I Became the CEO of an Idol Company in a Game – Chapter 110

Author: Cireng

Spade Joker’s fan meeting ended successfully.

It had originally been scheduled to finish at 8 PM, but it didn’t wrap up until nearly 9. The reason was that the Spade Joker members kept extending the time by constantly interacting with fans and singing.

There was no schedule the next day anyway, and thinking of Clover, who must have been anxious due to the Florence incident, no one stopped them.

After returning home, washing up, and settling in, I immediately checked social media.

Since I only headed home after confirming the fan meeting had properly ended, it was already well past 10 PM, but this was something I absolutely needed to do.

[CEO, please accept my bow. If we ever doubt you again, we’re not human. I’m sorry. And thank you so much. Today’s planning was amazing. I’m sorry for saying this, but please do something like this again next time. I know I’m shameless, but I’ve always been a bit shameless.]

↳ LOL I’m shameless too. What even is shame? That kind of thing doesn’t exist when it comes to Spade Joker…

↳ The CEO is definitely lurking on SNS, so everyone, let’s leave our thanks.

↳↳ Agreed. Thank you, CEO.

↳ LOL, today was seriously so happy. Ah… I was so happy that I didn’t even know what I was worried about before.

While looking down at my phone, I quietly let out a laugh.

The response was better than I had expected.

[Spade Joker’s outfits today were insane. Seriously, what even was that? Their makeup, hair, outfits… nothing is lacking at all. (Photo of Spade Joker.)]

↳ So pretty. “Pretty” isn’t even enough to describe it.

↳ Ha… they’re so cute I just want to bite them once.

↳↳ LOL, I thought I was the only one thinking that. Glad I’m not.

↳ They upgraded their visuals again today.

[What was crazy about today’s fan meeting is that they showed us everything we wanted to see. This is why the CEO needs to be young and check SNS often. Using fan-made games in the planning was great, and the part at the end where we wrote messages to Spade Joker was amazing. It’s basically like the company led an event on its own. Seeing the screen filled with the messages we wrote made me tear up. (Photo of the screen)]

↳ The members couldn’t take their eyes off it.

↳↳ Right… their eyes got red.

↳ You could tell they were really reading everything. That made me emotional too.

↳ This is such a good idea. Writing on post-its isn’t bad, but this lets more people write, and it gets stored as data, so it lasts longer.

[Shout-out to John Raid Lombardi… from today, you are my religion.]

↳ LOL, is this the Church of John Raid Lombardi?

↳ Are we creating a new cult religion? That’s wild.

I paused for a moment.

‘That one’s a bit much….’

It was probably just a joke, not sincere, so I decided to let it pass lightly.

Only then did a proper smile form.

[What’s insane is that the gifts the members prepared for themselves were crazy. Seriously, the whole world needs to see this. People say liking idols doesn’t get repaid? We got Polaroid photos and handwritten letters. The letter contents and the poses in the photos are all different. (Photo proof of Polaroids and letters on the back.)]

↳ Wow… what is Spade Joker? They wrote all of these differently?

↳ No, even taking all those photos makes no sense.

↳ What???? What did you just say? I’m so shocked my brain stopped working. There weren’t just one or two fans at this fan meeting… did they really do all that?

↳↳ Yeah. The members said at the fan meeting that their arms felt like they were going to fall off. But they still worked hard on them, so don’t lose them.

The fan meeting gifts personally prepared by the Spade Joker members also became a hot topic. Even fans of other idols were showing interest.

[Spade Joker is this sincere toward their fans.]

↳ Seriously amazing.

↳ The fact that the fan meeting went from 8 to nearly 9 is because they love us so much.

↳ They do everything we ask for.

↳ I’ve never seen idols this sincere toward fans.

[Does Ramos Entertainment train its artists in personality, too? Why are they all so nice?]

↳ Seriously?

↳ Is there some kind of “truth room” there?

↳↳ LOL, a truth room? That’s hilarious. But it kind of makes sense. There’s a practice room in their basement, right?

Just yesterday, SNS had been filled with negative opinions… but in a single day, everything changed.

[Today their live performance was perfect, the events and planning were fresh, there was a lot of communication with us, and you could tell both the company and the members worked really hard preparing. It was moving.]

↳ CEO, you worked really hard.

↳ Let’s send gifts to the company. Everyone must have worked so hard because of this.

↳↳ Right. Even the Ramos Entertainment staff’s SNS that used to drop hints for us has gone quiet. They must’ve been really busy.

↳↳↳ I thought they’d post about preparing for the fan meeting this time, but there was nothing, so I figured they must be busy.

↳ Alright! Let’s properly plan a gift.

As I finished browsing SNS and was about to put my phone away, it vibrated.

[Han Suseok]

It was a call from Han Suseok.

“Hello.”

[CEO!]

Unlike usual, Han Suseok’s voice was extremely loud and sharp.

He sounded urgent.

It made my heart drop.

“What is it? Don’t tell me something happened again?”

[No! It’s good news, CEO!]

His breath sounded uneven before quickly settling back to normal.

He continued speaking rapidly.

[The third IP trace results are out. We’ve got almost everything. This time, it’s certain.]

The moment I heard that, I blanked out.

In my mind, the words “we can finally see the end” faintly echoed.

“What about the police?”

[Already shared with them. A warrant is expected tomorrow morning. At the earliest, we should be able to confirm the suspect’s identity before evening.]

“Good.”

I closed my eyes and slowly exhaled.

Today had been a long day.

‘Really long.’

But the moment I heard Han Suseok’s news, my exhaustion turned into exhilaration.

Once the suspect was identified, it wouldn’t take long to reveal that Joo Youngjun was the one who commissioned the hacking and leaked the debut song.

“Han Suseok.”

[Yes, CEO.]

“Once this is over, I’ll give all employees time off. At least two days.”

[What? Ah…! Yes, understood.]

I swallowed a short breath and smiled.

“Everyone worked hard. Really.”

[You worked harder, CEO.]

“Well… still, it’s fine now. I can finally breathe a bit.”

I heard Han Suseok let out a satisfied breath.

“Han Suseok.”

[Yes.]

“Make the article big. So everyone knows. Say that the investigation into the leak is progressing smoothly… and that we already know who it is.”

[Understood. I’ll proceed right away.]

“Good. Then rest well over the weekend. See you Monday.”

After hanging up, I sat still in place for quite a while.

***

Joo YoungjUn received a message.

[Even the third-layer IP used as bait has been completely exposed. There’s nothing more we can do.]

After reading the message, he violently threw his phone onto the floor. Even then, his anger didn’t subside, and he ground his teeth.

“Argh!”

He shouted, pouring out his rage.

“How the hell did they find that?!”

The plan had been perfect.

He had erased all traces, leaving only minimal data behind.

And yet, one message had shattered everything.

[Exclusive. Florence’s debut song leak, third-stage IP tracing complete! Identification of the culprit is imminent]

It was a short headline, but each word tightened around his heart.

His vision blurred, and his hands trembled.

Joo Youngjun clicked the article.

[An official involved in the investigation stated that tracing up to the third IP has been completed, and that the culprit is expected to be apprehended soon.]

That one sentence in the middle of the article drove him further into madness.

The more he read, the harder it became to breathe.

The meticulously prepared plan he had built was collapsing, piece by piece.

As his fingers scrolled through the article, anxiety and fear coursed through his body. His heart pounded rapidly, and his mind went blank.

He tried to steady his breathing while staring at his phone screen, but his breaths only grew shallow and fast.

The headline echoed in his mind.

‘Third stage complete. Identification imminent.’

Each word stabbed into him like a blade.

Slumping into his chair, Joo Youngjun slowly closed his eyes.

Thoughts surged chaotically, too scattered to organize. Countless worst-case scenarios burst forth like fragments.

No matter which one he grasped, it was all darkness.

‘It can’t end like this.’