Chapter 1
Kang I-won’s career had been nothing short of a straight road to success.
He was a genius producer from Imperial Entertainment, the undisputed number-one company in the industry.
He had more than ten songs that reached number one on music charts, and dozens more that shattered the so-called “wall of the Top 100,” a barrier most idols never crossed.
That was only during his six years at Imperial. After leaving the company to go independent, his success only accelerated, as if he had grown wings.
The year he turned thirty, he ranked first in Korea’s copyright royalty income.
That same year, in an industry known as a red ocean among red oceans, he founded a rising entertainment company called Undefeated.
A newborn agency.
Small. Tiny, even.
And yet every idol they launched settled straight into the top tier.
Investors lined up. Results spoke for themselves. All that was left was for him to sit back on a mountain of money, or so he had thought.
“…I’m sorry, CEO.”
Right up until everything crashed spectacularly.
“What do you have to be sorry for? This is all my fault.”
The person sitting across from him was Min Young-seo.
She was once hailed as the future of the industry, the leader of the girl group Ideal.
She was Undefeated’s… no, his dream and hope.
“If I’d done better… maybe this wouldn’t have happened…”
But now, she was nothing more than an artist terminating her contract.
“You did well, Young-seo. I’m the one who failed. This happened because I messed up.” I-won forced a smile as he stamped the contract termination papers she held out.
Needing paperwork just to end a contract. What an irony.
He let out a quiet sigh.
That was it.
The last remaining artist had officially left Undefeated.
Maybe he should have felt relieved.
“Do you want me to connect you with another agency? I’m a toothless tiger now, but I still know a few people.”
The other artists had already left, either through his introductions or by finding their own paths.
Only Min Young-seo had stayed, bound by loyalty.
But I-won could not shake the guilt of blocking an idol’s future.
That was why he had told her to leave and think of herself now.
“No, CEO. I…” She hesitated, then smiled faintly. “I’m going to quit being an idol. I’m thinking of studying abroad.”
“What?” Even I-won, who had stayed composed through the contract termination, raised his voice. “Hey. Min Young-seo. Are you insane? If you don’t become an idol, who will? I let you go so you could soar, so you could reach the top. Not so you could quit.”
“…I’m really grateful, CEO. For letting me go. For letting everyone go.” Young-seo folded the contract, slipped it into her bag, and stood up. “But I’m sick of this industry now.”
“!”
“If it were just because I wasn’t popular enough… or because I wasn’t talented enough… If I never got any chances at all, I could accept that.” Her hands trembled violently as she gripped her bag. “But people want to see us. And still, we can’t stand on stage. That’s not right.”
“Young-seo…”
“I know how hard you tried. I know we were unlucky. But…”
I-won met her eyes.
From the moment he first saw her, he knew she would rise. No, he would make sure she rose.
Not because she was pretty.
Min Young-seo had something.
But now, that something was gone, replaced by tears pooling in her eyes.
“I want to stop now.”
The moment she said that, I-won realized it.
Kang I-won’s story ended here too.
With Kang I-won’s fall, the company fell as well.
He cleared out the office, loading everything into a moving truck.
“Is that everything?” At the mover’s question, the strength drained from his body.
“Yes. There’s really nothing left.”
Money.
Fame.
His career.
They were not only gone, but obliterated.
He swallowed those words as he watched the truck doors close.
They say when something ends, you feel both relief and regret. So why do I only feel regret?
He sighed and turned, then froze.
“It’s been a while, Kang I-won.”
A man he had never once missed stood before him.
“…Baek Do-gyeong?”
“Oh, you remember me? I was wondering if I should reintroduce myself.”
Who could ever forget you?
Baek Do-gyeong.
The key contributor behind Imperial Entertainment’s rise.
CEO of Imperial’s label Dynasty.
And once, Kang I-won’s superior.
Every achievement I-won made at Imperial had been stolen by him.
Everyone in the company hated Baek Do-gyeong.
The problem was that he was not just good at stealing credit. He was genuinely brilliant.
A talented bastard.
That was why I-won had left Imperial.
He glared at him.
From the outside, Baek Do-gyeong looked nothing like a bastard.
If anything, he looked impeccably gentle.
Less like a label CEO and more like the face of one.
Flawless skin that made his late thirties look like his late twenties.
A frame made for tailored suits.
A soft smile. Kind-looking eyes.
A face both refined and striking.
He looked like the male lead of a weekend drama.
Which made him all the more dangerous.
“So what brings you to my company?”
“You still call this a company?” Do-gyeong glanced at the now-empty Undefeated building.
The dismantled sign lay scattered across the ground.
Still the same bastard.
“…Did you come to rub salt in the wound?”
“No. I came to scout you.”
Scout… me?
“So what? Since I failed, you’re telling me to crawl back?”
“Precisely.”
“No thanks. I’d rather leave this industry than work under you again.”
Do-gyeong’s expression shifted instantly.
A faint smile remained, but his eyes turned cold.
“Seems you still don’t understand reality.”
“…What?”
“Kang I-won. Do you really think you can work anywhere other than Imperial?”
Ah. There it is.
The classic black-company threat.
I-won scoffed. “Doesn’t it embarrass you to say that out loud? Sure, Imperial’s number one, but with my skills, plenty of places would take me.”
“And this is the result?” Do-gyeong was smirking.
A victor mocking the defeated.
“I’ll be blunt. Our chairman says you have two choices. Disappear quietly from the industry, or return to Imperial.”
“You think you can decide that?”
“Yes.”
“You’re still delusional.”
“The proof is right there.” He pointed at Undefeated’s broken sign. “In this world, luck stands above skill. And power and money stand above luck. You still don’t get it?”
“…Wait.”
The sign disappeared from I-won’s vision.
So did Baek Do-gyeong.
Everything suddenly made sense.
Why no broadcaster would cast Undefeated’s idols.
Why chart-topping songs could not get a single music show stage.
Why a trusted employee embezzled money and vanished.
Why investors pulled out overnight.
Why no one in the industry would work with them.
So it was not bad luck.
“…You planned all of this?” He asked, his voice shaking.
“Ah.” Do-gyeong smiled lightly. “Well… you could say that.”
“You could say that?”
He looked almost apologetic.
Which only made I-won angrier.
“Don’t take it personally. I was just doing my job.”
Every syllable was infuriating.
But that was Baek Do-gyeong.
The man who climbed to Imperial’s second-in-command by stealing others’ achievements.
“When did you start?”
That was all I-won wanted to know.
“From the beginning.”
“…From the beginning?”
“Imperial never intended to let an example stand once you went independent.” Do-gyeong’s voice stayed smooth. “At first, we figured you’d fail on your own. But you rose too fast. That became inconvenient.”
He shrugged casually.
I-won felt his chest ache even more.
“Did you really think Imperial would tolerate anyone carving into our share?”
“Your share? You think you’re kings because you’re called Imperial? You’re all insane.”
“I didn’t think you were this naïve.” Do-gyeong clicked his tongue. “What a shame.”
“You sabotage someone’s life and call it a shame?”
“I came on the chairman’s orders, but I genuinely wanted to work with you again.” He extended a hand.
I-won stared at it like it was a bug.
“Well. In your next life, try not to get screwed over by bastards like me. I hope you and your idols grow well.” Do-gyeong merely smiled politely.
Which made it worse.
“Take care, Kang I-won. Watch your health.”
A bastard, to the very end.