A Bonus Worth a Whole Car
I was dragged straight to the CEO's office the moment I arrived at the company.
“Team Leader Seon! What kind of crazy stunt did you pull this time at Jin Kang?”
“First of all, the assumption that I must have done something insane again seems to carry a bit of prejudice….”
“Prejudice, my ass. Everything is your karma, Team Leader Seon. Just think about all the things you've done so far!”
“…I'm sorry.”
I didn't want to live like this either. I just wanted to succeed comfortably.
Cheon A-ram looked at me with my head bowed in a remorseful posture, let out a deep sigh, and said,
“This time, I told you that Suyeon and I would handle the cleanup. So what the hell were you thinking, charging straight into Jin Kang the second we said that?”
I had an excuse.
“Well… it wasn't that I charged in. It's more accurate to say that Jin Kang charged into me.”
If a tank and a person collided, it was only natural to assume the tank had hit the person.
“On my way home from work, dozens of men in suits suddenly appeared, surrounded me, and said the chairman wanted to see me so they'd take me to him. …I really didn't want to go, but I'm not capable enough to shake them off and turn it into a car chase, so I obediently let myself be kidnapped all the way to Chairman Jin Baek-ho.”
Cheon A-ram seemed to sympathize that it had been an unavoidable situation, because she clicked her tongue and said,
“…They're pulling that kind of crap in the 21st century? Don't those lunatics have any sense?”
“Haha, at least they didn't stuff me in a drum and throw me into the sea, so I suppose it was relatively gentlemanly.”
“….”
“…That was a joke.”
Judging by Cheon A-ram's reaction, it was clear that my sense of humor had gone completely rotten. After seeing how the mood shattered every time I cracked a joke in this round—with both Gyeoul and Gaeul—I finally realized just how tough those guys from the previous round must have been. They had laughed their asses off at my godawful sense of humor.
No matter how I thought about it, they must have had some dirty ulterior motive to use me, which was the only way they could have shown such devoted service. …And yet I hadn't noticed that at all in the previous round?
The more I dug into it, the more reasonable it seemed to suspect that the me from the previous round had thoroughly deserved to get stabbed in the back.
“Since I was dragged there anyway, I judged that simply keeping my mouth shut wouldn't be good for Two Bear's image.”
In reality, I'd tried to stay quiet but ended up going into sudden overdrive, but words could be spun however you liked.
“So I did my best to represent Two Bear's position and sincerity while showing them our vision, and it seemed to have at least cleared the minimum passing line in Chairman Jin Baek-ho's mind.”
Honestly, when I recalled his reaction at the time, he hadn't looked fully convinced. But since I'd managed to return alive and in one piece, it didn't seem like I'd earned his hatred.
CEO, I really did my best.
“Yeah, I understand. From your perspective, Team Leader Seon, you just did your best in a sudden situation.”
“…Yes, that's right.”
“I actually called you in to scold you for rushing in alone, but since there were circumstances, I won't say anything more. …Well then, since the whip isn't needed, I suppose I should just give you the carrot.”
Huh? Carrot?
“A Jin Kang employee approached me.”
“…With what intention?”
Cheon A-ram gave a small laugh as she watched me tense up and said,
“They said they'd draw up contract terms for Jin Yeoreum, and if the treatment was satisfactory, they'd actively promise investment. We were already going to need a lot of money, so it was a very welcome offer.”
What the hell, Chairman Jin Baek-ho. You acted like you didn't like it, but you're still looking out for us? If that's the case, you could've treated me a little more gently. Did you think I'd be grateful for something like this?
“You handled the investment attraction—which is something I should be doing—in a big way, so there should be a reward. Do you remember the bonus criteria specified in the contract back then? I'll give it to you based on the upper tier. How about changing your car?”
Thank you! Chairman Jin Baek-ho!
When Cheon A-ram operated her smartphone and showed me a rough summary of the bonus amount, my eyes nearly popped out of my head. I was already getting excited thinking about how to invest this money to hear people say I'd handled it well. A car? Forget that—it was definitely time for financial tech.
“Oh, and this is something I was going to mention in the meeting a bit later, but I'll tell you in advance, Team Leader Seon.”
“Yes, I'm listening attentively.”
My loyalty, boosted to its limit by financial therapy, had me listening to Cheon A-ram's words with sparkling eyes.
“I was talking with a younger acquaintance recently, and when I mentioned that I was creating a girl group, they asked if I had any thoughts about sending one of our trainees to a broadcast.”
Sending a trainee who hasn't even debuted to a broadcast?
“What kind of broadcast is it?”
Cheon A-ram lightly stroked her chin as she said,
“It's called Girl 100, an idol survival competition program. They have a hundred trainees compete, select eleven of them, and have those kids work as a project girl group for a set period.”
“…Girl 100?”
“Yeah. It seems like Mnet is going all-in on this project. There are over fifty agencies participating.”
It was a name I could never forget. After all, Girl 100 was the program that would later be investigated for vote-rigging, found guilty, and result in both the CP and PD serving prison time side by side.
Of course, Cheon A-ram had no way of knowing what I was thinking and continued casually,
“I think it's worth trying, but what do you think, Team Leader Seon?”
CEO, this isn't just a poisoned chalice we're talking about here.
Now Is the Time to Prove Your Talent
📍 Objective: Have one of Two Bear's trainees receive an A-Class evaluation in the first impression test of Girl 100.
🎁 Reward: Possibility Memory
A-Class? …Ah, that.
Girl 100 started with a first impression test to assign introductory stories and growth narratives to the trainees, dividing them from A to F. Although it was just a first impression test and didn't affect the final lineup, it was extremely important because it determined early focus. The video would get between three and seven million views on AllTube.
Among those, A-Class was a rank given to only eleven people. It was essentially the top eleven. Achieving it wasn't easy at all when you considered that there were already eleven predetermined candidates.
But I thought our trainees would achieve it as if it were only natural. The problem was that damn vote-rigging.
Ah, should I stop this or not?
I continued pondering while watching the kids practice through the window.
As I was thinking so deeply, a thought suddenly struck me like lightning.
Wait a minute. Didn't I only need to avoid making it into the top eleven in the final episode?
It wasn't just the ones who debuted through the project group via Girl 100 who became topics of discussion. In fact, there were eliminated contestants who created even bigger buzz than the main members. The investigation had started because the fans of those eliminated contestants actively raised objections.
I was certain that if it was one of our kids, they would become that kind of uniquely memorable eliminated contestant. We'd gain the topic of discussion while also obtaining the absolution of being nothing more than a simple victim.
This wasn't something to worry about. Since the people making it into the top eleven were already set, we just needed to show a good side. However, since Cheon A-ram seemed to have quite solid connections, there might be offers for backroom deals. My job would be to block those and avoid the production team's demonic editing.
Having gained confidence, I opened the door to the training room and entered.
“Taeyang oppa?”
“Teacher Taeyang?”
“You've arrived, Team Leader Seon.”
The girls who had been dancing each showed their own reactions upon seeing me suddenly appear. Among them, what stood out was Jin Yeoreum, who reacted while not changing her dance movements in the slightest.
“Mister Sun! Have you come to observe the class? I am overflowing with the desire to cooperate, so please feel free to watch comfortably.”
I expressed my gratitude to her and plopped down on the floor. Seeing me like that, the children seemed motivated, as they participated in the training with even more passion than usual.
While watching the kids, I carefully examined their current ability values in the status window.
About an hour passed. After the training ended, I called one of the children over.
“What is it, Teacher Taeyang? Are we working overtime again? That's really fun… Ah, but wouldn't it be better to call Gaeul unnie instead of me….”
“It's not overtime—it's a business trip assignment.”
“A business trip assignment?”
I looked at Gyeoul's status window as she tilted her head in confusion and became even more convinced. If I had to choose just one person, it was right to send Gyeoul.
“Are you ready to appear on a survival program where a hundred trainees compete?”
“Me?”
Gyeoul's hands and eyes trembled as she spoke.
“Not Gaeul unnie or Yeoreum, but me?”
“Yes, you.”
Gyeoul broke out in a cold sweat and said,
“…Can I run away?”
Do you think that would work?