Episode 148
Seok Hyun-woo let out a big sigh and said, “All those schedule inquiries disappeared into thin air.”
Beside him, Jo Narae from the promotion team sighed as well. “It’s a relief if only the new ones have been cut. The existing schedules have also been canceled under various excuses.”
“Why are they doing this?”
“It’s because they don’t want to hold that bomb in their hands, ready to explode, whether the issue is positive or negative. Just get them on the show, and it’s enough to paralyze the broadcast boards.”
Indeed. Yeoreum’s music show fainting incident was still leaving thick aftershocks.
A variety of characters were running wild, ready to tear each other apart: nationalistic fans, hooligans from rival idol fan clubs, third-rate internet reporters obsessed with view counts, politicians trying to spin the situation for their agenda, and just plain trolls wanting to stir up trouble.
To be honest, comparing it to a bomb was no exaggeration.
“If you’re someone who creates broadcasts, you should have the guts to handle that bomb! What is this, are they all cowards?”
“Bringing Yeoreum on is like riding a roller coaster without safety harnesses. If you don’t do it, it’s not being a coward, it’s just being outright insane. If not, they’re just merchants trying to exploit our kids.”
Of course, among all this chaos, there were programs wanting to ride the publicity from the Girl Revolution group, but those weren’t the normal shows we wanted. They were more like yellow journalism trying to strike gold with cheap gossip.
“Ugh… it’s frustrating. We need to break this flow to make any progress for the next album, but since we’re blocked from appearing on broadcasts, we’re stuck.”
Listening to Seok Hyun-woo’s complaints, I organized the information I had checked and stood up.
“Where are you going, Team Leader Seon?”
“I can’t just sit here waiting; I need to carve out a path myself.”
“A path?”
Instead of responding to the puzzled Seok Hyun-woo, I turned to Lee Hyerin, the vocal trainer, who was outside preparing for the next lesson.
“For that reason, I’m borrowing Oh Yoori.”
*
As I was preparing to go out for the audition, Oh Yoori asked me, “…But is this really okay?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, a sane director wouldn’t cast an idol whose acting skills are unproven, especially not a member of the idol group that was just making the most noise in this country, right?”
She seemed to be growing frustrated and rubbed her forehead before unfolding the script she was holding and continued, “Well, I wasn’t at the center of that controversy, but I think I still have quite a few antis because of Girl 100. Honestly, wouldn’t the production team or investors hesitate more because of my history as a whistleblower than the antis? I mean, if it were me, I would want to pick someone else.”
“Don’t you think they’ll be more reluctant?… If it were me, I’d want to choose someone else.”
“Oh, I see what you mean.”
I lightly said to her, who seemed to feel a sense of helplessness while checking the script before the audition.
“Don’t worry too much. There are plenty of directors who don’t care that much about these kinds of issues.”
“After making such a big fuss, you say they don’t care?… Is that C-grade director just thirsty for attention?”
“Do you think I’d drag you to someone like that? Did you read the script? Did it look like a C-grade script?”
“…Not at all. In fact, it was pretty good. I was almost doubtful if a person with my lack of experience could handle such a work.”
“Well, I’m glad to hear that.”
Since there was no particular reaction, I wondered if she was just pretending, but it seemed like she genuinely liked the script.
“There are directors like that. You could call it an artistic obsession or a craftsman spirit. When they get fixated on something, they don’t care about controversies or anything, they just dive in. Of course, they can still be influenced by investors, but that’s a problem we can solve if we become those investors.”
Yuri tilted her head and asked, “Investors? That investor isn’t Jinkang, right?”
“Exactly.”
“…But he completely soured on us after what happened with Yeoreum.”
“…He definitely got sour on us.”
Could it be simply that he got sour?
When he heard that Yeoreum collapsed, the furious Jin Baek-ho came charging at me, asking whether I preferred the sea or land, as if I was buried.
In that moment, I broke into a cold sweat, trying to figure out how to make excuses while, somehow, Yuri overheard the whole thing in another ward and showed up in a rage.
Then, she disclosed that the culprit was herself, and threatened that if anyone touched me, she would cut ties, freezing the atmosphere between father and daughter.
Seeing Jin Baek-ho grimacing at his daughter’s declaration and altering the expression on Yeoreum’s face, I panicked. I hurriedly tried to mediate, spouting out a blueprint based on my experience, which included even my time as a former president, along with taking responsibility for the situation, an apology, and future plans, rapping like a pro.
After such a commotion, Jin Baek-ho, although he knew deep down this incident was nearly an accident, couldn’t suppress his worries as a father, so he mentioned that he was just trying to scare me and then left. But one has to wonder if it was really just a joke.
…Honestly, I thought I was going to die back then.
If TwoBear hadn’t consistently shown a united front in protecting Jin Yeoreum, there could have been a serious accident.
Anyway, reflecting on the urgency of the situation and the mistakes, Jin Baek-ho promised to maintain aggressive investments for the next album, suggesting the conclusion was relatively mild.
“Anyway, to ensure the cast for the movie you were given the role in, we decided to keep an aggressive investment direction, so don’t worry about that.”
“In order to guarantee the sting, we’ve decided to maintain an aggressive investment direction that allows for investment, so don’t worry about that.”
“Wow… how on earth did you manage to get approval for such reckless spending in this situation?”
“…Just, be nice to Yeoreum.”
A life is at stake here. I’m counting on you.
“Uh… why do you say that so nostalgically? …Got it, I’ll try my best.”
“Thank you.”
As I gathered all my belongings while speaking, I said to her.
“Then, shall we get going? You’ve got everything ready, right?”
“I’m always prepared.”
“Alright, then, let’s go…”
At that moment, someone appeared silently, grabbing the hem of my clothes and said.
“…Um, Team Leader Seon?”
“Oh, Eunbyeol, what’s up?”
It was Seo Eunbyeol, who quietly learned the ropes while working with the TwoBear Promotion Team after being with Flower Entertainment.
“Um, are you busy right now?”
I checked the time. Thanks to the tendency to secure time reliably for important schedules, I still had about an hour of free time. It seemed fine to listen to her for a bit.
“Yes, what’s it about?”
“Oh, it’s something I’d like to propose regarding promotion.”
“Is it Ms. Miso or Ms. Jo Narae’s opinion?”
“No… it’s my personal opinion.”
Oh Yoori, who was listening from the side with interest, spoke up.
“Your sister?”
“Yeah… it’s me.”
Seeing her tense reaction, Oh Yoori seemed to feel sorry for her and said what she needed to say.
“I don’t usually say this, but you’re not an expert, right? Is it really okay for you to lead the internal and external promotion work? Given that this is a critical crisis for TwoBear, isn’t it a bit risky?”
“Yeah, you might be right…?”
Though I understood Oh Yoori’s feelings for having to voice such concern even though she was the closest to Seo Eunbyeol, I tried to calm her down.
“Come on, it’s fine to at least listen to her opinion. Besides, since Eunbyeol is quite bright, she might have already come up with an interesting idea.”
At my words, Oh Yoori sighed and muttered very quietly.
“…Sometimes, it seems like Team Leader Seon is unexpectedly soft on Eunbyeol.”
“Yuri, could you say that a bit louder?”
“I think it would be good to at least hear her opinion.”
“Good, I’m relieved. Then, Eunbyeol, would you like to share?”
Seo Eunbyeol, who had been nervously looking at us both, opened her mouth.
“Um… I was thinking, what if we try doing an internet broadcast?”
“I wanted to do it.”
“Internet broadcast? We’re already doing communication broadcasts through the S app, right?”
“That’s nice, but I think it would be good to try a gaming broadcast once.”
Gaming broadcast?
“Who’s going to do that?”
“Gyeoul will.”
Hearing that, I recalled the time when Gyeoul lived with us at my house. She had a tendency to get a bit absorbed in games, but she didn’t use profanity, and her skills were decent.
…To be honest, watching her from behind was quite entertaining.
“…”
I seriously considered Gyeoul doing a gaming broadcast.
After all, there are cases where idols or actors have skyrocketed from just that, so it felt like trying it out wouldn’t be such a bad idea.
Plus, she’s cute, so even if she doesn’t talk much, the visuals will be nice.
More than anything, I didn’t want to discourage Seo Eunbyeol from taking the lead in this.
Of course, strict management would be necessary.
“Alright. Go for it.”
“…Really?”
“But, you need to properly check everything like chat management, broadcasting rules, and which platform to use, all within a safety net that protects Gyeoul. Miso will let you know if you ask her.”
“Ah… I’ve already learned and studied. I couldn’t just talk to Team Leader Seon without being prepared.”
Yeah, Seo Eunbyeol wasn’t the type to do her work half-heartedly.
“Sounds good. Don’t get too obsessed with success. Just do it safely.”
Seo Eunbyeol smiled softly, reminiscent of previous episodes.
“Yes! I’ll do my best!”
*
After wrapping up the audition tour with Yuri, I reported to the President and headed to TwoBear’s studio.
I easily gave my permission, but honestly, I was worried about Gyeoul, who was a bit shy, handling a personal broadcast with many strangers watching.
Even though I said I wouldn’t stop her, I was concerned about her getting hurt from weird comments.
Seo Eunbyeol, being a beginner, might not handle things poorly, but I couldn’t help but worry.
With those thoughts in mind, I stopped by the studio and asked Seo Eunbyeol.
“Is the broadcast going smoothly?”
Looking at the chat window, Seo Eunbyeol replied with trembling eyes,
“Uh… um, that’s… Gyeoul…”
Her ambiguous response raised my anxiety, and I hurriedly opened the inner door of the studio to check on Gyeoul.
And there, I was met with an utterly unexpected sight.
“Uwaaa! How many times do I have to tell you, why is our Jungle not benefiting?!”
“…”
There was Gyeoul, reduced to a mere wreck.
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