Save a Failed Idol’s Life

Chapter 181:

‘Sigh…’

Maybe it was because it was midwinter. As I got out of the car without wearing a chicken costume, white breaths came out of my mouth.

Before entering the lobby of the headquarters, I took a deep breath and felt the cold air with the smell of winter seeping into my lungs.

The floss sign on the front of the building that said [Have a warm and happy year-end with the WePlanet Family!] was very contradictory.

‘Who’s causing all this trouble right now?’

I calmly adjusted my breathing and approached the info desk.

“Hello, can I see Mr. Park, the executive director of the planning department, for a moment?”

I didn’t make an appointment, so the chances were slim.

If I couldn’t meet the top boss, then the next one, and if not the next one, then the next one in line. I was determined to meet someone who was relatively high up and had time.

“No, I just wanted to ask if you could see me right now.”

“Okay, I’ll check for you.”

The info desk staff picked up the intercom and dialed somewhere.

After the dial rang about five times, someone answered the phone.

“Hello, Mr. Park. This is the info desk. Mr. Cheon Ise is here to see you. Is it a good time for you? Oh, okay. I’ll guide him right away.”

The staff listened for a while with the receiver in his hand, then nodded and hung up.

“You can go up to the planning department office right now. Do you need me to tell you which floor it is?”

“No, I’m fine.”

I had already checked it out when I was in and out of the building because of the label separation issue.

“Okay, then let me know if you need any other help.”

“Thank you.”

I nodded lightly and headed to the office. Mr. Park, the executive director, was sitting on the sofa in the reception room with a rather calm expression.

“Hello, director.”

But he was only pretending to be calm. His fingertips were restless and fidgeting.

“Oh, Ise. Long time no see. How have you been?”

Long time no see? We greeted each other last week because of work. I smiled a sales smile and answered.

“I’m doing well, thanks to your concern.”

What he did was more like a curse than a concern.

There was a tense electricity between me and Mr. Park.

I braced myself to play the role of ‘the annoying lord who says everything with a smile and doesn’t reveal his true intentions’.

“I see. You must be busy with the label work these days. What brings you here?”

In other words, he meant to hurry up and get out of here.

“Well, I just received a sudden notice of broadcast suspension from the program that our group is appearing on.”

“Oh, that one where the boy idol groups compete?”

The director acted as if he didn’t know, with his lips dry.

He must have been having a headache over this until now. How could he say that without changing his face? I cursed the director inwardly and opened my mouth.

“Yes. They said they would contact us in order, but I guess we’re being pushed back in priority because we’re a new company. I came to ask if you have any information that you received first.”

Of course, that wasn’t the only reason I came. The dissolution of Floss was a matter of time. I also wanted to find out how they were going to operate afterwards.

The first priority for the future direction of activities was the artist himself, but that was just a polite way of saying it. The company had a different direction they wanted to push for.

“Didn’t they call you yet? Director Kwon, you didn’t care about this, but how can people be like that?”

Don’t talk nonsense and tell me what you heard. Tsk. I answered with a tongue click in my mind.

“Yes, not yet. This is the first time that the appearance contract has been unilaterally terminated, so I came to ask for your opinion as well. Haha, it’s hard. Management, that is.”

Since they wouldn’t say a word if I pushed them, I decided to fold and go in.

Anyway, this side was the one who was sorry.

“Look at that. It’s not as fun as you think, is it?”

The director asked me as if he was trying to cheer someone up, but I didn’t answer and just glared at him.

Whose fault is that? If they hadn’t made such a mess behind the scenes of Floss, which they run with their great ‘management’, I wouldn’t have had such a headache.

“Well, you know, a lot of things are like that when you live. So how did you hear the explanation?”

Don’t talk nonsense and give me the explanation. I smiled, pulling up the corners of my mouth that were sinking to the floor by 5mm.

“Oh, that? Wouldn’t it be better to hear it directly later? Anyway, there’s a lot to do even if that’s canceled. The reaction to season 1 of that show was good, so we can just prepare for season 2. It’s time to start a regular album, too. Wouldn’t you say it’s a good thing, actually?”

What a nonsense. The work was piled up like a mountain, and the schedule that was caught was canceled, not a good thing, but a phone call.

“No, I’d appreciate it if you could refrain from saying anything else, as I’m sure you’re busy, too.”

There’s a limit to how much you can match the pace. I wiped away the smile that had been hanging on my lips and darkened my face.

“Director, I didn’t come here to joke today. I’m asking for your cooperation now because I want to respond quickly to the recent issue that could cause a big loss. You know that. Although they say they’re separated, WePlanet and Composition are still the same root.”

I didn’t have time to waste on a pointless argument.

“If it’s hard for you to tell me, I’ll get up now. I have a dinner appointment with the chairman soon.”

I didn’t want to use this method. I’m going to see my dad later, so you better think about it… I added a threat that wasn’t a threat, and sweat ran down the director’s thin face.

“Hey, what’s the hurry. You’re right, Ise. That’s our situation, too. It’s a bit complicated… It’s related to the personal circumstances of the artists, so it’s a bit hard to talk smoothly. Come to think of it, you’re not just an ordinary artist, are you? You’re like our management, and I was wrong.”

He seemed to realize his mistake as his tongue grew longer. I didn’t want to pressure him with the power of my family, but

It was a sad thing that he only understood me when I did this.

“When we signed the appearance contract with NBS Entertainment, one of the clauses we agreed on was a bit wrong… You know, Ise. It’s been noisy because of the Floss pre-contract. The higher-ups at NBS must have flipped over. They’re already in trouble with the national audit in the fall, and they’re telling us to cut it off right away.”

What did they do? Did they promise to manipulate the rankings? It wasn’t a level of manipulation that would result in not only the cast leaving, but also the cancellation of the broadcast.

“What clause did you violate?”

I asked, frowning, and the director wrinkled his forehead and answered.

“Well… you know the feeling, right? The Floss contract ends in February next year, so this year is the last year-end. We had to finish with good results this year as well as last year, so that it would help us with the re-contract and activities afterwards…”

The director closed his mouth as if there was no need to say more. What’s the year-end? What did they do after last year…?

I realized it suddenly as I chewed on the director’s words.

“Don’t tell me…”

“What’s the big deal? It’s a win-win situation for both of us. We get good results, and they get a fair exchange. If anyone is going to get the prize anyway, it’s better to go to the one who can use it best, right?”

“……”

This was not a problem that could be solved by just disbanding Floss. It was lucky that it was only a near miss.

If it had been carried out, it would have been a scandal that would have turned a whole broadcasting station into a mess.

My head throbbed with pain. I had a vague idea that the entertainment industry was a structure where people who knew each other took care of everything.

But I didn’t expect it to be so close to me. The love, passion, and support that people sent to Floss were sincere.

Was the unprecedented success story that Floss achieved in K-POP history all real?

Once I started to doubt, there was no end.

After witnessing the shooting, I felt ridiculous that I had admired how they could stage the performance to take away the audience’s souls.

“Mr. Ise, do you understand what I mean?”

I didn’t want to understand. But even if I didn’t understand, I had to pretend that I did.

“I understand…”

Boys Be Ambitious was a stage where the winner was already decided, no matter how hard we worked and how good we did.

I felt betrayed. I felt like the ground beneath my feet had collapsed.

***

“Haah…”

As soon as I finished the conversation in the office and got back in the car, I felt drained. Floss had traded two things for their appearance on Boys Be Ambitious.

The grand prize at the year-end music finale, and the guarantee of the final first place in the competition.

I wondered if that was enough bait to lure out a group that had more losses than gains. I also felt sorry that they had made such a deal when they could have done it on their own.

‘But what they feel and what others see are different.’

They had sacrificed the rest of their group’s fate for the illusion of a two-time win. I couldn’t believe such a disgrace.

I had a lot of questions about the pre-contract within Floss, but they didn’t tell me anything about it, maybe thinking it was their privilege.

‘I guess I’ll have to rely on the system to find out.’

They were both sensitive about it, so I didn’t think they would tell me anything.

I had to know what was behind it to think about what to do next.

For now, I left it at that, implying that both Hwijin and Naru could come to our label if they had nowhere else to go.

What the hell was Kang Yu-geon doing, not showing his face yet? I thought I’d have to replay the service several times today.

‘System.’

As I sat up straight on the driver’s seat and called the system, a translucent window popped up in front of me.

[Do you want to purchase the replay service?]

[Yes/No]

As I was about to press the [Yes] button without hesitation, a new window suddenly covered the screen.

“……?”

I read the words on the new window with curiosity.

[>Do you want to start the special event ‘Your Pick My Idol’?]

[Achievement Rewards]

[Relationship> Hwijin Lee, Naru Shim acquired]

[Special Items> ‘Listen When People Talk’, ‘What People Want to Believe’ acquired]

What kind of quest was this, giving me two special items?

I was doubtful. I was careful not to touch the [Yes] button, and I read the quest window down.