A Sudden Turn
Was it because the shock had been too much, too early on a Monday morning?
The head of the PR team had lost her head.
Usually tougher than even Director Park Yu-hyeon, she was now opening and closing her mouth like an idiot.
The sight made me laugh despite myself, and at that moment the PR team leader shouted, "I-It’s true, Chief Kwon? D-drugs?!"
My shoulder jerked.
Wow, our PR team leader.
The reaction was dramatic enough, but wasn’t her voice a little too loud?
I turned my head slightly.
Because of the shout she had just let out, every member of the PR team was now staring our way.
"Huh? Drugs??"
"Did the PR team leader just say drugs?"
"Why are drugs suddenly being mentioned? Did something blow up?"
"Hey! Isn’t that Chief Kwon Chan from Management Team 5?"
"Looks like it. He’s the manager who was on Star Observation!"
"But why are they suddenly talking about drugs?"
Clicking my tongue at the murmurings reaching my ears, I grabbed the PR team leader by the wrist and led her into an empty meeting room.
I sat the shell-shocked woman down and waved a hand in front of her face.
"PR team leader, how many fingers do you see?"
"...I’m not that out of it, you know?"
"So how many do you see?"
"Three! I see three, you jerk!"
Her shoulders shook hard.
"Ugh... I’m already crashing from low blood sugar this early in the morning!"
She bit down hard on a chocolate bar she’d somehow produced from nowhere, then narrowed her eyes.
"Now explain."
"Explain what?"
"That photo from earlier! What on earth was that?"
At her pressing, I thought for a moment.
I can’t tell her the whole story exactly as it happened.
If it became known that I was at the center of this whole affair, it would be trouble in more ways than one.
Best to leave out what I can and summarize only the core.
Having reached that conclusion, I adapted the story a little and explained it.
The drug evidence against Kwon Ho-jun that Reporter Seo had stumbled upon by chance. Me receiving that information on Sunday morning. The reason I’d come looking for the PR team first thing in the morning to contain the situation. I tied it all together into something plausible.
The story came out more smoothly than I’d expected, but because it had been massaged into shape, there were inevitably a few shaky spots here and there.
Still, I wasn’t worried.
The PR team leader met Reporter Seo once.
The rapport she’d seen between me and Reporter Seo during the script reading probably gave the story more credibility.
Just as I’d expected, the PR team leader seemed to accept my explanation without much suspicion.
A moment later, a faint groan slipped from her lips.
"...Haah. Black Bride had finally started picking up some momentum, and then this drops out of the sky. What bad luck."
After huffing out a long breath, she suddenly grabbed my hand.
"Chief Kwon, thank you."
"Pardon?"
"If it hadn’t been for Chief Kwon, how many calls would I have gotten today, and how many times would I have had to explain myself?"
"...Hm. At least a few dozen, I’d say?"
"I’ll buy you a huge meal. If that’s not enough, I can even give you a kiss with love."
Well.
I could live without the meal, but I’d really rather pass on the second option.
Meanwhile, the PR team leader fixed me with a serious look.
"Are you sure Reporter Seo said he’d upload the article at 6 p.m.?"
"Yes. That’s why I think we need to settle our response plan on our side too. Shouldn’t we call the director?"
The PR team leader slowly nodded.
"...We should. I already wrote up a puff piece saying, ‘Black Bride, the quarter’s most anticipated title invested in by Baekhak with 15 billion won,’ so of course we should call him."
She sprang to her feet in a hurry.
"Wait here, Chief Kwon. I’m going to contact the director!"
Watching her hurry out of the meeting room, I muttered to myself, "...At least the PR team leader is moving exactly as planned."
Now all that remained was for Baekhak to prepare a response article before Reporter Seo uploaded the exposé.
Still, if Director Park Yu-hyeon gets moving, there shouldn’t be any problem.
Then what was left...
Was it Park Hyeong-sik at Seoul Forest Entertainment?
I tapped the table with my finger.
"He should be in the office by now, negotiating with the CEO."
If Park Hyeong-sik moved exactly as I expected, the flow would be perfect.
Kwon Ho-jun’s only lifeline right now is Seoul Forest Entertainment.
If I could cut that lifeline, it would be ideal. But if that lifeline ended up saving Kwon Ho-jun instead, things would become a headache very quickly.
If he refuses to give him up and starts pushing back with denial articles, all it will do is buy time.
And once that happened, the drug issue would almost certainly spread to Black Bride.
That made it important for Park Hyeong-sik to convince the CEO of Seoul Forest Entertainment, but...
If he showed them the evidence photo Reporter Seo and I had put together, then there really shouldn’t be any issue on this side either.
"They won’t be able to sacrifice their other artists just to protect one Kwon Ho-jun."
I nodded and let the corner of my mouth curl upward.
Looking good.
If it just kept flowing like this...
Then I might be able to contain Kwon Ho-jun’s drug scandal to Kwon Ho-jun alone without much trouble.
Yeah, if it just keeps flowing like this.
But as life always went, things never followed my wishes completely.
When I returned to the director’s office with the PR team leader, someone entirely unexpected was sitting there, legs crossed, waiting for us.
"Chief Kwon, hello."
With a short bob cut and bright red heels, Baek Ji-won, who had taken Director Park Yu-hyeon’s seat, stared straight at me with a faint smile on her lips.
My throat bobbed.
...Huh?
Hm.
I hadn’t expected our CEO Baek Ji-won to step in.
***
The PR team leader beside me froze.
It made sense. The company’s CEO had appeared without warning.
Thanks to that, even I, who had been all ease until a moment ago, felt a slight tension creep in.
Baek Ji-won came instead of Director Park Yu-hyeon?
This was outside my expectations.
Then Baek Ji-won took a sip of tea and said, "Director Park is on a business trip in China right now."
"...!"
"So I heard the two of you had something to discuss. Shall we sit and talk first?"
At her suggestion, the PR team leader sat down with a creak, like a broken clockwork toy.
I moved as well and sat beside her, thinking, CEO Baek is a variable.
The Baek Ji-won I’d seen so far was, in every sense, impossible to pin down.
Setting aside the fact that she’s unpredictable, she’s also the kind of person who could flip the entire board I just set up.
That worried me a little, but in another sense, I was also looking forward to it.
Actually, the person who’s most desperate right now is Baek Ji-won, isn’t she?
Baekhak had invested 15 billion won in Black Bride.
And the one standing at the top of that Baekhak was none other than Baek Ji-won herself.
At that moment, the tension that had been crawling down my spine melted away.
Regaining my composure, I turned my head and saw Baek Ji-won and the PR team leader already discussing the drug issue I’d relayed.
"I-I’ll begin the briefing for this issue, CEO!"
Stammering badly, the PR team leader started passing along my account exactly as I’d told it. Baek Ji-won listened closely, sipping the unknown tea in her cup.
How much time passed after that, I couldn’t say.
The PR team leader finished her explanation.
But Baek Ji-won still said nothing, remaining lost in thought.
When the heavy silence dragged on longer than expected, she finally opened her mouth.
"So the supporting actor in Black Bride, Kwon Ho-jun, took drugs..."
"..."
"And a report exposing him, complete with undeniable photographic evidence, will go up at 6 p.m. today. That’s what I’m hearing. Am I right, PR team leader?"
The PR team leader swallowed hard and answered, "Yes, that’s correct, CEO."
"Can I see the evidence photo?"
The PR team leader tapped my shoulder.
I, who had kept silent all this time, finally spoke.
"Here you are, CEO."
Baek Ji-won took the evidence photos I handed over and fell silent again.
A moment later, the corner of her mouth lifted.
"Interesting."
She set the photos down and gave a low chuckle.
"At this point, it’ll be impossible to deny, and the investigation will probably start immediately. What do you think, PR team leader?"
"...I think so too, CEO."
"When the article breaks, how are we handling our side?"
"...First, I think we should contact every entertainment reporter and ask them to avoid mentioning Black Bride as much as possible."
"And after that?"
"To shift the public focus onto Kwon Ho-jun, we’ll upload a response article and..."
The PR team leader, speaking in a voice tight with nerves, laid out the countermeasures for the situation. Baek Ji-won listened without a word, then turned her head and looked at me.
"Chief Kwon."
At the sudden call, my shoulder gave a small jolt. By then, her gaze was fixed on me.
"What do you think Chief Kwon should do?"
"?"
"Since Chief Kwon brought this case in, I’d like to hear your opinion too. What do you think?"
At her question, I fell into thought for a moment.
What do I want to do?
Well. There wasn’t much in the PR team leader’s plan I’d object to. Sending cooperation notices to the media first, asking them to avoid mentioning Black Bride, then uploading a response article to shift the public focus away from Black Bride and onto Kwon Ho-jun was, at present, the most ideal response.
But... there was one thing I found a little lacking.
We’re not the ones who committed the crime, so why should we be shaking in our boots?
Kwon Ho-jun was the one who had sinned, not Black Bride.
So... in this situation, I thought Baekhak and Black Bride could afford to stand a little taller.
That was when I opened my mouth.
"Everything sounds good to me, but I’d like to change one word."
Interest flickered in Baek Ji-won’s eyes.
"One word?"
"Yes, CEO."
"I’m not following. Which word do you want to change?"
I took a short breath and answered.
"Not Black Bride in crisis..."
My voice came out a little higher than usual.
"How about Black Bride escapes crisis? I think that kind of headline would give the public a better image of the situation right now."
"!"
Baek Ji-won’s eyes widened.
"So not fallen into crisis, but escaped from it?"
"Yes. There’s no need to show the public an image of the work staggering because of Kwon Ho-jun."
"So we turn the crisis into an opportunity?"
"Yes, that’s right."
Baek Ji-won mulled it over for a moment, then the corners of her mouth lifted slightly.
"That’s a clever little wording trick."
She turned her head and looked at the PR team leader.
"PR team leader, take Chief Kwon’s lead and prepare the response article."
"Yes, understood, CEO."
"You’ve had a hard morning. Still, I’m counting on you."
The PR team leader rose from her seat and bowed.
"I’ll do my best, CEO!"
I, too, was about to stand and bow politely when Baek Ji-won gave a faint smile.
"Chief Kwon, stay behind."
"..."
Dammit. I sighed inwardly and sat back down.
The PR team leader gave me a pitying look, then left the director’s office first.
Before long, Baek Ji-won and I were left alone. She rested her chin on her hand and stared at me intently.
"Chief Kwon."
"Yes, CEO."
"Was this another coincidence?"
My eyes widened slightly. In the meantime, Baek Ji-won tilted her head.
"Was it also a coincidence that a journalist you happen to know sent the drug story to Chief Kwon first?"
The question sounded light, but her gaze on me was anything but.
Her eyes, close to brown because of their pale pigment, carried a strange pressure.
I could feel the tension creeping back up my spine, but my voice came out calmer than I expected.
"Hard as it may be to believe, it was a coincidence."
Baek Ji-won let out a quiet snort of laughter.
"A coincidence that keeps repeating, then?"
"Lately, I seem to have good luck."
"I like lucky people. That’s why I like Chief Kwon too."
That was a confession. It was just the most burdensome confession I’d ever heard.
Baek Ji-won brushed her bangs back and asked, "Well? Is there anything you’d like me to do?"
"Pardon?"
"This drug issue. Chief Kwon brought it in, and we’re going to respond to the article the way Chief Kwon thinks best, but I wanted to hear your other opinions too."
As she spoke, Baek Ji-won leaned forward, closing the physical distance between us.
Startled, I unconsciously shifted my hips back, and then she whispered in a low voice, "Is there anything you want me to do in this situation, Chief Kwon?"
At her offer, my eyes widened.
Baek Ji-won is saying... she’ll help me right now?
At that moment, the tension that had been coiling down my spine softened into a faint sense of expectation.
Thinking for a moment in that state, I slowly opened my mouth.
"...Then, CEO."
"Mm?"
My voice rose slightly with excitement.
"Could you make one phone call? To Seoul Forest Entertainment?"
***
CEO Ho of Seoul Forest Entertainment shouted harshly, "Haah... You bastard! What the hell were you doing until things got this bad!"
Park Hyeong-sik kept silent. If he opened his mouth now, the plastic coffee cup in Ho’s hand would definitely fly at him.
Meanwhile, Ho raged on by himself before shouting again at Park.
"Who’s the reporter uploading the exposé?"
"It’s TP Entertainment’s Team Leader Seo Ji-hun."
"Have you contacted him?"
"...His phone is off. We can’t get through to him."
Ho slammed his fist on the desk with a bang. Seeing his mood, Park Hyeong-sik spoke carefully.
"...CEO."
"What, you asshole!"
"Shouldn’t we give up on Ho-jun?"
"Give up? Haah... If we give up on Ho-jun, then what next?"
Flames seemed to spark in Ho’s eyes.
"Who’s going to take responsibility for the image of a company that doesn’t cover for its own artist and just abandons him?"
Park Hyeong-sik answered slowly.
"That still doesn’t mean we can drag Ho-jun along in this situation."
"Hey, Park Si..."
Park Hyeong-sik shut his eyes tight.
Dammit, now I really don’t know either!
"We should cut Ho-jun loose. That’s the only way the rest survive."
At Park’s firm answer, Ho’s mouth snapped shut. Not missing the opening, Park Hyeong-sik started the persuasion he’d prepared in advance.
The plan was to proceed exactly as Chief Kwon of Baekhak Management Team 5 had advised: place all responsibility on Kwon Ho-jun alone.
"Defending Ho-jun in this situation is suicide, CEO."
"..."
"We can’t burn the entire house down just to save one drug addict."
At Seoul Forest, Ho’s eyes wavered.
How much time passed after that?
Ho slowly parted his lips.
"...Park."
"Yes."
"You’re right."
"!"
"We can’t throw away the rest of the guys for the sake of one uncontrollable drug addict. But..."
He trailed off and shook his head.
"If we dump Kwon Ho-jun like this, our company is finished, damn it."
"!"
"Upload a few response articles and buy us some time. I’ll meet that Reporter Seo myself and settle this once and for all..."
Just then, Ho’s smartphone rang. Park Hyeong-sik and Ho both turned in surprise.
Ho held a finger to his lips and drew in a breath.
"Shh!"
"!"
While Park Hyeong-sik held his breath, Ho answered the phone.
"Yes, CEO Baek Ji-won."
The unexpected name that came out of Ho’s mouth made Park’s eyes go wide.
B-Baek Ji-won?
The legend of this industry, the woman who built the Baekhak empire?
In the meantime, Ho finished the call with Baek Ji-won in a low voice and hung up. A moment later, he let out a hollow laugh.
"Fuck."
With a cigarette between his lips, a dazed smile hung at the corner of his mouth.
"Is that a proposal or a threat..."
He lit the cigarette, turned his head, and looked at Park Hyeong-sik.
"Park."
"Y-yes, CEO!"
"From this moment on, cut off all contact with Kwon Ho-jun."
Park Hyeong-sik’s eyes widened.
By then, with a completely changed position from a moment ago, Ho declared firmly, "As of today, Seoul Forest has nothing to do with that drug addict, Kwon Ho-jun. Got it?"
***
After finishing the flood of work and the response to the exposé that came crashing down like a tide, I checked the time on my smartphone.
[17:57]
[17:58]
[17:59]
...
[18:00]
It was time for the exposé article Reporter Seo and I had agreed on in advance. I clicked straight into the entertainment news tab.
The entire country of South Korea.
The work I’d made had made it onto the evening broadcast news.
Every eye in the country had turned to the drug addict, Kwon Ho-jun.