Chapter 148

Chapter 148

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

Episode 148: If You Hurt Mr. Seon, I’ll Sever Ties With You

Seok Hyeonwoo let out a big sigh and spoke.

“All those schedule inquiries have completely stopped coming in.”

Jo Narae, from the PR team, sighed along and spoke.

“It’s a relief that only the new ones have been cut off. The already scheduled ones were all canceled with various excuses.”

“Why are they doing this?”

“Whether positive or negative, they want to avoid carrying the bomb that could paralyze the broadcast boards by just letting her appear.”

That was true. Yeoreum’s fainting incident during the music broadcast was still leaving a heavy aftermath.

Nationalistic fans, hooligans from other idol fan clubs, third-rate internet reporters obsessed with view counts, politicians trying to make an issue out of it, and just attention-seekers were all running wild to tear her apart.

Honestly, it wasn’t an exaggeration to call it a bomb.

“If you’re someone who makes a show, you should have the guts to hold that bomb and explode it yourself! What’s this? You’re not all cowards, are you?”

“Bringing Yeoreum on air is like riding a roller coaster without safety restraints. If you don’t do it, you’re not a coward—the one who does it is just a lunatic. Or, if not, you’re just a businessman trying to exploit our kids.”

Of course, there were some programs that wanted to capitalize on the mere controversy of Girl Revolution, but those weren’t the kinds of normal programs we wanted. They were more like tabloids trying to make a quick profit from gossip.

“Sigh… It’s still frustrating. We need to break this flow so we can move forward, whether it’s preparing for the next album or anything else, but broadcasting itself is blocked.”

Listening to Seok Hyun-woo’s complaints, I organized the confirmed information and stood up.

“Where are you going, Team Leader Seon?”

“I can’t just sit here and wait. I need to create an opportunity myself.”

“Opportunity?”

Instead of Seok Hyun-woo, who was confused, I spoke to Lee Hyerin, the vocal trainer who had been outside preparing for the next class.

“For that reason, I’ll be borrowing Oh Yoori.”

As I was getting ready to leave for the audition, Oh Yoori asked me.

“But… is this really okay?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, a sane director wouldn’t use an idol with no acting credentials, especially not a member of the idol group that had been the most controversial just recently, right?”

She seemed frustrated with herself, rubbing her forehead before opening the script she was holding and continuing.

“Well, I wasn’t at the center of the controversy, but I do think I gained quite a few anti-fans because of Girl 100. Honestly, I think it’s not just about the anti-fans, but the fact that I have a history as a whistleblower might make the producers and investors more reluctant. If it were me, I’d choose someone else.”

“Oh, I see what you mean.”

I lightly spoke to her as she seemed to be feeling helpless while checking the script one last time before the audition.

“Don’t worry too much. There are quite a few directors who aren’t very concerned about issues like this.”

“It blew up this big, and they’re not concerned? Is the director one of those C-list directors hungry for issues?”

“Do you think I’d take you to someone like that? You’ve seen the script, haven’t you? Does it look like a C-list script to you?”

“No, it wasn’t. Actually, it was good. It made me wonder if a person like me with no experience could take on a project like this.”

“Well, that’s a relief.”

I was starting to doubt if she was just forcing herself, but it seemed like she genuinely liked the script, so I was glad.

“There’s a director like that. Maybe it’s a bit of an artistic obsession? Or a craftsman mentality? If he gets fixated on something, he’ll just go for it, controversy or not. Of course, the investment might affect the project, but if that investor is us, we can solve that problem.”

At my words, Yoori tilted her head and spoke.

“Investor? It’s not Jinkang, is it?”

“It’s not.”

“Didn’t we completely make a bad impression because of Yeoreum unnie’s incident when she collapsed?”

“Yeah, we made a bad impression.”

Did we just make a bad impression?

After hearing about Yeoreum’s collapse, Jin Baek-ho flew to me in rage and even asked if I wanted to be buried in the sea or in the ground.

As I heard those words, I broke into a cold sweat, trying to figure out how to make excuses. Somehow, someone must have overheard the conversation from another room, because Yeoreum, who had secretly heard it, showed up in a rage.

She explained that it was her fault, threatened to sever ties with him if he interfered, and the atmosphere between father and daughter grew as cold as ice.

As I witnessed Jin Baek-ho, looking like he was about to cry, and Yeoreum’s contorted face after her declaration of severing ties, I panicked and quickly stepped in to stop them, using my experience as a former CEO to lay out a blueprint, take responsibility, apologize, and give a clear plan for the future as if rapping.

After such a commotion, Jin Baek-ho, realizing that the incident was close to an accident, could not hold back his deep worries as a father, and mentioned that he had only intended to scare me, stepping back. But I couldn’t help but doubt if it was really just a threat.

…Honestly, I thought I was really going to die back then.

If it weren’t for the consistent efforts by TwoBear to protect Yeoreum, things would have really gone horribly wrong by now.

Anyway, Jin Baek-ho, reflecting the urgency of the situation and the mistakes made, promised to continue the aggressive investments for the next album, so the outcome could be considered moderate.

“Anyway, we’ve decided to maintain an aggressive investment strategy to guarantee casting for the film’s role, so don’t worry about that.”

“Wow… How did you manage to say something like that and get approval for such a crazy spending in this situation?”

“…Just take good care of Yeoreum.”

A life is at stake. Please take care of her.

“…Why are you saying that so nostalgically? Alright, I’ll try my best.”

“Thank you.”

As I spoke, I gathered all my things and said to her.

“So, should we head out now? You’re all ready, right?”

“Well, I’m always prepared.”

“Alright, then, let’s go…”

At that moment, someone appeared silently and grabbed the hem of my clothes, speaking.

“…Excuse me, Team Leader Seon?”

“Oh, Seo Eun-byeol, what’s going on?”

It was Seo Eun-byeol, who used to be at Flower Entertainment and was now quietly learning the ropes in TwoBear’s PR team.

“Uh, are you busy right now?”

I checked my watch.

Due to my habit of securing time for important schedules, I still had about an hour of free time left, so I didn’t mind listening to a quick conversation.

“Yes, what’s this about?”

“Oh, it’s about something I wanted to propose regarding PR.”

“Is this based on Miso or Jo Narae’s opinion?”

“No, it’s my personal opinion.”

Yoori, who had been listening with interest, spoke.

“You?”

“Yeah… me.”

Yoori, with a look of sympathy at the tense response, seemed to feel the need to speak her mind.

“I feel a bit uncomfortable saying this, but you’re not a professional, are you? Do you think it’s okay to lead internal and external PR? This is a critical time for TwoBear, so wouldn’t it be a bit risky?”

“That’s true…”

While I understood Yoori’s feelings of needing to say something tough even though she was close to Eun-byeol, I tried to calm her down and responded.

“Enough, we can at least listen to her opinion. And Eun-byeol is good at what she does, so she might have already come up with something insightful and interesting.”

Yoori sighed and muttered softly.

“…Sometimes I feel like you’re surprisingly soft on Eun-byeol.”

“Yoori, can you say that a bit louder?”

“I think it’s okay to hear her opinion.”

“Alright, that’s a relief. So, Eun-byeol, can you tell us what you have in mind?”

Eun-byeol, who had been watching us nervously, opened her mouth.

“I was thinking, how about doing an internet broadcast?”

“An internet broadcast? We’re already doing communication broadcasts through the S app.”

“That’s good, but I think it would be nice to try a game broadcast.”

A game broadcast?

“Who would do that?”

“Gyeoul will do it.”

At that, I remembered the time when Gyeoul lived with us and played games. She tended to get a little too immersed, but she didn’t use vulgar language and was actually pretty good at it.

…Honestly, watching from behind was actually quite fun.

“…”

I seriously thought about Gyeoul doing a game broadcast.

There had been idol or actor cases that rose to fame through it, so attempting it seemed like a pretty good idea.

At least, since she was good-looking, even without speaking much, it would still look good on screen.

Above all, I didn’t want to stop Eun-byeol from taking the initiative.

Of course, strict management would be needed.

“Alright. Go ahead and try it.”

“Really?”

“However, you need to properly check things like chat management, broadcasting terms, and which platform to use. Make sure it’s within a safe framework to protect Gyeoul. Miso will help you with the details.”

“Oh, I’ve already been learning and studying. I couldn’t bring this up without being prepared first.”

Yeah, Eun-byeol wasn’t the type to do things carelessly.

“Sounds good. Don’t obsess over success. Just try to do it safely.”

Eun-byeol gave a soft smile that reminded me of the past and said.

“Yes! I’ll try my best!”

After finishing the audition tour with Yoori, I reported to the President and headed towards TwoBear’s studio.

I easily gave my permission, but honestly, I was worried whether Gyeoul, who was quite shy, could handle a personal broadcast with so many strangers watching her.

Though I said I would stop her if necessary, I was also worried that she might get hurt by strange comments or chats.

Though Eun-byeol, being a beginner, might not know, I was sure Miso wouldn’t handle things carelessly, but my concern couldn’t be helped.

With these worries in mind, I entered the studio and asked Eun-byeol.

“Is the broadcast going smoothly?”

Looking at the chat window, Eun-byeol spoke with nervous eyes.

“Well… it’s just that Gyeoul…”

I felt a great sense of unease at her vague response and quickly opened the inner door of the studio to check on Gyeoul.

And I had to face an entirely unexpected scene.

“Ughhh, I’ve cried so much, but why can’t our jungle make any profit?!”

“…”

There was Gyeoul, now acting like a maniac, in front of me.