Top Management

TM Chapter 166

TL: emptycube / ED: Isleidir

“Lucky Charm, are you the young master of a conglomerate?”

“My first time hearing about it.”

Amused, the team 3 leader chuckled before saying,

“Apparently, you are trying to gain field experience before launching your own entertainment company. And the reason why everything you touch becomes a success is not due to luck or skill but because your family is supporting you behind the scenes.”

“This is the best nonsense I’ve heard all week.”

The team 3 leader told me a few more rumors that weren’t even good enough to appear on tabloids before leaving. When he left, the few attentive gazes in the lounge also fell back.

It had been one week since Making Film’s first episode aired.

Although there wasn’t a quiet day, today was the peak. Maybe it was because we would be airing the second episode today. Being nailed at the center of attention like this was annoying and exhausting. Still, it was worth enduring since Making Film overwhelmingly took first place as the topic of interest this week.

There was a lot of nonsense mixed in as well, but there wasn’t anything that would result in controversy.

Once today’s episode airs, the public’s attention would be divided so if I just wait a little longer…

“Mr. Sunwoo! Someone who says he went to middle school with you made a post online!”

Damn it.

The female PR Team employee rushed over with a tablet.

Team Leader Park followed behind her with a slightly stiff face as she said the person’s name.

“He said he paired up with you in school. Do you know who he is?”

“That was a dark period in my life, so my memories are hazy. Did he say something bad?”

“Take a look first.”

She handed me the tablet. The title of the post was ‘I was W&U’s Jung Sunwoo’s classmate in middle school’. He even posted a class picture as proof. This was real. There were lots of comments below the post.

Did I do something in middle school? Or was there someone who had it out for me?

I clicked my tongue and read the post.

I transferred to a new school during my second year of middle school, and I was paired with Jung Sunwoo.

He looked like a criminal (He currently looks like a model student compared to then) so I thought it would be tough to become friends. He slept all day. Even the teachers who woke sleeping students during their class didn’t touch Jung Sunwoo. That’s why I thought I was paired with a complete delinquent that even teachers couldn’t do anything about. I trembled, thinking I was screwed.

But it turns out Jung Sunwoo’s quadruplet niece and nephews were babies back then so he couldn’t get any sleep at home. They kept crying one after each other. He was taking care of them all day that he smelled of milk, vomit, and poop.

There are people who suspect the whole ‘quadruplets’ nanny’ was some sort of image-making tactic because he’s appearing on TV and becoming famous, but I just wanted to post this to say that it was all true.

People say you never know people’s futures, I never knew Jung Sunwoo…

I read to the middle before turning my gaze.

The female PR Team employee and Team Leader Park had erased their serious expressions and were giggling.

“You’re saying you don’t know who he is, right? If you were close, people might think you pushed him to it or paid him.”

“I guess we can spread it without worry then. People react the most positively whenever the quadruplets are mentioned. You seem more warm-hearted. If not, there would probably be a lot of people who think you’re full of yourself.”

“They are the biggest contributor. The quadruplets are better than the PR Team.”

I sighed as I passed the tablet back.

“I thought something big happened.”

“Don’t worry. We are constantly monitoring so that nothing big happens.”

Team Leader Park laughed while lightly hitting my arm.

“There’s nothing serious. Most are speculation or groundless rumors. Ah, someone you apparently know held an interview with a reporter.”

Huh?

“He asked you to buy lottery tickets for him, but he never won. Apparently, he said that your success being all due to luck was nonsense. The reporters wrote a bunch of nonsense to increase traffic-“

“That’s the team 3 leader.”

“What?”

“He asked me to, so I bought him lottery tickets for a while.”

I said in a quiet voice. Team Leader Park’s expression immediately became grave.

“He went around telling employees to be careful of what they say around reporters. Where did he go chat with a reporter?”

Team Leader Park left with noisy steps. It seemed like she would tear him a new one if she got a hold of him.

Don’t tell me the team 2 leader’s discerning eye article was his doing too?

Just as I thought this, the female employee turned around and said,

“Ah, right. Mr. Sunwoo, it seems your value has increased. There was a rumor about you on an investment tabloid.”

“What kind of rumor?”

“What you received an investment proposal from a Chinese company.”

The tips of my fingers abruptly stiffened.

“That you’ll become independent from W&U with Chinese capital.”

“… Ah.”

“There were rumors like this for both the team 3 and 2 leaders as well. It’s proof that your value has increased enough that people are talking about you going independent. We already snuffed that rumor out so you don’t need to worry.”

“That’s a relief.”

I replied while lightly shrugging my shoulders.

***

“What about boxed lunches? We prepare a lot of healthy drinks and the staff’s favorite foods.”

Songha-Eating suggested as she sipped fresh juice through a straw.

She was young enough to still have some baby fat, but she seemed composed, likely due to her long experience as a fan.

“I heard people react well to smokes as well.”

“Aren’t we being too cheap?”

A young man who wore an expensive luxury watch cut in.

“If we are going to provide something anyways, why not get a food truck? With entrees, street food, and desert. Ones that look pretty good.”

He was a member of Lee Songha’s personal fan page. Songha-Eating narrowed her eyes. As these two glared at each other like cats and dogs, the woman in between cautiously read the mood.

This was a collaboration with Neptune’s official fan club, Triton, and Lee Songha’s personal fan page. They also included Pretty Girls’ fan club’s representative, which only had a few members.

The three of them were gathered in an enclosed business room. The reason for the meeting was to decide what to provide the Making Film staff and its scale. They set up this meeting as they couldn’t decide through chat messages and phone calls.

Songha-Eating frowned.

“Excuse me, Songha-rella^{1}. I told you we don’t have the budget for that.”

“Then Triton can do boxed lunches. We’ll gather a bit more and send a food truck under Songha’s name. She has Chinese fans, and there are people who gave us money to increase the scale of our provisions.”

“That’s enough. It’s not like we’re competing. Neptune is appearing as a group. If we provide meals separately, then isn’t that just creating disharmony? Songha will be criticized if rumors spread.”

“We need to take care of Songha so she isn’t so dispirited in front of her unnis!”

Songha-rella clenched his fist as though he was actually Cinderella.

Songha-Eating’s voice also rose.

“From what I know, Songha isn’t the type to be dispirited in front of her unnis!”

“Didn’t you see last week’s Making Film? While the other members were getting airtime by saying things, she couldn’t say a word because she was too preoccupied reading the mood! Also, only her expression wasn’t good in the 24^th minute when all the members appeared!”

“Songha doesn’t talk much normally! Her expression is usually like that too! Also, why do you bring up rumors when they themselves say they are close? Chief Jung Sunwoo said that they were close!”

“Chief Jung is a man! There are subtle details only women can decipher!”

“You’re a man too! Ah, this is ridiculous!”

The louder their voices grew, the smaller the Pretty Girls’ representative became.

Smacking her chest in frustration, Songha-Eating glanced at her.

“At this rate, Chief Jung might just switch over to Pretty Girls.”

Songha-rella and the Pretty Girls’ fan representative flinched.

Songha-Eating snorted then added,

“He worked hard to create unity in the fandom, but he’ll be disheartened if he sees this!”

The triangle relationship between Chief Jung Sunwoo, Neptune, and Pretty Girls was a hot potato amongst the fans. Pretty Girls fans didn’t even dare think about it, and Triton and Songha’s personal fans were diligently checking the mood.

Soon, Songha-Eating took out her phone.

“I’ll ask Chief Jung when a good time will be to provide meals.”

“The chief? Do you call his personal number often? Does he answer if you call?”

Songha-rella lifted his chair and went close to Songha-Eating.

He picked up right away. Songha-Eating proficiently checked their schedule. Songha-rella looked at Songha-Eating’s phone with greed, and Pretty Girls’ fan representative quietly took down the date.

“Chief, will Neptune appear a lot in today’s Making Film?”

Songha-Eating cautiously asked in the end.

“If there is some decent bait, we want to spread it out to the community… Yes.”

Songha-Eating’s expression became strange. The other two were focused on her phone.

As soon as she hung up, Songha-Eating rubbed her reddened cheeks.

“He said it was going to rain.”

“Pardon?”

“He said it was going to rain with bait!”

***

“Aren’t you going to see the broadcast?”

I came to my senses after being thoroughly lost in my thoughts. An employee was standing in front of me.

He asked while simulating drinking soju.

“How about we watch it together as a group? We already reserved a bar.”

“Let’s do it next week.”

I picked up my bag and coat and got up.

“I think I’ll have to watch today’s episode elsewhere.”

It was a familiar sight.

The living room gave off a comfy atmosphere like a loft. Lee Taehee was slumped on the sofa like a sated sloth, and the hungry Lee Songha was leaning on Lee Taehee’s legs as she scooped ice cream. LJ was comfortably sitting on the rug.

And Im Seoyoung was staring at the laptop as she passionately monitored the comments.

“Oppa, oppa! There are tons of people waiting for today’s episode!”

“Really?”

“Even though it hasn’t started yet, there are articles popping up about it. They say the key point is what kind of crazy action you’re going to take this time! There are quite a few who are watching for Pretty Girls. One person said that he tried to look for their charm and became a fan!”

Im Seoyoung admired as she excitedly scanned through reactions on community sites and social media.

“Wow, there are tons of people asking to let them know when Lee Songha is on! I bet we’ll hit our peak rating when she appears! I hope the producer gave her a lot of screen time. Maybe we’ll pass 10% if things go well?”

She said excitedly.

We experienced other entertainment shows, dramas, and movies after Next K-Star. The other girls were somewhat used to it now, but Im Seoyoung always reacted the same.

As though she was still surprised that they were on TV and amazed they were receiving the public’s attention.

“Focus now.”

I said, smoothly taking the laptop away.

Im Seoyoung looked surprised like a puppy who had her food bowl taken from her.

“Wh-why did you take the laptop!”

“Watch the TV. I’ll tell you people’s reactions.”

“I have two eyeballs, so I can watch the TV and the laptop at the same time!”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

She tried to take the laptop back for a short while before becoming entranced by the start of the show. LJ, who was teasing Im Seoyoung, smiled slightly at the sight.

The living room became quiet.

The TV showed me, the project team members, Pretty Girls, and Chief Lee Taeshin’s faces. Lee Songha’s gaze landed on me whenever I appeared on screen, and Im Seoyoung made a fuss by shaking my shoulders.

The TV showed how the team to produce Pretty Girls’ single album was created and Pretty Girls, who couldn’t adjust to their suddenly changed circumstances. Then there was an interview about why only three members remained in a group that originally had eight members.

Why Chief Lee Taeshin was looking for Jung Jae.

Their past was smoothly revealed. Then a familiar place appeared.

A white residence covered in ivy.

“Oh! It’s our home! It’s our home!”

“We know. We also have two eyeballs.”

LJ said bluntly with a smile.

Soon, it showed the living room. Cameras set up in various places filmed the girls in various angles. They discussed what to say when they met Pretty Girls. As always, Im Seoyoung was the one who led the conversation.

The very ‘un-meeting-like’ meeting ended soon.

I appeared next and took Lee Songha, who had a schedule. Lee Taehee left, saying she wanted to discuss her song with the producer. Finally, LJ left to meet her friends back when she was an underground rapper.

The screen grew empty.

Only Im Seoyoung remained in the living room that was busy just moments ago.

“Uh, it’s done. Is there more later? There probably is, right?”

Im Seoyoung mumbled as though it was lacking.

Even Im Seoyoung on TV thought they were done filming and turned off the cameras.

As if they were showing how many cameras were set up in their home, the screen split into many smaller displays. A display turned off as Im Seoyoung went around. Soon, the entire screen was black.

Aside from the small display on the left corner, which was still filming Im Seoyoung.

“Huh…?”

Beside me, Im Seoyoung’s eyes widened.

^{1} *cough* Songha + Cinderella = Songha-rella