“This punk’s got no manners, huh? You don’t even greet your seniors?”
Manager Jeon Heeseong said as he adjusted his pants.
Seon-ho gave him a baffled look, then reluctantly bowed.
“Hello.”
“That’s it? Where’s the apology? Did Manager Kwon teach you to treat your seniors like that?”
“I’m still a rookie, so I haven’t been trained on whether I should treat employees from other companies as seniors. If I do get that training, I’ll apologize then.”
“Hah, this cocky bastard. You think just one lucky break means you can act like you’re hot shit?”
Seon-ho knew exactly why Manager Jeon Heeseong was picking a fight.
Setting aside the long-standing grudge between Jeon Heeseong and Manager Kwon Hosan, Jeon was already pissed off because of Dream Girls.
Before appearing on Idol War, Dream Girls had been on a meteoric rise as a top-tier rookie group.
That’s why they had even managed to become candidates for first place on music shows with their debut song.
But after their first appearance on Idol War, they were being mocked with nicknames like “Mistake-dols” and “Dream Miss.”
Their appearance on Idol War had backfired horribly.
And since it was Jeon Heeseong who had strongly pushed for their participation, he was in a foul mood.
Still, even with all that, this behaviour seemed off.
Unless he had serious issues with emotional control, it didn’t make sense for him to just explode out of nowhere.
Then, Jeon Heeseong opened his mouth again.
“You’ve got no manners and no professional ethics, huh?”
“Professional ethics?”
“You think I wouldn’t know? Rumor’s already all over the industry that Manager Kwon paid PD Nam. You unethical little bastards.”
At that, Seon-ho let out a small scoff.
He’d figured out what Jeon Heeseong was trying to do.
Ah, he really thinks I’m just some clueless rookie.
If he were just a normal newcomer, he probably would’ve panicked at those words.
And not knowing whether the accusation was true or not, he’d most likely have decided to keep his mouth shut just in case.
Or maybe he’d flat-out deny it, but still feel uncertain inside.
In either case, his nervousness would’ve shown in his voice.
That’s exactly what Jeon Heeseong was aiming for.
After all, they weren’t alone in the bathroom.
At first, Seon-ho hadn’t noticed, but Jeon’s aggressive tone made him look around. He saw it then—three of the bathroom stalls further inside were showing red lights, indicating they were occupied.
Which meant Jeon Heeseong was planning to use those three as the starting point for spreading a rumor.
Is he smart, or just clever when it comes to doing shady stuff?
It seemed like a sudden encounter, but Jeon’s actions were pretty calculated.
“Manager Jeon Heeseong. Even if it’s the bathroom, there’s a line you shouldn’t cross. You can’t just spew any kind of crap like that.”
“What did you just say, you little—”
“There’s a pretty widespread rumor that you talk out of your ass. Did you know that?”
Seon-ho shrugged.
He’d felt it back in the music show’s waiting room too—Manager Jeon was as sly and petty as Manager Kwon had described.
If he’d been a regular rookie, he might’ve walked right into Jeon’s trap.
But he wasn’t a normal rookie manager.
He wasn’t trying to brag. He was just saying—of all the rumors someone could make up, he’d never fall for the lie about giving someone a bribe.
Because he was the one who pretended to bribe PD Nam Yunsoo the day before the shoot, to threaten him.
If Manager Kwon had actually given Nam Yunsoo money, the PD’s reaction that day would’ve been completely different.
“Manager Jeon. You watched the show, didn’t you? Why are you spreading baseless rumors like that? The Personal Color girls did great.”
“Still, the rumor’s already—”
“If you keep this up, I’ll record everything and sue you.”
Jeon opened his mouth to argue again, but stopped when he saw Seon-ho holding up his phone with the voice recording app open.
Jeon glared, then stormed out of the restroom.
“Jeez… What’s his problem?”
Seon-ho let out a sigh, muttering to himself. Loudly enough for others in the stalls to hear—very intentionally.
After finishing his business, Seon-ho was about to head back to Personal Color’s waiting room, but paused.
He figured he might as well confirm who had been in those stalls.
The first person to emerge was Team Leader Moon Giyeong of BAG Entertainment, the team handling A.S.A.P.
BAG was one of Korea’s five major agencies, along with UU Entertainment, Topaz Entertainment, MOK Entertainment, and Creampie Entertainment.
In terms of company size, BAG, UU, and Topaz were often called the Big Three.
Team Leader Moon saw Seon-ho standing outside and spoke first.
“Don’t worry. I don’t believe that crap. Or, maybe I almost did—but your response was excellent.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re a rookie, but you’re sharp and capable. If only our company’s rookies were half as good as you.”
He laughed heartily.
“Feels weird flexing like this in front of the bathroom. Anyway, keep it up.”
With that, he walked off.
The next person out of the restroom was a surprise.
“What are you doing here?”
It was Teiji—who was supposed to be on set.
“My stomach hurt really bad, so I did my individual interview first and came to the bathroom.”
“Group filming’s resumed. Get back.”
“Yep!”
He nodded, then clenched his fist and showed it to Seon-ho.
“Hyung, I’ll beat Dream Girls with my life on the line!”
“Let’s not go that far.”
“Just a figure of speech!”
“Right. And don’t say anything unnecessary to the girls.”
“Why’s it unnecessary? That was seriously awesome. You’re always smiling, but you were super badass just now.”
With that, Teiji dashed off.
Seon-ho debated whether he should follow and tell him to keep his mouth shut.
That’s when the last person came out.
It was PD Nam Yunsoo.
Seon-ho chuckled in disbelief.
Jeon Heeseong had probably expected the stalls to be occupied by some agency staff, broadcast crew, or outsourced production team folks.
People who were notorious for running their mouths.
But instead, the ones who had overheard everything were a Personal Color member and PD Nam himself.
“Why are you laughing? Never seen someone leave a bathroom before?”
“No, just thinking about something else.”
PD Nam glanced at Seon-ho and walked past him.
Seon-ho didn’t say anything to him.
There was no need.
PD Nam was the one who’d been slandered by Jeon Heeseong’s false rumor.
He had no reason to spread that lie further.
In fact, this whole ordeal might end up causing Jeon Heeseong and Dream Girls to fall out of PD Nam’s favour.
Well… maybe not.
PD Nam had made Personal Color the stars of Idol War’s first episode.
Not because he liked them, but because it was the best move for the show.
So if Dream Girls also delivered an amazing performance, PD Nam—true to his directing style—wouldn’t hold a grudge.
“Let me just ask you one thing.”
At that moment, PD Nam stopped and turned to face him.
“If Dream Girls and Personal Color went head-to-head… who do you think would win?”
When Seon-ho entered Personal Color’s waiting room, he raised an eyebrow. The place felt like it was burning with energy, even though it was silent.
“Where are Manager Kwon and Jinwoo-hyung?”
“They went to check the outfits with the stylists. Apparently there was a mistake with the sponsored items—some overlap.”
“Overlap?”
Just as Seon-ho pulled out his phone to text Manager Kwon asking if he needed help, Riha called out to him.
“Oppa.”
“Yeah?”
“We’re gonna wreck them.”
Seon-ho was startled by the words that came out of her.
“Wreck them?”
“I mean, crush them.”
“Where’s your hometown?”
“Mokpo.”
“What are you crushing?”
“What else? Dream Girls.”
Realizing what was going on, Seon-ho looked over at Teiji.
Teiji shrugged.
“That was the manager we saw in the waiting room, right? What was his name again…”
“Jeon Heeseong.”
“Anyway, I heard that manager picked a fight with you and looked down on you. But you defended us.”
“Well… I mean, yeah, sort of.”
“That’s just because we’re not popular yet. We’ll train like dogs and dominate like nobles.”
Seon-ho realized that the Personal Color members were misunderstanding something.
The truth was, Jeon Heeseong had picked a fight because he was jealous and wary of Personal Color.
But the members seemed to think he looked down on them simply because they weren’t good enough.
Teiji had definitely exaggerated while passing on the story.
Still, Seon-ho didn’t bother to correct their misunderstanding.
If it gave them clear motivation, then it was fine—and he appreciated how sincerely they cared about him.
Just then, An Jia quietly approached and spoke.
“Turns out we’re going on right before Dream Girls.”
“That means it’s our chance to shake their confidence.”
“Let’s go all out and make Dream Girls nervous.”
The Personal Color members were starting to fire themselves up, and while they were at it, they even began rehearsing the choreography.
Just then, Seon-ho received a message from Manager Kwon Hosan.
[Seon-ho, come down to the parking lot. As quickly as you can.]
As soon as he read the text, Seon-ho headed to the parking lot.
When he arrived, he found Manager Kwon Hosan and Jung Jiwoon seriously comparing two pairs of shoes.
“What’s going on?”
Kwon Hosan asked bluntly.
“Seon-ho, which of these do you think looks better?”
“Aren’t they the same?”
“They look similar, but they’re different. You can see the brand logos clearly. This one’s Shimizu, that one’s Netz.”
Once he looked closely, Seon-ho saw that the logos were indeed from completely different brands.
“Both are winter vivid concept designs and were sponsored for Personal Color, but we ended up with two overlapping items by mistake.”
“Which one came in first?”
“No idea. They arrived around the same time, and they look so similar that the sponsorship department probably got confused.”
Shimizu and Netz were streetwear brands that had started in New York and LA and rarely sponsored Korean celebrities.
Both brands had recently released products under the theme of “Winter Vivid,” and their Korean branches had sent sponsorship items to Personal Color.
From Manager Kwon’s perspective, this was a tricky situation.
Both brands were rapidly gaining popularity in Korea, so rejecting one wasn’t easy.
Plus, the brand they didn’t pick would probably think poorly of Personal Color.
“You’ve got good instincts and good luck when it comes to Personal Color, so just choose comfortably. The designs are nearly the same, so don’t worry about that.”
After thinking for a moment, Seon-ho asked a seemingly random question.
“How’s the relationship between the two brands?”
“Huh? Shimizu and Netz?”
“Yes.”
Jung Jiwoon replied.
“As far as I know, it’s fine. They’ve even released a few collaboration products.”
“Then how about we wear both?”
“What?”
“Same color tones—left foot Shimizu, right foot Netz. The logos are big enough to really stand out.”
Kwon Hosan and Jung Jiwoon quickly turned to look at each other.
“Sounds like it could work, right?”
“Yeah, it might actually be good?”
Manager Kwon thought for a moment and then said,
“Then how about even using different colored laces?”
“Wouldn’t that look a bit messy?”
“Let’s match it with the outfits and see how it goes. This could either be a total hit or a complete disaster.”
Kwon Hosan texted someone, then hurriedly grabbed the shoeboxes and asked Seon-ho,
“What are the Personal Color kids doing?”
“They’re burning with passion and practicing.”
“Tell them not to overdo it. We’re close to the performance date.”
“Understood.”
Seon-ho didn’t have the heart to say they were practicing hard to crush Dream Girls mentally.
After receiving a reply from the stylist, Kwon Hosan and Jung Jiwoon left for somewhere, and Seon-ho returned to Personal Color’s waiting room.
The members were still in full-on Sparta mode, brimming with determination.
Time passed, and the second battle began.
Just before stepping onstage as the third act, the Personal Color members put their hands together.
Then shouted boldly—
“Crush it!”
“Crush it!”
A cameraman nearby let out a choking sound, and Manager Kwon Hosan stared at Seon-ho with a dumbfounded look.
“Crush what?”
Seon-ho responded with an awkward smile to dodge the question.
At one point, Seon-ho had thought that Personal Color’s performance of “Role Model” was about an 85-point stage.
But he had to quickly revise that thought.
Because…
Personal Color blew up the stage with “Role Model.”
Watching Dream Girls slowly freeze up at the waiting line, Seon-ho commented to Manager Kwon Hosan,
“Once this airs, no one’s going to say we just got lucky.”
Jeon Heeseong’s crumpled expression was more entertaining than any movie.
After a sweet weekend passed, Monday rolled around once again.
In the MOK building lobby, a dozen or so employees were chatting in front of the elevator, suffering from the usual Monday blues.
“Turns out Vivid hit number one over the weekend.”
“I saw that too. At this point, there’s gotta be something special about Han Seon-ho, right?”
“Not just something—he’s got a lot going for him.”
“Like what?”
“Connections.”
“Come on, there’s only so much push you can get from connections. He must be talented.”
“Yeah, true.”
In the middle of their banter, the employees suddenly fell silent.
Han Seon-ho had just walked into the lobby.
He approached the elevator and greeted them.
“Hello. Good morning.”
“Good morning. Seon-ho, you look like you walked in straight from a photo shoot!”
“Huh? Oh, I just had a really restful weekend…”
As Seon-ho gave an awkward smile, the elevator arrived.
One of the women stepped in first and pressed buttons for the 3rd and 5th floors—only the PR team and the singer management team were present.
Then someone spoke up.
“So-yeon, could you hit 6 for me?”
“Oh, sure.”
The 6th floor was where the A&R team was located.
As Yoo So-yeon from Singer Team B pressed the 6th floor, a soft voice followed.
“Could you press 9 for me?”
The voice belonged to Han Seon-ho.
“Huh? Oh, yes.”
Yoo So-yeon was about to press 9 without thinking but suddenly paused.
“The 9th floor?”
“Yes. The 9th floor.”
“What for…?”
The 9th floor wasn’t somewhere just anyone could go.
To her question, Seon-ho replied,
“I have a meeting with the CEO.”
To be exact—he was going there to break that promise.
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