“That’s right. I’m really relieved. Chaeyoung is friends with actress Kim Siyun.”
“I’m glad we figured it out, even if it’s late. But how is PD Jeyoung still active? Didn’t the trial end already?”
“It ended in a complicated way. I didn’t expect him to start his own agency right after. This time, I really need to take care of it properly.”
“Sigh… The law is really strange. Anyway, Siyeon has known me for a long time, so I’ll let the management team know to take care of it. We all know how talented Siyeon is, right?”
“Of course. We must secure her. Please go ahead.”
Hye-won waved her hand and left the office.
Choi Jeongwook, also known as Director Choi, sighed and briefly smiled before lying down on the sofa.
“Kim Jeyoung, that crazy guy… He’s been sharpening his knives right after the trial ended.”
Director Choi had been doing various jobs under the founder of TM, Lee Taeman, since the early days of the company.
Although his background was humble, he gained Lee Taeman’s trust and is now the head of the Strategic Planning Department.
Though his title was “department head,” his work was unrelated to actual entertainment operations.
Instead, he took care of various logistical tasks and chores.
He held significant influence within TM.
The reason he’s still called Director Choi is that he had been called that since before the company grew.
“Sigh… I should go see him. If we miss out on such a big actor, the CEO will get mad.”
After the AS scandal, Siyeon announced she would switch agencies.
And the first agency she contacted was none other than TM.
Since Hye-won and Chaeyoung were friends of Siyeon, it was natural that the conversation would start with them.
Siyeon was about to head to the TM building to talk soon.
Director Choi went down to the first-floor lobby to wait for Siyeon.
A little later, the crowd parted, and Siyeon appeared.
“Wow, what… Is she really a middle school student?”
He had heard the rumors, but seeing her in person, her aura was extraordinary.
That kind of presence was something you’d expect from actors with decades of experience.
Just walking around, the air around her felt different.
“And the Chanel?”
She wore a Chanel tweed jacket, shoes, and denim.
It was the first time Director Choi had seen someone pull off luxury items so well.
Apparently, she received Chanel sponsorship during The Heirs.
It seemed like they maintained a good relationship since then.
Anyway, everything about her made it hard to believe she was a middle school student.
Her face was also quite mature, and for some reason, her sharp features and pale skin had a mesmerizing quality.
“Hello. You must be actress Kim Siyeon?”
“Ah, yes.”
“Hello. I’m Choi Jeongwook. I’m not in the actor management team, but Hye-won asked me to look after it, so I came down personally to meet you. Let’s go up together.”
Director Choi flashed his signature smile and handed over his business card.
Siyeon, who took the card, nodded.
“Yes. Let’s go.”
Beep-
Director Choi scanned his access card, and they both entered the elevator.
TM’s actor management team was relatively small.
This was because the company was originally focused on idol management.
While Siyeon discussed matters related to the actor management team, Director Choi quietly sipped his coffee and observed.
“The response is positive. After all, it must be easier to talk to someone you know.”
The conversation flowed positively.
Since she had acquaintances here, and the former CEO who was ousted from TM was Kim Jeyoung, Siyeon was likely more inclined to trust TM.
If things went well, they could even bring up the main contract today.
It would be difficult to sign right away, but they could push for it as much as possible.
He wasn’t planning to mess around with the contract terms. Given Siyeon’s potential, it would be at the highest industry level.
“Siyeon, how do you feel? It’s nothing like your old agency, right?”
“Yes. It’s definitely different, starting with the building. There was just one small office there.”
“There’s a reason people look for big agencies. We’re one of the top three agencies in Korea, haha. So, are you thinking about a contract? Not to pressure you, but things are going so well.”
Director Choi sat down at the table and subtly slid a prepared contract toward her.
Who would sign a contract in just one day? But he was throwing it out there first.
“Well. I think I’ll need to talk to my parents about the details.”
“…Ah, right. You’re still in middle school, right?”
Director Choi was momentarily flustered.
The conversation had been so mature that he had completely forgotten she was a middle school student.
At that realization, and seeing Siyeon’s expressionless face, he suddenly felt a chill down his spine.
“Right. I must’ve forgotten. Let’s save the detailed discussion for next time.”
“Yes. I’d like to look around the company today. Chaeyoung said she’d be here too…”
However, the look of her looking for a friend made that serious feeling fade a little.
She was probably just wanting to see her friend at that age.
“Yes. She should be done with training by now. Let’s have you look around with Chaeyoung. Manager Kim, can you show them around? I have a schedule.”
“Understood.”
Thus, Director Choi handed Siyun over to Manager Kim and left.
Still, the contract should go smoothly.
Jeyoung is being thoroughly attacked by the media.
Director Choi smiled contentedly.
After Director Choi disappeared, Chaeyoung appeared shortly after.
“Siyeon! Did you decide to join our company?”
“I haven’t decided yet. I just want to take a look today.”
“Okay. I’ll show you around the company. Manager Kim, let’s go!”
Manager Kim, who works in the actor management team, started the TM building tour with Chaeyoung.
The scale was certainly impressive, as expected from one of Korea’s top three agencies.
Chaeyoung mainly showed the spaces she used.
Manager Kim, who was accompanying them, casually told her that certain restricted areas were off-limits.
“Why aren’t we going to the 17th floor?”
“17th floor? It’s just the legal team and IT team, nothing much. You wouldn’t see anything interesting there. Just guys in suits and glasses.”
“Really?”
I see. The 17th floor.
“So, the rest are the idol practice rooms and spaces like that?”
“Yeah, exactly. Since TM is an idol-focused agency, most of the spaces are for idols.”
They looked at various amenities and actor spaces.
The rest were mostly living spaces for idols.
She wanted to check those out too, but she felt conscious of Manager Kim’s gaze behind them.
If it had only been Chaeyoung, she could’ve done something about it.
Of course, she had thought of situations like this.
Screech-
“Ah!”
The coffee that Manager Kim was holding spilled onto my Chanel tweed jacket.
Of course, it wasn’t intentional.
I had made sure this would happen so I could handle it, just like last time with Yuna.
“I-I’m so sorry. Why did this suddenly—”
“…What are you doing right now! Do you know how expensive this is?! This is brand new! Ah…”
“S-Siyeon?”
I, unlike my usual self, shouted angrily and shook off the coffee from my clothes.
Manager Kim, who had spilled coffee on my expensive jacket, was frozen, unsure of what to do.
It wasn’t something I could just brush off, considering the value of the clothes.
“I-I’m so sorry. The company has a laundry service in the wardrobe department, I’ll have it cleaned immediately. We work with luxury brands, so there’s no need to worry about the damage to your clothes. I’m truly sorry.”
Manager Kim kept bowing his head repeatedly.
It wasn’t exactly pleasant to see someone older than me bowing down, but there was nothing to be done.
I tossed the clothes toward Manager Kim angrily.
“If even a small part of this is damaged, you’ll have to pay for it. This was sponsored directly by Chanel. Do you have any other celebrities here who get Chanel sponsorship?”
I shouted with intense anger.
Since he worked with celebrities, he would likely lower his head even more if he thought my status was higher than the celebrity he managed.
Managing people isn’t that difficult.
“I-I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry.”
Manager Kim took the clothes with trembling hands and quickly left.
Normally, someone wouldn’t panic this much over something like this.
But I added extra intensity to make him feel scared.
“S-Siyeon… Why were you so scary…”
Chaeyoung, who had been beside me, was also scared out of her mind.
It must have been a side of me she hadn’t seen before, so she was even more flustered.
When I let out my full intensity, even a beast’s heart might stop.
I had only used about half of it, but for a normal person, their body would be shaking uncontrollably.
“It’s fine. The jacket is new. Let’s check out the other areas. The rest are idol spaces, right?”
“Ugh, yeah. Let’s go.”
Chaeyoung was reluctantly led by me toward the idol space.
“Ah, unnie!”
“Chaeyoung! But, is this person, by any chance, that person?”
“That’s right! Siyeon! She might sign with our company, so I’m showing her around!”
“Ahhhhhhh!”
“Ahhhhhhh!”
Chaeyoung was friendly with the TM idols and trainees, so she greeted everyone this way.
And many of them seemed to recognize me, asking for photos or autographs.
Thanks to that atmosphere, I was able to comfortably walk around the idol space.
We wandered around for about twenty minutes.
I decided to start a conversation with Chaeyoung.
“There’s a resting area here, too.”
“Yeah. It’s near the dance practice rooms, and there are some snacks and drinks.”
“Should we rest here for a bit? I think I’ve walked too much.”
“Good idea!”
Chaeyoung seemed to want to rest, too, and quickly headed toward the resting area.
She grabbed a drink and handed me a cup.
I quickly poured sleeping pills into Chaeyoung’s drink, making sure she didn’t see.
“Mm…”
A little while later, Chaeyoung fell asleep.
After sending a text message, I pretended to fall asleep too.
The CCTV in the resting area was recording us clearly.
And a few minutes later…
Whoosh—
The red light indicating that the CCTV was working went off simultaneously in all the cameras inside the building.
“…”
I started to move.