Chapter 43

# Chapter 043

"Mr. Park, you were Miss Hye-bin's manager?"

It was Jang Hae-yang who broke the awkward silence.

Everyone had been busy mulling over Seong Pil's critique, so they had easily overlooked the part about him being Son Hye-bin's manager.

It was Jang Hae-yang who pointed this out.

"Yeah, but not for long. Sister, how long was I your manager?"

Son Hye-bin suddenly came to her senses.

"Huh? Yeah, half a year? It must have been longer than that."

"Why did you quit?"

"This sister has a really bad temper. I couldn't take it and ran away."

"Really? Mr. Park, to run away from someone... that's something."

Seong Pil goes to work before 9 AM and leaves after 9 PM every day.

Scouting trainees, picking members, checking on their conditions, and finally dropping them off at home.

Even if there's a lot of free time in between, it's still tiring.

If even Seong Pil couldn't take it, how bad must her temper be?

"Hey! You're misunderstanding!"

"Is that not the case?"

"No, it's not. I left the agency I was at back then. But Mr. Park, you..."

"We agreed not to talk about that."

"Is it okay now? It was when I was young, so what's the big deal?"

"Then can I talk about you? Huh?"

"Okay, let's stop it."

Some kind of agreement passed between the two.

"Anyway, anyway! Do you guys have any songs you can perform together?"

No.

The four of them don't take lessons together.

There were skill gaps in different areas among the members, so they never practiced together.

"Then can you each show me a performance?"

The members agreed.

Since Garo Entertainment doesn't have weekly or monthly evaluations, there's no pressure to produce results.

They just practice for academy assignments or training.

That's why showing a performance to Seong Pil was a bit burdensome.

"Who wants to go first?"

"I'll go first."

Jang Hae-yang came out first, brimming with determination.

'Didn't she say she doesn't like competition?'

Maybe she thought it was better to take the first hit.

They all went to the practice room and prepared for the performance.

As the music played, Son Hye-bin looked at Jang Hae-yang with a nostalgic gaze.

Seong Pil glanced at Son Hye-bin even as Jang Hae-yang's performance unfolded.

* * *

"There's a point to it."

The day before, Seong Pil explained to Hong Gyu-hyun why they needed to recruit Son Hye-bin.

To summarize simply:

A woman's discerning eye for idols.

Experience as a famous dance singer in the past.

The network she built through that.

The promotional effect of recruiting Son Hye-bin, even if it's a bit underhanded.

And the experience she gained working in the design team of a major agency.

Son Hye-bin was a prepared talent.

Most importantly,

"She can live in the dorm."

Seong Pil and Han Goo-in, being men, can't just come and go from the dorm. The members would surely feel uneasy.

If Son Hye-bin comes, that problem is solved.

Moreover, with a different gender, she can listen to concerns that Seong Pil and Han Goo-in can't.

"Are you forgetting that I'm a woman?"

"The kids find you a bit intimidating. They can't just come to your office every time there's a problem."

"Well, I understand why bringing Hye-bin in would be good. I get it, but why would she come here?"

The design team at Son Hye-bin's agency is divided into three parts.

Son Hye-bin has worked in all three parts: album design, product design, and concert planning. She's currently settled in the product team, steadily building her career.

She's at a level where she could easily switch to a similar job in the same industry.

"There are better places than our company. Wouldn't the place where she is now be the best?"

There's no need for Son Hye-bin to come to Garo Entertainment.

"Are you thinking that because you know her from the past, you can just try to poach her?"

Headhunting is a sensitive issue in any industry.

If you take someone who's working fine, you'll naturally get criticized.

Especially in the entertainment industry.

It's a place where everyone knows each other, so rumors will spread quickly.

It's an industry where talent exchange happens a lot, but only through normal channels.

"Recently, she's been feeling a bit stuck."

"That's something every office worker feels."

"No, it's really serious."

Seong Pil knows the future.

Within this year, Son Hye-bin will suddenly disappear.

In the previous life, she suddenly called Seong Pil and said, "Sister is leaving. See you later," and then vanished.

A few years later, she returned and jumped into producing.

Son Hye-bin explained her disappearance like this:

"I went on a trip."

How long can someone who has been in the spotlight as a star for years endure a normal office life?

It will be boring.

People say that the cheers and attention of fans are like a drug.

Son Hye-bin must have been tired of the monotonous life and needed time to think about her future.

'This time, I want to make this period of recharging productive.'

That's why Seong Pil wanted to actively push for recruiting Son Hye-bin.

"If Mr. Park thinks that, then that's how it is."

"Then..."

"It's difficult right now. What would Hye-bin do if she came to our company now? She could contribute a lot in the future, but not right now. Do you understand?"

"Yes."

"When it's time to start the debut plan, I'll welcome her with open arms."

Salaries are a significant burden on the company's operations.

Once the debut members are decided, we'll start the engine in about a year. During that time, there's nothing for Son Hye-bin to do.

We can't just use a high-level talent for picking members.

"Considering that..."

"I don't have a reason to oppose it. We can't run the company with just Mr. Park and me forever."

* * *

"The trainees are all doing well."

Son Hye-bin took a sip of the health juice Han Goo-in made. Her eyes widened.

"This is so delicious! What did you put in it?"

"......What?"

Han Goo-in was shocked.

No one had ever said his health juice was delicious.

Actually, few people had even evaluated it.

Everyone just frowned slightly and swallowed it silently.

Rika had said, "I don't want to eat anymore..." but that only hurt Han Goo-in's feelings.

"Today, I used yogurt, honey, and onion..."

"Really? I tried a similar recipe before, but it didn't taste like this. Do you have a special method?"

Han Goo-in's smile blossomed.

He happily shared his knowledge.

Seong Pil felt a bit sorry for him.

He should have shown more interest before.

"So, is the evaluation over with just 'They're doing well'?"

"Really, they're doing well?"

"......"

"Ah, Hae-yang seems to need a lot of practice. I thought she was the ace because she came out first."

"She joined recently. She was preparing to be an actor before."

"Really? I thought she had an actor's aura."

It's just her appearance.

"Four, four... In the end, we need to see a performance with all four. The most important thing is how much of the stage they can fill."

The strength and weakness of a quartet is the number of members.

The strength is that the individual personalities of the four members can stand out more.

The weakness is that it's hard to create a distinctive group identity with just four members.

It's difficult to dominate the stage with four members, so the result is inevitably lower than the sum of their individual abilities. The stage will inevitably feel weak.

For an idol group, this is fatal.

"To put it simply, it can't compare to a group of seven or eight members jumping around on stage."

With seven or eight members, just matching the synchronized dance is a great performance.

The stage feels full, and the performance's completeness naturally improves.

A quartet would need backup dancers to give that feeling, but even that might not be enough.

"Each member's ability is important, but above all, they need to harmonize. They need to have the aura to fill the entire stage."

It's not easy.

This is why agencies don't often try quartets.

When you put four members on stage to perform, you get this feeling:

"Why does it feel so empty?"

So, generally, quartets use about four backup dancers.

Even with confidence, many fail. Most didn't understand the characteristics of a quartet.

"Each one needs to be a gem. There can be no freeloaders."

Son Hye-bin explained in concrete terms what Seong Pil had vaguely thought.

"I need to see a performance with all four."

"Just practicing in a room won't do. They need to be on a real stage."

The moment they're on a wide stage, the bottom falls out.

Even if the four of them dance and sing hard, if the stage feels empty, it's all over.

"Even if it's just four, if they're determined to go, I have nothing to say. We'll need to consider backup dancers for each activity and adjust the choreography. That will cover the weaknesses to some extent."

Some groups use backup dancers even with more than seven members.

Filling the entire stage is a tough bet. Of course, dancers are also needed for the performance's completeness.

'I feel like I'm being tested.'

Do the children Seong Pil has gathered have that much potential?

Seong Pil and the children are on the test stage.

"The song is..."

Seong Pil thought of several quartet group songs.

"How about 'Oh My Own'?"

"By 'Oh My Own,' you mean... the one by EMC?"

Why 'Oh My Own'?

It's a song that doesn't even have a music video or has appeared on music shows.

It's one of the lesser-known songs by EMC...

"Ah."

Seong Pil realized Son Hye-bin's intention and was impressed.

"How about it, isn't it good?"

"Yeah, it's good. How did you think of it right away?"

"Do you think I don't know you? I even read that strange idol plan, so I couldn't not know what you were thinking."

"Strange plan...?"

EMC is a quartet group that was active in Son Hye-bin's company. That's probably why it came to mind first.

But it's the song that best reads Seong Pil's intention.

"EMC is a legend, isn't it?"

"Yeah, they made a legend at their first music show without even using backup dancers. When I first saw that stage, I was skeptical, but I bought the album right after the performance."

"I was active at the same time as them. They were so popular, and when I saw their stage, wow... they were amazing."

"I saw it too. It's hard to describe, but their performance was powerful."

"Ah! That's it! Yes, yes!"

"Why did they suddenly stop activities? Since it was your company, you know, right?"

"There were internal conflicts in the company. As a result, the members' activities were neglected."

"Fans are still demanding new albums."

"It's almost impossible. But they're popular abroad. One of them is even active only abroad."

"Abroad? Where?"

"One is in China. He makes more money there than in Korea, even as a solo act."

Well, they were once called the top-tier group.

"But I feel a bit awkward suggesting it. Is 'Oh My Own' really okay? It has a rap part, and the chorus has high notes."

"I trust the kids."

"Ah, right. You said something about my song earlier. Did you really mean it? I wanted to punch you in the side because my face was burning."

"Did you like it or not?"

"A bit creepy?"

"......"

"Feels good too. Our Seong Pil is so cute. Do you want to be my manager again?"

"Ah, don't touch my head. What if it falls out?"

That's how the members' evaluation song was decided.

The evaluation day is in a month.

Based on the results, they'll decide whether to recruit more trainees.

As the conversation was winding down, Seong Pil brought up the recruitment.

Carefully, so as not to be rude, but with determination.

"Don't you want to try making an idol?"

Seong Pil knew Son Hye-bin's passion well.

In the previous life, Son Hye-bin was also Seong Pil's goal.

He wanted to pour all his passion into making an idol like her.

It didn't happen, but...

"Let's try it at our company."

When Son Hye-bin heard this, she

"Ha ha."

Smiled with the expected difficulty.

But her awkward smile seemed to have a deeper reason.

Not because Garo Entertainment is small.

Or because the future is uncertain.

More like...

"Do you want to drink today?"

"Again? Yesterday..."

"It's a tough conversation to have sober. I want to think positively about your proposal, but there's a reason. If you drink with me, I'll tell you."

"Are you possessed by a ghost who can't drink? If you promise not to go to a karaoke bar, I'll go."

"Then I won't tell."

"......"

"......"

"......"

"......"

"Okay, I give up... Let's go. If you're buying, go all out. A fancy hotel or a high-end restaurant."

"Do you think I make about ten million won a month? I've only been to such places when someone else paid."

"Surprising. You spend billions on your body and face..."

Son Hye-bin hit Seong Pil's side.

Seong Pil made a deflating sound.

"Who taught you not to care where people spend their money? When do you finish work?"

"Ah, ah, cough..."

"Does it hurt a lot?"

"Ow... ow, it hurts so much..."

"What can I do? Should I rub your stomach?"

After the pain subsided a bit, Seong Pil spoke again.

"I need to go to the hospital today. Let's go after I come back from there."

"Where does it hurt? Oh, your voice is hoarse. Do you have a cold?"

"My voice is hoarse because of the karaoke with you. It's because of Hae-yang."

The day Jang Hae-yang was decided to be recruited, she fainted again during practice.

A few days later, she went for a health check-up.

Today, she's getting the results.

"Let's go after I come back from the hospital and finish work."

A few hours later, Seong Pil and Jang Hae-yang went to the hospital to hear the health check-up results.

The doctor had a serious expression.

"I've never seen something like this before..."

Seong Pil's blood slowly turned cold.