“Well…”
Producer Jang finally opened his mouth, a sour look painted across his face.
“There’s probably a lot of money. Haram was doing really well, after all. But still…”
“Ehhh.”
I cut him off, deliberately making a cheeky face.
Then I raised my index finger toward him, locking eyes with him.
This is all the ammo I’ve got.
“…Ten billion won?”
“Eeeeh.”
He continued calmly, as if he’d expected that wasn’t all.
“A hundred billion?”
“Eeeeh~ii.”
Two deep lines formed between his brows in an instant.
“A trillion? Did you really make that much? That’s impossible…”
“Eeeee~ii.”
“What is this? Say it properly!”
Producer Jang snapped at me with a slight crack in his voice. Oops, maybe I pushed the joke too far. It had worked like a charm with Manager Woo, though.
I quickly waved both hands to calm him down.
“Just once. Just raise it one more time.”
One more time? His face twisted with half annoyance, half curiosity.
“…One trillion won?”
At last, I smiled and gave a slow, steady nod.
“Rounded down.”
Producer Jang’s eyes shifted to Manager Woo sitting beside him. Seriously? He asked with his eyes, and Manager Woo nodded nonchalantly.
Bzzz—
A notification buzzed on the phone sitting on the desk.
“Ah.”
I checked the new alert, then carefully held up two fingers this time.
“It just went up again.”
The exchange rate had jumped again. How far is this U.S. interest rate going to climb?
Looking back and forth between me and Manager Woo, Producer Jang pressed both palms over his eyes.
“Ah… What even is this…”
No one believes it right away. Well, if I were him, I wouldn’t either…
“Feel free to think whatever makes you comfortable, Producer Jang.”
He parted his fingers just enough to peek at me.
“You know what really matters here, don’t you?”
Producer Jang stared for a moment, then let his eyes disappear back behind his hands. He leaned all the way back and let out a long sigh.
“Haa… Fine. So the point is, Haram, you have that much power, right? Regardless of whether the money’s there or not.”
As expected, quick to understand the situation.
“…Alright. I’ve made up my mind.”
He pulled his hands away from his face and gently rested them on the table.
“I’ve decided—I’m going to use you for all you’re worth, Haram. Forget the money talk. I won’t be able to treat you casually if I keep thinking about that.”
Well, as long as he remembers I’ve got some clout, that’s good enough. Producer Jang muttered as if reciting a spell to himself.
A new approach to dealing with a chaebol, huh?
Well, it wasn’t actually a bad thing. There wouldn’t be much to gain even if I ended up in the stronger position in this relationship.
“You don’t want anything from me?”
“Oh, if that’s what you mean.”
There is something I clearly want.
PD Jang watched my reaction and snorted, as if he’d expected it.
“What, you want me to debut you along with your precious agency friends or something?”
My face immediately twisted into a grimace. Excuse me? What?
“… Why are you looking at me like that?”
How could a person even think something so nasty… I’m truly disappointed in you, PD Jang.
“… What.”
I let go of the contemptuous expression I’d been making and shook my head.
“I think I said something similar when we were talking about Ji-won earlier, but no thanks. Are our dreams somehow less valid?”
Yeah. If I’d planned to ask for something like that, I would’ve gone to you the moment I possessed this body. The contestants I saw on set were, contrary to my concerns, pretty serious about being idols.
And now you want me to destroy their futures? I couldn’t do that.
“… Ahem. Then what do you want?”
“I want you to do it properly.”
When I deliberately left out the subject, a question mark visibly floated over his head.
“Do what you want to do, PD Jang. Properly.”
And then, the question mark floating over his head turned into an exclamation point.
“… Huh. So you weren’t just picking that up from my eyes, huh.”
The sigh he let out filled the small meeting room.
“Manager Woo.”
“Yes?”
Manager Woo, who had been silent for a while, responded in surprise when PD Jang called out to him.
“Could you step out for a moment? I’d like to speak to Haram alone.”
“Oh, but…”
“Manager Woo.”
I shot Manager Woo a firm telepathic laser beam with my eyes to stop him from hesitating.
“Just wait outside for a bit.”
“Ah…”
Manager Woo looked noticeably disappointed. Sorry. This part’s just for the grown-ups now… Trudge, trudge. Manager Woo left the meeting room. It didn’t feel like he was just sulking about being kicked out… but anyway.
“Now then.”
PD Jang leaned forward and took a posture that showed he was about to give me his full attention.
“Let’s have a proper talk.”
*****
“‘<Be the IDOL>’ already has a predetermined debut lineup.”
“… What?”
That came out of nowhere?
“And you’re one of them, Haram.”
No, seriously—what?
He’d been quiet for a while like he was deep in thought after saying we should talk properly, and this was what he came out with?
Suddenly being turned into some kind of accomplice I never asked to be didn’t feel great.
“Well. Until you applied, someone else was already selected.”
“Eh? Did that person get eliminated?”
Wait a second, that’s not the important part here. I got sidetracked without realizing it.
“No idea. And I don’t care either. They were absolutely terrible, so I’d assume they didn’t make it.”
“Ah… well, that’s a relief.”
PD Jang’s tone had oddly relaxed, probably because Manager Woo wasn’t in the room anymore.
“Then who decided on the debut members…”
“Who do you think? The higher-ups with fat envelopes stuffed with bribe money.”
Why ask when you clearly already know? Jang Yeonju said with a sarcastic smirk.
“When I first submitted the proposal, there wasn’t even a hint of that kind of thing…”
Jang Yeonju, who had once produced a top-tier project group through Idol Training Center, was now rumored to be planning a new survival program. The rumors spread throughout the company in no time.
It was around that time that he started getting called in by the higher-ups.
“Ohhh, our dear PD Jang! You look more feminine than usual today! What? I’m not supposed to say things like that? Pffft, come on!!”
Along with remarks so outdated they were practically fossilized.
“There’s a company called Behind Entertainment — they have a few trainees applying. The tallest kid among them. Keep an eye on that one, will you?”
The subtle pressure began to mount.
At first, he didn’t think much of it. That level of lobbying had happened fairly often during Idol Training Center too.
But then—
“They eventually just brought a few kids over to introduce them and told me to move them up.”
“Move them up…?”
“Up in the rankings.”
It was basically an order to debut them.
The situation was more serious than he expected, and his expression hardened. He hadn’t realized things were this rotten.
He could barely hold back the string of curses rising up inside him.
“This is seriously fucked up.”
“Don’t insult dogs like that… Wait, you can curse, Haram?”
Of course. There were far too many people in this world who deserved to be cursed out.
‘Then that guy back then too…’
He recalled the first time he sensed something was off.
On the first day of prelims — even before Go Jeongeun had tasted the bitterness of elimination.
‘Contestant Kim Jumin, you’re eliminated.’
He wasn’t particularly bad, nor particularly good. Just a plain contestant who got eliminated plainly.
Except for one thing.
“Huh?”
He put on a strangely stiff face for a moment, and then as he turned away from the stage, he began grinning to himself.
This was before Choi Hansol had even accidentally mentioned the wildcard round.
Back then, he’d just thought, Must be someone who entered without any real ambition… Guess that kind of guy shows up too… and dismissed it.
“When Hansol suddenly brought up the wildcard round, I honestly felt relieved.”
Of course.
“So someone already knew about it.”
“The whole wildcard thing wasn’t even my idea.”
It was simply a show — a device to craft a more compelling narrative for their chosen candidates.
“… Fuck.”
Because of that, Lee Jiwon…
“Still not used to hearing you swear, Haram. Anyway, that’s how things are right now.”
So then, Be the IDOL before I possessed Kim Haram…
It must have proceeded just like this, unable to overcome the corruption.
‘Honestly, it’s a good thing it flopped.’
No. Not just a good thing it flopped — it was a program that should never have aired in the first place.
“Wasn’t there a way to just not proceed with the program at all?”
“How could I have done that?”
Before he could stop himself from blurting out meaningless questions, Jang Yeonju cut in sharply.
…Well, fair. In the end, he was just another employee. Just someone being pushed around by the suits up top.
“…You’re right. Sorry—”
“A whole truckload of kids already applied without knowing anything. What was I supposed to do?”
“Oh.”
Honestly, it was a reason he hadn’t expected from him.
“You might not know since I suddenly started looking out for you, but we were accepting applications in Seoul and Busan starting six months ago.”
From small academies to large and small entertainment agencies across the country.
Some of those kids had probably even left their current agencies just to take this shot.
“I just got sentimental because I hated that project groups had to end, and thought it’d be nice if the kids had more opportunities… That was me being nosy. I created this program, and now those kids are going to have their careers ruined before they even get a proper chance.”
Jang Yeonju spoke continuously, as if finally letting out all the frustration he’d held in. His eyes began to glisten.
“But how could I be the one to stop it first?”
Jang Yeonju’s gaze dropped sharply downward.
Drip—drop. Tiny droplets began to stain the table.
“F*ck… those bastards… no wonder they dragged their feet bringing me in…”
For a while, only the sound of droplets tapping against the table and faint sniffling filled the air.
Um… what should I do at a time like this…
“Enough!!”
Just as I was hesitating, Jang Yeonju suddenly lifted his head and looked straight at me. His glasses were clouded with moisture, so he probably couldn’t see me very clearly.
“To be honest, even you saying you’ve got money now—coming to find me, saying you’ll help me—it all seems shady as hell, and I really don’t trust you, you know?”
Uh, right… yeah.
“But!! I’ve decided to give you a chance! Because I’ve got nowhere left to run!!”
Jang Yeonju suddenly shot up from his seat and leaned across the table toward me, hands planted firmly down. Behind the dirty lenses, his eyes shone with fierce determination.
“Haha, hahahaha! Oh man… hahaha!”
I couldn’t help but burst out laughing.
It made me genuinely happy—
That this person hadn’t lost his fighting spirit.
That someone so rational and methodical, someone who clearly prided himself on composure, was pouring his heart out like this—because he hadn’t given up on us yet.
“You’re laughing?!”
Having unloaded his emotions, Jang Yeonju straightened up and spoke again.
As he took off his glasses and shook them out, droplets scattered in every direction.
“No—sorry. I’m not laughing at you… I’m really sorry.”
I managed to suppress the rest of my laughter and continued.
“All right. Please believe me. Everything I’ve said today—there’s not a shred of a lie in it.”
“If you betray me—”
“You don’t have to worry.”
Luckily for both of us, our interests seem to align well.
Including the fact that we both hate those at the top. And that we’re rooting for the same people.
“So,”
Once Jang Yeonju had calmed down a bit more, I finally got to the point.
“What’s the biggest problem right now?”
If he was willing to go this far with his passion, then I had no choice but to give it my all, too.
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.