Jeyoung was an idol planner under TM.
He started as an A&R producer and quickly gained recognition for his skills, leading him to become the general producer and start planning new idols.
The idols he worked with were Girls’ Generation and Shining.
Both are top-tier idols that continue to enjoy tremendous popularity today.
After producing two consecutive mega-hit idols, he began working on his third idol group.
By the time he was working on the third idol group, Jeyoung’s confidence was soaring.
He poured all his know-how into creating the best idol group.
The idols he created gained tremendous attention even before their debut.
And indeed, as soon as they debuted, the girl group Sweet Black soared in popularity.
Their debut song achieved all-kills on charts, and they thrived in various variety shows.
They set the record for the most and longest #1 spots on music broadcasts.
In just their third year, they embarked on an unprecedented national tour.
Sweet Black was truly a revolution in the idol industry, breaking all previous records.
After Sweet Black, it was no exaggeration to say that the Korean idol industry made massive strides.
In fact, Sweet Black was the turning point for the golden era of idols.
However, Sweet Black’s glamorous image wasn’t without its drawbacks.
Along with fame came a flood of malicious comments.
For all celebrities, malicious comments are a given and a source of pain, but Sweet Black faced an even greater wave.
While always pushing boundaries and attempting new things, they garnered both excitement and hatred.
Wherever they went, there was always a small group consumed by inferiority and jealousy.
As they grew more famous, the malicious comments became even more extreme.
Fanatics who invaded their privacy, stalker fans, grew in number each day.
For all they gained, they also lost much.
Like every famous person, Sweet Black, who rose to success quickly, was met with immense pain almost immediately.
For young idols who debuted at an early age, the pain could be overwhelming.
But before they could overcome the pain, the agency pushed them even harder with more schedules.
The motto was, “Make the most of the rising tide.”
It was believed that idols have a limited shelf life, so the thinking was to earn as much as possible while they were still fresh.
Thus, Jeyoung, the producer, overworked Sweet Black.
Ignoring the mental toll on the young idols, such as from malicious comments, they were pushed to continue their activities.
After a few years of activity, the group’s momentum began to wane, and when that time came, they started to promote them with a sexy concept.
This was meant to milk the last drops from Sweet Black.
Then, the scandal broke during their fifth year.
While working on a new album with a sexy concept, one of Sweet Black’s members, Naeun, left a suicide note and ended her life.
The note mentioned the pain from malicious comments, the overwork from Jeyoung, her rejection of the forced sexy concept, and disillusionment.
It also mentioned that Jeyoung had attempted to involve her in sexual favors or harassment when her popularity began to decline.
At the time of her suicide, Jeyoung was overseeing another member’s direction, while Naeun was resting.
TM Entertainment issued a public apology, stating that Jeyoung’s overstepping actions were unknown to the company’s board.
The company claimed they hadn’t been aware of Sweet Black’s pain.
The reason for this was that the overall management of an idol usually falls under the general producer, and the board only receives reports through them.
Since the agency manages multiple idols, it was natural for the general producer to handle the management of each idol.
The company apologized for not understanding the situation and pledged to focus more on artist management.
Jeyoung, after facing the nation’s condemnation, was expelled from TM Entertainment.
It was after this incident that the idol industry began to respond more harshly to issues like malicious comments and sexual harassment.
“Ha… No trainees are coming, and I don’t have money to hire staff…”
Afterward, Jeyoung spent a long time in despair.
Then, recently, he started a new agency called AS Entertainment.
It was a small agency with just one humble office.
If a trainee would just join, he could try something.
But no one came, so there was nothing he could do.
Of course.
No matter how talented Jeyoung was, no one would want to join an agency led by a man who had been labeled a murderer by the entire nation.
Still, Jeyoung persisted with street casting.
One day, his phone rang.
It was a call from a student he had given a business card to.
The student, who was currently gaining massive popularity as a cameo in Breaking Through The Floor : Low Kick, was Siyeon.
The office of AS Entertainment looked shabby.
The office where his father worked was far more dazzling.
The FAC Entertainment and TM offices he had visited before also had excellent environments.
“Thank you so much for contacting me. But…”
“Yes. I’m an actress.”
According to what he had investigated with Dongsoo, Jeyoung was an idol producer.
He had achieved great success in idol production but had never managed an actor before.
However, given his entertainment career, it didn’t seem impossible.
Dongsoo had mentioned that someone of his caliber should be able to manage an actor.
“Yes, I watched Breaking Through The Floor : Low Kick as well. I can manage anyone, whether an actor or anyone else.”
“Great. Then, please take care of me.”
“…Really?”
Jeyoung’s eyes widened in disbelief.
His eyes grew so wide that it seemed like they were about to pop out.
“Yes. It’s real.”
It was shocking.
Jeyoung was the one involved in the ‘Sweet Black Naeun suicide incident.’
Just looking at the state of the office, it was clear how things had gone until now.
No one would want to join the agency of someone branded as a criminal nationwide.
“Why…”
But that was actually good for me.
Jeyoung was probably at rock bottom, desperate.
It was a perfect time to use him for my own benefit.
And given his long experience in the entertainment industry, I could surely get solid help.
And I wasn’t particularly worried about things like sexual harassment.
The look in Jeyoung’s eyes when I saw him then was definitely one worth working with.
I spoke to Jeyoung, who was standing there with his mouth open.
“After Breaking Through The Floor : Low Kick, I’ve been getting so many calls, and I urgently need management.”
“But I thought Siyeon would have been contacted by many other agencies.”
“Yes, but I liked it here.”
“So why…”
“Does that mean you can’t do it?”
“Oh, no, no, no, that’s not it. Just leave it to me! I can definitely handle it!”
“Okay. Also, you don’t need to be so formal. Aren’t I much younger than you?”
This is Confucian Korea.
Having spent a long time here, it felt uncomfortable when I had to speak formally to someone much older than me.
After saying that to Jeyoung, I stood up from my seat.
I would just come back tomorrow with my dad to sign the contract.
“Then I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Yes, yes! Th-thank you! Really, thank you!”
Even though I told him to speak informally, Jeyoung kept bowing and using honorifics.
I sighed, as if resigned, and grabbed the door handle.
“…Ah.”
Just before leaving the office, a small question crossed my mind.
“By the way, why is AS Entertainment called AS?”
It wasn’t a big deal, but I was just curious.
“Oh, AS stands for Assassin.”
“Wow, why did you choose that?”
“Well… it’s a personal reason, I suppose.”
“That’s cool.”
I liked the name too.
For some reason, it felt like a name that suited me perfectly.
The next day, I came with my dad and completed the contract.
At first, both my mom and dad were strongly against it.
But neither of them could break my stubbornness.
So, I became the first artist of AS Entertainment.
Kang Eung-sook sent the revised script and drank coffee with a satisfied expression.
The storyline for Uriel, added in the middle of the drama.
She witnessed her father’s affair and was also neglected by her mother.
She was forced into an engagement with Kim Tak, but Uriel’s heart slowly melted with Kim Tak’s kindness.
Kim Tak was part of the Empire Group, but he was an illegitimate son born from the president’s affair.
So, he was neglected within the group.
Uriel secretly acted on behalf of Kim Tak, a fact that is revealed in the middle of the drama.
Viewers, upon learning of Uriel’s backstory, would sympathize with her and become emotionally invested.
She was hurt by her father’s affair, and her fiancé was doing something similar.
Still, she secretly worked hard for her fiancé, a tsundere-like character.
Kang Eung-sook was certain that Uriel would be loved by the audience.
Even though the drama’s main character was Cha Eun-seo.
After seeing Siyeon’s acting, Kang Eung-sook couldn’t let go of this story.
“Wait, writer-nim? Isn’t this a huge revision?”
“Isn’t it fine?”
“Well, it seems like it could be interesting, but…?”
After confirming the revised script, Kang Shin-yul immediately contacted Kang Eung-sook.
This was a big change.
And above all, considering that the main character is Cha Eun-seo, it was a vague revision.
It was almost as if…
‘Uriel could end up looking like the main character.’
I couldn’t bring myself to say that out loud.
Kang Eung-sook’s script was perfect.
And although it was vague, the importance of Cha Eun-seo was appropriately increased to match Uriel’s storyline.
Of course, this was all just about the script.
But if acting were added to that…
If Siyeon’s acting, which perfectly embodied Uriel, were added to that…
“…I understand. I’ll relay it to the actors.”
Kang Shin-yul shook his head.
Maybe Kang Shin-yul knew, too.
Who the most noticeable person in this drama was.
Even though the production press conference hadn’t started yet, it was clear who the star born from this drama would be.
He could see everything clearly.
Maybe, it couldn’t be stopped.
Changing the movement of a few human stars was something that didn’t make sense.
‘To make Kang Eung-sook do something like this… Siyeon is truly different.’
The revised script was delivered to the actors.
Naturally, the actors were in an uproar.
“…Huh?”
Yuna furrowed her brows as she checked the script.
Her lines had been reduced in proportion to the increased lines of Uriel.
“Why… Why is this happening…!”
Why were they trying to give everything to that kid?
Even the writer was putting strange backstory into a supporting character who wasn’t even the main lead.
Chanel had given the middle school girl exclusive sponsorship.
And the entire nation knew her after she took a slap in a sitcom.
Yuna crumpled the script and threw it on the floor.
It was all because of that middle school kid.
“If it weren’t for her…”
If it weren’t for her, she wouldn’t have had to take this role after failing the Uriel audition.
If it weren’t for her, she wouldn’t be receiving this kind of neglect on set.
If it weren’t for her, she could’ve made it to a certain star status with this work.
“Arrrrgh!”
Yuna couldn’t hold it in any longer.
She couldn’t bear the constant judgment on set, nor could she handle her lines being slowly cut.
“Okay… if that’s the case.”
Yuna made a plan.
The upcoming production press conference. She planned to completely tarnish Siyeon’s image there.
She would teach that arrogant, creepy middle school girl a lesson.
“Hehehe… If I do this, my lines will come back… Hehehe… Kyaahahaha!”
A while later, at the The Heirs production press conference.
However, Yuna’s plan didn’t go as she had hoped.