pappabearbooks Chapter 180: Opportunity (1)
Chapter 180: Opportunity (1)
A luxury sedan speeding down the road.In the back seat of that sedan sat CEO Ha Seo-hwan, dressed in a white shirt with his tie slightly loosened, his body visibly well-built at a glance, legs crossed.
“......”
He looked down at his phone with a blank expression. In contrast, his thumb tapping on the phone screen was busy. He was browsing through various search engines, scanning articles about ‘Jae-chan’ of ‘Neos’. No matter where he looked, the headlines were flooded with Jae-chan’s drug party scandal.
'The evidence is clear, and he's done for.'
With certainty about Jae-chan’s future, CEO Ha Seo-hwan slowly lowered his phone. His expression was calm and composed. He had been slightly surprised at first, but only momentarily, now he was largely indifferent.
A star becoming a criminal overnight? CEO Ha Seo-hwan had seen plenty of such cases.
‘Neos... yeah, with a group at that level, it’s about the time they start thinking they’re untouchable.’
Idols typically share profits. That means responsibilities are shared as well.
Of course, this incident wasn’t entirely ‘Neos’ fault. It was just that member ‘Jae-chan’ did something insane. However, the lax environment that enabled it was the fault of ‘Neos’, and by extension, Big Star Entertainment’s negligence.
‘Big Star will definitely take a big hit from this one.’
When idols are unknown rookies, they’re full of energy, humble, and extremely polite, greeting everyone constantly.
But the moment they ride on popularity, some begin to change.
They forget the passion of their rookie days, discard their sense of value and desperation, neglect their fans’ love, and their grand goals start to fade, motivation gets lost.
‘That’s where the foolishness starts.’
That’s why idols need a ‘leader’, and why companies must constantly keep tabs on the group. Just then, CEO Ha Seo-hwan recalled Rojun’s face.
‘...The most prominent, the most noticeable leader is out front working day and night. Si-hoo, Kang-min, and Do-kyung are using the gap they feel with the leader as fuel to run harder. This kind of atmosphere and environment is crucial.’
‘Vanguard’ needed even more careful handling. Idol groups with this much impact from debut were extremely rare, and the likelihood of mistakes made under the influence of the moment was high. Assuming ‘Vanguard’ would never end up like ‘Neos’ was a dangerous guess.
‘Still, as long as Rojun is holding the center, it should be okay to just keep an eye on them for now.’
Of course, he would need to monitor them closely without making it obvious.
CEO Ha Seo-hwan continued to assess the situation coldly.
When a scandal of this magnitude breaks out, the entertainment industry freezes and becomes sensitive. All existing idols watch their words, and the various entertainment companies stay cautious to avoid any collateral damage. But CEO Ha Seo-hwan saw this as an opportunity.
‘Crisis is like a trap disguised as opportunity.’
When disappointment is high, showing impact creates satisfaction several times stronger.
It was a shame that because of Jae-chan, Vanguard’s articles were buried, but having a big rival idol group like ‘Neos’ disappear wasn’t such a bad situation.
-Swish.
CEO Ha Seo-hwan’s gaze returned to the article about ‘Jae-chan’ on his phone.
“By the way.”
He had been in the entertainment industry for decades, and was also the head of GN Entertainment, one of the leading companies in the country. From his perspective, the timing of this incident was just too perfect. The moment ‘Neos’ was under fire for plagiarism, Jae-chan’s drug scandal broke as if it had been waiting for it. Unless someone had been plotting this from before, the coincidence was too spot on.
“A setup. As if... someone used ‘Reporter Park TV’ as a hired blade.”
No matter how he looked at it, the timing was too precise.
Meanwhile, at a music show site.
While ‘Vanguard’ was passionately performing their encore stage for their fourth music show win, one of the dozens of staff members around the camera pointed with their chin toward a secluded spot beside the stage and asked,
“Who’s that? I thought no one was over there, scared me.”
The first camera assistant replied with an “Ah-” and answered.
“That’s Vanguard’s main manager, Manager Kim Ki-baek.”
“What? That’s the main manager??”
“Yup. Believe it or not, there’s no one in this industry who doesn’t know him. I even saw him chatting with our camera director earlier.”
That same Manager Kim Ki-baek had just sent a reply to ‘Reporter Park’.
[Yeah, it was good.]
Then, with a deflated feeling, he stretched his neck left and right. It was an oddly peculiar sight. The message he had sent as a reply was akin to a bombshell, yet his presence was faint.
Manager Kim Ki-baek. To someone who doesn’t know him, he wouldn’t leave much of an impression.
But a closer look reveals many surprises.
When he went to Japan with Kang Rojun, he spoke Japanese quite well. In other words, he was fairly fluent in foreign languages. Despite exuding a listless air, not only was he on top of everything about ‘Vanguard’, but he also had full command over Kang Rojun’s complex and tangled side job schedules.
Strangely enough, there’s nothing he can’t do.
At that moment, Manager Kim Ki-baek received a call. The caller was ‘Reporter Park’, the one he had replied to earlier. Seeing the caller ID, Kim Ki-baek let out a soft laugh, stepped out from the site into the hallway, and put the phone to his ear.
“What.”
From the other end, ‘Reporter Park’ asked with a chuckle in his tone.
“How the hell did a guy who looks like he wouldn’t lift a finger end up collecting such a huge scoop?”
Manager Kim Ki-baek replied briefly.
“Trade secret.”
“Come on, give me just a hint?”
Letting out a small sigh, Kim Ki-baek continued.
“Well, rumors about that guy have been circulating for a while anyway.”
“Jae-chan? Yeah, there’ve been stories about him liking to party.”
“Right. Which means he’s often hanging with a certain crowd.”
“But-”
“There’s always someone in a group wearing a mask, simmering with envy and jealousy. So in this jungle, you have to discern between someone close and someone pretending to be close. Because they can be your enemy too.”
“I agree. That’s basically gospel in the entertainment world. That’s why it’s best not to do dumb stuff. Because it always gets out eventually. And when you trace the source, it’s surprisingly often an insider... Ah, so you targeted the rotten part of the group?”
“Hmm- interpret it however you want.”
“Ha ha, got it, understood. Don’t you have anything else? I feel like you would.”
“You gotta keep at least a bullet or two loaded if you want to survive in this jungle.”
‘Reporter Park’ answered in agreement.
“Please use us again, valued customer.”
While Kim Ki-baek was finishing the call, Vanguard’s encore stage ended. As he wrapped up the brief call, Kim Ki-baek and ‘Vanguard’ returned to the waiting room.
Inside the waiting room, the dozen or so staff members fired off confetti for Kang Rojun and the members.
“Congratulations, guys!!”
“This is insane! Four music show wins right after debut!!”
“Another record, another record!”
Rojun, Si-hoo, Kang-min, and Do-kyung had bright smiles on their faces as they enjoyed the celebration.
“Thank you!”
This week’s music shows, which started with ‘Music Beat’, were all about ‘Vanguard’ no matter what anyone said. Since debut, ‘Vanguard’ had been stacking up one ‘first’ after another. Before they knew it, they’d already collected four trophies. Today, Vanguard’s commemorative photo was taken with each member holding one of the four trophies.
After the photo shoot, Si-hoo began grinning.
“Ah- this feels great, really great.”
Kang-min, with a wide smile, came over to Si-hoo.
“Right? Total dopamine blast. We already have four music show trophies!”
The youngest, Do-kyung, did a little butt dance in front of the older members with an indifferent expression.
“This is how I feel right now.”
He glanced at Kang Rojun, signaling him to join. With a look that said, "You think I’d do such a lowbrow dance?", Rojun scoffed.
“If you’re gonna do it, shake it properly.”
And then, with lightning-fast attitude shift, Rojun shook his hips several times more intensely than Do-kyung. As a result, all the ‘Vanguard’ members ended up doing the same dance. The styling team and other staff burst out laughing.
“Hey hey, what are you guys? Some kind of African tribe? What’s that dance!”
“Not bad, huh? Add it to the choreo for the next album.”
“Hahaha, look at how hyped they are.”
Regardless of the comments, Kang Rojun kept shaking his hips in a trance, and as ‘Vanguard’ half-lost themselves in the moment, it was the YouTube shooting team that wore the deepest smiles.
“There’s the thumbnail, kids’ butts.”
While ‘Neos’ and the entertainment industry overall were cast in a gloomy light, the momentum of Team ‘Vanguard’ was shooting sky-high, and after wrapping up this week’s music show schedule with a final greeting to the PD, ‘Vanguard’ barely managed to get into their van.
The van departed immediately.
Though the members had reached peak exhaustion from the intense schedule of consecutive days, perhaps due to exploding dopamine or adrenaline, they were full of energy. Si-hoo, Kang-min, and Do-kyung immediately began browsing through fan comments on Vanguard’s Instagram.
[@Van_guard official]
[Post 75]
[6.587 million followers]
[Following 2]
Before anyone realized, the follower count had surpassed six million, and recently, many foreign-language comments, including Japanese, had started appearing on Vanguard’s Instagram. The one translating Japanese or English was leader Kang Rojun.
“Hyung. This one’s Japanese, right? It says everyone is so handsome?”
“No. I think it says Do-kyung is the ugliest.”
“Really?”
“No, fake.”
Soon, Manager Kim Ki-baek let out a long yawn and said to the members,
“No more schedules today-”
Suddenly, with a serious expression, Si-hoo threw a question mark at Manager Kim Ki-baek.
“Ma- Manager. But are we really okay like this?”
“Hmm? What do you mean.”
“It’s just... I got caught up in the joy of the fourth win and forgot for a moment. But the ‘Neos’ sunbae-nims... When I saw the music show PDs and staff, they seemed super cautious. The other sunbae-nims’ expressions were kind of strange too.”
"The atmosphere is strange, but is it okay for only us to be this excited? That kind of thing?"
“Since it’s such a huge scandal...”
At the eldest member’s words, Kang Rojun looked at Si-hoo, and the younger members fell silent. After gauging the mood, Manager Kim Ki-baek slowly shrugged his shoulders.
“This is just my opinion, but... being timid and reading the room during a crisis? That’s second-rate. Hmm- have you heard the saying? Crisis is opportunity.”
"Ah, yes."
“So what if, in contrast to ‘Neos’, we steadily embrace our fans, put on amazing activities and performances with sincerity? How would that look?”
Kang Rojun answered for everyone.
“Like we’re adding the booster?”
“Well, that’s close enough. No need to overdo it, but also no need to read the room too much. Just keep being ‘Vanguard’ and look straight ahead.”
Si-hoo nodded fiercely.
“Yes, yes!”
Manager Kim Ki-baek gave a weak smile.
“I’ll be behind you picking up the crumbs you drop.”
He said it offhandedly, but Rojun felt something resonate subtly in his chest.
‘What the... I think I almost fell for him.’
Then Kim Ki-baek let out an “Ah-” and spoke again.
“We should stay alert by watching ‘Neos’, like a warning sign, ‘You do that, you end up like that'. Something like that.”
“......”
“Anyway, since it’s a rare early night off, make sure to get some proper sleep as soon as you get back to the dorm.”
Though he said “early", it was already close to 10 p.m. Still, considering they usually finished around midnight, it was early in comparison. Among the members, Kim Ki-baek looked only at Kang Rojun with a slightly regretful expression.
“Rojun, as I mentioned earlier.”
Casually, Kang Rojun cut in mid-sentence.
“Yes. I know CEO Heo is waiting.”
Right now at GN Entertainment, CEO Heo Ki-tae of Culture Drawer was waiting. Naturally, it was to meet with Kang Rojun, and the topic was the completed first part of 'Tale of the Strange Moon'. So while the members went back to the dorm, Kang Rojun headed quietly to GN Entertainment.
Manager Kim Ki-baek was slightly worried, but thanks to the 'Vitality Booster' buff.
‘Shall I go hard all night?’
Rojun was full of energy.
A short while later.
Since it was nighttime, there were almost no employees at GN Entertainment, and Kang Rojun opened the door to a meeting room. Inside sat CEO Heo Ki-tae, a bear-sized man.
“Oh! Writer-nim!”
He had been yawning but jumped up in surprise, showing a big smile to Rojun.
“You came earlier than I thought!”
“Yes. I came right after the music show.”
Kang Rojun bowed and sat across from CEO Heo Ki-tae. Still smiling brightly, Heo fixed his eyes on the bundle of papers Rojun had brought, giving a thumbs-up.
“I’ve been enjoying Vanguard’s activities! Hahaha, and congrats on the four music show wins too!”
Still so boisterous. Kang Rojun muttered to himself and gave a faint smile.
“It still doesn’t feel real. Thank you for your support.”
“Of course! You doing well is a great boost to Culture Drawer too!”
“Sorry that the only time I had was at night.”
“Not at all! I told Manager Ki-baek too, Even if you asked at dawn, I would’ve come. Everyone knows how insanely busy ‘Vanguard’ is, so I fully understand."
Anyway, Kang Rojun moved to the main topic. He slid the bundle of papers across the table.
“Here, the synopsis and Part 1.”
Just then.
-Swish.
The meeting room door, which had been closed, opened again. A middle-aged woman with a bob cut and glasses entered, her overall appearance was modest, but her eyes were sharp.
She lightly shook her hands with water on them, as if she had been to the bathroom.
“Writer Rojun.”
Slightly surprised, Kang Rojun stood up immediately and greeted her.
“Writer Han Seo-ryeong-nim? Uh- hello.”
The woman was star writer Han Seo-ryeong, and to Kang Rojun, who looked slightly puzzled as if wondering ‘Why is she here at this hour?’, she gave a calm smile.
“I was curious, so I ditched my own script writing and came over.”