Chapter 6
“Given how much interest the chairman is showing in IBC’s ratings, each entertainment company should take special care in selecting trainees. Especially—” Executive Director Kim, who was leading the meeting, let his gaze linger on three people.
The Yeon brothers.
And Baek Do-gyeong.
All of them were considered prime candidates for succession.
“The chairman has stated that the quality of the trainees sent by each company this time will be equivalent to Imperial’s future.”
At those words, the three men’s expressions twisted subtly.
In short, if they wanted management rights, they had better send proper trainees.
Officially, six companies were participating.
But in reality, the real players were only three.
Yeon, led by Se-rang’s eldest brother, Yeon Sae-byeok.
Blue Royal, led by her second brother, Yeon Si-ho.
And Dynasty, led by Baek Do-gyeong.
At some point, headquarters had become little more than an overseeing body, managing the group’s other businesses.
“As for trainee participation, each company has agreed to cooperate actively, so we’ll move on—” Kim clicked to the next slide.
Most of the other agenda items had already been decided.
But this one was different.
It was sensitive, something that needed to be decided here.
Sighing as if bracing himself for inevitable arguments, Kim continued.
“The next agenda item concerns the judges for Project Idol. There will be three judges in total. One will be Seung-ha, our company’s top-performing artist.”
That much was expected.
An Imperial-produced male idol survival show naturally required one of Imperial’s most famous male idols.
“The second judge will be cast externally to ensure fairness. The trendiest rapper-producer at the moment, Eden, has agreed to participate.”
Even back then, it had been an unexpected but reasonable choice.
Hearing it again, it still made sense.
“The final judge will be selected internally—”
“I’ll do it.”
Every head in the room snapped toward Se-rang.
“Ah… Director Yeon Se-rang has… volunteered.” Executive Director Kim’s pupils shook violently.
At the same time, the three men sitting across from Se-rang burst into laughter.
Yeon Sae-byeok.
Yeon Si-ho.
Baek Do-gyeong.
“Hahahahaha!”
The loudest of them was Yeon Si-ho.
“Ahahaha—oh, sorry, sorry. I know I shouldn’t laugh, but—ahaha.” He made no attempt to stop himself.
Yeon Sae-byeok covered his mouth, but it was obvious he was struggling just as much.
“Wow. CEO Baek. She’s my little sister, but… it must be hard living with her, huh?” Yeon Si-ho glanced sideways at Baek Do-gyeong, openly mocking him.
Baek Do-gyeong merely let out a strained, incredulous laugh.
But Se-rang knew.
He was not angry at Yeon Si-ho’s words.
He was angry at Yeon Se-rang.
Everyone’s eyes moved back and forth between the two of them.
There was not a single person there who did not know they were engaged.
“Director Yeon. If you had a fight with your fiancé, you should settle it privately. Provoking him here won’t solve anything. You caused a scene like this last time too. Are you doing it again?” Yeon Sae-byeok spoke with a weary sigh.
Apparently, Se-rang storming into meetings and causing trouble was not a first.
But Se-rang stared at the three men without the faintest hint of a smile.
“A scene?”
The three men’s expressions slowly stiffened.
They were beginning to sense that something was off.
“Did I burst out laughing rudely in the middle of a meeting like you did? Or mock someone in front of headquarters’ board members? I honestly don’t know who’s causing a scene here.”
The room fell silent.
“Is this a private gathering? This is a formal business meeting between headquarters and its subsidiaries. If anyone here is behaving unprofessionally, wouldn’t that be CEO Yeon Si-ho?” Se-rang added calmly, addressing the speechless room. “Are you all finished speaking?”
Her tone was utterly emotionless.
When no one answered, she nodded.
“Executive Director Kim. As you can see, no one seems to be opposed. Given how cheerfully everyone laughed, I’ll take that as agreement.”
Even as she addressed Kim, her gaze stayed fixed on the man who had somehow become her fiancé.
This was her chance.
To stop being Imperial’s problem child—And become one of Imperial’s serious successors.
“…Yeon Se-rang. This isn’t a joke.” Baek Do-gyeong glared at her, his eyes sharp and dangerous.
As if to say, You think you can embarrass me?
“I don’t think it’s a joke either, Mr. Baek. Is there a reason I can’t do it? I’m a producer. And I’m a director.”
Do-gyeong frowned deeply.
But Se-rang met his stare with an unshaken smile.
So what if you glare at me?
“Setting that aside, if you were planning to select judges, you must already have a list of candidates. Care to share it?”
Baek Do-gyeong clearly intended to ignore her entirely.
It seemed Yeon Se-rang’s standing was even lower than she had thought.
He treated her words like barking from a dog.
But Se-rang was not about to back down.
She tapped the microphone again.
Once more, attention turned to her.
“Since you already have candidates, let me explain why I should be selected. CEO Baek seems to have trouble understanding why it should be me and not someone else.”
“Ah. So I’m the one lacking understanding? Then please enlighten us, Director Yeon. Why should someone with no career and no achievements within this company appear on our flagship program?”
Flagship program?
That was an exaggeration for something that had not even aired yet.
Still, he was not entirely wrong.
Se-rang truly had no career.
No achievements at Imperial.
She had never even worked a real job.
All she had was a forced overseas major in music, paid for, of course.
But even so—That single major had earned her the titles of Imperial director and producer.
“Yes. I think you really are lacking understanding, CEO Baek.”
“‘CEO Baek’?” Do-gyeong snapped instantly at the tone, but Se-rang only smirked.
“You called me ‘Director Yeon Se-rang,’ so I returned the courtesy. Respect goes both ways, doesn’t it? You don’t see me as your subordinate, do you? I don’t belong to Dynasty. I’m a director at Imperial headquarters. You’re the CEO of a subsidiary label. By rank, we should be using mutual formalities. But since you’ve been addressing me so familiarly, I thought I’d do the same. Is there a problem?”
“…!”
“So, let me show you something.” She gestured calmly. “Secretary Cha. Please put this up.”
At her words, Secretary Cha immediately took the USB and displayed a single image on the screen.
“Does anyone recognize this?”
“…Who here wouldn’t recognize the company’s organizational chart? Other than Director Yeon, perhaps?”
Exactly.
The image was Imperial’s now-massive organizational chart.
Headquarters sat at the top, with countless subsidiaries and labels branching out below.
“Then you also see the problem, don’t you?”
“The problem?”
“Yes. You still don’t see it? According to you, I have no career, but even I can see it.”
Do-gyeong’s face crumpled instantly.
Meanwhile, the expressions of the others grew intrigued.
They had assumed Yeon Se-rang was talking nonsense.
But it was clear now.
She had prepared something.
“Now then, let’s take a look at which labels and subsidiaries our in-house producers are assigned to. This is data from HR.”
At Se-rang’s gesture, the screen changed once more.
And this time—Everyone in the conference room stiffened.