Episode: 6
Creating my own idol group, huh.
And those idols would be girls offering themselves to me?
Damn, just thinking about it made me rock hard.
'Great. Should I bring it up then?'
I had already slept with Han Hye-eun.
Thanks to her, I was getting by quite well at N&P these days.
I thought I'd mention it to Team Leader Park Joo-yong, who held some real power.
“Goddammit!!”
Hearing Park Joo-yong’s loud roar from the office, my body stiffened instinctively.
Despite my dislike for the man, I couldn’t shake off the fear he instilled in me.
I had been on the receiving end of his wrath more than once.
"......What's going on?"
Sticking together as we did, I asked Yoon Won-seok, another low-level artist manager.
Yoon Won-seok, also hiding in a corner to avoid Park Joo-yong's wrath, whispered cautiously.
"You know, the girls from Minimum?"
Minimum was a rookie idol group that Park Joo-yong had once aggressively promoted at N&P.
They weren't particularly bad, nor were they exceptionally good.
The girls were cute and had good looks, but their dance skills never improved despite constant training.
'Music can be autotuned these days, so if they can just manage the live performances, it would be fine.'
Both of us subtly moved further behind the pillar, continuing our conversation.
Getting caught by Park Joo-yong in his current state could result in being scolded for merely breathing.
"Minimum released a new song recently. Mini Love."
"Yes."
"They performed live on a music show."
"Did they perhaps play the MR instead of AR? That would be a huge problem. Their live performances, honestly, are..."
"It would have been better if that were the case."
Yoon Won-seok sighed softly.
"Well, you know, Legend?"
"Oh, you mean AM's Legend?"
"Yes, yes, that Legend. One of Minimum's members, Stella, was watching their performance and really liked it."
Well, girls are allowed to like boy idol performances too, aren't they?
Even idols can appreciate something cool and pretty.
But there's an unwritten rule.
Male idols shouldn't show too much enthusiasm for female idol performances, and vice versa.
"That offended some of Legend's fans, which is the first problem."
"Yes, yes."
"And the real issue is that it might not be just speculation or suspicion."
"Pardon?"
"......Stella was allegedly caught getting into a car with one of Legend's members. Although the news hasn't broken yet, there are photos circulating on Legend's community. She might have even been holding a condom. Ha-ha..."
Good heavens.
I couldn't close my gaping mouth.
As I said, Minimum's girls were surviving by selling their cute and pure image to uncle fans and various men.
If a scandal involving the group's leader sleeping with a male idol broke out...
“Arrgh!!! Damn sluts!!!”
Park Joo-yong's raging like a wild boar in the office made some sense.
‘The quiet ones are the worst.’
Stella, in particular, had a strong innocent and pure image.
She always greeted me with a cute "hello" whenever we crossed paths in the office, which made me smile foolishly.
Thinking that such a girl couldn't hold herself back from wanting to sleep with a handsome idol...
‘…It is arousing.’
I kind of want to sleep with her too.
No, that wasn't the point now. Park Joo-yong was in a state of extreme rage.
Even compliments would sound like insults to him right now.
Naturally.
"What would happen if I went to Team Leader Park Joo-yong now and said, 'I want to create a new idol group. Please support me.'?"
Without a second's hesitation, Yoon Won-seok mimicked a motion of pushing me off a cliff.
"He wouldn't go far. He'd immediately push Mr. Kim Hyun-woo off a cliff, even if it meant going to prison."
"Ha-ha, I thought so too."
Damn it!
What terrible timing.
‘It was already an absurd idea, but now I can't even mention it.’
A low-level manager suddenly asking the team leader to let him create an idol girl group to save the company had close to zero chance of success.
Now, it had gone into the negatives.
[But, Master, only you can save this company that's on the brink of collapse.]
As I sipped coffee from the vending machine and escaped to the emergency exit, I asked.
“How about just starting my own company?”
Nobel shook his head.
[It would take an enormous amount of time.]
[You know from working in this industry how hard it is to discover an idol group from scratch.]
[Besides, you've already worked at N&P. If you suddenly go independent, would Team Leader Park Joo-yong, who already sees you as a thorn in his side, just leave you alone?]
“Hmm… He might hire a gang to throw me into the Pacific Ocean. Even if he gets caught and goes to prison.”
[Exactly.]
Damn, he wasn't joking.
[While N&P is indeed on the decline, it’s still a sizeable company.]
[Starting here gives you the best head start.]
[Just having N&P's name makes it easier to meet various producers and makeup artists. It widens your network significantly.]
‘Damn it. The problem is I need to be granted that authority.’
But right now, it’s not even a situation where I can ask for that authority. It was already unrealistic, but if I mentioned it now...
[There’s a way.]
[Just follow my instructions. That’s how you managed to have your way with Han Hye-eun. Oh, by the way, I’ve almost taken back the blessing of sex I gave you. Even God doesn’t tolerate someone getting by too easily.]
“Can’t things be a little easier?”
[It wouldn’t be as fun.]
[You see, God sending me to you is kind of a game for Him. So, you have to entertain Him to the fullest. Then, He’ll send more blessings, not just the blessing of sex.]
“I guess having an amazing sex life is already a fantastic gift.”
Maybe not as much as when I had the blessing of sex, but even now, I could satisfy Han Hye-eun to some extent with just my skills.
[For now, wait. The time isn’t right.]
[At lunchtime, I’ll give you instructions. Follow them exactly, and you’ll be granted the temporary authority of a team leader.]
[Then you can start actively recruiting the girls who will become the best group in Korea.]
‘Alright, I trust you.’
[Hehe, trust me! Who am I?]
“A killer partner, right?”
[Haha! Now we’re talking!]
To kill some time until lunch and avoid Park Joo-yong, I thought of meeting Han Hye-eun for lunch.
[Han Hye-eun: Oppa, I’m sorry. I have an important appointment today.]
Normally, she would have eagerly come running, wanting to suck me off anywhere – the emergency exit, the bathroom, the rooftop, or an empty practice room. But seeing her turn me down, she must really be busy.
And I was about to get busy too.
“Hey, Kim Hyun-woo!! Damn it, how can you be on your phone in this chaos? Do you think you’re something special just because things have been going well since you stuck to Han Hye-eun? Do you think you’re a team leader?”
“...I’m sorry.”
“What? Do you want to say I’m blind because of the Minimum scandal? Your eyes say that, don’t they?”
Damn it, I apologized and bowed my head. How can you see my eyes when my head is bowed?
Are your eyes on your feet or something?
“Do you think creating an idol group is easy? Why don’t you try it then?”
I almost reflexively said, “Really?” but quickly shut my mouth and just kept repeating my apologies.
[By the way, getting scolded now is part of the buildup process, so endure it quietly. Actually, it would be helpful if you got scolded more intensely.]
“In the case of Han Hye-eun, you were just lucky, you bastard. Her form was already improving, so I was planning to give her more projects. It was just luck that you caught her eye at that time.”
That’s not true.
If I hadn’t slept with Han Hye-eun, she would have completely fallen and retired from the entertainment industry.
But what’s the point of saying that?
The only one who can defeat a stubborn old man is a higher-ranking boss.
And in this office, the only person more powerful than Team Leader Park Joo-yong is the rarely seen department head.
“Immediately contact the reporters and tell them to retract any news about the Minimum and Legend scandal. Report all the posts on the community or ask the community to take them down quickly!”
“Yes, sir.”
Yeah, this is the job of a low-level manager.
AM is a big company, so they can handle it without much damage.
Or they might even shift the blame onto us.
But N&P can’t even react strongly.
If we try to hold AM accountable, we’ll be the ones who get crushed.
“Sigh.”
Returning to my original seat, I sighed deeply while making calls here and there.
Having uncomfortable conversations with strangers and bowing down is still the same pain.
At times like this, I need to relieve stress by having sex with Han Hye-eun.
[For lunch, go with Yoon Won-seok to the nearby place that serves spicy flying fish roe fried rice.]
‘Oh, that’s a good menu.’
I wanted to eat something spicy to relieve this frustration anyway.
At 11:50, I quickly sent a message to Yoon Won-seok on the company chat.
[Won-seok, how about flying fish roe fried rice for lunch today?]
[Uh? Well, I’m not really feeling it. It doesn’t really appeal to me. Haha.]
Usually, I would say, “Oh, okay,” and leave it at that.
But today is different.
Nobel told me to have lunch there with Yoon Won-seok.
[Oh, I just don’t want to go alone. But I really want to eat flying fish roe fried rice. I’ll treat you. Plus, I’ll buy you an iced Americano afterward. How about it?]
There’s nothing better for an employee in a small company with no meal allowance than a meal and coffee on someone else’s dime.
[Oh, suddenly, flying fish roe fried rice sounds really good. Haha, let’s go. Let’s leave at 12:10. The team leader usually leaves around 12:05.]
[Deal!]
Smiling confidently, I waited for the next five minutes to pass and asked Nobel.
“How was that?”
[You’re good at handling people. It’s not frustrating at all. Since you followed my instructions, I’ll show you some magic.]
[I promise.]
[Today, you’ll be given the temporary position of team leader.]
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