Chapter 100

Chapter 100

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

Episode 100: Wasn’t This A Blind Date?.

When I showed Ban Seongcheol Oh Jinwoo’s career, credentials, and sample tracks, he admired it and said.

“…Indeed, it’s not an exaggeration to call him A-grade.”

Admiring it as if looking at a delicious dish, Ban Seongcheol rubbed his chin slightly and then gave me a sly smile.

“But, there’s something lacking.”

I shrugged as if to tell him to continue. Ban Seongcheol, seeming slightly offended by my attitude, twisted his expression and said.

“I’ll admit his achievements are flashy, but he hasn’t actually released any music yet, has he? It means he’s still unproven.”

“You can think that way, but don’t worry. There’s a guarantee on that front.”

“…A guarantee?”

It was a guarantee from none other than the industry’s number one.

“His mentor is Oh James.”

“He learned from that Oh James?”

Hearing such an unexpected name, Ban Seongcheol’s jaw dropped.

“Yeah, Oh James personally recommended him, but I thought he was too big for a startup like us, so I reluctantly gave him up.”

I made a genuinely regretful expression and spoke.

“But I still felt it would be a waste to give him to just anyone, so I was thinking of introducing him to an agency that could match his value, someone who can see Oh Jinwoo’s worth. And that someone is you.”

After hearing my words, Ban Seongcheol seriously looked over Oh Jinwoo’s documents again. Then he nodded and said.

“You’re not going to introduce such a talent for free, right? What do you want in return?”

Exactly. Seongcheol, you’re sharp, as always.

Choosing Flower Entertainment wasn’t just about personal revenge.

Sure, it would feel great to see Ban Seongcheol and Flower Entertainment get screwed over by the plagiarist composer Oh Jinwoo, but that alone wasn’t enough to make me want to engage in a bothersome deal with Seongcheol.

But if I could use this as leverage to be introduced to one of Flower Entertainment’s talents, that would be a different story.

“You have someone named Park Miso in your company, right? Introduce me to her.”

As Ban Seongcheol tried to recall the name Park Miso, his expression changed to one of surprise, as if thinking, “What a windfall!”

It must have seemed like a cheap price to him.

Well, it’s understandable. Right now, Park Miso was probably treated like a deadweight even within Flower Entertainment.

They don’t even realize her true value.

“…Park Miso? Ah! That, uh… you’re talking about the girl from the PR team?”

Was he about to call his coworker an idiot? Even though Park Miso’s reputation is close to that of a slacker, is that right?

…He’s really a piece of work.

“Is it safe to assume that this introduction is part of a scouting offer?”

“That’s right. Since we’re a startup with few people, I handle some of the recruiting.”

At my confirmation, Ban Seongcheol chuckled awkwardly and said.

“Haha, are you really okay with this?”

“Yeah, that’s more than enough.”

“Then I’ll arrange a meeting soon. Since she doesn’t have much going on, it’ll be easy to call her.”

“Good. Just know that the sooner, the better.”

“Of course. Thank you for this wonderful deal.”

Ban Seongcheol, clearly satisfied, didn’t hide his smile as he bowed to me.

It seemed he was quite pleased with the current deal.

Thank you, sucker.

Not long after, I arrived at the restaurant where the meeting was scheduled.

This restaurant felt more like a place for a date than for scouting, but I figured it didn’t matter as long as it was quiet.

Ban Seongcheol said he had something very important to do that evening, so he couldn’t accompany me.

I didn’t know what his important business was, but I was actually thankful for that.

He wouldn’t have been of any help even if he were here in the first place.

Besides, just getting his face out of the way improved my mood. That guy disappearing from my life in every way was beneficial.

“Excuse me, are you the guest with the reservation?”

“Yes, that’s right. I made the reservation under the name Seon Taeyang.”

“Ah, Mr. Seon Taeyang. Let me show you to your reserved table.”

I sat down at the reserved table in the luxurious restaurant.

And I checked my outfit again, just in case something was out of place.

Scouting Park Miso today was a very important task.

It would be a huge loss if the opportunity slipped away because I left a bad impression.

She was someone worth considering seriously like this.

“…She was an incredibly remarkable woman.”

In my previous lifetime, if I was the first major contributor to Flower Entertainment’s success, Park Miso was the second.

Ban Seongcheol, who built up results with dirty tricks behind the scenes, would be around third place.

It wasn’t that Ban Seongcheol’s achievements were insignificant. It was just that Park Miso’s contributions were that outstanding.

The reason why Park Miso, from the disregarded PR team, made such contributions was simple.

She was a genius when it came to manipulating public opinion in the idol world. In that area, she was unrivaled.

Previously a fan site master, and the head of the fan club for Flower Entertainment’s boy group Milkyz, Park Miso was scouted to Flower Entertainment’s PR department based on that background.

However, contrary to the company’s expectations, she couldn’t leverage her influence as a fan site master or fan club leader, and she even failed to handle the basic tasks given to the PR department, making mistakes that spread to other departments. Thus, she quickly became the company’s burden.

Her turnaround began when Flower Entertainment debuted the girl group “Secret Mission.”

When Secret Mission debuted, Park Miso fully utilized the connections, information, and systems she had built through her idol fan activities since childhood, taking control of various communities.

She turned minor incidents involving Secret Mission into hot topics on every community platform, or cleverly twisted public opinion on controversies surrounding them, steering the situation into a mass brawl, gathering inflammatory comments from critics, suing them, and linking it to public discussions to draw sympathy for Secret Mission.

Additionally, she captured scenes from the members’ variety show recordings or everyday interaction broadcasts, cleverly editing them into viral memes, using every method available to make sure everyone knew about Secret Mission.

During that process, there were never any criticisms like hidden advertising or manipulation of public opinion. Not even once.

That’s right. She is the queen of viral marketing.

In the previous round, I marveled at the manifestation of her miraculous talent and asked her.

Why had she hidden such abilities?

‘Since you asked, Mr. Seon, I’ll be honest. It wasn’t that I was hiding my ability. It’s more that I couldn’t do it. After joining Flower Entertainment, the passion I once had as a fan just disappeared.’

‘Your passion?’

‘To be honest, when I joined this company and saw Milkyz from an employee’s perspective, I was hugely disappointed. I knew what they were really like, so the affection I had for them just disappeared. That’s when I lost my passion as a fan. I started wondering why I should keep painting them in a positive light. So, I ended up doing work I didn’t want to do, and before I knew it, I was being called a burden to the company. The more I was criticized, the less motivation I had.’

‘Then, what made your passion change?’

‘When Secret Mission debuted under Flower Entertainment, I saw them, and that passion came back.’

‘So, the passion you mentioned earlier.’

‘Yes, that feeling you call fan spirit.’

Park Miso said that if the idols she was promoting could reignite her passion, she would become their sharpest shield.

She would beat down the enemies targeting the group, wielding that shield with overwhelming skill.

Of course, without motivation, her skills wouldn’t manifest, no matter how much you forced her, making her a highly unreliable asset.

When Secret Mission retired after their contract ended, she returned to being a burden as if nothing had ever changed.

To utilize her, the company’s idols needed to satisfy her fan passion. And on that point, I was confident.

The kids—Gyeoul, Gaeul, and Yeoreum—were more charming than any idols in the world. Even Park Miso would instantly become a fan.

This wasn’t a biased view, but an objective judgment based on my experience as a manager who had once climbed to the rank of president in the past.

That’s why I had always thought Park Miso was someone I absolutely had to recruit one day.

As I was thinking this, a woman spoke to me while I was seated in the chair.

“…Are you Team Leader Seon Taeyang?”

It was a familiar voice. It seemed to be the promised Park Miso.

“Yes, I’m Seon Taeyang from TwoBear Entertai—huh?”

…Who is this?

In front of me stood a woman wearing a luxurious red off-shoulder dress.

She was someone I had never seen before in my life.

But the voice was definitely Park Miso’s.

I felt confused and asked.

“Are you Park Miso?”

“…Yes, I’m Park Miso, working at Flower Entertainment. Is there something strange about my outfit?”

“Oh… No, it’s just that you’re so beautiful that I was momentarily speechless.”

Park Miso blushed slightly and lowered her head as she spoke.

“Thank you.”

In the past, she always wore a baggy hoodie and thick, high-prescription glasses, looking unkempt at the office, so I didn’t recognize her at first.

It wasn’t that my eyesight was bad, but the fully dressed-up Park Miso, who now looked like she could be compared to an actress, was worlds apart from the neighborly slacker Park Miso I knew.

…People really can change this dramatically with a little effort.

“I apologize. You were so beautiful that I ended up being rude.”

“No need to worry. I actually felt good about it. And, Taeyang, you look great, too.”

I had been worried that my gaze might have made her uncomfortable, but judging by how she complimented me, it seemed she was willing to let it slide.

Get it together, man. Recruiting Park Miso is too important for this.

I composed myself and did my best to lighten the mood and appear friendly to her.

Whether my efforts were working or not, the atmosphere had softened considerably.

Whenever I made a small joke, she easily laughed, and we found common ground in sharing stories about work life and the entertainment industry.

We also enjoyed talking about the delicious food, which naturally led to more conversation.

It was all going great.

I felt she had become friendly enough towards me, so I decided to get to the point.

“The reason I arranged this meeting is because I want to work with you, Ms. Park Miso, at TwoBear. I hope you will join us in the success we’re about to achieve.”

I spoke as sincerely as possible, so my words wouldn’t sound insincere.

…

But Park Miso’s reaction was strange. She blushed and seemed flustered, unsure of what to do.

“If my proposal made you uncomfortable…”

“No, that’s not it…”

Park Miso’s face turned bright red, and she mumbled.

“…Wasn’t this a blind date?”

…

What kind of nonsense is this now?