Both of Them Are Crazy, Aren't They?
Cheon Aram asked Yoo Gaeul with an unprecedentedly serious expression on her face.
“Miss Gaeul, what did you just say?”
“I said that Team Leader Seon was scouted by composer James Oh. He even offered to double his salary!”
The already chilled atmosphere began to freeze over even more coldly. Considering that just moments ago everyone had been rejoicing over Winter’s great success, the situation felt all the more awkward.
I decided I needed to nip this topic in the bud before it grew any larger.
“I already turned down that offer. It has nothing to do with me anymore.”
“…But you did accept the business card James Oh gave you, didn’t you?”
Cheon Aram glanced at the card I had handed her, then passed it to Seo Suyeon. Suyeon opened her wallet, slipped the card inside, and tossed the whole thing into her bag. The sound of the zipper closing seemed unusually loud today.
…She’s not planning to give that back, is she? I only had one.
“No, I only took it because I might need to contact him later to receive a song. There’s no other meaning behind it.”
Besides, how could I refuse when someone hands me their business card? If someone offers you one and you say, “I’m not interested,” while rejecting it, that would make you the crazy one.
Jin Yeoreum carefully grabbed the hem of my shirt and asked,
“…Are you leaving?”
“Of course not. I’m staying at Two Bear.”
“If you ever do leave… I’ll…”
No, I said I’m not going.
“Team Leader Seon is a working professional, so it’s only natural to switch jobs if you get a better offer, right?”
“I’m telling you, I’m different. Why would I leave this place?”
It seemed like they were all misunderstanding something as a group. There was nowhere that could offer me better treatment than here. Though I never said it out loud, the salary I received was already at the level of a major corporation. With bonuses included, it surpassed that.
“…Team Leader Seon, should I raise your salary?”
“No, no, that’s fine. I haven’t done anything to deserve it. I’m already receiving more than I’m worth.”
The company was already paying an excessive salary for a single team leader position in a startup. Considering we hadn’t generated any revenue yet and only had expenses piling up, asking for more would be pure greed. Maybe once the company grew later, but accepting anything now would invite jealousy from colleagues or create discord.
People don’t mind receiving low pay together, but the moment someone seems to get special treatment, it creates strange feelings. Although Two Bear’s colleagues were exceptionally good people, making the possibility low, it was still best not to create any risks. I genuinely wanted to get along well with everyone at Two Bear.
“For now, if there are any resources available, I’d rather see them invested in improving the output quality for the girls—like music videos or stage costumes. That matters far more than improving my own treatment. After all, we have three of the country’s greatest gems right now, don’t we? At this point, I believe the most important thing is to make them shine as brightly as possible.”
“Team Leader Seon. As the CEO, I probably shouldn’t be saying this, but you don’t need to consider the company’s position even during salary negotiations, you know? Just think about it from a purely personal perspective.”
Right now, I was facing the situation with more personal feelings than ever before.
“Even from my personal perspective, I reach the same conclusion. I want to see it. I want to see them shining at their brightest here at Two Bear, not at some other agency.”
This was my pure, sincere heart. Even if one of the big three agencies like SS or TY offered better treatment, I wanted to stay here and succeed together with my colleagues. I would pour every ounce of strength I had into making that happen.
And if I got stabbed in the back again during that process?
…Then I’d just retire. If these people were the type to betray me, it would mean I was simply the one who misjudged them. I’d start a cleaning service with whatever money I had and live quietly.
“Two Bear, not some other agency? …Why does it have to be Two Bear specifically?”
“Because I like it. I like this company, the CEO, and all my colleagues.”
““…””
Cheon Aram, who had been staring at me blankly after hearing my words, gave a small nod and asked Seo Suyeon,
“Suyeon, what was Team Leader Seon’s current salary structure again?”
Seo Suyeon pulled out her smartphone as if she had been waiting for this and showed the data.
“It’s like this, but given that quite some time has passed since it was created, it seems necessary to update it.”
“That’s a good idea. He’s proven countless abilities since then, so treating him the same way doesn’t make sense. When can we process this?”
“We can start right now.”
“Father? Yes, it’s Yeoreum. I heard you’ve been involved in providing some investment funds to our Two Bear Entertainment. I’d like you to exercise your rights as an investor for a moment. It’s nothing major. Just one person—please help improve Team Leader Seon’s treatment. …Firmly enough that no one else would even dare think of something as wicked as scouting him.”
Good grief, calm down. Why are you dragging Jin Baekho into something like this? That man is incredibly busy.
“Everyone, please calm down. I’m fine, really? I’m very satisfied with my current treatment!”
“I’m not satisfied.”
“I’m not satisfied either.”
“….”
And so, my salary went up. A lot.
On the day of the outdoor recording for Girl 100, I participated as Winter’s manager for the first time in a while.
The theme of today’s broadcast was ‘Girl Athletic Meet.’
But couldn’t they just call it an athletic meet? Did they really have to add “Girl” to it?
It seemed that PD Kim Seonye’s sense of always attaching the word “Girl” to everything—Girl Tea Time, Girl Pointing Battle, Girl Team Formation, and so on—hadn’t spared even the athletic meet.
Anyway, the Girl 100 trainees were taking a brief break from their relentless hard training and endless competition. Wearing animal onesies, they approached the athletic meet with a relaxed mindset.
“Hey, look at Kim Yujin. She just tackled Kaori and knocked her down! Do you really need to go that hard for a simple tail-tag game of tag?”
“But earlier when Kaori was it, she tripped Kim Yujin and made her fall too.”
“…Aren’t both of them crazy?”
“Hey, we don’t have time for this. It’s bench-clearing! We need to run out and join in too!”
“Why is everyone taking a simple game of tag so seriously?”
“Then you can just stay here, Song Chaeyoung.”
“…I guess I should go too.”
And so, the girls wearing cute animal onesies—dogs, cats, pandas, orcas, sloths, penguins, hamsters, chinchillas, pigeons, and the like—began grabbing each other by the collar and rolling around on the ground.
“You guys are playing this game so dirty! Hey, Kaori! Don’t you know what a foul is?”
“There’s no referee, so who cares about fouls? In this situation, the winner makes the rules!”
“…Wow, you’re a total lunatic. Alright, that’s it. I’m going to show you the full course of our counter leader Han Sora’s special joint lock series.”
“Bring it on, Kim Yujin. Our country is the birthplace of judo. You think I can’t grapple?”
…It didn’t seem like they had a relaxed mindset at all.
“Hey, hey! What are you doing! Stop them! Are you just going to let this air on the broadcast?”
“…Isn’t it kind of fun, though?”
“If the viewers wanted this kind of fun, they would’ve turned on an MMA channel, not an idol survival show. Shut up and go stop them! Are you going to take responsibility if the ratings tank? I’m the kind of woman who would sell her soul for ratings!”
Kim Seonye was screaming at the top of her lungs, trying to control the various incidents and accidents breaking out everywhere, throwing a full-blown hysteria.
Seeing her like that, it was clear that being a broadcast PD was definitely not an easy job.
Even in that chaos, there were model students who maintained the original intention of a relaxed competition.
“Save me!”
“Catch me!”
They were Flower Entertainment’s pink-haired Oh Yuri, wearing a flying squirrel onesie and running away, and Han Gyeowool, who had earned the nickname of natural-born genius.
The two of them were running endless chase scenes around the field with tearful expressions.
Fighting, Winter. Even if the kid with the tail attached to her side gets caught up in the bench-clearing and rolls on the floor, I’ll cheer for your stubbornness as you only chase after Yuri in front of you. At least the broadcast will be entertaining.
During the break, I was giving the exhausted Winter an ion drink when she asked,
“…Teacher Taeyang, am I doing well?”
“Yeah. You’re doing incredibly well.”
“Really?”
“Yes, you’re the best. As expected, Two Bear’s future rests on you, Winter. If you had gone to another company, I would’ve died from jealousy. I’d be so envious of the company that had you.”
“Really? Really!”
Winter, who had been making a puzzled face that clearly showed her doubt of ‘Is this right?’, finally burst into a bright smile and showed enthusiasm after my mindless affirmations.
“I’ll work even harder! I’ll show you my best in the next chicken fight!”
“…No, take it easy on that. From what I just saw, the kids are way too combative.”
Especially the ones who had just done the bench-clearing—I felt like I needed to avoid them. During the break, when I glanced at those kids, their eyes held a determination to devour their opponents that idols should never show. Those eyes resembled gladiators.
Since a pseudo-combat sport like chicken fighting had been selected as an event, it seemed like half of them would end up half-dead.
Winter, let’s just give them what we have to give. It’s okay if we don’t get the beef gift set as a prize for winning the chicken fight. I’ll just buy it for you. Let’s avoid those crazy girls.
I comforted Winter and made sure she remembered that safety was the most important thing. She gave me a spring-like smile, said she would keep it in mind, and then left to prepare for the chicken fight.
“Do you have a moment?”
At that moment, a girl spoke to me.
“…Oh Yuri?”
She was a trainee from Flower Entertainment and a current middle school student who had just turned fifteen.
“What business could Miss Oh Yuri possibly have with me?”
I don’t think I have any reason to get involved with you. She’s with Flower Entertainment now, but I hadn’t seen her in the previous round either.
Yuri seemed to notice my attempt to draw a line and said,
“Would it be okay if I threaten you for a moment?”
“…”
…Is she crazy?
At that moment, as if it had been waiting, a quest window appeared.
Show the Harshness of Society and the Fear of Adults to Oh Yuri, Who Is Naively Attempting Blackmail Without Recognizing a Regressor
📍 Reward: Genius Dog Bocksil
What the hell is Bocksil…?