Chapter 8
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 8
Chapter Title: Sun Entertainment's Go Hyeong-tae Department Head
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"Seeing you in person only makes me more certain. You've got a real shot at making it big... no, you'll definitely make it. I guarantee it, as someone who's climbed all the way to department head."
"……."
This... this isn't some kind of new scam, is it?
What if this guy's not actually from Sun Entertainment and he's just pretending...?
An Americano sat right in front of me.
He'd given me way too generous a score out of nowhere, so of course I had to be suspicious.
I'm not that impressive, am I...?
"Could I maybe... see your business card?"
"Ah! Of course!"
I felt a little embarrassed watching Go Hyeong-tae readily dig into his pocket.
Am I being too paranoid?
No.
The world was too harsh to take someone's word at face value.
Even now, people lost everything they'd worked for their whole lives in an instant to scams big and small, from housing fraud on down.
That's why contracts always came with those "read it again" warnings.
This was a world where you could lose your nose despite wide-open eyes.
"Here's my card."
"Ah, thank you."
[Sun Entertainment]
[Rookie Development Team]
[Department Head Go Hyeong-tae]
I examined the card carefully.
My eyesight wasn't anything special, but no matter how I looked at it, it didn't seem fake.
Sun Entertainment's department head list is as follows:
- Yoo Chang-hyun Department Head (Management Team)
- Kim Joo-hyung Department Head (A&R Team)
- Go Hyeong-tae Department Head (Rookie Development Team)
Just to be safe, I checked the Sun Entertainment website, and sure enough, Go Hyeong-tae's name was right there on the list.
...Okay, this was enough to ease my suspicions that he was a scammer.
Which only made it more bewildering.
"Um... I'm really grateful that you think so highly of me. It's embarrassing to say it myself, but could you tell me what exactly you see in me?"
"Hahaha. For starters, you've got such stunning looks, and yet you're humble and cautious too. That alone means you pass—no need for much personality training."
What the... my face is burning up.
"Of course I should explain. These days, companies don't just take anyone and let them fend for themselves. They focus on the promising ones and nurture them properly."
"I see."
"You hit it out of the park on looks alone. I've seen truckloads of entertainers on my way up to department head, and you're top-tier among them."
My cheeks burned even hotter from the flattery.
This guy... he knew just how to play with people's hearts. I could tell it was lip service, but it still got me all excited.
Definitely hadn't gotten his position by playing rock-paper-scissors.
Ah, my pussy's getting wet again, fuck.
"K-pop's gone global over the years, bringing in tons of foreigners, but no one's got natural red hair and red eyes like you. And you're fluent in Korean too."
"Y-yeah, that's true..."
"And to be blunt—some parts of a woman's three measurements can't be fixed with effort alone. Yours are incredible."
Best compliment I'd ever gotten.
So basically, my tits and ass are fucking hot, right? Right?
Ah, my nipples are hard too, shit.
Even my lips were twitching on their own.
"Beyond that, you've got buzz, a unique backstory already building up, and tower experience no one else has. Where else am I gonna find talent this appealing?"
Did this guy master sweet-talk magic or something?
Or maybe a charm spell on his tongue?
I could feel my heart melting like butter in real time.
I like him too much... Haah, fuck, my asshole's twitching on its own. I want it in the back too, for real.
'I'm done for.'
If Go Hyeong-tae shoved a contract in front of me right now—even if it was a scam—I'd sign it in a heartbeat.
The fact that it was Sun Entertainment making the offer sealed it already.
The cleanest agency in Korea, by reputation...
Making it as an idol was like plucking stars from the sky, but here, two in ten trainees actually succeeded—a mega-corp among mega-corps.
They even took responsibility for the eight in ten who failed, with all kinds of training and on-site opportunities. The only agency with a 94% street-casting success rate.
I could fill a whole page praising Sun Entertainment.
'In this day and age, an agency's size and image get you halfway there.'
All thanks to their CEO, Park Jung-young, who'd built that foundation over decades.
Slow and steady.
No greed, just piling it up brick by brick.
"Take your time thinking it over. No rush to sign now."
Look at that confidence.
Like he already had me hooked, certain I wouldn't say no.
And honestly, he was right.
"Ah... no, I don't think I need to hesitate. Anyone living in Korea—even a three-year-old—knows how great Sun Entertainment is."
"So...?"
"I'll sign. Could you show me the contract?"
"Here you go."
Go Hyeong-tae pulled out a thick stack of papers from behind him like he'd been waiting.
"Could I... have a moment to read through it?"
"Of course! I take two hours just to finish one coffee. Hahaha."
"……."
Damn, the nicer he seems, the more it sucks.
If this bastard turned out to be trash backed by a big agency, I'd crawl under the table right now, unzip his pants, and suck him off... Fuck, what the hell am I even thinking?
'...Ever since my first time, I haven't fucked a guy once. The frustration's piled up to my eyeballs.'
No helping it.
I was a succubus.
"...Huh?"
As I desperately fought back my urges and scanned the contract, one clause jumped out.
[Herein, the 'Party A' confirms and agrees to undergo at least 1 year (maximum 7 years) of training and practice under the guidance of 'Party B'.]
"Um... Mr. Go?"
"Yes?"
"Article 13, Section 2 says the minimum training and practice period is 1 year. Is that right?"
"Yes, that's correct. Even for someone with outstanding talent, debuting without any prep leads to issues—and you can't fully bloom their potential. No trainee's debuted after just a year, despite what the contract says. Realistically, it's at least two."
"Two years..."
My eyes froze midway through the contract.
Go Hyeong-tae quickly added,
"Look at Live Girl's youngest, An Hye-eun—she trained for five years, and now she's blowing up worldwide."
Yeah, figures.
She didn't debut with a smash hit racking up 3 billion views and kick off a world tour for nothing.
But even so, a minimum of one or two years as a trainee, stuck at the agency all day... that felt like too much.
"If you sign as a trainee, we cover food, housing, everything. Our cafeteria is the best among agencies—famous for it."
"I know, I get it..."
Pre-succubus me might've signed on the spot.
Meals were half of life for Koreans.
But now? Not so tempting.
"Sorry to bring this up after coming this far, but..."
"Ah... is the training period too long? No need to apologize. You haven't signed yet—it's your choice. It's just that your potential feels too precious to waste."
The more we talked, the more I sensed what a genuine adult he was.
Best guy his age I'd ever met?
Most were just boomer jerks who thought yelling was leadership.
"Any way to shorten or skip the training?"
"Sigh..."
Go Hyeong-tae let out a long sigh.
I could feel his deep regret and dilemma pouring out.
Made me feel even guiltier.
"We set the minimum at one year after several meetings. And as I said, it's really two, despite the contract. Can't ignore our history and image."
"Right, right."
I'd heard about it.
Agencies that shone brightest for the public hid the dirtiest underbellies.
Why else call it the kingdom of beasts?
Why all the scandals with pre-debut trainees—pregnancies and worse?
Why did the government trot out buried celeb dirt to distract from their messes?
To survive that? Two years wasn't enough—three might be short.
"...Sorry."
"Such a shame."
In the end, no trainee contract.
I'd agonized over it.
Might be a once-in-a-lifetime shot, but my personality couldn't handle years of just training, staring at debut.
My buzz might fizzle out by then.
Impatient as I was, better to fail fast if I was gonna fail. I wanted to debut ASAP—idol, actor, whatever.
"Oh, Kim Hyun-ah."
"Yes?"
"This is personal now."
My ears perked at "personal."
Maybe he was hot for me too and wanted to hit a motel?
I could spread my legs for that once or twice...
"Whatever you do, don't join a shady agency out of debut desperation. The industry's rough these days—always has been, but smaller ones scam trainees left and right. Especially post-tower, with trash pushing dangerous sex-sell content. I can name ten off the top of my head, but never go to Purem Entertainment. Total garbage from the CEO down."
"Ah, yes... Got it. Thanks for looking out for me to the end."
"No problem. Call anytime if you change your mind."
"Sure."
Watching the ever-kind Go Hyeong-tae, I licked my lips in regret.
Purem Entertainment, though... wasn't it mid-tier? They had some famous idols, right?
Ah, most groups disbanded now?
Anyway, if a good guy like him said that, Purem was a hard no. Absolutely!