<Episode 92>
At last, Han Suseok’s vacation came to an end.
“Team Leader Han!”
“Wow!”
“Team Leader is back!”
The employees welcomed him all at once.
“Team Leader Han, we missed you.”
“I missed you all, too.”
I watched as Han Suseok smiled gently at them. Maybe it was because he’d gotten a bit of sun in the U.S., but his complexion looked slightly darker than before.
“I was worried you might not come back because the U.S. was so nice.”
“How could that be? This is where I belong. Ah, I brought gifts from the U.S. Just a moment.”
He stepped out of the office and soon returned with shopping bags in both hands.
“I felt like I was the only one enjoying myself while everyone else worked hard, so I prepared these.”
“Wow! Can I open it?”
“Of course.”
The employees eagerly opened the bags.
“Team Leader Han, this is exactly what I needed. Thank you.”
“Wow, Team Leader Han, did you read my mind? Thank you so much.”
From what I could see, he had prepared gifts tailored to each employee’s preferences.
Some got perfume, others received figures of characters they liked, things you couldn’t pick out without paying close attention.
“There’s one for you too, sir.”
“For me too?”
I hadn’t expected that. I used to live in the U.S., and since my parents had visited during their vacation, I didn’t think he’d go out of his way to bring me a gift.
“Of course. You even bought my plane ticket, sir.”
“Huh? The CEO bought your plane ticket too?”
Yoo Minsu cut into the conversation.
“Yes, he did.”
“Wow.”
“Team Leader Han isn’t just the general team leader… he’s also effectively my secretary. And on top of that, he left his entire family in the U.S. to come to Korea because of me, so this much is only right.”
“Sir! Can I post this story on social media?”
“It’s not even about Spade Joker. What’s the point of posting that?”
“There are a lot of people asking about you, sir.”
I didn’t understand why people were still so interested. It felt like their attention should’ve faded by now.
“Do as you like.”
Since it wasn’t anything negative, I gave permission.
“Anyway, thank you, Team Leader Han. I’ll make good use of it.”
“Yes.”
I accepted the shopping bag he handed me.
“Can you recognize it?”
“Recognize what?”
“This logo.”
He pointed to the logo printed on the corner of the shopping bag.
‘Is it a brand related to John Raid Lombardi?’
“It’s Kenji. We went to university together. It’s a brand he created.”
I didn’t know who Kenji was, but I pretended to be surprised.
“You’re surprised too, right? Who would’ve thought Kenji would actually create his own brand? Back in university, he used to just draw logos, saying he’d make his own brand, but never did anything. Oh, and there’s also a gift from Kenji inside.”
Thankfully, Han Suseok explained everything without me having to ask.
“Really? I should contact him sometime soon, then. Anyway, let’s get started with work. I’ll head in first.”
After giving the employees a brief nod, I went into the CEO’s office. Sitting down, I looked inside the shopping bag.
There were two boxes, a small one and a large one.
I opened the small one first.
Inside was a business card holder.
“This must’ve been quite expensive.”
I made a mental note to get Han Suseok a small gift in return later and closed the box.
Then I picked up the second one.
‘This looks like clothes.’
When I opened it, I saw a leopard-patterned shirt.
“…What is this?”
My face twisted without me realizing it.
It felt like I was looking at a wardrobe I encountered every time I regressed.
Knock knock.
“Come in.”
The door opened, and Han Suseok stepped in.
“Ah, sir.”
“Yeah, Suseok. Do you have something else to say?”
“Actually, I was wondering if your family returned safely.”
“Yeah. They left on an early morning flight today.”
They had left early that morning.
After seeing them off and returning to the office, I couldn’t shake the strange emptiness. The thought that no one would be there to welcome me home anymore hit me harder than I expected.
“That’s a shame. I couldn’t greet them because the timing didn’t work out.”
“Well, you can greet them next time you meet.”
He nodded at my answer.
“Ah, I see you checked the clothes Kenji made.”
“Yeah.”
“It suits your old taste.”
“Yeah. That’s why I can’t wear it anymore.”
“True. Your face has been revealed too much now.”
He nodded as if he understood.
“I’ve updated you on the work while you were gone, so please check it. Also, we hired Florence as a manager, so let’s greet her when she arrives today.”
“Alright.”
He was about to leave, but suddenly stopped.
“What is it?”
“I’m back.”
“That’s a bit anticlimactic. Alright.”
He returned to his seat with a smile.
Still, with Han Suseok back, I felt things would be a little easier.
(TL.Note, I miss you too, Han Suseok)
***
The news that A-Pen’s contract renewal had fallen through was revealed.
[What? No… what is this supposed to mean? Suddenly, they’re not renewing? Huh? I’m so shocked I can’t even think straight right now. They’re really not renewing?]
↳ Same. I’m so shocked my brain isn’t working.
↳ ???? This was real? Not a rumor?
↳ I thought it was fake news…
↳ My world just collapsed.
[Wow. The agency just posted an announcement. They said they decided not to renew due to differences in opinion. Since it’s renewal season, but it was quiet unlike last time, I thought they’d definitely renew again.]
↳ What is going on?
↳ Wait, is this the end of A-Pen?
↳ End? No way. Why would they end? They’re just not renewing. No one even mentioned disbandment.
↳ Usually, even if they don’t renew, they at least do a concert or fan meeting or give some kind of hint so fans can catch on.
[A-Pen all not renewing? Not just one or two members leaving, but all of them? Ha… they cared so much about the group… how much must they have gone through to make that decision.]
↳ Honestly, I get it. They suffered way too much over ten years.
↳↳ That’s true.
↳ Sigh.
↳ Knowing how much they loved the group makes it hurt even more. They must’ve had a reason.
↳↳ Exactly. How bad must it have been for them to do this? They already renewed once before…
[Honestly, the agency has done so many things wrong that I can’t even guess which issue caused this lol]
↳ LOL seriously.
↳ No album support. Slow to deny rumors. Never sue malicious commenters. Wow… the list is endless.
↳↳ And how they handled that stage accident.
↳↳ They’re basically a social evil.
[Wait… then what about our season’s greetings? Are we getting them? I already pre-ordered. And the video call fan sign events? What happens to those? The agency needs to clarify its position ASAP.]
↳ Right? I totally forgot about that.
↳ Wait… is that why they took pre-orders?
↳ Wow. If that’s true, I’m not letting this slide.
↳ If they take my money, I swear I won’t stay quiet. I’ll chase them to the end.
↳↳ Same.
↳↳ LOL, no way we stay quiet. The only reason we held back was in case it hurt A-Pen.
As the fans’ anxiety continued to grow, a handwritten letter was posted on A-Pen leader Park Juchan’s personal SNS.
[Hello. I know many of you must have been shocked by the news. First, I want to say I’m sorry. We wanted to protect the name A-Pen, but it wasn’t easy.
However, this is absolutely not a disbandment.
We may no longer be called A-Pen, but this is not the end. We will meet again under a new name. I promise. I won’t even ask you to wait long. So please trust us just a little and wait.]
↳ Don’t worry. We’ll wait.
↳ I’ve loved you for ten years already. I can wait. Just come back, and I’ll welcome you with a smile.
↳ The name may change, but you don’t. That’s what matters.
↳ Yeah, we’ll wait. So don’t feel anxious either.
↳ I just hope you don’t get hurt too much by this. Whatever you decide, we’re on your side.
***
CEO Joo Youngjoon slammed his fist down on the desk with all his strength.
“Damn it!”
It was hard for him to contain his surging anger.
A-Pen.
It was true that he had trained and built them up since their trainee days to reach where they were now. Yet those bastards had left his control without even thinking about the “favor” they had received.
And without A-Pen, the company would immediately fall into deficit.
“Manager Kang.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Check whether those A-Pen brats are really planning to establish their own agency.”
He didn’t believe they would actually create their own agency.
They weren’t the type.
They loved their fans too much, so much that they couldn’t easily abandon the name A-Pen, even renewing once before for three years under unchanged conditions.
“There must be something behind this. A one-man agency, my foot. And prepare thoroughly in case they file a lawsuit against us.”
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