Chapter 136
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 136
[It has been a year and a half since their debut. We sat down for an interview with The Dawn, who recently completed a successful run of year-end stages and took home the Discovery of the Year Award. In contrast to their dazzling performances, they greeted us with shy, awkward smiles, repeatedly expressing their gratitude as if they were still unaccustomed to the spotlight.]
"…Ugh."
The Planning Team Leader sat in the conference room, face twisted in a grimace, flipping through a magazine that had rushed to publish the recent interview.
After skimming through the individual features on each member, the Team Leader stopped at a page dominated by a full-page photo of Seo Ho-yun.
Wearing a soft-looking, dark navy knit that contrasted sharply with his pale skin, Seo Ho-yun was cupping a mug the size of his face with both hands, a gentle smile playing on his lips.
[The overwhelming impression of the past year is that you’ve run forward without a single moment’s rest. What is the secret to your success?
Ho-yun: The help I received from those around me played a huge part. I am simply filled with gratitude toward the seniors who paved the way before us.]
He ruined at least five people.
If sending several people—not just male idols, but industry officials as well—straight to rock bottom so that his own popularity could rise by comparison counted as "help," then Seo Ho-yun was telling the truth.
[Your chemistry with the members seems incredible.
Ho-yun: I’m always grateful to them. We always trust and rely on one another.]
It’s more accurate to say they’ve given up because they’re exhausted by his sheer lunacy.
[What are your goals for the New Year?
Ho-yun: To be with the people I’m grateful for.]
That means he doesn’t want to work with incompetent bastards.
[Where do you see yourself in three years?
Ho-yun: …I hope I’ll be rediscovering my original intentions.
You could afford to be a bit more ambitious than that. (Laughs)
Ho-yun: I’m being plenty ambitious. (Laughs)]
"I wish he’d stop trying to find his 'original intentions'..." the Planning Team Leader muttered.
However, the magazine interviewer seemed to have fallen hook, line, and sinker for Seo Ho-yun’s hypocritical act—or perhaps they were just desperate to make the piece pop—because the article was overflowing with praise.
[We met with Seo Ho-yun, who was truly humble and never lost his kind smile throughout the interview. The staff were constantly impressed by his maturity and delicate consideration, which made it hard to believe he is only twenty-four.]
…Oh, he’s impressive, alright.
Just then, Seo Ho-yun walked into the conference room and offered a greeting.
He had come to discuss the concept for their Japanese debut. He sat down, leafed through the proposal once or twice with a rhythmic thwack, and then rubbed his chin.
"Wow..."
"……."
"How does something like this even get approved?"
Seeing the man sneer openly without even bothering to hide it anymore, the Planning Team Leader felt a dull ache in his stomach.
"W-well, Ho-yun, we were a bit short on time..."
"Short on time?"
"It’s just that filming for several dramas started recently, and there are multiple movies being released around the same time... so a lot of our manpower was diverted to the actors’ side..."
The Leader stammered out the excuse, but Ho-yun didn't seem to be listening. He let out a deep sigh, idly fluttering the proposal with one hand.
That expression, that pose. The Team Leader knew all too well that Ho-yun was doing this specifically to break the Planning Team’s spirit.
And indeed, the Planning Team Leader’s spirit wilted like a weed in a drought.
"Are we out of money?"
"……."
"That can't be right. Our company should have made quite a bit by now."
"It’s, uh, we’re just a little short-staffed..."
"Should I help you out then? I mean, if you can't do your job because of a lack of people, I guess I can just do the planning on top of being an idol, doing events, and recording, right? Should I go discuss this with the Management Team?"
Fucker.
The Team Leader quickly hid his trembling fists under the desk. His sarcasm was truly a work of art.
And yet, the Leader couldn't say a word in protest.
Even though the guy had a rotten personality, the feedback he gave after one quick glance at a proposal was better than anything most of the Planning Team staff—including the Leader himself—could come up with.
Y-you foul-tempered brat…!
In the first place, why did an idol keep poking his nose into the Planning Team, the Management Team, and even the A&R Team?
Usually, idols just received the plans and expressed a few minor opinions at most.
"Sigh……."
Seeing the Leader’s aggrieved face, Ho-yun let out an intentionally loud, long sigh and shook his head. The Leader, whose spirit had already been crushed from the start, could only curse inwardly.
Kind? Humble??
It would be more believable to attach those adjectives to some star-struck rookie. The Team Leader was gnashing his teeth, thinking that such words didn't even exist in Seo Ho-yun’s dictionary, when the conference room door opened.
It was Lee Ji-hyeon, looking haggard.
"Ah, hello..."
"Hello, Ji-hyeon," Ho-yun said.
Only then did Ho-yun’s expression soften slightly.
The Leader shuddered at the look on Ho-yun’s face that practically screamed, 'Finally, someone useful is here,' but Ji-hyeon simply sat in an empty seat without any reaction.
"I’m sorry I’m late."
She looked like someone who had been hit hard by a reality check.
The Planning Team staff, including the Leader who had been squirming under Ho-yun’s gaze, let out sighs of relief at the sight of her.
"Sigh... Ji-hyeon, why are you so late?"
Hey! Fuck, don't do it!
"Don't you care about being on time?"
The Planning Team Leader was even more horrified to see Ji-hyeon’s senior colleague snapping at her, seemingly wanting to vent the stress Ho-yun had caused onto a lowly subordinate.
Hey!! Don't do that in front of Seo Ho-yun!!
Lee Ji-hyeon was the only person in the Planning Team that Seo Ho-yun actually acknowledged!
However, Ji-hyeon just dully bowed her head repeatedly. Normally, she was the type to fire back with a sarcastic, "Oh, gee, I’m so sorry," but perhaps due to the endless overtime and exhaustion, she just kept her mouth shut.
Ho-yun watched her intently, his eyebrow twitching slightly, but then—
"……."
He just let it go.
……Hmm??
The Team Leader paused, surprised by Ho-yun’s uncharacteristic behavior. Usually, he would have smirked and said something cutting like, "If you’re just going to fill a seat without solving anything, you might as well not come at all," but he remained silent.
What’s going on?
"Well, anyway, I’ll leave the Japan matter in your hands."
……Did Seo Ho-yun decide to leave Lee Ji-hyeon alone too?
The Team Leader nodded and agreed outwardly while his mind raced with calculations.
But after that, Ho-yun went right back to his usual self—acting like a demon, stirring up a storm, and thoroughly rattling the Planning Team.
"Ah. Right."
"……Yes?"
"The self-produced content we filmed last summer. I want to do a hard drive dump, so can you find that data for me?"
…Suddenly?
But since the suggestion had come out of Ho-yun’s mouth, they had no choice but to at least pretend to look for it.
The foul-tempered brat acted the same way even in front of the CEO, and for some reason, even the CEO seemed to find Ho-yun difficult to handle.
"Well, you can do it when you have some spare time."
"…I’ll look into it."
"Yes, thank you."
Ho-yun didn't even spare Ji-hyeon a glance; he just gave a curt nod and left the conference room.
"Good work today."
"Yes, you too."
The Team Leader, who had been turning things over in his head, realized it at that moment.
…Whoa.
His jaw dropped.
He’s doing that on purpose, isn't he?
If he had stood up for her in front of everyone, it might have felt satisfying in the moment, but there was no telling what kind of backlash Ji-hyeon would face from her colleagues after the sharp-tongued Seo Ho-yun left.
Moreover, Ji-hyeon was already standing on the edge of a cliff; she wouldn't be able to handle that kind of ostracization right now.
Crazy... this idol kid is a master of office politics….
The Leader watched Ho-yun’s retreating back with a look of disgust, but he still felt uneasy.
Seo Ho-yun, just letting it slide?
Impossible.
The Team Leader, who considered himself exceptionally perceptive and good at reading people, could swear on his entire career:
That guy was a loose cannon who never held back.
The fact that this moment felt like the calm before a storm made the Leader extremely uncomfortable.
"…Ji-hyeon."
"Yes?"
"Want me to go down and buy you a coffee?"
The Team Leader didn't want to lose a competent worker like Ji-hyeon, nor did he want to face the dangerous storm head-on, so he decided on the best course of action.
He would be nice to Lee Ji-hyeon.
*
"Ooh…."
I rubbed my chin.
"There’s a reason he made it to Team Leader."
He does just enough work to get by, but his intuition is incredibly sharp.
Standing by the railing on the second floor of the company building, I sipped my lemonade through a straw and watched the cafe across the street. There, I saw the Team Leader buying coffee for Lee Ji-hyeon.
Ji-hyeon was gulping down her coffee with hollow eyes, not even opening her mouth to speak.
She definitely has a resignation letter ready.
I’d bet on it.
Most employees keep a resignation letter saved in a hidden folder anyway, but with a face like that, it wouldn't be surprising if she had one tucked in her pocket.
I expected her to hit a wall around this time, and sure enough, she had.
I watched the Planning Team Leader and Ji-hyeon while poking the ice with my straw, then turned around to organize my thoughts.
Alright, the bait has been successfully cast.
Now it was just a matter of who would bite.
I thought back to the Planning Team staff I’d seen today.
The CEO had recently stepped back from the front lines, only signing off on final decisions, and the Management Team was handling things more efficiently than expected.
As for the A&R Team, Kang Yi-chae was doing a good job of communicating slyly without crossing lines. The PR Team was okay since they had experience managing actors, but…
The most stagnant place is the Planning Team.
They have absolutely no sense of what they’re doing. Even if they were an agency specializing in actors, seeing them constantly miss the mark made me marvel.
I wondered how they didn't get caught being such blatant paycheck thieves.
Regardless, even if Lee Ji-hyeon, the only gem among them, wanted to quit, I had no intention of letting her go easily.
Why would I let such a windfall slip through my fingers?
"Hmm."
In a small, mom-and-pop style company like this, the management was haphazard, and the system was such that the competent people—regardless of whether they were rookies or not—were the ones who suffered.
Well, I can just give her a title and create a justification.
But as a second-year idol, if I spoke up now, it would just be seen as an abuse of power and cause a backlash. Not even the CEO, let alone the Planning Team, would listen to me. I had to set the stage carefully.
"Hyung! Hyung!"
"Yeah."
"Whoa, you finished early??"
Though he was now an adult, Jeong Da-jun hadn't changed a bit; he was as bright and cheerful as ever. I opened the door for him as he came bouncing toward the recording studio.
"Watch your head, Puppy."
"……Oh, okay."
Da-jun, who had been frolicking excitedly, rolled his eyes and glanced at me as he entered, muttering something under his breath.
"……What was that?"
"What was what?"
Inside the recording studio, I could see the members already listening to the translated tracks for our Japanese debut.
"Ah! Did you go to the cafe, Ho-yun?"
"Eh~? Where’s your sense? Why didn't you buy one for me?"
"Hey, what do you expect from Seo Ho-yun?"
Kang Yi-chae, who had been sprawled out on the sofa, sat up and tossed his hat aside with exaggerated flair.
That guy is definitely just trying to get a rise out of me….
"Want me to go buy you one now?"
When I responded calmly, the members, who had been noisily adding their two cents, all shut their mouths at once.
Among them, Kim Seong-hyeon blinked in disbelief before making a confession.
"…Actually, I can't handle caffeine."
"Didn't you drink a Red Bull yesterday, Seong-hyeon?"
"…Ahem."
His lie was exposed immediately.
Seong Ji-won, watching Seong-hyeon sheepishly look away, handed me a piece of paper.
"Anyway, Ho-yun. These are the lyrics we translated. We organized the B-sides for this release, can you take a look?"
"Give it here."
I sat down next to Kang Yi-chae, gnawing on my straw as I scanned the paper.
To be honest, it was much better than the trashy proposal I’d seen earlier, so I gave an honest critique.
"You wrote it beautifully."
"……."
"Who did this? It’s clean."
Silence fell over the room again.
"Did you just call it 'beautiful garbage'?"
"No, I just said you wrote it beautifully."
"Whoa…."
Regardless of their suspicious reactions, I pulled the straw out of my cup and crunched on a piece of ice.
Watching this, Kim Seong-hyeon covered his mouth with both hands.
"I’ve been thinking this since a while ago, but Seo Ho-yun…."
What.
"Why……."
"……."
"…Why are you suddenly being so kind?"
"Waaaaah!!!"
Jeong Da-jun scrambled to the corner of the studio in genuine horror.
"D-d-don't say that out loud!"
"Even if you think it! Keep it in your heart!"
For fuck’s sake….
"A kind Seo Ho-yun…? Is that even a possible combination of words?"
"A word I’ve never heard in my life has appeared…."
What is wrong with these guys?
After giving a light noogie to Da-jun, who was banging on the table and shouting, "Whoever did something wrong to Ho-yun-hyung, confess now," I leaned deep into the sofa.
"Is this the same Seo Ho-yun who used to lecture us about whether we felt sorry for being such failures to our parents?"
"Is this the same person who used to sneer without blinking about how we enjoyed being treated like nobodies??"
"I actually miss the hyung who had a total personality complex in the beginning…."
"Shit, give it a rest already…."
"Phew, sta-ble!"
Kang Yi-chae smiled brightly and clutched his chest.
My personality is still plenty rotten, so don't you worry.
I try to be nice and they still make a fuss, seriously.
I was trying to treat them well before I had to go back.
"Hyung, being prickly is your charm~."
"I know, you brat."
I cleanly gave up on my New Year’s resolution to be kind to my younger members and returned to my original self.
"Hand over the work, Kang Yi-chae."
"Kyaa~."
Yi-chae, who seemed happy even after being cursed at, slid his laptop toward me.
"Hyung~, have a taste of this~."
It was a new B-side for our Japanese debut.