Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Raise Three Idols Well And They’ll Launch a Confession Attack.

Episode 12: Jealousy.

“You mean compensation? Yes, there is something I want.”

I had already prepared an answer about the compensation.

An answer that wouldn’t make me seem too opportunistic but still plausible.

“I want to watch Gyeoul’s growth up close.”

This was what’s called guardian sensibility.

Who would find it creepy if I wanted to watch the child I raised?

Upon hearing my words, Cheon Jonghoon began to ponder deeply.

I thought he would ponder for a moment, but his contemplation lasted over three minutes.

Was it really such a deep issue to introduce a road manager position?

“…It doesn’t seem like you want a video or anything, so you must want to raise that child yourself. Do you want SS to be a mere investor?”

Investor?

I shook my head.

What I wanted wasn’t that big.

“No, raising Gyeoul will be the responsibility of Team Leader Cheon Jonghoon, the project’s final manager. I’m not asking for such excessive authority. I just want to work alongside her and watch her grow.”

I spoke with a wistful look.

“The position of a road manager would be good.”

“Not a producer but a road manager?”

I felt puzzled by Cheon Jonghoon’s unexpected question.

What do you mean, producer? I have never done any producing in my career.

“Yes, I want the road manager position.”

“…There’s no way you wouldn’t pass the open recruitment, so you must want something else from me.”

No, I got rejected right from the paperwork stage.

Reality was different, but it was awkward to correct him when he was overestimating me.

So I just smiled as if I were confident.

“SS has quite a few management departments, so you want to ensure you manage that child without being assigned elsewhere… In that case, you would have to work under me. Are you confident?”

Working under the perfectionist Cheon Jonghoon wouldn’t be easy.

But it wouldn’t be harder than being a road manager at Flower Entertainment.

There, they don’t let you sleep at all.

I had slept only two hours for a week straight before.

That was truly inhumane.

Recalling what I heard from an SS manager in the previous timeline, SS treats its road managers humanely.

That was why I went to such lengths to join SS.

It wasn’t enough of a reason to give up just because I’d have to work under a strict boss.

“For me, it would be an honor to work under Team Leader Cheon. As I said before, I’m a fan of yours.”

“…Alright, but it wouldn’t look good for me to place you directly under me. So I’ll introduce you to the person in charge of recruitment. Would you consider this sufficient compensation?”

It was enough.

If I could just pass the paperwork stage, convincing one recruitment officer would be no problem.

“If I can get such an opportunity, it’s enough. If the situation is given up to that point, I’ll prove myself. That I deserve to work under Team Leader Cheon Jonghoon.”

Cheon Jonghoon nodded and spoke to the man standing next to him.

“Start with short-term training. We need at least a minimal check. If basic diligence is assured, start the contract and background check immediately. I’ll give you full authority, so be prepared, Sanghoon.”

The man called Sanghoon nodded and spoke.

“I won’t disappoint you.”

It seemed Gyeoul’s acceptance was confirmed.

“It will be the best choice. Then I’ll deliver this good news to Gyeoul.”

As I gathered my things and prepared to leave to deliver the news to Gyeoul, Cheon Jonghoon asked a question behind me.

“…Just one question.”

“Yes, please feel free.”

“What is your relationship with that child? Family? Lover?”

“No, what are you saying? A lover? What crazy manager dates their idol client in this day and age?”

“Then, family?”

“Not that either.”

“Then what is the reason for you going this far?”

Going this far?

Cheon Jonghoon’s question was hard to understand in context.

“I don’t quite understand what you mean.”

“What is the reason for your devotion to that child?”

I now realized the gap between Cheon Jonghoon’s thoughts and mine.

There was no reason for the word devotion to come up.

All I did was let her stay for a week and helped correct her singing and dancing.

I even got an opportunity to work at SS in return, so it was a profitable deal.

Taking on the guardian position was just for a convenient reason.

But it seemed that wasn’t how it looked from Cheon Jonghoon’s perspective.

I set up a concept to avoid looking like I blatantly wanted to join SS, and it seemed to have been overly effective.

I decided not to betray his expectations.

If he saw me as an idealist, it would be fine to play along.

After all, an idealist was easier to use as a subordinate than an egoist.

“Gyeoul is a flower bud.”

So I began to speak.

“Just recently formed, a delicate flower bud barely touching the world. The salt-laden wind and morning frost were too harsh for such a bud. It was already preparing to wither.”

I continued with metaphors without being specific.

“That was such a pity. In my eyes, I could see how brilliantly the flower blooming from that bud would shine.”

It turned out that losing her wallet was the only crisis, but it’s all in how you tell it.

“I shielded that flower from the storm a bit so it wouldn’t wither, and that’s how we got here. But I still feel I have a role to play.”

Both the man named Sanghoon and the woman whose name I didn’t know beside Cheon Jonghoon were watching me.

“It seems there is a gap in calling this devotion. So from my perspective, to define it…”

I spoke to Cheon Jonghoon, who was observing me with a blank expression.

“I have become a fan of Gyeoul.”

The motivations of those who entered the world of management were mostly similar.

They were entranced by dazzlingly shining stars.

To the point of dedicating their lives.

Cheon Jonghoon, myself, and everyone in this field started like that.

“…I understand. I’ll pass your contact information to the recruitment officer, so there will be no reason to contact me anymore. So refrain from contacting this number from now on.”

After drawing that line, I bowed to Cheon Jonghoon and stepped out the door.

When I pulled the door, Gyeoul, who was stuck to it, toppled over.

I caught Gyeoul as she almost fell, hugging her.

I asked Gyeoul, who was now in my arms.

“Why were you clinging there so dangerously?”

I wondered if she had been eavesdropping with her ear to the door.

Gyeoul blushed red and spoke nervously.

“…Well, I… Ah! The atmosphere was scary, and I thought I did something wrong, so I was reflecting by banging my head on the door.”

Of course, this coward wouldn’t have the courage to do such a thing.

In the end, she wasn’t eavesdropping but self-punishing.

What a nerdy idea!

“No need for that. You got accepted.”

“Really?”

“Yes, who else would they pick if not you? You worked hard for six days.”

Gyeoul burst into tears as if it were natural.

I had grown accustomed to her tears, so I naturally took out tissues specifically for Gyeoul and wiped them.

In the end, Gyeoul became a trainee, and I got the opportunity to join SS.

It was the best outcome.

Cheon Jonghoon finished his work and sat at the reserved restaurant table exactly at 7 PM.

To make time for this dinner, he had to start his schedule at 4 AM, but Cheon Jonghoon felt no particular emotion about the effort.

Because he considered all such efforts as his own choice.

He wasn’t the type to want to inform others about his efforts and hardships.

However, the fact that only one of the five attendees, including himself, had arrived greatly annoyed him.

Especially because he valued promises like gold.

“The others?”

Cheon Jonghoon asked his sister, Cheon Aram, who was wearing a red dress shirt and black slacks with gray stripes.

Cheon Aram used her third fork and tongs to neatly pull out the snail’s insides as she spoke.

“Dad is busy as always, and Mom said she’d eat at the department store because new arrivals came in. Second brother has an urgent meeting and can’t attend.”

Cheon Jonghoon was greatly upset by his family’s attitude, which seemed to take their promise lightly.

But he quickly composed himself.

After all, the one he wanted to see today was Cheon Aram, so it didn’t matter much.

“Well, this works out. I had something to tell you.”

“Something to tell me? That’s quite an interesting statement.”

Cheon Aram stopped cutting the snail with her knife and looked at him with interest.

Cheon Jonghoon didn’t like the look in her eyes, which seemed to see through his essence, so he didn’t enjoy talking to her.

But he decided not to care now.

Because he had seen a more unpleasant look earlier.

“Six days ago, a call came to my personal number from an unregistered number…”

Cheon Jonghoon told the story of a man who suddenly called one day to propose introducing a trainee to him.

The story ended with him deciding to start short-term training for the trainee he introduced.

“Hmm… Quite an interesting story. I didn’t know you had a talent for storytelling.”

Cheon Aram seemed to find the story interesting.

But it didn’t end there.

“But why are you telling me this story? We’re not the kind to share such personal experiences.”

“Because you’re SS’s recruitment officer. And I promised to introduce him to the recruitment officer.”

Cheon Aram gave a cold smile, as if she understood.

“Aha, so you don’t intend to keep that promise?”

“It’s not that I’m not keeping the promise. I’m faithfully fulfilling it by telling you, the recruitment officer, now.”

Cheon Jonghoon looked shameless as he said that.

“The promise I made was just to introduce him to the recruitment officer, so I fulfilled what he wanted. Whether you hire him or not is none of my concern.”

“In that case, you should have told another recruitment officer. Not me, who resigned two months ago.”

Cheon Jonghoon didn’t respond.

His silence was the answer.

He intentionally hindered Seon Taeyang from joining SS.

It was a move that would seem endlessly childish in the eyes of others.

This was an attitude unlike Cheon Jonghoon, who had such high pride that he would try to keep a promise even at his own loss.

Cheon Aram felt a very strong interest and curiosity in this new side of Cheon Jonghoon.

“Why would you do that? Why would a man like Cheon Jonghoon, who is greedy for talent, push away such a prime asset? Normally, you would have advertised it as yours before anyone else.”

Cheon Aram’s eyes sparkled.

They possessed an enchanting demonic charm, but it was too excessive, making it rather unsettling.

Cheon Jonghoon thought of that look as snake-like.

“It was the approach that was unpleasant. There’s no other reason.”

“No, Cheon Jonghoon values formality, but you value ability even more. If there’s performance, you’d still value it despite the rudeness. Simply finding the approach unpleasant isn’t enough reason to go through this hassle to break a promise.”

Cheon Aram mumbled like a witch casting a spell as she pondered.

“Pride? Not enough. Disgust? Part of it. Hostility? That’s closer to the result.”

Cheon Jonghoon was reflected in Cheon Aram’s deep, dark pupils.

“Enough, I think we’ve talked enough about this…”

At that moment, a snake-like smile appeared on Cheon Aram’s face.

“…Ah! Hahahahaha! That’s it! That’s it!”

Cheon Aram’s wild laughter filled the quiet restaurant.

Normally, Cheon Jonghoon would have pointed out her rudeness, but he couldn’t.

He was overwhelmed by Cheon Aram’s intense emotions.

After the laughter ended, her red lips parted.

And like the serpent that made Eve eat the forbidden fruit, Cheon Aram named Cheon Jonghoon’s hidden emotion.

“You’re jealous of that person right now.”