Chapter 83
Chapter 83
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 83
Chapter Title: A Dance-Off and a New Patient
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I was heading to the dance studio with the members of Answer.
We had done a final check of the main choreography at the company this morning, so I was confident we wouldn't lose.
That was because Seol-ah's part, the most crucial element of the main choreography, had become even more polished than yesterday.
Of course, if they refused to acknowledge the finished choreography, there wasn't much I could do.
“If they offer to buy you shoes, don't refuse. Just say thank you.”
“We don't really need the shoes...”
“Take them. I'm sure there will be a time you'll need them.”
The Answer members looked curious at my words, but thanks to several unbelievable experiences, they seemed to accept it.
“If Oppa says so, then that's how it is. Yep.”
Yi-na said, nodding.
“It would be even better if you all get the same design. But nothing expensive.”
“Huh? Oppa, you're betting a whole million won. Shouldn't we at least aim for shoes worth 250,000 won each?”
Seul-bi said, sounding dissatisfied.
“It's just in case. So just do as I say.”
I was saying this because my basic intuition had improved after acquiring the trait 'Sixth Sense'.
We entered the studio at the scheduled lesson time.
It seemed most of the Yurifox dance team had gathered; about a dozen people with outfits and hairstyles befitting professional dancers were waiting in the lounge, cackling.
It was obvious they had been thoroughly badmouthing us.
“Hellooo.”
I went in first and held the door open, and the Answer members who followed greeted Yurifox and the others.
A few dancers who looked like they had some seniority shot me and Answer sly grins and showed off with spot turns.
“Hey, why are you trying to intimidate them? Heheh.”
The dancer who pretended to stop them then performed a much more difficult triple chaîné turn, making the dance team cackle even louder.
Are they thinking they can treat us however they want just because SJ Enter is throwing work their way?
I looked at the Answer members, and they were looking at me with sparkling eyes, expecting something. Yi-na and Ro-si even had their hands clasped as if in prayer.
I stared intently at the dancer who had laughed the loudest during his chaîné turns and began to spin.
“Spot! Spot! Spot! Spot! Spot!”
“Hiek!”
My five chaîné turns came to a sharp stop right in front of the dancer, who couldn't back away because of the others sitting behind him.
The entire Yurifox dance team stared with their mouths agape, their pupils trembling.
“Is this supposed to be that difficult?”
“...”
The faces of the Answer members, trying to hold back their laughter, were filled with pride.
The chaotic atmosphere of cackling disappeared, and in the silence, Answer's song began to play.
[Trait 'Star Maker' activated.]
[Group Trait 'Unyielding Mindset' activated.]
[Stats will be temporarily increased.]
In place of the clumsy choreography Answer had shown when they left this room yesterday, a completed performance unfolded.
♪♬
My love is waiting for you.
In this short darkness
Please hold me
♬♪
Perfect positions as if measured with a ruler, and clean, seamless movements.
♪♬
My heart is beating for you.
From this long wait
Please save me
♬♪
Elegant turns like those of a professional dancer.
And then there was Seol-ah, stepping forward, having added graceful arm movements reminiscent of a swan to the simple chaîné turns Yurifox's team had created.
The faces of the dance team, who had initially mocked us, were now filled with bewilderment.
“This doesn't make any sense.”
“They said they learned it for the first time yesterday...”
“Well, they're better than the Your Girl kids.”
“Ah, crap, this is embarrassing.”
“I know, right? Who told him to show off with turns?”
“You were laughing along with him!”
While Answer danced, the dance team kept grumbling, clearly embarrassed.
Answer's perfect choreography came to an end.
Clap, clap, clap.
My applause broke the silence, and a few dancers followed suit as if mesmerized. The Answer members' faces were flushed with the exhilaration of accomplishing a difficult goal.
I held out the envelope with the million won from my jacket to Yurifox.
“Are you going to take it?”
For a moment, Yurifox's eyes filled with confusion, and her hand moved toward the envelope.
So you're going to sell your conscience and claim a mental victory?
I shot Yurifox a sly grin. Our eyes met, and she flinched, her expression twisting into one of despair.
“...How did you do it?”
“We just practiced hard.”
“That's not a dance you can perfect just like that...”
Yurifox turned her head and looked at Answer.
“...You did well. Let's go buy you shoes.”
At Yurifox's declaration of defeat, the Answer members struggled to contain their joy.
“Hold on. That's not the first thing. Is Answer worse than Your Girl?”
“...They're better.”
Yurifox turned away from me, her face flushed.
As she walked out the door, the rest of the dance team scrambled to follow her. They must have been incredibly embarrassed.
A beaming Seul-bi did the Zero Dance and silently gave me a thumbs-up.
[Sudden Quest 'Dance Battle' objective achieved.]
The roulette began to spin.
Limit Break (A)
Hey Listen (C)
Get Up (A)
Zero Stress (B)
Let's Fight (C)
*Bbam.*
[Acquired Zero Stress (B)]
Removes all stress and revitalizes you.
***
“Too bad. What's with the 50,000 won shoes? There are plenty of pretty ones for just 100,000 won.”
Yi-na grumbled to Seol-ah with pouting lips.
“You did the right thing, Seol-ah.”
“No, Oppa was willing to give them a million won. How is this the right thing?”
Seol-ah's choice of inexpensive shoes was a good one, leaving no hard feelings and potentially creating a heartwarming story.
It was a small story that would, at best, be a passing anecdote, but an accumulation of such quiet moments is beneficial for building a likable image.
After they received their new shoes for winning the bet, I took the Answer members back to the company practice room.
Seul-bi and the members had decided to create the choreography for the parts other than the main dance, and now all that was left was to smoothly connect it to the main choreography.
*Vzzz.*
It was a call from the Isa-nim.
-The lesson's over, right?
“Yes, Isa-nim. We just got back to the company.”
-Come to the planning office for a minute.
I made my way to the planning office.
“Minimize the marketing budget for Answer...”
“How can you even say that? We just barely got them on track.”
“Then... we have no choice but to get another investment.”
I heard the serious voices of Team Leader Lee and Siljang Ji in succession.
*Knock, knock.*
A heavy resonance sounded from the glass door.
“Come in.”
“I'm here.”
“Did the lesson go well? Should I book a few more sessions?”
“No, it's all done.”
“It looked difficult, but you did well. Have a seat.”
I sat down, but a heavy silence fell over the room. Everyone looked lost in thought, even Team Leader Lee, who usually challenged me at every turn.
“Why did you call for me?”
Only after I asked did Siljang Ji sit up straight, as if he'd forgotten.
“You know what artist Kim Sung-hoon means to our company, right?”
“I do.”
The fact that he was our company's only cash cow was something even the trainees could guess.
“Team Leader Min, you also know that artist Kim Sung-hoon has a panic disorder, right?”
I recalled the image of Kim Sung-hoon about to collapse on stage, even considering the broadcasting incident. Among everyone here, I probably understood him the best.
“I'm well aware.”
“...Aware, my ass. Even I don't get it.”
Team Leader Lee, Kim Sung-hoon's handler, grumbled.
“Well, it hit him hard this time.”
“How so?”
“The situation got so bad that we had to cancel all his schedules for this week.”
“Did he collapse from hyperventilation?”
Seeing their surprised faces at my question, I nodded. It seemed inevitable that this would happen.
“Yes. That's actually why the schedules were canceled. This is confidential, so be careful.”
“...”
“We're running on fumes after going all-in on Answer and Yoo-ah. To be honest, we're cutting it close for next month's payroll.”
It was true. We had paid Yurifox, one of the best choreographers, 15 million won for just the main choreography, not even the full dance, and the music video was expected to cost tens of millions, with confirmation pending.
On top of that, from talented session musicians to costume production and album design, this project was an investment on par with a major agency.
In this situation, the downfall of our cash cow was a crisis that could turn everything to dust.
We were already on life support, having received investments from the people in Doksan-dong.
Just then, Team Leader Lee cut in.
“As I said before, is there any other way besides cutting Answer's marketing budget or getting another round of investment?”
“Are you really saying that after seeing the mood in this company?”
“Then what do you want me to do?”
“Aren't we gathered here to overcome this? Why have you been so negative lately?”
The atmosphere grew serious once again.
Could I make it work if I stepped in?
“I'll do it.”
“...Do what?”
I remembered the item I received as a quest reward for winning the bet with Yurifox.
[Zero Stress (B)]
With a combination of that stress-removing item and my advice, couldn't I treat his panic disorder?
“I'll take care of Kim Sung-hoon-nim. Ah, I don't mean I'll become his handler.”
“What kind of nonsense is this?”
Team Leader Lee sounded exasperated and annoyed.
“I understand that panic disorders have clear psychological causes. I believe that if we can calm his mind and find the root cause, a cure is definitely possible.”
“Wow! You handle a few things and now you're completely crossing the line, aren't you?”
Kim Sung-hoon's role was crucial if we were to hold out until Answer started generating real profit. With Yoo-jun here, there would be no problem with Answer's management for now.
“No. Team Leader Min might be right.”
When Director Lee Sun chimed in, Team Leader Lee let out a hollow laugh.
“You think *he'll* do a better job than me?”
“Of course, I'm not saying you're lacking in any way, Team Leader Lee, so don't misunderstand. But it's also true that Sung-hoon has repeatedly expressed how much he needs Team Leader Min's musical talent.”
“Right. I think so too, Team Leader Lee. Do we have any other choice but to grasp at straws? He did a great job when he was his temporary handler last time.”
That was right. The day my trait and arrangement skills turned Kim Sung-hoon's performance, which was destined to fail, into the best on the show.
Ever since then, Kim Sung-hoon had been eager to work with me whenever he saw me.
As the Isa-nim and Siljang Ji defended me, I could see Team Leader Lee biting the inside of his cheek.
[Sudden Quest 'JD Enter's Cash Cow 2']
Cure the cash cow Kim Sung-hoon's panic disorder.
Reward: 3 Points. 300 million?
Not '300 million won', but '300 million?' What's that about?
Did it mean I might get 300 million won, or I might not?
If I could get 300 million won here, I could buy over-the-counter stocks of SJ Enter, which was on the verge of going public.
I could make billions of won within the year.
After a long dry spell, quests seemed to be popping up frequently all of a sudden.
Could this be a sign that some important change was about to happen?
The Isa-nim continued.
“Yoo-jun has handled Yoo-ah's schedule on his own before. It should be fine as long as Team Leader Min checks in on important days.”
“Yes. First, I'll have a talk with artist Kim Sung-hoon-nim. Before that, I'd like to request access to his internal profile.”
***
*Ding-dong. Ding-dong.*
-The door is open.
A mechanical voice sounded, and I opened the front door.
“Hoo... You only come see me when I'm a wreck?”
“...”
“Did you take over as my handler? See, I told you we should've worked together sooner.”
Kim Sung-hoon grumbled weakly, lying on the sofa with an arm covering his eyes.
The next thing that caught my eye was the evening view of the Han River through the massive window.
The brilliant, rainbow-colored fountain spraying from the Banpo Bridge was beautifully embroidered against the darkness.
“It's beautiful.”
“...Haa... It's so beautiful I often feel like becoming one with it.”
It reminded me of my own past, when I suffered from severe depression.
“Could it be depression and not panic disorder? Or maybe both.”
“Ha... ha.”
Was it because of my first impression of him, when he ignored me and was so irritable? For some strange reason, I couldn't bring myself to say anything nice.
I didn't think I was the type to hold a grudge.
I took out the 'Zero Stress (B)' item.
Panic disorders and depression are caused by an accumulation of stress, so I hoped this item would have a therapeutic effect.
[Would you like to use the one-time item 'Zero Stress (B)' on Kim Sung-hoon?]
[Yes]
A negative red color flashed like a warning.
[The effect will not activate on Kim Sung-hoon, whose stress level is extremely high.]
[To activate the effect, you must lower his stress level.]
[Kim Sung-hoon's Stress: 1,235/750]
Nothing ever comes easy.
I guess I'll have to butter him up a bit.
“Why do you think the panic attacks started?”
“...Hey, kid. Isn't that something you ask after saying, 'Hyung, let's have a drink'?”
“Let's have a drink.”
“*Pfft!*”
[Kim Sung-hoon's stress decreased by 3.]
[Kim Sung-hoon's Stress: 1,232/750]
“Ah! Congrats on becoming a team leader. I heard you secured all of Answer's schedules? If you'd done that when you were my handler, I would've treated you to something big.”
“I know you're that kind of person.”
“Pfft. Grab any alcohol you want.”
Kim Sung-hoon said, pointing to a display case on the wall.
It was an enviable collection, with dozens of bottles, none of which were aged less than 20 years.
“Let's go out. I'll buy you a drink.”
“*Pfft!* What? Hahaha!”
[Kim Sung-hoon's stress decreased by 115.]
[Kim Sung-hoon's Stress: 1,117/750]
Why is his stress plummeting over something like this?
“If you really want to go out, there's a lounge bar here.”
This was an apartment for the wealthy, so it had a high-end bar exclusively for residents, as well as a cafe that was inexpensive but served good food.
But I knew the various reasons behind Kim Sung-hoon's panic disorder from his confidential internal profile.
It started with the mysterious persona created in his early debut years, which had lasted for over a decade and made him reclusive, and various interests were entangled in it.
He was almost never seen anywhere other than on broadcasts or at fan meetings.
“Are you afraid of going outside?”
“...What are you talking about? Of course, I have a panic disorder, so...”
“You may have a lot more money than me, Hyung, but let me buy you a drink.”
Kim Sung-hoon stared at me as if I were ridiculous.
“I know a good place.”
“...”
“Don't assume everyone knows you and will bother you. It's bad for your mental health.”
“Heh heh...”
Kim Sung-hoon's face was filled with a look that said, 'You think there are people who won't recognize me? Wanna bet?'
“Just trust me and come along.”
“...”
“I'll be your handler until your panic disorder is cured. If you come with me now.”
“Haha... This kid's hilarious.”
*Kim Sung-hoon. Hurry up, accept my treatment, and give me my 300 million.*
“But if I cure your panic disorder, what will you do for me, Hyung?”
“...”