There's Always a Twist (1)

Just before I stepped inside, Kim Hyunjo caught me by the shoulder.

"A rookie who hasn't even been here a month, in and out of the CEO's office like this. You're going places."

I was about to laugh it off when his voice dropped, nearly a whisper.

"Far as I know, the CEO, Sung Do-won, the Director, the Management Team 2 Leader, and Team 3—Young-hoon hyung—are all in there together. If anything goes wrong inside, talk to Young-hoon hyung."

"I will. Thank you."

I'd sat in on a few meetings with the Management Team 3 Leader, so I knew him a little. A cheerful man, and funny.

"I'll head in, then."

I left Kim Hyunjo and Sung Do-won's manager behind and walked into the office.

Just as I'd been told, five people were in the middle of a conversation. CEO Baek Han-sung sat at the head. On the sofa to the left were Sung Do-won and the bearded leader of Management Team 2; on the right sat the Director and Team 3 Leader Park Young-hoon.

Perhaps because they'd come through the crisis cleanly, the mood was bright—everyone except the Team 2 Leader, whose face was anything but. He was even looking at me with open dislike.

What is that man's problem? I've never even seen him before. Why does he seem to hate me?

"Aigoo, our team's lucky charm is here. Come sit."

The Team 3 Leader said it teasingly and patted the cushion beside him. I offered my greetings and went over. When I sat and lifted my head, Sung Do-won was directly across from me, smiling gently.

Huh. This arrangement feels familiar.

What was it? The answer hit a few seconds later, bright as a flare.

When I'd come in earlier I'd been too rattled to notice, and I'd been standing besides; the office in my memory was buried under so much static I hadn't recognized it. Sitting face to face with Sung Do-won like this, though, I was sure.

This was the office from that first glitching future.

"Your name is Jung Sunwoo, correct?"

CEO Baek Han-sung asked it out of nowhere.

"Yes, sir."

"You heard the results of the photo analysis?"

"Yes. Team Leader Park told me."

"I hear the staff call you Management Team 3's lucky charm. From now on, you might as well just be W&U's lucky charm."

Still smiling through the praise, he asked another sudden question.

"Do you have a car?"

"Sorry? No. Not yet."

"Thinking of buying one?"

"Yes."

Of course I was thinking about it. I just didn't have the money.

"Then pick one out. The company will buy it for you."

"...Sorry?"

He's giving me what?

I stared, wondering if I'd misheard, and the Director cut in with a grin.

"What are you stalling for? When someone offers you a thing like this, you take it while it's offered."

"Ah—thank you."

I was grateful. It was just so sudden that the words I'd meant to say tangled on my tongue.

"But if you simply tell me to pick ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠one and I ask for something like a Rolls-Royce, what are you going to do? Kids these days are terrifying."

"Then I'll hand over mine and walk."

A light laugh moved through the room at CEO Baek Han-sung's joke.

Fingering the composite of Sung Do-won and a married woman, he said quietly,

"More important than the photo being fabricated is that Pure Star really was behind it. Good thing we found out early. Imagine how filthy it would have felt to learn later that we'd been played by Pure Star's little game."

So it really was Pure Star's doing.

And that was why they were giving me a car... No. Better to think about that seriously once there ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was room in my head.

So what happened with Pure Star now?

Hidden-camera shots, forgery, blackmail—that was grounds for a criminal complaint. Judging from what Director Park had said in the future, Pure Star Entertainment didn't look likely to keep climbing forever.

"Then Pure Star Entertainment..."

"I'm meeting their CEO with Do-won tonight. That's our problem to handle from here."

I wondered what would pass between them in that room. It didn't sound like it would be only talk.

"Anyway, that's my gift. Do-won said he had something to say as well."

CEO Baek Han-sung leaned back, and Sung Do-won tipped forward toward me. He dipped his head in a small bow, looked me straight in the eye, and spoke.

"It was Sunwoo, wasn't it? Thank you, truly, for this. You're a benefactor to me."

"Benefactor is a bit much..."

The Team 2 Leader muttered it, and Sung Do-won shook his head, firm.

"You are. If it weren't for you, I might have been caught in their scheme, and my life as an actor could have ended. Which is why..."

The moment I heard the line I'd turned over so many times I'd memorized it, an uncertain future became my present.

While I was thrashing in a riptide of feeling, the Team 3 Leader clicked his tongue.

"If it were anyone else, I'd have had a word about poaching a rookie who's doing good work. But when our top star asks, I can't even protest."

"I'm sorry, Team Leader."

"Aigoo... what can you do."

He set a hand on my shoulder.

"You're the one it concerns. What do you think? Want to work with Do-won?"

"Come on, this is painful. Do you really need to ask?"

The Team 2 Leader cut in with a scoff.

"Honestly, are Do-won and those Neptune kids even in the same league? Jang Seo-moon only got to be his manager after beating out a pack of competitors. They're offering that seat to some guy with less than a month on the job. Unless he's out of his mind, who'd turn this down?"

"Why do you have to put it like that? Nobody can see an inch ahead. Who's to say Neptune won't blow up next year? They've already caught a wave."

One thing, at least, was clear. They were both team leaders, and these two did not get along.

They hadn't quite started jabbing fingers, but the air was turning sharp, and no one stepped in. The CEO and the Director alike sipped their coffee with refined indifference, as if spats like this were routine.

"Whether they've caught a wave or not is something we'll have to wait and see."

The Team 2 Leader tossed it off like a spark. This time even I flared.

"Ha. And what kind of manners are these, throwing cold water on someone else's house?"

"Manners? Look who's talking. The kid next to you went and wrecked our Chae-young's next project not long ago. She's touchy enough as it is, and ever since she met him her moods have gotten worse."

Son Chae-young's name came out of nowhere.

So that was why a Team 2 Leader I'd never met had it in for me. The question answered itself.

"It's a relief this one turned out well, but I've never seen a guy who swaggers in like that from the start ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and doesn't cause a wreck. I'm uneasy parking him next to Do-won as it is... Still, if we're sending Jang Seo-moon off we'll need a new manager anyway, and Do-won says he likes him, so we'll watch and see."

"Aigoo. Talk like that, and no wonder they call you the mother-in-law."

I was listening to the two of them when I went still.

Jang Seo-moon had to be Sung Do-won's manager, the one waiting outside. Sending him off and slotting me into his place—did that mean they were cutting him? Over this?

Honestly, I thought the fault in this mess lay more with Sung Do-won than with his manager. Do-won was the one who had lied to shake him off. And yet the one taking the blame and stepping down was the manager.

Of course I knew a celebrity and a manager weren't only the warm, family-tight bond you saw in dramas. In the end they were bound by business. I knew perfectly well that celebrities mistreated managers and the reverse, and that the worst of it went all the way to court.

I knew. And still, the situation tasted bitter. Because someday I might end up like Jang Seo-moon.

"That's enough. Let's hear what he thinks. Two team leaders arguing, and the kid can't even get a word in."

The Director settled the room. It went quiet at once, but I couldn't bring myself to speak. Accepting would make me Sung Do-won's only manager, and handling Neptune alongside him would be impossible in any real sense.

I turned to lay the worry in front of the Team 3 Leader, but he spoke first, as if he'd read me.

"What. The Neptune kids on your mind?"

"Yes. This is an important time for them... is there any way I could keep them as well?"

He scratched his neck, looking troubled.

"Responsibility's a good thing, but that's tough. Do-won has a lot of overseas work. He goes to China like it's nothing, and next year he's planning a push into Hollywood. He'll be a newcomer there, so you'll have to stay glued to set. You won't be able to cover Neptune on top of that."

"Ah."

"If you had a chief manager's experience and know-how, maybe. But you're only just learning. It wouldn't be good for you, or for Do-won, or for Neptune."

The Team 2 Leader shoved himself into the conversation.

"Neptune's got another rookie anyway, don't they? Hand things off and come back. I hear you said from the start you wanted to manage actors. Do-won is top-tier even among our company's actors. You don't even realize you've hit the lottery..."

Objectively, he was right. This wasn't a choice that needed thinking over.

A top actor with both remarkable skill and box-office pull. Managing someone like Sung Do-won was what I had wanted most, and expected most, when I joined W&U. And if I was going to change the present, I had already decided to carve out a better future.

Neptune: a rookie girl group with potential, only just beginning to grow. Sung Do-won: already at the top at home, now reaching overseas.

Ask ten people and nine would choose Sung Do-won on the spot. The tenth would be called crazy.

Set aside every snag, every misgiving... the connections I would gain the moment I became his manager. The experience of walking overseas markets myself, Hollywood above all. Think of how much that would shape the rest of my life, and this wasn't even a question.

And yet why can't I answer right away?

It felt as if something had a hold on my ankle.

"Haha."

The Director laughed, plainly entertained.

"I didn't think you'd hesitate between Do-won and Neptune. You must have gotten attached to those kids in a short time. Should I give you a little longer to think?"

"Unbelievable."

The Team 2 Leader slapped the table.

"What's left to think about? We don't force anyone ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠who doesn't want the job. You know how many people would quit the company they're at if you told them to manage Do-won? No more deliberating. Decide now. Here."

Across Sung Do-won's face as he watched me, the Neptune kids flickered past—especially Lee Songha, who only today had finally let out what she'd been holding inside.

And in that moment, the world turned over, and the scene before my eyes changed.