Overlap
I had no idea how last week’s weekdays had gone by.
Congratulations poured in without pause.
Then there was Division Director Park Yu-hyeon’s surprise gift.
And on top of that, the exposé about Choi Su-hyeon still hadn’t finished blowing over.
But time was the best medicine.
Sunday morning.
When I opened my eyes, the storm of incidents and accidents had already been sorted out.
It was the age of constant hot topics.
Choi Su-hyeon’s affair scandal, and the record-breaking success of Queen of Joseon.
They were swallowed up by the next wave of breaking news and faded from the public eye.
But those incidents hadn’t left nothing behind.
They’d left me a car.
A BMW and a Benz, to be exact.
“...”
Baekhak had been shaken by Choi Su-hyeon’s scandal.
And then there was Queen of Joseon, which had saved the company.
That was why I’d ended up getting a car from Baekhak for recommending the drama to Lee Ha-eun.
If I dug into it, the situation was more complicated than that, but in short, that was the gist.
“Did they tell me to choose between a Benz and a BMW because that’s one of their partner companies?”
Probably.
Thanks to that, my only problem was deciding whether to pick a BMW or a Benz, both of them kings of the German luxury trio.
“... But which one am I supposed to choose?”
I was interested in cars, but I didn’t know much about them.
And now they were telling me to choose between Mercedes-Benz and BMW?
That was a cruel question to ask me.
In the end, I looked up information on NetTube and asked around.
Which was better, Benz or BMW?
Even there, the opinions split exactly in half.
“Hm.”
Rubbing my chin slowly, I decided to borrow the power of the crowd one last time.
Let’s see.
What’s the biggest car community in Korea?
I turned on the computer and started web-surfing.
[Dream Car]
I found a huge car community with a full 500,000 members.
I joined immediately and posted a question.
Oh no.
I’d made a typo.
But the mistake seemed to attract attention instead.
I clicked through the mouse and carefully read dozens of comments.
“Seems like there are a little more people on the Benz side.”
There were plenty of BMW votes too, but by a very narrow margin, the Benz camp stood out more.
The moment I made up my mind, I muttered, “Let’s go with the Benz E-Class.”
If I dug any deeper, this could go on forever.
And honestly, for my age, even the E-Class was more car than I deserved.
With that, I finished sorting out the happy little dilemma that had been troubling me for days, and my whole body seemed to melt.
I sprawled out on the bed and murmured, “I’m getting a car from the company...”
A Benz E-Class, no less.
How many employees at Baekhak got a gift like that?
Probably not many.
Maybe none at all.
My heart started pounding then.
Thump, thump.
It was a chance created by coincidence piled on coincidence, but I had still been recognized by the company for my ability.
And that fact felt better than receiving the Benz E-Class itself.
Seeing it that way, maybe I really am built for salaried life.
A laugh escaped me before I even realized it.
But then I remembered there was still one thing left to receive from Baekhak.
My bet with Representative Baek Ji-won.
Representative Baek had said it herself.
If To.Any hit number one on the streaming charts, she’d give me a reward worthy of it.
And To.Any reaching number one on the charts was...
If anything, it was an even bigger achievement than the recent scandal.
It meant making Baekhak’s one real weakness, its girl group, succeed.
What would Representative Baek Ji-won give me for pulling that off?
I had no idea, but one thing was certain.
Knowing her personality, she’d definitely give me something bigger than a Benz E-Class.
“... Would she seriously give me a house or something?”
No way.
But I couldn’t help looking forward to it.
I turned my head and checked the calendar hanging on the wall.
[To.Any Showcase.]
Next Friday.
At last, the To.Any showcase was happening.
If we got through that showcase safely, To.Any would debut.
And then they’d take the number one spot on the streaming charts.
Representative Baek Ji-won’s surprise gift was right around the corner.
A low sigh escaped me.
“Could the weekend please just end already?”
I knew it was ridiculous, but I couldn’t help myself.
I was itching to work.
I wanted the weekend over and next week to come already.
***
Unlike my worries, time flew by.
The weekend passed, and Monday came.
The mountain of work came crashing down on me like a wave.
Rehearsals, stage setup, meetings with the showcase production team.
I threw myself into it, even stealing time from sleep.
Am I working too hard?
No, I had to work hard.
This showcase held two months’ worth of time and effort.
By the time I was grinding through work in a daze, the day of the showcase had arrived.
I put on the suit I’d prepared in advance and called Ye-ji.
“Ye-ji.”
["Yes, Siljang-nim."]
“Are the girls’ makeup done?”
["Yes. They’ve arrived at the training center concert hall and are getting ready for rehearsal."]
I nodded and answered, “I’m on my way too, so see you in twenty minutes.”
I got into the car right away.
But today, for some reason, the road to the training center felt especially long.
As I picked up speed, I wondered, Am I nervous?
Well, of course I was nervous.
Everything was going to be decided on today’s stage.
But I was confident too.
When I thought about the time I’d poured into this day, it would’ve been strange not to be confident.
“The only issue is the live.”
Today’s showcase combined a press showcase and a fan showcase into one event.
In other words, reporters and fans had been invited at the same time to watch the debut stage.
The channel platform is NetTube.
For today, we’d borrowed Baekhak’s channel, which had eight million subscribers.
At that kind of subscriber count, we’d get at least forty to fifty thousand viewers.
And if word spread, even more could come in.
Everything else is ready... right. It’s the live that matters most this time.
No matter how well you prepared, live performance was the one variable you couldn’t fully control.
A stage that was perfect in rehearsal collapsing in the real thing was a story that happened all the time.
So I couldn’t let my guard down, but...
It was also ridiculous to stand here and imagine failure.
I have to make this succeed.
I loosened up my body, which had gone rigid with tension.
By then I’d arrived at Sangam Training Center.
I parked the car and headed straight for the concert hall.
Dozens of reporters had already come for the showcase invitation.
I scanned their faces quickly, found one I knew, and walked over.
“Reporter Park.”
Reporter Park, who was taking a sip of coffee and cigarette smoke at the same time, recognized me and raised his eyebrows.
“Manager Kwon? Wow... it’s really been a while.”
“I’ve been promoted to Siljang for a while now.”
“What? You’re already Siljang? Isn’t that a little fast?”
A sly smile crept onto Reporter Park’s face.
“Or did you get promoted because Queen of Joseon blew up like crazy? Heh...”
“That’s not exactly it, but it helped.”
Reporter Park flicked ash off his cigarette.
“You’re the Siljang in charge of this girl group now?”
“Yes. Please take good care of us.”
“Hey, I don’t even need to say it. Baekhak is my bread and butter, so of course I’ll write you up well.”
After a few pleasantries with Reporter Park, I began my rounds in earnest.
“Hello, reporter. I’m Kwon Chan, Siljang of Management Team 5.”
I bowed first and greeted each one politely.
I didn’t need to be this deferential, but today was the showcase.
If a few bows can control unnecessary variables, that’s a profitable deal.
The good news was that every reporter here was friendly to Baekhak’s side.
If they didn’t want their own access cut off, they’d write their articles with a little sense.
After I finished making my rounds, I went up to the stage.
Squeak, squeak...
I dragged the soles of my shoes on purpose to check for any slippery spots.
Slipping during a live performance was one of the most common accidents.
There wasn’t any obvious slick patch, but just in case I called over a staff member and had the stage wiped down once more.
With that, I finished everything I could do as a manager and headed to the waiting room.
Hair, makeup, styling.
Fully dressed in head-to-toe hair-makeup-styling, To.Any waved at me.
“Oh, the Siljang is here!”
“Siljang-nim!”
“You’re here, Siljang-nim?”
I waved back and thought, The girls look amazing today.
Glitter eyeshadow sparkled like paintings on their lids, and their cheeks had that flushed, healthy color that came from highlight and contouring.
Their crop tops were a little too short for comfort, though...
Setting that aside, To.Any’s faces were in top condition today.
What surprised me even more was that their expressions were bright too.
I thought they’d be totally on edge, but this is unexpected.
Could these girls be the type who ran better in real conditions?
A smile tugged at my mouth without warning.
“Did the final rehearsal go well?”
“Hmm... probably?”
At Nova’s words, Jeong-eun, who had been half-dead on the floor, answered.
“It was perfect. So perfect it makes me feel like we’re going to mess up during the live.”
Ga-eul yelped in alarm.
“Director! Why would you say something like that and jinx us?”
“Director-nim is absolutely, absolutely T.”
“At times like this, you should only say good things!”
Director Choi Jeong-eun looked embarrassed.
“No... I just meant, you know, that it was that good.”
“If we mess up during the live, I’m blaming you.”
“....”
A twenty-year-old maknae putting a thirty-one-year-old director in line.
It was such a rare sight that I burst out laughing.
Rei tilted her head.
“Why is Siljang-nim laughing?”
Come to think of it.
Why was I laughing?
After thinking it over for a moment, I answered, “Because you all look okay.”
“?”
“The showcase starts in a little bit, but you’re not nervous?”
Nova let out a long sigh.
“Maybe it’s not that we’re okay. Maybe we’ve just given up?”
Ga-eul, standing beside her, shot back, “What do you mean given up? We’ve just gotten used to it.”
“Oh, fair. That’s true!”
Nova shrugged.
“Until a week before the showcase, I was seriously nervous. I got so nervous that now I feel weirdly calm.”
Seol Chae-i pointed it out sharply.
“Even so, Nova unnie, you barely slept last night.”
“... Was I the only one? Huh?”
“You were the worst.”
“You’re asking for it. Get over here, you brat!”
Seol Chae-i and Nova started bickering.
It was the usual To.Any I’d always seen.
And at that moment, my expression went a little strange.
So they really aren’t nervous at all?
Am I the only one who’s nervous, then?
“...”
I covered my awkward expression with a hand.
I’d even forgotten the lines I’d prepared since last night to help them relax.
Then the alarm rang.
Ding.
I checked the time. There were less than twenty minutes left until the live.
Feels a little sad to leave like this.
It was definitely not because I’d rehearsed lines and couldn’t wait to use them.
I folded my arms and thought for five minutes.
Unable to resist the pressure of time closing in on my shoulders, I blurted out, “Want to shout a little fighting cheer?”
A low silence settled over the waiting room.
“...?”
Seol Chae-i and Nova, who’d been bickering, both tilted their heads, and Rei’s mouth fell open in disbelief.
Finally, Director Choi Jeong-eun blinked and said, “... Fighting cheer?”
“Yes. Fighting.”
“... Siljang-nim, you were that kind of character?”
Come to think of it.
I was a little ashamed too.
Why had I just said that?
But the words were already out.
I kept my face straight and shrugged like it was nothing.
“What’s so weird about shouting a little fighting cheer?”
“... It doesn’t really fit, though. Manager Kwon’s image and all?”
Then Ga-eul shot her hand up.
“Let’s do it! Fighting!”
She really did have leadership.
At Ga-eul’s one line, the To.Any members gathered around me.
Director Choi Jeong-eun came too, grumbling all the while, and just then Ye-ji, who had come in carrying coffee and drinks, raised her hand high.
“I-I don’t really know what’s happening, but I want in too!”
The hands of everyone who had spent the last two chaotic months together stacked over my own.
Reading the mood, I took a breath and said, “One, two, three...”
Then I let the words trail off and smiled.
“Fighting!”
The members shouted along with me.
“Fighting!”
Yes.
Sometimes you needed that old-school kind of thing too.
Pushing back the awkward warmth rising in my face, I started walking.
To.Any headed for the stage.
I headed for the control room.
Each of us went to our positions to show the work we’d put in over the past months.
Then MC Kim Chang-hoon, who was hosting the showcase, appeared onstage.
“Hello, everyone! Great to see you! I’m MC Kim Chang-hoon, and I’ll be your host today!”
The starting gun fired.
My eyes moved to the situation monitor.
The zero on the black graph bar began to rise at an exponential pace.
The anticipation pouring out from thousands of viewers made my shoulders jump.
Current viewers: 3,982
Baekhak’s last girl group.
To.Any’s showcase had begun.