<Episode 93>
“Hello. My name is Yoo Jeongyeon. I look forward to working with you.”
Yoo Jeongyeon greeted Han Suseok.
“Likewise.”
“I look forward to working with you as well.”
“Yes.”
“Then, Team Leader Han, please introduce Florence. I have something to discuss with Mr. Jawook.”
I said, pointing at Kim Jawook with my finger.
“Yes.”
After Han Suseok and Yoo Jeongyeon left the CEO’s office, only Kim Jawook and I remained.
“What do you think?”
“Pardon? About what?”
“Ms. Yoo Jeongyeon. Does she seem capable at her job?”
“Ah. Since she has prior experience as a manager, she’s very easy to teach. She drives well and is very punctual.”
That was good to hear.
“There didn’t seem to be any particular issues. However, while she’s fine when working, she tends to shrink back a lot when she’s not.”
‘I suppose so. She said she had been mistreated by a male idol group… there’s no way that wound has fully healed.’
“That will improve gradually.”
Unlike those people, Spade Joker were extremely kind, and from what I’d seen so far, Florence didn’t seem like the type to mistreat their manager either.
So I figured things would naturally get better as they spent time together.
“Do you think so?”
“Yes. More importantly, what about Leejoo? Has he still not decided whether to take the drama role?”
“Ah, actually, I got a call this morning. He said he wants to do it.”
Having the Spade Joker members act… I had tried it a few times in previous timelines, but the results hadn’t been great, so I hadn’t planned to do it this time.
However, when opportunities were being handed to me like this, refusing them would be no different from negligence as a businessman.
Especially when it was a drama guaranteed by Kang Woojin, known as a master of hits.
“That’s a relief. Set up a meeting and take Leejoo with you. Ah, if we’re going to push him into acting, we should also find a proper acting coach.”
Before the meeting, I needed to hire an acting coach for him.
If we were going to do this, we might as well do it properly.
“What about Zen’s music variety show recording?”
“It’s scheduled for two weeks from now. So we’re currently selecting songs.”
“Alright. Good work.”
“It’s nothing.”
***
Florence was talking with their new manager.
“Did you remember our names? Since we have a foreign member…”
“No, it’s okay. I memorized them all.”
“Yes!”
Yoo Jeongyeon felt slightly overwhelmed by Florence’s high-school-like energy.
“Please take good care of us.”
“Likewise.”
They were all smiling brightly without a trace of hesitation.
“Ah, what should we call you, Manager?”
“Just call me Jeongyeon unnie.”
“Yes, unnie.”
As soon as she finished speaking, Park Chaeha responded.
“We’re a bit noisy… so I’ll apologize in advance.”
Lim Hyeju spoke cautiously.
“That’s alright. It’s nice to be lively.”
Yoo Jeongyeon showed a faint smile.
“Oh? Hello.”
Florence greeted Kim Jawook as he entered the practice room.
“Once Florence debuts, I might occasionally join your schedules as well, so the CEO asked me to come and introduce myself. I’m still lacking, but I look forward to working with you. Ah, my name is Kim Jawook. Please call me whatever is comfortable.”
“Yes, nice to meet you.”
“Um, I have a question.”
Kang Seoah raised her hand as she spoke.
“Yes?”
“Who is our leader?”
They had already recorded songs and even completed profile and concept photos for their debut, but they hadn’t heard anything about a leader yet.
Yoo Jeongyeon and Kim Jawook both looked toward Han Suseok.
“As for that, I haven’t been informed yet either, so I’ll need to check. I’ll let you know after confirming.”
“Okay.”
“And this… these are gifts I brought from the U.S.”
“Gifts?”
“Yes. It’s nothing special.”
Han Suseok handed a shopping bag to Florence, then gave one to Kim Jawook as well.
Yoo Jeongyeon slightly lowered her head, assuming she wouldn’t receive one.
“Here. One for you too, Ms. Jeongyeon.”
“Huh? There’s one for me too? I heard you were already on vacation before my interview…”
She trailed off, flustered.
“That’s true. But I heard through the CEO that a new manager had joined, so I prepared something that wouldn’t be too hit-or-miss. We’ll be working together from now on, after all. And it would feel upsetting if everyone else received one and you didn’t, right?”
As she looked at Han Suseok handing her the bag with a gentle smile, Yoo Jeongyeon suddenly buried her face in her hands.
She was crying.
“Huh? Unnie! Are you okay?”
“Mio, tissues.”
“Okay.”
Florence quickly brought tissues and comforted her.
“Are you hurt?”
“Could that be it?”
“If you tell us where it hurts, I’ll go get medicine.”
It was a warmth she hadn’t felt in a workplace for a long time.
“No, I’m okay. I just got a bit emotional… I’ll go wash my face in the restroom.”
“The restroom is at the end of the hallway.”
“Okay.”
Yoo Jeongyeon hurried to the restroom. Standing in front of the sink, she splashed water on her face.
“Phew…”
She took a deep breath to calm herself.
‘Why is everyone here so kind?’
Kim Jawook, who was teaching her the work, and even Spade Joker, whom she had just met… they were all good people.
It felt like she had stepped into a completely different world.
The faces of the people she used to manage passed through her mind.
‘They were bright and pure at first too.’
Since she had been with them from their debut, she couldn’t help but grow more attached compared to other groups.
It truly felt like raising her own younger siblings, even her own children.
But as their idol life turned out differently from what they had expected, they gradually grew exhausted.
Eventually, their smiles disappeared.
‘This time… I hope I can protect these smiles.’
Yoo Jeongyeon thought to herself.
***
“Here’s the list of buildings within our budget.”
As soon as his vacation ended, Han Suseok returned straight to work mode.
‘As expected, we need Han Suseok.’
I checked the list he handed me.
‘Should we wait until after Florence debuts and see the response before moving?’
With the budget we currently had available, there weren’t many places we could move to.
I had allocated the budget while keeping some of the money earned from the game as emergency funds.
‘Besides, real estate depends heavily on timing, which makes it troublesome since you can’t get the same building again.’
Real estate was the most unpredictable factor.
Each time I regressed, the budget and timing for moving were different, so moving into the same building as before was never easy.
I even found myself wishing the item shop had something like an emergency loan instead of useless items like random personal skill assignments.
To be honest, I wanted to delay relocating the company as much as possible, but with our current manpower, it was impossible to manage two groups.
‘The employees are already working this hard.’
If someone quit because it was too difficult, it wouldn’t be easy to fill that gap.
‘We’re also planning to create an in-house content production team.’
As I flipped through the list, my hand stopped at one building.
It was a three-story building. The exterior looked a bit old, but the location was good, and the size wasn’t bad either.
The first floor could be used for a practice room and composer Han Youngjoo’s studio, while the second and third floors would work perfectly as office space.
“Do you know what company used this building before?”
I pointed at the building and asked Han Suseok. It wasn’t easy to ignore something like the “energy” of the place.
Someone might say it was strange for a person who lived in the U.S. to believe in such superstitions, but this wasn’t something I could just overlook.
If every company that moved in went bankrupt, then it was a place we should never enter.
‘Was it my second run? I don’t remember exactly, but it was early on.’
I once moved into a building like that because the rent was cheap, only for my company to go under as well. It proved the jinx, and I ended up regressing again.
Because of that experience, I couldn’t ignore things like this anymore.
“I heard from the real estate agent that it was a fashion brand company, and they moved to a bigger building.”
Since the previous company had succeeded and moved on, that was perfect.
“The interior doesn’t look bad either. Can we go see it right away?”
“It’s currently vacant, so there shouldn’t be any problem.”
“Really? Then contact the agent. Tell them we’ll go see it now.”
“Yes.”
I could hear Han Suseok making the call.
“Yes, yes. Understood. Then we’ll head over right away.”
After hanging up, he picked up the car keys.
“Let’s go. They said it’s fine to visit immediately.”
“Han Suseok, wouldn’t it be better if you stayed at the company? It might be better than both of us leaving.”
“It’s not far, so if anything comes up, I’ll return first.”
“Alright.”
We left the office together.
“We’ll be back. Contact me if anything comes up.”
“Yes.”
“Oh, and for your information… we’re going to look at a new office space.”
At my words, the employees cheered.
“Have a safe trip!”
“CEO! We’ll be looking forward to it!”
Leaving them behind, we exited the office.
Comments (0)