Became The Leader of a Girl Group Destined To Fail – Chapter 170

Chapter 170

After the First Recording

I sent the members back to the dorm first and stayed behind with Dahin for a moment.

In the car that I had borrowed in advance through the company, it was the first time in a while that we were alone together.

“Senior, you were really great today…! But I….”

Dahin slumped her shoulders.

“Why do you think so? No, Dahin, you were also really great today.”

“No. Even I can tell there’s a qualitative difference.”

Dahin smiled bitterly.

“It’s just… if only our opinions could have been incorporated even a little when planning the stage…. I feel it would have been better than now, and that’s disappointing.”

I understood that feeling.

If Director Kim had still been around, I would have felt the same way.

“To make that happen, first, you need a weapon to check against the moment. Did you find something?”

“Oh, yes!”

Dahin took out her phone and showed me a photo.

“I don’t know what it is, but…. When the Director called us into the office to scold us, this document was on his desk. It was the only thing he put between his folders. I thought it might be important, so I took a picture….”

It was a list of some sort.

Names of people, with numbers written next to them.

“What could this be?”

“I’m not sure.”

I couldn’t figure it out just by looking at it.

“Can you send me this photo?”

“Yes!”

After receiving the photo from Dahin, I immediately sent it to Han Jae-i with a message asking if he could find out what it was.

For now, I decided to look into this further later.

“Dahin, do you know what your company has been up to lately?”

“Uh… no! Is there something else going on?”

She didn’t know that Moment was trying to frame us for bulk buying.

I briefly explained it to Dahin.

“…They’re really planning such a terrible thing…?”

“It’s just my guess, but Steel Blue and Inleven will both be working on their next albums. But when it hits….”

“Only your album will be affected…!”

“That’s what I think. There will probably be major reports in the media through TMM. SWC will likely join in too.”

As I continued talking, Dahin’s face turned pale.

“But in our previous lives, it was only our albums that got hit…!”

“Something must have changed our future. In the first place, Steel Blue having consecutive number-one albums is already a significant change. Before….”

“We were practically the only rookie award contenders….”

“That’s probably why Moment is in a hurry too. The rookie award title is important.”

Not to mention, they’d also be working on Burn Ash and NextGen.

I didn’t say that part.

No need to frighten an already sensitive girl.

No need to mention our cooperation with Burn Ash either.

“How close is your next album to being finished?”

“We’re likely going with a single. The title track has been chosen, and we’re recording.”

“Do you have a concept?”

“They’re still finalizing it. They said it would be dark and strong… something like that.”

“Any idea when you’ll be coming back?”

“Around the end of August, they said. But they told us to be prepared, as it could be pushed forward.”

I didn’t need to ask why they added that.

If we come back early, they’ll follow suit.

“When are you planning to come back?”

“We’re not sure yet. We’re thinking around the end of July.”

“Then we’ll probably come back around that time too….”

“Probably.”

A dark and intense concept, huh.

Inleven’s previous title was bright and hopeful.

A fitting concept for rookies.

A dark concept is usually a strategy to gather a core fandom.

It seems they’re aiming to gather fans with this album.

In that case… we should go the opposite way.

Coincidentally, it matched the concept we were planning.

“Dahin, I’ll look into the photo you took. Don’t worry too much-”

Bang bang!

“!”

Just as I was trying to reassure Dahin, there was a sudden, rough knock on the car door.

“What’s going on?”

Someone was knocking on the passenger side door where Dahin was sitting.

Dahin looked at the knocking hand and face with a terrified expression.

“It’s, it’s our manager….”

Manager?

I frowned.

How blatantly aggressive.

“Get out!”

When we didn’t open the door, the manager started shouting.

This guy’s completely nuts.

I gestured for Dahin to step back for a moment.

Then I rolled down the window.

“What are you doing?”

“What are you two whispering about in there? You’ve exceeded the agreed ten minutes! Get out now!”

Dahin’s manager was practically screaming.

Dahin was just trembling.

…So he’s always been like this.

“Lower your voice.”

“Lower my voice? Hey, who do you think you are-”

“This is the broadcasting station’s parking lot. You know there are plenty of people who could film this scene at any time, right, Manager?”

“Hah! You rookies sure talk back a lot…!”

“And by the way, I’m not your subordinate. Speaking informally to another adult right off the bat, I think that’s quite rude.”

At my words, the manager’s eyes bulged in anger.

“You little punk, just because you’re a bit famous now…! Do you know who I’ve managed? Huh?”

“You must have managed Moment’s idols. So what?”

“What, what?”

“I belong to Colors. There’s no reason for you to be managing me, so what exactly are you trying to prove?”

The manager’s lips began to tremble at my words.

From what I heard, he was originally an executive at Moment, but was temporarily assigned to watch over Inleven.

It’s probably been a while since he was treated like this, so he must be pretty angry.

As expected, the manager, looking for an outlet for his anger, grabbed Dahin by the wrist.

“!”

“M-Manager…!”

“Get out!”

“What are you doing? Let go of her and speak properly.”

“Get out, Yoo Dahin!”

The manager forcefully tried to pull Dahin out.

But at that moment, someone placed a hand on the manager’s shoulder.

“Hey.”

She was here.

“Who are you to loiter around my artist’s car? Move your hand.”

My new manager.

My ally.

“Was it okay to send that friend off like that?”

In the car heading back to the dormitory, my new manager, Baek Juha, asked me with a worried expression.

“I sent her with another manager who’s somewhat reasonable, so… she should be okay.”

“I heard the Moment guys were rough and tough, but I didn’t expect them to be so openly like that to their own artists.”

Baek Juha shook her head.

“You were amazing, standing up to that guy. He’s twice your size.”

“What could he do, hit me, kill me? Big guys like him are usually nothing.”

“Haha.”

It had been a long time since I genuinely laughed.

Yeah. I used to be like this.

Over the past ten years, my personality had softened a lot by the end.

But when we first met, Baek Juha was like this.

A strong, tough person.

A person who acted under firm convictions.

“Quite the initiation in your first week as Steel Blue’s manager.”

“…Don’t you regret taking us on? Your original actor didn’t have to go through such things since he was at the top of the industry.”

“He didn’t need me, so it was boring. I was thinking of leaving anyway.”

Baek Juha said as she put on her sunglasses.

“Didn’t Actor Sung Minha try to keep you?”

“He did.”

“Then why…?”

When I asked why she left the easy road, Baek Juha just smiled.

“He just needs to stay out of trouble now, so he doesn’t really need me. And even though it’s my first time managing idols, it seemed fun.”

As she spoke, Baek Juha made a circle with her thumb and index finger.

“And they offered a lot of money. I thought Colors must be rich to spend so much on a manager’s salary.”

Well, yeah….

Because it came out of my earnings….

Baek Juha’s pay was high, so the salary Colors set probably wasn’t enough.

So, in the end, I had to use some of my own money, but I wouldn’t mention that.

She’s the type who’d feel burdened by it.

“If anything happens, you have to tell me everything. Only then can I take care of you all.”

“I will.”

“Is there anyone else I need to know about?”

Other than Moment, no one else.

I shook my head.

“Just Moment needs to be dealt with.”

“Dealt with? You talk about getting rid of a company like it’s nothing.”

“Haha.”

“Oh, you’re serious?”

Baek Juha wrinkled her nose.

That meant she found it amusing.

“I have a lot to learn. What’s the problem with Moment?”

“They’ll probably keep contacting you.”

“What kind of contact?”

“To pass on some information.”

“They’re quite unethical.”

Baek Juha clicked her tongue.

“Do they offer a lot of money?”

“If they do, would you take it?”

“No. I hate unearned income. People should earn money through work, I don’t need dirty money.”

She might say that, but she’s a principled person.

When I was Baek Nokha, she was the manager who stayed with me until the end.

I had known her for over ten years, and she had been a good person all that time.

That’s not an easy thing to do.

She was someone I could trust.

In my past life, Director Seo had begged her to join, and fortunately, Baek Juha had liked me and decided to stay.

I hope she’ll stay with us well this time too.

Honestly, she’s one of the few people I can rely on.

“Cheong-ah.”

“Yes.”

Her eyes sparkled behind her sunglasses.

“I came prepared for this when they offered me a high salary.”

“….”

“I’m the person who raised my actor from the bottom to the top. I’ve seen all sorts of dirty things, so just tell me what you need.”

As Baek Juha said that, she stepped on the accelerator.

“After watching today’s stage, I could tell. With your skills, you all could make it big without me. So why did they call me? As I thought about it, the answer became clear. You need something. Or—”

“You need to get rid of something.”

“Right. You need to get rid of something dirty.”

Just then, we arrived at the dormitory.

Baek Juha took off her sunglasses.

And she looked me in the eyes.

“Now, tell me. What’s the problem?”

…Let’s open the floodgates first.

“Could you look into this photo for me?”

I showed Baek Juha the photo I received from Dahin.

“What’s this?”

“It’s a document that was in Director’s office at Moment.”

“Alright. What do I need to dig into?”

After a brief moment of consideration, I presented my hypothesis.

“I suspect that these names… are the ones Moment uses when they engage in bulk buying.”

“!”

“Of course, it’s just my guess. The only one who can prove that guess is…”

“Me.”

Baek Juha stared intently at the photo on my phone.

“Got it. Leave this to me.”

“Yes.”

“And Cheong-ah.”

“Yes?”

Baek Juha frowned deeply.

“From now on, just focus on your stage and your next album. What kind of artist worries about this stuff? What is Colors doing? Just think about your main job, alright?”

Wow.

That was exactly what I wanted to hear.