Meanwhile…

On the day Jin-ah successfully wrapped up her first music show appearance, Team Lead Kim was called into Director Park’s office. He sat tensely in the office, the silence thick.

Sweat trickled down Kim’s face. He stared down at the coffee cup in front of him as Director Park sat on the couch across him. 

After a long, tense silence, Director Park finally spoke in a cold tone.

“You went to see him?”

“N-No, sir. We ran into each other by chance at the salon.”

Director Park’s eyes narrowed menacingly. Seeing his reaction, Kim quickly corrected himself.

“I went to see him…”

“I keep hearing things like, ‘Once again, Director Park was outdone by Hyuk Kang.’”

Startled, Kim said, “It was just me acting on my own–”

“It doesn’t matter what the truth is! Can’t you understand that it’s a problem if that’s how others see it?! Why are you acting out on your own and making me an embarrassment!” 

Director Park’s booming voice interrupted him in an explosion of anger.

Sensing the gravity of the situation, Team Lead Kim began to stammer out a feeble excuse.

“If that actress Sung-ah Kim hadn’t come in and made a mess, things would’ve turned out differently.”

It was a poor excuse, and it only added fuel to the fire. After all, Director Park couldn’t openly criticize Sung-ah Kim since she was protected by the CEO. It was especially true now that Director Park’s position had become precarious.

“Why do you keep doing unnecessary things! Why?!”

Director Park shouted as if he was releasing all his pent-up frustrations. His voice echoed throughout the office, and Kim’s face turned ashen. However, the director showed no sign of stopping his tirade.

Director Park’s view of Hyuk had shifted significantly. Previously, he wanted to crush Hyuk as punishment for not staying by his side and as an example to others. Now, however, it was something more desperate.

It was about his reputation in the industry and his standing within the company.

‘He lost to Hyuk, who has nothing, while he benefited off of Director Park’s attempts to bring him down.’

The rumors of him being beneath Hyuk’s success were becoming unbearable, filling him with shame and humiliation.

He was determined to turn things around by being more careful next time, but he took a sudden hit from Team Lead Na being snatched away. Now, even the people beneath him started meddling unnecessarily, which caused his image to worsen.

Director Park was feeling more anxious than ever.

Back when trainees like Yoon-jung Hwang, Hee-yeon Lee, Jin-ah Choi, and Yumi Cho were still with HS Entertainment, he had been the one to push for the launch of the boy group ‘Iron Maiden.’

The more those trainees succeeded, the bigger his misstep would appear. With a growl, Director Park spoke through gritted teeth. He was too drained to shout anymore.

“Iron Maiden. How long has it been since those guys debuted, and yet they still don’t have the results to show for it? How much more hand-holding do they need before I can be satisfied?”

“We’ll bring back some good results soon,” Team Lead Kim replied, on the verge of bursting with frustration.

Hyuk managed everything on his own without any backing. Yet despite all the support, Iron Maiden’s results remained disappointing.

“Have you seen the reactions?” Director Park asked.

For a moment, Team Lead Kim’s face brightened slightly as if he had found a lifeline.

“Yes, I have. Iron Maiden’s reception is actually better than Jin-ah Choi’s.”

“Well, Jin-ah did just debut today. But do you understand what these reactions mean? Do you have any idea how things might turn out? Did you bother to actually look into the response?!” Director Park’s voice rose again towards the end.

He wondered what would have happened if he tried to work with Hyuk instead of trying to attack him. If he tried supporting him and walking alongside him. What if he had chosen a more collaborative approach instead?

Regret was futile now. If he didn’t bring down Hyuk, he would be the one to fall.

Team Lead Kim met Director Park’s intense gaze and thought quickly on his feet when he realized this was a make-or-break moment.

“There is… one way.” Sensing that he might be cut off before getting a chance to explain, he pressed on immediately. “Yumi Cho! We should go after Yumi Cho!”

“What…?”

“There’s a rumor circulating that Hee-yeon Lee is making a comeback, but there’s been no news at all about Yumi Cho. Especially since Blue Sherbet is gaining popularity right now, we can fuel speculation about the group breaking up or about her being ostracized within the group if we highlight her as the weak link holding the team back. It’ll stir things up both inside and out!”

The hostile atmosphere surrounding Director Park began to calm. After a moment of contemplation, a sly smile spread across his lips.

***

While we were all grilling pork belly together, Jung-han had said some shocking news. I called the restaurant auntie to order.

(T/N: Korean restaurants are often run by middle-aged women, who we can refer to as ‘auntie.’)

“Three bottles of soju and another platter, please! Also, can we get soybean paste stew and steamed eggs?”

While Jung-han was still processing the news, Team Lead Na pumped his fist like an excited kid.

“Hyuk! All that’s left now is for you to hit it big, right?”

“Exactly. Not only does it end with the ad, but that ad itself is going to serve as promo for the song.”

“We’re about to rake in the cash!”

The team joined in and congratulated Yumi. With this tremendous achievement, our minds were filled with dreams of a bright future.

“Oh… wow. President Kang, is this for real?”

“Yes, Yumi. You’ve accomplished something huge.”

After we reassured Yumi several times, she finally broke into a sheepish grin. Then, Jin-ah chimed in from next to us as she was stacking meat on a piece of lettuce.

“This is great news. But I guess this means you’ll have to put off hip-hop for a bit. Even if it’s disappointing, try to hold off for now.”

“Hip-hop?”

I exchanged a surprised glance with Yumi, whose eyes were wide and uncertain. I saw her gaze waver and asked. 

“Didn’t you mention wanting to do hip-hop after EDM? Do you really want to try hip-hop now?”

“Oh. Haha. No, it’s fine. I like EDM.”

Jin-ah tilted her head, confused.

“What are you talking about? You said you wanted to do hip-hop. You even said you’d talk to President Kang about it soon.”

“When did I say that!”

“Hey! Why are you hiding it? I didn’t say anything you can’t admit, did I? No one’s telling you not to do EDM. You can keep doing it! You already got some results out of it.”

As I was mulling things over, the restaurant auntie brought over the soju and meat.

On the soju bottle was a picture of Sung-ah Kim smiling sweetly while holding a glass in her hand. I had purposely ordered a different brand earlier, so I wasn’t sure why she brought this one instead.

Team Lead Na chuckled.

“Exactly. No need to hide it. Yumi, you can do hip-hop next time. You’ve proven you’ve got talent in EDM. If you keep moving forward, the Billboard charts might not be so far away.” 

“Oh. S-still, being on the Billboard is a bit of a stretch. Even if we did really well as a K-pop group, climbing that high with EDM would be pretty challenging.”

“Why not? This is a song Daft Punk themselves acknowledged. Back in my day, Daft Punk was unbeatable and… well, I guess you’d know more than I do about that. Haha!”

The atmosphere grew lively again, but my mind still felt as messy as a room trampled on by a bunch of cats.

If I didn’t know Yumi’s true talent, like Team Lead Na or Jin-ah, I would have simply laughed and continued cheering her on. However, I knew that Yumi had a knack for any genre.

‘Should I keep pushing her towards EDM? Maybe she really could make it onto the Billboard charts.’

As I weighed these thoughts, I happened to lock eyes with Yumi. She smiled, seemingly reassured by the cheerful mood at the table. She was a genius who was being swept up by others. 

My mind became clear. It was as if a veteran caretaker had tidied up the cluttered mess in my head.

‘A genius should do what she wants to do.’

After all, that was how her talent would flourish. In the past, she left things up to me, saying she would do whatever I chose. Now, it was clear that she had a genre she was eager to explore. It was only right that I let her follow her own wishes.

Besides, she already achieved great success in EDM. The reputation and experience she had built wouldn’t just vanish.

“Yumi.”

“Yes?”

“Go ahead and try hip-hop.”

Everyone stiffened at once, as if time suddenly froze. They stared at me with wide eyes. A piece of lettuce peeked out from Jin-ah’s mouth, caused by her stopping in the middle of munching on her lettuce-wrapped bite. Team Lead Na froze as he was spinning his happy thoughts. The other members and Yumi also froze. 

Ignoring everyone’s shock, the auntie set down the soybean paste stew and steamed egg in front of us and changed the TV channel. At that moment, a shampoo commercial featuring Sung-ah Kim played on the TV.

‘She really is everywhere.’

Sung-ah Kim was someone who never listened to anyone’s advice if it wasn’t my own and just did whatever she wanted. I sometimes wished Yumi, who was always so passive, could be even a fraction as confident as Sung-ah. Any more more than that would be a problem, though.

I picked up the tongs to prevent Jin-ah from glancing over at the TV and placed some meat on the grill. The sizzling of the meat melted away everyone’s stiffness one at a time.

Team Lead Na frowned deeply and asked seriously.

“Hyuk, are you serious? Do you really think this is the right choice? Isn’t this the time to strike with EDM while the iron’s hot?”

Yumi also added her thoughts, looking unsure.

“I-I haven’t even tried hip-hop yet. It was just something I vaguely wanted to try. I don’t even know if I’d be good at it. Sticking with EDM wouldn’t be so bad either.”

“I’m not saying to abandon EDM entirely. If you want to try hip-hop, then go for it. And if EDM calls you again, go back to it. Just do what feels right to you.”

I looked straight into Yumi’s anxious eyes and spoke firmly.

“You’ve already got the results, so don’t put off what you want to do just because you’re trying to keep rowing in the same direction. Who said your talent is only for EDM? Remember what I told you from the start? To not limit yourself by a single genre–“

“As much as I can… whenever I can…”

“Exactly. As much as you can, whenever you can. And one more thing.”

I glanced at the TV to see that Sung-ah Kim’s commercial had ended, replaced by another ad. I turned back to Yumi and smiled.

“Don’t overthink it. Just do what you want.”

“Don’t overthink it… just do what I want?”

“That’s right.”

There was a peculiar glimmer in Yumi’s eyes as she looked back at me, and she kept repeating those words to herself. Don’t overthink it. Just do what I want. I let her continue as I turned back to Team Lead Na to explain.

“Even if she doesn’t pursue EDM right now, that doesn’t mean her reputation will disappear. There’s no real downside, so let’s just see how things go.”

“It sounds crazy, but since it came from you, I guess I’ll go along with it. You’re saying Yumi’s talent isn’t limited to EDM, right?”

“Yes.”

Team Lead Na looked at Yumi and chuckled lightly, shaking his head. 

“Who knows, she might end up becoming a legend in every genre.”

Jung-han also smiled, as if he had just heard an amusing joke. I, too, smiled — though for a completely different reason.

—

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