Chapter 3
Chapter 3
Four Idols
"Alright, alright. Everyone gather up. Let's have a little meeting."
Thankfully, there was still one good thing.
These girls still at least pretended to listen to me.
Sia and Nana, who had been growling while pulling each other's hair, Taeri, who had been sniffling in the corner, and Stella, who had been taking pictures of her own armpit with her phone, all slowly shuffled over and sat together in front of the laptop.
"Your debut is really only six months away now. You know it's about time to start locking down your concept and receiving songs, right? You're all keeping up with your dance and vocal training?"
"Of course, PD."
"Good, good. If you fail, we're all doomed. Let's work hard. Director Noh picked out a few songs, and Coordinator Seo came up with a rough concept. How about something like this for your debut concept?"
"Oh, that's not bad."
"We trust you, PD Oppa. You'll figure it out."
"You're the ones who have to figure it out, not me..."
As I continued the briefing while flipping through the presentation slides, I suddenly remembered something President Park had casually mentioned a few days ago.
"Oh, right. There's one variable. The president was talking about bringing in one more member from Southeast Asia. He wants a piece of that market. Which means there's a chance one more person could join the group."
The moment the words left my mouth, Stella spoke up with a bored expression.
"Do we really need some imported foreign bride in our team?"
"You crazy bitch."
I instinctively grabbed the back of my neck.
"I told you not to use racist terms! If you say something like that outside, your debut is finished on the spot."
Stella merely shrugged, clearly not taking my words to heart.
The others didn't look too happy either.
Sia, who had been pulling Nana's hair just moments ago, frowned deeply.
"Seriously, PD. The four of us have been trainees together for three years already. Isn't it crossing the line to suddenly add some complete stranger at this point? Especially a foreigner?"
Nana immediately nodded.
"That's right. Nana also opposes. The four of us already have perfect harmony."
"Exactly. We already have two foreigners in this team, that mutt Nana and Stella. Adding another one feels a bit much."
"Yusia, what did you just call me?"
"Look at her. Whenever it's inconvenient for her, she pretends she can't speak Korean, but the moment a fight starts she's suddenly fluent."
"Then why the hell are you speaking Japanese instead of Korean in Korea—"
"Both of you, shut up! Stop fighting! Taeri, what do you think?"
Even the timid Taeri quietly added,
"I... I agree too..."
I chuckled and closed the laptop.
"Good. I'll take that as all four of you being against it. Honestly, I'm completely against it too. But if we're going to change the president's mind, we need a reason. Hearing that the actual members oppose it this strongly is exactly what I needed. I'll make sure to pass it along, so don't worry."
At my words, Stella nodded seriously and added,
"PD Oppa is right. Southeast Asia is where people buy wives, not where they recruit idols."
"Haa..."
I rubbed my face with both hands.
"Please... if you don't want your career to end before it starts, quit those damn online communities and watch what comes out of your mouth. You're not even Korean. If a white girl says stuff like that, we'll seriously get branded as a racist agency..."
For a brief moment, I seriously considered confiscating Stella's phone.
Anyway, the briefing was over.
Time to eat.
I pulled the gleaming gold corporate card from my pocket and waved it around.
"Anyway, enough lectures. The president gave me this card to buy you girls some meat."
"Waaaaah!"
"Long live the president! Long live PD Jongwoo!"
The energy of all four girls shot through the roof instantly.
Then, as if rehearsed beforehand, all four pairs of eyes turned toward me.
Sia slipped closer and wrapped herself around my arm.
"PD, what's the perfect companion to meat?"
"I want a drink, Oppaaa..."
Nana joined in with an exaggerated cute voice.
Taeri and Stella were staring at me with pleading eyes as well.
"Hey. You have dance training tomorrow morning. What do you mean alcohol..."
"Pleeeease, PD! Just one drink! We'll really only have one each! You're the best, Oppa!"
"You usually call me old man. Why am I suddenly Oppa only when you want something?"
"Well, you are an Oppa. You're only twenty-eight."
Four beautiful girls clung to me and unleashed their ultimate weapon: aegyo.
The scent of shampoo and their warm breaths hit me from every direction.
No matter who it was, surviving that attack would have been impossible.
"Alright, alright! Just get off me! It's hot!"
In the end, I surrendered.
Taking these four troublemakers to a restaurant would almost certainly lead to some kind of disaster, so it seemed safer to cook for them myself.
"Dinner out is canceled. If you get drunk in a restaurant and start saying stupid things, there's no fixing that. I'll go buy meat and alcohol from the supermarket. You girls go set up the rooftop at the dorm."
An hour later.
The rooftop of the idol dormitory located in the building next to the company.
In the middle of the rooftop, under the cool evening breeze, I spread out a mat and a grill and piled up mountains of premium Korean beef sirloin and pork belly.
The meat sizzled loudly as it cooked.
"Alright, the meat's ready. Let's make a toast!"
"Cheeeeeers!"
Bomb cocktails made from soju, beer, and sweet soda sloshed around in the girls' plastic cups.
I sat across from them and poured myself some whisky I'd secretly slipped into the shopping cart.
I popped a piece of fatty beef into my mouth and followed it with a strong gulp of whisky.
The burning sensation traveled down my throat while the rich fruity aroma unique to sherry exploded across my palate.
It felt like all the fatigue of the day was melting away.
"Damn, alcohol tastes amazing."
Sia's cheeks turned red as she chewed meat and washed it down with beer.
"But PD, why are you drinking something so strong by yourself? That's such an old man thing to do."
"I am an old man."
"Give me some too."
"This stuff is strong."
"That's exactly why I want it."
Nana snatched my cup and took a drink.
With my drink stolen, I had no choice but to continue flipping the meat.
Somewhere nearby, someone had put on a familiar Britpop song, and its emotional melody drifted softly across the rooftop.
Four noisy future idols fighting over meat.
And expensive alcohol that I wasn't paying for.
The stress of the transfer market and the anxiety of having to debut these four walking disasters seemed far away for the moment.
"Alright, one more drink and then I should head ho—"
"No way! One more! Just one more!"
At first, I really had planned to leave after a reasonable amount.
I had work tomorrow morning.
And no matter what, I was still their producer. I couldn't get completely drunk in front of them.
But the cool night air on the rooftop, the aroma of sizzling beef fat, and the fiery whisky coursing through my veins gradually loosened my grip on reason.
Most importantly, the song coming from the speaker practically demanded to be sung along with.
"And so Sally can wait~!!"
"She knows it's too late~!!"
Before I knew it, I was standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the girls, screaming along at the top of my lungs.
Nana had her arm wrapped around my neck.
Stella was doing some bizarre hip dance.
Taeri and Sia had climbed onto the table and were headbanging.
The emotional melody of the Britpop song became layered with the roars of wild animals.
And then...
My memory completely cut out.
"Ugh..."
I opened my eyes to a vicious hangover that felt like a gong was being hammered inside my skull.
My mouth was dry.
My body felt like it weighed a thousand pounds.
Blinking my unfocused eyes, I stared up at the ceiling.
Pastel-colored wallpaper.
Familiar lighting.
The very room where I came every morning to wake the girls up for their schedules while cursing at them.
The master bedroom of their dorm.
'Why am I sleeping here? How did I even get downstairs last night?'
As I tried to sit up through the haze, cold air brushed against my bare skin and sent chills down my body.
Something felt terribly wrong.
I lowered my gaze and immediately sucked in a breath.
Underwear.
The only piece of fabric on my body was a single pair of boxers barely covering my crotch.
"H-huh...!"
I swallowed the scream rising up my throat and hurriedly looked around.
The next moment, I instinctively knew my life was completely screwed.
The four troublemakers were sprawled around me in poses that looked like some kind of avant-garde art installation.
Half naked.
Nana was wearing only a thin slip dress with one leg thrown over my thigh.
Taeri's top was nowhere to be found.
And Stella was spread out beneath the bed with her pale skin fully exposed.
'I-I'm screwed...!'
Air-raid sirens started blaring inside my head.
A crushing terror washed over me.
My social life might be over.
In my mind, I could already see myself behind bars, making headlines across the country.
Trembling like a leaf, I reached for the blanket to cover myself.
At that moment—
"Mmm..."
Sia, who had been sleeping tucked beneath my left arm, stirred slightly and opened her eyes.
"PD... you're already awake...?"
Still half-asleep, she rubbed her eyes and looked up at me.
Then her gaze slowly regained focus.
Her eyes swept across my horrified face, my underwear-clad body, and the disaster surrounding us.
Silence filled the room.
It felt as though the sound of my heartbeat echoed off the walls.
Then, in the next moment—
"...Hmm."
A wicked smile spread across her pure, innocent face.
The smile of a predator who had just discovered prey trapped in its snare.