Chapter 112

Chapter 112

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

Episode 112: 16-Year-Old Han Gyeoul: The Greatest Challenge Of Her Life.

While I was continuing negotiations with the managers participating in Girl 100, my second smartphone, which had been ringing frequently lately, received a call.

-Team Leader Seon, where are you right now?!

It was PD Kim Seon-ye, facing the biggest crisis of her life due to Yoori’s revelation.

“I was just packing an iced Americano with four syrups for you, PD Kim.”

-I don’t need that kind of coffee, just be here with me! You know what happens if Team Leader Seon is absent!

“I’ll be there right away.”

As I scratched my head in embarrassment, the manager of Neulbom Entertainment, Jeok Yu-song, who was in the meeting, asked me.

“Is that the PD?”

“Haha, that’s correct.”

“She is really…”

Jeok Yu-song seemed to have a lot to say but just clicked his tongue instead.

“Still, you could think positively since that PD is rather pretty…”

As Manager Kim Dae-su spoke lightly, Jeok Yu-song retorted angrily.

“Don’t talk like it’s someone else’s business. You know what that person’s personality is like, right?”

“…I apologize for speaking carelessly, Taeyang.”

“…Haha, it’s fine. Anyway, she seems to have something to attend to, so I should go now.”

“Sure, let’s meet next time. We’ll continue this conversation then.”

I finished the conversation appropriately and hurriedly walked toward the editing room.

“You’re late, Team Leader Seon!”

Late? It was only about 20 minutes!

“I apologize, but I have my own work to attend to. I would like to dedicate all my time to cooperating with PD Kim Seon-ye, but things aren’t going as planned.”

“You have work to do? Well, then I can’t help it. Regardless of the situation, if Team Leader Seon is busy, what can I do? I should understand.”

From the day I handed over Oh Yoori to the three overly invested actors, Kim Seon-ye gradually began to trust me.

Of course, that process wasn’t easy.

I assisted in continuing cooperation with Ye Han-na, pushing out insiders that could be removed from her faction, analyzing the current situation and advising on coping strategies, and supplementing Kim Seon-ye’s responses in crises using my accumulated knowledge from the past.

I truly assisted her to the extent of feeling like a treacherous subordinate.

The lip service and flattery filled with the essence of my social life, and the scheming to eliminate those who claimed to be Kim Seon-ye’s subordinates were just icing on the cake.

As a result, she began to trust me despite my position as an outsider.

Even Yoori, who devised the plan, probably didn’t expect me to buy Kim Seon-ye’s trust so quickly and effectively.

Although we were still in the middle of it, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say it had been a great success so far.

However, there was one problem.

“Thank you for understanding my situation…”

“Don’t talk about understanding. Didn’t I tell you to quit that company quickly? Do you want to see me go crazy?”

“…”

The effects were too potent.

I began to suspect it was obsession.

“No, from the beginning, I’ve already mentioned that the reason I’m cooperating in various ways, like capturing Yoori for PD Kim Seon-ye, is to bring in more of Gyeoul’s focus to raise my achievements in the company. If I quit TwoBear now, what kind of nonsense would that be? How is that different from quitting your main job to pursue a side job?”

Kim Seon-ye gulped down the iced Americano she had previously said she didn’t need and spoke to me with a flushed face.

“What success can you achieve by establishing a foothold in such an unstable new company? You need to have big ambitions! I’ll help you grow, so just work under me!”

“…I’m a high school graduate. How can I get a job here?”

Broadcasting stations, of course, require job applicants with high education and impressive specifications.

Kim Seon-ye, who was right in front of me, was nearly the pinnacle in terms of education and career.

“High school graduate? So what? I’m Kim Seon-ye. Although I’m experiencing a crisis now, I’m one of the real powers in MNet. Do you think it’s difficult for me to slot someone in? Once you leave that company, I’ll have a contract ready for you, so feel free to quit—no, do you want to draft a contract right now instead?”

…Why was she being so sincere?

“…For now, I understand that what PD Kim Seon-ye said isn’t something to take lightly. I will seriously consider it.”

“No, consideration and all that, we need to act right now…”

I desperately tried to change the subject.

“By the way, is there a reason you called me?”

“Reason for calling? Yes, there is.”

Kim Seon-ye nodded and pointed to the monitor in front of her desk.

On the screen was what appeared to be meeting notes from the upper management of MNet.

By showing this to me, an outsider, without hesitation, I felt that Kim Seon-ye was genuinely invested in our collaboration.

What was even more surprising was the content.

“This is…”

“Upper management has begun to discuss the dissolution of the Girl 100 project group.”

“The inevitable has arrived.”

“Yeah, it has arrived. While they tried to quell the doubts through Yoori’s statement, the suspicions that have spread across the internet haven’t vanished yet… As the risks grow and the profit model shakes because of the suspicions, it was expected that such opinions would arise. But they’re the ones who caused this to happen, and now they’re trying to draw lines…”

“First, let’s eat something sweet and calm down, PD Kim.”

I placed a financier from the café in front of Kim Seon-ye, who was starting to gossip about MNet’s upper management.

It was a reflexive reaction; I knew from experience that once she started gossiping like that, hours would just fly by.

“…”

Once the sweet treat was in her mouth, Kim Seon-ye quieted down.

The effect was excellent.

I pondered with a quiet Kim Seon-ye in front of me and then spoke.

“PD Kim, you want to persuade them to maintain the project group, right? If that fails, the career associated with Girl 100 could be left in ruins.”

She nodded while chewing on the financier.

“Then let’s do this. For now…”

I explained the most appropriate course of action for Kim Seon-ye in a way that I thought she would find sweet, over the next ten minutes.

After finishing the financier and listening attentively to my words, Kim Seon-ye looked at me, licked her lips, and said,

“Team Leader Seon, do you want to go write a contract with me now? Or a hotel?”

…No, I won’t do either.

Gyeoul couldn’t hide her confusion in the suddenly changed atmosphere.

Oh Yoori, who had been approaching her warmly, had sparked the vote-rigging controversy surrounding Girl 100, and rumors of Seon Taeyang fighting with gangsters were swirling around, each one too sudden and large for her to keep up with.

‘Without Taeyang-ssam, I…’

In a moment of confusion, worry, anxiety, and panic, Gyeoul was about to take out her hidden emergency funds and flee to Seon Taeyang’s house, when he appeared, calming her and roughly explaining the situation.

According to him, Girl 100 was a project where the debut team was predetermined by collusion between the agency and MNet from the start, and it seems the viewer voting was also manipulated.

In the midst of this, he was trying to maneuver in a way that would benefit Gyeoul the most, and he suggested that she cooperate with Oh Yoori for that purpose.

Hearing that Oh Yoori, who used to seem cute, had become close enough to be asked to cooperate with Seon Taeyang, who had seemed indifferent, Gyeoul felt a strange sense of wonder, but within ten seconds, she accepted it.

This was because she thought that the person she admired, Seon Taeyang, was someone who could easily pull off such tasks.

‘But what kind of cooperation do I need to do?’

Gyeoul spent her days in anxiety, preparing for that cooperation.

She questioned whether she could truly fulfill that cooperation, but now she was confused as to whether that worry even mattered.

According to Seon Taeyang, Oh Yoori, who seemed like she would approach them at any moment, was nowhere to be seen.

‘Did Yoori think I wasn’t needed? Thank goodness. I just have to focus on dancing.’

Just as Gyeoul was oddly reassured by that neglect, someone suddenly appeared and spoke to her.

“Gyeoul unnie, it’s been a while.”

“Eek!”

“Ah, I’m sorry. Did I scare you?”

Startled, Gyeoul trembled and waved her hands dismissively at Yoori’s apology.

“No, no, it’s not your fault. I just get overly sensitive to external stimuli when I’m alone. I wasn’t like this before, but after being cooped up in a small room for over two months, I’ve become like this.”

Hearing Gyeoul’s dark past, which had exploded like a landmine, Oh Yoori apologized once more.

“…I’m sorry.”

Gyeoul, caught off guard by her apology, quickly responded.

“It’s fine. Even if I say it like this, I enjoyed it… Not having any stimulation meant there was no chance of getting hurt.”

“…Uh, was there no one to talk to back then?”

“Ryu-chan?”

At the somewhat unfamiliar name, Oh Yoori tilted her head and asked.

“Ryu-chan? Is she Japanese?”

“No, she’s a character from a dakimakura (body pillow).”

“…”

Oh Yoori couldn’t hide the cold sweat dripping from her and desperately tried to change the subject.

“I didn’t come to bring this up; I came because I need to ask for help.”

“Help? Ah, you mean the cooperation that Taeyang-ssam mentioned. If there’s anything I can do, I’ll help as much as I can.”

“It’s not just something you can do, Gyeoul unnie; it’s something only you can do, and it’s very important.”

Gyeoul began to tense up again at Oh Yoori’s confident words and swallowed hard.

“…Just me?”

“Yes. Only you. It’s something only you can do right now, as I can’t step in.”

“…I see. What kind of thing is it?”

Oh Yoori glanced around to confirm that no one was listening to their conversation and then said,

“You need to incite the trainees of Girl 100.”

“…”

Gyeoul blinked rapidly and, sweating coldly, said,

“…Me?”

Sixteen-year-old natural-born nerd Han Gyeoul faced the greatest challenge of her life.