I'll Give You All My Money
James Oh, faced with Han Gyeowool's fierce opposition, apologized for his sudden offer and withdrew, promising to revisit the matter another time.
Not content with having personally driven out the main judge of Girl 100, Gyeowool clutched the hem of my shirt, her hand trembling as she spoke.
"Aigoo, don't worry. Where would I possibly go without you?"
Besides, if I followed James Oh, I'd have to show some talent as a composer or arranger, and I had zero confidence in that. The reward had simply fallen into my lap by sheer luck. I didn't possess the genius James Oh was expecting. It would probably take him all of thirty minutes to see through my bluff.
"If it's about money, I'll save up and give it to you! I get allowance from my grandfather!"
"Allowance? I don't have a hobby of stealing pocket money from kids, so put that away."
I'm already getting money from your grandfather every month anyway.
"...This is how much I get."
Gyeowool glanced around the empty room, checking for anyone watching, then leaned in close to my ear and whispered.
"...You get that much?"
"Yes."
"Every year?"
"Every month."
"...."
...Gyeowool's grandfather was seriously loaded. I'd just vaguely assumed he made decent money under the title of "father-in-law," but this was clearly on another level. Did he own a ton of land or something?
"I'll give you every single won I receive. ...So please, don't leave me."
Oh, my little recluse.
I gently stroked Gyeowool's head and said,
"Did you forget the promise we made back then? I said I'd make you the best, didn't I? Until I see you hit number one on a music show, even if you tried to chase me away, I'd stick around. So don't worry. Save that money for when you really need it."
Honestly, it wasn't that I had zero greed. But if I accepted the money, I wouldn't be able to treat Gyeowool the same way anymore. It would start feeling like an employer-employee relationship. Right now, our current bond felt far more important to me than any amount of cash.
That's why I gently turned her down.
"...Number one."
"Yeah, number one. That'd be enough to call you the best, right?"
"...."
Gyeowool's expression grew gloomy again, as if something else was bothering her. Even after I tried to comfort her, the melancholy didn't fade.
...Right. With Gyeowool, I needed to give praise that really landed. Her self-esteem was so low that even when I spoke with genuine encouragement, she had trouble believing it.
I made a big fuss to lift her spirits.
"Our Gyeowool has such a pretty face, genius-level idol talent, a kind personality, and comes from a wealthy family. You're basically perfect, aren't you? Whoever ends up with you is going to be one lucky guy."
At those words, Gyeowool gave a small smile, then fidgeted with the hem of my shirt, looking hesitant before she spoke.
...Just how incredible is the person she's aiming for?
Girl 100 required all one hundred trainees to live equally in the dorms. It was one of the ways they tried to give viewers a sense of realism and immersion, as if they were truly watching trainees prepare for debut.
From another perspective, it was a rather vicious idea to even sell the trainees' sleeping faces, but anyway.
That meant Gyeowool was no exception to having to start this new dorm life in the space prepared by Girl 100.
So the moment inevitably came when she had to enter the dorms.
"Can't you come with me?"
"...How could I possibly follow you in there?"
Obviously I couldn't tag along that far, so she would have to endure group living on her own.
Gyeowool seemed incredibly anxious about it. She clung to me, almost begging as she asked,
"...You'll come back, right?"
"Yeah, I'll be back for the regular filming day, so relax."
"You'll really come back?"
"I said I will, didn't I?"
"...What about after a hundred nights?"
"It won't even take a hundred nights. I'll be back in four days for the external filming..."
No matter how much I tried to reassure her, Gyeowool kept clinging to me and whining. Her behavior reminded me of a new recruit begging his girlfriend to visit him during his next leave.
The sense of powerlessness a soldier feels—knowing the only way to see her is to wait for a far-off vacation—seemed to be hitting Gyeowool too.
...But why am I feeling that from you? You're not the one going into the military, Gyeowool.
Come to think of it, when I watched the broadcast in the previous round, the Girl 100 dorms looked like a morgue. Not even the new kind with proper beds, but the old style where everyone slept packed together on a wooden platform. They had apparently tried to make it cute with pink and white colors for that girly vibe, but painting an entire morgue platform pink doesn't get rid of the military smell.
The devilish idea of wanting to sleep as many humans as efficiently as possible couldn't be masked by a little color play. Once the broadcast aired, the community would probably roast them for triggering PTSD.
...Well, if anything, that kind of thing would go viral, so it wasn't really a problem.
After somehow coaxing and comforting Gyeowool enough to send her off with the production staff, one of the crew members approached me.
"You're Team Leader Seon Taeyang from Two Bear Entertainment, the agency Han Gyeowool belongs to, correct?"
"Yes, that's right. Is there something I can help you with?"
Despite looking quite young, the staff member had heavy dark circles and an overall exhausted appearance. He didn't bother hiding his fatigue as he spoke to me.
"Our PD wants to see you. She said you would know the reason without needing an explanation."
So it's finally here.
It seemed Gyeowool's displayed ability had been quite unpleasant for her. After all, it was completely different from what had been discussed beforehand. From the perspective of someone orchestrating the whole board, she must have been furious. The picture she had planned—of naturally debuting the eleven she had been commissioned for—had been ruined. Especially now, after the catastrophe of only three A-class trainees appearing.
...Even I hadn't expected it to turn out like this. I had only pictured one person dropping out of the top eleven and Gyeowool slipping in.
Anyway, the situation had already happened, and it needed to be handled.
"Oh, right now she's busy with something, so she can't meet immediately. She asked you to come to the editing room at noon. ...Given her position, it's awkward for me to say this, but as the messenger, I'm a little sorry."
"No, I completely understand. This is peak busy season for the PD."
In truth, it was extremely rare for a rookie manager to get a private meeting with a PD like this. Just getting a phone call would have been lucky. Considering my experiences from the previous round, I didn't even feel particularly offended.
"That's a relief, then. I'll let the PD know you'll be there at the appointed time. I'll also inform our staff, so no one will stop you from entering."
"Understood. I'll see you then without being late."
When the time came, I stood in front of the editing room and opened the reward window.
[Possibility Memory (Available for Use)]
There sat the Possibility Memory that Gyeowool had received after being evaluated as A-class.
I stared at it with a gaze full of distrust. The memory of it flying off into thin air during Gaeul's incident in the previous round was still vivid.
What? It was used on an appropriate target? Why didn't you ask me or give me a choice before deciding? Even if I generously accepted that the purpose was meaningful, you should at least tell me who the appropriate target was. I still have no idea who saw what.
Is this really how a reward I obtained is supposed to behave?
"Still... I'll trust you one more time."
The Possibility Memory was a reward I had used quite frequently in the previous round. And every time I used it, it had given me significant help in making choices. Just because it had shown one strange behavior, it felt too wasteful to dismiss it entirely.
So I decided to use it now. If it performed the same as in the previous round, it would help me negotiate with PD Kim Seonye, which was good. And even if it misfired like it did with Gaeul, it wouldn't be a fatal blow. Though it would still sting...
"Please, just do your job as a reward. Use!"
Even though I used it with earnest desperation, nothing happened. It was a painfully familiar feeling.
"Don't tell me... again?"
[‘Possibility Memory’ has been used on an appropriate target.]
...Yeah, that's what I thought. From now on, I should just treat that thing as if it doesn't exist.
I resolved to boycott any future quests that offered Possibility Memory as a reward and checked my watch. It was 11:58.
Confirming that time was almost up, I knocked. I heard PD Kim Seonye's voice telling me to enter.
When I opened the door and stepped inside, Kim Seonye was sitting in an editing room chair with her legs crossed. She looked at me and said,
"You aren't unaware of the situation, are you?"
"I reviewed the entire recording from beginning to end."
"Then you must also know just how displeased I am right now?"
"I apologize for how the situation has changed. However..."
"That's enough. There's only one thing I want to hear. How are you going to take responsibility for this? Because of you, my precious ratings are about to take a hit."
"Once Gyeowool is revealed, the ratings themselves will probably go up?"
"But they won't hold! Everyone else besides Han Gyeowool is going to look like complete trash! How exactly are you going to take responsibility for that?!"
It was true that the situation had gone sideways, but blaming me for everything was a bit much. All I had done was hide Gyeowool's true skill. The reason things had spiraled into this mess was because the judges had gone completely overboard. But since she couldn't throw a tantrum at the judges, she was taking it out on me instead.
...What an unpleasant person.
"Let's put aside unproductive talk like responsibility. I'd be happy to take responsibility if I could, but you know better than anyone that a mere manager like me can't handle an entire situation like this, don't you?"
"Ha, to hear those words coming from your mouth..."
"So let's make a deal."
"What?"
I looked Kim Seonye straight in the eyes and said,
"A very, very productive deal."
From now on, I'm going to offer you a deal you absolutely cannot refuse.