Chapter 52
Chapter 52
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 52
Chapter Title: Project 3
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“But it wasn’t your own sister’s business, so why were you angry enough to fight with Lee Seung-hoon?”
“It just… reminded me of my sister. I wondered, ‘Was my sister treated like that too?’ The thought of it drove me crazy.”
It was a relief he didn't harbor any romantic feelings for the Answer members. Entrusting a manager with such feelings to a group could lead to unforeseen accidents.
It was the same reason the Director had been worried when I first joined the company and said I wanted to manage Answer.
“And since they’re the team you’re in charge of, Hyung, I found myself rooting for them.”
Was this a side effect of being influenced by my Charisma trait? Despite our limited interaction, he was completely on my side.
After the heavy conversation ended, we didn't leave until we had polished off three servings of fried rice.
“Thanks for the meal. I’ll give you a call after I’ve padded my bank account a bit, Hyung. To be honest, this is all I know, so it’s hard for me to do anything else.”
“So what do you plan on doing?”
“Hmm… I have a friend who quit being a trainee, I’m thinking of working with him.”
Choi Yoo-jun seemed to be subtly avoiding the question.
“No job is beneath you, but you shouldn’t do anything that would earn you public scorn.”
“Scorn? Ah, people pointing fingers! Don’t worry, Hyung. I’m not a bad guy. But what you said is kind of wr….”
“Wr?”
“No. It’s just that you’re only a year older than me, but you sound like my dad.”
“If I sound like your dad, does that make the Director a grandmother?”
“Huh?”
I gave a bitter smile and handed him my business card.
“If you want to succeed, make sure you call me. I may not look it, but I’m a power-hider, so to speak.”
“Heh, a power-hider… Whoa! You’re already a team leader?”
After that, Choi Yoo-jun peppered me with questions, seemingly full of curiosity, but in the end, his recruitment was temporarily put on hold. As I wasn't the owner who could match his salary, it was the natural outcome.
However, there was no time limit on the quest to recruit Choi Yoo-jun, and I was confident he would become my man sooner or later, so I didn't feel rushed.
Still, I was in a good mood, feeling like I had found a clue to keep Gyeon Sang-jin in check. All I had to do was recruit him before Answer got popular and busy.
* * *
While driving, I watched the members’ faces in the rearview mirror.
Though only older by a year, Seol-ah was faithfully fulfilling her role as the eldest, and Seul-bi and Ro-si were also finding their stability.
However, an awkward air still flowed between Seul-bi and Ro-si. Seul-bi, who had been completely won over by my words, was trying to improve their relationship, but it seemed the stiffness was unavoidable.
For the sake of a perfect group, I needed to make them best friends as soon as possible. It would take more time.
*System, you should make a quest for something like this and help me out.*
“Seriously, shouldn’t the event organizers provide the hanboks?”
“Lee Seul-bi, let’s just be thankful we’re getting to show our faces. They didn’t even call us during Chuseok.”
KBC, one of the two major music broadcasters alongside KVM, had mobilized idols for a Lunar New Year’s greeting.
“Oppa, we can’t even cover the hanbok rental fee, right?”
“Well… to be precise, we can cover the rental fee, but the cost for full hair and makeup puts us in the red.”
My answer made Seul-bi’s lips jut out in a pout.
“See? We’re eating into our future earnings.”
“Like Seol-ah said, there are plenty of people who want to be here but can’t. Once we get famous, we won’t need to do stuff like this, so let’s think positive.”
This barely qualified as an abuse of power. Just listing the absurd things I’d experienced in only a few months as a manager would probably fill dozens of pages.
“By the way, Oppa, aren’t we going to do something like N Live? Even groups less known than us are doing it a lot.”
At Yi-na’s question, all the Answer members looked at me with expressions full of anticipation.
“After we get a little more famous. We also need to remake the fan cafe.”
It wasn’t that we hadn’t discussed it at the company.
But after watching the live broadcasts of girl groups at or below Answer’s level, I had no choice but to vehemently oppose it.
There were many cases where the number of live viewers was only in the dozens. The comments were even more of a spectacle.
- Wow! Our Surin is so pretty.
- Milky-white Chae So-yeon!
- Our Ji-hee looks like an actress! Please show us your amazing acting too.
- Surin is even prettier in person, you’re the best!
- I believe you’ll definitely become the best celebrity.
The girls would force a smile while reading dozens of comments that reeked of an older generation, as if parents and grandparents had been fully mobilized.
I felt that opening a live broadcast with their flimsy popularity and recognition would only drive away the few fans they had. I was more worried about the subsequent loss of confidence Answer would suffer.
We had to start only when we were fully prepared.
Time to change the subject.
“Oh, right. I got promoted to Assistant Manager. Outside the company, I’m a Team Leader.”
“Already?”
Seol-ah asked, surprised.
“Yeah. I need to do some business development of my own.”
“Wow! Congratulations, Manager-nim!”
Ro-si said, genuinely delighted.
A strange feeling washed over me, seeing a future star actress rejoice over something that could be considered so trivial.
Come to think of it, Ro-si and Seul-bi’s hair colors were similar. I should have Ro-si change hers to a classic black to better suit an actress.
“That’s insane. Don’t you usually have to work for a few years for that?”
“I was planning to quit if they didn’t treat me right.”
In an instant, the Answer members’ expressions hardened, and a silence fell over the car. A cold sweat trickled down my back.
“I’m kidding. Where would I go, leaving our Answer behind? I’m not quitting until you become a top group.”
“…Min-jun Oppa, I hate it when you joke with a dead serious face.”
“Yeah, me too.”
Seul-bi and Yi-na crossed their arms with stern expressions.
*That made me sweat, but it feels strangely good.*
“So, on that note, if you’re confident you can lose the weight, I’ll treat you to celebrate my promotion. What do you want to eat?”
“Chicken!”
“Chicken!”
Seul-bi and Yi-na shouted without a moment’s hesitation.
*I offer to treat them, and all they want is chicken?* Then again… they say the first thing a chaebol chairman ordered after being released from prison was chicken.
“Ah! I know a delicious chicken place.”
“Ooh! I’m excited!”
We arrived at the broadcast station.
The members were dressed in comfortable jeans or skirts, but with hanbok-style makeup and braided hair.
Looking at their faces in the rearview mirror, they looked like young ladies from a noble house in a historical drama, but from the neck down, the modern clothes created a sense of dissonance.
If anything, I found that look incredibly charming.
Seol-ah had a white pearl flower pinned above her ear, adding a touch of elegance.
Seul-bi and Ro-si each wore butterfly and heart-shaped headbands, highlighting their cheerful energy.
The youngest, Yi-na, wore a pink *gulle*, a traditional bonnet-like headdress that framed her face and hair, emphasizing her cuteness.
Seol-ah, who got out first, wore a motherly smile as she watched Yi-na get out of the car.
“Aigoo! Our Yi-na is so cute.”
“I hate it, though. I want to wear a pearl flower like you, Unni.”
Seol-ah beamed at Yi-na, but Yi-na just grumbled with a pouty face.
“Tsk, tsk, you little thing. You should enjoy being a minor while it lasts.”
“Hmph! I bet it’s nice. Drinking and turning into a koala! A koal— Ack!”
Seul-bi, who had pinched Yi-na’s nose, looked startled herself.
“Sorry!”
“Hmph… Unni, did you see that? You saw, right? She used violence against me!”
Yi-na looked at Seol-ah with teary eyes.
*Click, click.*
There were still no cheers during their arrival, but for Answer, who had gained a little recognition, there was a small stir and the sound of camera shutters.
The Answer members quickly brightened their expressions and struck their own poses.
I felt a pang of regret that we hadn't come in matching hanboks, even if it would have been a bit uncomfortable.
Though they were plenty pretty as they were.
* * *
With some time to spare before the members had to change and start filming, I left the waiting room to head to the café on the first floor.
Outside the waiting room, Ro-si was on the phone with a pleased look on her face.
“How can your skills improve so fast? Unny, you're better than my father…”
*Unny? What a unique name.*
Her slow and clipped British accent strangely enhanced her dignified aura.
Was it because British English is often used for European nobles in media?
I rode the escalator down to the first floor, observing the busy people.
It was amusing and fascinating to imagine the junior PDs and writers, who were now running around picking up lunch boxes and coffee, holding their heads high after their official debuts.
*Ting-a-ling.*
As I opened the café door, the fragrant aroma of coffee made my mouth water.
The café was more crowded than usual, with many people who looked like managers or reporters sitting inside.
Some of the managers and reporters were gathered together, gossiping and exchanging information, paying no mind to their cooling coffee.
Pretending not to, I strained my ears in their direction. My reason for coming down here wasn't just for coffee; it was also to pick up information. In cafes inside and outside broadcast stations, a lot of useful information for a manager is exchanged.
“Here’s the coffee you ordered.”
“Thank you.”
I sat at a central table and sipped my coffee. The beans were fresh, so the aroma was wonderful.
[Trait ‘Sixth Sense’ Activated]
Perhaps because the coffee’s aroma had put me in a good mood, I felt no resistance to the system’s activation. I closed my eyes and listened to the surrounding conversations.
- You know why he went to Japan? It was all for surgery, you fool.
- I heard the Gyeongjin Group’s grandson got beaten to a pulp the other day.
- That punk who went around acting tough because he learned Taekwondo?
- Yeah. With his connections and fighting skills, I thought he’d just keep acting like a thug, but he finally met his match. Serves him right.
I could clearly hear the conversations of various people.
*There must be some useful information in here somewhere.*
- Hey, Reporter Shin! What’s a high-and-mighty political reporter like you doing here?
- You punk, you know damn well why. Stop teasing me.
- What? You don’t mean you got the… boot?
- Yeah, man.
- What? They canned a top dog like you? Why?
- Ugh, it pisses me off. The deputy chief must be planning to enter politics because he swiped my story angle and gave me the dirty work.
- He acts all righteous and takes the good stuff for himself. What about the chief?
- The deputy chief is his right-hand man.
- Damn, Shin Dong-min’s downfall happened in an instant. After sucking you dry for so long.
- He says it’s all my fault. And get this? If I can’t land a single exclusive by the end of this month, he’s telling me to clear my desk, even from the entertainment desk.
- He was all ‘we’re family, we’re family,’ and now he’s treating you like real family, huh? So you’re making the rounds here now?
- Should I just say screw it and start an internet news site?
- Don’t. If you go bust, how are you gonna pay for the kids’ tuition?
The frequent use of slang I couldn't understand suggested they were very experienced reporters. I’d heard that younger reporters these days didn’t use slang much.
[Sudden Quest: ‘Exclusive Story’]
A reporter is desperate for an exclusive scoop. Help him and expand your network.
Reward: Random Gacha Ticket (x1), Information Network UP.
I had a feeling, and sure enough, there was a quest.
*What kind of scoop should I give him?*
If I told him a story about Answer hitting it big, it would likely backfire… and exposing Gyeon Sang-jin’s corruption at SJ Enter was something I had to do after I gained more power…
Quests only ever appeared for things I could accomplish. There had to be a scoop I could provide.
I took another sip of coffee and was deep in thought.
“Kyaaaah!”
The faint sound of cheers from a large crowd outside the building reached my ears.
It seemed a big star had arrived.
*Whatever.*
A moment later, the cheers grew loud for a short time before dying down, as if a door had been opened and then closed, blocking the noise.
*Is the revolving door broken?*
*Clap, clap, clap!*
Now, the sounds of a few polite cheers and applause could be heard.
*Who in the world is it?*
The moment I opened my eyes, I saw some familiar faces.
Fire Emblem!
An idea for a scoop to give the reporter came to mind.
- Hey! Aren’t you going to take pictures?
- I need an exclusive right now, what am I gonna do with pictures of them? It’s not like I can sell them.
As one reporter rushed out of the café, I approached the remaining reporter in his thirties and held out my business card.
The reporter blinked his large eyes and looked up at me.
“What’s this?”
“I’m the manager for the rookie girl group, Answer. I think I can give you an exclusive.”
“Who?”
Leaving him with a scrunched-up, bewildered expression, I walked out of the café. Then, I shouted at the Fire Emblem members who were already far ahead of me.
“Project 3, fighting!”
It was a code word used only by the final debut team before they took the name Fire Emblem.
Jun-ho, Tae-in, Seul-chan, and Hyeon-seong—everyone except the guy who stole my spot—turned around at the same time.
“Hey, Joon!”
The four of them rushed toward me with happy faces.
*You loyal bastards.*
Every eye in the broadcast station lobby turned to me.