Chapter 119
Chapter 119
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 119
Chapter Title: A Calculated Hardship
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The phone call CEO Park Jae-yong was on seemed to be about me, and it was bothering me quite a bit.
“Ah! So N.Pink is Hyung-jun's group! Right, right. I'll text you the number right now. Yep, okay. Wish you all the best.”
CEO Park Jae-yong gave me a wide grin as he fiddled with his phone.
“Why did my name come up?”
“It's because you're everywhere at once. Our Min-jun is a real issue maker.”
Bzzz.
An unknown number flashed on my phone screen just as the music video shoot resumed.
I stepped out of the studio to answer the call.
“Hello?”
-Team Leader Min-jun, is that you?
I instantly recognized the youthful voice as Si-ah from N.Pink. I'd been so busy I had completely forgotten.
“Si-ah, how is your father? Is he okay?”
I knew the item would have cured any illness he had, but I feigned ignorance.
-Oh! You know my voice? Thank you.
Thanking me for recognizing her voice. Si-ah's humility brought an unsolicited smile to my face.
-Thank you so much. Thanks to you and Unni, my dad woke up. I'm so sorry for contacting you this late.
I thought she and Seol-ah were close enough to have exchanged numbers.
-Seol-ah Unni said we should exchange numbers when she was here, but I completely forgot. That's why I had to contact you through my CEO.
“And your father?”
-Oh, right! The hospital is amazed, too. They said he's completely healed.
“Healed from what? You mean his chronic illness is gone?”
-Yes! His heart and brain and some blood vessel... anyway, they said his blood vessels were in bad shape, but miraculously, they're back to normal! They even ran the tests twice!
Si-ah thanked me over and over.
“That's incredible. I'm truly happy for you. Maybe a miracle happened because you have such a beautiful heart, Si-ah.”
-If you say it like that, I feel so guilty... I'll come see you later to thank you properly. And please say hello to Seol-ah Unni for me.
After hanging up with Si-ah, I immediately drafted a text to reporter Shin Dong-min.
-Si-ah of N.Pink's father, the one who had a cardiac arrest, has recovered. Apparently, his pre-existing cerebrovascular disease was miraculously cured as well. You might want to cover it. This is practically international news.
The reply came instantly.
-👍
Too busy to even type out a thank you for another scoop, reporter Shin Dong-min left a single emoji and vanished.
This was a story that could easily become a global topic, and if it did, it would be an event that would spread Answer's name far and wide.
I had used a healing item that couldn't be valued in money, but I had no regrets. If I'd had the item and not used it, I would have been tormented every time I saw Si-ah's face.
Besides, while I knew the healing item's effects, it was also true that I couldn't explain it to others. It wouldn't have been easy to sell it somewhere.
'I have a way to cure your terminal illness. Just give me one trillion won.'
No one would ever fall for that.
⋮
-Team Leader Min-jun. I've just published a column-style article. I was worried it would look too much like a viral marketing piece if I focused only on Answer, so I shifted some of the attention to the program as well. Ever since I met you, my tangled career as a reporter seems to be straightening out. Thank you so much.
Reporter Shin Dong-min sent a long text, and I clicked on the link he provided.
[The Positive Function of Variety Shows? The Girl Group Member and Manager Who Saved a Life]
-The emergency first aid segment from last week's rookie special of 'Best Idol' has become a hot topic. In particular, the popularity of Answer's Seol-ah and their manager, Min-jun, who saved a cardiac arrest patient, is growing by the day.
The response from viewers on the 'Best Idol' message boards and across various media has been more explosive than ever. But the story doesn't end there. The cardiac arrest patient, who was safely transported to the hospital, was miraculously cured of a pre-existing cardiovascular disease without any special surgery or medication.
While the patient's efforts in managing his condition through thorough exercise and diet certainly played a part, the medical community is calling this an unprecedented event. Below is an interview with his attending physician.
"The patient, who was scheduled for major surgery next week, collapsed from cardiac arrest and was resuscitated. Next to the damaged main blood vessel, a new, healthy blood vessel had formed to replace it in just two months. While the patient's own efforts during the two months we were not closely monitoring him must have contributed, this is a clinical state that can only be described as a miracle. Through detailed interviews with the patient and follow-up observations, we are currently writing an SCI-level paper as requested for submission to Nature."
If it weren't for the actions of Answer and their manager, and by extension, the first aid education on the variety show, this incredible miracle might have gone unnoticed and faded away.
This variety show's voluntary first aid training has raised awareness for lifesaving, and through this, we hope for the establishment of an advanced emergency medical system, and anticipate and pray for our society's development into a healthy and beautiful one.
Lastly, we express our sincere respect to Answer's Seol-ah and her manager, Mr. Min-jun, who disregarded their own injuries to their wrists and shoulders in order to save a life.
-He really lived?
-This is such great news.
-I saw the video, his chest caved in and he was bleeding everywhere. Looked dead to me?
-If everyone who bled a little died, then everyone who gets CPR would die.
-But didn't some family sue for a caved-in chest before? Is she going to be okay?
-They have the Good Samaritan law now, so you're covered for injuries that happen during a rescue.
-Of course it should be. Talk about ungrateful. It's like saving someone from drowning only to have them demand your wallet. That family was terrible.
-Collateral vessels forming when a blood vessel is blocked is possible. What's this 'miracle' bullshit.
-You idiot, they're saying it's beyond that level. His cerebrovascular disease was cured without surgery, of course it's a miracle. You think an SCI-level paper is a joke?
-So this is the follow-up to that intense scene on Best Idol.
-Guess no one watches the news... this has been on several times.
-This is definitely not viral marketing, but the build-up is insane. Part 1 they do CPR training, Part 2 someone collapses, and a girl group saves them. It's perfect.
-Just exercise. There's no better cure than exercise.
-But I hate exercising, what do I do?
-If you hate exercising, then stop stuffing your face.
-I exercise so I can eat.
I chuckled to myself at the comments.
I'd been so busy I hadn't even had time to monitor the broadcast, but I made a mental note to definitely watch this week's episode.
* * *
After wrapping up the music video shoot at 4 AM, I arrived at the members' dorm.
Choi Yoo-jun, who had been on standby all night, was passed out, so I had to handle the morning schedule.
-Me: Are you up?
No one in the group chat responded.
I called Oh Ro-si directly.
-Yes! Team Leader Oppa!
Her voice was so groggy I could picture her jolting awake from a deep sleep.
“It's time to get up.”
-Okay! I'll wake them up!
*Thump, thump, thump, thump.*
I could faintly hear Ro-si's footsteps outside the door.
-Me: Today's schedule is the Shepherd's Purse Festival, so you can go light on the makeup. You'll be wearing sun hats anyway.
-Yi-na: Haaah, I'm so hungry I don't even have the strength to lift a finger.
Maybe because Yi-na was in the middle of a growth spurt, her appetite seemed to rival Seul-bi's.
“Hello, Mr. Mayor!”
“Yes. Welcome to the Gyeonggi Farmland Shepherd's Purse Festival.”
Broadcast appearance offers were starting to pour in for Answer. The real money-making events wouldn't start until next month, but for now, getting their faces on screen to build recognition was a good strategy.
“Wow, is this all shepherd's purse?”
“Yes. Shall we all try digging some up?”
I was worried they wouldn't have the energy to dig for shepherd's purse after only eating a pack of salad, but I was stunned to see how well the members were doing.
When they finished filming and returned to the van, Seul-bi was holding a heavy bag of shepherd's purse.
“Seul-bi, what are you going to do with all that?”
“Yeah. That's something grandmas eat.”
“Yi-na and Unni just don't get it. This stuff is so delicious. Mmm. Smell this scent. It's filling the whole van, isn't it?”
Seul-bi buried her nose in the bag, savoring the aroma of the shepherd's purse.
As soon as we got back to the company, Answer and I were summoned by the Director.
“The CEO wants to see us too.”
Director Lee Sun used to handle most things related to Answer, but lately, the CEO has been getting particularly involved.
It left a bitter taste in my mouth for some reason.
“Aigoo, our Answer... what's that earthy smell?”
“We just came from the Shepherd's Purse Festival.”
“Ooh! The Shepherd's Purse ladies!”
CEO Park Jae-yong beamed and offered them seats.
“The reason I called you all here is... hmm...”
CEO Park Jae-yong teased the Answer members with a playful look, building their curiosity.
“Let's talk over a cup of tea...”
“Answer is busy.”
CEO Park Jae-yong smacked his lips.
“A lot of event and advertisement contracts have been coming in lately. You're happy, right?”
“Yes!”
“Good, good. Our financial situation is improving a lot thanks to the various contract fees. Enough that we'll recoup our entire investment by next month.”
The Answer members squeezed each other's hands, their lips twitching with suppressed smiles.
“But a contract fee is just that—a fee. If you cause an incident and can't perform your scheduled activities, you could end up paying a penalty of up to three times the amount, according to your contract.”
“Yes! We'll be careful.”
“Right. Let's not think of it as our money just yet. However!”
CEO Park Jae-yong's eyes swept over the members, building their anticipation.
“Still, you're starting to do well, so there should be a nice change in your living situation, right? We've decided to change Answer's dorm!”
“Whaaat!”
The Answer members shot to their feet, overjoyed.
“When are we moving?”
“A place just opened up that you can move into next week.”
Director Lee Sun answered. From her wording, it seemed she'd been looking to change their dorm for a while now. But...
“We can't.”
“?”
At my words, the members of Answer stared at me resentfully, their eyes screaming, 'Why not!?'
It was a bit awkward to explain. It wasn't exactly an honorable tactic.
“...Other people pretend not to have things even when they do.”
“Huh?”
The CEO asked what I meant, while Director Lee Sun, seeming to catch on, gave a wry smile.
“They've spent years living in a dark dorm that smells like a rotting sewer. It makes no sense to move them to a clean house before they've even done an N Live or appeared on a broadcast from there.”
“......”
“Isn't it a waste of all the time they've spent living like that? We should at least get to play the cute pity card.”
The Answer members' faces were a mixture of expressions, making it hard to tell if they were laughing or crying.
“Hey, Min-jun... Team Leader Min... I get what you're saying, but we have the company's image to think about. Why be so embarrassing? Our Answer can do perfectly well now without having to play the victim.”
CEO Park Jae-yong looked extremely troubled.
“So you were aware that the dorm was filthy, CEO.”
The petulant words slipped out before I could stop them.
Director Lee Sun's expression turned awkward as well.
“Look, Min-jun. A nice, expensive dorm is great. But how could we get them something expensive without knowing if they'd succeed? What about Answer's debt? That's all investment money that Answer has to pay back.”
I had let my emotions get the better of me and hadn't been rational. What the CEO said was true.
“I apologize. The issue with the potential intruder at the dorm came to mind, and I wasn't thinking rationally.”
“Right. So let's change the dorm quickly. Answer has an N Live today, so we can show it off then.”
“We still can't. We have to keep the dorm until it's been on a broadcast at least once. And showing them doing too well from the start could create anti-fans who hate them for no reason. We need to make people want to root for Answer.”
In an industry rife with lies and bluffs, I couldn't just throw away such a good sob story.
I had to milk everything I could, no matter how small.
“...Seol-ah, what do you think?”
The CEO asked Seol-ah with a deflated smile.
“I'd love to move out today, but I think what the Team Leader is saying is right. When we do an N Live or a broadcast from there, we can just talk about it in a positive way so we don't tarnish the company's image.”
Hearing Seol-ah's words, a pleased smile spread across Director Lee Sun's face.