Baekhak

Hwang Deok-gu PD’s eyes flew wide open. He looked so startled by my words that his mouth hung open for a moment and no sound came out.

Not letting that opening slip away, I pressed harder.

"In a situation like this, there’s nothing to be gained by making each other lose face, is there, PD Hwang?"

"..."

"If the broadcaster and the agency start fighting, it’s you and me who’ll end up in a bind, won’t it? There’s no need for either of us to become the shrimp caught in a whale fight."

Hwang Deok-gu PD’s brow twitched.

He stared at me for a moment longer, and then his expression suddenly hardened.

"...So what exactly are you trying to say?"

Hwang Deok-gu PD fixed me with a glare, not bothering to hide his displeasure.

"Are you saying Baekhak’s precious girl group should just be packaged up properly for you?"

"That’s not what I mean."

"Then what do you mean? Because that’s certainly how it sounds to me."

I lifted the corners of my mouth into a mild smile.

"I’m talking business. A business where both sides get what they want."

"Business?"

I nodded slowly and explained.

"I said it a moment ago, didn’t I? Park Ga-eul is a star Baekhak has invested a great deal of effort into. Which means Baekhak has every reason to support this competition show."

"...Support?"

"If the timing is right, Baekhak will push K-Singer-Songwriter hard."

"!"

"You know Baekhak’s publicity team, don’t you? They’re the best in the business. If the picture comes out right, that publicity team will be on your side, PD Hwang."

At that, Hwang Deok-gu PD’s eyes widened.

Seeing his expression shift, I let my smile deepen and put a more tempting bait in front of him than the one I’d offered before.

"These days, broadcasters are all complaining that commercial rates have fallen through the floor, right?"

Hwang Deok-gu PD’s shoulders gave a sharp jolt.

"You mean..."

"Baekhak isn’t called an imperial company in this industry for nothing. You know it gets sponsorships and endorsements from just about every major brand, both here and overseas."

"..."

"Depending on how you handle the connections and relationships with those brands, PD Hwang, you could take that with you."

Hwang PD held his breath.

"...You really mean that, Chief Manager?"

"At the very least, I’m not saying it for nothing."

"It’s... a little hard to believe."

"It would be ridiculous to promise something like this in words alone. But isn’t the important thing that conditions like these are attached?"

Hwang PD’s eyes flashed.

He was clearly interested in my proposal, and unable to hide his greed, he muttered,

"That’s a sweet story. But Chief Manager, there’s one thing we need to be absolutely clear on."

"What is it?"

"If Ga-eul can’t perform, there’s nothing I can do. This is a competition show, after all. We can’t highlight a contestant who doesn’t shine."

"Ah, on that point, don’t worry."

It was something I always felt: the limits of what a manager could do were clear. In the end, if you wanted to stand at the top, the entertainer themselves had to possess the necessary appeal.

This competition show is no different.

What I could do for Park Ga-eul ended here.

From this point on, she would have to win it herself by showing what she was capable of.

But yes.

I had already seen Park Ga-eul’s potential.

"Park Ga-eul has talent."

Among all the idols I’d seen, Park Ga-eul was one of the most gifted. Which meant she already had what it took to become a superstar.

"I’m not saying that because she’s my artist. I mean it. She’s seriously full of talent. Baekhak wouldn’t be backing her for no reason, would it?"

At that, Hwang Deok-gu PD finally gave a clear answer for the first time.

"I agree. I watched her on the music show stage, and Park Ga-eul really did seem talented."

"Then I think that settles everything."

To the Hwang Deok-gu PD who had taken the bait, I delivered the final ultimatum.

"As long as you ease up on the devil’s edit, Baekhak will be on your side, PD Hwang."

A confident smile settled on my lips.

"At this point, this business is worth doing, wouldn’t you say?"

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

After that, the meeting moved forward at breakneck speed. The terms were clear, the mutual benefits obvious, and the shared goal unmistakable. If there had been anything to get stuck on, that would’ve been stranger.

But I didn’t let my guard down.

I’d already been backstabbed once when I relaxed during the Star Observation! meeting with PD Park.

So, sorry to Hwang PD, but I had no intention of giving him what he wanted so easily.

I planned to use the conditions I’d just laid out like a leash, keep Hwang PD from stabbing us in the back, and extract as much advantage as possible.

Of course, I kept that entirely hidden for now.

Tomorrow’s Hwang Deok-gu might become an enemy, but for the moment, he was a friend.

So I shook his hand with all the enthusiasm of a man willing to hand over his liver and gallbladder if it came to that.

"I’ll be counting on you, PD Hwang."

"The same goes for me, Chief Manager Kwon."

With that, I successfully wrapped up the meeting with Hwang PD and led Park Ho and Choi Cheol, the shoulder duo, into a nearby seolleongtang restaurant.

After filling their cups with water, I asked, "How did the meeting go?"

Park Ho and Choi Cheol answered with dazed expressions.

"My heart was pounding so hard I thought I’d gotten dragged into a boxing match..."

"Is a meeting usually this brutal, Chief Manager Kwon?"

"Well, normally not?"

Park Ho and Choi Cheol both let out long sighs.

"My confidence just crashed all of a sudden..."

"I don’t think I could ever speak like you do, Chief Manager..."

"It’s fine. You get used to it as you go, and rookies don’t handle meetings like that anyway."

"..."

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Despite my reassurance, the shoulder duo still looked strangely dejected, completely failing to live up to their size.

Watching them, I couldn’t help laughing to myself.

They’ve got a strange kind of character.

Was Team Leader Ma Seok-du like this when he was a rookie road manager?

Resting my chin on my hand, I studied the shoulder duo and muttered,

They’re unusual, sure, but as managers, I still can’t quite read them yet.

Could these two really adapt well and become good road managers like Lee Ye-ji?

As I mulled it over, I soon shook my head. They’d only just met me yesterday. Even ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Lee Ye-ji, who had become such a lucky charm, didn’t show what she could do until after two months of adjustment. These two still had plenty of room to improve.

Just as I finished my assessment of Park Ho and Choi Cheol, Park Ho, sitting across from me, suddenly widened his eyes and said,

"Uh... Chief ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Manager Kwon?"

"What is it?"

"Th-there... Baekhak’s on TV."

My eyes widened.

Baekhak was on TV? Out of nowhere?

But when I turned my head to check, sure enough, Baekhak really was on the television, just as Park Ho had said.

"!"

My mouth slowly fell open.

"...Hallyu star Kwon Hyeon-bin joined Baekhak?"

Then, beneath the headline news, the stock information window appeared.

My eyebrows twitched.

Baekhak’s stock went up because Hallyu star Kwon Hyeon-bin signed with them?

Which meant...

My stock account’s returns just went up again, didn’t they?

"Look at this."

It felt like I’d made money sitting still.

And not just pocket change, either, but a pretty hefty sum, impossible to compare with a manager’s salary!

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

The next day, Baekhak headquarters was in an uproar.

"Did you hear? ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠There was news that Kwon Hyeon-bin got signed this time?"

"Whoa... Baekhak signed that Kwon Hyeon-bin??"

"What kind of terms did they even offer to pull a guy who had been keeping only his one-man agency going over here?"

"It’s been a while since we had a major FA. The management teams are going to be a mess."

Hallyu star Kwon Hyeon-bin. A third-generation, top-three male actor with solid recognition not only across the Chinese-speaking world, but also throughout Southeast Asia and Japan.

Baekhak was buzzing from the FA signing of Kwon Hyeon-bin. The biggest commotion of all, naturally, was in Baekhak’s management department.

"No way, they really signed Kwon Hyeon-bin??"

"Wow, team leaders are going to be sweating bullets over this."

"Year-end’s coming up too, and once the performance reports come out and the bonus party starts, won’t this Kwon Hyeon-bin signing be the biggest variable of all?"

"It absolutely will be! I heard Actor Kwon made over 10 billion won in China alone last year!"

The weather had turned chilly with autumn, and year-end was drawing near. With annual performance reports approaching and each team’s results about to be laid bare, a huge signing like Kwon Hyeon-bin was more than enough to shake the power games inside Baekhak’s management department. Not only the team leaders, but the chief managers and the road managers beneath them couldn’t hide their excitement.

And then, two days after the news of Kwon Hyeon-bin’s signing had sent Baekhak into a frenzy,

Park Yu-hyeon, the division head, called in the team leaders even though it wasn’t the regular team leaders’ meeting.

"It’s here!"

"If the division head called them in, today’s the day we find out which team gets Kwon Hyeon-bin."

"Damn it! Come to our team! Let me feast on some bonus money too!"

The office atmosphere was hot and charged. But I couldn’t get swept up in it, because I was staring at my stock account instead.

"...Look at this."

A pleased, disbelieving laugh slipped out of my mouth.

Kwon Hyeon-bin signing pushed Baekhak’s stock returns up again?

Of course, by percentage, it wasn’t a huge jump.

Just 3%.

If the Baekhak stock I held was worth 1 million won, this bit of good news would’ve earned me only 30,000 won.

But if I held 100 million won worth of Baekhak stock?

My throat bobbed.

"I made 19 million won from stocks?"

I could hardly believe it, but looking at the red figures in my stock account, it didn’t seem like a dream.

A man who had been completely distant from stocks his entire life had just made four months’ salary in one sitting.

My throat bobbed hard.

Should I sell now?

Looking at the monthly chart, it was the highest peak in nearly three months.

If I sold now, I could recover the multicultural project investment for free.

I fiddled with the sell button and clicked my tongue.

But isn’t it a pity to sell right this second?

There were still a series of pretty major windfalls coming up, weren’t there?

Black Bride, Multicultural.

I thought through the big sources I already knew were coming, and just then, when my finger was about to press the sell button, it curled back again. That was when Jeon Hyeong-u, who had come to the Baekhak management office after a long time away, walked up to me.

"W-whoa... Everyone’s going crazy because of Actor Kwon Hyeon-bin, Chief Manager."

I quietly closed my stock account and answered,

"Actor Kwon Hyeon-bin is a huge catch, isn’t he?"

"Well, yes, he’s definitely top-tier. But I heard he’s not just big in scale, he’s also known for being neat and quiet in personality."

"Exactly. Actors at Kwon Hyeon-bin’s level usually have some kind of flaw or a rough edge, but the rumors around him are really clean."

Jeon Hyeong-u clicked his tongue.

"Man, I’m jealous all of a sudden. Who on earth is going to get Kwon Hyeon-bin?"

At that, the corners of my mouth lifted. Jeon Hyeong-u’s eyes widened beside me.

"...Huh? Chief Manager? What was that look just now?"

"What? What about my expression?"

"You know you just smiled in a really obnoxious way, right?"

"..."

Hmm, had I really failed to control my face that badly?

But can you blame me?

Hallyu star Kwon Hyeon-bin.

A major catch that had the management road managers and team leaders in an uproar.

And where that Kwon Hyeon-bin would end up... I already knew.

He’ll probably come to me, right?

The reason I was so sure was, of course, those future messages.

If Kwon Hyeon-bin weren’t my actor, there’d be no reason for us to stand in the photo line at the Baeksang Awards together.

My mouth twitched again.

Just thinking that the Hallyu star who had made the whole of Baekhak buzz was about to walk straight over to me made it hard to keep my expression under control.

The question is what happens after Kwon Hyeon-bin becomes my actor...

I wondered how the people in the management department would react when they found out. Right then, Lee Jae-min, the team 3 chief manager, declared with complete confidence,

"He has to come to Team 3!"

His voice was so loud that everyone in the office turned to look. I slowly turned my head as well and looked at Lee Jae-min.

"Teams 1 and 2 have been full for ages, and Teams 4 and 5 already got a transfer from Team 1 last time, so by order it should be Team 3!"

"...But would they really assign a catch of Kwon Hyeon-bin’s size by order, Chief Manager?"

"If not by order, then it’s about time we got a major catch like that! To be honest, Lee Ha-eun, who went to Team 5, should’ve been ours in the first place!"

What the hell, why are you claiming Lee Ha-eun as yours?

Jeon Hyeong-u, standing beside me, clicked his tongue in disapproval.

"Why does Lee Jae-min always talk in such an irritating way?"

"Agreed."

"Still, Actor Kwon Hyeon-bin... I don’t think Team 3 is actually going to get him the way Lee Jae-min says, Chief Manager."

"Why not?"

"Like Lee Jae-min said, by order it’s supposed to be them, and the other teams all have at least one top-tier catch, but Team 3 doesn’t. So wouldn’t they give him to Team 3 just to balance the teams out?"

At Jeon Hyeong-u’s words, I let out a snort of laughter.

"Well, we’ll have to wait and see."

With that, time passed.

In the meantime, the management office, already tense and excited over a major catch like Kwon Hyeon-bin, grew so overheated it was practically ready to explode.

Everyone was hiding their anxiety badly, staring only at the office entrance, when ten minutes before lunch, the door at last opened and the team leaders who had gone to the division head’s office appeared.

"They’re here!"

At one road manager’s shout, all the road managers and chief managers gathered in the office quickly began checking the team leaders’ expressions as soon as they entered.

My gaze slowly moved to Ma Seok-du, Team Leader of Team 5.

At just that moment, Team Leader Ma, who had been walking toward us, had a sudden twitch in the corner of his eye.

Seeing that tiny shift in expression, the corners of my mouth lifted.

"Chief Manager Kwon."

"Yes, Team Leader Ma."

Standing before me, Team Leader Ma couldn’t hide the dazed look on his face as he said,

"Damn, man. I knew you’d been killing it lately, but..."

His voice shook rough with excitement.

"You really hit a home run this time, you bastard!!"

Swallowing a laugh, I replied, "What’s with you?"

"Hallyu star Kwon Hyeon-bin."

Team Leader Ma’s mouth practically did tap dance.

"From now on... you’re handling him, you punk! Congratulations, you bastard!"

At his words, Jeon Hyeong-u, standing beside me, shouted in shock.

"No way, seriously, Team Leader Ma!?"

Starting with that cry, the rookie road managers Park Ho and Choi Cheol, along with the rest of Team 5’s road managers, swarmed toward me in a chain reaction and shouted,

"Whaaat?"

"Y-you’re really going to manage Actor Kwon Hyeon-bin, Chief Manager?"

"Huh...? Then Kwon Hyeon-bin is our Team 5 actor??"

Meanwhile, the other teams quickly caught on to where Kwon Hyeon-bin had gone and began freaking out as well.

"What? Team 5 got Kwon Hyeon-bin??"

"Wait, what do you mean Chief Manager Kwon is handling him?"

"They said he’d been quiet lately, and now it’s Chief Manager Kwon again?"

"Wow... this is seriously huge. Does that mean Chief Manager Kwon is handling two top-tier names now?"

Amazement, suspicion, jealousy, and envy.

The stares aimed at me made my whole body tingle.

Chilling, this is.

But it was a pleasant kind of chill.

Just as I was about to let out a satisfied laugh at the envious looks from my management department family, Lee Jae-min, the Team 3 chief manager, barked harshly,

"No, this doesn’t make any sense!"

The whole management office turned to look at Lee Jae-min. I turned my head too and faced him.

"Chief Manager Kwon is already handling Lee Ha-eun, and now you’re handing Kwon Hyeon-bin over to him too? Is this really right, Team Leader 3!?"

Unable to hold back his anger, Lee Jae-min voiced his complaint.

At the sight of that, the eyes of everyone in the management department widened.

"Shouldn’t we be making a formal protest as a team? Why exactly are you handing Kwon Hyeon-bin over to Team 5 and Chief Manager Kwon? I just can’t accept this. Did the division head really explain this properly?"

Lee Jae-min even dragged Park Yu-hyeon, the division head, into it, as if he had completely lost all sense. The office atmosphere started to stir under that inciting remark, which had crossed the line.

"...Hmm, fair."

"Honestly, I kind of don’t get it either, just like Lee Jae-min said."

"Why Chief Manager Kwon, of all people? He already has Actor Lee Ha-eun."

"Right. Giving Kwon Hyeon-bin to the chief manager who already has Lee Ha-eun feels like favoritism."

Reading the mood, my eyebrows twitched.

Look at this?

Lee Jae-min probably hadn’t intended for that to happen.

The Lee Jae-min I knew wasn’t smart enough for that.

But one angry sentence he blurted out unexpectedly became the trigger for the crowd, and the mood in the office shifted fast.

In that moment, the management office suddenly turned hostile toward me.

Reading that flow, I got to my feet.

If I just sit here and stupidly keep my mouth shut in a moment like this, that’s not being nice. That’s being an idiot.

And I wasn’t an idiot who couldn’t even speak up for himself.

Just as I was about to snap back at Lee Jae-min for stirring things up, someone else beat me to it and shouted at him first.

"If you’re that unhappy, then maybe you should’ve earned the results yourself!"

The team leaders, the symbols and pillars of Baekhak management.

"Chief Manager Kwon produced those results, and both the division head and the team leaders agreed to it. What right do you have to raise your voice, Lee Jae-min?"

Surprisingly, they took my side instead of Lee Jae-min’s.