Chapter 20

Chapter 20

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

Episode 20: The Woman Who Snatched Me Up As If She’s Been Waiting For Me.

“Mr. Taeyang, I’m really sorry!”

“Ah… I understand. It’ll be hard to work together, but I hope we can remain on good terms in the future.”

The CEO of Popo Entertainment repeatedly apologized to me.

He even sent a photo of himself kneeling through the messenger, showing his sincerity.

But I didn’t want to see a man in his 50s kneeling before me.

I just wanted a job.

“Why can’t I get a job? The plan was perfect, wasn’t it?”

After bringing Gyeoul out of SS, I polished my pre-regression memories and listed all the agencies that needed a trained trainee, contacting them one by one.

Most were intrigued by my smooth talk and were interested, but they backed off in horror upon hearing our names.

Well, it was normal to get rejected if the circumstances didn’t fit.

But I thought at least one of them would definitely work out.

That was Popo Entertainment, which would create a legend of reverse-running success in three years as the miracle of small and medium-sized agencies.

Three years after achieving the reverse-running success, the CEO of Popo Entertainment would lose his only daughter to cancer.

Afterward, he would do an interview, expressing deep regret for not paying attention to his daughter because he was too busy with work.

His desperate lament that he should have at least had a health check-up if he could turn back time spread widely, contrasting with Popo Entertainment’s dramatic success.

I contacted the CEO of Popo Entertainment and strongly urged him to get his daughter a health check-up.

At first, he thought it was a prank call, but I used my pre-regression knowledge to accurately match the internal information of Popo Entertainment and the CEO like a shaman. So, he decided to try a health check-up as a precaution.

As a result, he found out that his daughter was in the early stages of cancer.

The CEO tearfully thanked me.

I smiled contentedly and asked him to include Gyeoul and me in Popo Entertainment’s debut group.

I showed him Gyeoul’s practice video, which showcased her average A-level talent without reserve.

The CEO of Popo Entertainment said he was grateful to be introduced to such a talented kid and promised me a job.

And today, he suddenly informed me that he couldn’t keep the promise.

I had just met him in person and introduced myself at the agency yesterday.

“Did Cheon Jonghoon pull some strings?”

If Cheon Jonghoon’s power was involved, I could somewhat understand the current situation.

But that was just a bit. Objectively, it was an unlikely assumption.

If I assume Cheon Jonghoon created this situation, then he must have pressured all the agencies I contacted not to accept Gyeoul and me.

This was not a simple task.

How significant would it seem for one of the three major agencies to target and sabotage two people?

It would be even more so since they couldn’t disclose a rational reason.

It was different from when Ban Seongcheol of Flower Entertainment blacklisted me.

From the company’s perspective back then, they could see Seon Taeyang as someone who betrayed the company and stole artists to start an agency.

They had grounds to talk to other agencies and experts.

But SS had no such grounds now.

If you exclude the bullying incident SS wanted to hide, the situation on the surface looked like this.

Seon Taeyang took out an SS trainee.

Without a specific destination, the two were freelancing.

Who would see this as a kidnapping?

It wasn’t a group, just one person, and no destination was set.

Not a recognized professional with marketability, but a trainee.

This would just look like a trainee left SS alone, with me as a simple accomplice.

Moreover, other agencies weren’t blind or deaf, so they’d guess that something unsavory happened between the trainee and SS.

Otherwise, SS wouldn’t have allowed the trainee to leave.

So, it was unlikely that Cheon Jonghoon ordered all agencies to block us.

Doing this would lower SS’s prestige and gain resentment from the agencies that have to follow orders.

How ugly would it seem for a fellow agency to order around because they’re doing well?

There would also be those who’d want to latch onto this as a weakness.

In many ways, it wasn’t worth it to go this far to ruin Gyeoul and me.

If he simply wanted to mess with us, it would be more efficient to entangle us legally and cause trouble.

The only result of such a choice would be that Gyeoul and I couldn’t get a job in the entertainment industry.

Cheon Jonghoon would have to take full responsibility for this risky decision.

Cheon Jonghoon wasn’t the type of person to commit such irrational acts.

Unless his arrogance drove him crazy, it was impossible.

“Ah, then why can’t I get a job?”

I couldn’t figure out the answer at all.

At that moment, the guy I was working with called me.

“Hey, Mr. Seon! Break time’s over! Stop calling and get ready to unload!”

“Alright, I’m coming! Sir!”

I put my smartphone in my pocket and ran over in a hurry.

“Damn, it’s finally over.”

I decided to do a simple part-time job to earn seed money for stocks during my spare time while trying to get a job.

I still didn’t think it was a bad decision.

However, choosing a loading and unloading job was the worst decision.

The problem was that I was lured by the high hourly wage and the convenience of not requiring an interview or long-term commitment.

This wasn’t something I could endure just because I was physically fit.

I massaged my aching body while changing clothes and headed outside.

“Can you spare a moment?”

When I went outside, a woman wearing a tailored jacket draped over her shoulders, a red shirt, and wide striped slacks approached me.

“Me?”

Having studied various fashion brands because of sponsorships, I could tell at a glance.

The clothes and accessories she wore were all top-notch luxury items.

But even those luxury items lost their color in front of her aura.

Her human presence was that strong.

“Yes, Mr. Seon Taeyang, I’m talking to you.”

Her aura was overwhelming.

Her eyes shone like those of a hungry snake, perceiving everything around her as prey.

It felt like she could devour me.

I thought this must be what it feels like to meet a mafia boss in a Hong Kong noir film.

It seemed like nothing good would come from getting involved with this woman.

I asked cautiously.

“…Who are you?”

“Come to think of it, I haven’t introduced myself. I’m Cheon Aram, and I recently started a small agency.”

She handed me her business card and said,

[TwoBear Entertainment President – Cheon Aram]

Even as a regressor, this was a company I’d never heard of.

“I think this introduction will feel more straightforward to you. I’m Cheon Aram, the former recruitment officer at SS and Cheon Jonghoon’s younger sister.”

She was someone I hadn’t expected.

“Are you the recruitment officer that Team Leader Cheon Jonghoon introduced to me?”

“Yes.”

“…May I ask why someone like you is approaching me now?”

“Of course, I’ll tell you. The reason I came to meet you is to scout you.”

Scout?

“Ah, to be precise, I plan to scout both you and Gyeoul.”

Cheon Aram smiled and added, ‘You two are a set, right?’

I couldn’t argue with that.

“I’ll promise you a team leader position. Join us at TwoBear Entertainment with Gyeoul.”

Cheon Aram’s proposal was very tempting.

Especially now, when my job prospects were blocked for unknown reasons.

But it was too good to be true.

It seemed oddly favorable for us, who had fallen out with SS.

I asked with suspicion.

“Why us, specifically?”

Cheon Aram smiled arrogantly with eyes like a viper and said,

“Because I’m picky about people. To the point where you could call it a disease.”

“…Do you mean you’re looking for talented people?”

“Talent is good. I consider it since I’m investing in people. But that’s only the second priority.”

“Then what’s the first priority?”

“Humanism.”

Humanism?

“…Pardon?”

“A heart that cares for people. A belief that chooses humans over material things. That’s what I want.”

What kind of nonsense was this?

“I researched you and Gyeoul. I felt a strong interest after hearing about you from my eldest brother.”

Cheon Aram proudly said she had investigated me.

“Gyeoul, cornered and helpless, and you, Mr. Taeyang, always showing up like a hero to save her. It’s a fascinating story.”

“I didn’t do anything that great.”

“No, Mr. Taeyang, what you did was indeed great. That’s why I’m convinced you two are the humanists I’m looking for.”

“…Humanists.”

I scoffed inwardly.

Humanist was a ridiculous term.

Having dedicated my life to being a good person, it felt like an even more foolish ideology.

The entertainment industry wasn’t a market where everyone could succeed.

It’s a wild place where you have to push out competitors and climb to the top to succeed.

You couldn’t survive there with a romanticist like that as your boss.

I understood why I didn’t remember the name TwoBear Entertainment.

With a boss like that, it was destined to fail.

I was convinced.

If I boarded Cheon Aram’s ship, I’d sink with it.

So, my mind was set on rejecting the offer.

“I’m sorry, but I’m not the kind of person you’re expecting…”

“Oh, right. I forgot to mention the salary.”

Cheon Aram took out her smartphone calculator and showed me the after-tax annual salary, bonuses, and performance pay I’d receive.

“Call me Humanist Seon Taeyang, President!”

It was an amount worth barking for.

[Quest completed! A jukebox for your finger is awarded as a reward.]

Thus, Gyeoul and I joined TwoBear Entertainment.