Chapter 11

# Chapter 011

"Can you help me move the food?"

Sung Pil and Hong Gyu-heon carried the plates out to the terrace. The resort-like interior and the view of Seoul beyond were enough to astonish Sung Pil.

'Wow, I can see the Han River. This must be a penthouse.'

If only he could just admire the scenery, but Sung Pil started to think about the price of the place in a worldly manner.

Unfortunately, he couldn't even guess.

"Let's eat."

"Thank you. I'll enjoy my meal."

The food was simple.

Grilled bread, bacon, mashed potatoes, salad, and black coffee that emitted a subtle aroma.

As he took a sip of coffee, his stomach tingled. It felt like the coffee was washing away the alcohol-soaked lining of his stomach.

'What's going on?'

He never imagined he would have breakfast in such a fancy place.

Especially not with Hong Gyu-heon.

'Still, it feels good.'

Sung Pil calmed himself down while eating the jam-covered bread.

When he turned his gaze from Hong Gyu-heon to the open view, the confusion that had been swirling in his head subsided a little.

"Last night, you kept tossing and turning. Were you uncomfortable?"

Sung Pil was taken aback and coughed. He hurriedly drank coffee to push the food down his throat.

The anxiety he had barely suppressed crept back up.

'What did I do last night?'

Why was he in this house?

How did Hong Gyu-heon know he was tossing and turning in his sleep?

What happened last night?

Who changed his clothes?

Everything was a mystery.

If only he could remember a little.

'Did I sleep with the boss? When I was drunk?'

Saying 'I don't remember' would be the most despicable thing.

'No, wait. I couldn't have broken into the boss's house. So the boss must have invited me. If the boss tried to seduce me... '

Sung Pil buried that hypothesis deep in his mind.

There was no way that could happen.

What did he have that would make the boss do that?

'Or maybe we both lost our senses and had an unexpected adventure...'

"Why aren't you answering?"

"Uh, no. I wasn't uncomfortable. Ahem."

"That's a relief."

Hong Gyu-heon only sipped coffee and didn't touch the food. His eyes, however, were fixed on Sung Pil.

A faint smile hung on his lips, which made Sung Pil's heart burn with frustration.

"Did you have fun last night?"

"Um, what do you mean?"

"I haven't drunk like that in a long time."

"Ah, that's true. I also drank to my heart's content."

"But you're unusual."

"Huh?"

"Most people feel awkward and want to leave right away."

As he said this, Hong Gyu-heon finally looked away from Sung Pil. He gazed at the Han River below while sipping his coffee.

Sung Pil felt like he was about to choke.

'Awkward? Why would I be awkward? Of course, he would say that! Think, think, Park Sung Pil. What did you do last night?'

"Or did you think it was an old story because it was night? You seem to have a freer spirit than I thought."

Sung Pil got down on his knees from his chair.

"I'm sorry, boss! I really don't remember what I did last night at all! I know I might seem like trash, but I really don't remember!"

"Hmm..."

Hong Gyu-heon crossed his arms with a disdainful look.

Sung Pil was now certain. He must have done something terrible.

"I'm not trying to avoid responsibility. If I did something wrong, I'll do anything..."

"Mr. Park, are you up? Why are you on your knees?"

The terrace door opened, and Han Goo-in appeared.

"Uh?"

"Mr. Han, good morning."

"You already greeted me. I'll be going now."

"Sure. You worked hard last night."

"No, it's fine."

At that moment, Rika appeared behind Han Goo-in. She waved energetically.

"Goodbye, boss!"

"Rika, have a good day."

"Mr. Park is up too."

Rika said this with a small laugh, as if she couldn't hold back her amusement.

"Mr. Park shouldn't drink!"

"What, why?"

"Surely you don't remember anything? Ahaha! Mr. Han, did you hear? He doesn't remember!"

Han Goo-in laughed bitterly. He bowed to Hong Gyu-heon and left with Rika.

Sung Pil looked at Hong Gyu-heon, who was trying to suppress a laugh.

"What? Did you think I slept with you?"

"But why did you use that strange tone earlier..."

"I was just teasing you. Ah, it was fun. But even if we did sleep, what's the big deal? You're kneeling as if you committed a mortal sin. Are you that innocent?"

Sung Pil slowly got up and brushed off his knees. He then sat back down in his chair.

"We all came together."

"Yeah. And we had fun."

"Why did Rika mock me?"

Hong Gyu-heon played a video on his phone. It showed a drunk Sung Pil lying on the street and rolling around.

The point was that everyone was laughing instead of stopping him.

"Stop."

"Huh? The best part is coming. There's more."

"Stop... please."

"Alright. Anyway, I like you more now. I prefer people who let loose when they have fun."

Sung Pil felt like he had completely lost control.

He wanted to run out of there immediately and go home to bury his face in a pillow and scream.

"Haha, yeah, it's really funny."

"Right. It's funny to see a 30-year-old act like a college freshman."

"..."

"Cheer up. We're done talking about it. I won't mention what you did last night. It's embarrassing, right? And thank Mr. Han later. He practically carried you around."

"..."

"Ah, but I have to say this. You kept saying you liked me last night. You even knelt down. You were so drunk I didn't answer, but since you're sober now, I will."

"Me? No, that..."

"As a boss, you said you admired and respected me. You said you would dedicate your life to this agency and wanted me to understand your sincerity."

"Ah, I see."

Sung Pil felt a genuine sense of relief.

If he had drunkenly confessed to a woman, he wouldn't have had the courage to live anymore.

It was still embarrassing, though.

After being betrayed by Kim Tae-hoon at Success Entertainment, Sung Pil had become obsessed with Garo Entertainment.

Thinking about it made his face turn red.

"I like you too, Mr. Park. This much."

Hong Gyu-heon made a small circle with his thumb and index finger, about the size of a coin.

Sung Pil chuckled.

"If it's the size of a coin, I have a long way to go. I'll work harder to gain more trust..."

"Except for this part."

Hong Gyu-heon laughed brightly. Sung Pil, feeling exposed, had a stiff expression.

"I'll work hard to fill in the rest. I trust you."

* * *

After Sung Pil left, Hong Gyu-heon sat on the terrace chair for a long time.

As he savored his coffee, he thought about Sung Pil.

Sung Pil seemed quite moved by the words "I trust you."

'If this narrows the gap a bit, that would be good.'

On the night Sung Pil turned into a dog from drinking, he clung to Hong Gyu-heon, talking about his vision for the idol industry, his dreams, and his dedication to her.

It was embarrassing even to listen to.

Even now, thinking about it made him chuckle.

'I want to get him drunk again and see what happens.'

As he smiled faintly, his phone rang.

When he saw the word "Little Brother" on the screen, his smile disappeared.

"Yeah, it's me. The world trip was fun..."

[You said it failed.]

The first words stabbed at his sore spot.

Hong Gyu-heon barely held back a curse.

"You don't really care about me, do you? The group you were making disbanded a while ago, and now you're doing this."

[Stop now. You don't have a talent for business.]

"It's just once. How can you judge me by one time..."

[Your choice of business field shows it.]

Idols weren't something a beginner should jump into. But he didn't want to admit it.

Hong Gyu-heon picked up the bacon Sung Pil left and ate it with his hands.

"Brother, what I get, I keep until I let it go. I won't let go of anything, from buildings to people, to a single grain of rice. I won't listen to your nonsense. So stop worrying about me and go sell your fancy paper."

The sharp answer left Little Brother speechless.

After a while, his voice was softer.

[Are you doing well?]

"Yeah."

[Do you... drink...]

"I know, I know. It's a family issue, so I'm careful. I try not to drink unless it's with someone I'm really close to."

* * *

"Woah, you're the one who knelt on the street and confessed. Did you get an answer from the boss?"

Sung Pil's face turned red as soon as he heard this, and he chased after Rika. She laughed loudly and ran away.

After running around the entire company, Rika was finally caught and punished.

"Mr. Han, please extend Rika's class by 10 minutes today."

"No way!"

"Understood. I can catch up on the material I missed."

"No way!"

Rika officially left KS Entertainment and became a formal trainee at Garo Entertainment.

As part of the contract, she studied under Han Goo-in.

Han Goo-in also had a talent for teaching. Thanks to his guidance, Rika's academic abilities improved rapidly.

"Mother, father, water, fire."

"Great job. Now you can read most words."

Rika, who didn't even know English phonetics, could now write a few words.

"How is teaching Rika?"

"She learns quickly. She did learn Korean in a year on her own, after all."

"It's amazing. She can't read English, but she learned Korean so quickly. Interest is definitely important."

Hong Gyu-heon inspected Rika's academic progress like a parent. It was both a contractual obligation and a genuine concern for her future.

Rika was adapting well to Garo Entertainment. However, the management of Garo Entertainment was troubled by one issue.

"I get the gist of what you're saying."

Hong Gyu-heon slowly flipped through the plan Sung Pil had brought.

She had read it several times, but it was important to have accurate information to critique in front of the author.

After a final check, Hong Gyu-heon spoke.

"Music should focus on music and artists, not business."

"Uh-huh."

"Music carries human thoughts and emotions. It is influenced by the environment, country, and culture. Expressing all of this is what music is about..."

"Right."

"Artists should not be treated as commodities."

"Uh, every word is true."

"Stop agreeing with everything."

Han Goo-in was quite impressed with Sung Pil's writing. Even after Hong Gyu-heon silenced him, his eyes remained bright.

"Our idols should express their own dreams, thoughts, love, life, and beauty through music. They should connect with fans, comfort them, and move forward together. Our idols will spread human love and humanism in the cold modern society. The message is an unchanging trend."

"Wow."

"Escaping the uniform ability, competition, capitalism, and meritocracy to respect the diversity and value of human beings in music... Ah."

Hong Gyu-heon sighed and put down the plan.

"I don't really care about this."

"You don't care...?"

Sung Pil was a bit disappointed by the comment.

Of course, it could all sound like empty talk.

But as someone who had returned from the future, Sung Pil knew it wasn't.

What he wrote in the plan was the evaluation of the group 'WTP' that swept the world in the future.

In other words, it was an analysis of why they became world-famous.

"You're right. It's not something to be indifferent about. This writing touches the heart, doesn't it?"

Han Goo-in was unusually excited.

He was quite impressed with Sung Pil's idealistic writing and personally held him in high regard.

"It does touch the heart."

Hong Gyu-heon, who had been comforted by idols in her younger days, could deeply empathize with Sung Pil's words.

She agreed a hundred times over that idols were beings who gave dreams and hope.

"Here's the training list. Dance, vocals, Chinese conversation, English conversation, acting, communication training. If we put foreign languages aside, I agree with the rest. But why is this here?"

Hong Gyu-heon pointed to the words 'composition, lyric writing, instrument playing.'

Sung Pil confidently replied.

"Of course, artists need to express their own thoughts, so they need composition skills."

"Think about it realistically. Can we include songs by idols who haven't even professionally learned composition in an album?"

"So, we can teach them now."

"We can leave the songs to composers and lyricists. Why should idols, who are industry professionals, compose their own songs?"

"Because idols are artists."

Hong Gyu-heon wanted to reduce Garo Entertainment's expenses as much as possible. Composition involves programs, equipment, and lesson fees, none of which are cheap.

Moreover, it was uncertain whether the skills would be useful in the future.

It would be a waste of money.

"As written in the plan, each idol expressing their own thoughts as an artist increases communication with fans and the authenticity of the songs..."

Hong Gyu-heon looked at Han Goo-in for help.

Han Goo-in was responsible for Garo Entertainment's finances and could give a sharp critique of Sung Pil's behavior.

"Mr. Park is right. It would be good for idols to learn composition and lyric writing."

Hong Gyu-heon's head throbbed as her two subordinates agreed.