Chapter 3: Why It Was Left to Me

So… CEO Jo knows that Kim Haram won the lottery.

How?

Even Manager Woo doesn’t know. Not even Choi Woojin, who’s practically glued to me every day. Is he trying to bait me?F

It didn’t seem smart to just sit there with a blank look on my face, so I managed to open my mouth.

“Uh… Did I say something like that?”

But CEO Jo’s fake smile didn’t budge an inch.

He grinned wide, baring his teeth in a show of over-the-top friendliness.

“Sure you did. You said you’d come into a huge sum and had no idea what to do with it.”

You’ve got to be kidding me.

He even remembered it word for word. At this point, it was pointless to cling to the hope that he was just fishing for info. It was better to figure out exactly how much he knew.

“Uh… yeah… I’m still talking it over with my parents, actually. It’s not an easy decision.”

For a split second, something suspicious flickered across CEO Jo’s face.

“Parents? Ah, you mean your grandparents in the States?”

…What?

Does Haram not have parents?

I don’t mean that in a weird or rude way, I’m just— Could it be true? Is he actually being raised by his grandparents?

Was that whole “my grandparents in America” line just a cover for something else?

A hundred thoughts whipped through my head in the blink of an eye.

“Ah… yes, that’s right. My grandma’s especially worried. He wants to make sure… that it really helps me.”

I could feel cold sweat beading on my forehead.

Seo Jimin, 31 years old. This might be the biggest crisis of my entire life.

How the hell am I supposed to survive this nightmare?

At that moment—

“Haram.”

CEO Jo suddenly grabbed my hand—no, Kim Haram’s hand—with both of his.

I hated it. Absolutely hated it. God, it was disgusting.

Where the cold sweat had stopped on my back earlier, a chill now ran in the opposite direction, straight up my spine.

“I know, I know. You’re startled. It’s a lot to think about. But you know, better than anyone, that I’ve been your biggest supporter. I’ve always had your back, cheered you on.”

Don’t look at me like that. I almost stabbed you with my fork.

Watching this bastard’s shameless act, knowing full well his true face thanks to the stat window, made me feel physically ill. I could practically smell the rot coming off him.

My expression was probably curdling like spoiled milk, but CEO Jo kept going, oblivious.

“I don’t know exactly how much you won, but it must be quite a fortune. If you let me manage it, I promise I’ll make it benefit both your younger members and you.”

At this point, I didn’t feel like I was smelling something rotten—I actually was. The stench of a greedy, decaying soul was practically pouring out of him.

“I called you in today specifically to talk about this. Let me help. Let me be a bigger support to you.”

Disgust had reached its limit. My brain was screaming to get out of this room as fast as possible.

I barely managed to string a sentence together.

“I’ll… think about it a bit more. My grandmother probably won’t take too long to decide, either.”

That was it. End the conversation here.

Honestly, the right move had been obvious from the very beginning.

With my free hand, I gently wrapped it over CEO Jo’s.

“And, sir…”

I looked him right in the eyes and gave the most innocent, radiant smile I could muster—the kind of smile that could melt glaciers.

Right. With Kim Haram’s face, there’s nothing—even I—can’t pull off.

“I’ll be counting on you from now on as well.”

The corners of CEO Jo’s eyes crinkled even deeper at my words.

There. You got the answer you wanted—now let me go.

“Thanks, Haram.”

Hurryhurryhurryhurry.

After what felt like years compressed into seconds, my hand was finally freed.

“Must’ve been tiring—thanks for coming. Get home safe.”

“Yes, sir. I’ll be heading out now.”

Click.

As I stepped out and shut the office door, Chief Manager Woo was sitting on a nearby sofa, waiting.

“Done talking, Haram?”

I barely managed a nod.

“Alright, let’s go. I’ll drive you. You’re not even feeling well.”

“Manager Woo.”

“Yeah?”

Without realizing it, my face had turned cold as I looked directly at him.

“Before that, I need to use the restroom real quick.”

“Oh, uh… sure.”

He looked a bit flustered, but I didn’t have the mental space to care about his reaction.

I just wanted to wash my hands as soon as humanly possible.

More than anything, though—

I was starting to imagine how Kim Haram might have died, and the thought left me feeling absolutely sick.

*****

Now alone in his office, Jo Jungjae pulled out a cigarette and stuck it between his lips.

“Ha, that damn kid’s a goldmine. Just popping out golden eggs like it’s nothing.”

Chief Manager Woo had picked him up off the street somewhere. I only signed him because he looked decent, and it turned out—he was the real deal.

We tossed him into that survival show with zero expectations, just to get our company’s name out there, and bam—he made it into the debut team and started raking in cash.

He was the first one to join the company, so I sent him out there, but instead of being grateful for the opportunity I gave him, he never even said thanks.

Then we lumped him together with the other kids Woo picked up later and made a group. And now he’s acting like some noble idiot who doesn’t even care about getting paid—just says he wants to take care of the others.

“Damn, it’s so sweet I’m gonna go insane. Lord~”

Managing these kids eats up too much money. But say a single word to that one, and he’d just quietly nod.

Phew—

I exhaled a puff of cigarette smoke, drunk on the sweetness of success, when suddenly my phone rang.

I answered it absentmindedly—and a booming voice came blaring through.

[Ah—hyung-nim! Your son says he won’t be able to make it to this event either—what should we do?!]

It was the manager I’d assigned to my son.

If there was a single bitter taste in this sugar-coated life, it’d be that brat of mine.

He’d gone on and on about wanting to be an idol, so I even handpicked decent kids and built a group around him. But the results? Disappointing.

Tch. If only he were half the guy that Kim Haram was.

If I’d known it’d turn out like this, I should’ve just kept him in the same debut group as Haram.

“Aish—how many times do I have to tell you to call me ‘Director’ in public settings? What is it now?”

[Well, he says the other members are kinda out of it, and now’s not the right time to be doing events…]

Ugh, that same old “we need more practice” nonsense again.

Kim Haram pulled off stages just fine without all that prep crap—and he made money doing it. So what the hell is this kid’s excuse?

“Just sweet-talk him a bit, will you? Even if he throws a tantrum, he’s still just a damn kid.”

The manager was about to say something else when a familiar voice suddenly came through the phone.

[Dad!]

It was his damn son.

“Oh, right, my dear Seha~ What’s wrong this time, huh?”

[…It’s not that something’s wrong. I’ve been telling you since before, haven’t I?]

Tch. He was obviously about to launch into that endless nagging about practice again, so Jo Jungjae quickly cut him off.

“Son! Dad’s super busy, you know~? I don’t have the time to keep worrying about every little thing you’re doing~”

From the other end of the phone came a faint “No… Dad…” as Seha tried to say something, but Jo had no intention of listening.

After all, he had far more important matters on his mind right now.

“I’m gonna hang up now~ Talk it out with Manager Choi, okay? Try to do what Dad asked, yeah~?”

Jo Jungjae hung up just like that.

“Tch. Useless, seriously.”

The group his son was in wasn’t just failing to earn money—they had to pay just to get a slot to perform at events.

And yet the kid didn’t even appreciate how much support his father was pouring into him. It was frustrating.

Sure, it was technically all money Kim Haram had earned, but since Haram’s money was his money, the heartburn was still real.

To soothe his bitter stomach, Director Jo turned his thoughts to Kim Haram’s lottery winnings.

“How can one person be that damn lucky?”

First the survival show—he debuted out of nowhere. And now he hits the jackpot in the lottery? Just when the company’s income was about to dip, this happens.

“Aaah~ What should I buy with that money?”

He’d already bought a car recently.

Grinning with anticipation, Director Jo began to estimate how much the lottery prize might be.

Life in this country was getting so damn hard—even after the price of a single lottery ticket had jumped from 1,000 won to 3,000 won, people still couldn’t stop buying them.

In the past six months alone, the minimum lottery prize had been 10 billion won. The maximum? A staggering 37 billion. Which one had Kim Haram hit?

No matter how many times he thought about it, the fantasy never got old.

“Man~ Borrowing someone else’s talent really is the best.”

He let out a low chuckle—kukukuk—the kind only a B-movie villain would make, paired with a villainous grin.

Director Jo flopped back into his chair, basking in his own amusement.

*****

On the drive back to the dorm in Manager Woo’s car, the storm in Kim Haram’s mind refused to settle.

How the hell do I get rid of that greedy bastard?

If he really wanted to survive as Kim Haram, he’d have to do something about that Jo guy first. He had absolutely no desire to stay tangled up with that man any longer.

Wait a minute. I only need to debut with a mid-tier agency, right? So technically, I don’t have to stay here. If I pay the penalty and move to another company…

For a second, he thought it was actually a brilliant idea.

Pop—

[New sub-quest has been generated.]

[Sub-Quest – Ruin

Objective: Drag Jo Jungjae, CEO of Herb Entertainment, to ruin.
Reward: ???
Failure Penalty: Failure as a mid-tier idol.]

…Huh?

Was this some kind of twisted joke?

There was no time limit, which only made it feel more absurd—like it had been slapped together in a rush. It was so blatant it left him speechless.

[…………….]
[Time Limit: None]

“What’s the point if there’s no time limit?”

[…Sub-quest has been cancelled.]

45%

Wait—what? You can cancel these?

The system’s spineless behavior only added to his frustration. How am I supposed to rely on this thing for anything?

He sighed and stared blankly out the window, when Manager Woo, who had been silently driving, finally spoke up.

“Haram. What did the CEO say to you?”

There was no way he could be honest about that, so he had no choice but to brush it off vaguely.

“Oh… nothing much. Just told me to work hard, that’s all…”

Manager Woo gave a bitter smile. He chewed on his words for a moment, then said something unexpected.

“Haram, what do you think about me starting my own management company? I’ve been kind of wanting to try running one myself.”

Is this a career counseling session now?

“Ah… I think you’d be great at it.”

Well, he did have the “Brilliant Producer” trait or whatever. Maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea.

“Heh. Thanks for saying that. But… I guess it’d still be tough for me, huh?”

Oof, that self-esteem…

If he remembered right, it was Manager Woo who had scouted Kim Haram in the first place. And considering Haram had managed to debut and find some success even under that trash heap of a CEO…

“Why not? You were the one who cast me, right? And look at me now—I’m doing just fine.”

Well, not exactly “fine,” but you know.

“…Really? You think so?”

Manager Woo’s expression turned oddly serious for a moment—just as the car pulled up to their familiar semi-basement dorm.

“Go on in, Haram. No practice tomorrow, so get some good rest.”

“Thanks, Manager.”

Compared to when we met earlier today, Choi Woojin looked much fresher as he held the door handle and looked at me.

“Uh… aren’t you coming in? Hyung?”

There was a subtle heat radiating from him, like he had just taken a shower.

“His cheeks are a little flushed too… makes him look even cuter.”

Shaking off the unnecessary thought, I quickly stepped inside.

“Mm, no—it’s nothing. But how did you know I was coming?”

“I heard your footsteps. No one else comes down those stairs.”

Seriously?
What is he, a puppy waiting for its owner?

Once inside, I glanced around the living room and saw several unfamiliar guys staring at me.

“Oh, Haram’s back?”

“Hyung, I heard you were sick. Are you okay?”

Pop—
Information windows popped up next to each of the strangers, but… unfortunately, I didn’t have the energy to check them right now.

“Yeah. But I’m still not feeling that great. I’ll rest up first.”

Forget the data, I’ll deal with it tomorrow. Tomorrow.

I walked straight to the room and flopped down on the bed where I had woken up earlier today.

“What do I do now…”

What should I do moving forward? The situation was much bigger than I thought. That perverted CEO knowing about Kim Haram’s lottery win? That alone was shocking.

The only relief was that he didn’t seem to know the exact amount…