated up in an instant.
"Damn... that’s art from the opening line. Don’t tell me it’s someone from Baekhak?"
"You think it isn’t?"
"Heh... and the aftertaste is even better. So who’s the guy you suspect?"
I’d thrown the bait far enough.
Now I cut straight to the point.
"Choi Su-hyeon. Seo Tae-jun."
"!"
"One of those two men Baekhak recently brought in as free agents looks like he’s having an affair."
Reporter Seo’s eyes trembled.
"Whoa... holy shit..."
For a moment he was too stunned to speak, then he said in a rougher voice than before, "Yeah, Chief Manager Kwon, that deserved the buildup."
"Right?"
"Hah... so, what do you want from me in exchange for this tip?"
What else.
I wanted him to do the legwork for me.
As casually as ever, I put the request on the table.
"Can you dig into both of them within a week?"
"A week? Oof... that’s tight."
"Then this one’s yours."
Reporter Seo’s expression changed completely.
"Seriously? You’re not going to change your mind later, are you? I’ll get mad if you do."
"Have you ever seen me repeat myself in business?"
"Heh... this is why I like you, Chief Manager Kwon."
He lifted his glass.
I raised mine too.
Clink.
With the snacks and the drinks going down together, the whiskey’s heat settled a little.
Reporter Seo topped off my glass and said, "But you already seem to have a pretty good idea, don’t you?"
"About what?"
"Which one it is, Seo Tae-jun or Choi Su-hyeon. If you’re handing me a fully prepared platter like this, it means you’ve got a pretty solid source, right?"
There was a reason people called him a luxury addict. His instincts were sharp as hell.
He grinned.
"Personally, I hope it’s Seo Tae-jun. The Romance Prince becomes the Prince of Affairs! Man... you could wring ten headlines out of the same source."
If that had been the case, I would’ve made the story even bigger.
But my gut was pointing to Choi Su-hyeon, and that was why I’d come to see Reporter Seo.
While pouring whiskey into his empty glass, I said, "I think it’s Choi Su-hyeon."
"Oh? Why?"
"Baekhak isn’t stupid."
"?"
A question mark practically appeared on his face.
"Baekhak... isn’t stupid?"
"No. They must’ve spent at least several billion won signing Seo Tae-jun, so do you think they wouldn’t have investigated him properly?"
"!"
"I don’t know about drugs, but affairs are easy to catch. You need two people together for it to happen."
Something else bothered me too: the timing of the scandal.
If it had happened two weeks from now, after the signing, then at least gossip should have started circulating, if not a full-blown rumor mill.
Someone at Seo Tae-jun’s level, and there isn’t even a rumor?
That meant the cheating bastard wasn’t high-profile enough for the gossip to take hold.
That was why I’d identified Choi Su-hyeon as the culprit, and Reporter Seo agreed with me.
"Damn... fair enough. That makes sense."
He clicked his tongue.
"Still, if it’s Choi Su-hyeon, the scale feels a little underwhelming."
"Just in case, look into Seo Tae-jun too."
Reporter Seo clinked his glass again and said, "Whoever it turns out to be, I’m handing everything over to you. So dig hard."
***
Reporter Seo was the type who never let go once he’d bitten into prey, so I was sure he’d dig up proof of the affair one way or another.
With that nuisance dealt with, I could focus completely on To.Any.
For the next week, I shuttled between headquarters and the training center, working without a break.
Booking stages, mapping out future schedules, the whole thing...
It was, quite literally, home, company, home, company, over and over again.
If I said I enjoyed the process, that would be a lie. But it wasn’t exactly exhausting, either.
"It’s fun."
Yeah.
That was the right word.
Not pleasant, exactly, but fun.
Making stars with my own hands.
I liked that process too much.
Still, I couldn’t avoid getting physically tired now and then, and every time that happened, the ratings for Queen of Joseon gave me a boost.
SBC’s Queen of Joseon breaks past the 20% ratings milestone! Top star actress Lee Ha-eun is on the verge of yet another new record...
Episode 8 of Queen of Joseon crossed the 20% mark.
Everyone had expected it to be a hit because the early momentum was so strong, but hardly anyone had expected it to surge past 20% by the eighth episode.
At that moment, the looks people gave me changed.
"Wow... isn’t Queen of Joseon an all-time ratings monster?"
"Man... I’m actually a little jealous. That thing blew up too hard."
"At this level, Team 5 gets the bonus, right? Or maybe Kwon and his people get the whole thing."
"Honestly... after reading the article, I heard he was the one who recommended Queen of Joseon to Lee Ha-eun."
When the first broadcast ratings came in, everyone had congratulated me.
But people were so damn fickle.
Once success crossed a certain line, a few of them started getting jealous.
It was funny, but strangely satisfying too.
Jealousy meant they acknowledged my ability.
And before I knew it, the day was right in front of me.
"To.Any midterm evaluation."
The time had come to be rewarded for the work of the past month.
***
I woke up on my own without even setting an alarm.
Half-asleep, I stumbled into the bathroom and showered.
I usually wore my hair down, but today I slicked it back neatly in a pomade style.
The weather was already getting warmer, and a suit would’ve been a burden in this heat.
I dressed in a clean semi-formal outfit and checked the time. It was 7:00 a.m.
It was early for work, but today couldn’t be helped.
It was To.Any’s midterm evaluation day.
I turned on my fully charged phone and called my junior road manager, Lee Ye-ji.
"...Yawn. I’ve got the call."
"You were worried, but you managed to get up on time, Ye-ji."
"I barely made it through the night..."
"Then let’s keep barely making it a little longer. Did you pick up the To.Any girls?"
Lee Ye-ji answered through another yawn. "Yes. They’re in the pickup vehicle."
"You got the concept hair, makeup, and photo materials from Director Choi, right?"
"Yes! I’ve got them all ready."
"Good. Drive safely, and once their hair, makeup, and outfits are done, come straight to the training center."
After making sure there were no issues on Ye-ji’s end, I got behind the wheel myself.
I cruised down the open road and arrived at the training center in no time.
I bought two iced Americanos from the café I always stopped at, then smoked a cigarette.
The nicotine chased away the sleepiness and sharpened my loose nerves.
"All right..."
I let out a long breath and muttered, Storm before the storm.
The quiet of a city that still hadn’t fully woken up made the tension feel even sharper.
But it was a good kind of tension.
We’d prepared a lot, but we couldn’t get too relaxed either.
Snuffing out the cigarette, I muttered, "Yeah... after going this far, it’d be stupid to start shaking now."
Have confidence.
You did your best, idiot.
After I’d steadied myself, I headed to Studio 3.
Director Choi Jeong-eun, dressed in a two-piece suit, was busily organizing the materials.
"Director Choi."
"Huh? Chief Manager, you’re here?"
"Yeah. Coffee."
Director Choi brightened up, then immediately complained, "Ugh... do you know I haven’t slept a single minute?"
"Ye-ji said the same thing."
"Agh! It’s not even a showcase, so why am I this nervous?"
"Don’t get too tense. You prepared hard, didn’t you?"
Director Choi let out a heavy sigh.
"The prep’s perfect. But you know what I mean, right? There’s always that weird anxiety when it’s test day..."
"I know. But if you get too nervous, that’s bad in its own way too."
"I wish I had a steel stomach like you, Chief Manager..."
"I’m nervous too. Looks like you’re ready, so I’m going to do one last check on the stage setup."
I headed to the temporary stage room we’d reserved.
Sound, stage condition, the director’s seat.
I checked everything thoroughly, including the newly edited final album, the photo set, and the materials the director would be reviewing.
Finally, I confirmed the director’s walking route and nodded.
"That’s everything I can do."
Yeah.
That was the limit of what a manager could do.
I pulled out my smartphone and checked the time. More than two hours had already slipped by.
I turned on my heel and headed for Practice Room 3.
Even through the door, I could hear the voices of the To.Any girls.
Without realizing it, I let the corners of my mouth lift and opened the door.
The practice-room lights washed out my vision for a moment.
"Chief Manager!"
As the familiar voice rang out, my sight slowly returned.
The To.Any girls looked completely different from usual.
"Aaaah, Chief Manager!"
"Hellooooo...."
"Chief Manager, I-I’m so nervous!"
I stared, stunned, and muttered, Were they always this pretty?
Of course I’d always thought they were pretty.
But now, somehow...
They were stunning.
Wearing their stage outfits and fully done up with hair and makeup, To.Any was shining.
Without meaning to, I swallowed dryly and muttered, What the hell is wrong with you, Kwon Chan?
This is a midterm evaluation, and you’re getting distracted by their faces?
Get a grip, idiot!
I mentally whipped myself, and the mind that had wandered off briefly came back.
After clearing my throat once, I spoke.
"The director will be here in about ten minutes."
The To.Any girls, who had been whining just a second earlier, froze stiff.
Seeing them like that, I could tell they were all still tense.
I closed my mouth for a moment and thought.
How could I ease their nerves?
After some thought, I chose my first words carefully.
"I know you’re scared of making mistakes."
"?"
"It’s a director-level evaluation, so of course you’re nervous. But..."
I let the words trail off, then said with emphasis, "Wouldn’t it be a shame if you ruined the stage and couldn’t show your real skills because of that?"
The girls’ shoulders jolted.
I kept going without stopping.
"If you mess up, I’ll cover for you from the side..."
My voice trembled a little at the end without me meaning it to.
"So don’t be scared. Go out there and have fun. That’s exactly the kind of stage this is."
When I finished, I checked their faces.
They looked less tense than they had a moment ago.
Nova was the first to speak.
"...Chief Manager, you promised."
Back to her usual self, Nova grinned mischievously.
"You said you’d cover for us if we mess up. Promise me that’s real!"
"Yeah. I heard it too."
"Then if we make mistakes... it’s okay?"
No... Rei?
That wasn’t exactly what I meant.
I was a little thrown by Rei’s oddly fourth-dimensional logic, but the atmosphere had definitely loosened.
"Yeah! We’re debuting anyway!"
"If we mess up, just do what we normally do."
"Let’s enjoy it like the Chief Manager said."
Before I knew it, a laugh escaped me.
Yeah, that was To.Any.
Then Ye-ji burst through the door.
"Chief Manager!"
I took in the situation and stood up.
"Take good care of the girls, Ye-ji."
"Yes! Don’t worry!"
After straightening my clothes and hair just a little, I headed toward the lobby entrance.
When I joined Director Choi, who had been waiting outside first, a black sedan pulled up right on cue.
I felt the tension return and asked myself, Did I do everything I could without regret?
Yeah, I had.
Then what was there to be nervous about?
Just enjoy it, the same as I’d told To.Any a moment ago.
With the corners of my mouth lifted, I bowed to Director Park Yu-hyeon.
Director Park, with his hands behind his back, asked, "Did you prepare well, Chief Manager Kwon?"
"I think I handled everything I could, within reason."
"How do you feel today?"
I answered without exaggeration.
"I think it’s the best I’ve ever felt, Director."
A faint curve appeared at the corners of Director Park Yu-hyeon’s mouth.
---