What the Girls Were Thinking

"The original advance was twenty million won per song, but as of yesterday, thanks to a certain incident, it rose to 1.02 billion won per song. Which brings the total advance to 3.06 billion won."

"Wow! Oppa, is that for real?"

"You're not joking, right?"

"Whoa! What a legendary incident!"

Everyone gasped and chimed in at once.

"But you do understand that this money belongs to the company and has nothing to do with any of you?"

"Tch. Cheapskate."

"Oh dear Oppa, that wounds me."

"Even if it's company money, money's money! Buy us beef!"

The expressions of most of the members soured in an instant. Watching their faces, Young-hoon made a firm decision and declared quietly, as if he'd made up his mind long ago.

"President Lee Jae-man, don't say a word—just follow my instructions. First, split the one-billion-won advance five ways and distribute 150 million won each to the five members. You girls have worked hard all this time; you've earned it. Then take 150 million for yourself, 100 million for Kyeong-hwan, and give each of the four new hires 10 million as an encouragement bonus—tell them it's an advance on good work to come."

In that moment, the office erupted into chaos.

"Wha— Teacher, that's really…"

"Oppa! Thank you!"

"Waaah…!"

"Holy— thank you so much! I'll serve you with my life! Hahaha!"

Some cheered, some sobbed openly, some simply laughed—the office grew louder than a fish market in the space of a heartbeat.

"All right, everyone, quiet down. I still have plenty left to say. Take another billion and secure an office in Gangnam. Make sure you get a space where our girls can practice choreography and vocals too. Then use the remaining billion ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to find the girls a new dorm. The conditions are exactly as I laid out earlier."

President Lee Jae-man asked in astonishment,

"Then what about you, Teacher Kim? You're not taking anything at all?"

Young-hoon flashed a bright smile and answered matter-of-factly.

"Oh, I will. Starting now, I'm going to work all of you to the bone. Until you're old and gray. And Ms. Yoo Hyun-kyung—keep a firm hand on the household accounts. The bookkeeping in particular has to be airtight."

"Yes, sir. Leave it to me."

"Now for one very important agenda item. I don't know how the revenue split has been contracted up to this point, but from now on it's a flat fifty-fifty, no exceptions. Any objections? President Lee Jae-man, what are your thoughts?"

"I agree with Teacher Kim's proposal."

At the shockingly bold proposal, Hye-in spoke up cautiously—and for once, her honorifics came out completely naturally.

"Teacher, but then the company won't have much left over, will it?"

"Hye-in, that's a worry for the management—me and President Lee Jae-man. All you girls need to do is faithfully play your roles. From this point on, running Girin Entertainment is entirely President Lee Jae-man's responsibility. This company is going to grow, no question. I won't be able to micromanage it. So, President Lee, please take charge of the business. Of course, consult with me before any major decisions."

"You needn't even ask. I'll serve you with my life."

President Lee Jae-man answered with a booming voice, his heart fit to burst.

"Now, for the truly final agenda item. Up until now, Five Girls was in a state of dust-collecting shutdown because nobody invited you anywhere. If anyone so much as beckoned, you had to come running whether the pay was pitiful or not. But that ends today. My principles are as follows, and there will be no exceptions. Ever."

Young-hoon swept his gaze across the staff with eyes full of iron resolve, then continued.

"First, no events paying less than ten million won—and from January of next year, nothing under twenty million passes. Second, for the time being, broadcast appearances are limited to music shows only. No variety programs. Third, no stacked, back-to-back schedules that grind our girls into the ground. Fourth, on regional tours, no inns or motels. Minimum four-daisy hotel or better. Fifth, for advertising, if you can't command at least 100 million won on a six-month contract, it doesn't happen. You may have complaints, but let me say it once more for emphasis: you are not bargain-bin goods. I will raise your market value beyond question, so put your faith in me."

It was a declaration unlike anything they had ever heard.

He hadn't given a moment's thought to his own profit, reaching first for the people beneath him—pure, unfiltered selflessness. Every employee in the room, Five Girls members included, felt their gratitude toward Young-hoon and his spirit of sacrifice swell anew.

Amid the fired-up atmosphere, Ga-eun blurted out suddenly.

"The meeting's over, so this counts as private time, right? I hereby make a formal declaration to all our members. From this moment on, Oppa Young-hoon is mine."

"No way! He's mine! He has to buy me beef for the rest of my life!"

"Hey, don't spout nonsense. Oppa and I grew up together—we've seen everything there is to see of each other, and then some."

"Oppa praised my cooking, you know."

"…"

Young-hoon, who had been silently listening to the Five Girls members bicker, tossed out a jab.

"You brats think this is funny? I'm practically your father figure here, and this is what you come at me with? Behave yourselves."

Young-hoon laughed and took it all as a joke—but the members did not. The eyes they traded, each sizing the others up, carried an unmistakable undercurrent of sincerity. Completely oblivious to that fact, Young-hoon found this very moment simply, purely happy. Please, he thought, let times like these last forever.

"Everyone, get on your phones. My principles go into effect as of right now. Starting December, we commute to Gangnam, people!"

"Yes, sir!"

"Fighting!"

The instant President Lee Jae-man powered on his phone, text messages came pouring in. It was plainly impossible to get through to PD Shin Hye-yoon in the flood, so Young-hoon dialed her instead. The voice that came through the receiver was honeyed and warm, softer than usual.

Hanging up, Young-hoon stepped back into the meeting room and relayed the day's appointment to President Lee Jae-man. The office was still so loud it riveted the memory of a marketplace, so Young-hoon cleared the air around him.

"Everyone, let's go get lunch together!"

"Oppa, buy us beef!"

Su-min, unchanged to the very last.

"Hey, you just shook me down for every won I had. I'm broke. Jajangmyeon, yes or no?"

"No way. Buy us beef!"

In the end, Su-min's relentless pleading won out, and they went off to eat meat. A party of twelve stampeding through the door put the restaurant owner in visibly excellent spirits—especially once they ordered a mountain of it. The Five Girls members could certainly put food away. You'd never guess a single one of them gave a thought to figure management.

After the meal they returned to the office, where Young-hoon drank the coffee Ga-eun brewed for him. They chattered idly about this and that for a while, and then he set off for Sinabro Production together with President Lee Jae-man.

Hye-in's heart was in absolute turmoil.

Barely a month and a half ago, the future had been pitch black. After Chuseok, she had already agreed with President Lee Jae-man that the team would be disbanded. She didn't know the other members' circumstances in exact detail, but it seemed their parents were reasonably well-off. Her own parents, though, were farmers in a remote mountain hollow in Inje, Gangwon Province—a farm even smaller than Young-hoon's family's. And she had three younger siblings in tow. The one right below her had gone into the army, which at least spared them his tuition. But next year, the second-youngest had to enter university. Of Hye-in's four siblings, he was the best ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠student. S University might be out of reach, but KY just below it was well within possibility.

Until recently she had scraped by, eking out whatever she could to help the household—but for the past several months, the income had all but dried up. When she'd gone down to her hometown for Chuseok and seen her father sulking in frustration, drinking day after day, her heart had ached. All she'd ever learned was singing; quit the music career, and there was nothing left for her to do. She'd truly felt as if she were standing at the edge of a cliff.

Then, on her way back up to Seoul, she had happened to catch a ride in Young-hoon's car—and her fate had begun to shift, little by little.

And this morning had been the knockout blow. He hands out 150 million won each out of nowhere, says the agency is moving to Seoul, hands out dorm rooms one per person, changes the revenue split to fifty-fifty… All of it, a dream. From now on, the misery was over and the happiness was just beginning. Just picturing her parents and siblings in the countryside rejoicing at the news lifted her spirits sky-high.

And then a problem appeared. Ga-eun's sudden declaration had made her realize that the Five Girls girls had their eyes on Oppa Young-hoon. She'd grown up in the same hometown as him, so she had naturally assumed she was first in line. But reading the others, it was clear none of them intended to grant her any seniority premium at all. They seemed to view her as nothing more than an equal competitor. Hence the tangled mess she was in now.

Joo-yeon was troubled.

A month and a half ago, just before Chuseok, she had made the painful decision with President Lee Jae-man to disband the team. Once the team dissolved, it had already been settled that she would wait tables at the restaurant her parents ran. But then—like the swallow that flies off to Gangnam and returns bearing a seed—around the tail end of the Chuseok holiday, her leader, Hye-in, had come back from her hometown with a man in tow.

He was tall, with a fine figure. His face had the broad Honam-region cast that suited her taste exactly. His one flaw was a face a touch on the large side, but that was forgivable enough. Looking into his relationship with Hye-in, they seemed to be nothing more than neighborhood oppa-and-dongsaeng. From that moment on, she had kept Oppa Young-hoon in her heart, winning him over with her cooking and quietly nursing a love all her own.

Tall, well-built, that handsome Honam face… and judging by his songwriting and composing, he was clearly good at making money too. In a word, he was the diamond of diamonds—the jewel above all jewels. After the dinner at her father's restaurant last Wednesday, her mother had pressed upon her a solemn command: snag Oppa Young-hoon, no matter what. She seemed utterly convinced that the wine he'd brought that day would become a blockbuster product.

But she was not the only one with her heart set on him. Every single member was a rival. Even Hye-in. Somehow, a strategy was required. As of now, she reckoned she was in second place.

Ha-yeon was growing impatient.

Before Chuseok, the word had come down: the team was disbanding. Heartbreaking beyond words, but there was nothing to be done. Honestly, the fact that they'd lasted seven years at all was the greater miracle. Parting with the members was a sorrow of its own, but she couldn't afford not to think about what came after. So she'd asked her father to look into a new job for her.

Then the situation flipped one hundred and eighty degrees. Thanks to the man Hye-in brought back, a whole new challenge had begun. Even by her own ears, it was a masterpiece that simply could not fail. Practicing the new songs wore her body down, but as of yesterday's showcase, they had become stars overnight. From now on she'd have to carry herself with a celebrity's care. Meeting a man would only get harder from here.

The truth was, Ha-yeon hadn't been drawn to Young-hoon from the start. She acknowledged his gift for making songs, but as a man? No particular flutter. Yet as time passed and she watched him, he had, little by little, claimed a corner of her heart. Her shy nature kept her from showing it, but she had zero intention of giving up. And this morning's spectacle had made it clear: everyone was the enemy. A war to claim Oppa Young-hoon had begun. He wanted to meet her father soon—and that would be her opening. When the moment came, she would feel out his heart and take her chance.

Ga-eun was feeling leisurely and secure.

Before Chuseok, the news of the team's disbandment had come, but it hadn't worried her much. Her father was a vice president at a trading company, and she was his one and only cherished daughter. The family had plenty of assets; if the team folded, she'd decided to simply open the café she loved. But after Chuseok, everything changed. Hye-in brought back some man out of nowhere.

At first she'd assumed he was a marriage prospect being introduced. He was not. And somehow, at that, her heart had begun to pound. Strange as it was, the words a man with no owner had hooked her. After hearing the songs he played for them, there was nothing left to hesitate over. You must lock this man down, her reason had shouted. So a while back, she had proclaimed him hers. She'd assumed the other members would tactfully back off.

They did not. Not one of them had any intention of conceding. All of them, rivals. But she had confessed first, so surely she was first in line. Surely no one would cut in ahead of her? A flicker of anxiety stirred in a corner of her heart.

Su-min was simply, boundlessly happy.

Before Chuseok, the sad news had come: the team was done. She'd slumped home drained of all energy, only to learn that her father's factory had no work orders and was sitting idle. He couldn't compete on price against the clothes flooding in from China and Vietnam, he'd said, worry etched into every line of his face. Until now, the factory had survived on steady sales of high-end garments, but with the economy souring, even those had stopped selling. He couldn't see how they'd go on living. It seemed even her beloved beef would become a luxury.

She'd returned to the dorm heavyhearted—and there was Hye-in, bringing home some man. He'd performed two songs for ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠them, and they were absolutely mind-blowing. Astonishingly, those songs were to be sung by them from then on. Practice had started again on the spot. Yesterday they were called out to an event for the first time in ages, and they'd sung—and they were still number one on the real-time search rankings even now. The song itself had climbed to number one on the charts too. She was overjoyed.

And this morning, Oppa had handed out 150 million won apiece. If she gave this money to her parents, they'd be so happy. It felt like she'd be eating delicious beef from now on, forever.

But then a problem appeared. She'd thought she was the only one who liked Oppa Young-hoon. Wrong. Every one of the unnies liked him too.

From this moment on, it was war. As she saw it, she was the youngest and the prettiest. Men supposedly liked them young and beautiful, so with nine years between her and Oppa Young-hoon, the fit was just about perfect. The trouble was, the unnies were no slouches either…