The unexpected figure who interrupted my long hug with Yoo Seol was none other than…
“Uh? What are you doing here?”
“…?”
As Yoo Seol and I turned to the sudden male voice, there he was…
“…Yerin.”
“…”
It was Shin PD.
As soon as I saw him, my face scrunched up, and Shin PD gave a hollow laugh as if he couldn’t believe it before pointing a finger at Yoo Seol and said,
“Seol, I have something to tell Yerin, so please step aside.”
“…”
Yoo Seol, noticing his request, glanced between me and Shin PD, and then…
Swish-
Like she was guarding me, she blocked my path with her arm and asked,
“What is it? Is it something you can’t say here?”
“…”
As Yoo Seol took a strong stance, as if she wouldn’t easily step aside, Shin PD scratched the back of his head irritably and muttered to himself.
“…Ha, damn it. Do I look like an easy target now that the show’s over?”
“…”
Although it was muttered, it was loud enough for us to hear perfectly.
Yet, as Yoo Seol still wouldn’t budge, Shin PD continued with an annoyed expression.
“Fine, I’ll just talk here. Yerin and Seol, Rookies’ affiliation has been decided.”
“…!”
Both Yoo Seol and I flinched at the news that Rookies’ affiliation had been finalized.
‘Our affiliation is confirmed…? …Where could it be?’
There were many places we could go.
We could end up in one of the several small agencies related to Nnet or might be assigned to some random agency through outsourcing.
Depending on where we were going, how we would be treated and the future of Rookies might as well be decided, so we couldn’t help but feel tense.
And the affiliation that Shin PD revealed was…
“Rookies will be directly managed by NAS Entertainment, the parent company of our Nnet Broadcasting Station.”
“…!”
It was right under the nose of NAS Entertainment, the parent company of Nnet.
NAS Entertainment was a subsidiary of the Na Sung Group, one of the top 10 conglomerates in South Korea.
For such NAS Entertainment to manage Rookies directly meant they wouldn’t hold back on investment and interest towards us.
It was a complete jackpot.
“Sis…! This is amazing, right?”
“…Yeah, it’s the best option we could hope for.”
“This is such a relief…”
I grabbed Yoo Seol’s hand, ready to dive into a frenzy of excitement when…
‘Hold on.’
I sensed something off.
‘Why is Shin PD directly telling me this good news?’
My relationship with Shin PD was truly the worst.
Why would he care enough to tell me such news directly?
As I suspiciously looked at Shin PD, he growled as if it was time to get to the main point.
“There will probably be a summons from headquarters in a few days. …Ha Ye-rin, you need to be careful with your words then.”
“…”
“The things I said back then… if you blabber about it at headquarters.”
The things he said back then… Did that mean he was talking about introducing me to MS Planning?
“I mentioned ‘that company’ referring to a year after our contract ended. But if you fabricate stories and drive a wedge between me and headquarters…”
“…Then what?”
“You won’t have a pleasant time.”
Shin PD shouted threateningly, his awkwardly transplanted hair swaying.
“Do you think I don’t have connections at headquarters? I’m chummy with other broadcasting PDs too.”
“…”
“Just because the show ended, it doesn’t mean the cast can stand over the director. If… some weird words get out from headquarters… I’ll use all my connections to get you kicked out of this industry.”
I felt a chill run down my spine at Shin PD’s words.
As Han Si-woo said, this guy had quite the range in the entertainment industry.
If Shin PD starts spreading rumors about us Rookies… could we end up facing problems now that our journey has just begun?
At that moment, as I hesitated to respond to Shin PD’s threats…
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“…!”
The one who responded to Shin PD on my behalf was Yoo Seol beside me.
“You… you…!”
Shin PD was taken aback, unable to process that Yoo Seol spoke so casually with him.
Yoo Seol looked down at him with disdain and continued,
“From what I gathered, it sounds like you’re trying to do something shady… but if it gets out that a broadcasting PD, especially one already in hot water, is doing such things, what do you think the public and headquarters will say?”
“…”
It seemed Shin PD didn’t expect us to fight back so strongly, and he fell silent.
“And Rookies is your creation. You’re not stupid, are you? It only makes you look foolish if you trash talk the group you created.”
In that moment, I realized from Yoo Seol’s words that Shin PD’s threats were just bluffs.
Well, when you think about it, we were a group created by Shin PD.
The better our reputation, the higher his stock price would rise, so there was no way he’d run his mouth about us.
“So just stop the boasting, alright? You’re trying to threaten someone who’s practically a child compared to you, aren’t you embarrassed?”
“Gah…”
Yoo Seol’s voice, sounding like ice, was terrifying.
‘Scary…’
I trembled beside her, overwhelmed by fear.
“Get lost if you understand. I don’t want to change my mind and report you to headquarters for being disgustingly close.”
“…”
Even with a roughly 20-year age difference, Shin PD was at a loss for words against Yoo Seol’s commanding tone.
With a face filled with defeat, he glared at us once more before turning away.
“…You brats. You flaunted your success because of me, yet you don’t even know your place.”
With that terrible comment, he left.
Yoo Seol watched him leave with a fierce gaze until he was fully gone, then her expression softened as she turned to me and asked,
“…Yerin, that was scary.”
“…Yeah.”
…Because of you.
I knew Yoo Seol had a slightly aggressive personality, but I didn’t expect it to be to this extent.
“I can’t believe that Shin PD was approaching you like this. Which company did he say he would introduce?”
“MS Planning.”
“What? That trash company?!”
Both Han Si-woo and Yoo Seol gasped upon hearing the name MS Planning.
‘How terrible could MS Planning really be?’
I shook my head in disbelief, and Yoo Seol huffed in anger.
“That agency has contracts with terms like slavery, and the president is infamously terrible… That would have been a disaster.”
“I wasn’t planning to move agencies anyway, so I’ve been ignoring Shin PD all this time.”
“Good… well done.”
Swish-, Swipe.
Yoo Seol affectionately patted my head, then with a meaningful expression asked,
“…Yerin, should I help you bury Shin PD?”
“…What?”
“If we’re really under NAS Entertainment… we might find a way to make Shin PD’s life difficult.”
A way to make Shin PD’s life difficult…
My head filled with several ideas.
‘If I simply add some meat to the deeds Shin PD did to me and report it to NAS Entertainment… that would surely sink him right away…’
Thinking of getting back at Shin PD reminded me of Seo Yoo-jin and Lee Hye-jeong.
How many people had suffered because of that guy?
To punish Shin PD… the thought alone made me giddy, but…
“…No. It’s fine.”
I soon shook my head.
“Why not?”
“Even though we have the upper hand over him… a cornered rat will bite. What if we provoke him and he retaliates against Rookies?”
Even if we had his dirt, he was still a person of considerable influence in the entertainment industry.
If we started fighting him, we’d have to endure some level of pain ourselves.
“I just want our Rookies to… perform without any problems as much as possible.”
“…”
“I’m avoiding trouble, not because I’m afraid of the stink… I just don’t want to stir up conflict with Shin PD.”
“If that’s what you want… then alright.”
As Yoo Seol nodded her head, considering my wishes, I lightly embraced her head in gratitude and whispered,
“…Let’s enjoy our group life comfortably without any controversy.”
“…Yeah.”
I just wished for a group life filled with love without any controversies.
With Shin PD’s bad karma… I wanted it to end here today.
On my way home after Na Ah Ah ended, I was informed, just as Shin PD said, that Rookies officially belonged to NAS Entertainment.
After a brief rest, a few days later…
We Rookies received a summons from NAS Entertainment.
As usual, I got into the car with Older Brother Sang-gu and Kang Hyung-man, heading towards NAS Entertainment’s headquarters.
Well, today was a bit different than usual, though.
“Um… Boss?”
“Yeah?”
“Who is that person in the passenger seat…?”
Curious about the identity of the man in his mid-30s sitting in the passenger seat since I entered the car, I asked, and instead of Kang Hyung-man, he turned directly towards me and introduced himself.
“Hello, Yerin. I’m sorry for the late introduction. I’m Lee Kim-jang, the counsel lawyer for Brotherhood Planning.”
“Counsel lawyer… above that, your name is Kim-jang…? Are you by any chance related to the kimchi-making Kim-jang…?”
“Haha. Yes, that’s correct.”
Despite the somewhat sensitive nature of my question, Lee Kim-jang answered cheerfully with a broad smile.
“My name is unique, isn’t it? My dad picked it out from a naming agency. He believed I’d achieve great success in the legal field with this name.”
“Ah…”
Then the lawyer handed me his business card…
[Lee Kim-jang, Representative at Lee Kim-jang Law Office]
It seemed his real name was indeed Lee Kim-jang.
As I admired the card in curiosity, Kang Hyung-man continued Lee Kim-jang’s introduction.
“Even if he sounds a bit frivolous, his skills are definitely solid.”
“…Sounds good. But why are you coming with us, lawyer uncle?”
“Today, we’ll discuss the details of the contract. You need a skilled lawyer by your side for peace of mind.”
“Contract…”
Only then did it sink in for me that my affiliation was temporarily changing to NAS Entertainment.
‘I’ve only heard of NAS Entertainment, but it’ll be my first visit… what kind of place could it be…?’
And soon after arriving at the NAS Entertainment headquarters…
“Wow…”
I couldn’t help but gasp in admiration.
I had never thought the Brotherhood Planning office was small, but NAS Entertainment’s headquarters was on a whole different level.
“Let’s go in.”
“Yes…”
As I opened the main door to NAS Entertainment, I was immediately greeted by people in office attire hustling about, various decorations that seemed carefully arranged, and a thorough security detail that stood out.
It felt like the scent of a major corporation was hitting me right in the face.
My site has received a lot of DMCA notices, lol. From now on, I will update the MTL on https://darkmtl.com/.
The site is fast and lightweight because there are no ads yet. However, the theme is different from Cybor-TL, so take some time to familiarize yourself.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.