Top Management Chapter 8

TL by Myoni

Edited by Yoni & Myoni

I tried to call Hyunjo multiple times, but it seemed like he was in a loud place as his phone kept going to voicemail.

Fortunately, Producer Joontae wasn’t far. I hesitated in front of him for a bit.

Was it okay to ask him before I told Hyunjo? What do I do?

d.a.m.n it! It was obvious what I should do. I don’t know if it was the future or whatever, but in there they said Gunyoung reckless ran to the producer and pushed Neptune. As a result, Neptune was able to appear on the program, while Gunyoung became the company’s bokdongee[1].

I couldn’t become a r.e.t.a.r.d who couldn’t even take care of himself. Let’s at least give it a try.

“Mr. Producer!”

“What now..! Ah, you’re from before…”

“I am Neptune’s manager, Jung Sunwoo.”

Producer Joontae’s face slowly calmed down.

“I felt like I didn’t properly introduce our members.”

“You said they debuted 2 years ago? I know that Blackout is in W&U, but I never knew they had girl groups. They only managed actors before.”

If I knew this would happen, I would have carried around my bag. It had their profiles inside.

Although it was somewhat lacking, I showed the producer the alb.u.m on my phone. It was a relief I saved a few pictures of the members when I was browsing through the internet.

“Hmmm… There’s a lounge over there. Let’s move there.”

After flipping through some pictures, Producer Joontae led me to a small lounge next to the elevator. I pressed my stiff shoulders as I followed along. I don’t know if it was because I was nervous, but my body felt stiff all over.

I sat down and studied Producer Joontae’s expression and eyes. He was looking through each picture seriously.

Yeah, that’s it, keep looking. Look closer. The more you look, the prettier they’ll be.

“They are a group W&U put their heart and soul into. As they were carefully chosen from large companies, they are all skilled, great talkers, have good characters and are very motivated.”

I felt more pressured than all the speeches, presentations, interviews I had done until now. There was never a time when my mind was in such a mess.

I tried to make motions and talk with confidence. I didn’t want to look too desperate, so I took notice of that. I also racked my brain to say one more word.

The leader, Taehee, is an amazing singer with skills in writing songs. LJ gave off the impression ‘I’m the baddest b.i.t.c.h’, but, in reality, she lives to tease her members, especially Seoyoung. Seoyoung was naturally good at entertainment shows, so she has some experience on appearing on entertainment programs and Songha was an irrefutable beauty.

I didn’t even remember what I said during the conversation. I just didn’t stop talking.

The profiles I saw in the van, the internet articles I browsed through in the salon and waiting room, I used whatever I could to speak positively about Neptune.

“Neptune. Neptune, you say… Not bad. Their visuals are actually better than Lemon Girls.”

Fortunately, the producer’s reaction wasn’t bad. I gulped down my saliva as I wait for his decision.

“Why weren’t they on the list? Was it because the group would soon be 3 years old? If we were to recruit them into the program, would we be able to have some actors from W&U make brief appearances on the show?”

“Pardon?”

“There a lot of expensive actors from W&U that don’t make appearances on entertainment shows. I’m not asking for much, just enough to use gain some attention… How about it?”

“That is something I cannot decide by myself. I will confirm it with the chief and let you know immediately.”

“Chief?”

“I am a new recruit.”

I forgot to tell him it was my first day.

It was good that I forgot. As soon as he heard those words, Producer Joontae absent-mindedly laughed. He looked as though he had nothing more to say to a rookie manager.

“Is that so? I thought… So are you here for the music broadcast?”

“Yes.”

“Then you probably came with the girls. Is the chief with you as well?”

“He should be watching their live broadcast.”

“Then can we meet after the performance? With all the members. Let’s talk once we’ve seen the members. Here’s my business card, call me later.”

“I will.”

As I accepted the business card with both hands, something poked my back.

“What are you doing here?”

I turned around to see Seoyoung panting.

“Hyunjo oppa is talking about whether to kill you or not. ‘It hasn’t been a day, but he already disappeared during a live broadcast. Where the h.e.l.l did this b.a.s.t.a.r.d come from?’”

“What are you doing here? What about the performance?”

“We’re done already. I came here since the washroom in front of the waiting room was packed. But, I’m not the one with the problem, it’s you, oppa! You have to work to feed the quadruplets, what are you going to do if you get fired on your first day. You lost my fan and even disappeared, you’re getting pretty close.”

“Wait, why do I have to feed the quadruplets?”

“Whatever, I’ll cover for you so hurry up and think of an excuse!”

Why is she like this? Was it because she just came down from her performance? She seemed really excited. Like a person who already had a bottle of alcohol.

Seoyoung suddenly blinked.

“But, who is the person behind you?”

Gasp! There were more important things at hand!

As I quickly turned around, Producer Joontae was looking at Seoyoung with laser-like eyes. After looking at Joontae, as if she understood, she said,

“Ah! Were you looking for my fan you lost earlier? You’re kidding me!”

“No, this person…”

“h.e.l.lo! I am Im Seoyoung from Neptune! Would like an autograph now?”

“He’s a producer.”

“Gyahh!”

Seoyoung let out a scream and energetically shoved her head down.

I thought she was doing a deep bow.

“What do I do! I am sorry, Mr. Producer!”

“Hahaha. Your character is fresh and cute. Nice to meet you.”

Seoyoung had an expression that she made a big mistake and was stamping her feet. Any man who had protective instincts would not be able to stay mad at this sight.

Even Producer Joontae calmed down and revealed a much more relaxed expression, as he ma.s.saged his shoulders. And he made a gesture telling me to call him with his other hand.

“Then, talk with your superior and call me.”

“Right away, I will give you a call in 10 minutes.”

I grabbed the confused Seoyoung and ran. Pus.h.i.+ng my way between the flood of people in the hallway, I ran as if I was in a race. Seoyoung, who was following behind me, kept asking me why we were running, but I didn’t have the time to reply.

Shortly, we arrived at the waiting room. It seemed like the other members were inside as they couldn’t be seen, however, Hyunjo and Gunyoung were guarding the door.

Hyunjo was the first to see me.

“Seoyoung, go inside.”

“Oppa.”

“Quickly. They’re all changing inside, so you go and get changed.”

Seoyoung looked at me with a worried expression, but I pushed her back, indicating she should go. The talk with Producer Joontae went well, there was no way he would kill me, right?

“What did the b.a.s.t.a.r.d who went to the washroom do all this time to come crawling back after the performance?”

What do I do. I think he’s going to kill me.

As soon as Seoyoung went inside, the veins on Hyunjo’s neck bulged.

“Something important? So, let’s hear what this so-called important something is, shall we?”

“That is…”

“Was it more important than the girls’ performance? You a.s.shole, don’t you know that this is a live broadcast? When you are later a.s.signed to them by yourself, are you going to leave them and walk around? What are you going to do if there is an accident? Do you think I can trust you with the girls like this?”

“I am sorry. I met Producer Go Joontae while I was going to the washroom.”

The uncontrollably angry voice cut off.

“What? Who?”

“The producer of Next K-Star, Producer Go Joontae. He was looking for a new group to replace a group as one of their members got in a lot of trouble. I was going to tell chief about it, but the signal wouldn’t connect…”

“Since they were about to begin, I put it on airplane… No, so what happened?”

“First, I caught up to Producer Joontae and showed him pictures of Neptune while I introduced them.”

“G-good job. So?”

“He asked if he could talk directly with the chief and the girls. I received his business card.”

I handed out the business card in my hand. Hyunjo looked back and forth at the business card and my face. The constantly tired and haggard face he had since the morning was dazed.

“He can see them. Of course, he can see them.”

Hyunjo, who was motionless like a lagging computer, suddenly hit my forearm.

“Mr. Sunwoo, first call the producer and ask him where he is and meet up with him. Block him before he meets up with other groups’ managers. While you do that, I will call the team leader and the director and relay the situation to them. And Mr. Gunyoung, since the girls are going to meet with the producer, tell the girls to come out after they are done wearing their outfits again and fixing their makeup. What are you doing, the both of you! Run!”

“Yes, yes!”

To meet up with Producer Joontae again, I ran until my feet were sweaty.

Afterwards, the situation left my hands.

The situation was swept up like a river as everything progressed in a hurry. While I clung to Producer Joontae, Hyunjo, who finished talking with the company, and Gunyoung brought Neptune. Although they were still somewhat dazed, they politely bowed at a ninety-degree angle to greet the producer.

The members had a long conversation with the producer. Although they had to go up when they announced 1st place, they still came back down to continue. Luckily, the mood seemed good and it looked like the producer liked the girls.

“Don’t say anything to the girls just yet.”

After sending the members back to the waiting room, Hyunjo grabbed Gunyoung and me and told us.

“If you unnecessarily raise their expectations, they won’t be able to sleep at night. Until it becomes certain, keep your mouths shut.”

Afterwards, Hyunjo pa.s.sionately expressed the good points of Neptune. He was so good, even I felt like I was getting bewitched. From what I saw, it looked like Producer Joontae was also partly bewitched as well.

“I have to discuss it with the writers, but I like them. Their visuals are good, they look like they have good personalities, however even the girl who got a DUI also had a good outwardly appearance. Kids these days…”

“Mr. Producer. We are W&U. Have you seen any of our actors cause any problems with their personal lives?”

“Well, W&U are famous for being good at their job.”

As the conversation started to mix in some jokes, the mood was more relaxed.

“Then, Mr. Producer, how…”

“No matter how much I am in a rush; I can’t make a decision right away. We have to have an internal meeting. We have to get an ‘okay’ from the department head and director. It won’t take long. Once the DUI article goes up, we will receive a rain of inquiry calls from reporters, so we don’t have much time. We have to find a solution before the program receives a bad image from this incident.”

“Is the program’s chief producer Department Head Choi Sungho?“

“Right, Sungho hyung.”

“Since it’s been a while, our chairman asked if Department Head Choi would like to talk face-to-face tonight if he’s free…”

“Really? Do they know each other personally?”

“He said that they met a few times in the past.”

“Then, just a minute. If this proceeds quickly, it’ll be great for us as well.”

Producer Joontae, who was talking with the chief producer, gave us an ‘okay’ sign.

While they were talking, the meeting was set up very swiftly. From W&U, the chairman, the management business director and management team 3 leader and from Knet, the chief producer, who was directing the project, and the main producer, Go Joontae, will attend this meeting.

[1] Bokdongee means Lucky Charm. You’ll see why I used Bokdongee instead of Lucky Charm in later chapters.