Chapter 71
Chapter 71
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 71
Chapter Title: Confrontation
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Now that the Answer members were heading toward Your Girl's dressing room, a concern arose.
It was the fact that this would lead to an all-out confrontation with Gyeon Sang-jin.
There was a world of difference between deflecting a fight Gyeon Sang-jin started and initiating one ourselves.
But I didn't want to turn back now.
I'd always acted pragmatically, but this time, I didn't want to.
Because our members, exuding charm with their confident strides, looked too stunning.
Radiating a fiery aura, the members of Answer arrived at Your Girl's dressing room.
In this day and age, intimidating seniors who discipline their juniors weren't exactly welcome, but if the target was the clueless Your Girl... Their thoughtless, arrogant attitude during the pre-meeting had already set the stage.
I was worried about their excessive proactiveness due to the 'Unyielding Mindset' trait, but I also thought it was better to seize the initiative than to be intimidated.
This was an irreversible, all-out confrontation.
*Knock, knock, knock.*
Seol-ah knocked forcefully on the door.
*Click.*
"...Who is it?"
The face that peeked out belonged to the road manager who had been with Your Girl at the pre-meeting.
"We're here to get acquainted with our juniors."
"...What?"
As the Answer members pushed the door open and entered, the flustered road manager's eyes darted around.
Gyeon Sang-jin and his group seemed to be away, probably networking.
The members of Your Girl, who were lying on the sofa bed, barely lifted their heads to look at Answer.
"What the hell? Why do total newbies get the best dressing room?"
Seul-bi snapped in irritation upon seeing the bed, and Mi-ji of Your Girl, a former original member of Answer, grumbled and avoided eye contact.
"What the hell, this is so annoying."
"...Mi-ji. Your seniors are here, and you're not even going to greet us?"
Seol-ah said coldly.
"...Do I have to? We're strangers now."
As Mi-ji grumbled, Seul-bi flared up and spoke.
"Are you going to get up? Are you all just going to lie there?"
"This is fucking ridiculous."
"Who does she think she is?"
Buffed by the system, Seul-bi looked intimidating enough that the lounging members of Your Girl, though grumbling, started to get up.
"If you came here to pick a fight, just leave. What do you think you're doing?"
As the road manager gestured for them to leave and stood between Answer and Your Girl, Choi Yoo-jun stepped forward.
"This is between the artists. Let's us stay out of it."
"What are you talking about? Get out!"
Your Girl's manager puffed out his stomach and pushed Choi Yoo-jun.
"Hey! Is this assault?"
"Assault, my ass."
Choi Yoo-jun also stuck out his stomach, bumping against him several times.
Their belly-bumping contest was dead serious, but I found it hard to hold back my laughter watching them.
"Is there some law that says we have to greet you?"
"Exactly. In this business, whoever succeeds is the senior."
The members of Your Girl said to Seul-bi, shifting their weight to one leg.
"This is unbelievable, seriously. You think you can get away with anything just because you're a little pretty?"
Just as Seul-bi said, the members of Your Girl were by no means less attractive than our Answer members.
In fact, looking at them more objectively, not a single one of them was less attractive than Seul-bi.
"Pfft."
The Your Girl members all sneered in unison.
One of them, who even had her arms crossed, was overflowing with confidence.
"But technically, didn't Mi-ji debut at the same time? They were in the same group."
said a girl who seemed to be a decent vocalist.
"Are you all Mi-ji?"
"......"
The girl gave a bitter smile at Seol-ah's words.
She seems younger than Mi-ji, but could she be the leader?
"Fine, fine. If you want to be treated that way, we'll do it for you, seniors. We'll show you the proper respect. That is, if you beat us."
The girl who seemed to be the leader sneered, and the other Your Girl members smirked.
"Wow. Is this attitude for real?"
Unable to watch any longer, Yi-na, the youngest, put her hands on her hips and spoke.
Not all of SJ Enter's trainees are such brats. When I first joined as a trainee, SJ Enter demanded good character. Just look at me, Lee Yoo-ah, and the members of Fire Emblem. But as SJ Enter became more successful, I noticed the company started prioritizing commercial appeal, like looks, over personality.
Did they end up gathering a group of villains by only recruiting commercially viable trainees?
"I've been letting it slide, but you really have no fear, do you?"
A deep, sinister voice suddenly cut in.
Gyeon Sang-jin and his group had arrived.
This time, there were two new unfamiliar faces with them.
Did just two people give them their courage back? After they ran away before.
"As competitors, we wanted to check out SJ Enter's new rookies."
"...You call that an excuse?"
Gyeon Sang-jin said with a scowl.
"To be precise, shouldn't Your Girl have come to greet Answer first?"
"...Are you out of your mind? Why would our girls go greet you?"
The look in Gyeon Sang-jin's eyes seemed to say, 'What kind of crazy bastard is this?'
"When the former CEO taught me, he always said to greet my seniors first. Have you forgotten?"
"Hah..."
Gyeon Sang-jin's group and Your Girl began to whisper among themselves, while Answer and Choi Yoo-jun stared at us with wide, curious eyes.
"The bastard who understood my teachings so well is the one who betrayed me?"
Gyeon Sang-jin's shamelessness made the anger I'd been holding back surge up.
[Trait 'Charisma Lv2' activated]
[Trait 'Soldier's Spirit' activated]
I ground my teeth.
"Betrayal? Who betrayed whom?"
"!"
An aura erupted from my body, spreading out and enveloping everyone around us.
There were fifteen people there, but aside from my voice, there was a dead silence, not even the sound of breathing.
"I trusted you and dedicated my life to you! And this is what I got in return!"
Embezzlement and death. But I couldn't speak of things that hadn't happened yet.
[Park Seong-cheol resists your charisma.]
"Th-this crazy bastard!"
I caught the punch thrown by Team Leader Park with my left hand.
As I applied pressure, his fist flattened out.
"Kuk! Aaargh... Let go!"
Just as Team Leader Park struggled to pull his hand away, I let go.
Released from my grip, the back of Team Leader Park's hand flew backward and struck Gyeon Sang-jin in the face.
*Crack!*
"Gah!"
"Ah! M-Mr. Gyeon!"
"Mr. Gyeon!"
The sound of a bone breaking.
The people from SJ gathered around Gyeon Sang-jin, who was bent over in pain.
"Yoo-jun, take Answer and go back to the dressing room."
"...No way. I can't leave you alone."
Choi Yoo-jun, who had been stunned, quickly stood beside me.
"That's right."
"This is because of us. How can we leave?"
The members of Answer also lined up next to me.
They looked as if they were daring them to try something.
"Y-you son of a bitch. Blood!"
Gyeon Sang-jin clutched his nose, from which blood was dripping, and glared at me with a look of disbelief.
"I'm sorry, but it wasn't me. Team Leader Park did that."
"This little punk..."
"Min-jun. Apologize."
Everyone's attention turned to the sudden voice of Director Lee Sun.
Dressed in a beige stand-collar coat, a short brown A-line plaid skirt, and slim leather sock boots, the director exuded a charm that was a perfect blend of pride and elegance.
"Sang-jin, today's an important day. Let's just let it go. Park Seong-cheol was also at fault."
"......"
At Director Lee Sun's words, CEO Gyeon Sang-jin only grunted and didn't reply.
Did they know each other? The strange atmosphere between them sparked various thoughts.
"Min-jun, aren't you going to apologize?"
With the director's appearance, my fiery anger subsided, and reality began to set in.
If the incident escalated further, even I might find it difficult to handle the fallout.
Perhaps I should be glad the director had shown up.
"I didn't intend for that to happen, but I apologize for causing a disturbance."
"...You ungrateful punks wouldn't even be on this show if it weren't for us."
Gyeon Sang-jin's words were heavier and colder now.
To my ears, it sounded like he was saying, 'The games are over. I'll use any means necessary to make you regret this.'
But despite that, I wasn't afraid at all.
Because you'll be the one to fall.
* * *
We left Your Girl's dressing room and headed to our own.
"Director, what brings you here?"
"This isn't just some variety show; it's a special audition program. The least I could do is provide some support."
The director stopped in her tracks, and the members of Answer, who were following behind, quickly halted as well.
The director's blazing aura was directed at Answer.
[The effect of the trait 'Unyielding Mindset' decreases.]
"You girls, do you really want to be treated like seniors that badly?"
"No!"
the Answer members replied in surprise.
"I didn't take you for this kind of group. How long have you been debuted that you're already trying to discipline your juniors?"
Confusion flickered in the members' eyes. The truth was, this was the culmination of multiple incidents over a long period, but it was something that wouldn't have happened without the group trait 'Unyielding Mindset'.
"Director. I'll explain."
I defended Answer as best I could, starting from the incident with Ji-yoo of Savage Girls stealing their outfits at the salon, to the pre-meeting, and what happened in our dressing room today.
"SJ Enter's executives were openly provoking us, so we thought we had to show at least some backbone. If anyone's at fault, it's me."
"...Haaaah."
The director let out a deep sigh and entered the dressing room.
"Oh my! You're here!"
"You were the one assigned to this?"
The director's expression instantly softened as she clasped hands with the stylist, looking as fresh and bright as any other girl.
The members of Answer cautiously entered and sat down. They held each other's hands, their expressions relieved that the director had met a welcome acquaintance, and calmed their nervous hearts.
"We're going to put on your mics now."
Two staff members, a man and a woman, brought four lapel mics. Oh Ro-si blushed awkwardly as the male staff member attached the mic transmitter to her waist.
"You'll need to take off one of your earrings."
"What?"
"The sound of the earring hitting the mic will get picked up."
"Ah..."
-Mic distribution is complete... What? Ah... Understood.
"...Damn it, they should've told us sooner. Myeong-shin, collect the mics."
"Whaat?"
The staff member swore under their breath and turned back to us.
"Sorry, but we have to collect the mics again. They said the order has changed."
It felt suspicious that the stage order had suddenly changed, but there was nothing we could do.
They collected the mics, and soon, another staff member came in.
This is so chaotic.
"Standby."
"Yes!"
At the staff's word, the members shot up with tense expressions.
'Best Idol' was the most popular variety show, where a regular cast, famous for their comedic banter, would invite a guest artist group for interviews and to showcase their talents.
However, this 'Best Idol Special', planned under the pretext of giving the regular cast and staff a break, had its concept drastically changed. It was 'Best Idol' in name only; in reality, it was no different from a pilot program with an audition format.
Since audition formats were popular these days, this special had garnered a great deal of fan interest.
It was an honor just to perform on a stage that received so much attention from viewers, but since it was a pilot program, winning with a good score meant there would be significant rewards to look forward to if it got officially picked up.
The effect of having a member become a regular on a popular variety show was so huge it was hard to put into words.
Even for Answer, with their 'Unyielding Mindset' group trait, it was impossible not to be nervous.
On top of that, they'd just been scolded by the director, so it felt like they'd gone looking for trouble and found more than they bargained for.
"Girls."
"Yes, Director!"
The Answer members responded to the director's call with voices full of discipline.
"Don't be nervous, and do well. You need to get a proper greeting from the Your Girl kids after this is over."
"Yes! We understand!"
The members' faces brightened.
"Yoo-jun, you monitor from the floor. Team Leader Min is coming with me to the control room."
Choi Yoo-jun stood there blankly for a moment before speaking.
"...The control room? Is that... where the money is?"
For a moment, the director's cheek twitched.
Was she holding back a laugh?
"...Ahem. The control room. The sub-control room."
"Oh! Ahh. Yes! Right away, ma'am!"
Choi Yoo-jun said with an embarrassed smile.
"Don't be nervous. Do well. We've prepared a lot for this."
"Yes!"
Confidence once again filled the Answer members' faces.
Leaving Answer and Choi Yoo-jun backstage, I went out to the audience seating area.
The countless glittering metal structures and lights on the ceiling felt like a dense spiderweb covered in morning dew.
People who seemed to have been invited from several fan clubs filled about half of the audience seats, and I could see a staff member instructing them.
-Okay, when I wave my hand up like this, you applaud and cheer, understand?
"Yes."
-If you boo a member you don't like and ruin the ambiance, your entire section will be kicked out. Got it?
"Yes."
A little in front of them, about ten judges were checking their scripts or warming up their throats with water.
"...Haa."
The director let out a strange sigh after looking over the judges, but I wasn't worried.
The director and I headed to the cafe to buy coffee.
"Lee Sun! It's been a while!"
"Hello, Director."
"Ah! You look beautiful!"
"Thank you."
On the way to the cafe, Director Lee Sun exchanged greetings with many people.
The director's high recognition, no less than in her prime, made me feel good for some reason.
"Ah, seriously. Why did those crazy bastards have to make an 8-cup holder!"
I saw a woman in her twenties, who looked like the youngest in her department, carrying two wooden trays filled with sixteen cups of coffee.
"I hope you all get diarrhea."
She must have been incredibly angry; I felt sorry for her as she walked by, grumbling.
One woman carrying sixteen coffees... How much must that weigh?
"Six americanos and two caramel macchiatos, please."
The director ordered coffee to take to the control room.
"How about we buy some for the live sound team too? It's always good to be on good terms. Not that they'd treat us differently, of course."
"...Let's do that. The house director is important too. We'll add two iced americanos and one caramel macchiato."
Even though this was a recording that would be edited before broadcast, the stage the audience saw and heard live was produced by them, connected to the control room.
The reverb, which we often call echo, and various other effects were at their fingertips.
"I'm Answer's manager. Please take good care of us."
"Ohh. Thank you."
I handed out the coffee to the live sound team and then headed to the control room.
'STAFF ONLY'
In principle, it was a place no one other than staff could enter.
"Min-jun. Look at me for a second."
The director straightened my shirt and tie for me, as my hands were full with the coffee trays.
I didn't have any romantic feelings for her, but I felt a strange tingling on my skin.
"You look good in a suit."
"Thank you."
I had worn a suit today just in case I ran into the Head of Division.
"It suits you, but other people might think you're just here for fun. Wearing a suit when you're not even a department head."
"Yes. I wore it just in case I saw the Head of Division."
Finally, the director adjusted my visitor's pass into place; unlike my yellow visitor's pass, she wore a blue official access card.
"Let's go."
The director was about to open the door and go in.
An ominous light flickered from the 'STAFF ONLY' sign.
"Wait a moment, Director."
"Why?"
I felt like I had to prepare for what was coming.