Chapter 409
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 409
"Seriously, you really love teasing people..."
Kang Yeon-hu shot me a sharp, huffy glare before storming out of the meeting room. Left alone, I chuckled to myself for a moment before pulling out my phone.
Since Kang Yeon-hu had gone out of his way to warn me, I considered paying a visit to WH’s management team. However, I quickly dismissed the idea. The person in charge there, Team Leader Jeong Seon-ui, was no pushover; she wouldn't be easily rattled even if I tried to provoke her. In fact, she was so busy that she was hard to meet under normal circumstances, and lately, it felt like she was actively avoiding me.
How is a team leader harder to run into than the CEO?
But there was someone else I could see more easily.
Someone with more experience than me within the company who was also reasonably close to the WH Entertainment executives.
I scrolled through my contacts, found the person, and sent a text.
[What are you doing?]
A reply arrived in less than a few minutes. I had only sent a short greeting, but the response told me to come up immediately. I took the elevator and stepped out onto a floor that felt somewhat unfamiliar.
"Oh, Seo Ho-yun. Hello!"
"Hello."
I bowed politely to the staff members who greeted me warmly as I walked down the hallway toward the training room reserved exclusively for Black Call. I grabbed the black knob and opened the door, and the booming, fast-paced beat of music hit my ears.
In the dead center of the room, surrounded by mirrors on all four sides, I saw a guy sprawled out barefoot with his eyes closed. Even though it was the middle of winter, his short-sleeved T-shirt was drenched in sweat, suggesting he had been practicing for quite a while.
I turned off the speakers, strode over, and looked down at him.
"Did I interrupt your practice?"
"It's fine. I was just waiting for my rude junior to show up."
"Ah, the one you said was kind and charming?"
When I took a shameless stance, Ju Woo-seong let out a dry, incredulous laugh.
"Ho-yun, have you ever heard this saying?"
"No, I haven't, and I don't really want to."
"They say a genius can't beat a hard worker, and a hard worker can't beat someone who enjoys what they do."
He suddenly bolted upright, spouting this nonsense with a smirk.
"But what can I do? I'm all three."
So what?
It was true, so I couldn't exactly refute it, but I really felt like saying, 'And your point is?'
"A genius who even enjoys the hard work? Ha, I'm even scared of myself." I brushed off his bragging as he unscrewed the cap of a water bottle and looked up at me.
"So, why has the humble Seo Ho-yun graced such a prestigious place with his presence? You, the man who usually ignores all my messages?"
Despite his usual mischievous tone, Ju Woo-seong’s overall vibe seemed unusually gloomy. I knew he was a guy with significant mood swings, so it wasn't exactly a surprise.
I put on a bright smile to achieve the goal that brought me here.
"I was just curious about what you were up to. What you've been doing lately, how the comeback preparations are going—"
"Hey, just be honest."
Ju Woo-seong drained the entire bottle in one go, a bitter smile hanging on his lips.
"You're here about the awards ceremonies, aren't you?"
I hadn't even said anything yet.
I simply arched an eyebrow. Ju Woo-seong grabbed his T-shirt and fanned himself, keeping his eyes fixed on me.
"Your thought process is obvious, Seo Ho-yun. You're thinking, 'The Dawn should have swept the trophies by now, so why haven't we won a single one? The atmosphere at the company is weird, and that bastard Ju Woo-seong might know something, so let's go feel him out.' Something like that."
"...What makes you think that?"
"Because you only care about stuff like this."
Accurate.
Reading the answer directly from my expression, Ju Woo-seong picked up a hoodie that had been tossed carelessly on the floor and added, "I'm sorry, Seo Ho-yun, but I haven't heard anything. I'm the company's jewel because I shine so bright, but because of that, the higher-ups treat me like I don't have a brain. Not that they're wrong. Have you ever seen a diamond with a brain?"
"Hmm..."
He was snapping at me with a tone three times more prickly than usual. However, it didn't seem like he was acting this way to cover up a lie.
I watched Ju Woo-seong pull his hoodie back on and fell into thought for a moment.
...Is there nowhere else to look into this?
All the indicators so far pointed toward The Dawn's success.
Even amidst the inflation of K-pop album sales, our revenue was on a steady upward trend.
However, I couldn't afford to be complacent.
If possible, I wanted to tap every stone before crossing the bridge and deal with any potential troublemakers in advance.
"...Hey, drop it."
The silence that had fallen while I was thinking was broken by Ju Woo-seong’s voice.
He was looking at me with three deep furrows between his brows.
"I don't know what kind of scheme you're cooking up, but whatever it is, don't do it. And don't even dream of doing something weird like blackmailing people again. ...I've wanted to say this for a while, but you need to watch your back."
With that sudden reproach, Ju Woo-seong patted the floor beside him.
"Our company is a truly terrifying place. It runs solely on profit. 'Precious artists' my ass. they see humans as numbers and discard them the moment they find a flaw."
That’s just what a company is.
A space that turns even living, breathing beings into small replaceable parts.
There’s a reason people look like they’re slowly dying the moment they clock in.
It was refreshing to see that the face of WH Entertainment, the one who emitted the most brilliant light, had a fairly accurate grasp of the cold reality of professional life.
"...What's this? Advice based on experience?"
"Yeah, you jerk. I've been called in a few times because I have plenty of 'flaws' myself."
Ju Woo-seong scratched the back of his neck and then rubbed his face like he was kneading dough.
"...Still, they didn't say much, saying this level of trouble was nothing compared to others in the industry. Back then, well, I was an irreplaceable talent."
He buried his face in his palms for a moment, then pulled over his discarded sneakers, shoved a foot in, and began tying the laces.
"But imagine. What if I were at a level where I could be easily replaced? Or if I had a problem more serious than just dating? They would have swapped me out. Do you know how many seniors have vanished like that...?"
Ju Woo-seong rambled on until he looked up at the ceiling and let out an annoyed sigh.
"...Ha, saying it out loud like this really brings on the reality check."
What a waste of time.
Well, he’s human, so I figured he could be feeling unsettled, but in reality, someone of Ju Woo-seong’s caliber didn't need to worry about such things.
Because, just as he said, he was truly irreplaceable.
Both now and in the future.
Back in my PD days, as long as I could secure Ju Woo-seong for a program—whether through blackmail or persuasion—I never had to worry about that episode's ratings. There were plenty of rumors about him, but he was a professional when it came to work and never once gave the staff a hard time.
I stared at Ju Woo-seong and then lightly kicked his other shoe, which he hadn't put on yet.
"WH will probably be clinging to your coattails forever, Ju Woo-seong."
"...Huh?"
"You're permanently irreplaceable. Where else are they going to find someone like you?"
Ju Woo-seong’s hand, which had been reaching for the rolling sneaker, stopped.
"......Ha, crazy, holy shit, why are you suddenly being all touching and stuff?!"
I wasn't trying to be touching; I was just stating a fact based on reality.
"Seo Ho-yun is seriously unbelievable," Ju Woo-seong muttered. He rubbed under his nose with his index finger, quickly put on his other shoe, and stood up. The corners of his mouth were twitching uncontrollably.
"Anyway, this is just advice out of concern, so don't worry too much. Who else is as hot as you right now?"
"The guy right in front of me."
"...Ahem, cough! Well, of course, I'm not even a point of comparison!"
This guy is the definition of simple-minded.
"Hey, come here. I'm in a good mood."
Suddenly full of energy, Ju Woo-seong insisted on following me to the company cafe despite my protests. He proceeded to buy a mountain of drinks and snacks for the members of The Dawn, forced them into my hands, and left after a final remark about how lucky I was to have such a great senior.
Dealing with him was slightly draining, but I figured he must have been pretty exhausted lately to react like that to such a small comment.
In the end, I hadn't gained any real information, but I just shrugged and headed toward The Dawn’s training room.
For now, I guess I have no choice but to watch the situation.
As I turned the corner and pushed open the door, a chorus of boos erupted from the members.
"Why are you so late! Were you slacking off?!"
"Boo! Get out!"
"I bought snacks and coffee."
"Hyung, you really are the best lead vocal."
Seeing the youngest members immediately flip their attitudes, I set the tray down on the table like I was throwing feed to hungry animals. Leaving them to scramble for the food, I sat on the sofa and brought up the Korea Music Awards.
There had been the Seoul Popular Music Awards at the end of January, but no idol group other than Black Call had won anything yet. Because of that, everyone predicted that if we were to win an award, the Korea Music Awards would be our best bet.
"I saw we were nominated again."
"Ah, right!!"
Jeong Da-jun, who was sipping an iced americano through a straw, slammed his hand on the table in excitement.
"I've already prepared my comments for the magazine interviews!!"
"You're counting your chickens..."
Kim Seong-hyeon muttered to himself, loud enough for everyone to hear, as he looked away, but the maknae was undeterred.
"Do you guys want to hear it? Ahem, ahem! 'This award is all thanks to our Noeul. To repay that love, I want to climb even higher. Am I greedy?' Then, in parentheses, it should say 'laughs'."
"Jeong Da-jun, did you eat something wrong?"
"He did feed us the wrong food earlier."
An excited Jeong Da-jun ambitiously declared that he would even make it to the Gramophone, the world's most prestigious awards ceremony. Seong Ji-won just smiled quietly as he listened, while Kang Yi-chae kept his eyes fixed on the floor.
His cheeks flushed red, Jeong Da-jun scurried away from Kim Seong-hyeon and clung to Kang Yi-chae.
"Hyung, what about you? What are you going to say in the interview?"
"...Uh, oh? Me?"
Startled as if he had just snapped back to reality, Kang Yi-chae blinked slowly.
"......I don't know. I'm okay even if we don't get an award."
"...Eh?"
"Yeah, just being with you guys and the hyungs is enough..."
Kang Yi-chae trailed off, swallowing the rest of his sentence, and then gave an awkward laugh as he leaned on Seong Ji-won.
"...Will Ji-won hyung scold me if I say that~?"
"Hahaha, Yi-chae... stop shaking me. I'm getting dizzy."
Seong Ji-won gently detached Kang Yi-chae, who was whining and trying to play off the awkward moment, and patted him on the back.
"No, I think I know what you mean. My previous teammates weren't great either... so I'm just so happy to be with you all. Thank you, everyone."
"How can you say such cool things while practicing in a training room...!"
Kang Yi-chae, looking dazed as if struck by the radiance of a literal angel, covered his mouth with both hands in admiration.
"Then, Yi-chae, that's all the more reason to do our jobs properly."
"...Yes?"
"For the fans!"
Translation: Let's practice.
The members froze for a second as they realized the hidden meaning behind his words.
Complaints immediately erupted from all sides, but no one could stop Seong Ji-won.
In the end, the members of The Dawn didn't stop their performance preparations until the lights on the floors of the WH Entertainment building went out one by one and the traces of people vanished.
They would collapse onto the floor in turns, only to bolt upright again shouting, "We have to do this!"
By the time the manager came by for the fifth time to tell them to go back to the dorm, the boys finally left the training room, chatting about how the days they practiced with blankets already felt like a dream.
"Seo Ho-yun, aren't you coming?"
Kim Seong-hyeon, who was grabbing his bag to leave, suddenly turned his head toward me.
"I'm staying. I'm going to finish the portion I couldn't do earlier."
"Really? ...Want me to help you out a bit more?"
"I'm good."
When I waved him off, Kim Seong-hyeon let out a small sigh as if telling me to do whatever I wanted and followed the other members out.
Once I confirmed the room was empty, I flopped down onto the floor in the heavy silence.
Floating in the air before my eyes was a flashy-looking trophy, spinning slowly.
[Unknown Idol Tycoon Clear Conditions!
Win the Grand Prize at one of the top 3 music awards ceremonies held between December and February. (0/1)
Clear all Main Scenarios. (0/1)]
The achievement of the quest was right before my eyes.
However, there were still problems to solve, and it was too early to say goodbye.
Staring blankly into the air, I sat up once more.
"Let's just practice."
So that not a single regret remains.
And one week later.
The Korea Music Awards were held.