Top Management

TM Chapter 66

TL: emptycube / ED: Isleidir

I didn’t watch it. I don’t have any plans on watching it. Go back.

How successful would I have to be to be able to say such refreshing words to a top star?

“Ah, I saw it. It was really fun. Congratulations on ranking first in ratings amongst the programs airing at the same time.”

The traitor stood up from his seat and said in greeting.

“I am Neptune’s manager, Choi Gunyoung.”

His face was so friendly that it made anyone, whether they were young, old, male, or female, have a favorable impression of him. However, it didn’t work on Son Chaeyoung. As soon as she heard he was Neptune’s manager, her eyebrows rose.

Glancing briefly at the traitor, Son Chaeyoung looked at me and asked,

“How about you? Did you watch it?”

“No, I was too busy yesterday.”

I replied nonchalantly. Maybe it was because Son Chaeyoung straightforwardly acted as the ‘crazy bitch’ in this region, but she was easier to deal with than the traitor. Although they were pretty much the same, my mind was less complicated at the very least.

Son Chaeyoung, who had been fully prepared to boast, frowned.

“… You didn’t watch it? Why didn’t you watch it?”

“I couldn’t watch it because I was busy with my schedule, but if you ask me why I didn’t watch it, then all I can say it I was too busy to watch it…”

I said while shrugging, but Son Chaeyoung stomped her sharp heels on the floor.

“No matter how busy you are, you should have watched it! I watched Cat Guardian Ghost!”

She shouted before quickly adding in as if she had slipped up,

“Isn’t that basic manners since we work in the same company?”

Manners? For the word ‘manners’ to come out from her mouth. It sent shivers down my spine.

It seemed like she had expected me to react with a ‘Damn it! For Cat Guardian Ghost to be pushed aside by Mermaid out of Water! For Songha to lose to Son Chaeyoung! I’m angry!’ Well, that wasn’t happening.

Even if I didn’t know that Mermaid out of Water would flop its tail before it dried up and died, I would never reveal such a reaction in front of Son Chaeyoung. I would rather play Sse Sse Sse^{1} with the traitor.

Either way, it was nice she watched Cat Guardian Ghost. Just imagining what her expression was like when she watched it made me feel refreshed as if soda was being poured into my blood vessels.

“Lee Songha, did she see it?”

“I don’t know.”

A grinding sound escaped her lips.

“Watch it today for sure.”

“We have a night shoot today as well so…”

“Watch it!”

That surprised me. The more I saw her, the more I felt the team 3 leader’s words that day were correct. Considering the way she acted, she had to have a mental illness. It looked like Son Chaeyoung was trying to pierce the floor as she stomped the ground with her heels when suddenly, the glass door burst open once more.

“Chaeyoung! Just where did you go, leaving your phone behind?! I looked everywhere for you!”

It was Chief Jo. Panting heavily, he sighed when he saw me. His face indicated he figured out what was going on with a glance.

“You said you wanted to see the CEO. Since his meeting ended just now, let’s quickly go meet him.”

When I saw Chief Jo trying his best to coax her, I suddenly recalled what I thought when I saw him for the first time. I had thought that he was someone who had saved a nation in his past life to have become Son Chaeyoung’s manager, but it was the opposite. Looking at her, there was no doubt he sold out his nation in his previous life.

It seemed meeting CEO Baek Hansung was more important than hassling me as Son Chaeyoung told me repeatedly to watch the rebroadcasts of her drama and left.

Of course, I did plan on seeing it. I planned on watching it when it started to go downhill. Since I had also thought Mermaid out of Water was a good drama looking at its synopsis before I saw the future, I thought I could learn something by seeing how a good project would fail.

“She has a really unique personality.”

The traitor grinned. His expression when he looked at me previously was a bit stiff, but it had now returned to its usual state.

I replied in my usual manner,

“Calling her personality unique is a huge understatement.”

“Well, since she started off as a child actor, she pretty much spent the majority of her life in the entertainment business. When thinking of it like that, it’s not like I can’t understand her.”

It’s not like I can’t understand her?

I couldn’t help but frown.

“Still, there are lines you shouldn’t cross. You know what Son Chaeyoung and Teacher Shim Kyungtaek did to Songha. You can’t just ‘understand’ her and gloss over the problem.”

At my words, the traitor smiled faintly and replied,

“That’s true… but, well, this industry makes people like that.”

This industry makes people like that?

His words weren’t wrong since this industry was a place where all sorts of things happened. Even I threatened someone right to his face within the first few months of working in this industry. Also, there was no telling if an incident like that wouldn’t occur again.

However, there was still a line people shouldn’t cross.

I stared directly at the traitor and said,

“Everyone who works in this industry isn’t like Son Chaeyoung. Someone like her, it might not have been the industry that made her like that but, instead, was someone like that from the start.”

After facing the traitor and Son Chaeyoung at the same time, I was confused whether I was at work or in the abode of demons.

Just when would this company be purified?

I was on my way to the office while recalling the number of Mermaid out of Water episodes that have yet to air and the date Neptune’s next album would go on sale.

“It seems you made a wrong guess?”

When I turned around, Team Leader Park was sitting in the lounge. Her face was drained of energy. Now that I thought about it, Kim Hyunjo did say Son Chaeyoung had grilled her.

“Made a wrong guess?”

When I asked, sitting down in front of her, Team Leader Park looked around, and after confirming no one was around, she said in a quiet voice,

“You said so the first day you met Son Chaeyoung. That you got a bad vibe from Mermaid out of Water. But it seems like it’ll be a big hit?”

I simply smiled wordlessly.

Team Leader Park patted my shoulder as if comforting me.

“Well, still, don’t be disappointed. Your name has definitely spread with just Cat Guardian Ghost.”

I recalled the people waiting for me at the PR team’s office last time. I had a hunch that, when Mermaid out of Water flops, the PR team employees would look at me with the same expressions as those people.

I really had to be careful with my words from now on.

I was resolving myself when Team Leader Park said with a meaningful look,

“It’s not only the employees who know you, even celebrities do. Although I can’t say who, there was someone who went to the team 3 leader, telling him he wanted to work with you.”

There was someone who wanted to work with me? Who?

When I looked at her with wide eyes, Team Leader Park smiled.

“But the team 3 leader thoroughly refused, saying that it was currently an important time for Neptune, and…”

And?

“If you are snatched by someone else, Songha might cause a fuss.”

“Songha?”

Was she being serious?

I scratched my neck while thinking about it. If I got in a situation where I had to change the celebrity I was assigned to, although I currently didn’t want to, how would Lee Songha react?

She would definitely be sad. She might even try to hold me back. Though, I would be in shock if she just said goodbye.

However, to cause a fuss in the company.

“I don’t think she will.”

“There are many cases where celebrities feel the need to possess a monopoly over people and things they consider theirs. Well, I did say that she might cause a fuss as a joke, but seeing how she acts towards you, I feel like that day might actually come?”

Monopoly?

It wasn’t a word that suited Lee Songha.

When I tilted my head, Team Leader Park grinned as she said,

“Try bringing it up with Lee Songha later, and see how she reacts.”

I didn’t hear any news from Kim Hyunjo, who had left with the USB drive in his hands, for a while. I only heard from him while I was waiting at the Cat Guardian Ghost drama shoot.

Considering how long it took, he didn’t say much. He said he played Lee Taehee’s song for the team 3 leader and that they planned on discussing it with the staff, CEO Baek Hansung, and board members at the next internal meeting.

I wasn’t worried since I felt it wouldn’t be difficult to push Lee Taehee’s song as one of the double title tracks. The fact that her song was the title track in the original future meant that it had been chosen by those people then as well.

After I called Lee Taehee, explaining the situation, Chief Lee Bongjoon, who had been sitting right next to me, warming himself in front of the campfire, poked my side. Then he gestured with his chin. When I turned around, Lee Songha was staring at me.

“Why did you come out when it’s cold? The shoot of the scene ahead of yours is continuously being delayed, so we have to wait a while longer.”

Today’s outdoor shoot was at a camping ground in a dense forest. Perhaps it was because we were in a forest, but the temperature felt like it kept dropping. We were lucky to have a campfire, if we didn’t even have this, we would freeze.

“Come here.”

When I gestured to her with my hands, Lee Songha trudged her way towards me before sitting down next to me. Even though the distance from the parked van to here wasn’t far, since her cheeks had paled due to the cold, I handed her the two hot packs I had in my hands.

“Here, put one in each pocket. They are quite warm even though they are small.”

Her small, white hands held the hot packs. Then, following my words, she put one in each of her pockets. It seemed she was fiddling with them as her pockets squirmed.

“Did you call Taehee unni just now?”

“Yeah. Her voice didn’t sound well. Well, there’s no way her body would be fine after working for two days without sleep. She’s already so thin, I wonder if she’ll be fine. I guess I should check up on her when I take you home.”

“I think unni will be asleep by then.”

Perhaps it was due to the crackling sounds of the fire, but her voice sounded especially quiet.

“Ah, right. She probably will. It’ll be quite late.”

“Yup, it might be past 1 a.m. then.”

“I almost woke up a sleeping girl. Maybe it’s because I’m always with you until early morning, but it looks like I lost my sense of time.”

“Then when I go home and if Taehee unni isn’t sleeping, I’ll ask if she’s okay and call oppa.”

“Huh? You will?”

Lee Songha revealed a small smile as she nodded.

Not long after, they started filming Lee Songha’s scene. When I saw her acting with Seo Jijoon and other actors, Lee Songha from before had disappeared. The person standing there was Jung Haewon.

“She’s probably cold since her outfit is so thin. I hope that they finished filming this scene quickly.”

“Well, Songha almost never makes mistakes. She’ll probably finish quickly and come over.”

Chief Lee Bongjoon said while shrugging his shoulders.

That was true. Even when compared to other actors, Lee Songha made considerably fewer mistakes. On top of that, the majority of re-shoots were caused by misalignments in the scene, making Director Shin Taekyun redirect it, or the wind and other sounds muddling the audio.

While I was watching them film with happy eyes, Chief Lee Bongjoon asked,

“I’m hungry. Do you have any of Songha’s snacks left over?”

“What kind of person do you think Songha is? She’s not the type of girl who does something like have snacks left over.”

I was worried that she wasn’t eating much when she got in the role of Jung Haewon at first, but it seemed she quickly adjusted to it as she would eat a ton before filming and a ton afterwards.

“Eh, I need to start carrying food around with me too. I’m already cold and sleepy; I can’t handle this if I’m hungry as well. Winter film shoots overexert your body. You should be careful while you’re still young. You’re going to be seriously sick once we finish filming a drama.”

“Why don’t you recruit a road manager and split the work?”

“Haaa, although I would very much to do that, I can’t because of Jijoon, that guy.”

Chief Lee Bongjoon grumbled while looking at Seo Jijoon who was currently acting.

“He can’t stand the sight of me resting. If he doesn’t see me for a moment, he’ll ask where I am, what I’m doing, and where I went while leaving him behind. Sometimes I feel like I’m living with someone with delusional jealousy than a celebrity.”

Well, it did seem Seo Jijoon did follow Chief Lee Bongjoon very well.

“That is also a problem itself.”

“Well, it doesn’t seem like this is a problem wholly unrelated to you either.”

“Pardon?”

“I’m talking about Songha. It seems like she’ll cause a fuss if you ever leave.”

He said similar words as Team Leader Park.

“I don’t know. Team Leader Park did say something like that previously.”

“Team Leader Park did?”

“Yes. I don’t know if the person is an actor or a singer, but either way, someone went to the team 3 leader and said he wanted to work with me. Team Leader Park did tell me to bring it up with Songha…”

I was in the middle of talking when Chief Lee Bongjoon poked my side like before. Then he gestured with his chin.

When I turned around, Lee Songha was standing rigidly a few steps away.

^{1} Similar to Patty Cake