Chapter 21
The time given to Se-rang was exactly two months.
Fortunately, before filming began, they had already agreed to give her two months to raise the trainees’ skill levels, allowing Se-rang to secure those precious two months.
During that time, Se-rang had to turn amateurs into professionals who would not look out of place debuting immediately.
But Se-rang was confident.
They only needed to perfectly master a single stage over those two months. The song had already been completed in her previous life, and she also knew the perfect choreographer capable of creating choreography that matched it flawlessly.
First, she needed to commission the choreography.
The already-famous choreographers would have packed schedules by now, so she could not ask them to produce something quickly. That meant she had to find a choreographer who had yet to be discovered.
And as the owner of an extremely tiny entertainment company in her previous life, discovering unknown choreographers was exactly Se-rang’s specialty.
When you don’t have money, you naturally get used to squeezing maximum efficiency out of minimum cost. A giant corporation like Imperial probably wouldn’t understand that feeling….
“Director Yeon. Here’s the list of choreographers we pre-contacted. Please review their portfolios—”
“Ah, it’s fine.”
Secretary Cha handed Se-rang a binder of documents, but Se-rang did not even glance at it. She already knew roughly who would be on that list.
“You… truly do not need to review it?”
“Yes. It’s just a list of choreographers affiliated with our labels anyway, isn’t it?”
“If we need choreography produced immediately, that seemed like the best option.”
“They’re not my people. Since they belong to individual labels, their interests are bound to conflict with mine. I don’t think they’d refuse to make the choreography, but I also don’t think they’d give it their absolute best.”
Even Secretary Cha could not deny that. Instead of replying, she merely nodded with a dark expression.
“But this stage needs to be perfect in every way. As you know, Secretary Cha, it has to be good enough that people say we poured our souls into it. That’s why I’m not looking internally. We need someone desperate for this opportunity.”
“Under normal circumstances, I would agree with you. But right now, we only have two months left. With the trainees’ current skill levels, their dancing is lacking, so shouldn’t the choreography come out as quickly as possible for them to memorize it?”
“Exactly. We don’t have time to spend searching for a choreographer.”
“Then how—”
“Who said I was starting to search now?” Se-rang flashed a wicked smile. “I already found them all. Now all that’s left is to go over there with bundles of cash and lure them in.”
“!”
Secretary Cha looked startled. Well, she probably would have been surprised too. She was likely wondering when she had even managed to find them.
If she told him she had found them five years ago, that would sound really strange.
“This is the dance studio run by that choreographer team. Please arrange a meeting.”
“I’ll set it up immediately.”
After receiving the memo from Se-rang, Secretary Cha immediately searched using her tablet PC. Then her expression stiffened oddly.
“Is there a problem?”
“Director Yeon. This studio doesn’t seem to have any experience creating choreography for idol groups.”
“Ah. It would look that way.”
“What do you mean by that…?”
“They only became independent recently. Before that, they belonged to a large crew. You’ve probably heard of them too. <Big Wave>.”
“Of course I’ve heard of them. They’re well known in the industry.” Secretary Cha nodded as though she understood and continued searching for more information on the tablet before lifting her head again. “This team only became independent a week ago.”
“That’s right. A completely fresh, brand-new team.”
Back then, they had left after getting into a huge fight with the crew leader.
If she remembered correctly, it had been because of a romantic dispute. Human beings became the most vicious whenever romance got tangled into things.
“But how did you find out about them so quickly?”
“There are ways to know these things. Do you think I could boldly claim I’ll become Imperial’s successor without even knowing something like this?” Se-rang spoke confidently, but inside, she felt her conscience stabbing at her relentlessly.
“…Did you perhaps learn through connections from the people you met at parties before?”
“Haha. You caught me.”
Of course not.
Yeon Se-rang did not seem like the type who even possessed the social skills necessary to maintain those kinds of connections.
“I thought you had only been fooling around all this time…. I see you differently now, Director Yeon. You’re incredible. So it wasn’t just meaningless partying. You were actually monitoring industry trends.”
“I keep telling people I’m someone who always has a plan.”
Ow, my conscience hurts.
“Anyway, that team is probably desperate for money right now. So give them whatever they ask for, but tell them the choreography needs to be completed within one week.”
“What?” Secretary Cha looked deeply flustered. “But Director. The song hasn’t even been completed yet. We can’t ask them to make choreography first.”
“Who said the song wasn’t finished?”
“!”
Se-rang handed Secretary Cha a USB drive.
“The song is on here. Tell them to create the choreography around it.”
“Have you already reviewed all the songs Imperial purchased?”
A major entertainment company on Imperial’s level purchased songs every year by contacting composers.
Some of those songs were released immediately, but most remained dormant somewhere until they met the right timing and the right artists.
There were hundreds of songs still waiting for their owners even now.
If she had simply selected one from among them, it would not have been that shocking. But to Secretary Cha, who prided himself on knowing every detail of Yeon Se-rang’s daily life, it was astonishing.
Se-rang had already been overwhelmingly busy preparing for <Cast the Future>. Yet she had apparently already selected a song too.
Had there perhaps been a song she liked for a long time?
“No. If I wanted to use those songs, the process would be way too complicated. I’d have to discuss things endlessly with the A&R Team. I hate stuff like that.”
(Translator’s Note: A&R Team — “Artists and Repertoire.” A department within music and entertainment companies responsible for scouting talent, selecting songs, coordinating production direction, and overseeing an artist’s musical development.)
“What? Then…!”
“I wrote it.” Se-rang spoke calmly. “I composed it, wrote the lyrics, and arranged it myself. That keeps things nice and simple. I only need to come to an agreement with myself instead of consulting other people.”
“!”
At those words, Secretary Cha made the most shocked expression of her life.
“Ah, though the demo’s probably kind of funny because I just roughly sang it myself. I didn’t have time to hire a demo vocalist.” Se-rang laughed awkwardly in slight embarrassment.
But Secretary Cha could not laugh.
Yeon Se-rang had personally recorded the demo too? Was she serious?
To be honest, even her claim that she personally composed and wrote the lyrics already sounded extremely suspicious.
Secretary Cha fidgeted with the USB drive, uncertain how much of this she was supposed to believe.
Had she stolen a song from some aspiring composer and then lied by claiming she wrote it herself?
Se-rang had changed recently, but considering the Yeon Se-rang she knew until now, it was absolutely plausible.
But.
If what she said was true, and if the song truly matched Imperial’s reputation.
Then the entire balance of this game might change.
Though that would never happen. Secretary Cha mocked herself inwardly.
If the song was actually good, there was no way Yeon Se-rang composed it herself. And if the song was terrible… yes, honestly, that seemed far more believable. She had probably learned to fiddle with some composition software somewhere and was now bragging about being a composer.
“Ah, Secretary Cha. Since I’m already asking for favors, there’s one more thing.”
“Yes. Please tell me.”
“Set up an appointment with Baek Do-gyeong. As soon as possible.”
Ah, Baek Do-gyeong.
Secretary Cha nodded as though she finally understood. He had actually wondered why she had not looked for that man yet. Up until recently, it had been “Baek Do-gyeong this, Baek Do-gyeong that” to the point of exhaustion.
By Yeon Se-rang standards, she had already endured quite a long time.
Secretary Cha sighed inwardly. Just when he thought she had finally come to her senses, it seemed her terrible taste in men remained unchanged.
“I’ll arrange it immediately. Should I reserve the usual restaurant?”
“No. Just seeing that bastard’s face would ruin my appetite. Tell him to come to my office instead.”
Hm? Secretary Cha nearly let out a noise full of confusion before forcibly swallowing it. Yeon Se-rang was refusing dinner with Baek Do-gyeong? And not only that, she was summoning him straight to her office?
Secretary Cha froze briefly, uncertain how she should interpret this.
Yeon Se-rang had sulked at or gotten angry with Baek Do-gyeong countless times before. She had thrown tantrums and caused scenes with him even more often.
But she had never refused to eat with him.
“Understood. Then this matter isn’t a date but…”
“A date? Do I look like someone with that much free time, Secretary Cha?”
“Of course not.” Secretary Cha hurriedly shook her head.
“It’s a business meeting. And while we’re at it, let me make something clear once and for all.” Suppressing her irritation, Se-rang forced a smile.
“I know very well that I spent half my life obsessed with Baek Do-gyeong. I also know that the result was him becoming my fiancé. But from now on, Baek Do-gyeong and I are connected strictly through business. I will absolutely never have personal feelings for that man again. So if it looks like he’s trying to pull anything with me, cut it off at your level immediately. Understood?”
She spoke with such pent-up resentment that her words poured out like rapid-fire bullets, leaving Secretary Cha unable to keep up.
“Yes, Director. I understand perfectly. Actually… the reason I asked was because Representative Baek Do-gyeong’s side recently suggested having a meal together.”
“I see. That means you can cut off and throw away all those ridiculous offers. If he really wants to see me, tell him to state his exact business purpose. I have absolutely no intention of meeting that man privately.” Se-rang smiled brightly.
Considering he was the man who ruined her life, this treatment was already extraordinarily generous.
“Understood. Then what should I tell him the topic of this business meeting is?”
“Tell him I’d like to borrow some trainers from Imperial Entertainment.”
Though “borrow” really meant she wanted to snatch them away outright.
Se-rang smiled with her fingers interlocked.