Chapter 25

Chapter 25

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

Episode 25: I Could Use This.

In the plain, almost dryly designed president’s office, Cheon Seonsu asked Cheon Aram.

“How long do you plan to keep playing house?”

“Well, I think I’ll have to keep going to know. I’ve met someone really interesting right now.”

Cheon Seonsu sighed deeply at her answer and said.

“Sell off the building and facilities quickly and come back to SS. You prepared those buildings and facilities to sell them as a package in the first place. Wrap it up before there’s any backlash. The old men funding this are starting to talk. What you’re doing isn’t free. It’s all debt.”

“If I go back now, the carefully arranged succession plan will be shaken again.”

“That succession plan was already shaken by Cheon Jonghoon’s nonsense.”

Cheon Aram let out a slight laugh and said.

“Then I shouldn’t go back even more.”

Cheon Seonsu looked at his daughter with a sullen expression and spoke in a voice that reflected his displeasure.

“If you start a company, it will surely fail. It’s impossible to recruit competent talents who meet that smell condition. All the high-flyers have greed, which is why they excel.”

“Grandfather did it, didn’t he?”

“That’s because he was special, and you’re not your grandfather.”

“I also intend to become special like him. Like Grandpa Cheon Taecheon, who was called Hyunwoong. That’s why I named the company TwoBear, the second bear.”

Cheon Seonsu looked at her determination with disapproval and said.

“Then at least take your time and pick people very carefully. Don’t gather half-baked people just based on their smell. If you don’t, you’ll fail spectacularly.”

“Don’t worry. I don’t intend to pick mediocre people either.”

As she left the office, she said.

“Thank you for the advice, Father.”

Looking at the door Cheon Aram left through, Cheon Seonsu muttered words no one could hear.

“Let’s hope no strange person clings to her.”

In the end, he couldn’t convey the worries he had as a father.

I hadn’t yet figured out an effective way to get Cheon Aram to pay.

But I didn’t want to give up on the quest.

So first, I wanted to confirm one crucial piece of information.

“…So the kid we need to check is at this café?”

“Yes, that’s right. She has such an overwhelming appearance that you’ll know who she is as soon as you see her.”

I took Cheon Aram to the café where Yoo Gaeul worked.

If Cheon Aram evaluated that Yoo Gaeul had a smell, the quest, and recruitment would all be meaningless.

If the President said no, what could be done?

I would just have to give up.

So confirming the smell was the top priority.

“I can tell right away. You’re talking about that brown-haired girl, right?”

“Yes. Please go and check the smell.”

Cheon Aram tilted her head and said.

“I feel like a sniffing dog or something. It’s a bit unsettling…”

“A sniffing dog? President Cheon, you’re not a pet like that. You’re more like a drug detection dog dedicated to public service!”

“…Still, you’re calling me a dog.”

Grumbling, Cheon Aram lined up at the counter to smell Yoo Gaeul.

I watched her with a bit of tension.

Personally, I thought the chances were slim that Yoo Gaeul, who seemed strongly motivated by money, wouldn’t have a smell.

But still, I hoped against hope that she wouldn’t have a smell.

A moment later, Cheon Aram finished her order and approached me with a call bell.

“How was the smell?”

She smiled, looking satisfied, and said.

“There was none.”

“…Not at all?”

“There was a faint smell, but it was negligible. Living in the same house with her wouldn’t be a problem.”

I was slightly moved. Finally, someone had passed Cheon Aram’s picky sense of smell.

And with top-notch talent to boot.

“You want to recruit that girl, right?”

“Yes, that’s right. I’d like to ask for your opinion on that.”

“Hmm? What kind of opinion could you be curious about? I’m willing to actively support and accept your opinions on recruitment.”

“I’m mentioning this because the support might be bigger than expected.”

Cheon Aram smiled, intrigued by my words.

It was the same look that reminded me of a viper.

“Alright. Speak.”

I swallowed slightly to ease my tension, and spoke.

“She says she needs money.”

“Hmm… She still looks like a kid, but already?”

“It didn’t seem like a personal matter. It looked like it was related to a family issue.”

Yoo Gaeul tried to look mature with makeup, but she couldn’t completely hide her true age.

She was probably between her first and second year of high school.

Not going to school and working four part-time jobs at that age didn’t seem like an action driven by personal desire.

Desires like wanting to travel abroad or attend a popular boy group’s fan signing event, which would be typical for a girl her age.

The labor Yoo Gaeul was enduring now was closer to a sacrifice that wore down her life. There must have been a motive that made her bear such a sacrifice.

“How much do you think it costs to raise a middle schooler with a dream in art?”

And based on her words yesterday, I thought that motive was family-related.

“So what you’re saying is that we should cover the money she lacks to recruit her?”

“That’s right. If money is an obstacle to her trainee life, giving her the money would solve it.”

“How much does she need?”

Knowing that the amount I was about to mention was unreasonable, I spoke.

“100 million won.”

Cheon Aram sighed deeply.

“…Team Leader Seon, you know that’s not a trivial amount of money, right?”

Why wouldn’t I know?

“I know. It’s an absurd amount to spend on a single trainee.”

“SS spends 100 million won per trainee annually, so investing that much isn’t completely absurd.”

Just mentioning SS, a company on a completely different level, showed her confidence.

“It can be spent. If we create a proper team, I’ll consider investing. I’ll also put a lot of effort into convincing investors.”

That’s right. It was an ‘investment.’

“But what you’re talking about now isn’t money to invest in a trainee but money to give them, right?”

There was a vast difference between an investment and a donation.

Yet, I had to agree.

“That’s right.”

Cheon Aram spoke with a purely curious expression.

“Would there be an investor willing to pay that easily?”

Despite doubting my own words, I spoke as if it were a given.

“Because she has that kind of talent.”

“Sure, since you’re so taken with her, she must have talent. Maybe even enough to be called a genius. I trust your judgment, so I won’t doubt this point.”

I bowed my head in gratitude for her trust and said.

“It’s an honor.”

Cheon Aram shook her head as if to say such words were unnecessary and continued.

“Not having a smell to me is also a great value. It’s good that she urgently needs money but has almost no greed. She won’t cause any scandal in terms of personality.”

Yoo Gaeul was a good talent.

Just as I had judged, she acknowledged it too.

“But if you ask whether that’s worth 100 million won, I’ll speak as the president of TwoBear Entertainment.”

A firm voice came between us.

“That’s a rip-off.”

Cheon Aram’s eyes glinted ominously.

“I don’t think there’s a unique talent in the world. Doesn’t she have any substitutes?”

This was the only part I could be confident about.

“There may not be two, but there are only about four such talents in Korea. Yoo Gaeul is a vocalist beyond the word genius. With enough support, she will likely make a name for herself globally.”

Yoo Gaeul would certainly prove to be worth more than 100 million won.

“…That’s a tremendous evaluation. If what you say is true, she really is an amazing kid.”

Cheon Aram was impressed but didn’t forget her role.

“Do you think there are only four talents slightly below her level?”

“No, that’s not it.”

There were quite a few candidates if their vocal potential was A+ instead of S.

The next kid I was planning to approach was slightly below Gaeul in average, but had A+ vocals.

“Then find and recruit those kids. Not someone who demands money from the start of their trainee life.”

I almost nodded for a moment.

That was the thought process that led me to decide to give up on Yoo Gaeul.

“Investing in the entertainment industry is like gambling. Just because you create a perfect product doesn’t mean it will succeed. Conversely, creating a slightly lower-grade product doesn’t mean it will fail.”

Yoo Gaeul would definitely succeed.

But that didn’t mean others wouldn’t succeed, if not her.

In the first place, it was rare to bring in trainees by paying them.

There were plenty of aspiring idols, even without paying them.

There might be typical signing bonuses, but they were at a pocket money level.

“We take risks when we jump into the game. But it seems like you don’t see that risk, Team Leader Seon.”

If I could reduce the risk, I had to.

And Yoo Gaeul’s risk was too great.

“Most importantly, we’re preparing a girl group, not a solo artist.”

Cheon Aram declared.

“But if you show this now, I think I’ll see you as someone who demands 100 million won’s worth of value every time you find a trainee. Is that okay?”

Even as she issued a clear warning, Cheon Aram showed no anger or annoyance.

What I saw was a clear line.

But I felt that if I crossed that line, the snake that was Cheon Aram would start to show its fangs.

I realized that the look Cheon Aram usually gave, like a cat watching a playful mouse, was filled with great goodwill.

That was the gaze Cheon Aram showed to outsiders beyond the line.

A chill ran down my spine, and I felt a sense of fear.

I wondered if she had real experience doing mafia-like work.

But I didn’t back down.

“I’ll stake my annual salary.”

I decided to be shameless.

Just like I had vowed to live selfishly right before the regression,

“If you later find that the kid isn’t worth it, you can claim that money from me.”

This was a bet that wouldn’t fail.

Because I was certain that Yoo Gaeul would definitely succeed.

That kid would succeed even if she debuted with an outdated, third-rate ballad.

In the end, recruiting Yoo Gaeul would only bring me benefits.

I could grab both the quest reward and success.

The risk Cheon Aram had to bear wasn’t my concern.

What mattered was my success.

Not the profit of TwoBear Entertainment.

“Team Leader Seon, do you understand the exact meaning of what you’re saying? This isn’t just a simple bet. Once one side wins, the power dynamics will change. I’ll become a figurehead, or you’ll become half a slave… Even if I win or lose, I’ll gain economically, but is that really a healthy relationship?”

“I appreciate the consideration, but the only thing I can stake is my future.”

Cheon Aram stared into my eyes.

I looked back into her eyes.

In the silence that the café’s bustle couldn’t erase, Cheon Aram spoke as if conceding.

“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear this. I want to get along with you, Team Leader Seon. Not have a scary relationship like a debt relationship.”

She was worried that our relationship would change drastically.

Then Cheon Aram laughed brightly, as if all the pressure before was a joke, and said.

“So it’s a no, Team Leader Seon. We have plenty of time. Take it slow. Look for another kid.”

I was rejected for support by Cheon Aram.

I wasn’t upset. She made a rational decision as a businesswoman.

It was rather a relief. I didn’t think she was an idealist obsessed with the word ‘humanist.’

At least it seemed she wouldn’t make unreasonable choices that would ruin the company.

So unless I proved something new, convincing her seemed far off.

The balance of my mind leaned toward giving up on Yoo Gaeul.

But there was still regret in one corner of my heart.

In my frustration, I clicked on the reward window.

The reward window only had ‘Finger Jukebox,’ which seemed useful for a talent show, left.

Looking at it, I had random thoughts like, ‘Should I do session part-time jobs on weekends?’ when a thought flashed through my mind like a current.

…I could use this.