When it came to famous celebrities, fans would shove cameras in their faces just from spotting a van’s license plate—but Personal Color didn’t have that level of recognition.
The moment their leader Baek Songyi opened the door, curious gazes turned their way.
“Oh, it’s Personal Color!”
“Personal Color? That name sounds familiar.”
“They’re An Jia’s team.”
“Oh, right. An Jia.”
Even as the members of Personal Color stepped out of the van in their designated order, the murmurs continued.
“Looks like they’re making a comeback. Is it a mini-album this time?”
“They totally bombed their first and second albums, so of course it’s a mini. At least it’s not just a digital single.”
“Probably still getting pushed by MOK because of An Jia. Based on their performance, they should’ve disbanded twice already.”
“Wow, An Jia is insanely pretty. No wonder she holds her own even in shots with actresses.”
“She’s basically an actress herself at this point.”
“True, but isn’t she not even fully made up right now?”
“She’s drop-dead gorgeous, seriously.”
Fans started whispering excitedly before zooming in and snapping shots of An Jia.
Even fans of other groups didn’t feel any dislike toward her—she had a strong image as an actress.
Plus, An Jia had tons of Chinese fans, and well-shot photos of her could even be sold to Chinese media or fan circles for a profit.
One of the fans tilted his head in confusion as he kept snapping.
“But why does the team vibe seem off?”
“What do you mean? They’re smiling just fine.”
“No, I mean… they look kind of distant from each other. Especially around An Jia.”
“Well, she is an actress. Maybe they’re being careful not to get caught in a scandal. One scandal in a co-ed group and it’s game over.”
“Fair point.”
“Still, I wish those other kids would get out of the shot. They’re blocking my angle.”
“Just zoom in.”
“If you zoom too much, the layout sucks and it won’t sell well.”
“Then just take a full shot and Photoshop the others out.”
“That’s the plan.”
A short while later, the members of Personal Color entered the broadcast station, and the flash frenzy came to an end.
To be precise, the flashing stopped when An Jia disappeared from view.
Kwon Hosan let out a sigh as he watched.
Even though five singers had shown up, it felt like An Jia was the only one truly present at the scene.
The waiting room for Personal Color was quiet.
Considering how most idol group rooms were always buzzing with noise, theirs felt too quiet.
There’s no place more uncomfortable than a waiting room filled with tension.
That applied not just to the celebrities, but to the managers too.
When is the makeup team even getting here?
Kwon Hosan grumbled inwardly, though he knew they weren’t scheduled to arrive until after dry rehearsals.
The awkward silence dragged on.
It was only broken much later, when the waiting room door opened.
At the sound, the members all looked up from their phones, wondering if it was a music show staff member.
But it wasn’t—it was their fellow manager, Jung Jiwoon.
Just as the members recognized him and turned back to their phones, another man walked in behind him.
Kwon Hosan, unfamiliar with the newcomer, stood up.
“Who are y—”
Jung Jiwoon cut him off.
“Sir, I brought the newbie.”
“Huh?”
“I brought the new guy.”
“…What did you say?”
Han Seon-ho bowed his head politely.
“Hello. I’m Han Seon-ho.”
“Uh… r-right.”
Kwon Hosan gave a hesitant response, and Jung Jiwoon burst out laughing.
“Sir, you’re reacting exactly like I did.”
“Right? So it’s not just me?”
“Definitely not. The weird one is this guy.”
Kwon Hosan hadn’t expected the man entering to be Han Seon-ho.
Even though he knew Jung Jiwoon would be bringing him.
Because Han Seon-ho was way too good-looking.
What kind of manager looks like this?
Kwon Hosan had never seen Han Seon-ho before.
Since Han had only recently joined, and Hosan was always out in the field, their paths hadn’t crossed.
So even though office staff had mentioned the newbie’s nickname, he hadn’t paid it much mind.
After all, good-looking managers weren’t unheard of.
But they all ended up with dark circles, bad skin, and paunches as the years went on.
Kwon Hosan had assumed Han Seon-ho would be no different.
But Han’s looks weren’t just above average—they were on a whole different level.
Despite wearing simple, comfy slacks and a loose polo, he looked better than most fully made-up idols.
Kwon Hosan subconsciously glanced at Woochan and Teiji, the male members of Personal Color.
Well, this is awkward…
Woochan and Teiji were handsome in their own right.
But next to Han Seon-ho, it felt almost unfair.
Just like Kwon Hosan, the group members were startled by Han’s appearance.
Only An Jia, who had worked alongside top-tier actors in films and dramas, seemed unfazed.
Riha, intrigued by this, leaned toward her.
“Hey, who’s better looking—Seo Tae-joon or that guy?”
It was rare for Riha to strike up conversation with An Jia, but curiosity got the best of her.
Seo Tae-joon had played the male lead in An Jia’s recent movie—a star praised for his visuals.
An Jia thought for a moment, then replied.
“In my opinion, Seo Tae-joon sunbae is more handsome.”
“Seriously? There’s someone better looking than that?”
“Yes. But I’ve only seen him with makeup. That guy looks like he just put on lotion.”
Only then did Riha realize—Han Seon-ho wasn’t wearing any makeup at all.
His skin had looked a bit rough at first, but considering he was completely bare-faced, it was actually impressive.
While everyone sized up Han Seon-ho in their own way, the group leader Baek Songyi quietly approached Kwon Hosan.
She whispered to him.
“Mr. Kwon.”
“Yeah, Songyi? What’s up?”
“Are we sharing the waiting room with that guy? He’s from MOK too, right?”
Kwon Hosan understood her concern right away.
From a leader’s perspective, Han Seon-ho’s presence could be awkward.
Sharing a room meant their group dynamic would be more exposed—and any tension could be a fatal PR issue for an idol team.
“He’s using the same waiting room, and yes, he’s with MOK. But you don’t need to worry.”
“How could I not worry?”
Instead of answering her directly, Kwon turned to Han Seon-ho.
“This won’t do. Hey, introduce yourself properly.”
Han, who had been awkwardly observing the situation, stood up and bowed.
“Hello. I’m Han Seon-ho, and starting today, I’ll be handling schedules with Personal Color.”
“Handling schedules? Wait, are you… a new member?”
Baek Songyi’s question made Kwon Hosan chuckle.
“Newbie! Do a proper intro, will you? You’re confusing the kids.”
“Okay—everything from ‘hello’ to ‘handling schedules’ still stands. I’m Han Seon-ho, the new manager.”
It took the members a moment to process.
They hadn’t even considered that he might be a manager.
“…Manager?”
“Manager? Really? A manager?”
Teiji and Riha asked in disbelief, and Han just shrugged.
“I get that a lot. But yeah, I’m really a manager.”
“Wow, he even says it like he’s used to it. So confident.”
“Well, it’s true.”
“How old are you?”
“Twenty-five.”
As Kwon Hosan watched Han Seon-ho interact, he felt good about the first impression.
Regardless of looks, the new face seemed to lift the chill that had settled over the room.
‘It’s a good start, at least…….’
Though he didn’t show it outwardly, Kwon Hosan held a certain level of expectation for Han Seon-ho.
To be precise, he was counting on Han Seonho’s luck.
The showbiz world was small.
No—too small.
So when you narrow it down to a sub-industry like the music scene, insiders generally knew each other’s affairs in detail.
That is, unless it was something strictly confidential.
Because of that, Han Seon-ho’s actions over the past month had become something of a rumor within the industry.
And among those, incidents with clear causality were being spread in fairly detailed stories.
The replacement of the photographer at Bay Studio.
Bringing in rookie composer Prefer.
Giving advice on Oh Hanbit’s rap.
Directing the recording session at Oh Hanbit’s request.
Of course, very few people believed those things were purely due to Han Seonho’s skill. Many thought it was exaggerated—or that he was just lucky.
That was because mixed in with the confirmed stories were a bunch of unverified rumors.
That Director Yoo Ayeon from UU Entertainment had tried to scout Han Seon-ho.
That Han Seon-ho and Jang Soohyuk’s evaluation of a stage matched exactly.
That Prefer was just an engineer, and Han Seon-ho was the one who actually completed “Autumn Leaf.”
That Oh Hanbit had strongly demanded Han Seon-ho be brought into his company.
That it turned out Han Seon-ho was an aspiring celebrity, and so on.
With truth and rumor all jumbled together, stories about Han Seon-ho mostly became gossip.
The confirmed facts were brushed off as luck or exaggeration.
The wild rumors were chalked up to his handsome looks.
Kwon Hosan thought the same way.
Hearing all those stories, he figured Han Seon-ho was one incredibly lucky guy.
But that didn’t mean Kwon Hosan thought poorly of him.
In fact, he held Han Seon-ho in high regard.
After all, luck only finds those who are desperate—and prepared.
Excuses like “I wasn’t lucky” didn’t fly in the winner-takes-all world of show business.
In this field, you were judged only by results.
So if you got results because of luck—that still counted as skill.
That was why Kwon Hosan had hopes for Han Seon-ho’s luck.
If a stroke of luck could shine on Personal Color team, maybe it would open a path for their survival.
That a veteran manager like Kwon Hosan would think this way said a lot about how bleak Personal Color’s situation was.
The start is good.
Just the fact that the atmosphere in the waiting room had softened thanks to Han Seon-ho was already a good sign.
If Riha was willing to ask An Jia something, then things were looking very good indeed.
And it wasn’t just the start that was good.
To Kwon Hosan, Han Seon-ho’s behaviour was rather impressive.
—
“So your first impression of Woochan wasn’t great then, huh?”
At Han Seon-ho’s question, Riha nodded.
“Well, yeah. It wasn’t great. He was way too tanned.”
Woochan, sitting beside her, took offense.
“That was because I had just gotten back from the States!”
“Who’s blaming you? I’m just saying you were tanned.”
“I mean, I looked that way because I’d been overseas for a while!”
“I’m not saying it was your fault. I just didn’t like it. Personally.”
“So what you’re saying is—”
“I just don’t like people who look tanned. But plenty of girls do, right? It’s just preference. Respect mine.”
—
Watching the exchange, Kwon Hosan gave Jung Jiwoon a light tap on the shoulder and whispered.
“Kid’s got senior instincts. Well done.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“You know what I mean. You gave Seon-ho a heads-up, didn’t you? Told him the team vibes were bad, so he should try to get people talking.”
“A heads-up?”
Jiwoon blinked, caught off guard by the sudden praise.
Kwon Hosan looked puzzled at his reaction.
“You didn’t tell him that? You didn’t suggest he steer the conversation?”
“Uh…”
Jiwoon trailed off, then gave a sheepish smile.
“Nope. I didn’t say anything like that.”
“Really? Then what did you say?”
“Not much. I was just kind of stunned by how good-looking he was. Same as you were at first.”
“Seriously? You didn’t say anything?”
“Yeah.”
“Then what do you call that?”
Kwon Hosan gestured toward the Personal Color members.
“What?”
“He’s naturally getting the team talking.”
Jiwoon tilted his head.
“Well… I guess so. Maybe that’s just how he is?”
“How he is?”
“You know how some people just have host instincts? They draw people into conversations without even realizing it. Maybe Seon-ho’s like that. Who knows.”
It sounded plausible, but Kwon Hosan didn’t buy it.
If Han Seon-ho’s actions were truly unconscious, he would’ve acted the same way toward An Jia.
But with An Jia, he was clearly cautious.
As if he knew she was the eye of the storm in Personal Color.
Did Manager Park tell him?
As Kwon Hosan thought that, the waiting room door suddenly swung open again.
This time, it was actually a broadcast staff member.
“Personal Color. Everyone present and ready?”
“Yes.”
“Then we’ll stand by for dry rehearsal.”
“Huh? Already?”
Teiji checked the clock and blinked in surprise.
Time, which had felt so slow before Han Seon-ho arrived, had flown by in a flash.
“All right, let’s knock this out and come back to rest. This isn’t our first rehearsal.”
Manager Kwon Hosan called out cheerfully and encouraged the members.
“Oh, right. Rookie.”
“Yes.”
“Stick close to Jiwoon today. Learn everything you can. Got it?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Jiwoon, make sure you explain even the smallest stuff with care.”
“Got it!”
At their energetic responses, Kwon Hosan nodded with satisfaction.
“All right. Let’s go.”
And with that, the Personal Color team headed out of the waiting room for rehearsal.
TL : I have changed the cover of novel. If you liked the previous one, let me know.
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